SGEIRS -Chapter 44 Holding Irrefutable Evidence

Meng Jinyu had originally thought that her mother might really have pocketed the dowry left by Meng Jinyao’s birth mother. She had been uneasy about it, afraid that if her mother truly had done such a thing and the matter blew up, not only would her mother lose face, but she herself would also be pointed at and criticized. It might even affect her future marriage.

Now that she heard her father personally confirm that the dowry list was fake, she immediately let out a sigh of relief. Glancing at her mother, who looked full of grievances, her anger flared up at once.

Seeing Meng Jinyao about to speak, she hurried to take the initiative and rebuked her angrily: “Eldest Sister, you’ve really gone too far! When you were still in swaddling clothes, Mother took meticulous care of you. And whenever Grandmother punished you, when did Mother ever fail to plead for you? Now you listen to outsiders, come back without even figuring out what really happened, and start questioning Mother. Mother even thought you missed your natal family and specially called me and our two younger brothers here to see you!”

The youngest, Meng Chengxing, also said indignantly, “Eldest Sister, even crows know how to repay their parents. It’s fine if you don’t understand the kindness of upbringing, but to believe slander and wrong Mother like this—if Father hadn’t seen through it today, Mother would never have been able to clear her name, even if she jumped into the Yellow River!”

Meng Chengzhang looked nervously at Meng Jinyao. When he saw her return his gaze, he knew she was fully confident today. Madam Sun must indeed have done such a thing, and Father was probably aware of it too.

“Believing slander?”

Meng Jinyao let out a cold laugh and asked in return, “Second Sister, Third Brother, how do you know that you yourselves aren’t believing lies right now?”

As she spoke, her gaze fell on Meng Jinyu’s neck. When she saw the necklace she was wearing, her eyes suddenly turned cold.

With a sneer, she said, “Second Sister, that necklace around your neck was given to you by your mother, wasn’t it?”

Hearing this, Meng Jinyu subconsciously touched the necklace. She liked it very much, and her friends had all praised it when she wore it out. So she replied, “My mother gave this to me as a birthday gift. Why are you asking, Eldest Sister?”

“Did she ever tell you where it came from?” Meng Jinyao said, then turned to look at Madam Sun. Seeing her face tense up instantly, she slowly said to Meng Jinyu, “This is one of my birth mother’s dowry items. It even has a name—the Silver-Gilt Tourmaline Necklace. Your mother really knows how to be generous with someone else’s property, using her husband’s first wife’s dowry to give her daughter a birthday present.”

The name of the necklace sounded familiar. Meng Dongyuan subconsciously looked at his second daughter’s neck. It really matched the name on the list. She had chosen a bad time to wear it.

He hurried to smooth things over. “A-Yao, have you lost your mind? This necklace was custom-made by your mother for A-Yu. Besides, your list is fake—it was written up recently by someone who made things up and handed it to you. You’ve made enough trouble already. Know when to stop. Don’t wrong your mother and then turn on your own sister.”

“Enough. You’re back today, and your mother and I are very happy. Let’s not bring up these unpleasant things anymore. Later, your mother will personally cook a few of your favorite dishes. We’ll have a good family meal. After that, tell Father who’s been stirring up trouble behind your back and sowing discord between you and your mother.”

Meng Jinyao smiled lightly. “Father has sharp eyes. The list was indeed newly copied. But it wasn’t written by someone else—I copied it myself from my mother’s original dowry list before coming here.”

As soon as she said this, Madam Sun’s heart leapt into her throat. Her mind raced as she wondered who among her people had betrayed her and stolen the dowry list to give it to Meng Jinyao.

Meng Dongyuan glanced at his wife. Seeing her tense expression, he turned back to his eldest daughter and feigned ignorance.

“A-Yao, what do you mean by that?”

Meng Jinyao’s gaze swept calmly over everyone present before finally settling on Madam Sun.

Unhurriedly, she said, “My birth mother passed away shortly after giving birth to me. The people around her were all dismissed on the pretext of making mistakes. She was an only child, with no siblings, so no one ever told me what she was like, how she married, or how much dowry she brought. But precisely because she had no brothers or sisters, my maternal grandfather left himself a safeguard. He made two copies of her dowry list. One was handed to Madam Sun after she married in, and the other was kept at my maternal family’s home, stamped with an official seal. It was to prevent someone from seizing the dowry in the future and leaving us with no way to seek justice. Now it seems my grandfather was wise. Someone really did occupy my mother’s dowry.”

Madam Sun and Meng Dongyuan were both shaken. They hadn’t expected the Zhou family to have prepared such a backup.

The couple exchanged a glance. Seeing the panic in his wife’s eyes, Meng Dongyuan secretly cursed her uselessness. He steadied himself and said calmly: “A-Yao, you say there were two copies. But our Meng family never knew about the other one, nor have we ever seen it. In that case, your grandfather could write whatever he wanted. How can that be trusted? What if he wrote that an entire street of shops was your mother’s dowry? Are we supposed to make that real too?”

Meng Jinyao asked calmly, “Father, if you don’t trust my maternal grandfather, how much do you trust my paternal grandfather?”

Without hesitation, Meng Dongyuan replied, “Completely.”

What son wouldn’t trust his own father? Although his mother had favored his second brother in the past, his father had favored him more. Even though marrying Madam Sun had displeased his father, they were still father and son—there were no grudges that lasted overnight.

But seeing the confident look on his daughter’s face, his heart skipped a beat. He suddenly felt that her question had been a trap he had just walked into.

Meng Jinyao picked up her teacup and took a sip of plain tea before speaking slowly: “Since I came here today to demand my mother’s dowry in person, I naturally hold solid evidence. I won’t wrong Madam Sun. If Father doesn’t believe the dowry list my grandfather gave me, then you should believe Grandfather’s handwritten letter, right? I have a letter written personally by Grandfather, stating that my maternal grandfather’s list is authentic. It bears Grandfather’s private seal and his signature. Moreover, the old Marquis of Changxing served as a witness. Although he has passed away, he also signed and stamped the letter.”

Parents who truly love their children plan for them far into the future.

When her mother married, her maternal grandfather had left this safeguard to prevent anyone from seizing her dowry and destroying the evidence. Later, her mother died from difficult childbirth, and Madam Sun married into the Meng family as the second wife.

Back then, Madam Sun appeared to care for her on the surface, but her grandfather felt she was hypocritical and unreliable. He knew that Grandfather truly loved her and always planned for her benefit, so he trusted him and asked him to write a letter as proof, inviting the old Marquis of Changxing—her late father-in-law—to act as a witness.

For the sake of his daughter and granddaughter, her grandfather had considered every possibility.

Thankfully, he had been so farsighted. Otherwise, her mother’s dowry would truly have become someone else’s possession.