Chapter 180 Supplies
It rained all morning, cleared up at noon, and then rained again in the evening. I don’t know when it stopped. When I woke up the next day, it was basically dry except for some water in some small puddles.
The sky was clear and blue, and the air was fresh. After Chen Tang had breakfast, he took Ginkgo to Songhe Hall to pay his respects.
When Chen Tang arrived, the second and third wives had just arrived. The old lady said kindly, "I'm sorry to have troubled you these past few days."
These words were spoken to the Third and Fourth Wives. The wedding banquet was so festive and lively, and the Second Wives tried to intervene several times, but was stopped by the Old Lady. It was the Third and Fourth Wives who were busy.
The Third Madam hurriedly said, "We are part of the family. If the wedding banquet is held in the mansion, it will also bring us honor..."
The third wife spoke very loudly at first, but her voice became weaker at the end.
I said the wrong thing.
The marriage of the daughter of the Marquis of Pingyuan went smoothly, but the marriage of the Second Prince was not peaceful at all. However, if it was going to rain, no one could stop it. It was just that the day chosen was not very good. The day set by the Imperial Astronomical Observatory would inevitably result in punishment.
Thinking of the rain yesterday, the old lady's mood was overshadowed. The second wife said, "Yesterday, when Xian'er got married, more than a dozen loads of dowry were damaged, and many calligraphy and paintings were destroyed by the rain. The Marquis's Mansion should give her a replacement..."
The third and fourth wives looked at each other and frowned.
It was indeed a pity that Chen Xi's dowry was damaged, but since it was taken out of the Marquis's Mansion, there was no reason to repair it. Besides, the calligraphy and paintings were packed in boxes, and although it rained heavily yesterday, they were not destroyed.
However, Chen Xian was the daughter of the eldest son, the second son wanted to be the daughter of another, and the third and fourth sons were illegitimate daughters, so even if they had opinions, they dared not express them, so as not to be disliked.
But the Third and Fourth Madams didn't dare, but Chen Tang did. "Second Auntie really thinks of the eldest sister in every way. It won't be too late to discuss this matter when the eldest sister returns home tomorrow and brings back the damaged dowry, right?"
Letting Chen Xian marry under the name of the eldest son's daughter was already a bargain for her. The rain yesterday might have been God's way of not letting her take advantage of this.
The second wife also knew that she was anxious. She said, "Being married is tiring in itself, and it was even worse with the horrible weather yesterday. Xian'er must have felt wronged. I thought I'd prepare it early so she can take it back when she returns home."
Chen Tang said, "How can we prepare if we don't even know what's damaged? Are we going to rely on guessing?"
This sentence left the Second Wife speechless. She wanted to refute but dared not. The Old Lady had not allowed her to interfere in the affairs of the First House in the first place, and now that Shen Xi was married, she could do even less.
Chen Tang's words were meant to stop the Second Madam and Shen Xi's thoughts. Shen Xi didn't have as many complaints about her dowry as Chen Tang did, and she even dropped it on the way to get married. She took this opportunity to ask for more compensation, but Chen Tang's words directly rejected their idea of sending a list back, and the Marquis' Mansion would follow the prepared idea. Compensation was not certain, and even if compensation was required, it would be based on the amount of damage.
Trying to deceive the Marquis's Mansion?
No way!
The old lady didn't want to talk about it either. "Let's wait until Xian'er comes home."
The Second Wife didn't dare to say anything more. Outside, Steward Li compiled the gifts sent by various mansions in the past two days into a booklet and sent it to the Old Lady for her review.
The Third Madam said, "Last time Tang'er refused to marry the Prince of Jingyang, the gifts from various mansions were returned. This time they are basically the same as the last time, except for the Ning Wang Mansion..."
The old lady opened the booklet and saw the gift list from Prince Ning's Mansion listed first.
The second wife was drinking tea. When she heard what the third wife said, she asked, "What happened to Prince Ning's mansion?"
The Third Wife said, "The gifts from Prince Ning's Mansion are quite a lot, more valuable than those from Prince Jingyang's Mansion."
