Chapter 132
Within two days, Luo Shenyuan invited Lord Xu Wei to come to his house.
Xu Wei was a kind person, known to the common people in the streets and alleys. Although Wei Ling and he were not from the same sect, they would greet each other on a daily basis and had a good relationship. Xu Wei smiled and drank with Wei Ling. The two drank and talked happily, and they seemed to be closer than before.
Xu Wei came to visit the Duke of Ying early in the morning. He had been worried about Luo Shenyuan's marriage for a long time. Yang Ling had been married at eighteen, but this one was twenty-two and didn't even have a second wife. What would happen if this continued?
When Lord Xu invited Luo Shenyuan to dinner at his home, he even asked his wife to compile a list of women from the capital and show it to him. He would just smile and flip through the lists, not finding any that caught his eye.
The lady then said to Lord Xu, "Your Lord Luo is indeed very talented, and few women are truly worthy of him. But your standards are too high!"
She didn't like Luo Shenyuan very much.
Therefore, Xu Wei wanted to see what kind of woman Luo Shenyuan liked, and what kind of woman would make him willing to let go and marry her. Unfortunately, he couldn't see it now, and could only wait until they got married.
Lord Xu was very excited, and after Wei Ling filled him with wine, he left in high spirits.
The Duke of Ying's mansion was bustling with activity. Old Madam Wei, along with the maids and servants, and the helper, Mrs. Song, were counting the dowry for Yining. Every day, items were carried out of the storeroom. Many dowries were left behind by a woman's mother, and since Yining didn't have a mother, Old Madam Wei had deliberately added a lot. After reviewing Old Madam Wei's draft dowry list, Wei Ling thought for a moment and asked the steward to open his storeroom as well. His storeroom hadn't been cleaned in a long time and was covered in dust. But when a servant swept the dust with a feather duster, the dusty treasures were revealed one by one. He selected some more to add to his daughter's dowry list.
When the dowry list was delivered to Yining, she was drinking soup and almost choked.
Mother Song read to her, "Look here: a nanmu bed with golden threads and thousands of craftsmanship, a red sandalwood screen with carved auspicious patterns, a five-panel jade screen, an ivory-inlaid dressing table... These are the large pieces. The smaller pieces include two pairs of blue-and-white glazed plum vases, a selection of items in brown glaze, blue glaze, enamel, peacock green, and blue-and-white glazes, ten underglaze red pieces, two pairs of golden phoenix candlesticks with spread wings, a pair of turquoise-inlaid target mirrors, and six white jade bowls. And here are the jewels: two boxes each of blue and red sapphires, four hu of Hainan beads, eight gold filigree hairpins, and four sets of gemstone and pearl head ornaments..."
Yi Ning snatched it away to look at it, and her temples throbbed with pain. Just the items on this dowry list alone would have cost twenty thousand taels! It was too much, especially these large pieces, either inlaid with jade or gilded nanmu. Carrying them on the street would have been so conspicuous. It was a bit too ostentatious.
Qingqu was watching from the side, his mouth wide open in surprise, "With so many things, how many loads of dowry will it take?"
"The Duke has already calculated it, and it's one hundred and twenty dan." Mother Song replied with a smile, "Miss, please take a look at the dowry list to see if there is anything else you need to add. The old lady said so, just tell her."
Yi Ning took the dowry list to see Old Lady Wei, who was drinking tea with Mrs. Song.
After hearing what Yi Ning said, she smiled and waved to her: "You are the only lady in our Duke of Yingguo's Mansion. If not you, who else should I give the dowry to?" She felt that Yi Ning was always cautious in doing things, and this behavior was not like that of a lady from the Duke of Yingguo's Mansion. Maybe it was because she had a hard life in the past and had no one to protect her. In order to avoid trouble, she always wanted to be more reserved in everything. Old Lady Wei raised her eyebrows and said to her, "Yining, you have been with me for a short time and have no one to support you. When Mingzhu was a child, I had to ask 20 or 30 maids to accompany her when she went out to play. You are still a proper lady, don't be afraid! No matter how grand the show is, our Duke of Yingguo's Mansion can afford it."
It was the first time that Yining heard the old lady speak so directly. She was indeed a first-rank lady.
She was about to say something else, but the old lady interrupted her: "Tomorrow your eldest sister will come over and show you your wedding makeup. Okay?" She touched Yining's hair, which was soft like a handful of silk and thin. Children with thin hair always have weaker bodies than others.
Her heart was suddenly filled with pity. Yining was so young and frail, and she was about to get married.
Yining saw that the old lady's eyes suddenly became gentle.
She was someone who was afraid of going too far, always feeling it was better to be cautious and avoid making mistakes. As her wedding approached, she felt increasingly nervous. What was there to be nervous about? It was just marrying Luo Shenyuan, who had clearly watched her grow up.
Forget it, she still has guards as a dowry, so why think so much? She smiled and nodded: "Okay, then I will listen to you!"
Mrs. Wei smiled as she continued to discuss the marriage with Mrs. Song. Her tone was gentle. Yining sat on a round stool, listening to the two elderly people's conversation. They spoke slowly and gently. The room was lit with sandalwood, giving it a sense of timeless elegance. She took a grape from the plate, peeled it, and gave it to the old woman.
Actually, Yining's dowry was not a big deal, but it was hard on Luo Shenyuan. After all, the man's betrothal gift was not less than the woman's dowry.
It wasn't that Wei Ling was testing him intentionally or unintentionally, after all, he had offered a dowry of 20,000 taels of silver, and that was just the amount on the dowry list. Luo Shenyuan would have to offer at least 30,000 taels of silver as a betrothal gift.
Luo Shenyuan listened to the words of the visitor from the Duke of Ying's Mansion and just smiled slightly: "Okay, I understand."
He didn't seem to be under any pressure.
No matter how rich the Luo family is, they are not princes or marquises after all, so it is difficult for them to come up with so much silver at once.
I don’t know what the new minister will do.
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!
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