Chapter 118 It’s time to pay back the dowry my mother gave me
Xu Susu explained the land deeds and property deeds to Xie Yao one by one.
On the eve of her daughter's wedding, she was no longer as cold as usual, but awkwardly gave many instructions. Even though she couldn't say many of them, she had to say them tonight.
Xie Yao looked into her mother's eyes filled with worry, hoping that this moment would go slower, and this night would go slower.
She likes to listen to her mother's chatter.
She casually picked up a deed, which happened to be for the house in the capital: "What kind of house is this? The price can be increased tenfold."
"It's not a big house, but the location is decent," Xu Susu said, her eyes dimming a little. "If Chengyuan was still there, you would definitely like it."
"Chengyuan?"
Xie Yao felt that the name sounded familiar.
Sang Ruo continued in a low voice, "Cheng Garden was the most valuable private property that Madam had when she was with the family. It covers an area of one hundred acres, has running water, and the pavilions and towers are all designed by famous masters. I'm afraid it's no less than a prince's mansion."
Xie Yao remembered that Chengyuan was originally the private garden of Prince Rui, the leader of the Five Kings Rebellion, when he was young and had not yet been granted the title of king.
After Prince Rui had his own palace, he sold Chengyuan.
In her previous life, she was imprisoned by Lu Shenyan on Zhuangzi, and saw Lu Shenyan returning from a banquet in Chengyuan.
He was drunk and said, "Your sister is now the emperor's favorite concubine, Consort Xian. The entire Bofu family has moved to Chengyuan. Even the emperor has allowed her to return home to visit her parents. What a glorious life she has."
"Chengyuan is actually my mother's dowry." Xie Yao said.
Sang Ruo said, "Yes, after the garden was transferred to Madam's name, she never even set foot inside the garden before Uncle took it away, saying he wanted to use it to entertain distinguished guests. Later, he even took away the title deed."
There was a biting chill in Xie Yao's eyes.
Her mother never set foot in Chengyuan for a single day during her lifetime, but after her death, the entire Xie family moved into Haoyuan. Why?
Xie Yao looked at the things in the box and said in a low voice, "These are probably less than 30% of my mother's dowry."
Sang Ruo: "Second Miss is right. It's a pity that so much dowry was taken by the uncle to go around, and ended up filling holes in the uncle's house."
"There's no need to say that." Xu Susu interrupted her, with a hint of fatigue in her eyes.
"Sang Ruo has been with me for many years. She is steady and can read and do accounts. I will follow you to the palace."
"I don't want it," Xie Yao shook her head, her eyes firmly rejecting him. "The honeysuckle and cattails around me can all read. If mother gives Sang Ruo to me, and you have no one to take care of you, how can I feel at ease getting married?"
Xu Susu saw the stubbornness in her eyes and finally did not force it.
Xie Yao recalled her previous life, when her mother also came to her with a box on the eve of her wedding.
She stood outside the door in the cold wind, her face expressionless, and said calmly, "The things in here are the dowry your father prepared for you."
She lied to herself and said that the dowry in the box was all given by Xie Mingan.
She actually believed it at the time, thinking that although Xie Ming'an was strict, he loved her after all. On the contrary, it was her mother who always spoke coldly to her and was indifferent when she was sick, as if it had nothing to do with her who she married.
In the end, her mother did not take the initiative to explain, nor did she let her into her room.
That turned out to be the last time she and her mother saw each other in her previous life.
So just now, when she saw her mother appear outside her door, her eyes suddenly filled with tears, and she excitedly opened the door and invited her mother in.
"Put it away."
Xu Susu pushed the locked box in front of Xie Yao, placed the key on it, and said, "I have lived a confused life and have nothing to teach you. I have made you suffer so much. Ah Yao, you must be very resentful of me."
"You must take good care of yourself from now on—"
Before she could finish her words, Xie Yao threw herself into her arms, her voice choked with sobs and hoarse, "How could I blame my mother!"
Sang Ruo was standing aside, wiping her tears.
Xu Susu's body trembled slightly and she hugged her daughter back.
