Chapter 002: Becoming the Laughing Stock of the Capital
The ancestors of the Wen family were once glorious.
My great-grandfather was a top scholar from a poor family and held a first-rank official position.
My great-grandfather served in the cabinet and as an imperial tutor.
The subsequent generations are worse than the previous one.
The tradition has been passed down to this day. Wen's father is over 40 years old and has only been promoted to the third rank of Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, in charge of internal affairs and etiquette.
Although it was a leisurely position with no real power, it was already the highest official position in the clan.
He has always been dissatisfied with Wen Yan marrying a poor scholar.
After sixteen years of careful training, even if she is just an adopted daughter, she can still play a greater role in marriage.
How can a future top scholar compare to the benefits that are currently in your hands?
"Yan'er, when you get to your husband's house, you must take good care of your husband and children and help your husband pass the imperial examination as soon as possible." The marriage had already been announced, and Wen's father could only grit his teeth and accept it.
"Yes, father." Wen Yanrou agreed.
When the auspicious time arrived, the two daughters of the Wen family went out at the same time.
“Sister, after all, I am the one who married the prince.
The wealth of the Marquis's Mansion and the favor of the Crown Prince belong to me alone!" Wen Ruyue boasted triumphantly like a victorious rooster.
"Yue'er, why are you saying these things to her?" Huo Yaoxing glanced at Wen Yan with disgust, then went to meet Wen Ruyue and got into the bridal sedan.
The red bed leads the way, and the coffin is in the rear.
Looking at the team going away, Wen Yan raised the corner of her mouth: "Wen Ruyue, don't regret your decision today!"
The matchmaker was frightened by her and quickly reminded her, "Second Miss, get on the sedan quickly. The Ying family said the journey is too far and they won't be coming to pick you up."
Is it that the Ying family thinks the journey is too far, or is it that Wen Ruyue doesn't allow them to come in order to embarrass herself?
Wen Yan snorted lightly, lifted her skirt and got into the sedan chair.
The team marched out of the city with music and drums.
The real and fake daughter of the Wen family caused a lot of controversy last year.
Now that they are getting married on the same day, many people have come to join in the fun.
The Wen family not only did not hand over the fake daughter to the authorities after she had suffered for more than ten years, but also found her a husband who was a scholar and married her off in a grand and respectable manner.
The Wen family is truly kind-hearted.
"The dowry was also very generous. Look, the poles used to carry it were bent under the weight."
"As expected of the Wen family, which has produced a number one scholar and an imperial tutor. The family tradition is upright, benevolent, and righteous."
For a time, praise for the Wen family was heard everywhere.
Sudden!
There was a strange sound of "Crack-Crack-".
Suddenly.
The bottom of the dowry box cracked and the dowry rolled to the ground.
It's not gold, silver, jewelry, or head ornaments.
But stones covered with mud and broken tiles.
The praise for the Wen family came to an abrupt halt.
"Oh my god! They're using broken stones and tiles as dowry!"
"Look, the inside of the quilt is also scratched."
"If these dowries are taken directly to her husband's family, how will Miss Wen face her in-laws?"
"You don't spend a penny, yet you still want to earn a good reputation for being kind. The Wen family is really a good family tradition!"
"If you don't want to give it, then don't give it. The Wen family is extremely hypocritical."
The wedding procession had no backbone and was in chaos for a while.
Wen Yan sat steadily in the sedan chair, waiting for the news to spread.
The Wen family received the news quickly.
Jiang Xinkui was extremely shocked: "Impossible! The dowry I prepared for her may not be expensive, but it will definitely not be rotten stones and broken tiles."
"You're still quibbling. The box fell off in public, and the broken stones and tiles rolled all over the ground. The whole city saw it with their own eyes!" Wen's father was so angry that he was shaking. "Butler, go check it out for me!"
"Yes, sir." The butler took the order and left.
A moment later, the housekeeper returned and said, "Master, it was the eldest daughter. She took people to the yard where the dowry was kept last night and replaced the dowry with stones."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Xinkui's body softened and he fell into the chair.
"How could that be? Ruyue is the most well-behaved, and we've already agreed that we'll slowly deal with her later..."
