The jade hairpin given by Prince Chen had no mixed colors. The white jade was too pure, the black jade was too dark, and only the slightly yellowish jade hairpin was noble and elegant, which made Yao Niang happy at first sight.
Of course, Yu knew that Gao Xuance personally sent the coming-of-age gift to her daughter, and she couldn't help but be happy for her daughter. As long as this person takes you to heart, the couple will definitely be sweet.
After the coming-of-age ceremony, Yao Niang began to count the purse fan cases, silk cords and other handkerchiefs she had made. She had to continue making those that were not enough to present to the elders in the palace, and she could not just do it casually, as it was very time-consuming.
Shi Yu's wedding date is scheduled for the end of the year, so she is also waiting to get married. The two sisters often find a bright room, drink tea and talk while doing needlework without raising their heads.
Jinghao came at this time. He went home to prepare for the county exam. Because it was a critical moment, Yao Niang would not disturb him easily, so she had no idea that he came at this time.
"Hey, why are you here?"
"My father sent me to the Wang family to deliver gifts today. It's so hot and my clothes are all wet. I came back specially to change clothes. Don't you know that there are so many members of the Wang family?" Jinghao couldn't help but complain.
Yao Niang said to Bai Ying, "Go and get a cup of black plum soup for the Third Young Master."
Jinghao drank the icy black plum soup in one gulp, but he still wanted more. He asked for some sushan, but his two sisters didn't allow him. Shiyu also said, "This is so cold, you should drink less. Be careful of stomachache."
"That's right. No matter how thirsty your sixth sister and I are, we dare not eat ice cream casually now."
Jinghao is the youngest in the family, and is usually taken care of by his sisters. He is picky about other things, but he loves to eat ice cream, and he just can't change it no matter what Yao Niang says. There is nothing she can do about it.
I used to call my third brother-in-law Wang Zongmu brother-in-law, but now he has become the son-in-law of the Dou family. It feels like things have changed so much.
Jinghao may not have understood anything yet, and was just complaining about the large number of people in the Wang family. Yao Niang asked him to go to the inner room to rest first, and then said to Shi Yu: "Look, the old one has only been gone for a year, and the new one is here so soon."
Yao Niang was in the palace and didn't have much contact with the Dou family. Shi Yu often attended such poetry gatherings, so she smiled and said, "Sister Dou has finally achieved her long-cherished wish. She likes talented people the most, especially her third brother-in-law's poems, which have a great influence among literati. Sister Dou has always been very picky, otherwise she wouldn't have waited until she was 18."
"She is so infatuated, and the girls in the Dou family are usually virtuous. I'm afraid that the third sister will have nothing in the future." If she wants to gain fame, she may lose it.
Although the two sisters had an average relationship with Luo Jingrou before, now they somehow feel a sense of grief for the loss of another.
In fact, the person who was most angry about this marriage was not the head of the Luo family, because Luo Zhizheng, the head of the Luo family, could understand it, and of course the others would not say anything more. The most angry person was Ren.
Her son Luo Jingtian and Zhou returned from their postings in other places. Luo Jingtian had always been pampered and had worked very hard in his postings in other places. He was not a regular official. Even though he had his uncle as a backer, he was involved in many complicated affairs while serving in other places, so it was rare for him to come back.
Zhou heard Ren talking: "Sanniang herself is not blessed, and she left behind a pair of children. She didn't let the Luo family take care of them, but let the girl from the Dou family marry into the family. Will they treat An'er and Song'er well?"
"Madam, the fifth lady of the eldest house married the prince, and the man betrothed to the sixth lady has passed the imperial examination and is now serving as a scholar in the Hanlin Academy. These are both excellent marriages. How could they possibly become the continuation of Master Wang's marriage?" Zhou went out for a while and felt that when one rises, all rise, and when one falls, all fall.
Being in Beijing is different from being sent out to other places. The reason they were able to have a smooth career was because they had a strong supporter. Now they just hope that they would have more and more noble relatives at home.
Ren curled her lips and said, "You only think about the eldest son's wife. How can you remember that your dear younger sister-in-law is still waiting to be married?"
It turned out that Ren wanted Shi Fang to marry over. Shi Fang was one year older than Shi Yu and Yao Niang. With such good marriages for her two cousins, Ren had high standards and was not willing to compromise easily.
As she thought, the first priority was to marry into a noble family, or at least marry a ready-made Jinshi like Shi Yu. Wang Zongmu was the son-in-law she chose. He was outstanding in appearance, from a wealthy family, and a Jinshi.
