Chapter 7 What Did I Do Wrong?

Song Kaishan barely managed to maintain a smile as he welcomed Wen Shaoqing and his entourage from the Censorate into the mansion.

As soon as the gates of the Marquis of Zhongyong's mansion closed, the crowd of onlookers outside immediately became excited.

"So Miss Song donated her dowry! It was specially donated to the soldiers in the north."

"It's worth 100,000 taels of silver! 100,000 taels! That's a fortune! Enough for a family like ours to live on for several lifetimes!"

The eldest daughter of the Song family just donated it like that?

"This... judging from the expression on Marquis Zhongyong's face just now, it seems like he knows nothing about this matter!"

Whether you know it or not doesn't matter anymore.

As the female vice minister of the Censorate just said, what Miss Song donated was her dowry left to her by her mother, not the Song family's own.

As long as Miss Song is willing, that's fine.

"Hey, I think there must be a reason for this. Otherwise, why would Miss Song donate her dowry?"

What will happen to her when she gets married without a dowry? Is she still expected to receive one from the current Lady of Zhongyong?

"Maybe Miss Song hasn't even thought about getting married!"

What if she's so heartbroken that she's thinking of cutting her hair and becoming a nun?

Everyone sighed.

Yes, do you think everyone doesn't know what kind of situation Miss Song is in? Even if she gets married, how much dowry can she take with her?

Rather than letting others benefit from it, it's better to donate it.

Now that she has the imperial plaque bestowed upon her, her life can be a little easier...

...

Song Kaishan led Wen Shaoqing and the others into the mansion. After the maids served tea, Song Kaishan carefully began to speak.

"Wen Shaoqing, isn't there some misunderstanding here?!"

We had absolutely no idea she donated her dowry!

Wen Shaoqing chuckled softly.

"Our adults asked, and Miss Song said that the military situation in the North is far more important than personal matters."

If foreign tribes were to invade Dayu, it would be a devastating event that would plunge the people into misery.

Compared to the other two, what is that little dowry? If the soldiers in the north win the battle while eating the grain and fodder bought with the money from Miss Song's dowry.

Miss Song is truly a person of great righteousness!

“But…we don’t know anything about this!” Ding said anxiously from the side.

Wen Shaoqing's smile faded slightly.

"But Miss Song said that this dowry was specially left to her by her biological mother!"

According to the laws of Da Yu, anything left by a deceased mother to her child, whether it be property or dowry, belongs to the child and no one else has the right to dispose of it.

Even the Marquis himself has no right to dispose of the dowry left to Miss Song by the former Lady Zhongyong Marquis. "Wen Shaoqing said calmly.

Song Kaishan, Ding Shi...

"What? Does the Marquis of Zhongyong have a different opinion on Miss Song's righteous act?"

If that's the case, then things will be difficult.

After all, His Majesty has already bestowed the plaque, so we can't very well say that the Marquis wants us to submit another memorial claiming that it was all a misunderstanding.

Marquis Zhongyong probably doesn't want Miss Song to donate her dowry!

"If that's the case... then we'll have no choice but to take the plaque back!" Wen Shaoqing continued to calmly look at Song Kaishan and Ding Shi.

Song Kaishan's expression changed drastically, and he quickly waved his hand.

"No, no! Since it was my daughter's righteous act, and she donated her own dowry, we certainly won't say anything more."

Ding's expression also changed drastically; she felt as if she had swallowed a fly.

Have the Inspectorate take the plaque back...

Haha, if the Censorate really takes the plaque back, the Marquis of Zhongyong's residence will become the biggest joke in the capital tonight.

Furthermore, is His Majesty's plaque something that can be bestowed at will and then discarded at will?

If we don't acknowledge it now, we're slapping His Majesty in the face; it's like an old man drinking poison, tired of living.

At this moment, Song Kaishan's mind had already gone through more than one round of thought.

Now I'm in a bind. No matter how unwilling I am, I have to donate my dowry whether I want to or not!

Song Kaishan also realized that the people in the Supervisory Department were indeed all cunning foxes.

The plaque arrived with great fanfare, and the Marquis of Zhongyong's residence was erected. What happened next...

"Wen Shaoqing, since the dowry was donated by my daughter Song Zhimian, shouldn't we call her over and ask her about it?"

"After all, that girl donated her own dowry," Song Kaishan suddenly said.

Wen Shaoqing nodded.

"That's true. After all, Miss Song donated her own dowry, and His Majesty also bestowed the imperial plaque upon her."

This plaque should rightfully be taken over by Miss Song.

...

Soon, Song Zhimian was invited over.

