After Xu Rong and Xiao Xin entered the mansion, the confrontation between the two ladies, Xu and Xiao, is not worth recounting. Madam Xu wore a shocked expression throughout. She was powerless to resist Madam Xiao, nor could she put on any airs to reprimand Xu Rong. Even when facing Xiao Xin, she could only glare at him for a moment before picking up her handkerchief and bursting into tears: "You, how could you—alas!"
The opponent's weakness diminished Madam Xiao's sense of victory. She was too lazy to mock Madam Xu further, and her gaze casually swept over Xu Rong and Xiao Xin. Xiao Xin was so opposed to the marriage that he was willing to run away, but before running away, he secretly met with Xu Rong. There was something strange about this, but she didn't have time to investigate it and felt there was no need to rush.
Once we've got the person in our grasp, there's plenty of time.
Madam Xu shed a few tears and gradually calmed down. Ignorance has its own kind of happiness. She had no idea how many tricks had been played out between the various parties behind the scenes. In her view, although this matter was a loss of face, it would not cause any serious consequences. It wasn't like she was meeting some random man outside. They were already engaged. For an engaged couple to meet in secret without informing their elders would at most make Xu Rong seem very unreserved and would cause people to laugh a few times.
So she still seemed a little confused and asked, "Madam Xiao, what do you want now?"
Madam Xiao wants to move the wedding date forward.
Madam Zhang's repeated interference and obstruction had alerted her, and she didn't even want to wait until February, lest things get complicated.
When she made this decision, she glanced at Xu Rong—Madam Zhang had reminded her, but she could never believe that Xu Rong was anything special.
If the mother is so useless, how good can the daughter be?
The marriage was arranged in the first place only because of the late Marquis Ji'an.
Under her gaze, Xu Rong showed surprise, much like Madam Xu, except that Madam Xu was even more impatient and blurted out, "How can this be? It's too rushed!"
Xu Rong followed behind and added, "That's right. My mother didn't even have time to prepare my dowry."
Madam Xu still had some love for her daughter. After hearing this, she turned to comfort her and said, "Rong'er, don't worry. Your dowry has been prepared since your father was alive, and it should be more than half complete."
Xu Rong was relieved to hear this, and a rare sweetness appeared on her lips as she smiled: "Mm."
It's settled. She has no objections. The wedding date will be moved up, and the dowry will be delivered to her sooner.
Without her help, Madam Xu revealed her hand and faced Madam Xiao alone, completely powerless to fight back. As a result, the wedding date was moved from February to January 18th, after the Lantern Festival.
According to Madam Xiao, it was an auspicious day calculated by a high-ranking monk from Tianning Temple, and it was very suitable for marriage.
**
Regardless of whether the so-called auspicious day was true or not, Xu Rong began preparing for her wedding.
This is a huge project.
Wooden furniture, cloth clothing, gold and jade jewelry, decorative utensils, farmland gold and silver... At this time, most of the dowry was presented in the form of physical objects. Families with wealth would prepare even the red wooden bucket for urination and the coffin for burial for their daughters from birth to death. It was definitely too late to buy these materials now, so they would usually start accumulating them from the time the daughter's marriage was arranged.
This is how the Xu family saved up for Xu Rong.
Because she only had one daughter, and given Madam Xu's unreliability, she had indeed amassed a considerable fortune for her, drawing it from the storeroom and various parts of the estate, filling most of the mansion.
This only includes what we already have at home, such as some fabrics and jewelry. Because we need to consider the different styles and trends that are currently popular, we also need to make a list to buy more.
Xu Rong went to bed later and got up earlier each day.
Bai Fu was used to her previous routine of working until late morning—occasionally even until late afternoon—and felt sorry for her, so she advised, "Miss, take a rest. Leave those things to Madam."
Xu Rong shook her head, looking energetic: "No need."
It's good to be young. She works so hard, but she doesn't even get dark circles or eye bags. At most, she might yawn a few more times.
As for being tired, no, who gets tired of counting their own money?
Actually, this matter should have been handled by Madam Xu. As a substitute bride, Xu Rong could only assist from the sidelines at most. But unknowingly, she went from being an assistant to taking full control. By the time the first snow fell, she even moved her office from Madam Xu's main courtyard to her own.
At this point, she no longer needed to go out to verify the actual items. Some discrepancies and errors had already been identified beforehand—which was unavoidable in Madam Xu's hands. Because of this, Madam Xu retreated one shot's distance, then two shots' distance... until she relinquished control.