Little did I know that the girl from the Dou family got there first.
Zhou didn't know what to say anymore. Her sister-in-law's marriage was a tricky matter in the family, but her brother and sister-in-law had no reason to interfere without the permission of their parents-in-law. Moreover, even if they liked someone, Ren might not like him. So Zhou kept silent about it.
Of course there was also a happy event in the palace. The daughter of King Zhennan, Mu Wantong, the Lady of Qingxi County, was betrothed to the Fourth Prince. The Fourth Prince was given the title of King An, and the wedding took place on the same day as King Chen's.
Originally, there was no need to be so anxious, but the Prince of Zhennan had to return to Yunnan and was afraid that he would miss the wedding feast, so the Emperor ordered that the wedding be completed quickly, preferably on the same day as the Prince of Chen's, so that he could marry two daughters-in-law into the family on one day.
Anyway, the Fourth Prince is already fifteen years old, which is the age for him to get married.
This was the only daughter of the King of Zhennan, who lost his wife at a young age and never remarried. His wife, Dao, was from a prominent family in the area, but she died of heavy hemorrhage when giving birth to their daughter. Therefore, when the King of Zhennan went to the capital, he had already brought his daughter's dowry with him.
Emperor Jianzhang met with Prince Zhennan and handed Qingxi County Mayor Mu Wantong to Concubine Hong's care. Mu Wantong used to play the role of a bully actress on the street, but she had already fallen in love with the Fourth Prince because he helped her and gave her money.
I specifically asked my father for help, and the emperor also had the same intention, so this marriage was settled.
But after moving into the palace, she found that the palace had very strict rules and regulations and she was restricted in every way, like now she had to get up before dawn. This kind of freedom was totally unheard of.
She was proud of her beauty and was the most beautiful woman in southern Yunnan, but Concubine Hong never thought she was beautiful. Instead, she thought she was frivolous. When she saw her coming to pay her respects, she said, "I have summoned the maid from the Ministry of Internal Affairs to come here today. You must learn the rules of the palace well. I know you are very smart and you will definitely learn them right away."
Speaking of which, Concubine Hong also has a headache. This is obviously Concubine Yan's daughter-in-law, but the Emperor has handed her over to take care of her. She can't do a bad job in managing her, otherwise, Concubine Yan will accuse her of not paying enough attention.
Mu Wantong bowed in response, but Concubine Hong felt that this girl had a very strange personality because she didn't have a mother to teach her, so she should avoid being involved with other people as much as possible, since she was not her daughter-in-law anyway.
But she didn't know that Xiaomu Wantong had been practicing martial arts since she was a child. Concubine Hong walked a few meters away and said, "Fortunately, our Xuan Ce had good vision and chose the daughter of Minister Luo. Otherwise, he would have to marry a girl like this. After all, she didn't grow up in the capital, so her manners would be a problem."
The people around her flattered, "Who says it's not true? When Miss Luo came to Kunning Palace to pay her respects before, her skirt was never messy, it was like a flower."
…
Mu Wantong heard everything. She had always thought that she was a man of both civil and military talents, and had extraordinary wisdom. But after coming to the palace, she often heard people here mention a girl named Luo, who was said to be the fiancée of the Prince of Chen. They said she was extremely beautiful, good at needlework, a famous talent, and had a first-class family background.
It seemed that she and Miss Luo had been comparing themselves from the very beginning. She would then see who this Miss Luo was.
But her pride seemed to have vanished.
Learning rules is very boring. No matter how smart you are, there is only one rule of thumb for learning these rules: practice makes perfect.
These maids are of course very polite to the future prince's wife, but the prerequisite is that you must do everything meticulously, otherwise, the gossip in the palace can drive people to death.
Of course, Mu Wantong also found something unusual when living in Kunning Palace. For example, the emperor often came to Kunning Palace, and even though he had a favored concubine, Concubine Li, he still showed constant favor to Concubine Hong.
She had heard from her father that before Emperor Jianzhang ascended the throne, Lin was the principal wife, but because Hong was so charming and seductive, and because Lin was only given the title of noble consort, the two of them were equal, which also led to the fact that the crown prince could not be appointed.
After Gao Xuance had lunch with his father, he came over to deliver agarwood to Concubine Hong. Unexpectedly, he met the Fourth Prince, Prince An, on the way. Prince An always behaved honestly and simply in front of him, and he was no exception now.
