Chapter 41

  "This is the third day before Min's wedding. Old Lady Jia looked at the people in Rongxi Hall and said with a rare smile: "In my opinion, everything that needs to be prepared has been almost done; you two brothers just need to work harder for these few days, after all, this is your younger sister's lifelong event."

  Mrs. Jia also knew that she was already old and even if she had the heart to take care of things personally, she might not have the energy; this matter still had to rely on her two sons to handle it themselves.

  Even Jia Zhen, who had never been well-received by her before, was given a rare smile by Grandmother Jia.

  "Please rest assured, old lady, my son will not let Mian's sister be wronged." Jia Xue had been quite upset over the past few days due to Jia Min's marriage and seeing the second wife, Jia Zheng, being bullied by Wang Shi; he naturally agreed with a mouthful of wine.

  Jia Zheng also didn't show weakness, closely following behind to express his attitude to Old Madame Jia: "Mother can rest assured, son will definitely let Xue Baochai walk out of Rongguo House with a grand and glorious procession."

  Upon hearing her two sons express their views, whether sincere or not, Old Lady Jia couldn't help but smile: "Good, good, good... you're all extremely good! Let the two of you, Eldest and Second Brother, handle the dowry matters. I, your mother, only have one opinion."

  Mrs. Jia's sharp eyes scanned the people in the room, and she said with a hint of warning: "Min'er is my precious treasure, you all must not bully her."

  Hmph... As expected, Old Lady Jia's affection for Xiangling is indeed genuine.

  As soon as Old Lady Jia finished speaking, the people of the Jia household hurriedly laughed and responded with "dare not"; at this time, Jia She, Jia Zheng, Jia Jing, Jia Zhen and others took up the gift cards and discussed how to deal with the betrothal gifts sent by the Lin family.

  Part of the betrothal gifts had been sent back to the Rongguo House along with their return gift, and as for those pastries and candies, since they were consumable items, they would be distributed among relatives and friends on the day of Jia Min's departure from her parental home.

  In general, after the betrothal gifts and money are given by the man's side to the woman's side, it is customary for the woman's family to dispose of them freely; there is no rule that these gifts and money must be brought back to the man's home by the bride.

  And there are also many small gates and small doors, such as using the betrothal gifts received by their own daughters to marry their sons and grandsons in the family; such things are not unheard of, but naturally such things would not happen in Rongguo Mansion.

  It's all been said - a rotten boat still has three thousand nails, let alone the Rongguo Mansion which hasn't fallen yet; no need to be so petty.

  It wasn't long before the result of their discussion came out. Jia She walked to the front of Old Lady Jia and made a bow: "Old lady, my son's intention is that this time the betrothal gifts will not be left in our house; all will be given to Min's sister to use as a dowry."

  Not only was Mrs. Jia satisfied with Jia She's words, but Jia Min was also grateful to her elder brother; although Mrs. Jia had already given Jia Min a large sum of her own savings, this money was not too much to handle; there is no one in the world who would complain that they have too much silver.

  What's more... the Lin family is also a noble and wealthy family, with many connections to make everywhere, all of which require money; Jia Min has grown up in such a large family as Rongguo Mansion since childhood, she knows very well how important this money is.

  Mrs. Jia nodded in satisfaction and then turned her gaze to Jia Zheng and Wang Shi: "What do you two think, Second Brother and his wife?"

  Wang's mouth opened, wanting to say something, but was stopped by Jia Zheng. Jia Zheng bowed to Old Lady Jia and said respectfully: "Mother, what Big Brother said is also my intention; not only the betrothal gift, but also the valuable gifts, I plan to let Minnie take them all."

  Jia She and Jia Zheng had already expressed their opinions, so naturally Xing Shi, Wang Shi and other members of the Jia family did not have any objections. As for the disposal of these betrothal gifts and money, it was settled without any suspense.

  Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

  The day has finally arrived for Tan Hua Lang to marry and bring honor to the Rong Guo Fu by taking a daughter-in-law.

  The Rongguo Mansion was decorated with lanterns and streamers everywhere, filled with a joyful atmosphere.

  Jia Min's sat in front of the dressing table, with Xi Niang helping her to dress up; Jia Lao Tai Tai, Xing Shi, Wang Shi, and Yao Shi were all crowded around her, while the maids and servant girls came and went, busily attending to their duties. The whole room was focused on Jia Min at this moment.

  After everything was properly arranged, Jia Min finally stood up amidst the teasing voices of the crowd and changed into her bright red wedding dress; she also put on a phoenix coronet that shone with brilliant pearls and radiant glory.

  Jia Min was already dressed up, and the matchmaker standing beside her held a large red veil with double lotus flowers, ready to cover Jia Min's head; just as the auspicious moment was about to arrive, the maid outside had already come in to report that the wedding procession from the Lin family had entered the main gate of Rongguo Mansion.

  Mrs. Jia could no longer hold back, listening to the faint sound of drums and music getting closer and closer; Mrs. Jia's tears finally fell one by one.

  For Jia Min, this only precious daughter, Old Lady Jia was truly and sincerely fond of her; now seeing Lin Ruhai about to come over to welcome the bride, thinking that her own daughter whom she had pampered and raised with care was going to become someone else's wife, how could Old Lady Jia not feel sad and distressed.

