CH 159

Anyone would know what Lin Xian’er and Manager Liang were doing. One of the servants who came was the head guard of the household, and Hu Weiming had told him to keep an eye on this woman. Now that something like this happened, how could he miss an opportunity to gain merits in front of his boss?

He gave an order, “Tie up these two adulterers!”

Seeing the two being tied up and sent to the Hu Mansion, Mo Ling spat at their backs, “This is all retribution! This time, someone will take care of her.”

It’s a pity they couldn’t go and watch what happened next, so wouldn’t how the Hu family would deal with those two. But those are all unimportant to the true question – whose child is Mo Zheng actually?

Their work here was done, so they’d come back later when they were free.

When she got home, Mo Yan talked to Ms. Liang about buying a carriage, who replied with a strange expression, “Do you really want to buy a carriage! This is the first time this has ever happened before in our village.”

She wants to renege on her promise!

Mo Ling smiled bitterly, “Yan’er, forget it, I don’t want a carriage anymore.”

Mo Yan stretched out her hand towards Ms. Liang, “If you don’t want to buy a carriage, it’s fine. Take all the money we earned in the past six months, and I’ll use it for my sister’s dowry.”

Ms. Liang refused to let a little girl take her money. She slapped the table and said, “Even if it’s your money, it’s all for the family. I have to keep it for Feng’er’s dowry! How can I spend everything on your sister?”

“Then don’t expect me to send a penny home ever again!”

“It wasn’t easy for me to raise you for so long! You don’t recognize your mother now you’ve earned a little money?”

Mo Ling tugged at Mo Yan’s sleeve, “Alright, Yan’er, I don’t want a carriage anymore.”

“She already agreed to it, so why not?”

Mo Feng also came in when he heard them arguing, “Do you see any other families giving such large dowries to daughters? Why do you insist on it?”

Mo Yan turned to face Mo Feng, “What’s wrong with it? Did we spend a penny of yours?”

“Why are you trying to goad me, I don’t have the money. If you have the skills, you can buy a carriage yourself!” Mu Feng’s face was gloating.

Mo Yan turned to Mo Ling, “Sister, you must have a carriage, otherwise Zhong Cheng’s family will gossip about you. If they don’t want to buy it for you, I will.”

When Mo Feng heard it, he immediately said, “Mum, did you hear that? She has secreted away so much money she can even afford a carriage!”

Ms. Liang was thinking the same thing. Since Mo Feng had already said it, she also asked, “Did you really hide money away from me?”

Mo Yan smiled slightly and said, “Yes, and?”

“You, do you want to go against the heavens?”

Mo Yan sneered, “I can’t, but I can still go against common conventions.”

Ms. Liang could already feel that Mo Yan was no longer under her control, but she couldn’t hold back.

“From now on, you’ll give me all of your salary every month. If you dare to hide money from me, I’ll beat you to death!”

Mo Yan stared at them with wide, innocent eyes, “I don’t have a salary.”

Mo Feng added from the side, “She has shares in the workshop, and she gets dividends at the end of the year. Those dividends are worth a lot more than wages.”

Mo Yan having shares and dividends made Ms. Liang’s heart tremble. It is a permanent source of money.

After thinking about it, she went out to find government official Wu, and asked him to help her buy a horse at the market for Mo Ling’s dowry.

He took Ms. Liang around the livestock market in the town for a long time. The horses that caught his eye cost over 20 silver taels, and the handsome ones 30 silver taels. A cow cost about 20 silver taels, with a donkey being cheaper, a good one costing under 20.

After walking around for a long time, the cheapest donkey they found was only twelve taels, and it was a female donkey. However, it was half blind, and it had a limp.

Even government official Wu, an outsider, said, “Sister-in-law, you can’t give an animal like this as part of a girl’s dowry!”

“It’s fine as long as it’s useful. What’s the use of it looking good? This saves a dozen taels! You can buy a lot of things with that. If we put red flowers on it and cover it up, who’ll notice what it looks like?”

It’s not easy for outsiders to say anything about other people’s affairs. Government official Wu tried his best to help out and at the end, she bought the donkey for only eleven taels.

Ms. Liang led the donkey back home happily. As soon as she entered the door, she yelled, “Ling’er, the dowry animal has been bought!”

Both Mo Ling and Mo Feng ran out of the house to see. It turned out that the horse that had been agreed upon had turned into a donkey.

The two walked in and took a closer look. Mo Feng said, “Why isn’t the donkey’s coat black?”

Mo Ling said lightly, “Because it’s getting on in years!”

Mo Feng inspected the donkey and found out there was a stigma in one of its eyes. Afraid he’d say something, Ms. Liang quickly tied the donkey to a tree and asked Mo Feng to prepare some fodder for it.

Standing there, Mo Ling had already seen that it was a blind and lame old donkey. Using it as a dowry would be a joke in itself.

“Mother, keep this donkey! I don’t want it anymore.”

Liang knew that she thought the donkey was ugly, “Now I’ve bought it, you don’t want it. What can we keep this donkey for?”

“You can use him to harvest the medicinal herbs. The land has been ploughed already, so it’s not as hard as before. Not only can it pull a plough, it can also pull a cart.”

“You must think this donkey looks ugly! It’s still a work animal, and girls from other families can’t afford to have one for their dowry!”

“I don’t want it anyways, keep it for yourselves!”

Mo Ling went back to the house, and Mo Feng brought fodder to feed the donkey, “Mum, this donkey is pretty ugly. Even I would feel ashamed if it was part of my dowry.”

“If you want face, you have to use money to support it. If you really want to marry her, you will have to get engaged by next year at the latest. Building a house, giving a dowry, and holding a wedding, are you telling me you don’t need money for any of this?”

“When the time comes, your dowry for Xiuying will be larger than hers, and your reputation will be better than hers.”

Listening to those two talking outside, Mo Ling wished she could get married right away, leave this house, and never come back.

When Mo Yan came back in the evening, she saw the donkey tied to the tree, “Mother, whose donkey is this?”

Mo Feng came out of the east room and gloated, “This is part of the dowry our mother prepared for our sister.”

Mo Ling came out from her room, “I said I don’t want it, since a work animal was never part of the dowry. It’s embarrassing to take out a blind and lame old donkey.”

Mo Feng had a smirk on his face, “Isn’t this donkey a good match for you? A lame donkey is a good match for a shrew.”

“Who are you calling a shrew!”

“Who else is there besides you? If you weren’t constantly ruining your reputation, why would we have to pay so much for a dowry and lose so much money!”

Mo Ling raised her hand and slapped him. Mo Feng covered her face and roared, “I’m about to be engaged, and you still dare to hit me! When you’re married, you’ll be beaten every day. That Zhong Cheng looks simple and honest on the surface, but he’s cruel to the bone. When you are beaten one day, don’t even think about having your natal family’s support, I will not even let you in the door.”

“Who do you think will want to marry you? You’ll be single for the rest of my life!”

Post-translation notes: You know, I just realised that the author keeps saying Mo Ling’s reputation has been ruined, but there’s never been any major negative consequences due to it before. Usually, it’s just a few insults by Ms. Liang and Mo Feng and that’s about it.