"How will the dowry be provided by the in-laws?"
Although she already knew it was five taels of silver, Madam Song still asked again.
"Well... Xiaoxue is much older than her older brother, so she has been spoiled by our family since she was little. Although we are farmers, Xiaoxue is still our precious treasure. As long as you treat her well, our family will give her five taels of silver as a dowry!"
Although Bai Lizheng was angry, he still gave her everything she was entitled to.
Not only that, he would also secretly give his daughter three taels of silver as a private stash of money.
Therefore, add the five taels that are publicly known.
It should be eight taels of dowry.
The Bai family had no objections to this.
It passed unanimously.
This level of quality is unmatched, let alone in the village.
Even in a small town, it would be considered above average.
"That's a must. I may not be the most kind-hearted woman in the Song family, but none of my neighbors have ever been on bad terms with me. Just ask Sister Zou. Once Xiaoxue marries into my family, we will definitely treat her well. Don't worry. My Xiaotian is also a filial and sensible man. He has never argued with anyone since he was a child. After starting school, he developed a very good temperament. Sometimes I worry that he will be bullied by others. How could he be as rude as those men who beat their wives?"
As she spoke, Mrs. Song began to praise her son.
"However, there's one thing I need to clarify first. My He family doesn't have the custom of giving money. Of course, don't rush to conclusions. It's not that we don't have a bride price. You probably don't know, but our He family had a scholar in our ancestors, so we are very averse to money. Xiaoxue, come here. This bracelet is my family heirloom. My mother put it on me before my wedding. Now I'm giving it to you as a bride price. I hope you won't mind. If you don't like such vulgar things as gold, after you marry into the family, I'll take you to buy a jade bracelet. How about that?"
Song took Bai Ruixue's hand, opened the jewelry box, took out the gold-plated iron bracelet, and put it directly on her wrist.
The size was perfect, as if it had been made for her.
"Look at these delicate little hands. No wonder your aunt liked you so much at first sight. We are destined to be together. When I wore this bracelet, it was the same size as yours, not too big or too small. You are the daughter-in-law of the He family, as destined by God."
Bai Ruixue blushed deeply after being praised.
She was overjoyed as she looked at the gold bracelet on her wrist.
It's so heavy.
It would cost at least ten taels of silver to buy.
With such an expensive bracelet already given, the bride price is no longer important.
"Auntie, I like this bracelet." Xiaoxue said coquettishly, holding Song's hand.
"If you like it, that's fine. I thought you would be unhappy. I'm only giving this bracelet to Xiaotian's wife. You are the daughter-in-law that the He family has chosen. I'm waiting for you to marry into the family soon."
Song stroked Bai Ruixue's fingers.
It's slippery.
It's obvious he hasn't done much manual labor.
However, the thought that she could also do embroidery and supplement the family income in the future made her unhappiness disappear.
Anyway, there's still that girl, Jiao'er.
Let her do the work.
Don't think that becoming her son's concubine will make you a phoenix rising to the top.
What needs to be done still needs to be done.
Song's eyes gleamed.
Bai Ruixue did not notice.
Her attention was entirely focused on the bracelet.
This is a gold bracelet, a heavy gold bracelet.
It wasn't just her.
Bai Lizheng's wife, Bai Zhaoshi, was also looking at the bracelet.
His eyes burned with intense passion.
She had lived most of her life and had never worn a gold bracelet, or even a silver one. The only piece of jewelry she owned was a silver hairpin, which her mother-in-law had left her before she died.
It's worthless.
Seeing how much her daughter's future in-laws valued her.
Bai Zhaoshi couldn't stop smiling.
The gossipy old women in the village would always grumble behind her back, saying that her Xiaoxue would never get married, that she was an old maid with unrealistic ambitions, so she had been holding back her anger.
When her daughter gets married, she can finally hold her head high.
"Oh my, this gold bracelet is really big. It must have cost a lot of money. As expected of Sister Song, you are so generous. You are truly generous. Look at this, I'm not flattering you. I'm saving the best for your Xiaoxue. From now on, your Xiaoxue can just wait to enjoy the good life."
Zou Huahua looked at the gold bracelet, her mouth practically watering.
If she had known that Madam Song was so generous, she would have asked Bai Lizheng for more matchmaker fees. Alas, it's a pity that her family doesn't have any daughters ready to marry. Otherwise, it would have been so much better to keep Xiaotian in her own family.
Isn't that gold bracelet from their family?
The appearance of the gold bracelet silenced Bai Lizheng, who had been quite critical.
"There's one more thing. My son, Xiaotian, is planning to take the imperial examination next year, so I think we should set the wedding date as soon as possible so as not to delay his exam. What do you think? If there are no problems, let's set it for the 20th."
Song's words silenced everyone present.
"What? Twenty? That's only a few days away! No, no, this is too rushed. People who don't know better will think we're afraid our daughter won't get married."
Bai Lizheng shook his head repeatedly.
"Yes, 20 is too rushed. Even if we're in a hurry, we can't go with 20. How about the end of June or the beginning of July?"
Bai Zhaoshi also disagreed.
“My dear in-laws, we’ll be family soon. What could be more important than Xiaotian’s imperial examination? The county exam starts in February, followed by the prefectural exam in April, and then the provincial exam. If he passes all of them, he’ll become a Xiucai (a successful candidate in the county-level imperial examination). If you delay the wedding until July or August, you’ll be hindering Xiaotian’s progress. You should get married sooner so he can focus on his studies and prepare for the exams. If you marry into the family earlier, who knows, Xiaoxue might have double happiness on the day Xiaotian passes the Xiucai exam and the results are announced.”
The wedding date certainly couldn't be postponed until the end of June.
The baby's belly can't take this long.
After Song finished speaking, she winked at Zou Huahua.
Zou Huahua immediately realized what was happening.
"Yes, nothing is more important than Xiaotian's imperial examination. If he passes and becomes a Xiucai (a scholar who has passed the lowest level of the imperial examinations), then Xiaoxue will be a Xiucai's wife! Wouldn't that be unique in the village? From then on, not only would people for miles around call you Master Bai, but even in town, they'd have to address you as Master Bai! You're a Xiucai! Bai Lizheng, having a Xiucai son-in-law would be such a source of pride for you! It's a pity I don't have a daughter, otherwise I'd be tempted to take Xiaotian to my family as my son-in-law. Look at you, you're turning down such a good opportunity! Sister Song is so sincere; she's already given Xiaoxue her family heirloom before the wedding! Aren't you afraid that after Xiaotian passes the Xiucai exam, someone will be 'stealing' him from the list of successful candidates? Then you won't have a Xiucai son-in-law anymore..."
It has to be said that no one can match a matchmaker's tongue.
In a few words.
The Bai family members all wore expressions of worry.
Zou Huahua added fuel to the fire.
She portrayed Xiaotian as someone many people would want.
Less than half an hour.
The Bai family compromised.
The wedding date was set for June 20th.
At noon, the three of them stayed at the Bai family's house for lunch.
Everyone had a smile on their face, and He Tian was no exception.
His joy wasn't about marrying Bai Ruixue, but about being able to openly and legitimately hold his beloved daughter while sleeping.
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