Chapter 5: Discussing the betrothal gift
On the day when the matchmaker from the Xie family came to propose marriage, Jiang Si's mother Feng Qingzhi arranged for her to hide behind a curtained screen and follow along to watch.
You can also witness the etiquette of the Xie family and listen to the process of marriage negotiation.
The two of them had already asked about their names, and the matchmaker took Jiang Si's birth date and time and compared it with Xie Yunshuo's to consult a fortune teller about their marriage compatibility.
To this day, Jiang Si still finds it hard to believe that she will marry into the Xie family.
In fact, if she didn't want to get married, her parents wouldn't want to make things difficult for her.
But on the one hand, there was no man who was in love with Jiang Si and came to propose marriage.
Secondly, among the families who came to propose marriage, they were all particularly satisfied with the man's family background and character.
After comparing them all, Xie Yunshuo still came out on top.
Not to mention that the Duke's Mansion is watching closely from the side.
The young master of Qi was stubborn. If he really fell in love with Jiang Si, and the Jiang family didn't arrange a marriage for her early, they were worried that the Duke of Qi would indulge the young master and go to the palace to ask the emperor for permission to marry him.
Given the Jiang family's situation, the emperor would definitely agree as long as the Duke's Mansion asked.
Therefore, after much deliberation, Jiang Si finally decided to agree to the marriage with the Xie family.
Putting aside her personal grudge with Xie Yunshuo, in terms of family background, character, ability, and appearance, Xie Yunshuo is indeed one of the most outstanding young men in the capital who have not yet married.
Jiang Si figured that since it was the emperor who had suggested the marriage, she had to give the Xie family some face even if they were dissatisfied with her.
If she married into the general's mansion, as long as she could be a good young lady, Xie Yunshuo would make military achievements and be awarded the title of general in the future, which would earn her an imperial decree. Her future life would be smooth and she would not have to worry about power and glory.
Thinking this way, Jiang Si made her own decision before her father and mother made one.
Apart from worrying that she wouldn't get along with General Xie and wouldn't be happy in marriage, Jiang Suian and Feng Qingzhi thought pretty much the same as she did in other aspects.
Therefore, we cannot take things in the world for granted. Sometimes, when fate comes, we cannot stop it.
Who could have thought that within half a month, the general would come to the Jiang family in person to ask for favors.
Naji is also called marriage negotiation, where the two families get together to discuss the marriage.
Then they will discuss the betrothal gifts in general, then pay the betrothal gifts and set a date, and then they will go to the wedding ceremony.
Some families are not in a hurry to get married, and it takes about a year to complete the six-step ceremony, while the faster ones take three to five months.
Jiang Si expected that the Xie family would make the transition between these ceremonies faster.
Because in another season, Xie Yunshuo's grandfather, General Xie Jun of the Cavalry, will lead the army to war.
By then, it is possible that Xie Yunshuo will go with them.
Therefore, the Xie family should want to let Jiang Si in before the general leads his troops to the border.
As expected, the people who came to Naji's house today included the matchmaker, General Xie Xingxiu, the general's wife Xia Rongyi, and the eldest son Xie Yunshuo.
Marriage is a major event, arranged by the matchmaker and the parents' orders, so Jiang Si does not need to show up in public.
She hid behind the screen behind the curtain. People outside couldn't notice her, but she could see some of the situation through the gap.
Xie Yunshuo's face was visible through a gap of only two fingers' width. He was often praised for his outstanding appearance, which was as tough as turquoise and as elegant as Hongye. However, in Jiang Si's eyes, it seemed a little unpleasant.
She always felt that his outward arrogance and superiority, which seemed to be as real as it was real, was a bit glaring.
Arrogant, rude, and impatient.
From Jiang Si's perspective, the one she is most satisfied with is Wen Jingyu, the third son of Master Wen's family, a gentleman who is introverted, gentle, and has gentle features.
