Chapter 243: Prepared to Marry
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Yu Shaoqing was extremely depressed. He hadn’t even doted on his daughter enough before another man snatched her away. What was even more depressing was that his daughter seemed to be quite happy to be snatched away.
Yu Shaoqing couldn’t flare up in front of outsiders. He waited until Mrs. Yao, Uncle Wan, and Du Hongniang left before he went to the factory.
Uncle was counting the betrothal gifts on the list. The Young Master Manor was really generous. There were a total of 162 boxes. Not to mention the villagers, if he wasn’t afraid of making a fool of himself in front of the servants of the Young Master Manor, he would have knelt down on the spot.
How could he know that the Young Master Manor had originally prepared a hundred and thirty boxes of betrothal gifts, and Shangguan Yan had secretly added thirty-two more? The total number was indeed too shocking. One had to know that even the most noble Eldest Princess of this dynasty had only a hundred and twenty boxes.
Uncle brought the two children and counted for the entire day. They didn’t even finish half of it. They were so tired that he was about to become three cows. The two young calves had returned to the old residence to eat. They would come and change shifts with him later. They were worried that there would be thieves coveting so many betrothal gifts, so they had to have someone to guard them day and night.!!
“Big Brother.” Yu Shaoqing walked to a large box beside Uncle and sat down. There was only one chair in the room and he was letting Uncle sit down.
Uncle realized that his brother was listless and asked strangely, “What’s wrong? What happened?”
Yu Shaoqing did not know how to tell his brother. It was quite embarrassing. He was Ah Wan’s biological father, but Ah Wan had chosen that brat over him.
“The wedding date has been set, right?” Uncle guessed.
“Yeah,” Yu Shaoqing replied vaguely.
Uncle thought that he was so dejected because he couldn’t bear to part with his daughter. He raised his tired arm and patted his shoulder. “Take it easy. A girl has to get married in the end. Ah Wan didn’t marry far away. If you miss her, go and see her. If she misses home, she can also come back to her maiden family. Look at these betrothal gifts. There are so many of them that they can’t be counted… I’m afraid you don’t know since you’re in the military camp. Young Master Wan… No, Young Master Yan really cares about our Ah Wan… Look at how you beat him up when you come back. His father is a prince. It’s enough to sentence you to death!”
Uncle only said that, but he actually did not feel good. Although Ah Wan was not his biological daughter, she was his biological daughter in his heart. How could he bear to marry Ah Wan off?
But there was no other way.
Uncle sighed. “I asked the Young Master Manor just now. Isn’t there a later day? The Young Master Manor said that good days are all taken up this month. There won’t be such an auspicious day in the next half a year. We can’t let Ah Wan wait for another half a year, right? Ah Wan isn’t young anymore.”
Yu Shaoqing gritted his teeth. Bullsh*t auspicious day! It was just that that kid couldn’t hold it in and wanted to kidnap his daughter back to the wolf’s den!
Uncle said earnestly, “Alright, alright, don’t be angry. When Sister-in-law married you, she was even younger than Ah Wan. What did her family say?”
Yu Shaoqing fell silent when he thought of his wife. After saying goodbye to his brother, he returned to his house.
Today, the house was noisy. Little Bruiser didn’t study and played crazily with the three little lads for the entire day. At this moment, they were all asleep. Yu Wan couldn’t hold back her sleepiness and hugged her sons to sleep. Madam Jiang woke up and lay on the bed, poking Little Bruiser’s face.
“Ah Shu.” Yu Shaoqing lay down beside Madam Jiang and hugged her from behind. He buried his head in her neck and took a deep breath of her fragrance.
“Huh?” Madam Jiang replied in confusion.
Yu Shaoqing said, “You’ve married me for so many years. Do you miss home? When I can leave the Capital, I’ll accompany you back to your maiden home.”
Without waiting for Madam Jiang to answer, he continued, “Father-in-law and mother-in-law are both gone. There should be relatives from the collateral family. Is there anyone you want to see?”
“No,” Madam Jiang said. It was unknown if she was talking about having no relatives or someone she didn’t want to see.
