Tian Mingwu quickly led everyone to kneel down.
Eunuch Defu opened the imperial edict and said loudly:
"By the providence of Heaven, the Emperor proclaims:
I have heard that the daughter of the loyal and brave General Tian Mingwu, Lady Tian An of Anping, is virtuous, beautiful, intelligent, and outstanding in character and appearance. The Empress and I are very pleased to hear this.
Now, the Duke of Zhao, Zhao Yiming, has reached the age of marriage and should choose a virtuous woman to marry him.
At this time, Lady Anping was in the boudoir, and she and Duke Zhao were a perfect match made in heaven. To help them achieve their goal, I specially betrothed her to Duke Zhao as his legal wife and choose an auspicious date for the wedding.
The announcement was made to the whole country and abroad so that everyone would know about it.
I hereby…"
After the decree was announced, everyone said in unison: "Thank you, Lord, for your grace. Long live the Emperor."
Then Tian An stood up and respectfully took the imperial edict from Eunuch Defu.
The eunuch at the door then began to chant:
"One plate each of gold and silver jewelry, coral court beads, agarwood court beads, and South Sea pearls.
Six pieces of each type of green jade, six pieces of each type of white jade, six pieces of each type of crystal, and six pieces of each type of golden amber.
Two pearl bracelets, two coral bracelets, two jade bracelets, and two amber bracelets.
A pair of Hetian white jade flower hairpins inlaid with kingfisher feathers, a pair of long hairpins inlaid with red gold, a pair of white magnolia flower hairpins, and a pair of long pearl hairpins.
A pair each of gold bell bracelet, glass jade bracelet, red gold silk bracelet, white jade Eight Immortals bracelet, and gold-inlaid jewel folded silk bracelet.
…
A pair of mutton-fat white jade vases and a malachite landscape screen."
From small items to big ones, the young eunuch sang for half an hour, and even though his mouth was dry, he did not dare to delay for a moment.
After finally seeing him close the list of betrothal gifts, I thought it was over, but unexpectedly, another young eunuch took out an even thicker list of betrothal gifts and began to sing:
"A pair of live eagles.
One each of amethyst hairpin, auspicious hairpin, butterfly tassel hairpin, white jade plum blossom hairpin, multicolored jade hairpin, and pearl exquisite eight treasure hairpin.
An octagonal box with gold-inlaid gemstones and hollow floral patterns, and a sandalwood box with hollow floral patterns of longevity and good fortune.
…
There are ten shops in the capital, eight farms in the suburbs of Beijing, and a house with four courtyards on Xingsheng Street in the city.
I will also give you 8,000 taels of silver for pocket money."
Another half hour later, Eunuch Defu came to Tian An with a smile, holding two betrothal lists and a pearwood box. "Here are the two betrothal lists, the banknotes, and the deeds to the house, shop, and farm. Please check and accept them, my lord."
Tian Mingwu looked at the betrothal gifts that were still being carried into the mansion and asked in confusion, "Eunuch! Isn't this a bit too heavy? Also, why are there two lists of betrothal gifts?"
Usually, the betrothal gift list is written on a long piece of paper without any interruption.
"This is the first time we've heard of someone complaining about the excessive betrothal gifts! The heavier the betrothal gifts, the better. The heavier they are, the more they show how much the husband's family values them!" Grandfather Defu teased Tian Mingwu with a smile.
Then he pointed to the two lists of betrothal gifts and said, "Some of these betrothal gifts were prepared by the palace, His Majesty and the Empress, for my nephew. They are the elders' thoughtful gifts.
The other part was prepared by the Duke of Zhao himself for the Duke of Xiangjun, as a token of his affection."
As he was speaking, Jingyu personally carried the cage containing the eagles to the front hall door and said seriously, "My master took great pains to find these. When they first arrived, they were just two tiny eaglets. The master personally fed, raised, and tamed them, just waiting to give them to the young lady today."
Tian An walked outside, squatted in front of the cage, and looked at the two eagles carefully.
The cage that holds the eagle is more like a rack than a cage. It has no walls and is supported by a suspended wooden stick.
A pair of eagles, all snow-white with a few spots of other colors, stood obediently on the shelf, showing no intention of flying away.
Xiaokang, Xiaoqi and Yaoyao were so curious that they ran out of the house and surrounded them.
Tian An was startled and hurriedly stopped the three people, "Be careful, the eagle's claws are very powerful, don't get hurt by them."
Jingyu quickly explained, "Don't worry, Miss. This eagle has been trained by my master and is very well behaved. It won't hurt anyone, and it won't run away."
Tian An protected the three little ones worriedly and turned around to look at the eagle for a while.
The two eagles were still standing on the shelf calmly, not startled at all, and not shy at all, so they let go of the three little ones.
Without any restraints, the three of them immediately surrounded the white eagle, observing it curiously while chattering about it.
Bai Ying was not stage-shy and would interact with them from time to time.
The people watching were amazed. "These two eagles have developed intelligence. They can actually understand human speech."
Jingyu explained proudly, "My master has put a lot of thought into this eagle, and even found someone who specializes in taming birds to teach him. They have already been trained to communicate with people in a simple way and can even do arithmetic.
The only regret is that they can’t mimic words like parrots.”
What Tian An didn't know was that Zhao Yiming had put a lot of effort into helping the white eagle mimic human speech. Unfortunately, due to their natural conditions, not all birds have the talent of a parrot.
Hearing that White Eagle could do arithmetic, Xiaokang immediately asked a question: "What is one plus one?"
As a result, Baiying didn't respond for a long time, and everyone suddenly thought Jingyu was bragging.
Unexpectedly, at this moment, the two white eagles turned around at the same time, with their butts facing Xiaokang.
Everyone: “…”
Only Tian An suddenly had an idea and subconsciously said, "What is three plus four?"
After he finished speaking, White Eagle immediately took action, uttering seven syllables of the same length in succession from his mouth.
"Wow! It can really do arithmetic! This is the first time I've encountered such a smart bird!" Grandpa Defu said curiously.
Xiaokang scratched his head, puzzled, "But just now I asked what one plus one equals, and they didn't respond!"
Seeing Xiaokang mention this issue again, the White Eagles immediately turned their butts against each other again.
Everyone: “…”
"Oh! I know why they didn't answer you." Yaoyao suddenly excitedly pulled Xiaokang and said.
"Why?" Xiaokang was a little confused.
"Because they think the questions you asked are too simple and they don't want to answer them." Yaoyao said word by word.
Xiao Qi suddenly realized, "So this is being looked down upon?"
Looking at the two white eagles standing steadily on the pole, everyone suddenly noticed a bit of arrogance on their furry faces.
After knowing the reason, Xiaokang immediately asked another question, but the result was the same as Baiying's butt facing each other.
Then when someone else asks a question, they immediately cooperate and call out the answer.
Xiaokang: “…”
Looking at the depressed Xiaokang, everyone laughed, "These two eagles are really amazing, they actually hold grudges."
Seeing that it would take some time for the servants to move things, the director of the Imperial Observatory simply took Tian Mingwu back to the front hall to discuss the wedding date.
After some consideration, the wedding date was set for September 26th, so that Tian An could celebrate his birthday at home for the last time.
If the emperor hadn't urged him, Tian Mingwu really wanted to keep Tian An for a few more years.
As the sun was about to set, all the gifts were finally moved into the general's mansion.
Tian Mingwu originally wanted to keep Eunuch Defu and the Director of the Imperial Observatory at home for dinner, but the two were busy returning to the palace to report, so they had to say goodbye first.
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