"It's my third brother." Prince An bowed quickly.
Gao Xuance also returned the greeting and said with a smile: "Fourth Emperor, where are you going?"
"I'm going to the banana plantation to see leopards. I heard that they have brought a few leopards there, and they want me to go and see them."
Gao Xuance did not expose him. Seeing that Prince An was going to see Miss Mu, he smiled and hurried to Kunning Palace. At the ceremonial gate, he saw Mu Wantong who was learning to behave herself. Seeing that she walked stiffly, he turned his eyes away and passed by.
Everyone else knelt on the ground, but Mu Wantong forgot to kneel, and was scolded by the maids...
This made the proud Mu Wantong feel a little embarrassed, because she was not yet the Fourth Prince's wife, and Prince Chen was a real prince. He was completely indifferent to others, perhaps because he had a doted mother.
She was also looked down upon because her future husband had a lame leg and had lost his inheritance rights.
Then she must find a way to cure his foot.
Inside Kunning Palace, Gao Xuance was laughing and saying, "Now that the mynah bird has flown away, I'll have someone find a thrush. I guarantee it'll be more interesting than the last one."
"You don't need to rush. You will be getting married soon and will be busy. Why don't you take advantage of these days to rest more?" Concubine Hong felt sorry for her son.
Gao Xuance is seventeen years old this year, and will soon be eighteen. He is in the prime of his life, but in the eyes of Concubine Hong, he looks as thin as a bamboo pole. He waved his hand and said, "I am afraid that I will become lazy if I take a break. Now I am learning the Jingchu long sword, and I need to practice diligently to be effective. As for getting married, it will not delay any of my son's plans."
Concubine Hong also mentioned that Mu Wantong's dowry would be sent into the palace, which was also two hundred kilos, which was indeed a huge amount of dowry.
She felt embarrassed for Yao Niang: "Look, with her in the middle, I'm always worried that people will gossip about her."
Gao Xuance stood up. Although he was now the Prince of Chen, he certainly had some money to settle down his family. It would be fine to give this money to Yao Niang to buy more dowry. Anyway, she would be the one to take care of the mansion in the future. But Luo Zhizheng was too arrogant. Wouldn't it be a humiliation to the Luo family if he gave her money?
As far as he knew, the Luo family was actually very rich. Luo Zhizheng was the only son, and almost every generation of the eldest branch of the family had been high-ranking officials, with considerable savings. However, the Luo family had its own rules: when a woman got married, she would be given a dowry of 64 pieces of leather, with no distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children.
It was even because Yao Niang was going to marry into the royal family that she prepared a dowry of 120 loads, which was already beyond the Luo family's budget.
"No need. Actually, there is nothing to be embarrassed about. I, Gao Xuance, am not the kind of person who relies on my wife for dowry. Only people with no future care about these things. You should not be influenced by them. I am afraid that they will lose their careers in the future. If the woman is strong and the man is weak, and the relationship between the yin and yang is reversed, they will be dominated sooner or later. My son is a real man, and he will not care about these trivial dowries." He argued.
In reality, even if Concubine Hong did not provide any financial support, the palace would often be unable to make ends meet, mainly because the palace's expenses were too high. However, this is also something a man should consider.
Does it mean that if someone carries so much dowry in, when the girl marries him, will she have to eat her own dowry?
After hearing what her son said, Concubine Hong actually believed it.
The Luo family was also going to send the dowry to the palace in advance. Luo Jingxi took the initiative to say to Luo Zhizheng: "Dad, why don't you give some more to the fifth sister? I heard that the King of Zhennan is also preparing to carry 200 loads of dowry to the palace."
"No need. If I really send two hundred taels of silver into the palace, how will others look at me, Luo Zhizheng? Don't think about competing with others. You will inherit the family business in the future. The family's sacrificial fields and clan affairs are the real things. This way you can cultivate more talents, which is really good for your sister. The brother of the Second Prince's Consort Xu has become the Inspector of Guangxi, but what about you brothers? None of you is a capable person." Luo Zhizheng was too lazy to waste time talking to his eldest son.
Luo Jingxi was originally doing this for his sister's own good, but he ended up getting scolded by her father again and went back to his room in a bad mood.
Luo Jingyuan and Luo Jinghao standing by were too angry to say a word. Among the three sons, only Luo Jingyuan was talented, but he was particularly cold-eyed. Jinghao, on the other hand, was usually very honest. Although Luo Zhizheng liked Yu very much, he felt that it was not a good thing for Jinghao to have a personality similar to Yu's.
