Chapter 201 Promise

Wei Tingzhen was furious.

The Dou family actually dared to threaten her!

She went straight to the Marquis of Yan'an's mansion and said to the matchmaker, Lady Yan'an, "How can the bride's family decide the date for the wedding? I think these dates are all common, so why not ask Qin Tianjian to choose a few new dates?"

The wife of Marquis Ting'an said tactfully, "The man asked the woman to set a date for the sake of intimacy, and I think the dates chosen by Supervisor Qintian are all good. Your father has been gone for several years, and your mother is all alone. She must be looking forward to having a grandson soon. Some things, I think, are just fine." She said half seriously and half jokingly, "Now everyone in Kyoto says that you have set your sights on our Qingyuan. You even told me exactly what kind of tea I would serve you when you came to visit us. Fortunately, I am the matchmaker of Marquis Jining. If this happened on a normal day, we would never be able to clear our name."

The Wang and Wei families were old friends and were close friends. When Wei Tingzhen came to visit them, there were even rumors in Kyoto that Wei Tingzhen had fallen in love with her daughter, Wang Qingyuan. Lady Yan'an Marquis did not take it seriously, thinking that it was just the idle thoughts of people who had nothing to do after eating. It was not until the Dou family asked Mrs. Cai to discuss the cancellation of the engagement between the Dou and Wei families that she became alert and sent someone to inquire about it. Only then did she realize the strangeness of the rumor, thinking that the Dou family would definitely not wipe out their own will. Dark, and thinking of Wei Tingzhen asking about Qingyuan's marriage in a roundabout way every time she came home, she felt that even if this was a rumor, there was some truth in the rumor, and she couldn't help but get furious. She wanted to refuse the matchmaking of the Wei family, but she was afraid that others would say that she was "guilty". The marriage of the Dou and Wei families had been delayed for so long, and she was so anxious that she couldn't eat or sleep well. She thought that her daughter was already a little old, and what would she do if her marriage was affected by this incident? So she urged Wei Tingzhen to quickly arrange Wei Tingyu's marriage.

Wei Tingzhen didn't know whether the wife of the Marquis of Yan'an knew that he was the one who spread the news, and his face turned red and white when he heard the news.

Lady Yan'an casually pointed to a recent date and said, "After the 15th day of July, the weather will be cooler. I think we should set it on the 4th day of August. The new daughter-in-law will be married, and it will be the Mid-Autumn Festival. The family will be reunited, and your father's spirit in heaven will be happy to see it."

Wei Tingzhen wanted to postpone it.

The wife of the Marquis of Yan'an said, "I am old now, and I have to help Qingyuan prepare for her marriage. If you still want to discuss the marriage with the Dou family, I think it would be better to ask the second wife of your family to help pass the message between the two sides."

Wei Tingzhen knew that this was Lady Yan'an's warning to him. Although he felt a little helpless, he still said, "Then I will go back and talk to my mother and ask her to make a decision!"

"That's fine." Lady Yan'an brought the tea with a smile, but her attitude was much colder than before.

Wei Tingzhen went to the Jining Marquis' Mansion with a breath of anger, and happened to meet Mrs. Cai.

Mrs. Cai was talking to Tian: "…You have to make a decision whether it is right or wrong. It is not a good idea to keep silent. The Dou family does not have to marry into your family. It is just that our ancestors have made an agreement and it is not easy to break the promise. You have to give an explanation whether the Wei family recognizes this marriage or not. If they still recognize this marriage, the fourth daughter of the Dou family has been waiting for the Marquis of your family for four years. Do you think it is time to set a date for the wedding? If they do not recognize this marriage," she said, knocking on a thick gift list on the tea table, "since you do not agree, then the Dou family does not have to return the betrothal gifts that your family sent, but the gifts that the Dou family gave to your family must be returned double. If some things have been used for other purposes and cannot be returned, it is okay to convert them into silver!"

Seeing Wei Tingzhen coming in, Mrs. Cai stopped talking with a "Oh!", smiled and came forward to bow, saying: "Eldest aunt is back just in time! You are a sensible person, you should at least give us a word about the marriage between your family and the Dou family. Now Mr. Dou doesn't know about the Wang family, so everything can be discussed. If time goes on, it will be hard to keep it secret. If Mr. Dou knows, the marriage will not be up to the Fifth Madam, and it will be called off..."

Tian felt relieved and called out "Zhen'er" hurriedly.

Wei Tingzhen smiled at Tian soothingly, then his face darkened and he said unhappily, "Who is gossiping about this?"

"We don't know who is gossiping." Mrs. Cai smiled, but her words could sting a hole in people. "The note written by Marquis Jining to the fifth lady of the Dou family is still in the hands of the fifth lady. Originally, she thought that the two families were in-laws, so she didn't mention it. But since the two families want to cancel the engagement, there is no need to worry about it..."

Wei Tingzhen thought that if this matter got out, the woman would be the one who would suffer. She calculated that the Dou family would not make it public, and was angry at Wei Tingyu's recklessness, so she slapped Wei Tingyu hard. She was in no mood to ask about the details. At this time, she heard that Wei Tingyu actually left a note in the hands of the fifth wife of the Dou family. She was so angry that her eyes were dizzy. But before she could recover, Tian, ​​who was distressed for her son, said hurriedly: "I think the wedding date should be set on the fourth day of August..."

"Mom!" Wei Tingzhen was angry and anxious, and she couldn't help but shout at her mother. However, she saw that her mother's face was pale and her gentle eyes were filled with fear. She was stunned.

