"Ugh, okay, Mom, you're so annoying!" Ye Huan pushed her mother away impatiently, feeling like her ears were about to go deaf from her mother's nagging.
"Brother Jianghai has been promoted and ennobled now. His erudition and talent have captivated countless women. But he is only interested in a woman like me. If I were to become a well-educated, refined lady who is skilled in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, as my mother suggested, would I still be me? I'm afraid Brother Jianghai wouldn't even give me a second glance then!" Ye Huan said, hands on her hips, speaking with great conviction.
Seeing her daughter's stubbornness, Madam Ye opened her mouth as if to refute something, but in the end, she couldn't say anything.
Thinking about it carefully, what my daughter said doesn't seem to be unreasonable. You can't force a melon to ripen; if we keep pushing her to change, it might even have the opposite effect.
Seeing that her mother had finally stopped nagging, Ye Huan breathed a long sigh of relief.
However, she has not been having a good time lately. There are always some self-important noble ladies who openly or secretly mock her, saying that it is a waste of talent for a great man like Jiang Hai to marry a good-for-nothing like her.
Every time Ye Huan heard these sarcastic and mean words, she would get so angry that she almost got into a fight with them on the spot several times.
For this reason, Madam Ye was worried that her daughter would continue to cause trouble outside, so she forcibly brought her home to practice music, chess, calligraphy and painting, hoping to transform her in a short period of time and make her a true talented woman.
Ye Huan was both amused and exasperated. She had been raised to be a good-for-nothing since childhood, and now she was trying to transform herself into a talented woman at the last minute. How could she possibly do it in time?
Moreover, she had no intention of making any changes whatsoever.
To put it bluntly, Madam Ye has a strong competitive spirit and is unwilling to see her precious daughter be outdone by others.
She frowned and said worriedly, "Although the Zheng family's daughter was also spoiled and pampered, even if she doesn't have any famous talents, she's still more learned than you!"
Ye Huan didn't care at all, and even curled her lips and replied nonchalantly, "Oh, Mother, don't worry about it! We're going to marry into the General's Mansion to live a down-to-earth life, not to participate in some literary competition to see who is better."
Hearing this, Madam Ye stamped her feet in anger and shouted anxiously, "You heartless girl! If you have no education at all, how will you teach the children to read, write, and be reasonable in the future? Do you expect the children's father to do everything by himself?"
Ye Huan, however, remained calm and confidently retorted, "My husband is a top scholar in the imperial examination. Mother, you are simply overthinking things."
After saying this, Ye Huan successfully left her mother speechless once again.
Finally, Madam Ye sighed helplessly, reached out and gently poked her daughter's smooth forehead with her finger, and said reproachfully, "Alright, alright, you're the most eloquent of all."
At this moment, Ye Huan's tone suddenly softened, "Mother, after I marry into the General's Mansion, I won't be able to stay by your side to take care of you all the time. So please remember to eat on time, and I will come back to visit you often."
These simple words immediately brought tears to Madam Ye's eyes.
Mrs. Ye felt heartbroken at the thought of her daughter's life after marriage.
Everyone says it's good to have a daughter, so Madam Ye would rather Ye Huan were a son so she wouldn't have to get married.
The thought that her daughter would one day become a member of the General's Mansion filled Madam Ye with an indescribable feeling, as if the tender cabbage she had painstakingly planted had been easily stolen by the General's Mansion.
Meanwhile, Ye Huan and her mother were exchanging witty and subtle exchanges.
Meanwhile, Madam Zheng was extremely anxious, wishing she could marry her daughter off in grand style the very next day.
She had a strong premonition that the Emperor would not let the Duke of Zheng's mansion off easily this time.
Zheng Yao, completely unaware of this, only vaguely sensed that her mother seemed to be hiding something.
However, whenever she asked, her mother would always answer casually, "Silly girl, I just want to see you get married and have children as soon as possible."
When Zheng Yao saw the mountain of dowry her mother had meticulously prepared, she was stunned and asked incredulously, "Mother, aren't you... preparing a bit too much?"
Madam Zheng explained solemnly, "After a woman marries into her husband's family, she always needs some money to rely on, because money is the foundation of our confidence!"
Zheng Yao was still worried and hesitated before asking, "But Mother, won't my elder sister be angry if she finds out? And what about Prince Jin? I'm afraid he'll be unhappy too?"
You should know that the dowry prepared by Madam Zheng is more than twice as much as that of her eldest daughter when she got married!
Zheng Yao's heart pounded. Putting aside her elder sister's narrow-mindedness, just thinking about the fact that the Duke's mansion had prepared a dowry for the second young master of the General's Mansion to get married was much more generous than that for the Prince's wedding. Wasn't this a blatant slap in the face to Prince Jin?
Madam Zheng keenly noticed the faint worry on her daughter's face and understood the situation perfectly.
She gently patted her daughter's hand and comforted her, "Yao'er, don't worry. Your elder sister is now a princess, with an extremely noble status. How could she possibly care about such insignificant things?" After saying this, Madam Zheng's lips curled up slightly, as if she was very certain of what she had said.
Zheng Yao opened her mouth, wanting to say a few more words, but seeing her mother's nonchalant and dismissive expression, she ultimately swallowed her words back.
After all, my mother meant well, and since she has already done so, it seems I shouldn't let her down.
In truth, only Madam Zheng herself knew that deep down she wished she could send the entire Duke's mansion as part of her dowry.
If the Duke's mansion were to suffer a great calamity in the future and the imperial court were to order the confiscation of its property, then these generous dowries would be preserved.
Yao'er is kind-hearted; she would never stand idly by if her family fell into misfortune.
When his sons and grandsons fall into poverty in the future, all of this wealth will be used for them.
Zheng Yao was unaware of Madam Zheng's ulterior motives.
At this moment, Zheng Yao felt a warm glow in her heart, as if she were basking in the warm spring sunshine.
She sincerely felt that her mother loved her so much, and that she had considered her happiness and future so thoroughly and far-sightedly.
Madam Zheng felt ashamed of her own scheming, but she still had to think about the Duke's mansion.
It just made the daughter bear the stigma of emptying her family's coffers.
At least on the day of the wedding, the elder brother and sister-in-law will most likely be displeased.
Because what she wants to give is far more than that.
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