Chapter 408 Dowry
After the banquet, Lin Changning, holding a silver note containing 30,000 taels of silver, happily led his mother and two sisters-in-law home.
Unlike Lin Changning's joy and happiness, her two sisters-in-law kept a straight face, and Lin's mother's smile was also quite stiff. Everyone in the family knew that Lin Changning was a woman.
Upon hearing the news that Changning was engaged to the princess, Lin's second brother felt as if the sky had fallen. He said coldly in the carriage, "Mother, you're confused. Don't you know what state Changning is in now? How dare she agree to the princess's request?"
After saying that, he leaned against the back of the carriage and sighed deeply, feeling that the Lin family was probably in for a major disaster.
Lin's mother had a layer of cold sweat on her forehead: "The princess's messenger only said that she needed my help to promote the drama, and it was just a presumptive marriage. How could I have imagined that this matter would be finalized in front of everyone?"
Lin Ersao patted her husband and advised, "Alright, what's done is done now. What's the use of cursing? Besides, how would I know the intricacies of these nobles and princes?"
Lin's mother, looking rather displeased, said, "I'm just thinking that Changning is now working under the Prince, and the Princess Consort has even asked someone to plead with me. How can I refuse?"
Lin's second brother was so worried that his forehead was about to burst. He sighed, stopped the carriage, and prepared to go to the back to discuss the matter with Lin Changning. If all else failed, the whole family would just have to run away.
Lin Changning and his sister-in-law sat together in the carriage behind. His sister-in-law was quite worried about Lin Changning. Lin Changning gave his sister-in-law a wink and mouthed the words.
"It's alright, sister-in-law. The princess knew I was a woman all along. She just wanted to use this as an excuse to cancel the marriage with the Shen family. We can live together in the future."
The eldest sister-in-law covered her mouth in surprise, slapped Lin Changning's thigh hard, and said in a low voice, "You child, why didn't you tell your sister-in-law about such a big thing beforehand?"
Lin Changning shrugged and gestured for his sister-in-law to be quiet. His sister-in-law quickly covered her mouth, looking at Lin Changning with a hint of reproach, but then she let it go after thinking about it.
Ever since Changning returned from fighting on the frontier, she has become increasingly ambitious. As a woman, she can't offer much help, so she tries her best to make Changning's life at home as comfortable as possible.
At this point, the eldest sister-in-law stopped nagging. The carriage suddenly stopped, and the second brother of the Lin family climbed up from the outside, glanced at his sister-in-law, and said, "Sister-in-law, why don't you go to the front carriage with Mother and the others? I have something to say to Changning."
Lin Changning knew what his second brother wanted to say as soon as he looked up. He made a pause gesture and waited for his sister-in-law to go down before mouthing the words.
"The princess knows, second brother, don't worry."
Lin's second brother's eyes widened suddenly, and his voice rose sharply: "Such a big thing, how could you!"
Realizing he was speaking too loudly, he quickly lowered his voice: "Then this time?"
Lin Changning pulled out a stack of silver notes from his pocket and waved them around as if to show off: "The princess wanted to use me to cancel the marriage alliance, and I agreed."
After proudly stuffing the silver notes back into his pocket, Lin Changning smiled at his second brother, "Don't worry, second brother. I might have to go out in the next few days to hunt a wild goose. Also, please take out all the winnings from the family. Since it's a wedding, these pre-wedding procedures are essential, and the betrothal gifts must be given. In a few days, second brother will ask someone from the Prince's Mansion to help us. We don't have money for other things, but at least we need to prepare enough."
Lin's second brother was somewhat dazed. If he hadn't misheard, Changning meant that she wanted to marry the princess, and the people from the Prince's Mansion had given her money so that the two of them could live together.
He also said that his family should prepare money so that he could send betrothal gifts during festivals, and that he would also hunt a wild goose to send over.
Lin's second brother was a little confused, rubbing his dizzy head: "You went out to hunt geese? Yes?"
Lin Changning leaned back, crossed her legs, and raised an eyebrow at her older brother: "Naturally, it's for the purpose of betrothal."
The second brother of the Lin family lowered his voice: "Are you really going to marry her?"
Lin Changning nodded: "Yes, I'm going to marry her, and I'm going to have a grand and spectacular wedding!"
The second brother of the Lin family was somewhat silent. In his opinion, this was truly unconventional. How could his own sister marry a woman?
But thinking of his sister's earlier refusal of the arranged marriage, he couldn't help but sigh. Now that the die was cast, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and go for it. So be it.
"Do we really have to go hunt geese?"
Lin Changning nodded: "Everyone is watching this time. If the princess loses face, the prince loses face. If the prince loses face, how can I have a good life? Let's do our best to make things perfect."
Lin's second brother sighed: "Alright, I understand. When I get back today, I will give you the profits the He family has made over the past few months, and we'll have a big celebration."
The group returned home, and the two young girls were taken away by Mr. Zheng. Lin Changning ordered his guards to search the surrounding area for any trace of wild geese. After dismissing the guards beside him, he then called his family to his side.
Since his second brother and sister-in-law knew, Lin Changning figured his mother and sister-in-law would know too. As soon as the group sat down in the room, Lin Changning saw the rather uneasy expressions on his mother's and sister-in-law's faces.
Especially his own mother, who looked at Lin Changning with a guilty expression: "Little Six, did I cause you trouble this time?"
Lin Changning sat down next to her mother, patted her hand, and smiled comfortingly, "No, Mother, the Princess Consort has come to visit. I know you can't refuse, it's alright."
After speaking, Lin Changning sat down at the table and looked at the wooden boxes that his mother and second brother were each holding. His mother spoke first: "The profits of the embroidery workshop in the past few months are all here. After deducting the purchase of goods next month and the monthly salary, the rest of the money is here."
The second brother of the Lin family also opened the box and said, "This is the He family's recent share of profits, and it's all here."
Lin Changning nodded and took out a silver note from his pocket: "With what I have here, it should be enough to give the county magistrate a decent wedding."
Lin's mother said with some pain, "Are we going to spend all this money on the wedding and betrothal gifts?"
In Lin's mother's mind, it was already quite extravagant for a landlord family in the countryside to spend over a hundred taels of silver on a wedding. Now that her youngest daughter was getting married, the family was going to have to empty their coffers to host a respectable wedding for the county magistrate. This was really hard for her to accept.
Seeing his mother's pained expression, Lin Changning smiled and explained, "Mother, don't worry about the money. Think about it, I've climbed to this position, and our family is doing so well now, all thanks to the Prince. Now that the Prince's daughter is in trouble, everyone is laughing at us. Naturally, we have to do our best to save face for the Princess. Think about it, if the Princess is happy, the Prince is happy. If the Prince is happy, then I can make a living."
Lin's mother thought about it and realized that what her daughter said made sense. She nodded and replied, "Then let's do as you say. I'll cooperate."
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