Wen Shaoqing was also amazed when he saw Song Zhimian, who was dressed plainly and had almost no expensive jewelry.

Even so, Miss Song is still exceptionally beautiful and has an outstanding temperament.

Song Zhimian first bowed to Song Kaishan and Ding Shi without any hesitation, and then respectfully bowed to Wen Shaoqing.

Looking at Song Zhimian like this, Song Kaishan tried his best to hide the disgust in his eyes.

“Mian’er, His Majesty has bestowed upon you a plaque as a reward for donating your dowry.”

"Why didn't you tell your father about this when you came back?" Song Kaishan's tone was slightly reproachful.

Song Zhimian quickly put on a look of fear and trepidation.

"But... when I went to pay my respects to my mother that day, she herself said that I should make my own decisions about my things."

"If you want to donate, then donate! Did your daughter do something wrong?" Song Zhimian quickly asked.

Ding, who was barely able to contain her anger, almost coughed up blood.

Little did she know that she ran away to donate her dowry!

If she had known... she would have definitely found a way to make sure that brat couldn't even leave the courtyard...

After a long while, Ding finally said something with a forced smile.

“Mian’er has grown up and has more ideas now, it’s normal for us elders not to know.”

Upon hearing this, Song Zhimian immediately looked at Madam Ding.

Does the mother mean that her daughter did something wrong?

But didn't your father teach his children from a young age to prioritize Chongqing and consider the bigger picture?

From a public perspective, the safety of the North is related to the safety of Dayu. As citizens of Dayu, isn't it only right and proper for us to do our part?

The soldiers of the North fought bravely to protect us, didn't they?

For that reason alone, what is this small dowry? Isn't it worth donating to soldiers in other places?

My father had been to the North and served there. He must have hoped that more people would think of the soldiers in the North!

Personally speaking, my third uncle's family also lost their lives in the north.

My third uncle is my biological third uncle, and my third aunt is my biological aunt; they are both closely related to me by blood.

"Isn't it only right that I donate some of my dowry to express my condolences?" Song Zhimian's voice trembled slightly.

Ding opened her mouth, but couldn't utter a single word.

Song Kaishan also lowered his eyes and refused to look at Song Zhimian.

Wen Shaoqing also saw Song Kaishan's expression change repeatedly, and he sneered inwardly.

Of the entire Marquis's mansion, only Miss Song is truly sensible...

"In that case, Lord Marquis, please come and hand over the dowry donated by Miss Song to our people!" Wen Shaoqing suddenly said.

Song Kaishan then nodded.

He had already made up his mind. Things had come to this point, and he could only swallow this bitter pill.

Exchanging a dowry of 100,000 taels for an imperial plaque is a bit of a loss, but it still has some benefits.

At least with the prince... I can at least give an explanation.

"Good! Since it is Miss Mian's wish, then donating it to the soldiers in the north is also a token of our Marquis's goodwill."

Men, bring out all of Mian'er's dowry from the storeroom!

"Madam, go and keep an eye on them, make sure they don't bump into anything." Song Kaishan gave Ding Shi a deep look.

Ding immediately understood what Song Kaishan meant.

Replace some of the valuable items with some worthless ones to make up the numbers.

She had seen the things left behind by the Gu family, and they were worth far more than 100,000 taels of silver.

Those jade ornaments and such are worth seventy or eighty thousand taels of silver each...

Just as Madam Ding stood up, Wen Shaoqing took out a booklet from his pocket.

"Wait a minute! Since Madam Song is going to take stock of Miss Song's dowry, let my men go with her!"

Here is a dowry list left by Miss Song's mother, which we obtained from the Shuntian Prefectural Government Office.

At that time, Shuntian Prefecture specially sent people to check them one by one.

This document bears the official seal of Shuntian Prefecture, as well as Madam Gu's personal seal. In addition, an elderly censor from the Censorate was invited to serve as a witness.

Please have Madam Song check the items according to this list.

Please don't let your concern for the soldiers in the north lead you to overlook other treasures in the mansion.

"Of course, if the Marquis's residence wishes to make further donations, our Inspectorate will not hesitate to contribute more."

As he spoke, Wen Shaoqing handed the booklet in his hand to a junior servant beside him.

“Young Master Fan, you have worked in the Merchant Guild, so you should know much more about those artifacts than we do.”

"Please go with Madam Song."

Fan Shaoshi, who was also a woman, immediately took the booklet.

"Madam Song, please!" Fan Shaoshi looked at Ding Shi with a smile.

Even though it was June, Ding broke out in a cold sweat.

The government office even had a list of dowries that had been officially approved...

How is she supposed to scrape together such a large dowry?