Chapter 1450 - 1453 Waiting on the Road with a Box_1
Yang Chuxia glanced at the two chests, her expression decidedly troubled. Weren’t these just two empty chests?
She couldn’t believe that the people lifting the dowry could have taken the contents. These men were Qingrui’s close classmates; how could they do such a thing? Besides, there were so many people on the road, where could they have hidden stolen goods?
Thinking deeper, the problem must lie with the Zhang Family.
Yet, if this were mishandled, Qingrui might not hold his head high before his classmates in the future.
"Madam Ye, we truly didn’t take these items," one of the men, a bit faint-hearted, spoke up, aware that the woman before him was the Prefect’s wife. If they were wrongfully accused, they would find it impossible to clear their names. Moreover, they feared the possibility of ending up in prison over this matter.
The other men had clearly thought of this as well, and their faces turned deathly pale.
Yang Chuxia looked them over and quickly offered a consoling smile, "I believe you didn’t take them. You are all Qingrui’s classmates, and if he invited you to his wedding, it must mean that you share a close relationship. However, here in Wangquan, we don’t have the custom of marrying off with empty chests. Could it be that you carried the wrong chest in the rush?"
"Carried the wrong chest?" One man pondered the suggestion, murmuring, "The Zhang Family did have many chests, and things were a bit chaotic at that time. Could we have really taken the wrong one?"
Another man, with sharp features and a certain apologetic but irritated tone, said, "Madam Ye, it seems we might have taken the wrong chest. What should we do now?"
Yang Chuxia, hearing no apology in his voice and seeing the clarity in his eyes, knew he had seen through the problem. He was a clever one.
After a pause, she said, "It’s no trouble. Go have some tea outside first; I’ll handle this matter." Without waiting for them to leave, she turned to Yang Qingbao in the presence of everyone else, "When you were lifting the dowry, who had the list of dowry items? Go get it. Let’s check what’s in these two chests, send someone to ask the Zhang Family, and have the chests exchanged."
Qingbao was momentarily stunned, then hurriedly said, "Sister, we brought back the list. It should already be in the hands of our third aunt." Here, when a woman married, the list of dowry items was typically made in two copies—one for the groom’s family and one for the bride’s family—to facilitate the return of dowry items in case of divorce or wife’s dismissal. If the dowry was particularly large, they might even make three or four copies: one for official records at the local office, and one for the woman to keep herself.
"Mingcui, go ask my mother for the list."
"Yes!"
A moment later, Mingcui returned with the dowry list from the Zhang Family.
Taking a look, the labels on the two happily-red chests listed one for clothing for all seasons and the other for shoes and socks.
Yang Chuxia glanced at the empty chests before her and then back at the list, her heart letting out a cold huff. The red papers were still pasted; finding an excuse about taking the wrong chest was proving difficult.
However, her face remained cheerfully smiling as she said to the men who had yet to leave, "It really was a mistake; the chests contain the bride’s clothes and fabric. I’ll have someone take you back to the Zhang Family. It would trouble you to make another trip to carry back the items."
"Not at all troublesome, not at all. It’s also our fault for not being careful. We are truly sorry," they said.
"Confusion is common in the bustle of a wedding," Yang Chuxia replied with a smile.
After the men had left, she immediately instructed Mingcui, "Go take out some fabric from our family’s storeroom, and some of my own clothes too. Don’t take those that were sent from the Capital City, just the ordinary ones are fine. Let a few of the less familiar servants carry the chests, and wait with them in a carriage on the way."