Chapter 89: Beware of the betrothal gift? The prince only gave her one
Xie Mingan stared at the gift boxes that were all painted with gold, and his throat rolled.
I originally thought that the marriage between Prince Jingbei and Xie Yao was arranged by the emperor, and the Xiao family would at most send a wedding dress, but no betrothal gifts. Unexpectedly, not only wedding dresses and betrothal gifts came, but also the emperor's edict of enthronement, and the Minister of Revenue came in person to announce the decree!
This rebellious girl is finally of some use.
After Lord He finished reading the imperial edict, he looked at Xie Yao gently.
This is Xiao Ruhui’s wife, he has to take a good look at her.
"After my wife returned home yesterday, she told me about the extraordinary second daughter of the Xie family. After seeing her today, I can see that she is indeed a beauty, and she and the prince are a perfect match made in heaven." He said with a smile.
Xiao Yizi's tone was calm, but he said something shocking: "This king also thinks so."
Xie Yao said modestly, "Your Excellency, I am greatly honored to receive your compliments. I do not deserve them."
Lord He stroked his long beard and deliberately raised his voice, "Who said the Second Miss of the Xie family doesn't know etiquette? I think the Second Miss is well-educated, well-mannered, and graceful. She is worthy of being the Princess of Jingbei!"
With him, the Minister of Rites, speaking for the second daughter of the Xie family, the sarcastic rumors of those country women will be self-defeating from today on!
After Lord He finished speaking, he raised his head proudly and looked at Xiao Yizi, his eyes revealing one sentence: How about it, are you satisfied, Ruhui?
A few days ago, Ruhui personally came to him and asked him to be the court official who delivered the betrothal gifts, and hinted that after he arrived at the Xie family, he should speak for the second lady of the Xie family.
This was the first time Ruhui asked him for help.
Now, Lord He was happily waiting for Ruhui to thank him.
Unexpectedly, King Jingbei had already slowly raised his head to look at the sky and the clouds.
The corner of Lord He's mouth twitched, and he thought to himself, "Never mind, I'm used to it."
He added politely, "Brother Ming'an is so lucky to have such a wonderful daughter."
"My little girl is naughty, and it is her blessing to be favored by the Minister."
Xie Mingan exchanged a few pleasantries and then casually gave an order: "The betrothal gifts sent by the prince are too many. I'm afraid Wanxiangyuan can't hold them all. Madam Zhu, take these young men to the storeroom and move the betrothal gifts in."
Xu Susu took two steps forward, mustered up her courage, and took the initiative to stand up and stop Nanny Zhu.
"Who said Wanxiangyuan can't accommodate it?"
Her face was still pale, and her voice was neither high nor low, but it was impossible to ignore.
When Lord He saw her, he remembered what his wife had told him yesterday after she came home, about the Marquis of Wenchang favoring his concubine over his wife.
Xu Susu spoke clearly, "Don't worry, my Lord. I have already emptied the warehouse. There are still several empty rooms in Wanxiang Courtyard. It can be accommodated anyway."
She clenched her fists and would never allow anyone to take advantage of her daughter's betrothal gift.
Xie Mingan's face darkened and a faint light flashed in his eyes.
This woman had been in charge of the household for less than three days, and she dared to go against him.
Even with such severe tuberculosis, she still didn't learn to be sensible.
He glanced at Xie Yao and sneered in his heart.
Did she think that with this girl's support, she could become the mistress of the Earl's Mansion?
Wait until Xie Yao gets married, haha.
"Madam, what do you mean? In your eyes, I, as a father, am the kind of person who is greedy for my daughter's betrothal gift?" Xie Ming'an remained expressionless, just frowned and asked righteously.
Xu Susu hit a soft nail: "That's not what I meant."
Xie Yao suddenly said, "Mother didn't mean that, but, sorry, this is what I meant."
"Say it again, girl! What nonsense are you talking about in front of Lord He and the prince?" Xie Mingan said angrily.
Xie Yao repeated, "In the eyes of his daughter, her father is indeed the kind of person who would covet her betrothal gift."
"You!" Xie Mingan's face turned pale.
Lord He coughed and said, "Brother Xie, I heard that you were poisoned a few days ago, and the power of managing the family has been handed over to your wife. In that case, why bother to fight with her about where to put these betrothal gifts?"
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Xie Mingan forced a stiff smile.
"Your Excellency, you may not know that this girl is too prejudiced against me. I am only going to store the betrothal gifts in the warehouse and register them. In a few days, all of them will be her dowry, intact."
Hearing this, Xie Yao didn't even raise her eyelids and asked calmly, "Since it will all be my daughter's dowry in a few days, why did father go to the extra mile to move it to the warehouse? And then take off his pants and stand on the tower to fart?"
"You rebellious girl, how dare you speak such vulgar words!" Xie Mingan shouted.
Xie Yao showed a hurt expression again: "Father looked down on me because I was born in the Strong Women's Camp. Looking down on me is looking down on the eldest princess..."
Xie Mingan gritted his teeth and said, "You are still young and don't know how to manage money. How can you check the accounts and financial assets? Besides, I am your father. It is only natural for a father to manage his daughter's accounts."
