The Miao couple, knowing their son was always full of ideas, immediately brightened up and asked in unison, “What plan do you have?”
Miao Anping smiled slyly and said, “The groom’s side provides the betrothal gifts, and the bride’s side provides the dowry. The Song family is just taking advantage of our lack of money, thinking we won’t dare ask for a bride price. But the bride price usually comes before the betrothal gifts. We can trick them into giving us the bride price first.”
Mr. Miao immediately understood his son’s meaning.
He shook his head vigorously, “That won’t work. The marriage contract clearly states the amount of the bride price and dowry. If we can’t produce it later…” He paused, then clapped his hands together, looking at his son with admiration and approval. “How did I not think of this? This is an imperial-granted marriage. Would the Song family dare to cancel the engagement?”
Mrs. Miao, however, was terrified. She hurriedly said, “We can’t do that! What if the Song family files a complaint with the emperor? How could our family withstand that? If you two end up in prison, how would I survive?” She covered her face and began to cry.
“It’s a joyous occasion, why are you wailing?” Mr. Miao impatiently scolded Mrs. Miao, but her words had planted a seed of worry in his eyes.
Miao Anping’s eyes darted around as he listened, and he immediately came up with an idea. He said, “We should hope they file a complaint! If they do… we’ll say it’s the Song family being concerned about their face, using their heir as an example, and demanding such a large dowry from us. We’ll say that we consider this imperial-granted marriage a supreme honor, and despite our modest means, we were prepared to gather this dowry somehow. But after borrowing from all our relatives and friends, we still couldn’t raise the money. If the Song family is willing, we’d be happy to write an IOU and gradually complete Ansu’s dowry later. Don’t you think if the emperor hears this, he might reward our family with 10,000 or 20,000 taels of silver?”
Mr. Miao nodded approvingly and praised, “Your mind is quick! We’ll discuss this with your uncle later. Once your sister is married, with her skills, won’t she be able to win over her husband? Since Duke Ying has prepared such a large estate for your brother-in-law, in the future, even the scraps that fall through your sister’s fingers will be enough for us to live on. We might even be able to make up the missing silver. This is truly a good idea!”
Miao Anping smiled proudly.
Mrs. Miao, however, felt very uneasy and whispered nervously, “But we haven’t borrowed any money for Ansu’s wedding…”
Mr. Miao wished he could kick this killjoy of a wife out. He said fiercely, “Didn’t we borrow a lot of money from others before? We’ll just use those IOUs when the time comes.”
Mrs. Miao wanted to say that some of those IOUs were from two or three years ago, while others were recent. The recent ones could be passed off as borrowed for Ansu, but how could they explain away the ones from two or three years ago when this marriage wasn’t even on the horizon?
But seeing Mr. Miao’s angry expression, she swallowed her words.
Mr. Miao had thought of this too and instructed his son, “Go and exchange those IOUs now. Say we need to recalculate the interest to avoid any slip-ups.”
Miao Anping responded with a “Yes” and left the side room with his father.
Mrs. Miao could only follow her husband and son out the door.
The Miao family’s eldest aunt, who was sitting with Song San Tai Tai in the women’s seating area, received the news and was secretly puzzled.
Last year, her brother had come to her house to borrow fifty taels of silver. How did he suddenly have money when it came time to marry off his daughter? Was he intentionally trying to take advantage of her?
Thinking of this, she felt very unhappy, but in front of Song San Tai Tai, she still managed to put on a smile and said, “After all, this is an imperial-granted marriage. Delaying too long might seem disrespectful. In my opinion, following Song San Tai Tai’s suggestion, the groom’s side provides the betrothal gifts, and the bride’s side provides the dowry—our Miao family will provide a dowry of 20,000 taels of silver for our daughter. As for the wedding date, after the gathering disperses, we can ask the matchmakers to select some auspicious dates and then present them to the Duke for final decision.”
Traditionally, the groom’s family would choose the date and the bride’s family would set it. The Miao family had completely reversed this, all to finalize the marriage quickly and receive the betrothal money from Duke Ying’s household as soon as possible.
Song San Tai Tai laughed in extreme anger.
If the Miao family provided a 20,000 tael dowry, then the Song family would have to provide a 40,000 tael bride price. By this calculation, the Miao family would still profit by 20,000 taels.
She couldn’t help but mock, “When our family’s heir got married, we only prepared a 20,000 tael bride price. The Second Young Master is the younger brother, there’s no reason for him to exceed his elder brother, the heir. Don’t you fear that your niece might compete with the heir’s wife after marrying in? In terms of status, the heir’s wife is the legitimate daughter of the Dou family of North Tower; in terms of wealth, the heir’s wife brought a dowry of 200,000 taels of silver, including two chests of bank notes.”
If the Miao family’s eldest aunt wasn’t quick-witted, she wouldn’t have been chosen as the spokesperson.
She smiled faintly and said, “Song San Tai Tai’s words seem to change as quickly as the weather in June, with no consistency. You seem to want to have all the advantages on your side. How can we sit down and discuss the marriage with your family like this? Don’t forget, your Second Young Master is not the heir! If your Second Young Master was as talented in both civil and military affairs as the heir, holding a high position and great authority at such a young age, our family would be willing to sell our fields and land to provide a large dowry without asking for a bride price, just like the Dou family did.
