Free Web NovelChapter 1142: Chapter 1133: Dowry (18)
The Minister of the Ministry of Personnel had no idea the Prince already knew about their indulgent attitude, and upon returning to the mansion, they immediately had people prepare the betrothal gifts.
Although Xie Jinyu and Third Young Master Zhu had already had skin-to-skin intimacy, the three matchmakers and six betrothal rites had all been properly carried out.
If the Prince did not know about the indulgent stance of the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, he would definitely be very grateful.
The Prince was a man who valued affection and loyalty; if others gave him one share, he would return three.
The Prince held heavy troops in his hands, and both the Emperor and Marquis Dongxiang were his in-laws. freēwēbnovel.com
If the Prince owed them a favor, how many benefits could the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel gain.
This was perhaps precisely why the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel decided to play along with the situation.
Between Xie Jinyu and the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, one was willing to hit and the other was willing to be hit.
The Prince entrusted the matter of preparing Xie Jinyu’s dowry entirely to Mrs. Wang.
Because the wedding date was near, and she would be married within half a month, the Prince postponed his trip to the border.
In any case, the Princess Consort and the others would return to the Capital much later, at least after Qin Hanhan had finished her month of confinement.
Regarding the matter of Xie Jinyu and Third Young Master Zhu, the Prince had imposed a gag order on Ciyun Temple, but after all there were many people going there to burn incense, so the matter quickly spread.
Many people actually admired the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel for daring to marry Xie Jinyu into the family.
When the upper beam is not straight, the lower beam is crooked.
Princess Nanzhang was vicious and ruthless, her son defected to the enemy and betrayed the country; could she possibly have raised her daughter well?
And the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel was not afraid of marrying such a scourge back home.
However, they were cheerfully holding a wedding feast and widely sending out invitations; the civil and military officials would certainly have to give them due face.
After returning to the Prince Mansion from Ciyun Temple and behaving herself for three days, Xie Jinyu started to make a fuss.
Mrs. Wang showed her the dowry list; Xie Jinyu felt that what her mother had left behind certainly could not be just the things on the list, and this one sentence alone infuriated Mrs. Wang.
These words were clearly implying that someone had embezzled Princess Nanzhang’s dowry.
Who in this Prince Mansion would dare pocket her mother’s belongings?!
The Heir’s wife knew how to make money; if she wanted to snatch something, she would do it openly and directly.
The Princess Consort had entered the Prince Mansion alone back then; she did have some savings on her, but not much—just some silver notes. It had even caused a stir at the time, and everyone in the mansion knew about it.
The Prince had confined Princess Nanzhang for half a year, and until Princess Nanzhang laid hands on the Little Princess, no one had set foot in her courtyard.
Even now, the maids and old servants in that courtyard were all those left by Princess Nanzhang.
Even if others wanted to interfere, they had no way to get in.
Mrs. Wang looked at Xie Jinyu and said, "The concubine’s room was burned twice. No matter how much dowry there was, it couldn’t withstand such burning. These estates and shops are all land deeds and property deeds that were made up later."
"If the Eldest Young Lady feels that someone has embezzled the concubine’s dowry, then go report it to the Prince and have the entire mansion thoroughly investigated!"
If one is upright, one need not fear a crooked shadow; why endure her baseless speculation?!
Mrs. Wang kept saying "concubine" again and again, and it made Xie Jinyu so angry she wanted to hit someone.
Her mother had died of illness in the Ministry of Justice Prison, and they were not even allowed to hold a funeral in the Prince Mansion; she had kept this grievance in her heart!
She would pay it back double sooner or later!
Xie Jinyu continued flipping through the list and said, "How much dowry is being prepared for me from the public funds?"
She needed money, the more the better.
Even if fighting for it would make people dislike her, she still had to fight.
This was what she deserved!
Mrs. Wang said flatly, "The Prince has taken twelve thousand taels from the public funds to prepare the Eldest Young Lady’s dowry."
"Twelve thousand taels?!" Xie Jinyu’s face twisted with anger.
"Is that to send a beggar away?!"
The maids standing behind Mrs. Wang could hardly resist snapping back at Xie Jinyu.
Who spends twelve thousand taels just to send a beggar away?!
