Chapter 39 Dowry List 2

Qiao Shi regained her senses and forced a smile, "The Lord also said that it is a custom in Youyang, but this is the capital. We don't have the custom of showing off the dowry when a daughter gets married here. I think it's better to keep things low-key. The dowry doesn't need to be seen by outsiders. I'm sure Third Sister doesn't want to expose all her dowry to outsiders, right, Third Sister?"

Madam Qiao looked at Yu Qingci with earnest eyes, hoping that she would step forward and dissuade the Earl from his idea.

Seeing everyone's eyes on her, Yu Qingci lowered her head and said shyly, "When I was little, I didn't know any better and went to watch the neighbor's older sister showing off her dowry. I was quite envious. At that time, my father said that when I grew up and got married, I would have a similar experience. So I didn't think there was anything wrong with it. On the contrary, I found it very interesting. I listen to my father in everything."

Yu Jingsheng looked at Yu Qingci with increasing affection. He had no recollection of what his daughter had mentioned, but he knew that she definitely approved of it. It was her mother who had suggested it, not something he had come up with on a whim.

Chengniang almost broke off her relationship with him because of this marriage. He went to great lengths and used all his strength to coax her into looking at him. Later, when Chengniang asked him to publicly display her dowry, he agreed without hesitation.

Cheng Niang said that she had raised her daughter to adulthood with great difficulty, but before she even reached marriageable age, she was forced to marry into that kind of place. The thought of it made her heart ache terribly. She had promised her daughter that she would prepare a generous dowry for her future marriage, which would make all the relatives and friends who came to witness the ceremony extremely envious.

Yu Jingsheng already felt guilty about his daughter's marriage. Since Chengniang brought it up, he simply agreed. Although it wasn't common to show off dowries in the capital, it wasn't unheard of. He remembered that a few years ago, when the family of the Vice Minister of Rites returned from the south, they showed off their dowry in public when their daughter got married.

After seeing the dowry list, he felt even more confident. The dowry prepared by the Earl's Mansion for his daughter was generous enough, so showing off the dowry in public would be a good thing for the Earl's Mansion and would also satisfy Cheng Niang. It was a win-win situation.

Having made up his mind, Yu Jingsheng simply waved his hand and said, "It's settled then. Tomorrow, after the relatives and friends arrive, we'll find a spacious place to display all the dowry, so they can see that our Earl's daughter is getting married in style."

Upon hearing this, Madam Zhang nodded in agreement: "Since the Earl has made the decision, let's have a lively celebration. Madam Qiao, please make the arrangements carefully to avoid any mishaps caused by too many people and too much fuss."

Before Qiao could speak, Yu Jingsheng added, "What could possibly go wrong? It's a very simple matter; we just need to add more manpower."

After saying that, he solemnly instructed Qiao: "By the way, the estate and shops that are part of the dowry must be clearly displayed. Write down how many acres of high-quality land there are, where they are located, how big the estate is, and how many households will be brought with the estate as part of the dowry."

The shop was also clearly marked, specifying its location (two or three floors), the number of the manager and employees, and even the indentures of all the servants who accompanied the bride, making everything readily available.

He was worried that Mrs. Qiao might lack experience in organizing such matters for the first time, so he carefully explained to her what he knew.

As Qiao listened, her face grew paler and paler. By the time he and Zhang finished giving her their instructions, Qiao was sweating profusely and looked deathly pale. She barely managed to stay upright and not collapse on the spot.

After the two finished giving their instructions, Qiao said yes and then made an excuse that she had a lot of things to do and wanted to leave.

Fourth Madam Liu, who had been listening for a while, found it amusing. Seeing Qiao's horrified expression, she couldn't help but chuckle inwardly, and deliberately asked with feigned concern:

"What's wrong, sister-in-law? Your face is so pale. Have you been working too hard on the wedding arrangements these past few days and gotten tired?"

Upon hearing this, everyone looked at Qiao's face.

Qiao tightly gripped the handkerchief in her hand and forced a smile, saying, "I'm fine. I was just thinking about how many people I should prepare to air out my dowry tomorrow."

Madam Liu: "Sister-in-law, you've really worked hard these days to arrange Qingci's marriage. If you're too busy, just let me know. We sisters-in-law shouldn't be so polite with each other. It wouldn't be good if you overworked yourself."

While Liu made polite remarks, she had a look of anticipation on her face. The one who should be worried right now was her sister-in-law, as she hadn't interfered at all from beginning to end.

The household affairs of the Earl's Mansion had always been in the hands of Madam Qiao. Although the fourth branch was also the old lady's biological daughter, the Earl's Mansion belonged to the eldest branch. The two sisters-in-law had been together for many years, and Madam Liu knew very well what kind of person Madam Qiao was. For so many years, Madam Liu had been living at Madam Qiao's beck and call, and over time, Madam Liu inevitably had to swallow her anger.

Everyone initially thought that the woman to marry into the family would be Qiao's biological daughter, Yu Qingyan, so she would naturally do her best to prepare her daughter's dowry.

Now that it's the daughter of the first wife, how could Qiao Shi possibly be willing to offer such a generous dowry?

Naturally, they would try to manipulate things as much as possible. Of course, with Qiao's shrewdness, unless someone deliberately checked the list item by item, no one would notice any problems.

Grandmother Zhang would naturally not bother with that. The Earl might be interested, but even if a grown man is interested, he wouldn't have the ability to tell the difference.

As for Liu, a woman who was well-versed in the ways of life in the inner quarters, she could tell the trickery without even looking. On the surface, the dowry looked like it was sixty-eight loads, but apart from the first few loads which were decent, the later loads were increasingly fake. Not only were many chests not full, but the originally prepared valuable ornaments, jade and porcelain, and even expensive fabrics and silks had probably been replaced with imitations and were worthless.

What's even more outrageous are the estate and the shop. She had taken a special look at them. The estate that was part of her dowry was at least seven or eight days' journey from the capital. It was originally the smallest and most remote estate in the Earl's mansion, with only a few dozen acres of low-grade land. The annual harvest was just enough for the people on the estate to be self-sufficient. The reason it was kept was to prepare the estate for the unfavored illegitimate son when the Earl's mansion was divided in the future.

As for those two shops, although they are said to be in the capital, they are located in remote and unremarkable parts of the city. They are two inconspicuous general stores. Compared to the other prosperous shops in the Earl's mansion that can earn several thousand or even tens of thousands of taels of silver a year, these two shops are lucky if they don't lose money, let alone make any.

In wealthy and powerful families, if the matriarch wants to punish her unfavored daughter, she can manipulate her so much that she feels like she's living a life worse than death, and leave her speechless with grievances, just by considering her dowry.

The third girl's biological mother, Su Chengniang, was the Earl's legal wife. If it weren't for her mother-in-law's opportunistic decision to demote her to a concubine back then, Qiao Shi wouldn't be in this situation now. As the head mistress of the household, how could Qiao Shi truly open her heart to Su Chengniang's daughter? Given such an opportunity, she would naturally try to manipulate the dowry.

So the elaborate wedding procession that San Yatou made on the surface was just an empty shell to deceive outsiders.