Su Yihui left Bishui Pavilion with a breath held, and went directly to Xuexiangyuan where Aunt Xue lived.
"Aunt, how much dowry will I have when I get married?" Su Yihui couldn't wait to ask as soon as she entered the door.
Aunt Xue thought for a moment and said, "The dowry for a legitimate daughter is 20,000 taels, and for a concubine's daughter is 10,000 taels. Make arrangements accordingly."
"Madam has gone to take care of the pregnancy. I will tell the Marquis that your dowry will be prepared by my aunt herself and will be carefully selected for you."
Su Yihui said, "It's only ten thousand taels of silver. What can I buy with that? Aunt, please talk to my father and ask if he can give me some extra dowry so that I can have the confidence to marry into the Xu family."
"The eldest young mistress of the Xu family is the legitimate daughter of Prince Duan's mansion. I heard that she married into the Xu family with a grand wedding. My dowry of ten thousand taels of silver will definitely be bullied to death by my sisters-in-law."
Aunt Xue's expression became a little serious when she heard this. It was all her fault for having a poor background. If she had a good background, wouldn't her daughter have to worry about not having a dowry?
Although this was the Su family's rule, her daughter's words made sense. After all, the Xu family was one of the most powerful families in the dynasty, so it was reasonable for her daughter to have a larger dowry. Perhaps it would also be beneficial to the Marquis's career in the future.
Thinking of this, Aunt Xue felt more confident. What's wrong with being a concubine's daughter? As long as she marries well, her family will look up to her.
"Yihui, I will tell your father about this matter. I will not let you marry in poverty."
Seeing Aunt Xue's solemn promise, Su Yihui felt more at ease and thought that she must get a decent set of headgear when the time comes.
The Su family arranged marriages for three of their daughters in a row, two scandals, and one to a deceased person. Consequently, everyone in the Su family kept a low profile these days. Even Su Chengye rarely drank outside, returning home directly after court.
Su Qingyu checked the account books of each courtyard for several days, but she didn't make any decisions, and she didn't even ask any questions. The housekeepers, who had been worried before, breathed a sigh of relief, secretly wondering if the eldest daughter simply couldn't understand the account books.
That morning, Su Qingyu was packing clothes to be sent to the farm for Lin when Feicui came in and announced, "Miss, Madam Zhao from the Duke of Weiguo's Mansion is here to discuss the details of the Shen family's marriage."
Madam Zhao is Madam Shen’s younger sister. The Shen family is still in mourning, so it is reasonable to ask her to make this trip.
"I remember Madam Zhao is also a vegetarian. Go to my grandmother's small kitchen and let me know if there's anything missing."
After Jadeite left, Su Qingyu instructed Agate, "Go pick out a simple and elegant dress for me."
She guessed that her grandmother would ask her to pay her respects to Madam Zhao, so she had to prepare the necessary clothes in advance to avoid being rude.
Su Qingyu had just changed her clothes when Feicui hurried in.
"Miss, something's wrong. The two cooks in the old lady's kitchen have diarrhea. Should we go out and find a vegetarian chef?"
It’s not that the chef in the head kitchen can’t cook it, but he’s just not so exquisite. It’s okay at other times, but today there are guests, and if the dishes are disrespectful, Su Qingyu, the lady who heads the family, will also be to blame.
Su Qingyu raised her eyebrows slightly, and her cold and elegant face darkened. "I'll go take a look."
She didn't believe it was such a coincidence that the cook would have diarrhea the moment Madam Zhao entered the mansion. If someone had done this on purpose, even if they had sent eight more cooks, it would be useless.
Su Qingyu quietly entered the small kitchen in the backyard through the small door of Songhe Hall. The small kitchen was in a mess. Several old women who were usually responsible for washing and cutting vegetables were sitting there doing nothing, not knowing what to do.
Seeing Su Qingyu come in, several people seemed to have a backbone, "The eldest lady is here, what should we do?"
Su Qingyu glanced at a few people, then looked around, then gently rolled up her sleeves, "You all go out."
Mrs. Wang, who was standing aside, rolled her eyes and stepped forward, saying with a smile, "Miss, please invite a vegetarian chef. Otherwise, we can't afford to delay the old lady's lunch."
Su Qingyu looked at Wang Pozi coldly and said, "I can do it. You all go out. Zhenzhu and I will do it."
Seeing this, Mrs. Wang smiled flatteringly and advised, "Young Miss, you want to cook it yourself? Then why don't we stay and wash the vegetables and prepare the side dishes? Otherwise, I'm afraid Young Miss..."
Su Qingyu interrupted Wang Pozi directly and said, "Go out. I will take full responsibility for delaying Grandma's lunch."
Mrs. Wang and the other three maids exchanged a few glances, all with smiles of watching the fun. As they walked out, they muttered, "It's not that we don't want to help, but don't blame us if anything goes wrong."
Pearl was indignant, "Miss, these people are too much. They can't be so arrogant when serving the old lady, right?"
Su Qingyu snorted, then said, "Ignore them for now, let's get lunch done first."
Pearl panicked when she heard this, "Miss, I only know how to cook some midnight snacks and porridge. I can't make vegetarian dishes for the old lady."
Su Qingyu rolled her eyes at her and said, "It doesn't matter if you can't do it, I can do it."
In her previous life, Old Madam Shen had always taken good care of her. Later, when the old madam was seriously ill, she served her for a while and also learned how to cook vegetarian dishes.
Su Qingyu first checked the vegetables in the kitchen and thought about what to cook. Zhenzhu also started washing and cutting vegetables under her command.
"Miss, when did you learn to cook? You're really good at it. The flowers you made are really pretty."
Pearl looked at the flower made of radishes on the plate, and her mood instantly relaxed.
Then Su Qingyu said, "Don't be so quick to laugh. First, find a way to get some vegetable oil. These oils are mixed with animal oil."
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