If you are too honest and docile, you will lack the enterprising spirit and will not be able to make progress.
This is what Luo Zhizheng is most worried about. Of course, the person he likes the most in his heart is Yao Niang, because she is the one who can really climb up for the benefit of the family and can also bring people from her mother's family with her.
She encircled Princess Zhenyang in the palace and made a heartless and ungrateful man like Prince Chen fall in love with her. She even surpassed the sister of the late Queen and the niece of the current Royal Consort, and bypassed the daughter of Duke Xian to become the Princess of Chen.
It’s a pity that she is a woman, otherwise with such a character, what could she not accomplish?
Even when it comes to needlework, she does it better than anyone else.
Yao Niang also heard that the Qingxi County Lord, who married on the same day as herself, also had a dowry of 200 taels. She did not take it seriously and instead said to Yu: "My daughter, you should give a dowry that matches the family you live in. There is no need to deliberately make it the same as others."
In fact, Yao Niang felt that 120 kg of dowry was a lot. Normally, this amount of dowry was already a lot. Many dukes even used their titles to advance money for their dowries.
Yu nodded: "Yes, how could I have known that the Xu family and the Zhennan Palace would only contribute 200 jin." She was also very worried.
Since her daughter was young, she had been preparing her wedding dowry, every item was exquisite, not a single piece was just for show. The extra items now were all picked out by Luo Zhizheng from his private store, and each one was priceless.
But if we want to get 200 jin, it will definitely affect Shi Yu, because Shi Yu will also be getting married at the end of this year.
This is the case for families who give birth to daughters. Everything from the bed to the barrel for grandchildren and even the incense sticks have been chosen, not to mention the fields, farmland, servants and even the maids for the dowry have to be chosen. However, the children that the daughter will give birth to in the future have nothing to do with her family.
Children born to daughters will not take their own surname.
How sad.
"Why compare? I think it's good like this. There are so many brothers and sisters in the family. If I have one more, it won't be normal." Dad gave Yao Niang 20,000 taels of silver in private. Her family members have already treated her very well.
She is not willing to be so greedy as to empty her family's funds in order to buy the dowry. What will she do when her family is in trouble and everyone comes to her for help?
People should acknowledge the gap between themselves and others. The Xu family and the King of Zhennan are already richer than their own family, so why do they have to pretend to be rich?
She had a good mentality and remained stable, otherwise she would not have been able to break through the siege in the end.
Li Tianjiao and Wei Feng retired too early, otherwise if they had held on to the end, it is possible that Li Tianjiao would have become the Princess of Zhou.
When Yao Niang's 120-kg dowry was delivered, Concubine Hong and her daughter-in-law Xu Qingrong were checking and comparing the dowry list one by one. After all, these had to be registered.
The first items delivered were jewelry, of various types, such as gold, silver, jadeite, coral, tourmaline, beeswax, gold foil, agarwood, white jade, pearls, crystal, agate and other styles. Then there were eight types of crowns: gold crown, silver crown, sun and moon crown made of kingfisher feather, lotus crown, curling grass and gem crown, and tasseled step-shaking crown.
There were several boxes of hairpins, bracelets, rings, etc., as well as two coral trees and many other ornaments.
Concubine Hong had also seen Xu Qingrong's two hundred-pound dowry. In fact, Yao Niang's dowry was even more exquisite, and many of them were even rare treasures that could not be bought even if one had money.
Xu Qingrong saw that the dowry sent by the Luo family was not as much as hers, and nodded secretly in her heart. The Luo family was still inferior to their Xu family, and she also secretly suppressed Yao Niang. But she still said: "As expected of the Gaoping Luo family, this dowry is very decent."
"yes."
Not to mention anything else, this bed and furniture are all integrated, without any mixed colors. This was definitely not made overnight. They must have started looking for someone to do it a long time ago.
In any case, compared with the two daughters-in-law, the younger daughter-in-law's father has a higher official position. He is already the Minister of Rites and may even be able to enter the cabinet.
Moreover, the dowry was also considerable, and Concubine Hong was quite satisfied with it.
Concubine Yan was even more satisfied. The King of Zhennan directly sent her an ivory bed, which was more precious than rosewood. Even the jade ruyi was packed in boxes. In the palace, the concubines received many gifts, but although Concubine Yan lost to others in other aspects, she was much better than them in terms of her daughter-in-law. She was smiling from ear to ear.
