Chu Lian nodded. This was natural. After meeting this mother-in-law a few times, Chu Lian could faintly sense her mother-in-law's gentleness.

Otherwise, Matriarch He wouldn't dote on her so much and would often personally visit the Liu matriarch's courtyard.

By the time the two of them returned to Qingwen Hall, it was almost time for lunch.

Seeing that the two young madams had arrived, Senior Nurse Liu ordered the servant girls to serve the dishes.

The two daughters of the Zou matriarch had already been brought to the reception pavilion by the wet nurse. Matriarch He also sat down with the help of the senior servant girl.

Soon, the round table was filled with dishes. Matriarch He looked at the table full of dishes and sighed, "If only your mother could sit here, then our family would be complete!"

Matriarch He's words silenced everyone at the table. Senior Nurse Liu saw that the atmosphere wasn't good and hurriedly interrupted, "Matriarch, look, there's a snow toad today!"

Everyone knew that snow toads were one of the most precious ingredients. They could nourish one's skin, nourish one's Yin, and nourish one's lungs.

In the modern era, they were famous for their price. Although Chu Lian was a gourmet lover, due to economic limitations, she had never seen a real snow toad dish.

Hearing Senior Nurse Liu's words, her gaze immediately shifted over. Then, she saw a small bowl with a green magnetic turtle-patterned pattern and a black, half-filled bowl.

Chu Lian: …

This was a snow toad?

The corner of Chu Lian's mouth couldn't help but twitch. After these past few days, she shouldn't have any delusions about this damned Great Wu Dynasty's cooking. Otherwise, she would be the one to suffer!

No matter what the ingredients were, this was a snow toad!

It couldn't even be bought with money, yet it was being fried in a pot like this?

And it was even made into such a dark cuisine. This … who would dare to eat it?

Chu Lian was originally very interested, but she couldn't bring herself to eat this snow toad at all.

She shrunk her neck. This good thing should be left for someone else …

With Senior Nurse Liu's reminder, Matriarch He immediately walked out of her sadness. She smiled at the two granddaughters-in-law. "The Empress Dowager had someone deliver this snow toad, but it's rare to eat it. This snow toad is very good for a woman's body. In a bit, you two sisters-in-law should share it."

Madam Zou must have eaten the snow toad before and knew its benefits. Her eyes revealed a sense of urgency, but Chu Lian really didn't have the courage to eat it when she saw the appearance of the snow toad.

She said politely, "Since snow toads are so rare, it's better for grandmother to use them. Granddaughter-In-Law's health is good!

There's no need to replenish it. "

Once Chu Lian said this, Madam Zou couldn't monopolize the snow toad, so she also modestly declined.

Old Matriarch He couldn't dissuade her and could only let Liu mama divide this small bowl of black snow toad into three portions. Because this thing wasn't suitable for children to eat, she didn't give it to the two Grand Misses.

Nurse Liu smiled as she placed the small white porcelain bowl filled with snow toads in front of Chu Lian. "Speaking of which, Third Young Mistress is really lucky. Even the Empress Dowager can only get snow toads twice a year, but Third Young Mistress managed to catch up."

Chu Lian was embarrassed. She wanted to cry but had no tears. Actually, she didn't want to catch up at all.

In the end, Chu Lian had no choice but to force the small bowl of black snow toad into her stomach. To be honest, it didn't taste good. It was too salty after being stir-fried. She only tasted the saltiness and didn't taste anything else.

After eating, she hurriedly drank a bowl of bland soup.

This meal at Qing Wen Hall was truly painful to the extreme.

Chu Lian ate the snow toad with great difficulty as if she was taking medicine. However, she saw Old Matriarch He and Zou shi slowly eat a mouthful of snow toad and then drink a mouthful of soup. It looked like they were really eating some exotic delicacy. If it wasn't for the fact that the black snow toad came out of the same bowl, Chu Lian would have thought that the three of them were eating different dishes.

In front of Old Matriarch He, Chu Lian didn't dare to show too much. There was no need to think about the tea. The tea here was all fried tea and really couldn't be drunk.

After the meal, Old Matriarch He and Zou shi gracefully wiped their mouths with wet handkerchiefs under the service of a servant girl and then rinsed their mouths.

In the afternoon, Old Matriarch He wanted to take an afternoon nap. Chu Lian took this opportunity to quickly sneak back to her Songtao Yuan.

She really didn't dare to stay any longer. She was afraid that Old Matriarch He would make her eat something strange again.

He Sanlang didn't come back at noon. Chu Lian went back and first poured three cups of water, then washed her mouth with fine salt. Only then did the strange taste in her mouth completely disappear.

After tossing and turning for a long time, Chu Lian leaned against the soft couch by the window to rest. It was windy today, and the cool summer breeze blew in through the window. It was quite comfortable.

Xiyan and the others saw that she was about to fall asleep, so they covered Chu Lian with a thin blanket and quietly retreated.

By the time Chu Lian woke up, it was already over an hour later. When she raised her hand, she saw the pink jade bracelet on her slender wrist. She then thought back to what Madam Zou had said that morning.

Chu Lian furrowed her brows. After a moment, she called out, "Xiyan!"

Xiyan quickly walked in. "Third Young Madam, what are your orders?"

Chu Lian got up from the couch and touched the shiny bracelet on her left wrist with her right hand. "Let's go. Take me to the storeroom to see my dowry."

"Ah?

See the dowry? "

Xiyan clearly didn't expect that Chu Lian would suddenly want to see this. The dowry list had been prepared before the wedding, and everything had gone through Chu Lian's hands. She knew best how much it was worth, so why did she want to see it?