His parents-in-law had passed away early, and his wife did not have any siblings at home. Yu Shaoqing was worried that saying too much would bring up his wife’s sad memories, so he did not dare to ask again. He only hugged her tightly and said, “Then tell me when you want to go back and take a look. We’ll bring the children along too.”
No matter what, it was her hometown. Even if her family was gone, she would still want to go back and take a walk, even if it was to burn an incense stick and kowtow to her parents.
“Okay,” Madam Jiang replied in a low voice in the darkness.
That night, Madam Jiang did not treat Yu Shaoqing like this or that. Yu Shaoqing felt that his wife missed her hometown more and more. He made up his mind that after he cleared his name, he would definitely bring his wife home to take a look.
The wedding day of the sixteenth was less than seven days to prepare. This made things difficult for both sides. Uncle Wan felt that he had a few more strands of white hair. Shangguan Yan moved into the manor directly. Yan Jiuchao wanted to say something, but Uncle Wan exploded. “Do you still want to get married? If you do, shut up!”
Young Master Yan obediently shut up.
Uncle Wan, who had finally become unyielding, valiantly went to get someone to decorate the manor.
The residence after the wedding was chosen to be in the Young Master Manor. Shangguan Yan had actually suggested Xiao Manor, rather than the Young Master Manor, that they only stayed for less than three to four days a year. This made the Xiao Manor, which Shangguan Yan had run for many years, clearly more suitable for preparing for the wedding in all aspects. Putting aside everything else, just from the personnel alone, the Xiao Manor’s servants were all well-trained as the commoner affairs were complicated, and their cooperation in whatever department was done was flawless. The rough men in the Young Master Manor had no experience in preparing for banquets, so they were not used to it.
“How can that be?” Uncle Wan smiled awkwardly.
Shangguan Yan paused. “I was rash.”
Her son would not be willing to go to the Xiao Manor. If he did, it would mean that he would admit that he was Xiao Zhenting’s stepson. In his son’s heart, he only had Prince Yan as his father.
Shangguan Yan waved her hand. “Forget it, let’s go to the Young Master Manor. I’ll send more people over. The chefs and dishes have to be decided for the wedding. The servants have to be arranged properly. What else is there?”
There were so many things to do that Shangguan Yan’s brain was muddled.
Uncle Wan quickly took out a list. “Here, I’ve written it down.”
“Look, there’s even a bridal escort.” The bridal escort was a top priority. There were carriages, musicians, and guards. Her son wanted to see such an extravagance, but she didn’t know where to gather so many people when the lineup was big. In the past, she was worried that her son wouldn’t get married, but now, she was caught off guard. Shangguan Yan held her forehead and said, “I’ll go to the Yao family!”
Shangguan Yan found Mrs. Yao. The two of them worked for an entire day before settling the matter of escorting the bride.
On the other hand, it was not only the Young Master Manor who was busy. The Yu family was also quite troubled.
“Have you prepared the dowry?” Bai Tang also rushed over to help when she received the news. Although she had never been married, White Jade Restaurant had contracted many wedding banquets for rich families. Therefore, even if she had never eaten pork, she had seen pigs walk.
There were so many betrothal gifts from the Young Master Manor, so the woman naturally had to prepare some dowry. She would return a portion of the betrothal gifts and add another portion from her family. The Yu family’s business had just started, so it was more than enough for Yu Wan to marry a country bumpkin. However, the dowry for being the mistress of the Young Master Manor was not enough. In the end, Yu Shaoqing gave the land deed to Yu Wan. Although it was not worth much, it was at least a token of the family’s appreciation. They could not afford to give the farm and shops, so they could only give her a barren mountain.
Since Yu Wan was marrying into a rich family, logically speaking, she should have her own maid. However, time was tight and there was no time to prepare. There were many servants in Bai Tang’s courtyard, but the maidservants of the merchants had never seen the world. They were afraid that they would cause trouble for Yu Wan if they went to the Young Master Manor, so Bai Tang did not force them to Yu Wan.
“Do you have the wedding dress?” Bai Tang asked.
Yu Wan’s expression did not change as she said, “I have it.”
She had it long ago, but she did not dare to tell her family the truth. She lied that it was sent over on the day Uncle Wan gave the betrothal gifts.
