Logically speaking, the court officials’ demands weren’t unreasonable.
No matter what, the Yanbei Prince was still a feudal lord, and the stability of Yanbei was related to the security of the entire Great Zhou Dynasty’s northern territories. It was only natural for court officials to be concerned about the succession of the Yanbei Prince. However, at this time, no one would think that the court’s attention to the selection of the Yanbei Prince’s heir was a simple matter.
Just at this moment, another rumor spread and caused a huge uproar in Yanbei.
An old nanny who originally served in the Yanbei Prince’s mansion spoke deliriously on her deathbed and accidentally revealed a tremendous secret – that the second young master of the Yanbei Prince’s mansion, Xiao Jingxi, was not the Yanbei Prince’s son.
It was said that when the Princess Consort was pregnant with her first child, she was poisoned. Although the child was eventually born, toxins remained in her body, making her unsuitable for pregnancy for the next several years.
However, the eldest son was soon sent to the capital as a hostage, and the Yanbei Prince’s mansion urgently needed a young master to stabilize people’s hearts. So the Princess Consort took the child of her younger sister, who had died in childbirth, and raised him as her own. This child was the second young master Xiao.
But since the second young master Xiao wasn’t the Yanbei Prince’s biological son, the Yanbei Prince’s mansion publicly claimed that the second young master had poor health. The plan was that after the Princess Consort recovered and gave birth to another son, this second young master could naturally “die young.” Unfortunately, although the Princess Consort successfully became pregnant again after several years of recuperation, she gave birth to a daughter rather than a son.
To successfully conceive her second child, the Princess Consort had a midwife use secret medicine on her. As medicine is always somewhat poisonous, while this secret medicine helped the Princess Consort conceive successfully, it also damaged her body. Therefore, after giving birth to her daughter, the Princess Consort was never able to conceive again. Because of this, the second young master Xiao survived until now.
Although every prestigious family had its share of hidden secrets, the great secret of the Yanbei Prince’s mansion that was exposed this time shocked people throughout the Great Zhou Dynasty. Some believed it, while others didn’t.
Those who believed it thought: no wonder the Yanbei Prince had been reluctant to establish the second young master as heir even after the crown prince’s death. Originally they thought it was because the second young master’s health was poor, but it turned out to be because the second young master Xiao didn’t actually bear the Xiao surname.
Those who didn’t believe it considered this a conspiracy orchestrated by the court to disturb the Yanbei Prince’s mansion and achieve their unspeakable purposes.
Whether people believed it or not, the question of the second young master Xiao’s parentage had become the most talked-about topic among the common people of the Great Zhou Dynasty during their leisure time. Everyone was waiting for the Yanbei Prince’s mansion to come forward and refute the rumors.
Unfortunately, to people’s disappointment, the Yanbei Prince’s mansion did not react whatsoever to this rumor, as if they hadn’t heard it at all. They continued doing what they were supposed to do – everyone in the Yanbei Prince’s mansion, from top to bottom, was busy with the second young master Xiao’s wedding, seemingly wanting to use practical actions to prove the absurdity of this rumor.
When Ren Yaoqi heard about this matter, she was momentarily shocked, but she didn’t believe that Xiao Jingxi was the Princess Consort’s biological son. Ren Yaoqi could sense the Princess Consort’s feelings toward Xiao Jingxi from her attitude toward her. Moreover, Xiao Jingxi’s appearance resembled the Princess Consort’s somewhat, which couldn’t be explained away by Xiao Jingxi being the son of the Princess Consort’s sister.
So, although there was an uproar outside, what Ren Yaoqi cared about was the purpose behind whoever was spreading such rumors.
However, with her wedding approaching and such an incident occurring, Ren Shimin and Li Shi were both very worried. Ren Yaohua, Ren Shijia, and even Ren Shimao had all come to inquire, concerned that Ren Yaoqi’s wedding might be affected by this matter.
