In the afternoon, He Yunxiao had planned to go shopping with Chu Chu to buy dowry for Sister Jiang. He hadn't seen Chu Chu for a day and missed her.
But then He Yunxiao thought again, taking Chu Chu to buy dowries for other women would be taking advantage of her not knowing these things.
He Yunxiao thought about it and decided against it. He wouldn't bully her anymore; he'd find time to visit her again tomorrow.
Not only Chu Chu, but also Nan Zhu's wife made way for Sister Jiang today. He Yunxiao, who usually goes to the palace every evening without fail, chose to go in the afternoon to take his medicine, fearing he'd be too busy to go in the evening. (www.cascoo.net)
After leaving the palace, He Yunxiao found a carriage team and then traveled to various shops and shopping centers in Yinjing to prepare a dowry for Sister Jiang.
Women in the State of Qi had a wide variety of dowries.
The simplest dowry was for women from poor families; usually, a few feet of cloth and a bag of grain were all they needed.
Women from merchant families were more particular, and silver, land, shops, calligraphy and paintings, etc., could all be part of their dowry.
As for the dowry of royal and noble women, it was even more complicated. They were bound by etiquette and could not simply give whatever they wanted or in whatever quantity they wanted.
It's even possible that a royal princess's dowry was less than that of a merchant's daughter. However, no one would normally do that; doing so would be an insult to royalty and a death wish.
Although He Yunxiao is rich, he can't just buy any dowry for Sister Jiang.
Colors such as yellow and bright red, as well as patterns such as dragons and phoenixes, should be avoided.
The specific amount of dowry purchased should also be controlled.
The total dowry given by the Marquis's family to Nan Zhu was approximately 50,000 taels of silver. However, some of the rare treasures bestowed by the late emperor could not be counted and their value could not be measured.
With the betrothal gift of 50,000 taels as a base, the dowry that Meng would give to Nanzhu would also be at least 50,000 taels.
According to normal procedures, given Nanzhu's status, she is undoubtedly the legal wife, so no matter who marries into the family later, their dowry cannot exceed this amount.
He Yunxiao spent the whole afternoon working and spent 15,000 taels of silver. Adding the 10,000 taels he gave to Sister Jiang, Sister Jiang's dowry had now reached 25,000 taels.
That's about halfway through the South Sea pearls; you can't buy any more.
Twenty-five thousand taels is not a lot for He Yunxiao now, and Daqi Bank can afford it. Of course, the use of this money will depend on Du Meimei's symbolic consent.
Twenty-five thousand taels was not much for He Yunxiao, but it was an astronomical figure for ordinary people.
Let's say you're a waiter working in a tavern, with room and board provided, earning two qian of silver per month. That's two liang and four qian of silver a year, twenty-four liang of silver in ten years, two hundred and forty liang of silver in one hundred years, and two thousand four hundred liang of silver in one thousand years.
To earn 25,000 taels of silver through work, one would have to work for over 10,400 years.
To put it another way, a typical sixth or seventh-rank official in Yinjing would receive a dowry of a few hundred taels at most when marrying off his daughter. Only at the level of earls or marquises would the dowry reach thousands of taels. It was only in powerful marquis or duke families that the dowry for the eldest daughter of the main branch would rise to nearly ten thousand taels.
For a powerful but relatively inexperienced family like the Marquis of Wuqing's mansion to double Nanzhu's dowry to spend 100,000 or even more than 100,000 taels of silver to marry Xiaoyue, it would be an act of emptying their coffers just to get a wife.
Therefore, the 25,000 taels that He Yunxiao gave to Sister Jiang was an extremely extravagant dowry. In the entire Qi Kingdom, only the two eldest princesses, plus the daughters of wealthy and powerful noble families, could compare. For example, Li Qingmeng of the Li family in Jiangnan, who could borrow 10,000 taels at a time, was indeed inferior.
Apart from that, he was above ten thousand others.
Just look at the procession carrying the dowry—more than twenty carriages, with torches lit, lined up from one end of Chunfeng Tower to the other under the night sky of Yinjing, brightly lit, grand and magnificent.
...
Jiang Wuyou was unaware of the commotion outside; she was focused on putting on makeup in her room.
She is naturally beautiful and rarely needs makeup, let alone such meticulous makeup. The last time she did this was when she attended the Empress Dowager's birthday celebration.
But today, for Jiang Wuyou, it is more important than attending the Empress Dowager's birthday celebration.
Although she can't wear a wedding dress, ride in a sedan chair, or have anyone come to pick her up on horseback with a flower ball, today is actually the day she goes to meet her "parents-in-law".
Leaving aside today, whether she can marry He Yunxiao in the future still largely depends on the wishes of the Marquis and his wife.
Since this is our first meeting, we cannot afford to be careless in the slightest.
Since the dowry couldn't be made of bright red, a light yellow color, which also represents warmth, was chosen instead. Not only does it make people look warm, but the light color also makes people look younger.
Jiang Wuyou's makeup was also light and subtle, avoiding heavy makeup. Even her lipstick wasn't red; she opted for a youthful pink instead.
Jiang Wuyou's skin, figure, and appearance are terrifyingly high-end, befitting a female lead. Although she is 25 years old, her skin age is not even close to 25. She looks even younger than her age, but her temperament makes her appear more mature.
Now, with this outfit, Jiang Wuyou looks almost like a girl under twenty. Apart from her figure, there's nothing out of place about her.
He Yunxiao came to call Sister Jiang to come downstairs and sit in a sedan chair, but he was stunned when he entered the door.
Is this still my Sister Jiang?
"Sister, you look ten years younger with makeup on!"
Jiang Wuyou doesn't usually wear makeup, but that doesn't mean she can't. As an outstanding student at the Women's Academy, Jiang Wuyou is quite skilled in makeup. At least, dressing He Yunxiao as a woman would be no problem for her.
Jiang Wuyou frowned slightly when she heard He Yunxiao say that. "Do I usually look that old?"
He Yunxiao was stunned and shook his head repeatedly, "No, no, my sister is usually very nice, she's just a little too..."
Jiang Wuyou asked, "What?"
"I don't know if you've ever heard of this adjective before," He Yunxiao said somewhat embarrassedly.
"Speak quickly."
"Baby face and big breasts".
Jiang Wuyou blushed and immediately scolded, "You lecher! Your mind is full of bad things!"
He Yunxiao laughed and said, "My mind is filled with nothing but my wife."
Since there was still some time to spare, He Yunxiao moved closer to Jiang Wuyou, embraced her, and showered her with compliments. "My wife, you look so beautiful today."
Based on Jiang Wuyou's understanding of He Yunxiao, she knew he was up to no good by clinging to her like this.
"Xiao'er, don't move around, I finally managed to... um..."
With her waist held tight, there was no way to escape. Jiang Wuyou was worried about the makeup she had painstakingly done, so she desperately swung her little pink fists and hit He Yunxiao.
The little fists were punching each other for a while, and then they forgot to punch anymore.
First, she made a fist and placed it on He Yunxiao's chest, then relaxed her fist and placed her palm on his chest.
Fifteen minutes later, Jiang Wuyou sat back down at her dressing table and picked up a lip tissue to touch up her makeup.
He Yunxiao pointed and commented from the side.
"My dear wife, this looks beautiful and delicious."
Jiang Wuyou glared at He Yunxiao, and He Yunxiao, who only knew how to cause trouble, dared not say a word.
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