The Marquis' Mansion and the Jingyang Prince's Mansion were engaged, but the second girl had not yet married. It was normal for the Jingyang Prince's Mansion to send heavier gifts for the Marquis' Mansion's wedding, but it was strange that the Ning Prince's Mansion sent even heavier gifts than the Jingyang Prince's Mansion.
It was the Prince of Ning who saved the Second Young Lady of Pingyuan Marquis's Mansion, but it was not the Second Young Lady who saved the Prince of Ning. Old Prince Ning proposed marriage to his grandson, but the Marquis politely declined. Old Prince Ning was generous and magnanimous, and it was rare that he did not feel embarrassed. Because he felt it was strange, the Third Wife singled it out and talked about it separately.
The old lady also felt that the gift from Prince Ning's Mansion was too heavy. She knew that Prince Ning felt bad that his elder brother Yan'er could not come back to see his younger sister off, so she gave a heavier gift.
Although she knew that Xiao Huan was her own grandson, the old lady had never met Xiao Huan. She thought that Xiao Huan would come to the wedding banquet held at the Marquis' Mansion, and she wanted to take the opportunity to meet him. However, only Prince Ning came, and Xiao Huan did not come.
The old lady asked Chen Sui about it afterwards, and Chen Sui said that he was the one who stopped her. There were so many guests coming to the mansion for the wedding, but the old lady refused to see anyone except Prince Ning, which would definitely arouse suspicion.
In addition, in order to get herself married, Chen Xie did not hesitate to plot against Xiao Huan. When Xiao Huan came to marry Chen Xie, Chen Xie was not embarrassed, but Xiao Huan was.
Although the old lady was a little disappointed, she had nothing to say.
The old lady glanced through the gift list and had a general idea of it in her mind. The second wife was sitting there and saw that the old lady was not at all surprised about the expensive gifts from Prince Ning's Mansion. She felt more and more that it was abnormal.
Chen Tang had a terrible headache, thinking that his eldest brother's background would soon be exposed. Although his father promised Old Prince Ning that he would not let his eldest brother return to his ancestral home for the time being, Old Prince Ning could no longer do the same as before.
Old Prince Ning is of noble status, and if he were to discuss matters with his father, it would arouse suspicion, and the large amount of gifts he gave to the Marquis' Mansion would also seem strange. The eldest brother's eyebrows and eyes are so similar to his father's, and if the two of them stand together, it is hard to guarantee that someone will not guess who they are.
Although this was not a bad thing for the Marquis's Mansion, as it would allow her eldest brother to return to his ancestral home as soon as possible and marry Princess Roujia, she was worried that Princess Ning would not be able to bear the blow. This was also what Prince Ning and her eldest brother were worried about.
On the one hand, he was afraid that his eldest brother's background would be known to others, and on the other hand, he did things that aroused suspicion. However, human relationships are inherently complicated and not that simple. From the perspective of Prince Ning, he was also very embarrassed.
Chen Tang stayed for a while and then returned to Qingyi Garden. He didn't know whether Chunlan could return to Beijing tomorrow, and no one could give her a definite answer.
All day long, Shen Tang passed the time by reading and doing needlework, and finally made it to the evening.
When I woke up, it was the day for Chen Xi to return home.
Chen Tang went to Songhe Hall to have breakfast with the old lady. After breakfast, he and Shen Luo admired the flowers in the yard. Shen Luo said sadly, "As soon as my elder sister got married, the mansion seemed to suddenly become deserted..."
Although the sisters often quarreled in the past, their life was lively. Now that the eldest sister is married and the third sister has returned to her parents, Chen Luo misses the days when the sisters went out together to go shopping and play. It seems that they can never go back to the past.
Chen Tang teased her, "It won't be long before you get engaged. You like the hustle and bustle, so let Third Aunt and Grandmother pick someone for you to marry who has a lot of people in the mansion."
Shen Luo's melancholy froze, her face flushed, and she stamped her feet in shame, "What did Second Sister say?! I won't pay attention to you!"
Chen Luo turned around and was about to leave, but as she turned around, a maid came over and said, "Second Miss, Fourth Miss, the Second Prince... Prince Qi is accompanying the eldest aunt to her parents' home..."
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