"Yes, what's wrong?

You can't see it? "

Xiyan hurriedly shook her head. "Then wait a moment. This servant will go get the key to the small storeroom."

Chu Lian was a bit excited. She smiled and waved at Xiyan. "Go, go."

She was the legitimate daughter of the Duke of Ying. Although she wasn't favored, her husband's family was Duke Jing 'an's, so the Duke of Ying's dowry definitely wouldn't be bad.

In the past, she had earned her wealth through her own work. She didn't expect that in the Great Wu Dynasty, she wouldn't have to struggle to own a fortune that belonged solely to her. Just thinking about it made her happy.

For the daughters of the Great Wu Dynasty who were married, the dowry given by the paternal family had to be registered with the government. It was the girl's personal property. Even if the husband and wife divorced, the girl could take the dowry away unconditionally.

This was clearly stated in the Great Wu Dynasty's marriage laws.

Thus, the larger the dowry, the more important the bride would be.

In the flourishing Shengjing, the amount of dowry was a measure of a girl's family's favor. With a large dowry, even if it was a gathering of noble ladies in the future, they would be looked up to.

The original book didn't mention Chu Lian's dowry, and when Chu Lian had arrived in the Great Wu Dynasty, it was an auspicious day for her wedding. She didn't have the time to check on her dowry, so she still didn't know how much wealth she had.

Xiyan, who was leading the way, and Senior Servant Gui, who was following Chu Lian, both had strange expressions on their faces. Their heads were lowered, and their eyes would occasionally glance at Chu Lian, who was smiling and obviously in a good mood.

Songtao Court wasn't far from the couple's small storeroom, so it didn't take more than half a cup of tea to arrive.

After dismissing the servant girl guarding the door, Xiyan personally took the key and opened the door to one of the rooms. "Third Young Madam, most of your dowry is here."

It was still daytime, so although the lighting in the room wasn't good, the light from the window allowed Chu Lian to see everything clearly.

In such a large room, there were several rows of empty antique shelves, and the open cabinets that looked like they were made of good materials were also empty. Only a few red lacquered wooden chests were piled up in a corner at the end of the storeroom, making them stand out.

As soon as she entered, the smile on Chu Lian's face couldn't be maintained. Her eyes widened as she looked around, and finally, her gaze fell on Senior Servant Gui.

Senior Servant Gui gave Xiyan a look, and Xiyan hurriedly stepped forward to support Chu Lian's arm. "Third Young Madam, go sit over there. This servant and Senior Servant will carry the chests over for Third Young Madam to look over."

Chu Lian looked suspiciously at Xiyan, who was avoiding her gaze, but didn't say anything. She let Xiyan help her to the table.

Then, she and Senior Servant Gui carried four or five chests in front of her. They were clearly wooden chests that were half the height of a person, but only two women could carry them. It was obvious that there weren't many things inside.

Senior Servant Gui took out a letter wrapped in red kraft paper from her sleeve and handed it to Chu Lian. She carefully chose her words. "Third Young Madam, this is the list of the dowry. Take a look and see if there's anything wrong with it."

When Chu Lian had Xiyan fetch the key to the storeroom, Senior Servant Gui had been thinking about why Chu Lian wanted to see the dowry. In the end, she could only think that Chu Lian was afraid that there was something missing in the dowry and wanted to check the numbers.

Chu Lian smiled as she took the letter and opened it. Her watery almond-shaped eyes scanned the list from top to bottom. She saw that there were ninety-nine dowry items on the list and nodded inwardly. She was quite satisfied.

Thus, she was very interested in reading from the first item and had Senior Servant Gui and Xiyan bring out the corresponding ones for her to see.

"Carved Four Seasons Ruyi Screen," Chu Lian read out.

Senior Servant Gui and Xiyan looked at each other and took out a screen stand and a few embroidered pieces from the chest. They placed them on the table in front of Chu Lian.

Xiyan said awkwardly, "Third Young Madam, this screen has been installed. If we remove it, it will damage the embroidered pieces. If we don't use it now, it's better not to install it."

Chu Lian was dumbfounded. She first lowered her head to look at what was written on the dowry list, then raised her head to look at what was in front of her. She didn't know whether to laugh or cry. This Four Seasons Ruyi Screen had such a high-end name written on it, but it was clearly just a few pieces of lacquered wood and a few embroidered pieces … Even if she didn't have the sharp eyes to appraise treasures, with one look, she could tell that this thing in front of her was not worth much. It was probably not even worth ten taels of silver.

She looked at a few more items. They were all like this screen, flashy but without substance. They only looked good on the outside, but they were far from being truly good.

In the end, Chu Lian couldn't be bothered to look anymore. She waved her hand to have Senior Servant Gui tidy up and close the chests. She held the dowry list by herself and stared blankly.

She looked carefully. There were almost a hundred dowry items from top to bottom, but there was almost nothing valuable. Looking at Senior Servant Gui's attitude just now, there was only a small piece of yellow jade that was more valuable. She had already taken it and placed it in her embroidered pouch.

Apart from these almost a hundred dowry items, there was nothing else. What shops, farmsteads, land? There was not a single thing!

Chu Lian laughed bitterly in her heart. As expected, she didn't have such good luck.

Compared to mother-in-law Liu's dowry, her dowry was too shabby.

(Apologies to all the girls. I've been busy these past few days, so I haven't been able to update. I'll start sending your long reviews and red envelopes on the 12th. Because I'm going to Suzhou tomorrow and the day after, I can only update alone.

Hugging Girls (̄ 3 ̄) (Thank you for your understanding!)