As for Xu Lan… she was hiding in her room!
She was rummaging through her belongings in search of the dowry she brought along when she married Xia Mao. If the Mo family was agreeable to the idea of marriage tomorrow, she would give part of her dowry to Mo Zhu as a first-meeting gift from mother-in-law to daughter-in-law.
She also wanted to give Qiao Mei a belated gift. Back then, she was not pleased with Qiao Mei marrying into the family and did not give her a first-meeting gift. That bangle which Qiao Mei received was a gift which Xia Jun gave on behalf of Wu Min. This issue had ended up being a sore point for Xu Lan.
Xu Lan felt that she could not be entirely blamed for this matter. If there was anyone who should be blamed, it was Xia Zhe! It was simply too unbecoming of him to marry Qiao Mei in private without discussing it with his family first! At that time, she was too angry and could not help herself from making things difficult for Qiao Mei.
After picking and choosing for a long time, she still could not find anything that she was satisfied with. She had never met Mo Zhu before and did not know what Mo Zhu's personality was like. What kind of bangle would be more suitable for this girl?
Qiao Mei gently pushed open Xu Lan's door and said, "Mother, why are you in the room? Go to the living room and get some fresh air."
"Mei Mei! Can you help me take a look and see which of these three bangles is more suitable for Mo Zhu?" Xu Lan said anxiously.
Qiao Mei picked up the three bangles and examined them carefully. The transparency of the three bangles were similar and the only difference was the color. There was yellow jade, imperial green jade and a faint red jade.
"I think this yellow jade is more suitable for Mo Zhu. She's more of a gentle girl and this design is most suitable," Qiao Mei said.
"Good, good, good! I'll go with your choice!" Xu Lan was about to put the bangle into a gift box when she stopped and said nervously, "Isn't yellow not a good color! Doesn't yellow mean 'prepare to stop'! Then this matter won't succeed!"
This was the first time Qiao Mei had seen Xu Lan being so superst.i.tious. She was usually as open-minded as could be and could be considered a very modern person in this era. It was strange that she would start to believe in such things now.
"It can't be! Mother, you have to believe in Eldest Brother and also the Mo family. If this matter really doesn't succeed, then it only means they're not suitable for each other. In that case, it won't succeed even if we pray to the G.o.ds and Buddha. Let's not think too much about it," Qiao Mei said with a smile.
"That's right! Xia Wen should be the one to fight for it! What's the use of me being so anxious here?" Xu Lan carefully placed the bangle in an exquisite box. This was a box which Qiao Mei had previously chosen for Xu Lan!
Xu Lan then took out an old and scruffy box from the bottom of the dowry cabinet. This box looked very old, like it would break apart with a light touch.
"Qiao Mei… This is what my mother left for me. It's part of my dowry and I'm giving it to you now. When you first joined the family, I had wronged you. I want to apologize to you now," Xu Lan said in a low voice.
"Mother! What are you saying! I have never blamed you. We're already a family, so why should we be so calculative? The past is in the past. Mother, don't dwell on it," Qiao Mei said as she held Xu Lan's hand.
"Then you must accept this," Xu Lan said expectantly.
Qiao Mei took the box and opened the lid gently. There was a sapphire ring inside. The sapphire was as big as a quail egg!
"This… this is too beautiful!" Qiao Mei said as she looked at the ring in the box in surprise.
Such a ring could even be put up for auction. It was definitely worth a lot of money. She did not expect to be able to see such a flawless sapphire in her life.
"Keep it well. I'll go and talk to Xia Wen and give him a few more pointers." Xu Lan patted Qiao Mei's shoulder and left the room. She went to tell Xia Wen about her experiences when she and Xia Mao first met each other's parents.
Qiao Mei looked at the family members who were gathered downstairs and smiled. She hoped that Mo Zhu would be able to become her eldest sister-in-law without any issues. Then the family would be able to get along well and gather together for chats. The family would finally be united and there would no longer be any more of those troublesome issues.
After finishing the ch.o.r.es, Xia Wen came over to Qiao Mei and said, "The matter with the Du family has been resolved recently. The Du family's father and son have both been arrested, but we are not able to arrest Du Bo's other son who's living outside. There's no conclusive evidence to prove that he's related to this matter."
"I think this is the ending he wants to see," Qiao Mei lamented.
"That's true. Du Bo deserved all of this too. He never would have dreamed that he would die at the hands of his own son. What about the issue of the Zhao Family Village? How do you plan to deal with it?" Xia Wen asked.