Cecilia Adler didn't need to hear the rest to know what was coming.
Mrs. Quincy had been won over by Christal Russell.
The books always said that great houses were rife with drama. She hadn't believed it at first—after all, these people wanted for nothing.
They weren't like the folks from the countryside, who lacked food and clothing and would fight tooth and nail for a single mouthful of food.
But now, she saw there was no difference in principle.
Christal Russell openly claimed she wasn't concerned about her in-laws' money, but in reality, she wanted them to spend it all on her.
Meanwhile, Ian Quincy had thrown a tantrum at his elders the moment he returned, squandering the guilt they felt toward him. It was a foolish move.
But a person's nature is hard to change.
She would have to give him a nudge.
She returned, her expression unchanged. "Ian, we're getting married on the fifteenth of the first month. Shouldn't your room be decorated?"
"You want to live here?"
"Mhm, is that a problem?"
"Yes, it is."
Cecilia feigned confusion, tilting her head. "What's wrong with it? It has to be much better than the farm, doesn't it? Your older brother has four children now, so your parents' income must be used to support them, right? I doubt they'll have the energy to manage us."
'With Ian Quincy's temper, he would surely blurt all this out if Mrs. Quincy didn't meet his demands later.'
'No matter how unwilling Mrs. Quincy was to prepare a new room for him, she would have to after hearing those words.'
'Otherwise, wouldn't she just be proving Ian Quincy's suspicions about her right?'
"You outsmarted that thief yesterday, so you must be exhausted today. Get some rest." Cecilia Adler's voice was full of concern.
Ian Quincy's mood brightened at her words, a faint, almost imperceptible smile gracing his lips. "Mhm."
.......
Today was Saturday.
Lucas Lee only had to work a half day at his job.
When Cecilia Adler arrived home, he was reading the newspaper.
May Sutton sat beside him, knitting a sweater, while Vivian Lee leisurely filed her nails.
The family of three was a picture of domestic tranquility.
She got straight to the point and relayed what Ian Quincy wanted.
Vivian Lee found it unbelievable. "A marriage license?" 'In her past life, Ian Quincy had never once suggested getting a license with her.'
'They had only held a wedding banquet.'
'And that was only because both sets of parents had arranged it.'
'After the wedding, they were crammed into a side room of a courtyard house, living with a dozen other family members. Every day was filled with noisy arguments, with not a moment of peace.'
'The Quillan family's eldest sister-in-law was a hypocrite, too. She had been young and naive back then and had been silently taken advantage of by that woman countless times. The memory of her past life filled her with terror and seething hatred.'
Lucas Lee smiled, lowering the newspaper from his face. "Excellent news. I'll have your sister get the necessary documents for you."
Vivian Lee piped up, "Dad, the Quillan family hasn't given us a bride price yet, have they? If we just let my sister marry him like this, what if they don't give us anything later? Aren't we just giving her away for nothing?"
Lucas Lee kept smiling. "We're marrying off a daughter, not selling one. Why would we need a bride price?"
Cecilia Adler shot Lucas Lee a look of contempt.
'What a sanctimonious, shameless hypocrite.'
'On the day of the engagement, she had personally seen Lucas Lee accept a thick envelope from Mr. Quincy.'
'What was that, if not the bride price?'
'Mr. Quincy had promised he would personally write a letter of recommendation for Lucas Lee, as long as she married into the Quillan family without any trouble.'
'Money and influence—he'd gotten it all.'
'And now he had the gall to say, "We're marrying off a daughter, not selling one." '
'How absurd.'
May Sutton, who was clearly in on it, chimed in, "That's right. We're marrying off a daughter, not selling one. When you get married, Vivian, your father and I won't ask for a bride price, either."
Vivian Lee took this to heart.
'The Flynn family was poor and lived hand-to-mouth.'
'In her past life, his family had begged everyone they knew just to marry Cecilia Adler. His father had even sold his blood on the black market to scrape together the three-hundred-yuan bride price her parents had demanded.'
'His father's health had been poor ever since.'
'This time, not only would she refuse a bride price, she would even provide him with startup capital.'
'That way, when he made it big, he would be grateful for her sacrifices.'
Gleeful at the thought, she smiled and said, "Mom, Dad, you're both so open-minded. Sister, I'll go get the paperwork for you right now."