Gu had just gotten herself together and was about to find Xu Yixing's fault, but who knew that she would write a note and hand it to the main courtyard.
She said that her wedding was approaching and she should learn the etiquette from the governess, so she requested not to go out or see guests for the time being.
Father Xu took the paper with a smile and nodded with satisfaction: "She is worthy of being our daughter. She is very well-behaved and sensible!"
Gu could only smile and put the matter of picking on her second daughter behind her. To put it bluntly, in a little over a month, she would belong to someone else's family, and her life and death would have no major connection with the Xu family.
As a stepmother, I am not as good as the biological mother, so I am happy to have a leisurely life. Once my second daughter gets married, I will have a good relationship with my eldest son. I don't worry that he will be unfilial in the future, and I don't worry that the new bride will dominate me as a mother-in-law.
"Oh, by the way, how do you think we should add to Yan'er's dowry?" When Old Man Xu suddenly mentioned this, Mrs. Gu became alert.
Although as the mistress she should give her some, she was unwilling to do so because the child was not her own.
"Master, Yan'er's dowry should be about the same as Xing'er's, but I also know that a large part of Xing'er's dowry was left by Sister Bai, and the Sun family's misfortunes have left not much. So Yan'er's dowry will probably be inferior to her sister's."
"Oh!" Old Man Xu stood up and silently glanced at the rising sun outside the window. It was a day off today and he was not in a hurry to go to court.
"But Yan'er is marrying into a wealthy family after all. I really don't want to see her living in discomfort in the prince's mansion."
"How could that be? Our Yan'er's marriage was granted by the Emperor himself. Who wouldn't look upon her with respect? And I see that the Seventh Prince likes our Yan'er very much and will definitely not treat her unfairly."
"That's different! Only by bringing enough dowry can we avoid being bullied by the man. You don't know that there are more and more powerful people in the capital now. No matter how rich the Seventh Prince is, he belongs to others. We can't give him any excuse to talk nonsense!"
Gu frowned. It sounded like this. Could it be that the master was planning to give out an even bigger dowry than when he married off his eldest daughter?
"Master, let me tell you something you may not like to hear. If we hadn't given Xing'er such a large dowry, perhaps, perhaps the people in the Sun Mansion wouldn't have been tempted by the money."
After Gu finished speaking, she carefully observed the master's expression. Seeing that he was not angry, he nodded silently, indicating his agreement.
"So, when it comes to Xiaoyan's dowry, can't we just follow the rules?" According to the rules, as the mistress, she would just need to buy some jewelry, which wouldn't cost much money. Of course, Mrs. Gu was happy.
"No, I have my own plan for this matter, so don't worry about it. Madam, you just need to be responsible for sending our Yan'er off safely on the wedding day, that's all!"
When Gu heard the master say this, she knew that he was going to use the private treasury. But she could use it anyway, since it was the master's private treasury and had nothing to do with her.
A few days later, Xu Yixing, who was still pretending to be a good girl in her room, was called to the study by Old Man Xu.
Although Xu Yixing was reluctant, he had no choice but to dress neatly and stride towards the study.
"Dad?" Xu Yixing no longer needed to say "Why are you looking for me?" or something like that. He could express his doubts with just one word.
"Sit down, come and take a look." Old Man Xu handed her a thin piece of paper and motioned her to take a look.
"What is this?" Xu Yixing glanced at it quickly. There were some things on it that belonged to her dowry shop, which were later taken back after the Sun Mansion collapsed. But there were more things that she had never seen before.
"What are these Xu Shilong ancient books?" Xu Yixing pointed at one of the items, having no idea what this list was for.
"Xu Shilong is one of our family's Hua Zong. He loved collecting rare ancient books. This is a collection he compiled, and he's kept it for a long time."
"Oh...but what are these things Daddy showed me? Why are there all kinds of things..."
"Yan'er, this is your dowry gift list. Do you think there is anything you want to adjust?"
"Ah?" Xu Yixing was really flattered. She continued to look down and even saw several taels of gold and silver. After a rough calculation, it was actually more than her original dowry.
What does this mean? How could my father be willing to give me such a large dowry?
"Dad, this is too expensive. I remember my sister didn't seem to have so many things. This is not suitable for me." Xu Yixing felt sad. She was afraid that her father would not give Yi Yan dignity at the beginning, and now that he gave her too much, she felt a little sad.
"That's different. You don't have to feel guilty. Your sister likes gold and jade, so the dowry we gave her was mostly gold utensils, cash and silver shops, and the like.
"Most of what Dad gave you are antiques, calligraphy, paintings, and poetry collections, which are even more valuable. When you go to the Seventh Prince's palace in the future, you will definitely have to interact with the concubines in the palace. They will like cultured people."
Xu Yixing knew this in his heart. They say gold is valuable in troubled times, and antiques are valuable in prosperous ones. The value of these calligraphy and ancient books cannot be measured by gold or silver. Furthermore, they are valued at different prices, and their value could indeed surpass physical gold and silver.
"Your father, I've been a military officer all my life, but I don't care about these things. You're different. Only when you take these things away can their value be realized."
After saying this, Dad even smiled embarrassedly, feeling as if he was the one who delayed these things from seeing the light of day.
"Dad, come to think of it, where did you get these things? Why haven't I seen them before?"
"These are all handed down from the ancestors of the Xu family. Dad has been keeping them and storing them in the warehouse."
"Um... didn't our family get its start in the military... I haven't heard of anyone specifically hobbling around collecting these things."
"Hahahahaha, Yan'er, you're still just a kid. You won't need these in a war, but after the battle, we can grab and pay what we need. There's always something left!"
Wow, it turns out these antiques were looted by my ancestors during the war. Xu Yixing didn't know what to say for a moment.
I clearly heard the news from Grandma He that day and I hated my father very much, but now my father is willing to give me such a generous dowry to compensate me. How can I deal with this?
It's like someone slaps you in the face, then gives you more sweet dates than you could possibly eat in your lifetime, and that person is your father. Can grudges between elders really be let go like this?
Xu Yixing didn't know and couldn't figure it out. Whether you say she was being too stubborn or that she was stuck in a dead end and couldn't get out, the fact was that it was the same no matter who it happened to.
"Dad, have you shown this list to Mother?"
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