The swansong of the swansong

Chapter 113 Twenty Miles of Red Makeup

After the Nacai ceremony and the Nazheng ceremony, the wedding gift comes.

When other people's families receive dowries, the seats are always filled with relatives and friends, and all the brothers and sisters are present.

When it comes to Yinyou, it’s different.

Because most of Yinwei's sisters were married and not in the capital.

On the day when the bride delivered her dowry, Yinwei's brothers and sisters-in-law all came to join in the fun.

However, only one pair of my sister and brother-in-law came, namely Princess Heshuo Xunjing and her husband Sun Chengyun.

When it comes to whether the princesses of the Qing Dynasty were favored by the emperor, Princess Heshuo Xujing is the benchmark.

Apart from her who stayed in the capital, the other person was Princess Heshuo Wenxian.

Unfortunately, a few years ago, Princess Wenxian died of heatstroke on the way to Rehe while accompanying the Empress Dowager.

To be honest, the princesses of the Qing Dynasty are far less valuable than the princes.

Princess Heshuo Jingjing's annual salary was only 300 taels of silver. The annual salary of her husband, Sun Chengyun, was also pitifully small, only 250 taels.

After Yinyou was promoted to Beile, in addition to an annual salary of 2500 taels of silver and 2500 hu of rice, he also had an imperial farm with acres of high-quality irrigated land.

The Qing imperial family favored sons over daughters, which was blatant discrimination. The gap between them was so huge that they could not be compared at all.

The day after the bride's wedding is the wedding day.

Yinyu followed the old rules, with the Sixteenth Prince sitting at the main gate to welcome guests, while the Eighteenth Prince and his guards were stationed in the courtyard where the dowry was kept to prevent anyone from stealing anything and causing a big scandal.

Last time, when the fifth brother got married, someone actually stole a few gold ingots while admiring the dowry.

Although the thief was not caught, it is an indisputable fact that when the dowry was stored, it did not match the gift list.

Lao Wu was kind-hearted by nature, and even though he suffered a great loss, he smiled and said nothing. However, the Wu Fu Jin's family members were all low-ranking bannermen with little education, and they liked to gossip, so the news spread.

At a time when the Eastern Palace was in turmoil, in order to maintain the prestige of the Crown Prince, the Crown Princess's brothers really went all out and gritted their teeth and prepared a twenty-mile red dowry with 188 bearers.

The golden ruyi gifted by the Crown Princess, as the first load of dowry to show off, had already entered the gate of the Prince's Mansion. The last load of dowry was still at the Shi family and had not been moved.

As dowries were carried in one after another, the entire east courtyard of the Prince's Mansion was packed.

Old Eighteen was a little anxious, fearing that Yinyou's good things would be stolen by others, so he sternly ordered the guards, eunuchs and palace maids around him: "Keep a close eye on them, don't let the thieves steal them."

Two hours later, when the last load of dowry was brought in, the east courtyard of the Prince's Mansion was completely filled with dowries, leaving no room to step.

At this time, Yinyu's sister-in-law Zhang Jia, perhaps out of jealousy or perhaps wanting to help her husband vent his anger, deliberately said sourly: "After all, it's the Crown Princess's younger sister who's getting married. Isn't this emptying out the family's assets?"

In the upper class of the Qing Dynasty, everyone was a person of status. Even if they said something bad, they would say it in a roundabout way, trying to force you to think.

The fourth wife, who was helping Yinyu to calm down the women, smiled softly and said, "I also saw it with my own eyes when my eldest sister-in-law married my eldest brother. It was much more spectacular than the wedding of my fifteenth brother's sister-in-law."

After hearing what the Fourth Lady said, the other ladies nearby who knew the inside story smiled at each other in unison.

They both understood the ridicule, but they just deliberately didn't say it out loud.

Zhang Jia was actually the eldest brother's second wife, and her father was just a second-rank general of the Green Camp.

To put it bluntly, Zhang Jia's family background is not even a hair away from that of the Fifteenth Lady who will marry into the family tomorrow.

The father of the fifteenth concubine, Shi Wenbing, was a hereditary third-class earl and had served as a general in Fuzhou before his death. Her elder sister was the crown princess, and her father, Shi Huashan, was not only a son-in-law of the emperor, but also a general in charge of the southern expedition.

The daughter of a mere general dares to stir up trouble among the top dignitaries of the Qing Dynasty. How blind she is!

Zhang Jia was defeated calmly by the Fourth Lady, and for a while, no one dared to cause trouble.

After all, today's Yinyou is already the most powerful prince among all the princes.

You didn't control your mouth today and spewed venom without restraint. When something big happens to Yinyou, don't cry out for injustice!
As for the affairs of the Qing Dynasty, I am not afraid that you may enjoy yourself now, but I am afraid that there will be a reckoning in the future!

The West Flower Hall in the main courtyard was filled with royal relatives, headed by Prince Zhuang.

In the world of men, strength is what matters, not those illusory things.

Not to mention anything else, the fact that Yinyou is now the emperor of the Imperial Household Department is enough to scare away most of those with bad intentions.

Of course, except for the boss who has always been holding a grudge.

"I say, Fifteenth brother, there's something wrong with the tea here, right?" It would have been better if the eldest brother didn't say anything, but as soon as he opened his mouth, he revealed his uneducated nature.

Even though the third brother hated Yinwei to the core, he was unwilling to support the eldest brother.

"Brother, this tea is a tribute awarded by Khan Ama, and the water used to make the tea is also the imperial water transported from Yuquan Mountain. What's wrong with it?"

