The elder matriarch of the Su family received a letter from Su Rong, stating that the marriage contract would be postponed until the twelfth lunar month, which greatly relieved her.
Unlike before, in addition to the letter, there were also silver notes totaling one hundred thousand taels, delivered by her people.
The matriarch looked at the hundred thousand taels of silver notes, somewhat astonished, "Why is she giving money again?"
The courier relayed the message, "The princess said that when the three young ladies were married, she was at war and didn’t have time to add to their dowry. Now she is troubling you, Madam, to make up for each of them, including the three young ladies who are still waiting to be married, with ten thousand taels each. The remaining money is for you, Madam, to use as pocket money."
Madam: "..."
After so many years, she finally saw some return on her investment.
But she was a little reluctant, "Nanchu has been in chaos for so long, the national treasury must have been drained from the war, she just took power, now is the time when money is needed."
One hundred thousand taels may not sound like much, but it’s also not a small amount. It could buy a lot of grain and get a lot of things done.
The courier smiled and said: "Madam, you can just accept it. The princess is not lacking in silver right now. Although Nanchu’s national treasury is empty, the princess herself has some wealth."
Upon hearing this, the matriarch nodded and did not refuse any longer. "Alright then, I will accept it. I will thank her on behalf of her sisters in my letter. The six young ladies have not tolerated their younger sister for all these years in vain."
After the courier departed, the matriarch sent a letter to the three married young ladies, asking them to find some time to come home, as there was a letter from their younger sister.
Just an hour after her letter was sent out, the three daughters returned home immediately without waiting for a convenient day.
The matriarch looked at them with a satisfied expression. She was pleased with the marriages she had arranged for them; only when the in-laws were good and they lived a smooth life with no hardships since entering the door, were they able to respond to a message from home without having to wait and could return home immediately after notifying the mother-in-law.
"Mother, did our sister send a letter? What did she say in the letter? Is she asking you to go to Nanchu immediately?" The eldest daughter asked.
The other daughters all looked at the matriarch.
The matriarch shook her head, "No, the date of her great wedding has been postponed. This time, she probably had some free time and remembered that when you three were married, Nanchu was at war. She, as your sister, was too busy to add to your dowries, and is now making up for you."
She finished speaking, took out the silver notes of sixty thousand taels, and handed each person ten thousand taels, "This is for you from your sister, ten thousand taels each. For you three who are already married, consider it a supplement to your dowry. For the three of you who are not yet married, consider it part of your dowry."
All of the daughters were stunned and hurriedly refused. "Mother, the amount our seventh sister gave us is too much. We can’t accept it."
"It is indeed a bit too much, the dowries our family gave you added up to only around ten or eighteen thousand taels. It’s rare for your sister to be willing to give so much out of her own pocket, almost being able to give one more dowry." The matriarch laughed: "But since she gave it to you, she must have some money to spare now that she’s a princess. You might as well accept it. After all, it’s your own household affairs. Having money on hand shouldn’t be a problem with your mother-in-law and it should make your life a little easier."
The eldest daughter sighed, "Our seventh sister has experienced life and death multiple times, and we, as her sisters, couldn’t help much. How can we accept so much money from her? Even if she doesn’t need the money, mother, this is just too much."
The other daughters nodded in agreement, "Mother, what elder sister says is right."
The matriarch laughed, "This is her intention. Despite the distance of Nanchu, she still thinks of you. You should accept it."
The second daughter said softly, "Now that our seventh sister has become Princess of Nanchu, we have been relying on her light. In addition, our brother is favored by the crown prince, so my life in my marital home is quite good. Apart from my mother-in-law, since my marriage, my husband’s uncles, aunts and cousins have been exceedingly nice to me." 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺
"Same for me." both the eldest and the third daughters chorused.
"Your natal home is your backbone in your marital home, this is very normal. However, you also need to hold your ground. You can’t be too soft, letting people deceive and bully you, but you also can’t be too arrogant and look down on others. Running a household and managing your relationship with your in-laws is a major discipline. The things I taught you before, if you kept them in your hearts, should be enough." the matriarch said.
The daughters all said in unison, "Mother, don’t worry, we always keep your teachings in mind."
The matriarch looked at her three married daughters, each looking healthy and comfortable, and nodded with satisfaction, "Your present comfort means little as you have not been married for long. Things will change in the long run. A lot of women can’t stand up for themselves after marriage, not being loved by their husbands, not respected by their in-laws. No matter how powerful their natal family is, the life behind closed doors is their own, and wisdom is needed. Without wisdom, even a princess of the imperial family can be bullied."
"Mother," like always the daughters nodded in unison, carefully listening to every word she said. "We understand."
The third daughter said in a low voice, "Mother, rest assured, we have learned what you taught us really well. I voluntarily let my husband take a concubine, which scared him so much that he turned pale, thinking that I didn’t want him anymore. Now, he has replaced all the maids around him with matrons and errand boys. My mother-in-law seemed to be scared as well, asking if he had upset me. I told her that I wanted to be generous and virtuous as a daughter-in-law, otherwise, I was afraid that people would say that I was too jealous. Mother-in-law said I didn’t need to care about what others said, all I need to think about is doing what my husband wants."
Looking at her with amusement, the matriarch said, "It seems you have a firm grip on your husband’s heart."
The third daughter turned red and said, "He wants it every day, I’m almost fed up, wishing I could find him two concubines."
The matriarch: "..."
Should this kind of talk be allowed?
She sighed, looking at the third daughter, poked her on the forehead and said, "It seems I didn’t waste my time teaching you the art of bedroom affairs behind the scenes. You learned well."
The third daughter covered her face, "Mother!"
The matriarch let her go, and turned to look at the other two daughters, "What about you two?"
Eldest daughter turned red and said: "My husband has two concubines, which you know, mother. Since I entered the door, he said he would let them go, but I kept them. However, he doesn’t go to them much and still values me greatly."
Putting her hands down, the third daughter immediately said admiringly, "Eldest sister, you are really smart. Without anyone to share the burden, it would tire one to death."
The eldest daughter glared at her, "Don’t take advantage of a situation and play innocent. Who doesn’t like it when their husband only guards them? My in-laws are different from yours, they lack heirs. I don’t want to bear too much pressure, it doesn’t matter who gives birth. They will all call me mother."
The third daughter sighed.
The matriarch nodded, "That’s the spirit. You all crawled out of my belly, but you are all my daughters. As for men, they don’t necessarily need to be used every day, don’t tire yourself out, occasionally, when you want, use it."
After saying this, she looked at the second daughter.
The second daughter, blushing, said to the matriarch: "Mother, as you know, my husband’s family has strict rules about having no children before forty, and only then can they take a concubine. My husband is not very enthusiastic about that kind of bedroom affair."
The third daughter immediately undercut her, "Mother, second sister is pregnant. You see how capable her husband is. Not so eager and yet he got sister pregnant early. My eager one, there’s no movement."
The matriarch: "..."
She told the third daughter, laughing and scolding, "You better shut up! I’ve never seen you so talkative before, if you were this outgoing before, you and your seventh sister would have been good friends."
The third daughter glowered at the matriarch, "Seventh sister is like a tigress, I dare not provoke her, nor team up with her. She was engaged when she was young, we couldn’t compare to her, she didn’t mind not getting married, but I can’t afford not to get married."
Having said that, she herself began to laugh.
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