Ruling the Historical Romance Novel as the Female Supporting Character-Chapter 22: Trouble Came from Above While Sitting at Home

Su’s mother took several deep breaths to gather the courage to lay her hands on her eldest daughter. Then, with a proud expression, she turned to Qin’s mother and said, "We’re all children of the Su and Qin families, and they’re siblings. Shouldn’t this dowry be settled fairly?"

"What nonsense are you talking about? Where can our family get so much money? Kaize has his grandparents’ and Director Xia’s support. Our fathers are just ordinary workers; how can we come up with that much money?" Qin’s mother was already a stingy person, and if she couldn’t gain any advantage, she wouldn’t want to pay more. Having to spend so much money felt worse than being killed.

Su’s mother immediately gave Qin Mingcheng a disdainful look. She used to think he was an excellent son-in-law, but now it seemed he was worse than the crippled Qin Kaize.

"Mom!" Su Xinyue pulled Su’s mother’s sleeve to make her calm down a bit. Su’s mother was already quite irritated, and she slapped her hand away, scolding, "What are you yelling for? She hasn’t even married into their family yet, and she’s already acting defiantly? I’m your mother, and I have the final say in your marriage."

She usually spoiled this child too much, to the point where she would dare to do anything. Now, if they didn’t raise the dowry a bit, there would be no one in the Qin family who would regard her as important.

Su Xinyue’s eyes turned red, but she dared not retort. She could only look at Qin Mingcheng with a pitiful expression, hoping he would say something nice. However, when Qin Mingcheng noticed her gaze, he coldly turned his head away.

Both Su’s mother and Qin’s mother saw their actions. One of them was even more smug, while the other turned so angry that her face darkened.

"Hmph! Xinyue’s mother, our family isn’t unreasonable, but you’re asking for too much. We can’t afford it. We’ll give 200 yuan in dowry for Xinyue and Mingcheng’s wedding, just like when Yijia married Mingcheng," Qin’s mother said, trying to appear magnanimous.

However, Su’s mother didn’t buy into it and directly threatened with sarcasm, "Dream on! What was Mingcheng back then? What is Mingcheng now? Who knows, Xinyue might be carrying Mingcheng’s child. Maybe this is your family’s last child."

"You dare to bring up such a thing?" Qin Mingcheng couldn’t believe his ears, his eyes wide open.

The terrifying and twisted hatred in Su Xinyue’s words frightened her, and she quickly shook her head, saying, "It wasn’t me; it was my sister..."

"???" Su Yijia looked at her, puzzled. "Su Xinyue, I’m right here, and you dare to blame me for something I didn’t say? Do you think I have no temper?"

She was a lady; she wouldn’t talk about a man’s performance in bed all the time.

"No... It’s not..." Su Xinyue stammered in fear. She had gotten so used to shifting blame onto Su Yijia that she forgot her sister had changed her attitude. However, if she didn’t explain, Mingcheng would definitely hate her. She wouldn’t be able to go on like this in the future.

Su’s mother apparently had the same idea and gave Su Yijia a fierce look. "You were the one who told me this just now, otherwise, I wouldn’t have been kept in the dark by your stupid sister."

"You’re both ganging up against me, trying to blame me?" Su Yijia chuckled and shook her head. She rested her arms on the wheelchair’s armrests, propping up her chin as she watched the mother and daughter. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

"Fine, I’m not afraid to offend Qin Mingcheng. But since you’re both saying this, then I’ll make sure to spread the word about what happened to him as much as possible. I’ll make sure everyone in Hu City knows. Otherwise, how can I justify the dirty water you’ve thrown on me?"

"Have you had enough yet? You’re marrying into the Qin family; you’re part of our family now. Stop causing trouble for no reason," Qin’s mother scolded Su Yijia without holding back.

Last night, she had discussed it thoroughly with her husband. This little troublemaker would never be disciplined. Most of the time, she would just talk, and she wouldn’t actually act on her threats. After all, that confession was her trump card, and if she tore it up, she would be left to take care of that waste Qin Mingcheng on her own. Now, there was Gao Huabin to help out, but he had his own matters to attend to, and he would eventually get married and start a family. He couldn’t help her forever. She still hoped that the two older ones would help her.

But she didn’t dare to push Su Yijia to her limits easily. She could only grit her teeth, her eyes filled with resentment, and look at Su Xinyue and her mother.

"Don’t talk about so much nonsense. We all know now that Xinyue and Mingcheng’s marriage is set in stone. If you propose conditions that we can’t meet, nobody will be happy in the end."

Su’s mother looked at Su Yijia resentfully, thinking if only she had known about...

Su’s mother gave Su Yijia an angry look, then said, "No matter what, what you gave to Yijia initially is absolutely unacceptable."

"How much do you want?" Qin’s mother asked impatiently. She didn’t want to continue sitting in this small stuffy room, arguing with her.

In any case, the Qin family had already lost so much these past few days; they weren’t afraid to throw out a bit more. This was all for her future grandson.

"Five hundred yuan for the dowry, plus the traditional betrothal gifts. Just like Yijia, the bicycle must be a lady bicycle from Feige, and we also want the type of watch you buy at a foreign trade store. Does Mingcheng have an electric fan in his house? If not, we need one."

Su’s mother was angry with her youngest daughter’s lack of self-restraint, but she couldn’t help but feel sorry for her. While they would keep the 500 yuan dowry, the traditional betrothal gifts were to be taken away by her.

"For the watch, we can only get one from the Meihua Brand; it costs at least 180 yuan. Don’t be too greedy," Qin’s mother frowned and refused. She didn’t know how much Su Yijia’s watch was worth, but given the status of Xia Weiguo, it couldn’t have been a cheap one. Moreover, she had heard from someone returning from Jingdu City that the foreign trade stores weren’t accessible to just anyone; you needed foreign exchange coupons to shop there, which were sold privately for over 100 yuan each. Keep in mind that industrial coupons were only worth 20 yuan.

"The two sisters are marrying into the same family. It’s one thing for other things, but when it comes to something they carry with them every day, anyone would have concerns if there’s such a big difference," Su’s mother said. Of course, she knew that the watch was more expensive than the plum blossom one. Otherwise, why would they argue so much?

"What concerns? This watch was bought by me. I treat Ze as my own son; it has nothing to do with the rest of the Qin family," Xia Weiguo said unapologetically, disregarding his relationship with the Qin family.

This made Qin’s father and mother’s expressions ugly, but they didn’t dare to argue in front of him. Su’s mother’s gaze had been fixed on the watch on Su Yijia’s wrist all along, and she was on the verge of asking how much it was worth.