Talking to him is refreshing and pleasant.
It's like soaking in a hot spring, comfortable, cozy and relaxing.
However, looking at Xie Yunshuo made Jiang Si feel as if she was in a storm and there was a possibility of a flash flood at any time.
Originally, Jiang Si thought that if the Xie family used their horoscopes for divination, the most likely result would be that they were incompatible.
Either she is the nemesis of Xie Yunshuo, or Xie Yunshuo is the nemesis of her.
It may be a bad or medium good fortune, but it can never be a good fortune.
The Jiang family also discussed whether the Xie family would still insist on proposing marriage if the calculation results were not good.
But unexpectedly, some old Taoist priest who was not well-trained had mixed up the wine or his hands were shaking and his eyes were dizzy, but he actually calculated a match made in heaven for the two of them.
In this way, neither family had any reason to go back on their word, so the General's Mansion could only prepare generous gifts and visit the Yue family to ask for their wishes.
This was the first time that the Jiang family had a formal conversation with Xie Yunshuo's family.
Jiang Suian and Feng Qingzhi sat in the middle of the hall, without any fear or trepidation. Both of them were calm and had polite smiles on their faces.
Just like entertaining ordinary guests.
This is because, compared with other families who came to propose marriage, the Xie family also did not show any eagerness.
General Xie Xingxiu was still as majestic as ever, while Xia Rongyi had the aloof and unattainable demeanor of a lady from a noble family.
It seemed like he came to inspect the Jiang family, not to ask for marriage.
Even though they took the initiative to say nice and auspicious words, praising Jiang Si's character, and their words were flawless, it was obvious that they had no expectations for this marriage.
In comparison, the Duke's wife had heard something from Qi Jialang, but there was eagerness in her eyes. She spoke to Feng Qingzhi affectionately, as if she was eager to welcome Jiang Si as her daughter-in-law.
With the comparison, it seems even more obvious that the Xie family is just following the procedures to complete an important task that cannot be missed or sloppy.
After seeing each other's attitudes clearly, Jiang Suian and Feng Qingzhi were naturally like a mirror.
The Jiang family will do the same as they treat them.
Be neither humble nor arrogant, be neither too friendly nor too overbearing, and be polite.
The words are polite and there is nothing wrong with them.
Jiang Si still remembered the exact words her mother had said before.
"Although it's marrying down to marrying up, since we're getting married, both parties are equal. If he were to marry our daughter, the Xie family wouldn't benefit, and he wouldn't agree. So remember, stand up straight. Once you enter the Xie family, you'll be a proper young lady."
Thanks to the years of teaching Jiang Si's character by her father and mother, and her own straightforward personality, she lives an open and honest life and never compromises.
At this time, the general's wife Xia Rongyi was speaking.
She maintained a proper smile on her face, sat upright, raised her chin slightly, and spoke slowly.
"At that time, the Xie Mansion's betrothal gifts, in addition to the necessary auspicious items as required by custom, will include a betrothal gift of six thousand taels of silver, ten pieces of gold and jade, ten hu of pearls, and one hundred rolls of brocade. Do Lord Jiang and his wife have any other requests?"
Xia Rongyi spoke frankly about the betrothal gift that the general's mansion would give.
This marriage was of extraordinary significance, so the gifts, betrothal gifts and treasures they gave were all top-notch. However, they also asked for the opinions of Jiang's parents, which showed their sincerity. If they were not satisfied, they could add more.
But for anyone, this is also a generous betrothal gift.
If it were a family of small officials who had never seen the world, they would probably look timid after listening to her story.
That will cause people to laugh at you secretly.
However, after hearing about the betrothal gifts, Jiang's mother Feng Qingzhi's expression remained unchanged.
Although their Jiang family was an ordinary official family, Jiang's father's salary was enough to support the livelihood of everyone in the family, and there was a surplus but it was not much.
He had a shop, dozens of acres of land, and several tenants. He was not very rich and was inconspicuous in Beijing.
