Chapter 226 No Brains
The autumn imperial examinations ended on August 17th.
August 25th was the day Gu Xuanyi got married. The eldest granddaughter of the Marquis's family was getting married, and she was marrying the heir of the Marquis of Wu'an's family. Even though the elders did not approve of this marriage, they still attached great importance to it.
Everyone in the household was busy preparing for the wedding. The three sisters-in-law were all busy with the preparations, and Meng Jinyao learned a lot from her two sisters-in-law.
Zhang had already prepared the dowry list. Since the family had not yet separated, the dowries for the daughters' marriages would be paid for by the household. If the parents wanted anything else, they would add it separately.
The eldest uncle, Gu Jingsheng, had acquired some meager assets, but not much. Zhang herself had no dowry. Although her father was a top scholar in the imperial examination, he came from a poor family. She was eleven years old when her father became the top scholar.
After her father became the top scholar in the imperial examination, he entered the Hanlin Academy, a lowly and insignificant department. He still had to send his brothers to school and hire a nanny to teach her what a young lady from an official family should know, so that she could marry into a good family. The family was struggling financially, so she naturally didn't have much of a dowry when she got married. The reason she was able to marry into the Changxing Marquis's family was entirely because her face was favored by Gu Jingsheng.
Now that her daughter is about to get married, Zhang has nothing good to give her as a dowry, but her husband is generous and gave her a shop that belongs to his private property.
Fortunately, the Changxing Marquis's family was wealthy, and the dowry provided by the Zhonggong was also quite substantial and not stingy.
Zhang took the dowry list to Shou'an Hall and presented it to her mother-in-law for review, saying respectfully, "Mother, this is Xuanyi's dowry list. What do you think?"
Madam Gu took the list and glanced at it briefly. With her second son's wife assisting and keeping an eye on things, the eldest son's wife dared not embezzle funds, whether in managing household affairs or in preparing her daughter's dowry. Therefore, the dowry list she prepared was quite proper.
Considering Gu Xuanyi's personality, and knowing that she would have a difficult time marrying into the complex and chaotic Wu'an Marquis's family, Old Madam Gu said gently, "Let's add some more money and silk."
Zhang was flattered, but she dared not make the decision on her own. She asked, "Mother loves Xuanyi dearly. I would like to thank you on Xuanyi's behalf. But how much should we add?"
After a moment's thought, Madam Gu replied, "Add another two thousand taels. As for the silk, you can decide what to do with it."
Zhang smiled and said, "Thank you, Mother."
Madam Gu instructed, "Before Xuanyi gets married, you should talk to her carefully and tell her to control her temper and be careful in her words and actions when she gets to her husband's family. Don't let her suffer on the second day after she gets married. There are many people in the Marquis of Wu'an's mansion, and with many people come many thoughts."
Zhang's smile froze, and she felt bitter inside. The fourth branch of the Wu'an family had seven children: two sons and one daughter born of the legitimate wife, and two sons and two daughters born of illegitimate wives.
The second and third wives also had quite a few children. The second master had two sons and three daughters, while the third master had three sons.
Fourth Master is the son of the old master's second wife. He is still young, only twenty-two or twenty-three years old. He currently has two sons and one daughter, and it is estimated that he will have more children in the future.
So, if you calculate it this way, Xuan Yi's husband has eleven brothers, and Xuan Yi has to get along with ten sisters-in-law. In addition, there are seven sisters-in-law in total. Such a large family environment is very complicated, and with more people, there are more conflicts.
It would be difficult to wait until the old lady passed away and the family divided, since the old lady, as the second wife, was not actually old. She seemed to be under forty years old, only a few years older than her. She was also in good health and could probably live for another ten or twenty years without any problem.
How can her daughter manage such a large family?
Old Madam Gu glanced at her and shook her head almost imperceptibly. Now was not the time to blame anyone, so she could only offer a few words of advice: "As for the household affairs, Xuanyi is not capable of handling them. Tell her not to try to be clever and take over for the time being. Let her mother-in-law manage them first, and she should learn how to run the household diligently by her mother-in-law's side. Also, choose two smart and steady nannies for her dowry, preferably those who can advise her to restrain her temper so that she can grow up quickly. Otherwise, her mother-in-law will have a lot of complaints about her."
Zhang nodded in agreement, saying, "I will talk to Xuanyi about it properly."
Madam Gu reassured her, "Don't worry, as long as the Marquis of Changxing's mansion doesn't fall, they won't dare to do anything to Xuanyi. At most, they'll suffer a little loss. If they go too far, our Gu family won't let them off the hook. Bullying a girl from the Gu family is a slap in the face to the Gu family."
Hearing these words, Zhang felt reassured, and her anxiety lessened considerably. After leaving Shou'an Hall, she went to her daughter's courtyard.
Granny Feng said, "Madam, although the eldest master is not your son, you have been very good to the eldest branch of the family, and you have even given the eldest daughter a larger dowry."
Madam Gu said calmly, "Zhang has managed the household for many years. Even if she hasn't made any great contributions, she has certainly worked hard. Two thousand taels of silver isn't much for the Marquis's mansion, but it's quite a lot for a married daughter. It will at least make things much easier for her. There have only been two daughters in three generations of our family, so giving her more is acceptable. We've already given Xuan Yi a little more, so we'll give Xuan Ling a little more as well. Xuan Ling is marrying into a family of lower social standing, so giving her a little more can be considered an extra subsidy."
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Everyone in the manor was busy, but Gu Xuanyi was carefree and happy, completely unaware that she was about to fall into a deep pit.
Gu Xiuwen, who was studying at Lingshan Academy, also took leave to return home, ready to attend his sister's wedding. He saw his sister resting her chin on her hand, watching the butterflies fluttering in the garden, laughing carefree. He heard that his sister had secretly arranged the marriage with the heir of the Marquis of Wu'an.
He frowned, couldn't help but poke his sister's forehead, and said, "Xuanyi, you can still laugh after marrying the heir of the Marquis of Wu'an?"
Gu Xuanyi's smile froze, and she glared at her brother with displeasure: "Fourth brother, what do you mean by that?"
Gu Xiuwen said with exasperation, "We are siblings born on the same day, did your brain wander into mine while you were in the womb?"
Is this saying she's brainless?
Upon hearing this, Gu Xuanyi became completely enraged and blurted out, "Fourth Brother, what's wrong with you? You think you're so great just because you're studying at Lingshan Academy? You come home and bully your own sister. Do you really think you're smart? You only got into Lingshan Academy because of Third Uncle!"
Gu Xiuwen was furious: "...You incredibly stupid fool! You'll regret this!"
At this moment, Gu Xiuming's disapproving voice came: "Fourth brother, tomorrow is the day our eldest sister is getting married. It's one thing for you, as her own elder brother, not to offer your congratulations, but why do you say such things?"
Gu Xiuwen said with a straight face, "She found herself such a husband, I really can't bring myself to congratulate her."
Although he used to be a lazy and good-for-nothing young master who didn't study hard, he wasn't an utterly stupid fool. He also understood that the Marquis of Wu'an's mansion was not suitable for his sister. With her personality, she would definitely not have a good life there.
Gu Xiuming glanced at the fuming Gu Xuanyi beside him, then looked at Gu Xiuwen and smiled, “Fourth brother, you are mistaken. The heir of the Marquis of Wu’an comes from a noble family and is handsome. He is a good husband that is hard to find even with a lantern. My eldest sister is the eldest granddaughter of the Marquis’s family. She is beautiful and she is a perfect match for the heir of the Marquis of Wu’an. They are a match made in heaven.”
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