Xie Yao tried to calm down, collected herself, and took out the daylily sachet embroidered by Xiao Yizi: "This is..."
Before he could even say that he had embroidered it himself, Xu Susu smiled and said, "I watched the prince embroider this sachet."
Xie Yao blushed: "Yes, you are the prince's mother-in-law, this is his filial piety to you."
Xu Susu said, "I've met the prince several times over the past month. In my opinion, although the prince has a murderous aura, he's not as cold-blooded and ruthless as the rumors say. As for his leg, he gave you a horse as a gift, so I guess he's not paranoid."
"However, everything will have to wait and see after you get married. I just hope you can live in harmony and peace... If he betrays you, remember that your mother will always be there for you."
Xu Susu said word by word.
"Don't worry, mother. Your daughter understands."
Xu Susu accepted the sachet, took the opportunity to lower her head and quietly wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes.
"Go to bed early. The bride has to get up early tomorrow."
After she finished speaking, she left with Sang Ruo and closed the door.
Xie Yao sat quietly for a while and called Pu Wei.
"Mother is alone with Sang Ruo, and I'm worried," she said calmly, "You stay at the Xie family and take good care of her for me."
Pu Wei nodded: "Yes, with this servant here, I will definitely not let Madam suffer any injustice."
Xie Yao murmured, "Mother, the day when you leave the Xie family is not far away."
Then she opened the box again and wanted to take out some banknotes for Pu Wei to keep.
As soon as I put my hand in, I touched something cold.
Xie Yao took it out and saw that it was the Hetian jade bracelet she had just put on her mother during the day.
Suddenly, Xie Yao's nose felt slightly sore and her eyes became moist again.
She put the bracelet back at the bottom of the box and took out a few banknotes and gave them to Pu Wei: "Take these. They will be useful for daily expenses or for making arrangements."
After Pu Wei put away the things, he bowed and left.
The room became completely quiet.
Xie Yao walked to the window and opened half of it.
In the darkness of the night, the lights in Xie Ming'an's study were still on. On the eve of the wedding, except for Wanxiangyuan, everyone in the Bo's mansion was busy.
Xie Yao smiled silently.
It's time for Xie Mingan to pay back his debt.
*
On the eighteenth day of the winter month, Xie Yao and King Jingbei got married.
Early in the morning, guard Bai Zhu came with a team of maids from the palace.
Xie Yao had a good night's sleep. After waking up, she started to dress up according to the routine and had lunch at a leisurely pace.
While Bai Zhu was eating, she took a walk in the back garden of Bo's house.
There is no one in the ancestral hall.
Xie Mingan's study, which was usually patrolled by two or three teams of guards in turn, was now only guarded by two book boys.
She understood what was going on and went back into the house.
The auspicious time for picking up the bride was set at dusk, but there were two grand banquets at the Earl's Mansion and the Prince's Mansion at noon and in the evening respectively.
After lunch, Xie Yao changed into her wedding dress and waited for the auspicious time.
She pinned a narrow dagger to the waist of her wedding dress.
It is said that this wedding dress was made by Xiao Yizi's mother, Madam Jingning.
Madam Jingning is the daughter of the Qin family, a military family, but she is not interested in weapons.
In this respect, she is exactly the opposite of Empress Shen. It is said that in the early years, Empress Shen loved her as her sister and let her serve as the chief embroiderer of the palace's clothing bureau.
Xie Yao's wedding dress was extremely luxurious, as smooth as water to the touch, and fit her body perfectly. There was a touch of shark silk around her waist, which made her shine even inside the house.
Xie Yao still remembered that in her previous life, she was going to marry Lu Shenyan. The wedding dress sent by the Lu family was bought from a ready-made clothing store and was too loose. She felt uneasy when she walked, fearing that she would make a fool of herself and be accused of violating the rules.
At this moment, she was waiting for Xiao Yi to come, but her heart was calm and composed.
Just as I was thinking about it, Honeysuckle walked in with a smile on her face: "Miss, the time has come."
Outside, there was a burst of passionate gong and drum music.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