Prince An saw that his mother was happy, and he smiled, "Mother, when Mu comes to marry, I will definitely treat you well."
"My mother and I have always been waiting for that opportunity. That opportunity may come, or it may not come. But before that, you cannot show any edge." Concubine Yan taught her son.
Prince An smiled bitterly: "Don't worry."
What's the use of hiding one's edge? It has to be hidden. All abilities can only be demonstrated in doing things. For example, the third brother is quite favored by the father. He is better than himself in riding, shooting and even strategy, and he also takes the initiative to ask for help in doing things.
In the future, the third brother will surely become more and more outstanding with more experience, and with the help of his father-in-law in the court, he will be able to achieve twice the result with half the effort.
Unfortunately, Concubine Yan didn't understand this.
When Gao Xuance came back from outside, he saw that most of the items in his house had been rearranged. Then he suddenly remembered that today was the day to deliver his wedding dowry.
The new house has been almost decorated, with sister Yao's dressing table placed all around. In a few days, she will marry me.
They started their life over again.
In their previous life, their married life was all for survival and power. In this life, he would not only give her a perfect husband, but also restore her masculinity.
Finally, the eighth day of August arrived. The first thing Yao Niang did when she woke up was to think that this day had finally come. Admittedly, she was reluctant to leave her family, but the date of her wedding was set here, and she always felt like a huge stone.
Early in the morning, Wang Zongmu came to help. Although he is no longer the son-in-law of the Luo family, he cannot let go of the kindness the Luo family once showed him.
Even Song Jie'er and An Ge'er came over. When Yu saw her two little grandchildren, she quickly asked someone to invite them to eat.
"Your fifth aunt is dressing up, you two should come and show yourself to grandma." Yu had a grudge against Luo Jingrou, but she really sympathized with the two children.
How can life be easy when you lose your mother at such a young age?
Sister Song sat down and said, "Grandmother, is Fifth Aunt going to be a princess?"
"You, a humble person, also know the princess?" Yu laughed.
"Of course I know. If my fifth aunt becomes a princess, no one will dare to bully me." Sister Song snorted.
Of course, children don't tell lies. Yu frowned when she heard this. Could it be that someone in the Wang family bullied their granddaughter? But today is my daughter's big day, so I have to investigate this matter slowly.
Putting the matter aside, Yu took them to see Yao Niang.
Because Yao Niang was framed by Lin Chaoyan in her previous life, although Song Jie'er in this life looks completely different from Lin Chaoyan, Yao Niang never has as much grudge against her as she does towards Gao Heng.
"Song Jie'er, An Ge'er, come quickly. Fifth Aunt has already prepared gifts for you." Yao Niang smiled and handed them a pair of red envelopes, and also gave each of them a jar of candy.
Wang Song saw several people serving Fifth Aunt, some combing her hair, some putting on makeup, and even some helping her put on jewelry. Wang Song couldn't help but say, "Fifth Aunt, you look so beautiful."
Yao Niang smiled and said, "Thank you for your compliment."
She turned around and looked at herself in the bronze mirror again. In this life, she was no longer the fat and idiotic girl who had hastily married her brother-in-law as a concubine.
Yesterday, her father told her not to be too stubborn and to stand on the side of Prince Chen. Yao Niang agreed in a good mood, but she also had her own plans. Prince Chen was going to die young in his previous life. In this life, it would be good if she could save his life. If not, she would have to make plans early and at least leave an heir to inherit the throne.
If Prince Chen really has a short life, then everything daddy said is useless. It would be better to have a baby early, just like the destiny in the previous life.
Because Emperor Tianlu had no children in the previous life, the Crown Prince of Zhou would not be able to survive without her. The Fourth Prince is lame and married the daughter of a king of a different surname. Maybe she can even influence the emperor and command the princes. That's great!
No, no, she had to suppress this thought first. After all, Gao Xuance was nice to her and seemed to like her quite a bit. Why couldn't she just naively think about something beautiful?
She enjoyed it for a moment, but no, it still didn't work.
It seems that Luo Yaoniang was born to be a person who wants to rule the world, to have power and not be bullied by others. No matter how naive she pretends to be, she cannot control her deepest thoughts.
Well, starting from the wedding night tonight, she must give birth to an heir first. As long as Prince Chen has no problem with it, so does she.
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