"This is the good daughter you raised!" Wen's father was shaking with anger, "I told you long ago that Wen Yan is outstanding and will be very useful if she is kept, but you just don't believe me and insist on marrying her to a poor scholar.
Just marry her, at least she will be decent. If the scholar has a bright future, he will be a help to us in the future.
Now the Wen family has become the laughing stock of the entire capital, are you satisfied? "
He could already imagine how his colleagues would laugh at him at the court tomorrow morning!
"It was Wen Yan. She must have staged this all by herself. She blamed us for changing our marriages, so she made us look foolish in public!" Jiang Xinkui tried to shift the blame in a hurry, but it turned out to be the right thing to do.
Last night, Wen Ruyue's every move was under Wen Yan's surveillance.
After Wen Ruyue left, she quietly went to the yard and tampered with the dowry box.
Today the bottom of the dowry box will break in public.
Uncover the hypocritical mask of the Wen family.
But my father doesn’t believe it!
"What good will it do her to make such a fool of herself? The evidence is right in front of you, and you still want to make excuses for Wen Ruyue!" Wen's father was so angry that he stormed out.
On the main road out of the city, the wedding procession was at a loss.
Should you pick up the 'dowry' that fell on the ground?
"Let's go. The Ying family is a long way off. If we delay any longer, we'll miss the auspicious time." A choked female voice came from the bridal sedan chair. "Let's not take these dowries. Let's travel light."
The team then abandoned the rags, carried the wedding sedan, and set off alone.
Among the onlookers, someone sighed softly, "When the baby was swapped, the Second Young Lady was just born. What does she know? After all, she's a victim too."
"My cousin's second brother-in-law's sister-in-law works for the Wen family. She said that the poor scholar was the one Miss Wen arranged to marry in the countryside.
The Marquis's Mansion is the second young lady's marriage.
The eldest daughter wanted to live in the Marquis's mansion and enjoy the splendor and wealth, but she didn't want to be known as a traitor, so she forced the second daughter to change her marriage."
"Miss Wen is so pitiful. Her life of wealth and prosperity was snatched away just like that!"
Public opinion changed and everyone began to sympathize with Wen Yan.
Wen Yan felt very happy listening to the discussion.
In her previous life, after her identity was revealed, she wanted to bid farewell to the Wen family and return to her original life.
Wen's mother hugged her and cried, wanting to adopt her as her adopted daughter and make her the second daughter of the Wen family.
At that time, she foolishly thought that it was the fifteen years of family ties that were hard to give up.
Later I found out that the Wen family was not reluctant to let her go, but they were reluctant to let more than ten years of training go to waste.
Not long after she married into the Marquis's Mansion, the Wen family began to make excessive demands on her and almost killed her several times.
She had already repaid the kindness of raising her in her previous life.
In this life, the Wen family will never again use the grace of raising her to kidnap her!
**
Songshan Village is sixty miles away from the capital.
It takes three or four hours to walk.
Because the dowry was delayed for some time, the wedding sedan was rushed to the Ying family at an auspicious time.
As soon as the sedan chair landed, Wen Yan heard a commotion.
"She's an official's daughter, but she doesn't even have a dowry."
"If we marry a daughter-in-law like this, our ancestors will be furious. No, we don't recognize this granddaughter-in-law. We can't let her in. Send her back!"
It seems that the matter of the dowry has already reached the Ying family.
Songshan Village is far away from the capital, and the news spread so quickly without anyone instigating it. Wen Yan didn't believe it.
The Ying family members were still cursing.
An old woman holding a broom came towards the wedding sedan.
"Enough!" a clear male voice shouted.
Wen Yan lifted a corner of the curtain and saw a tall, thin red figure striding towards them.
The afterglow of the setting sun shone on his profile, hiding his eyebrows and eyes in shadow, making it difficult to see clearly in the half-bright and half-dark state.
He took a few steps and approached, "Grandmother, this broom blow is hitting the Wen family in the face. Can you withstand the wrath of a third-rank official? Or can the Ying family withstand it?"
Mrs. Qiao was so frightened that her face turned pale and the broom fell to the ground with a clatter.
How could she forget that the Wen family is a high-ranking official in the capital, and they can be crushed to death with just a flick of the finger!
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