She was a mere illegitimate daughter; how much dowry did she think she could get?!
When the Third Young Lady was married off, the public funds only provided ten thousand taels; the Prince was already being generous giving her two thousand more!
Mrs. Wang did not want to argue with Xie Jinyu. "This is the Prince’s order. I am merely following instructions."
Xie Jinyu then went to ask the Prince for more dowry.
The Prince was not in the mood to even look at Xie Jinyu.
After she quarreled for a few sentences, the Prince reduced the twelve thousand taels to eight thousand taels.
When Xie Jinyu continued to make a scene, he simply had the maids drag her out.
"Before she is married, without my permission, she is not allowed to take a single step outside the residence!" the Prince said coldly.
"If the maids and old servants of Zilan Garden cannot stop her, each one will be given thirty strokes with the rod!"
Xie Jinyu was dragged away, crying and wailing.
With her under house arrest, things became quiet. As for Xie Jinyu going on a hunger strike, Mrs. Wang merely had people send meals over; whether she ate or not, that was her business.
To think that being betrothed gave her an extra Amulet—she was thinking far too highly of herself.
If something really did happen to her, would the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel even dare come to hold Prince Zhenbei Mansion accountable?!
Mrs. Wang did her utmost to prepare the dowry with those eight thousand taels.
All these years, although the Empress Dowager had used Princess Nanzhang, the rewards she gave to Princess Nanzhang and Xie Jinyu were truly plentiful, and there was also Xie Jingchuan’s share.
Mrs. Wang gathered everything together in one go and all of it was made into Xie Jinyu’s dowry.
The gift list was written clearly, in triplicate, and stamped and filed by the government office.
When the day of Xie Jinyu’s wedding arrived, with phoenix crown and wedding robe and a ten-mile red wedding procession, she married out in incomparable splendor.
Many people came to Prince Zhenbei Mansion to deliver congratulatory gifts, but the mansion did not accept them, nor did they prepare any banquet.
Watching one chest of dowry after another being carried out, everyone was baffled.
If one said Prince Zhenbei Mansion valued this marriage, they did not hold a banquet, and they did not accept congratulatory gifts.
But if one said they did not value it, all that dowry was solid and substantial.
The happiest person was none other than the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel; she was so delighted that those who did not know better would think she had married in some wonderful daughter-in-law.
Although the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel had been promoted for less than half a year, the affairs of Prince Zhenbei Mansion had repeatedly been the talk of the town, and every old scandal had been dug up and discussed several times; it was impossible for the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel not to have heard anything.
On the day Xie Jinyu married out, the appointment letter that the Prince should have personally brought to the border also arrived in Su Jin’s hands. frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓
The court formally appointed Old Master Zheng as County Magistrate.
Su Jin had Manager Li send the appointment letter to the government office.
Old Master Zheng had already been in office for quite some time. Although no one questioned whether his position as County Magistrate was fake, the appointment letter in his hand had been written by Su Jin and stamped with the Princess Seal.
This appointment letter was stamped with the Ministry of Personnel Seal, which made Old Master Zheng feel even more at ease.
Life at the border was as calm as water, yet it passed very quickly.
In the blink of an eye, it was time for Qin Hanhan to give birth.
Because giving birth within two weeks before or after the due date was considered normal.
Once they entered that time frame, the small courtyard became especially cautious; at the slightest stir, everyone suspected that Qin Hanhan was going into labor.
Chu Shun was the one who most looked forward to seeing the child born.
As he waited expectantly, the days passed one by one. Not only did the baby not come early, it was delayed by several more days.
Chu Shun grew anxious and asked Su Jin, "Why hasn’t she given birth yet?"
"Maybe the baby likes staying in Hanhan’s belly," Su Jin said with a smile.
"As long as everything is normal, it doesn’t matter if the birth is a few days late."
After eight months, Su Jin had been taking Qin Hanhan’s pulse almost every day.
Now that the time was near, whenever she saw her, she would habitually place her hand on her wrist to feel the pulse.
On top of that, Qin Hanhan herself was skilled in Medical Skill, so there was even less to worry about.
It was just that the child was growing quickly in the later stages; in order to avoid a difficult labor and spare her some suffering, her food intake was carefully rationed.