At this time, maternal grandmother Rong Shi also sent Ren Yaoqi a personal letter. The letter was very brief, containing only four characters: “Stay calm, don’t be anxious.”
After thinking about it, Ren Yaoqi showed Rong Shi’s letter to Li Shi. After seeing Rong Shi’s letter, Li Shi finally felt relieved. While others might not be trustworthy, her mother was certainly reliable. Since Rong Shi told them to stay calm and not be anxious, it meant that the rumors outside were most likely untrue, and Ren Yaoqi’s wedding wouldn’t be affected by this matter.
Therefore, both the Yanbei Prince’s mansion and the Ren family continued to calmly prepare for the wedding.
Not long after Rong Shi’s letter arrived, the Prince of Hezhong sent dowry gifts to Ren Yaoqi, filling a full nine carriages. The carriages bore the emblem of the Prince of Hezhong’s mansion, and as they traveled from the city gate to the Ren family’s front door, they attracted the attention of everyone in Yunyang City. Since the former Prince Xian had left Yanbei to become the Prince of Hezhong, he had always kept a low profile. This was the first time the Prince of Hezhong’s mansion had made such a high-profile appearance before the public, and for this reason alone, this spectacle couldn’t be missed.
When the items were carried down from the carriages one by one and moved into the Ren mansion, a eunuch-dressed person announced each item. The scene was much more solemn, formal, high-profile, and eye-catching than when prestigious families sent dowries.
One emerald bamboo double phoenix crown, two sets of red gold eight-treasure headdresses, two sets of red gold jade-inlaid headdresses, four pairs of jewel-embedded gold hairpins, four pairs of treasure-chased ornaments, two pairs of eight-treasure gold flower bracelets, one pair of gold filigree jewel-embedded bracelets, one pair of phoenix-head linked pearl bracelets, one pair of red gold eight-treasure bracelets, twelve taels of pearls, twenty bolts each of ramie silk, silk, gauze, and thin silk, four sets of informal clothing, twenty-four complete sets of seasonal clothing, nine pairs of vermillion leather trunks with gold inlay, six beds of various colored quilts, four white silk bed sheets…
In addition to these, the Prince of Hezhong’s mansion also added some fertile farmland and two separate courtyards to Ren Yaoqi’s dowry. Worth mentioning was that one of the two courtyards was near the Sun-Moon Hot Springs outside Yunyang City, while the other was in Jinzhou, within the Prince of Hezhong’s territory. From the property deeds, it could be seen that both courtyards occupied very large areas.
While it was understandable for the Prince of Hezhong to give Ren Yaoqi a courtyard in Yanbei, giving her a courtyard near his territory inevitably made people feel that he wanted to provide backing for his granddaughter, who was about to marry into the Yanbei Prince’s mansion, as if telling the Yanbei Prince’s mansion that Ren Yaoqi still had the Prince of Hezhong’s mansion as her maternal family.
Counting these items one by one was dazzling to watch. This wasn’t the standard for an ordinary family marrying off their daughter – this was for marrying off a princess!
Some people thought that they had originally assumed that even though Prince Xian had gone to Hezhong to become king, the Prince of Hezhong’s mansion would be just a facade that could only be looked at. But unexpectedly, this time, the Prince of Hezhong’s mansion’s display of generosity showed everyone the strength of the Yanbei Prince’s mansion. This was just for marrying off a granddaughter, yet the Prince of Hezhong’s mansion made such a grand gesture. From this, it could be seen that the Prince of Hezhong’s foundation was not thin!
Therefore, the Prince of Hezhong’s mansion’s gift-giving to Ren Yaoqi this time not only expressed their regard for this granddaughter, but the Prince of Hezhong’s mansion also displayed their strength to the world in a jaw-dropping, high-profile yet dignified manner. After this incident, no one dared to underestimate the Prince of Hezhong’s mansion anymore.