  Jia Min looked at the old lady's appearance and also reddened her eyes; if not for worrying that tears would ruin her makeup, Jia Min would have burst into loud sobs long ago.

  This sudden change left everyone at a loss, especially the matchmaker, Xing Shi and Wang Shi; they were just about to cross the flower bridge, what kind of play was this mother-daughter duo performing?

  "Ancestors, today is a grand and joyful day; don't be sad anymore." Lady Yao was the first to speak up and persuade.

  "Old lady, the new husband's family is not very far from our house; it's just two streets away. In the future, if you miss your elder daughter, you can go visit her anytime, or at least have her husband bring her back to visit often."

  Even Xing Shi, who was usually stingy and petty, rarely spoke out a reasonable word.

  Wang said indifferently: "Old lady, the auspicious time is almost here; if you don't let the eldest girl cross the bridge now, it will be too late after this auspicious time."

  Hmph... Wang's words made Old Lady Jia dislike her even more, the firecrackers outside started to go off; this was urging the bride to hurry up and cross the bridge!

  "The auspicious hour has arrived, the auspicious hour has arrived."

  The bridesmaid on the side was loudly shouting, and quickly covered Jia Min's phoenix coronet with the double lotus flowers and red veil in her hand.

  Mrs. Jia, despite her reluctance in her heart, knew that this auspicious moment could not be delayed; she hastily and reluctantly held back her tears.

  Jia Min, supported by two maids, made a deep curtsy to Lady Jia: "Daughter bids farewell to her mother, Mother take care!"

  The music of urging marriage had already sounded twice outside, Jia She and Jia Zheng, the two brothers, were dressed in new clothes; with a big smile on their faces, they walked in with big strides.

  "Old Lady, it's about time; people outside have already come to urge us several times. Don't you think it's time for Minnie to go up the Flower Bridge?" Jia Zhen said with a bow to Old Lady Jia.

  Jia She said this for a reason, as it is customary for the bride's brother to personally carry her to the sedan chair; and as the eldest brother, Jia She naturally took on this responsibility.

  Mrs. Jia reluctantly let go of Jia Min's hand, then watched with wide eyes as Jia She carried Jia Min away in big strides.

  Today, the people of Beijing all know that the eldest daughter of Rongguo Mansion is getting married, and the family she's marrying into is none other than the current top scholar; although someone has already heard rumors about the generous betrothal gifts from the Lin family, everyone also knows that Rongguo Mansion is one of the four most prominent families in the capital; it's always been said that "the Jia family doesn't pretend, with jade as their hall and gold as their horse!"

  However, when everyone really saw the wedding procession of Rongguo Mansion, the common people in the capital were still shocked; my goodness... this is truly a ten-mile red makeup!

  Because this Rongguo Mansion and the Lin family were married by the current Emperor's golden mouth, the dowry in front of them was naturally bestowed by the emperor.

  The first dowry was a set of imperial gifts, including a crimson silk phoenix hairpiece with gold and jade inlays, a pair of earrings, and a necklace, all placed in a red lacquer box adorned with dragons and phoenixes. The inside of the box was lined with bright red dragon and phoenix patterned satin, making it particularly eye-catching.

  The second set of dowry was still a white jade scepter bestowed by the emperor, and the third set of dowry was a pair of white porcelain plum blossom vases also bestowed by the emperor; these imperial gifts may not be comparable to Old Lady Jia's private collection, but they absolutely dazzled the eyes of the common people in the capital.

  Especially the Rongguo Mansion invited skilled craftsmen to carefully create various types of tables, chairs, cabinets, screens and other furniture, including the Qian Gong step bed, pomegranate hundred child frame bed, Xiangfei soft couch... once again dazzling everyone's eyes, it turned out that they were all made of rare woods such as Huanghua pear and purple sandalwood.

  This makes everyone sigh with emotion, and once again refreshes the legend of the four major families - Jia is not false, white jade for the hall and gold for horses; the wealth of these four major families is indeed not to be underestimated.

  Then there were Jia Min's seasonal clothes, silk, satin and jewelry, as well as some rare and precious medicinal materials; for example - 100-year-old ginseng, top-grade purple lingzhi, infant arm-thick He Shou Wu, etc. Several boxes of them.

  Sandalwood, aloes and other precious spices were also packed in several boxes, as well as antiques and paintings. This time Rongguo House really opened the eyes of the common people in the capital, each play was dazzling; even many years later, there were still people who talked about this wedding with relish.

  Jia Min sat in the sedan chair, and she could naturally hear the discussions outside the sedan chair clearly. She thought of Lin Ruhai's handsome face that was unmatched, and a hint of a shy smile appeared on her face.

  As soon as she thought that after today, she could be with Lin Ruhai day and night, Jia Min's face became even more flushed; Jia Min couldn't help but reach out to pinch her own sleeve, inside which was a small exquisite pouch; this was something Jia Min had personally embroidered stitch by stitch, planning to give it to Lin Ruhai as a gift on their wedding night.

  Jia Min was undoubtedly looking forward to this wedding, only she didn't know it yet; everyone in the Lin family was unwelcome to her, and there were still days of hardship ahead.