Seeing Xu Quan's stubborn and unyielding attitude, Zhou felt angry and resentful. That night, when they were going to bed, she said, "Fourth Master, Tao'er's dowry is almost ready, but it was prepared a long time ago. The Feng family is not the same as before. Should we ask the Marquis if he can add some more for the child?"

Xu Quan had been extremely busy these past few days with the construction of houses in the mansion. When he got home at night, he was so tired that he just wanted to lie down and sleep. Hearing his wife's words, he said, "Isn't there a set procedure in the mansion? Just follow the mansion's set procedure."

Madam Zhou sat up abruptly and said, “Fourth Master, you are the Marquis’s legitimate son, and Tao’er is our first child. She has been sensible since she was little, helping me manage household affairs and taking care of her younger siblings. Also, because her older sister is the legitimate daughter of the heir apparent, she has always been behind our eldest daughter. You know how much dowry our eldest daughter brought when she got married. I don’t expect our Tao’er to be comparable to our eldest daughter. After all, our eldest daughter is marrying into the Marquis’s family, so Tao’er should have more money in her dowry.”

Xu Quan has several other children besides Xu Tao. Thinking about their marriages, she was very worried and said, "Don't you have the shop that your grandmother gave you?"

Madam Zhou said, "How much income does my shop give me each year? This is a major life event for Tao'er. Tao'er is also a descendant of the Marquis's family. If we, as her parents, don't fight for her, who will? Fourth Master, you should go and ask the Marquis."

Xu Quan said, "I understand what you mean, but it's not appropriate for me to say these things."

Zhou said, "Does it mean that if you say it's inappropriate, I can just go and tell the Marquis?"

Xu Quan said, "You're usually quite shrewd, so why are you being so foolish at a time like this? You have to ask your grandmother about this. We have so many children in our family. If the Marquis makes this exception, what will happen to the children who come after us? Even if I were to speak to the Marquis, he wouldn't agree. Listen to me, find a suitable opportunity to ask your grandmother and see what she thinks."

After listening, Zhou felt that what Xu Quan said made a lot of sense, and asked, "Do you think Grandmother gave the eldest daughter some things behind our backs when she got married?"

Xu Quan said, "Where is your usual shrewdness? Who is your grandmother? Who is the Marquis? If you continue to be so petty, they will only dislike you more and more. What good will that do you?"

Upon hearing this, Madam Zhou raised her eyebrows and said, "What are you saying? I can't compare to my eldest sister-in-law. She came from a wealthy family with a grand wedding procession. As for my third sister-in-law, everyone knows she has money. Of the three daughters-in-law in our family, only I have a meager fortune. My father sold two rare books so that I could save face when I married into your family. Fourth Master, although our family is doing well, the children still need to buy small things. Can I ask the family for money? I have to save face for you, Fourth Master, and I also have to save face for myself. I can't let people see our family's situation."

Xu Quan quickly got up, put his arm around Zhou's shoulder, and said, "Look at you, it's so late at night, why did you bring this up? My father-in-law is very good to me. You shouldn't keep these things to yourself. Although our family is not rich, we have some savings and our daily expenses are low, all thanks to your careful budgeting, Madam."

After being praised by Xu Quan, Zhou Shi's anger subsided. She lay down with the help of Xu Quan's hand, sighed, and said, "Isn't all this busy work for our children? Our daughter is about to get married, and I always think about giving her more. I'm afraid that she will be looked down upon by her husband's family because of a small dowry. You're a man, you don't understand a woman's mind."

Xu Quan said, “I know how much effort you’ve put into our family these past few years. I’m not a very capable person either. Right now, thanks to the Marquis’s mansion, our family is doing quite well. After Father and Mother pass away, we will have to leave the mansion with our share of the family property. I’m thinking of learning more skills from the head stewards now. When that time comes, being able to do things on your own is better than anything else.”

Zhou said, "My father said that we should raise our children well now, especially Bin'er. Bin'er is a child who loves to study. If he studies hard, he can take the imperial examination route in the future. Even if he can't be like my third brother, even if he passes the provincial examination and becomes a Juren, he can still find a job by relying on the Marquis's family's influence."

Xu Quan said, "We are fortunate to have our father-in-law helping us with the planning. Madam, I will be traveling outside, so you will have to take care of things at home. As for Tao'er's marriage, the manor is still helping to arrange it. Don't compete for anything later. Just listen to what the Marquis and your elder brother and sister-in-law say. Grandmother loves children and will always make some plans for our Tao'er."

Zhou said, "I was just anxious. I've been busy preparing Tao'er's dowry these past few days, and I've been too impatient. It's getting late, so let's get some rest. We still have a lot to do tomorrow."

Xu Tao works very late into the night before resting.

Xu Tao embroidered all of her dowry herself, unlike Xu Gao, whose dowry was just a few stitches done to make it look like a dowry. Xu Tao knew that her parents didn't have much money left, and with a younger brother and sister to care for, she thought that if she did more, her parents would spend less money. When the children of the Marquis's family prepared their dowries, the accountant would send the money over, and they could decide what to buy.

Xu Tao pondered her dowry, then thought back to the eldest daughter's dowry. She knew she couldn't compare to Xu Gao, since Xu Gao was marrying the heir apparent and would become the heir apparent's wife. Although she was going to marry the eldest son of the Minister's family, the eldest son of the Feng family was only a Xiucai (a scholar who passed the county-level imperial examination) and had failed the Juren (a higher-level imperial examination) twice.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!