Xu Rong didn't stand on ceremony. After calculating the missing amounts in the original account book, she went to ask Madam Xu for them. Madam Xu felt indebted to her, so she honestly gave them all to her.
The extra expense was quite substantial, and Madam Xu couldn't help but feel the pain when she thought about it. She was angry, but she managed to pull herself together and, according to the detailed list of expenses given by Xu Rong, summoned the relevant managers. After confirming that there were indeed problems, she punished and dismissed them all.
This unintentional act has unexpectedly brought a much clearer atmosphere to the mansion.
As the season entered early December, a major event, or rather a joyous occasion, occurred in the capital.
The Marquis of Changxing's family and the Duke of Zheng's family have officially formed a marriage alliance.
The Xiao family later went to great lengths to find two more geese and went to the Duke of Zheng's mansion to place the betrothal. This time, with fewer people causing trouble, the entire process was completed quickly, and the good thing was finally settled before the end of the year.
Xu Rong learned from Xu Huazhang that she was too busy to go out. Her young, spoiled brother had come to see her, and at first hesitant to speak, but after Xu Rong asked him, he dejectedly told her.
Xu Rong nodded: "Oh."
Then, holding a pen in one hand and using the other hand to manipulate the abacus with his five fingers, he continued to work away.
She had never used such a primitive calculating tool before, but it wasn't difficult to learn. With a lot of practice, she quickly went from being clumsy to becoming proficient.
As for writing, the original owner had a female tutor when she was young and studied for a few years. Before picking up a pen, Xu Rong looked at her calligraphy copybook. Her brushstrokes were weak, but her handwriting was neat. Xu Rong compared it with the two ugly characters she wrote in her original state and immediately declared that her hand was shaking as soon as she put pen to paper because she had hit her head.
No one doubted it, after all, even a doctor couldn't crawl into her head to see if it was true.
Xu Huazhang sat opposite her, staring blankly at her busy work. After a while, he sipped water. After finishing a glass of water, Xu Rong didn't even look up. He called out in a muffled voice, "Sister."
Xu Rong uttered another ugly word: "Hmm?"
She was doing the final calculations and transcriptions.
Are you angry with me?
Xu Rong glanced at him, her eyes filled with confusion: "What?"
“Xiao Lun still married someone else, and you’re going to marry Xiao Xin…” Xu Huazhang scratched at the table with his fingers. “It’s always been me who fell into someone else’s trap.”
Xu Rong thought he had something new to say, but hearing this, she didn't have much time to pay attention to him and said with her head down, "Yes. You're only now thinking of reflecting on your actions?"
She was so direct that Xu Huazhang pursed his lips, looking as if he had been kicked, and his expression even seemed to be on the verge of tears.
Xu Rong didn't hear him make a sound for a while, then glanced at him again and said with a smile, "Why are you crying? I didn't scold you."
Xu Huazhang said firmly, "I didn't cry."
That's what he said, but his expression became even more dejected.
He tried to make amends for his mistakes; he threatened Xiao Xin and caused trouble for Xiao Lun… but those were merely actions driven by anger. Only then did he realize that everything was beyond redemption.
Xu Rong wasn't in a bad mood at the moment; in fact, she'd been in a good mood lately. She put down her pen and asked him, "Regret it?"
Xu Huazhang nodded quickly.
"It's too late."
Xu Huazhang's voice trembled with tears: "Sister!"
"Before you do anything in the future, think about how you feel right now." Xu Rong looked at him and said, "If it hurts, don't do it."
Xu Huazhang, who claimed he hadn't cried, finally let his tears fall: "...Mm."
Bai Fu silently offered him a handkerchief, but Xu Huazhang didn't take it. Instead, he wiped his eyes with his sleeve, making them red and swollen, like a pitiful puppy: "Sister, I was wrong."
Xu Rong: "Mm."
She didn't respond much. Xu Huazhang sat silently for a while, slowly recovering, and whispered, "Sister, do you really want to marry Xiao Xin? If you don't want to, there's still a way. Zhang Weiling promised me he could steal the marriage certificate from Madam Xiao for me—"
Xu Rong was surprised: "What?"
Then she realized what was happening: "You made peace with Young Master Zhang?"
Xu Huazhang nodded: "Although he has a bad temper, he is reasonable. I teamed up with him to beat up Luo Chengan, and that was it."
Xu Rong was both amused and exasperated—what kind of reasoning was this? But she didn't sympathize with Second Master Luo either. He dared to get involved in the secret affairs of a wealthy family without a strong backing. He thought he would get away with a couple of beatings.