“What about the clothes after the wedding?” Bai Tang asked.
Yu Wan was stunned.
Bai Tang’s face darkened. “Don’t tell me you plan to still wear the same clothes after the wedding? My lady, you’re married to Yan Jiuchao. From now on, you’re the Madam of Yan City and the daughter-in-law of the Great Zhou Imperial Family. You can’t wear the clothes of a country bumpkin anymore!”
“There are still a few new sets of clothes at home that I haven’t worn,” Yu Wan said with a rare heartache. However, she understood that Bai Tang was right. She needs to change after the wedding. Even if she didn’t think for herself, she had to earn some face for Yan Jiuchao. It was already a joke to marry a village girl. If this village girl wasn’t presentable—
Yu Wan thought about it and felt that she could not be too embarrassed. After lunch, she went to the Capital with Bai Tang.
It was too late to customize her clothes now, so they could only buy ready-made clothes. Bai Tang led Yu Wan to Xiushui Street. This street was filled with embroidered buildings and cloth shops.
Bai Tang held Yu Wan’s hand and said, “Let’s take our time to choose. There’s no hurry. You can stay at my house when it’s dark. We’ll continue tomorrow.”
Yu Wan nodded. She was her sister-in-law, so there was no need to be polite, right?
The two of them entered an embroidered building called the Yunshui Aula. This embroidered building was huge, with a total of three floors. It was said that the lady boss was from Jiangnan and was good at Su embroidery. Her embroidery had once been invited to the palace, and many noble ladies and young ladies had come because of her reputation. They were proud to be able to obtain a piece of clothing that she had personally embroidered. Bai Tang did not expect to buy any custom-made clothes, they only wanted to choose a few suitable clothes.
“She taught all the embroiderers here step by step. Their skills are better than the ones outside. Look,” Bai Tang said as she pulled over a wide-sleeved moon fairy dress hanging on the shelf. The skirt was gathered, the skirt was light, and the needle work was fine. The silver thread that was pierced seemed to really have moonlight on it. When it moved slightly, the moonlight flowed.
Bai Tang could already imagine how beautiful Yu Wan would look when she wore it. “This one then. Try it!”
Yu Wan changed into a wide-sleeved moon fairy dress. The greatest feature of this dress was that it was extremely tight at the waist. As long as there was any fat on her waist, she would wear it with an extremely bloated effect. However, Yu Wan’s slender waist, coupled with her wide sleeves, made her look tall. She was so beautiful that she looked like an otherworldly fairy.
Bai Tang was simply stunned. She knew that this girl was beautiful, but she did not expect her to be so beautiful. What daughter of a noble family, what socialite from a large family? At this moment, they were all inferior to her. The entire Yunshui Aula fell silent, and everyone’s gaze was attracted to Yu Wan.
They had also seen this dress before, but they never thought it would look so good. It was said that clothes made the man, but sometimes, one person made a set of clothes.
Yu Wan was so beautiful that even the passers-by stopped.
Only one thought flashed across Bai Tang’s mind: Buy, buy, buy! Buy no matter how much money!
Just as Bai Tang was about to ask for the price, another girl came out wearing the same wide-sleeved moon fairy dress. She was younger than Yu Wan, but she was not as young as Yu Wan. Her figure was not as slender as Yu Wan, but she was not considered bulging. If not for Yu Wan, although her outfit would not be very stunning, it would not be ugly either. However, after seeing Yu Wan emit an immortal aura, she looked a little tacky.
Someone in the crowd burst into laughter.
She was stunned at first, then saw Yu Wan, who was dressed exactly the same as her, not far away. Her face instantly turned red. Even a blind person could tell that Yu Wan was dressed better than her.
She had taken a fancy to this dress half a month ago, but at that time, she was too fat to wear it. Because of this, she had starved herself for more than ten days. It was not easy for her to wear it, but she was inferior to another woman!
The girl was furious. She took a step forward and pointed at Yu Wan. “Who asked you to wear this dress?”
Yu Wan looked at her strangely and realized that she had chosen a dress that was the same as hers. Yu Wan did not think that she looked ugly in it, but her style did not look good.