Since your Second Young Master is not your heir, you shouldn’t compare our sixth young lady with your heir’s wife. In any case, our Miao family has already decided to provide a 20,000 tael dowry for our daughter. As for how your family will handle it, let’s not forget that you and I are just spokespersons. Even if we were the children’s parents, we’d still need to consult with the elders of the family. I think, whether this works out or not, you should return to your mansion and report to the Duke before making any decisions or commitments!”
Song San Tai Tai trembled with anger but had no words to retort.
The Duke had always been concerned about face. To elevate the imperial family, he might agree to this.
If she stubbornly refused, she might end up offending both sides!
She felt like slapping herself.
Why did she have to take the lead in this matter when even Song Da Tai Tai was avoiding it?
Song San Tai Tai could only grit her teeth and say “Alright” before returning to Duke Ying’s mansion.
Upon hearing this, Song Yichun flew into a rage, his forehead bulging with veins as he shouted, “How is this marrying off a daughter? They’re selling her! How did I end up with such trash?” He then called for Song Han and said, “You better keep your wife in check in the future. After she marries in, don’t let her go out easily unless necessary. I don’t want to deal with the Miao family’s mess every day!”
Song Han felt both ashamed and guilty, his face flushing red.
Song Yichun said to Song San Tai Tai, “Tian’en’s marriage can’t exceed Song Mo’s. After all, Song Mo is the heir of Duke Ying’s household.” He pondered for a while and said, “But I can’t shortchange Tian’en either. We’ll follow Song Mo’s marriage and provide 20,000 taels of silver as the betrothal gift.”
He agreed!
Song San Tai Tai secretly rejoiced that she hadn’t insisted and breathed a sigh of relief.
Song Han knelt before Song Yichun, tearfully expressing his gratitude, “Thank you, Father! I will follow your words in the future and keep my wife in check, not letting her bring shame to Duke Ying’s household.”
Song Yichun felt somewhat better.
He grunted an acknowledgment and nodded, picking up his tea.
Dou Zhao merely smiled slightly upon hearing this.
Since Song Mo had said he would let Song Han set up his household after Miao Shi married, he would certainly do so. She and Miao Shi wouldn’t be eating from the same pot, so what kind of person Miao Shi was and what plans the Miao family had didn’t concern her much. These days she was only worried about little Yuan. At just a month and a half old, the little one didn’t want to lie down when he opened his eyes, insisting on being held upright with support for his head.
Dou Shiying and Song Mo kept praising Yuan for being clever, but Dou Zhao felt it was a sign of mischievousness.
Days flew by, and soon it was the latter part of the month. The Song and Miao families set Song Han’s wedding date for the second day of the ninth month, with the bridal chamber set up in the Green Bamboo Pavilion next to the Osmanthus Fragrance Courtyard.
This arrangement was good.
The two sisters-in-law would rarely meet except when paying respects to Song Yichun, which would reduce a lot of trouble.
Dou Zhao decided to return to the mansion.
However, Song Mo said, “They’re currently renovating the house for Song Han. Be careful that the smell doesn’t affect the child. It’s not too late for you to return a few days before Song Han’s wedding.”
He had always envied the liveliness of the Jiang family since childhood. Although Jing’an Temple Hutong wasn’t as bustling as Duke Ding’s mansion, Dou Shiying’s sincere care made it feel exceptionally warm. He liked this atmosphere and wanted to stay a few more days.
Dou Zhao chuckled, vaguely guessing his thoughts. Naturally, she didn’t insist and followed Song Mo’s arrangement.
After Song Mo left for the office, she asked Ganlu, “Why hasn’t there been any news from Aunt Cui’s side?”
Fearing her grandmother would worry, she had only told her about the pregnancy without mentioning how far along she was. After the child was safely born, she sent Chen Xiaofeng to deliver the good news to her grandmother, promising to visit with the child when he turned two years old and was stronger.
Her grandmother was very happy and sent back a longevity lock along with many children’s clothes and socks through Chen Xiaofeng. The creases in those clothes showed that her grandmother had prepared them long ago.
During her confinement, she couldn’t do needlework, so she had the sewing room make some autumn clothes for her grandmother and sent them back to Zhending with Chen Xiaofeng.
By her calculations, Chen Xiaofeng should have returned by mid-month, but there was still no sign of him and no news from her grandmother’s side.
Ganlu smiled reassuringly, “Perhaps Aunt Cui made some more delicacies for you, and some things aren’t ready yet, so Guard Chen might be waiting a few more days at home.”
That was possible.
Dou Zhao nodded.
When she and Song Mo had just gotten married, she wrote a letter to inform Aunt Cui of her well-being and sent it to Chen Xiaofeng. Aunt Cui then pickled many of her favorite vegetables and fruits for Chen Xiaofeng to bring back. Because they had to wait for the pickles to be properly jarred, Chen Xiaofeng stayed in Zhending for an extra half month.
Dou Zhao put this matter aside for now.
However, news came from Duke Ying’s mansion.
It was said that when the Song family went to urge for the dowry, the lacquered bed promised by the Miao family during the betrothal had been changed to a canopy bed, the yellow pear wood furniture had been replaced with pine wood furniture, and the red glaze porcelain tea sets had become blue and white porcelain… The people who went to collect the dowry for the Song family had a big argument with the Miao family, drawing a crowd three layers deep.
The Miao family was like a dead dog unafraid of boiling water, willing to go to court before the emperor rather than add to the dowry.
Song Han, who had accompanied them, was utterly embarrassed. Covering half his face, he pulled Song San Tai Tai out the door, bringing the dowry back to Duke Ying’s mansion.