506 Pigeon Blood Ruby

"Elder brother, you don't have to do that. You even specially sent these notebooks over," Qiao Mei said with a smile.

"I don't know when you'll be back. I'm just worried that you have to wait too long if I mail it, so I'd just bring it over to you now since I don't have anything else on," Xia Wen said.

Tan Jing stared intently at Xia Wen. She knew very well that Xia Wen was lying.

Xia Wen had spent the entire day at home today searching for this notebook. Moreover, he had also rejected two important meetings at school just to deliver this notebook.

"Elder brother, I have another favor to ask of you. I'll have to trouble you to take care of the plants in my courtyard house," Qiao Mei said.

It was not a big deal to take care of flowers and grass. It was not difficult to take two days off a week to go and take a look, so Xia Wen agreed readily.

Everyone chatted downstairs for a long time before Xu Lan came down with an exquisite wooden box in her hand. No one had seen this thing before.

"Mei Mei, you should wear this." Xu Lan stuffed the wooden box into Qiao Mei's hand.

Qiao Mei opened the wooden box slowly and saw a ruby necklace inside. The color of the ruby was gorgeous and dazzling. This was a pure pigeon blood ruby. There were not many high quality rubies on the market, let alone such a big one.

"This… sister-in-law, isn't this your dowry from back then?" Liu Fen said in surprise.

"Yes, this is a treasure passed down in my family. I'm already the fourth generation to have it. I'm giving this to Qiao Mei now. I hope you can treasure it well," Xu Lan said with a smile.

Qiao Mei closed the wooden box and returned it to Xu Lan. She was too embarrassed to take such a valuable thing. Moreover, she had been lying to Xu Lan all this time and she already felt guilty. She did not feel good about taking Xu Lan's dowry.

"I can't accept this. It's really too valuable. Mother, it's better if you keep it with you. What if I lose it later?" Qiao Mei said nervously.

There were still thieves in the village now and there were even bandits previously. During these days, no family dared to store valuable things at home. Back then, Xia Zhe had already made other people jealous when he gave her a betrothal gift of 2,000 dollars. It was better to leave such valuable things in the capital.

The jewelry and calligraphy paintings from the courtyard house also had to be kept at home, as well as the money she had now. She wanted to see if she could put them all in the bank, perhaps by renting a safe there.

"This is for you. Take it. If you don't, I'll get angry," Xu Lan said, pretending to be unhappy.

Qiao Mei had no choice but to accept the gemstone. This was the first time she had seen such a good quality gemstone and she wondered whether the gemstone or jade would contain more energy.

"Thank you, mother. Then I'll take this," Qiao Mei said with a smile.

"Alright, everyone, come over for dinner. It's not easy to have everyone back. Come and have a good meal," Liu Fen said.

The womenfolk were about to go into the kitchen to bring out the dishes when Xu Lan hurriedly stopped Qiao Mei and asked her to sit beside her.

"Mei Mei, don't go. Just let your sister and sister-in-law go. You're weak now and can't work too hard," Xu Lan said with a frown.

Tan Jing nodded obediently and did as Xu Lan said. She had been living like this ever since she married into the Xia family.

Xia He could also tell that Tan Jing was feeling unhappy, but she did not say anything. It was all Xu Lan's arrangements.

At the dining table, Xu Lan also just kept putting food into Qiao Mei's bowl so that she could eat more to nourish herself. When Xu Lan spoke, her attitude was exactly the same as Liu Fen, as if she had turned into a completely different person.

"Mother, you should eat too. You're so focused on putting food into Qiao Mei's bowl that you haven't even eaten anything," Xia He said.

"I'm fine. I'm not in a hurry. It's good that Mei Mei eats more. I'm not hungry." Xu Lan's focus was all on Qiao Mei now and she did not listen to anything that anyone said.

Tan Jing sat silently at the side and ate the food in her bowl. Suddenly, someone put another piece of fish in her bowl. She looked up and saw Xia Wen smiling tenderly at her.

So Xia Wen knew that she was unhappy. This piece of fish was very big and there was not a single fish bone in it. There was also no fish skin on the surface. Xia Wen still remembered her preferences and he still loved her.

"Eat it, I'll get more for you," Xia Wen said.