Yu Wan asked, “Can’t I wear it? Did you buy it?”
“I…” The girl choked. Of course she didn’t buy it. She said,” I tried it before you! ”
Yu Wan tapped her dress and said, “You’re trying on the one you’re wearing. I didn’t take it off you.”
These words were right. She couldn’t possibly try on a dress and everything would belong to her alone. Even princesses weren’t so domineering.
The girl saw that Yu Wan did not have any jewelry on her head and was only wearing a peachwood hairpin bought from a stall. She was certain that Yu Wan was not the daughter of a rich family, so she had the thought of bullying others. “I want them all! Take off the one you’re wearing!”
Bai Tang walked over angrily and glared at her. “We want it too!”
The girl sized up Bai Tang. Bai Tang was dressed decently, but she was not worth mentioning compared to the girl.
The girl smiled sarcastically. “You want it? Can you even afford it?”
Bai Tang said coldly, “Shopkeeper, how much is this dress?”
The shopkeeper smiled embarrassedly and said, “Six hundred taels.”
Bai Tang was stunned. “A… a lousy dress… for six hundred taels?!”
Even though she was so poor that she only had money left, she had never bought such expensive clothes, let alone this dress that did not look expensive at all.
“Are your clothes inlaid with gold or gems? Why is it so expensive?” Bai Tang stomped her feet.
The girl sneered in disdain. “It’s obvious that you’ve never seen the world. The dress she’s wearing was personally made by Madam Meng. Six hundred taels is a bargain for you.”
Madam Meng was the lady boss of the Yunshui Aula. She had only made one wide-sleeved moon fairy dress. The rest were all high-quality imitations of her disciple. Although they were also very good, they could not be sold for her price. The young girl originally wanted this dress on Yu Wan, but she could not wear it!
“Do you really want it?” Yu Wan asked the girl.
The girl glanced at Yu Wan from the corner of her eye and said, “Why? Do you want to negotiate with me?”
Bai Tang frowned. This girl was so young, why were her words so unpleasant?
Yu Wan smiled faintly. “If you want it, I’ll give it to you.”
Bai Tang was stunned, and the girl was also stunned. She did not expect Yu Wan to give up the dress so easily. It was not that it did not fit or look good. Or could it be that… she could tell that the girl’s status was noble and did not dare to snatch anything from her?
That shouldn’t be the case. She wasn’t such a person. She wasn’t even afraid of Yan Ruyu, so why would she be afraid of this little girl who appeared out of nowhere? Unless this little girl was a princess, there was really nothing that Ah Wan was afraid of.
Bai Tang looked at Yu Wan in confusion.
Yu Wan went to the inner room to change her clothes. After taking two steps, an elegant young woman walked down the stairs. She stopped in the middle of the stairs and looked at Yu Wan from afar. “Why don’t you want this dress? Do you think it’s too expensive?”
Yu Wan shook her head.
Madam Menglooked at the girl beside Yu Wan. “Is it because of her?”
Yu Wan shook her head again.
“Then why?” Madam Meng asked.
Yu Wan said indifferently, “Because it’s not worth this price.”
There was a gasp in Yunshui Aula. This little girl actually said that Madam Meng’s item was not worth this price? Did she know what she was talking about?
Only Madam Meng did not show any dissatisfaction. The dress was made by Madam Meng. Madam Meng knew better than anyone that it was not that she needed this dress, but that this dress needed her. It was only when she wore it that it was so beautiful that it shone. Therefore, she was right. This dress was indeed not worth this price.
Yu Wan went to the inner room to change out of her dress.
The girl swore that she would wear this dress even if she had to starve for another month!
Unexpectedly, as soon as the girl reached out, Madam Meng caught the dress before her. Then, she saw Madam Meng take out a pair of scissors and cut the dress into pieces.
The girl turned pale. “My dress!”
Madam Meng did not even look at her. She walked towards Yu Wan and gestured for her to go upstairs. “Miss, please go upstairs.”
The girl was stunned. What? She had been shopping in Yunshui Aula for a year but had never been received by Madam Meng. Why was this girl invited upstairs by Madam Meng the moment she came?!