The Ren family was also quite surprised to see this long line of carriages bearing dowry gifts. Li Shi was especially excited. Others didn’t understand, but only she knew that these were all the dowry items her grandmother had promised her when she was young and her grandmother was teasing her. Unfortunately, when she married, Prince Xian’s mansion had fallen into decline, and her dowry wasn’t fulfilled. She never expected it would now be fulfilled for her daughter.
From this, Li Shi also understood that over the years, the grievances she had suffered had all been seen and remembered by her father and mother. This was also their compensation to her.
Although the Ren family’s mansion was relatively spacious, when the contents of nine carriages were all moved in, they still occupied the entire front courtyard. Finally, Li Shi had to use the entire east wing that had been left empty after Ren Yaohua’s marriage to store these dowry gifts. What couldn’t fit there was temporarily moved to the side courtyard that Ren Shimin used as his study, as only the old master’s place in the entire mansion was the most spacious. Master Ren, who had always regarded money as dirt and considered his study a forbidden area of the house, turned a blind eye this time and said nothing.
The Prince of Hezhong’s mansion’s dowry gifts for Ren Yaoqi were grand in scale and shocked all of Yanbei, making everyone else’s dowry additions seem meager in comparison. However, compared to other young ladies getting married, the dowry additions Ren Yaoqi received were still quite considerable.
Ren Shijia and his wife gave Ren Yaoqi four thousand taels of silver for her personal use, plus two shop fronts and a separate courtyard. Although it couldn’t compare to the courtyard given by the Prince of Hezhong’s mansion, it was still in a very good location in Yunyang City.
The dowry gifts Ren Shijia and his wife gave to Ren Yaoqi were much more substantial than what they had given to Ren Yaohua, but Ren Shijia and his wife couldn’t be blamed for favoritism. The relationship between Ren Yaoqi and Ren Shijia, as well as the Lin family, was different from that between Ren Yaohua and them.
Originally, Ren Shijia’s children were able to survive smoothly, partly due to Ren Yaoqi’s contribution. Lin Kun was able to break away from the Lin family and establish his household after reclaiming what rightfully belonged to him, also because of Ren Yaoqi’s secret assistance.
Even now, the Lin family was able to not only stand firm in Yanbei despite the main Lin family’s overt and covert suppression, but also surpass the main Lin family in various competitions, because of Lin Kun’s secret alliance with the Lei family. This was also the result of Ren Yaoqi’s mediation.
Although Ren Shijia and his wife didn’t say it aloud, they understood in their hearts. So they felt that these dowry gifts for Ren Yaoqi were still too light. However, Ren Shijia was, after all, just an aunt’s husband and aunt, and there were still several unmarried nieces around, so it wouldn’t be good to be too blatantly preferential and make people uncomfortable.
Fifth Master Ren and his wife also added to Ren Yaoqi’s dowry. Although it couldn’t compare to Ren Shijia couple’s generosity, it was still quite substantial.
The old Ren family mansion also sent things for Ren Yaoqi, but Third Master Ren didn’t accept them and had them sent back exactly as they came, which infuriated Old Madam Ren quite thoroughly. She scolded her son at home for being ungrateful.
However, Ren Yaoqi did accept the gifts from Ren Yijun and his wife, although it was only a pair of jade pendants and several hair ornaments.
Additionally, Ren Yaoqi’s teacher, Madam Xu, also sent dowry gifts to Ren Yaoqi. Different from others, Madam Xu didn’t send gold, silver, jade, or other precious objects. She sent two books, both rare contemporary editions that scholars and book lovers could only dream of.
What surprised Ren Yaoqi most was that Pei Zhiyan had also sent her a gift. Master Pei’s gift to Ren Yaoqi was a qin. This qin wasn’t made by a famous craftsman, but Ren Yaoqi knew it was made by Pei Zhiyan’s wife when she was still alive, and Pei Zhiyan had kept it with him all these years.