Chapter 202 Dowry
After all, that young general had occupied her heart for so many years.
From a young age, she knew that the third young master of the Ningyuan General's Mansion was her future husband. Unfortunately, although the two were betrothed since childhood, they rarely had the opportunity to meet. The few glimpses she caught made her fall in love at first sight, and she longed to marry into the General's Mansion as soon as possible.
She first saw him at a royal football match that year. The teenage boy rode his horse with great flair and dashing spirit, instantly captivating all the noble ladies in the audience. She felt both proud and apprehensive at the time, and she could never let him go from then on.
Two years ago, before he led his troops into battle, she was afraid he would forget her, so she did something bold. She secretly had her maid deliver her favorite pair of coral earrings to him, and told him to keep them with him. As long as he had these coral earrings, he would always remember his fiancée.
I wonder if he still has those earrings on him now?
Seeing her daughter's unfocused gaze and dazed expression, Qiao knew what she was thinking. Furious, she slammed her ebony-handled carved fan on the table and said irritably:
"Can you please wake up? If someone sees you like this and it gets out, and your in-laws find out and misunderstand that you can't forget that Young General Lu, what will you do?"
Yu Qingyan came to her senses and muttered softly, "No, I was just thinking about my dowry."
Seeing her mother's disbelief, Yu Qingyan rolled her eyes a few times, then clung to Qiao's arm and began to whine, "Mother, my dowry depends on you. I'm going to marry into the royal family, and I can't lose to that Yu Qingci."
Mrs. Qiao shook it irritably but couldn't shake it off, and said helplessly:
"I really owe you! Alright, instead of wasting your time thinking like this, you should go to your grandmother's place a few more times. Your grandmother has so many good things. How much she can give you as dowry this time depends on your own ability."
"You don't need to say anything more to your mother. Go and keep your grandmother company. I'll go see her later too."
Yu Qingyan then took her leave and went to the Zhang family's Shouyin Hall.
As Mrs. Qiao watched her daughter leave, she couldn't help but let out a long, melancholy sigh.
Fortunately, his daughter found a good marriage again; otherwise, she would have become the laughingstock of the entire capital when that man returned.
Her daughter Qingyan's wedding was set for early August. Ever since the marriage was arranged with the Prince of Cheng'an's family, she had been lavishly preparing a dowry for her daughter, putting in a great deal of effort.
Fortunately, she was in charge of managing the household affairs, and the old lady and the master genuinely loved Qingyan and never interfered with the preparation of her dowry. So after several months of busy work, her daughter's dowry was almost ready.
However, it was still much thinner than the previous one.
It is well known that in aristocratic families, a daughter's dowry is prepared from a young age, just in time to be carried out safely when she gets married.
Originally, Qingyan's dowry had been prepared in advance, and it was just waiting to be carried to her husband's house in a magnificent procession when she got married. Who knew that such unreliable bad news would come, and as a result, most of the magnificent procession that Qiao had carefully prepared for her daughter over the years ended up benefiting Su's daughter.
She was filled with hatred just thinking about what happened back then!
The Earl's suggestion to display the dowry was a devastating blow to her. Even the set of golden nanmu furniture and decorations that she had painstakingly prepared for her daughter for many years were all taken to the General's Mansion, and all of them benefited that little slut!
My daughter is marrying into the Prince Cheng'an's mansion, which is definitely related to the imperial family. Her dowry should be even more generous than that of the General's mansion.
But with such a tight schedule, there's simply no time to prepare many things.
For example, we didn't have time to prepare the furniture set made of Phoebe zhennan wood that we had before.
This golden nanmu wood comes from the south. It is not only expensive but also extremely precious and rare, making it difficult to buy even if you have money.
When preparing Qingyan's dowry, it took many years to slowly gather all the wood and create a complete set of Phoebe zhennan wood furniture for her, from large items like canopy beds, wardrobes, and sets of tables and chairs to small items like embroidery stools, pen holders, and bedside decorations.
She used to look at these things with a sense of pride and satisfaction.
It's worth noting that there are very few wealthy families in the capital who can afford to provide their daughters with a complete set of Phoebe zhennan wood furniture.
Now that we're preparing again, even if we have plenty of money, there are still many things we can't find. Buying enough golden nanmu wood is not an easy task.
After finally managing to find some materials, she went back to her parents' home and asked her mother to lend her some of the golden nanmu wood that she had prepared for her granddaughters. Only then could she barely gather enough materials for a few large items.
Alas! Madam Qiao regretted preparing the dowry furniture for her youngest daughter, Qingying. Most of it was made of rosewood. Although rosewood is a good type of wood, it cannot compare with golden nanmu. Now she could only piece it together from various sources.
Looking towards Mingyue Residence, Qiao's face grew even more gloomy.
Since Madam Su only had one daughter, Yu Qingci, she must have started saving up a dowry for her from a young age. However, at that time, most dowries were carried out from the Earl's Mansion, so even if Madam Su added to the dowry, she couldn't add much more. She must have had many other valuable items in her possession.
No way! Your daughter took my daughter's dowry back then, and now that it's my daughter's turn to get married, I have to get it back no matter what.
Since returning to the Marquis's residence and moving into Mingyue Residence, Madam Su has adopted a cold and aloof demeanor. She either stays in her own courtyard all day without daring to leave, or she goes out of the Marquis's residence and stays there all day, seemingly indifferent to everything. This has made it extremely difficult for her to find any fault with Madam Su.
However, Su's aloof demeanor relieved her. She was afraid that Su would take advantage of the Earl's favor to compete with her for the management of the household after Su returned, so as to gradually secure her position as the principal wife. Now it seems that Su is quite sensible.
The most important thing is to keep the household affairs in her own hands. For example, she can make the decisions about arranging marriages for her sons and daughters, preparing betrothal gifts and dowries, without having to worry about Su Shi's opinion.
She had twice tried to sow discord between the Earl and Su Shi because of Su Shi's frequent outings, but the Earl insisted that Su Shi was out managing her business, which was a serious matter, and told her not to interfere.
Bullshit!
What matriarch would risk her reputation for being a money-grubber to personally manage the business? She would send her trusted confidants to run errands while she stayed behind the scenes checking accounts and counting money. It's hateful that the Earl dotes on her so much that he won't allow anyone to say a bad word about her.
The old lady was also not quite right in the head.
She had assumed that given the old lady's dislike for Su Shi, she would find ways to torment her, and she could simply watch the spectacle unfold. But to her surprise, the old lady, after the young master had only protected her once, refused to allow Su Shi to appear before her in a fit of pique, even forbidding her from attending the morning and evening greetings.
How utterly foolish!
If a mother-in-law wants to control her daughter-in-law, shouldn't she keep her under her nose and set rules for her in person? But the old lady just chose to ignore it, which allowed Madam Su to have a peaceful life and wasted this great opportunity.
Unable to control Su Shi, Qiao Shi felt increasingly frustrated.
To get Madam Su to voluntarily provide money to supplement Qingyan's dowry, given her status as a secondary wife, she has no right to ask the primary wife for this. She needs to work harder on the old lady and get her to intervene.
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