"Did you hurt anyone?"
"No, no." Xu Huazhang shook his head. "Zhang Weiling goes out now with many guards with him. We won't let him cause any more trouble."
"And what about the stolen marriage certificate?"
“Zhang Weiling is still angry with Madam Xiao. Old Madam Zhang is suppressing him and won’t let him have a falling out with my sister. He’s been holding a grudge. Now that we’re more familiar with each other, I talked to him, and he immediately agreed to make things difficult for Madam Xiao.” Xu Huazhang’s narrow eyes gleamed with a flattering light. “Sister, Xiao Xin is not good enough for you. Let’s get the marriage certificate back. Don’t marry him.”
Xu Rong stared at him for a long time.
Xu Huazhang gradually felt guilty under her gaze: "Sister?"
"Were you originally planning to tell me this?"
Xu Huazhang's voice dropped eight octaves: "...No. I wanted to give my sister a surprise."
He only spoke up after Xu Rong told him to think about it.
"It must have been tough for you to do this, right?"
Regardless of the circumstances, Xu Huazhang did indeed break Zhang Weiling's arm. Considering the time involved, it takes a hundred days to recover from a broken bone, and the splint had only just been removed. For Xu Huazhang to reconcile with him and persuade him to do things, the effort and time involved cannot be explained in a few words.
Xu Huazhang, seeing Xu Rong's expression, thought he was about to be scolded, but upon hearing the question, he scratched his head somewhat embarrassedly: "It's alright."
Xu Rong looked at him. This younger brother was more talented than she had thought, but he was too unconventional. It seemed that he was born to take the unconventional path, and everything he did was a constant teetering on the edge of trouble.
“You’re right to tell me this.” Xu Rong affirmed him first, then shook her head: “But this isn’t something that can be solved by stealing the marriage certificate, just like it was useless to let Xiao Lun’s wild goose escape.”
Xu Huazhang nodded obediently: "Oh, then I won't do it."
"Don't say Xiao Xin isn't good enough for me anymore." Xu Rong thought for a moment, "By the way, when you saw him outside, you didn't have any more conflicts with him, did you?"
She was busy preparing for her wedding and hadn't left the house, but these young men couldn't be kept at home. The affluent areas of the capital were only so big, and it was very possible that they would run into each other.
Xu Huazhang shook his head: "No, he doesn't go out."
Xu Rong sensed the problem: "You've inquired about him?"
Xu Huazhang wiped his nose: "Well, you know, you know your enemy, and you'll never be defeated." Afraid of upsetting Xu Rong, he quickly added, "But sister, do you know what he's been doing?"
Xu Rongtou paid attention to it.
"read."
As he uttered those two words, Xu Huazhang's eyebrows shot up with a strange air, and his lips twitched—he was trying to suppress a laugh. "Zhang Weiling inquired for me and said that he's acting like a proper young lady now, never leaving his house, and I don't know what's wrong with him."
Xu Rong was satisfied: "That's very good."
Xiao Xin was indeed a man of his word; his name was not wrong, and he was truly a reliable person.
Xu Huazhang asked, puzzled, "Huh?"
Xu Rong said seriously, "Studying is a serious matter. Even if you don't study, you shouldn't laugh at others for being diligent."
Xu Huazhang was not happy: "Zhang Weiling is laughing so loudly—okay, I won't laugh."
"Not only should you not smile, but if you see him, you should also praise him more, saying that he is studious, ambitious, and an excellent person, understand?"
Xu Huazhang's eyes widened: "Why did I praise him?"
Because Xiao Xin loved to listen to it, and could listen to it all the way.
Xu Rong said, "I see you never do anything serious, and now you're hanging out with Young Master Zhang. I'm going to talk to Mother about this. At your age, you should be studying—"
Xu Huazhang immediately changed his tune: "I'll praise him, sister. I'll praise him whenever I see him."
Xu Rong couldn't help but laugh, then looked at him again: "Brother Zhang, after I leave, you'll be all alone at home. You must listen to your mother and not cause trouble all the time."
This was a serious instruction, and Xu Huazhang straightened up and replied, "Mm."
Xu Rong added, "But you don't have to listen to her completely. Mother isn't a very insightful person, you understand?"
Xu Huazhang puffed out his chest: "I understand, sister. When it's my turn to make a decision, I will make it myself."
He glanced at Xu Rong's expression and added, "Think it over before you take it."
Xu Rong smiled: "By the way."
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