Chapter 549 Miss Situ’s Dowry
Most of the residents of De'an Lane were scholars. Since the scholars had gone out to study, the elderly, women, and children were left at home.
After moving in, Old Mrs. Cheng initially felt a little inferior about her country identity. However, after being complimented for the first time she went out, she realized that her eldest grandson's status as a top scholar was enough to make the Cheng family a success in this area.
Within a few days, Old Lady Cheng became familiar with the old ladies in the neighborhood and even invited them to her wedding banquet.
A large crowd gathered around the main gate of the Cheng residence, discussing the matter animatedly.
"The Situ family is quite generous, with carriage after carriage. How much dowry is this?"
"It's about sixty-four bearers, which is quite a grand wedding procession. No other family in De'an Lane has ever had such a grand wedding."
"That's because the two families are well matched. Lord Cheng may only be a seventh-rank official now, but after entering the Hanlin Academy, he has a promising future. The Situ family must be eager to help him, because they're afraid their daughter will suffer injustice in the Cheng family."
"The Situ family is really rich..."
"Madam Situ is the eldest daughter of the Bai family in Jizhou. The Bai family are salt merchants. Do you think they would be short of money?"
Those around them watched as the boxes of dowry were unloaded from the carriage, their mouths watering with envy.
Old Mrs. Cheng had never felt so happy before. It seemed that her life had reached its peak at this moment.
In the past few days, she has heard many people discussing her eldest grandson's marriage. Many people say that her eldest grandson could have married the illegitimate daughter of the He family.
After making inquiries from many sources, she learned that the He family was a second-rank official. If Zhao'er became Lord He's son-in-law, would she still have to worry about promotion?
If she had some regrets before about entrusting her eldest grandson's marriage to Cheng Wanwan, those regrets have now vanished.
If they marry into the second-rank He family and marry a concubine's daughter of the He family, the He family will definitely not attach importance to this marriage. Instead, they will suppress Zhao'er in overt or covert ways.
Their Zhao'er had finally made it big, so how could he endure such humiliation in the He family?
The Situ family is just right. The official is a fifth-rank official, which is neither too high nor too low. It is a good match. The third young lady of the Situ family is the eldest daughter and is loved by everyone. Therefore, Zhao'er will also have a voice in the Situ family. Lord Situ will definitely promote this excellent son-in-law.
Now that the Cheng family has held their heads high and behaved like human beings, they cannot allow others to step on them anymore.
Old Lady Cheng, dressed in red, welcomed the Situ family members in with a smile on her face. There were sixty-four loads of dowry, and it took the servants a while to carry it all in.
The eldest son of the Situ family stood tall and imposing as the steward, Uncle Li, began reading the dowry list.
"The lovebirds are singing in harmony, and happiness is revealed when makeup is ready!"
"A rosewood enamel bed, a bright red brocade embroidered mandarin duck wedding quilt, a bronze mirror stand with a western screen, and a glazed dressing box..."
"A vermilion-lacquered bucket for descendants, a hand warmer for birds and beasts..."
"A kingfisher feather and pearl headdress, a jade butterfly hairpin, and crane and begonia earrings..."
"Fox fur pieces, mink robes, brocade and silk..."
"Eight manors in the suburbs of Beijing, eight prosperous shops in the capital, and eight houses in the city..."
Uncle Li read slowly and methodically, pausing to drink water after each category.
The onlookers were fine, after all, they had lived in the capital for many years, and even if they had seen pork, they had seen pigs run. The dowry of a daughter of a wealthy family was at least 64 loads, and those with rich financial resources would even have 128 loads. But they did not expect that a fifth-rank official could actually come up with such a large dowry.
The Cheng family members were stunned, as if they had been struck by lightning.
They still remember that when Er Gou got married, many people who went to Dahe Village to watch the excitement came back and told them that Er Gou's wife brought mountains of gold and silver when she married into Dahe Village. At that time, they were all extremely envious.
Unexpectedly, the Cheng family also married a woman who was incredibly wealthy.
Old Madam Cheng was the first to react. She smiled calmly and said, "The Cheng Mansion has already prepared a sumptuous feast. Master Situ, Housekeeper Li, and everyone else, please come in."
Today was not a formal wedding banquet; only those who had come to deliver the dowry were allowed to sit down, and the crowd gathered at the entrance immediately dispersed.
Cheng Zhao led Young Master Situ and others to their seats and had people bring the wine and food.
There were four or five tables in the yard. Cheng Wanwan, Old Lady Cheng and others sat together. The meal was indeed quite sumptuous. She heard from Mrs. Qi that Cheng Zhao had invited the chef from Qianlixiang Restaurant in the capital to be the chef. The tables, chairs, bowls and dishes were also provided by there. All they had to do was pay, which was quite convenient.
"I didn't expect the Situ family to be so rich..." Sister Cheng whispered, "Even a little bit of what Zhao'er's wife slipped through her fingers would be enough for us to spend for a while."
Old Mrs. Cheng ate her food without saying a word.
Cheng Wanwan spoke calmly: "In Dahe Village, if a mother-in-law uses her daughter-in-law's dowry, she will be gossiped about behind her back. There should be such a rule in the capital as well. If you want people to laugh at Zhao'er, you can take your daughter-in-law's things and use them."
Upon hearing this, Old Mrs. Cheng immediately put down her chopsticks: "Eldest daughter-in-law, you should change your habit of taking advantage of others. Think about it, is Zhao'er's daughter-in-law an outsider? She is the biological mother of Zhao'er's future child. She can't spend all those things on herself, so she will definitely spend them on the child, which means spending them on the Cheng family. Are you trying to scheme against your own grandchildren?"
Thinking about it this way, Sister-in-law Cheng felt instantly relieved. She quickly put a piece of food on Old Madam Cheng's plate and said with a smile, "I was just joking, why are you getting so worked up, Mother... But, Zhao's daughter-in-law will definitely bring a lot of maids and servants with her, shouldn't we buy a few more for our family too..."
"We country folk have hands and feet, why do we need to be waited on?" Old Mrs. Cheng said calmly. "I don't need to be waited on. If you want to act like a lady, then earn your own money and buy servants."
Sister-in-law Cheng had no choice but to shut up in frustration.
She doesn't have the old lady's strong social skills. When she goes out, it's pitch black. She can't tell the directions, so how can she make money?
Old Mrs. Cheng was eating the food, but she had her own plans in mind.
The Situ family certainly wouldn't want their daughter to suffer, so they'll definitely send a dozen or so maids, servants, and boys. Someone will sweep the yard, someone will buy groceries and cook, someone will chop wood and boil water… Looking at it this way, there's not much the Cheng family needs to do themselves…
After lunch, Young Master Situ left with his men.
The Cheng family still needs to keep busy. The dowry needs to be stored, and all the things used in the new house need to be taken out and displayed... With these things, the new house finally looks presentable.
Cheng Wanwan left Mrs. Qi and Mrs. Yang behind and went to the outskirts of the city to pick up Zhao Sanniu.
Tomorrow, Cheng Zhao needs to go to fetch his bride. Only two younger brothers from his main family have come, which is not suitable for them to ride horses to fetch the bride. Old Madam Cheng has arranged for Shen Zheng and Zhao San Niu to go with him. At this point, she can't care about the details of whether they are from the same family or not. She can't let the Situ family find fault with them.
The Cheng family was destined to have a sleepless night.
Cheng Wanwan had a good sleep, got up early, dressed up, and went to the suburbs to attend the wedding.
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