Chapter 203: The Wedding Banquet in Progress
The banquet was held separately for men and women. Hu Wen greeted the male guests in the front hall, while Madam Hu entertained the female guests in the back courtyard.
However, none of the wives of the Yangcheng officials came today, and Madam Hu only invited a few close female friends, so the backyard was very quiet.
After greeting her sisters, Madam Hu returned to the bridal chamber to visit her daughter.
"How can a wedding be held so shabby?" Madam Hu pouted in dissatisfaction. "The wedding of the daughter from the county town two years ago was such a grand affair!"
Hu Yu'er was Hu Wen's second daughter. She had an older sister who married and moved away to another place in her early years.
Hu Wen and his wife were both of ordinary appearance, but Hu Yu'er was born with a face that could eclipse the moon and flowers.
Hu Wen wanted to find a husband of similar appearance and character for his daughter, but, without exaggeration, the sons of officials of all ranks in Yangcheng were all ugly and unattractive.
People always have a greater fondness for beautiful things. Hu Wen thought that even if God didn't send his daughter a good husband, she could still stay in his own yard. With his family's wealth, he could still afford to raise a daughter for a lifetime.
Therefore, Hu Yu'er is eighteen years old this year and still has no marriage prospects, which is considered an old maid in this era.
Seeing her mother's displeasure, Hu Yu'er immediately pointed outside, signaling that the walls were listening and she shouldn't say anything she shouldn't.
“Mother, the situation is different now. Besides, I’m not marrying, I’m marrying a young master from the Jiang family. It looks good on the surface, so let’s not worry about these superficial things. The money we save will still be in our pockets, won’t it?” Hu Yu’er spoke gently, clearly someone who had been carefully nurtured and raised.
Seeing how beautiful and charming her daughter had become, and thinking about the rather shabby wedding banquet outside, Madam Hu felt even worse.
Every mother hopes that her daughter will have a grand wedding and be able to hold her own in her husband's family.
Although she doesn't have a husband's family now, Mrs. Hu still feels uneasy.
“I’ve prepared so much dowry for you, and I was originally planning to show off to those people on your wedding day. We’d walk around Yangcheng and demonstrate the power of our Prefect’s Mansion. But now, we only have three days to prepare. She’s already in her hands and won’t run away. Why can’t we prepare more? And to make matters worse, there’s no dowry or betrothal gifts. That’s a whole process cut off.”
If you ask Madam Hu, it's all Chunzhi's fault. She's the daughter of a lowly maid, a widow, and has no son. Such an unlucky person will affect others wherever she goes.
If it weren't for her, her husband would still be in charge of Yangcheng. A woman who spends all her time in the military camp, who knows how many illicit affairs she might have with others.
This person is shameless; he's just jealous of innocent girls and tries to sabotage their important life events.
Looking at her mother's expressive face, Hu Yu'er knew what she was thinking. She quickly tugged at her mother's sleeve and said coquettishly, "Mother, I'm a little hungry. Is it not proper for me to eat now?"
Upon hearing this, Madam Hu immediately exploded, "Eat! What's wrong with the rules? This wedding banquet has been done in such a way that it's completely against the rules. You wait here, your mother will go and make you your favorite pastries."
Mrs. Hu left the bridal chamber in a hurry. Now, whenever her mind slows down, she can't help but complain. She has to find something to do to prevent her temper from flaring up and causing trouble.
In the other front hall, the Yangcheng officials congratulated Hu Wen as soon as they entered, saying whatever was nice to hear.
Actually, they didn't want to come, but they were afraid that not coming would cause gossip, given their long-standing working relationship.
And the reason they didn't want to come was precisely because they were sitting there.
Su Zhenzhen followed them in, wondering why she had come to the front hall with a group of grown men, when she saw Chunzhi sitting at the head of the table.
"Sister Chunzhi."
Chunzhi had already taken her seat in the main hall. After all, she was the one who made the decision for the marriage, and she was the officiant, so she would receive the guests' congratulations along with the host family.
The Yangcheng officials initially wanted to pretend they didn't see it, but Su Zhenzhen had already spoken up and given the warning. If they didn't respond, it would be a blatant provocation.
"General."
"Greetings, General."
"It's been a while since I last saw you, General, you still look as dashing as ever."
The Yangcheng official forced a smile and greeted Chunzhi.
This woman's fighting power is truly terrifying, not to mention the series of measures she implemented in Yangcheng, which completely sidelined the officials. If Hu Wen hadn't been somewhat capable himself, he probably would have been stuck at home in idleness.
Although Su Zhenzhen was a socialite, it was a bit strange for her to stand with a group of grown men, so she quickly walked behind Chunzhi and stood still.
Chunzhi nodded slightly to her, and the two exchanged greetings. As for the officials from Yangcheng, they simply ignored them.
The officials of Yangcheng not only didn't feel slighted, but were actually happy about it. They acted as if the other party didn't exist; they thought the other party was just there to save face and would disappear as soon as they were done.
Hu Wen exchanged pleasantries with his old friends, "You've all watched Yu'er grow up. She's practically family. Today she's getting married, so you elders should do something to celebrate, right?"
The officials in Yangcheng were all shocked. Although Hu Wen, that old scoundrel, was shameless and his ways of amassing wealth were always aboveboard, when had he ever been so blatant? And he even managed to claim kinship with someone.
And is that what you call a daughter getting married? That's a son-in-law marrying into her husband's family! She'll still be living in her own home afterward, so why would she need any dowry money from her elders? Dowry money is given by elders to daughters who marry far away so they can have some security in case their husband's family faces a major crisis and their own family is too far away to help them.
Hu Wen was deeply inspired by Su Zhenzhen's theory of "relatives". He felt that all people under the sun are brothers, not just those in Yangcheng. They are all real relatives, and every relative should bring good fortune and happiness to the younger generation.
The Yangcheng officials were furious. They had come for the banquet, and their gifts had already been given to the gatekeeper. Now, because they were elders, they were expected to give the younger generation an additional subsidy. And since they were elders, how could they be stingy?
Some people turned their attention to Chunzhi. How could they tolerate Hu Wen blatantly accumulating wealth right under her nose?
However, Chunzhi continued peeling nuts on her own, seemingly not intending to interfere in their "personal feud."
The officials exchanged glances, wondering whether to give it or not.
The final conclusion was to give.
After all, these people had essentially lost their official positions, and only Hu Wen was still working in the county government. If they didn't give him the position, who knew if he would make things difficult for them?
Besides, they had already made a lot of money following Hu Wen, so in the end, they were the ones who profited.
The group nodded in agreement, saying they would send over the dowry money for their niece after the wedding banquet.
Hu Wen was finally satisfied. He waved his hand and told the butler to prepare for the next step.
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