Xiao Yizi slowly spoke, "Lord Wenchang is wrong. My betrothal gift is for Second Miss Xie alone. Whether she can manage finances is up to her alone. I want to marry her, not you."
He looked at Xie Yao who looked pitiful, and the corners of his lips rose slightly.
Then, he stared at Xie Mingan with an even colder look: "Why, before the wedding, you want to act like a father-in-law and take charge of the princess's finances?"
Xie Mingan felt a surge of blood in his chest. He felt that the residual poison he had been infected with had not yet been cleared, and he was about to vomit blood from anger.
One moment he said that you and I are a family, and the next moment he said that we have not yet been married and have nothing to do with the Xie family.
How could there be someone like Xiao Yizi in this world who pretends to obey but actually disobeys?
But this person happened to be his son-in-law, and the King of Jingbei, who was second only to the emperor, so he could only put on a smile.
Lord He saw this and shook his head.
He and Wenchangbo had served in the same court for many years and had a superior-subordinate relationship. He knew very well that Wenchangbo appeared to be honest but was actually generous in private, liked to form cliques, and spent money like water.
Even if he didn't know what kind of person Xie Ming'an was, he understood one thing - people who use money to win people's hearts are bound to be greedy for money themselves.
However, it is really despicable that a great uncle would actually set his sights on his daughter's betrothal gift.
The most important thing is that Lord He saw Xiao Yizi's disdain for Xie Mingan. The He family and the Xiao family are old friends, so he naturally spoke for Xiao Yizi.
Lord He said, "Thank you, my dear brother. The betrothal gifts sent by the palace have all been personally reviewed by His Majesty. The wedding will be in five days. If you can truly offer a dowry equal to or greater than the palace's, then you can keep it in the treasury."
His eyes grew serious, and he continued, "But if I make such a boast now, you'll end up withholding the dowry yourself, leaving me with much less... If word gets out, it might seem like the Earl's Mansion is disrespectful to the Prince, and there's no guarantee His Majesty won't hold me accountable."
Xie Ming'an cursed He Yu, the nosy official, in his heart when he saw him carrying the emperor out.
Xie Ming'an wanted to refute, why would His Majesty care about the amount of Xie Yao's dowry, but he saw his younger brother Pei Jun, who he had just become a close friend a few days ago, blinking at him vigorously.
Pei Jun has a special identity and is considered the emperor's cousin.
His appearance here means that the emperor really cares about this matter!
Even though Xie Mingan was unwilling, he could only agree repeatedly: "Your Excellency is absolutely right. How dare I keep the prince's betrothal gifts? I must count them all as dowry and return them to the prince's palace."
Xu Susu breathed a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, the prince gave her daughter Ayao enough respect, and Xie Mingan had no way to compete with his daughter for the betrothal gifts.
She added a little more, so that her daughter's dowry would not be too little.
Xiao Yizi's eyes were deep, and he suddenly spoke again: "Marquis Wenchang is wrong again. If these betrothal gifts were considered as dowry, they would be given to Xie Yao alone, not returned to the palace."
Xie Mingan agreed stiffly: "Yes, I said something wrong, please forgive me, Your Highness."
"Uncle, you are too polite. You and I are family. There is no need to talk about forgiveness or not."
Xiao Yizi's expression became calm and he spoke slowly.
Xie Mingan's mouth twitched: "Come here, help the second lady take the betrothal gifts to Wanxiangyuan."
Xie Yao: "No need, Sang Ruo Rendong, you guys move together with the prince's people."
Xiao Yizi waved his hand, and Bai Zhu understood. He directed the palace guards to carry boxes of betrothal gifts into Wanxiang Courtyard.
Xie Mingan felt hopeless, his face gloomy and uncertain.
How could he be willing to give such a grand ceremony and such a heavy betrothal gift all to this girl Xie Yao?
If he had not called Xie Yao back to the capital, the marriage would not have been possible. As a result, the Bo family did not gain any benefits, but Xie Yao became extremely prosperous.
The second branch of the Xie family huddled in a corner, watching with envy.
Xie Erye's youngest son said, "Second sister is so glorious now."
Mr. Xie's face was grim. "I wonder what kind of grand ceremony will be held at the wedding. This girl is truly a sparrow that has flown onto a branch and transformed into a phoenix."
The second wife sighed softly, "Yes, this ceremony is even more grand than the previous wedding at the Anping Marquis' Mansion."
As she was about to take a closer look at the betrothal gifts, she was given a cold look by the personal guards of King Jingbei. They immediately fell silent and quickly left with their youngest son.
Pei Jun stepped forward, his figure graceful and a faint smile on his lips: "Your Majesty allowed me to share in the good fortune, and now that the good fortune has arrived, I, Pei, will take my leave."
He added sincerely, "Pei Jun wishes the Second Miss a smooth marriage and may she be at ease."
Xie Yao nodded: "Thank you, Minister Pei."
Pei Jun looked at her deeply, turned around and left. He was wearing a crimson official uniform, and his back was as sturdy as a pine or bamboo.
Xiao Yizi clenched his hands on the armrests of his wheelchair and couldn't help but ask a cold and bitter question: "Why doesn't he wish me a smooth marriage?"
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