Chapter 59: Warm and Loving (Part 2)

Song Wenxian and his wife, Lady Min, also presented a fine Duan inkstone. With a smile, he said, "Little Sister Jing will be using a lot of writing brushes in the future, and since you are so particular and refuse to use inferior inkstones, your cousin here is parting with his favorite treasure—I am giving you the Duan inkstone that Junhao gifted me!"

Hearing this, Tantai Jing raised her head and glanced at Dong Junhao's expression. Surely this man wouldn't be angry, would he?

Song Wenxian had always been someone who paid little attention to formalities. If Dong Junhao were well-acquainted with him, it might pass, but if they were strangers, for Song Wenxian to regift something someone else had just given him right in front of the giver—wouldn't that leave people something to gossip about?

Sure enough, Dong Junhao's brows furrowed. He glared at Song Wenxian and said coldly, "If you want a Duan inkstone from me, just say so directly. I still have a few left at my place; I'll have someone bring them over for you next time!"

Song Wenxian laughed triumphantly and replied, "I was just waiting for you to say that!"

With that, he patted Dong Junhao's shoulder and urged, "Let's take our seats, I'm starving, absolutely starving!"

Tantai Jing offered a gentle smile to Song Wenxian's wife, Lady Min, and then took her seat for the meal.

For nearly an hour, the table of people ate amidst laughter and chatter. All the rules about not speaking while eating or sleeping were completely cast aside. Tantai Jing swept her gaze over the people at the table and felt that such days were truly wonderful. She wished she could remain bathed in this warmth forever.

Sitting across from her, Dong Junhao lifted his gaze and caught Tantai Jing's expression of envious longing—the look of someone placing herself as an outsider, watching the warmth and affection within the circle, able only to feel envy.

Dong Junhao lowered his head and frowned. At the Great Buddha Temple, he had thought to himself how wonderful it would be if his own daughter could be like Tantai Jing, like a worldly elf fallen into the mortal realm. Yet now, this young girl before him actually kept herself outside the gates of happiness, not even daring to touch the door handle.

Thinking of this, Dong Junhao glanced beside him. Song Wenxian was in high spirits, gathered in a huddle with two other younger cousins, whispering about goodness knows what. Dong Junhao couldn't help leaning closer toward them; he really ought to offer them some advice. Otherwise, if that impoverished scholar continued to pester her and take advantage of her vulnerability, it would truly be difficult for a young miss like Tantai Jing to escape. Better yet, he might as well make a decisive move and directly settle the marriage between the fifth young miss of the Tantai family and that impoverished scholar!

Tantai Jing had no idea that someone behind her back was already scheming to champion her cause. At that moment, she was pondering what Ma Yuantong had said earlier. Ma Yuantong would be leaving Zecheng after the Double Ninth Festival to study at the Imperial College in the capital. During the birthday banquet today, Ma Yuantong had mentioned climbing mountains on the Double Ninth, and the glance he had cast her way clearly indicated he hoped she would join him. Originally, this was an academy activity she had no wish to attend, but since Ma Yuantong had helped her twice, she ought to show some appreciation. If she were to refuse even this small request of his, wouldn't it be far too ungrateful?

Having stayed at the Dong residence for over ten days, Tantai Jing was summoned before Dowager Lady Dong one day.

"This is Steward Zhu. He has always been the one managing your mother's dowry shops and estates." Dowager Lady Dong introduced a scholarly-looking steward to Tantai Jing. He wore a beard, was dressed in a gray brocade *zhuiyi*, and looked entirely like a schoolteacher.

Tantai Jing nodded toward Steward Zhu and sat down beside Dowager Lady Dong.

Seeing the dowager nod at him, Steward Zhu bowed respectfully, held up a ledger with both hands, and handed it to Tantai Jing.

Tantai Jing took it and began to read through it carefully. The moment she perused its contents, she was so startled that her eyes nearly popped out of her head. Even though she knew these were her mother's dowry properties and would eventually belong to her, she still gasped in astonishment!

It was no wonder she was shocked. In her past life, she had indeed received a dowry, but it was nowhere near this vast. A careful inspection revealed three dowry shops in Zecheng and eight in the capital. The agricultural estates were all located in the distant suburbs of the capital, with none in Zecheng at all. Furthermore, when she calculated the size of the fertile farmland belonging to those estates, it totaled over a thousand *mu*.

In her past life, when she married Wang Ziyu, she had only obtained two shops in Zecheng. Tantai Jing instantly felt tears welling up in her eyes. Her maternal grandmother had planned everything for her in every detail in her past life; she must have known from the very beginning that Wang Ziyu was not a suitable match, which was why she hadn't given her so much. And even those two shops had eventually fallen into the hands of Wang Ziyu's mother.

Steward Zhu did not notice Tantai Jing's expression and meticulously detailed the revenues from each property, which roughly amounted to about five thousand taels of silver a year when pooled together.

Seeing Tantai Jing's look of astonishment, Dowager Lady Dong dismissed Steward Zhu first, then spoke to her in a low voice, "The moment your mother passed away, I had someone bring these assets back to be managed, and I never allowed outsiders to lay a hand on them. At first, there wasn't this much, but Steward Zhu is quite capable. Over the course of a few years, he doubled the revenue. Even your father has no idea you own so much!"

Dowager Lady Dong then groped around in a small drawer on the *luohan* bed, produced another small booklet, and handed it to Tantai Jing. Tantai Jing carefully opened it and was even more astounded. The wooden furniture was nothing special, but the ornaments, seasonal clothing, gold and silver jewelry, medicinal herbs, and spices were definitely worth no less than one hundred thousand taels of silver!

Tantai Jing nearly gasped aloud, but Dowager Lady Dong gently pulled her hand and said, "Back when your mother was married, I was terrified she would be wronged, so I constantly subsidized her in secret. The items listed on her official dowry inventory at most accounted for thirty percent of it."

With affectionate tenderness, Dowager Lady Dong smoothed back a stray lock of hair from Tantai Jing's temple and continued, "I originally intended to wait until you chose a good match in the future before handing these things over to you. Now that I hear Nanny Jiang and Nanny Gui praising you to the high heavens, I have nothing left to worry about. From now on, all of this belongs to you. We have vast wealth—far, far superior to the Ye family. It is only your father who is short-sighted; for the sake of a mere pittance of silver, he elevated the Ye woman to the position of primary wife, completely ignorant of where true wealth lay!"

Tantai Jing bit her lip and tears fell. Her maternal grandmother had considered every single thing for her in advance, yet in her past life, she had severed ties with her grandmother precisely for Wang Ziyu...

Dowager Lady Dong continued to hold her hand, chattering affectionately about the items listed on the dowry inventory. In the end, Tantai Jing did not take everything away; she only took one thousand taels in silver notes to prepare for any unexpected needs.

Steward Zhu was immensely capable, and since no one else had touched these assets—meaning even people like Lady Ye had no idea the late Lady Dong had possessed so much wealth—combined with her memories from her past life, Tantai Jing quickly mastered the management of the dowry shops and estates.

In the blink of an eye, the Double Ninth Festival arrived. Tantai Jing kept her promise to join the academy students in climbing the mountains for the festival. The cousins of the Dong residence also enthusiastically insisted on going along. Tantai Jing readily agreed, completely failing to notice the mischievous gleam flashing in their eyes!