Yinyu was about to become a groom, so it was inconvenient for him to slap the guest in the face. However, how could the fourth brother just watch the eldest brother make a scene?

The fourth brother is indeed a mean-spirited person. He only opens his mouth to silence the eldest brother.

Seeing that the third brother also wanted to join in, the twelfth brother rushed ahead and said, "Third brother, I heard that you have just got an ancient book from the Northern Song Dynasty?" The third brother was a typical high-level cultural person. He particularly liked cultural events and was very good at editing books.

After his brewing momentum was interrupted by the twelfth brother, the third brother had to hold his temper and proudly introduced the rare ancient books he had just purchased.

Prince Zhuang, who sat high on the throne, had realized that anyone who wanted to bully Yinyou would be courting humiliation!
The men present were all princes and grandsons of the emperor who had seen the world. Although they were a little jealous of the generous dowry sent by the Crown Princess's family, they did not pay too much attention to it.

What is there to compare? Including his age, Yinyu was not even 18 years old, but he surpassed most of the princes in terms of power, title, and emperor's favor.

In the Beile Mansion today, there are almost no red-belt people to be seen, but the royal family members with yellow belts are filling up the place.

Yinyu's maternal relatives were naturally also invited, but their status and position were really not high enough.

In order to avoid unnecessary trouble, Yinyu specially arranged his uncle, aunt and cousins to live in the courtyard of the Sixteenth Prince.

In front of the courtyard gate, with Old Sixteen's guards and Hahazhuzi watching, a lot of trouble can be avoided.

However, all of Yinyu's dozen or so unmarried cousins were brought along.

Ever since Concubine Mi was promoted to Consort Mi, Yinyou's grandmother Huang has become more active.

With Yinyou's status as a red prince, taking any of his cousins as a concubine would be a dream come true for the Wang family.

According to the marriage customs of the Bannermen, as soon as the dowry is complete, relatives and friends should be invited to see the strength of the bride's family.

Leaving aside the men, the women in the group would occasionally let out subtle exclamations.

Yinyou's sister-in-law Zhang Jia was right. The Crown Princess's family might have emptied their assets.

How could a three-foot-tall red coral tree be the Shi family’s heirloom?

Anyone with a discerning eye could guess that it must be the bride's Mafa, a treasure that General Shi Huashan, the General who Conquers the South, had snatched back from the south of the Yangtze River while leading his troops south.

According to local customs, a bride with a very small dowry will definitely have no status in her husband's family.

In fact, the Shi family was able to sell everything they had to keep up appearances thanks to Emperor Kangxi.

If Yinyou was still a prince without a title, the Shi family would not have emptied their family assets.

After the buffet started, the chefs that Yinyou borrowed from the fourth and fifth sons' houses were busy.

The old eunuchs who usually worried about not being able to give money to Yinyou, took advantage of the good opportunity today that they could not drive the guests away and came to his house with generous gifts.

Think about it, when the boss gets married, who among the subordinates would dare to neglect him?

People from the Ministry of Internal Affairs came in waves, turning Yinyou's Prince's Mansion into the largest restaurant in the capital.

At this critical juncture today, everyone who comes is a guest, and as a guest you must sit down to eat and drink.

Old Sixteen, who was guarding the door, was also a little confused.

There were huge crowds of people, all of them were from the Imperial Household Department.

If the guests were driven away today, Yinyou would become a laughing stock among the common people in the capital by tomorrow.

There was no other way, so the Sixteenth Prince had to accept it. All the guests who came were guests, and they had to be greeted with a smile, so as not to lose face for Yinyu, which would be a waste of money.

However, what Old Sixteen had never expected was that starting from the afternoon, the Green Camp governors and generals from all over the country also sent people to give gifts.

This matter was of great importance, so the Sixteenth Prince did not dare to be careless and quickly asked Hahazhuzi to inform Yinyou.

The guests from the Imperial Household Department were not driven away because Yinyou was their direct superior.

Even if Kangxi knew that Yinyou accepted their generous gifts, he would at most just laugh it off and would not take it too seriously.

When the Imperial Household Department is not corrupt, even the gods will laugh.

It is different for the Green Camp admirals and generals in each province. Accepting gifts from them indiscriminately will definitely arouse suspicion of faction.

So, Wu Lin trotted all the way and found Old Sixteen at the gate.

"Sixteenth Master, our master said that although we appreciate the kindness of the Green Camp generals, we will not accept any gifts."

After the Sixteenth Old Man had a plan in mind, he immediately put on a smile and said, "Everyone, please don't make things difficult for my Fifteenth Brother. I appreciate your kindness, but please take your gifts back with you."

The people sent by the Green Camp generals from all over the country, even if they did not know Old Sixteen, definitely knew the golden belt tied around his waist.

To be honest, Yinyu made the right choice when he chose the Sixteenth Prince to guard the gate.

Old Sixteen looked so sullen and drove everyone away. Who dared to say a word?

In the evening, after seeing off the guests, Yinyou continued to work late into the night in Beile's mansion, busying himself with arranging various furniture and furnishings in their pre-determined positions.

That’s not all. The servants in the entire Beile Mansion hardly slept the whole night.

I was busy hanging up the lights and decorations, fetching water to wipe the furniture, sweeping up the fallen leaves, wiping the railings and seats in the corridor, etc.

PS: The second update has been completed. I will continue to write more updates. Please give me monthly votes!
(End of this chapter)