Tian said, "Zhen'er, don't say anything more. I've made the decision on this matter. The date is set for the fourth day of August." Then, she nodded apologetically to Mrs. Cai and said, "Please help us, Mrs. Cai, to say a few good words in front of my mother-in-law."

Mrs. Cai was delighted to see that she had achieved her goal. However, she saw Wei Tingzhen standing by with a gloomy face, and thought of how Wei Tingzhen had always been a troublemaker. She said unreasonably, "It's easy for Madam Tai to say anything, but I don't know what your eldest aunt would say. Your eldest aunt is a capable person. Not only can she be the head of the Duke of Jing's Mansion, but she can also have the final say on your affairs. I just went back to report to the Fifth Madam of the Dou Family, and your eldest aunt changed her mind again, making me go for nothing..."

"You!" Wei Tingzhen felt embarrassed and annoyed. She opened her mouth to refute Mrs. Cai, but Tian, ​​who wanted to keep things quiet, said, "How can you not care about your own brother? There was a reason for what happened before. Now that it's settled, let's not talk about the past anymore. We will invite a matchmaker to come and formally invite you today."

Mrs. Cai smiled and praised Tian with a few words like "She is tolerant and kind-hearted, and it is her blessing that the fourth daughter of the Dou family can marry into the family." She didn't even look at Wei Tingzhen and stood up to say goodbye.

Wei Tingzhen stamped her feet: "Mother..."

"Don't say anything more." Tian was unmoved. "This matter is decided like this."

Wei Tingzhen was so angry that she went to find Wei Tingyu. She stepped forward and pinched the ear of Wei Tingyu, who was half a head taller than her: "You idiot, what did you write to the fifth lady of the Dou family?"

Wei Tingyu grinned: "Sister, what are you talking about? When did I write anything for the fifth daughter of the Dou family... Please let go, it hurts so much."

Wei Tingzhen was surprised and said seriously, "You really didn't write any note to the fifth young lady of the Dou family?"

Her brother never lied to her.

Wei Tingyu swore.

Only then did Wei Tingzhen realize that she and her mother had been deceived.

She was so angry that she gnashed her teeth and cursed Mrs. Cai in her heart, thinking about how to make Mrs. Cai look bad. But who knew that the Dou family would act unexpectedly quickly - the next day, they delivered Dou Zhao's dowry list.

Farms, houses, shops, furniture, spices, jewelry, clothes, medicinal herbs... they filled a booklet with so much information that it would cost at least 20,000 taels of silver.

Wei Tingzhen was shocked.

Tian glanced at her daughter meaningfully.

Wei Tingyu was more direct and said, "Sister, please stop talking about Dou Zhao. No matter what, she will be your sister-in-law in the future. I will make her listen to you in everything from now on."

Wei Tingzhen's face turned red and white.

Back at the Duke of Jing's mansion, Zhang Yuanming also said to her: "I told you long ago that you shouldn't always look at appearances when looking at things. If this marriage is broken up because of you, won't you regret it?"

Wei Tingzhen muttered a few words unwillingly, and no one could hear what she said. But after that, she never interfered with Wei Tingyu's marriage again.

Hiring a matchmaker, sending out invitations, booking a wedding tent, arranging an accountant... the wedding went on in an orderly manner, and in the blink of an eye it was the end of July.

Relatives and friends who received the invitation sent gifts one after another.

Gu Yu and Wang Qinghuai gave gifts of 500 taels of silver, which overwhelmed the gifts of 200 taels from Wei Tingyu's uncle and 400 taels from Wei Tingzhen. In addition to the 500 taels of silver, Song Mo also gave a twelve-panel screen with a cockswing wood base inlaid with screws and decorated with flowers of the four seasons, a pair of mutton-fat jade fortune, longevity and happiness, a pair of natural agate deer, and a pair of enamel pine, bamboo and plum vases. These few items alone cost more than 1,000 taels of silver, which made the accountants praise them and discuss privately: "No wonder some people say that although the Prince of England has a cold temper, he is very generous. Look at the gifts..."

The gift money must be returned in equal measure, but the amount of the gift given out can be increased or decreased at discretion when returning it. Obviously, Song Mo was not prepared to let Wei Tingyu return the gift.

Wei Tingyu didn't expect Song Mo to give such an expensive gift, and he felt a little honored.

Tian repeatedly reminded Wei Tingyu: "You must pay attention to the affairs of the Crown Prince Song in the future."

Wei Tingyu nodded continuously.

Zhang Yuanming frowned slightly.

Compared with the friendship with Wei Tingyu, Song Yantang's gift was too expensive.

He wanted to remind his brother-in-law, but when he saw Wei Tingzhen holding the pair of natural agate deer and constantly exclaiming "How beautiful!", he swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue - saying such words at this time would only spoil the mood.

The first three and the last five.

On the first day of August, the Wei family began to set up the wedding tent, try out the stove, and welcome relatives and friends who came to congratulate them.

Dou Zhaoze returned to Jing'an Temple Hutong.

She will get married here.

The Fifth Lady suggested that Wang Yingxue be in charge of the management of Jing'an Temple Hutong temporarily.

In the afternoon, Dou Zhao's aunt, Mrs. Zhao, and her daughter Zhao Zhang rushed to Kyoto in a hurry.

Duan Gongyi and others also quietly moved into Jing'an Temple Hutong.