Yunling had never experienced such a marriage before, so she wasn't quite clear on the intricacies involved. Just as she was about to ask Lu Yinghuai for details, he continued:
"The day before the wedding, your family must send someone to the Qin family to hang up the curtains, and then display all the dowry in the bridal chamber. This is called 'setting up the bridal chamber'."
"Sleeping out a new house? How much dowry would it take to fill that new house?"
Yunling thought that her aunt had only managed to raise a bracelet, a jade pendant, a jade thumb ring, and a jade plaque. Even if they were packed into four separate boxes, they wouldn't even fill a single table.
Moreover, even if one buys the estate, it's just a flimsy piece of land deed, which isn't enough. It seems one still needs to acquire something else.
"The amount of dowry reflects the bride's family's good intentions; it doesn't matter whether it's plentiful or not."
That being said, a large dowry can certainly earn one some respectability, especially since her aunt is marrying into an official family. In the future, she will inevitably have to deal with wealthy people, so she still needs to maintain a certain image.
"What is the price of the good estate that the young master picked out for me? Don't you dare say it's a 'voluntary gift' again, otherwise I'll find a broker myself and won't bother you."
Lu Yinghuai knew Yun Ling's personality, so he had no choice but to tell the truth.
“I have my eye on two estates, one for 3,800 guan and the other for 5,200 guan. The locations are good, and while the estates aren’t too big, they’re not small either. The surrounding estates are also owned by other merchants, so if anything happens, we can help each other out.”
Yunling was somewhat tempted, and the price was within her budget; it would come to nine thousand strings of cash in total. She thought it best to buy both properties.
"Has the young master gone to take a look?"
"No, I just have the blueprints of the estate."
As Lu Yinghuai spoke, he pulled a scroll from his sleeve. Yunling pulled him to the shade of a tree, and the scroll slowly unfurled in the dappled sunlight.
Yunling's pupils gradually dilated as she exclaimed in surprise:
"My goodness, this estate is so simple."
Lu Yinghuai was truly captivated by this person's cuteness, so he explained:
"These profit-making estates are rather simple, with only places for servants and young men to live, and two more proper master rooms."
"Is this the place with 3,800 strings of cash?"
“That’s right, the one below is worth 5,200 guan.”
Yunling unveiled the other picture with great curiosity, only to be shocked by how similar the two pictures were—even copying and pasting wouldn't have yielded such a striking resemblance.
Yunling wasn't too convinced by superstition, and fearing that Lu Yinghuai would laugh at her for not being able to figure it out, she picked it up and examined it carefully. But no matter how she looked at it, she couldn't make heads or tails of it. So she tentatively asked:
"Is this estate surrounded by good land, with a lot of farmland?"
"Oh, this one, I took the wrong one."
Yunling breathed a sigh of relief, but at the same time rolled her eyes. When she met Lu Yinghuai's cunning gaze, she became even angrier. This man must have known all along and deliberately wanted to see her make a fool of herself. He was so wicked.
Yunling was so angry that she pushed all the blueprints back to him and then went up the mountain to gather medicinal herbs herself.
Lu Yinghuai quickly followed and said:
"That estate, worth 5,200 guan, has a courtyard that's even better than Uncle Song's. It can accommodate the whole family for a visit. It has fields and is located near the mountains. The location is wonderful."
"Why didn't you say so earlier? What's the point of looking at the picture?"
"I was going to say something, but seeing how intently you were looking at me, I decided not to disturb you."
Looking back, Yunling realized that she had overthought things, thinking that Lu Yinghuai would criticize her, but it turned out that he had picked up the wrong blueprints. This blunder had caused a huge problem.
Yunling realized she was in the wrong, so she said "Oh" and continued to gather herbs. However, she was so focused on those two estates that she felt she should act quickly to avoid any complications.
She quickened her pace in gathering herbs, and after descending the mountain, she ran home to look for Zhang.
“Mother, give me nine thousand strings of cash, and I’ll have the young master buy an estate.”
"A manor worth nine thousand strings of cash...it seems this manor is quite expensive."
“Mother, these are two places. I’m thinking of buying them both for my eldest aunt, so that our Yun family can have some dignity.”
Zhang Shi readily agreed and led Yunling to her room.
Yun Ruoxia, who was drinking perilla tea in the courtyard, saw the two of them come out of the kitchen and quickly went to the side of the women who were hammering sheep. She had heard everything Yun Ling and Zhang Shi said and was both surprised and delighted.
Given that they were born in this village, having two estates as dowry is comparable to that of a wealthy family. She also thought that since Yunling was so generous to Yun Ruochun, their relationship must be even closer, and perhaps they could have three estates in the future.
Yun Ruoxia tiptoed to Zhang's room again, her ears perked up, and heard Yun Ling talking inside.
“Mother, let’s prepare some other dowry for my eldest aunt in a while.”
Zhang took down the small box containing the paper money and asked with a smile:
Why are you suddenly saying these things?
"I just heard the young master say that the day before the wedding, the bride's family sends someone to the groom's family to collect the dowry and furnish the house. I think, with just our things, let alone a house, we can't even fill the table. How can this be?"
Zhang was amused by Yunling's words.
"Yes, yes, yes, everything our Sister Ling says is right."
Yunling tilted her head and looked at Zhang Shi, asking with a gossipy expression:
"Mother, when you married Father, did your dowry fill the entire house?"
“You’re teasing your mother,” Zhang said, gently poking Yunling’s head. “The day before your father came to give the betrothal gifts, your grandfather had an accident. His family was counting on the money he would bring back to give the gifts.”
Yunling's heart clenched instantly.
"So the betrothal gift can't be exchanged?"
“Your grandmother emptied the family’s savings to buy two pieces of pork, and your aunt carried two bags of rice here.”
When Zhang mentioned what happened back then, a hint of bitterness appeared between her brows.
"When my mother found out what had happened, she only took a piece of pork and let them take the rest back."
"But your grandfather is seriously injured and has a persistent high fever. Even the doctors at Ren'an Hall said his life is in danger. Even if Hua Tuo were alive, he would not be able to pull him back from the brink of death."
"Later, your grandmother heard a fortune teller say that a marriage of convenience could wash away the evil spirits attached to your grandfather, and the person would naturally be able to struggle free."
“Your two uncles are unwilling. They think that if someone is washed away, the third branch of the Yun family will be left with only a widow and her two younger sisters-in-law. Their lives will be harder than climbing to heaven.”
“Your two aunts also advised me to marry someone else, saying that marrying into a family in the same village would be closer to home, and we could take care of each other.”
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