The dowry planned for the daughter was far less than the betrothal gift given by the Xie family.
But this did not shake her inferiority complex.
After Xia Rongyi finished speaking, Feng Qingzhi nodded slowly.
"The General's Mansion has thorough etiquette and a generous betrothal gift. My husband and I have no objections."
They neither feel that the Xie family has given too much nor that they have given too little. This is what they should do.
The Jiang family is not the kind of family that would take advantage of the opportunity to blackmail others and make exorbitant demands.
Whether in negotiation or confrontation, all Jiang's father and mother wanted was for their daughter to live a good life after marrying into the Xie family.
So, during the marriage discussion, as long as the Xie family is fair and polite, they will not say anything that will damage their daughter's reputation and make the Xie family dissatisfied.
Of course, there is no need to compromise, belittle yourself and elevate others.
Only when a person has character and demeanor can he be respected.
After the parents of both sides finished their conversation, the Xie family said goodbye and left.
After going out, while getting on the carriage, Xia Rongyi breathed a sigh of relief, placed her hand on the palm handed to her by General Xie, and let him personally lead her into the carriage.
She said to him, "We weren't familiar with each other before, but today, when we discussed marriage, I met Lord Jiang and his wife, and they both seemed quite nice."
General Xie nodded and said, "They are all sober and sensible people. It's not a bad thing to marry into their family by accident."
Xie Yunshuo did not get into the carriage, but rode his horse outside, following the carriage.
As the future groom, he came along today and was very polite and did everything he should do.
But in the Jiang family, Jiang Si's father and mother didn't pay much attention to him. Apart from greeting him, they never mentioned him again.
It is completely different from how other father-in-law and mother-in-law treat their future son-in-law.
Xie Yunshuo knew in his heart that because of the old grudge between the two, he didn't want to marry, and Jiang Si didn't want to marry even more.
Naturally, her parents didn't treat him well.
However, he had no choice but to marry her, so why did she agree to marry into the Xie family?
This was completely beyond Xie Yunshuo's expectations.
A few days ago, when he agreed to marry the girl from the Jiang family, he informed his parents in advance so that they could be mentally prepared.
General Xie and Xia Rongyi also knew that it would be difficult for the Jiang family to agree to this marriage.
As a result, things went so smoothly that the whole family was a little surprised.
It was not until the carriage crossed two avenues and turned into East Second Street outside the Imperial City, where the imperially granted general's mansion was located, that a group of people were seen from afar blocking the main gate of the general's mansion.
Xie Yunshuo rode closer, lightly grasping the reins.
The handsome young man, with one hand on his waist and the other rapidly fanning himself with a folding fan, frowned deeply, looked angry, and raised his head to stare at him.
"Xie Yunshuo, why did you ask Jiang Si to marry you? And why did she agree? Don't you two dislike each other? Don't marry her. Give her to me."
There is no other person who is so eccentric and domineering except the young master of the Duke's Mansion.
These days, Qi Jialang was busy running around, preparing things that the woman liked, and he didn't know that the marriage proposal that the Jiang family agreed to was not from the Duke's Mansion, but from the General's Mansion.
His mother was afraid that he would lose his temper, so she kept it a secret from him, and he only found out today.
As soon as he heard that the Xie family had gone to the Jiang family to ask for help, he immediately came over.
He has long been accustomed to being arrogant and will use all means to get the person he wants. Now the person he wants to marry is going to marry someone else. How can Qi Jialang be willing to accept this?
If it were someone else, he wouldn't be so angry.
But the one who wanted to marry Jiang Si was Xie Yunshuo.
He knew that Xie Yunshuo didn't like Jiang Si and was not satisfied with her. He wanted to marry a well-educated and virtuous woman.
Jiang Si was so arrogant, she was neither well-educated nor well-mannered.
If you marry him, you will be wronged.
He doesn't agree.
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