Traveling through ancient times to escape famine, the prince led me to rebel

In ancient times, a wedding required the following procedures: accepting the proposal, asking for the name, accepting the good news, and accepting the betrothal gift. After these four procedures, the next step was to ask for the date, which was to determine an auspicious day for the wedding.

Three years ago, Chen Ji and Emperor Tianqi agreed on the approximate month of his marriage to Luo Xiaoran, but the specific date was not set.

In the two months since he returned to Beijing, he had completed the first four processes. During this period, he also found time to supervise the imperial examination cheating case. He really deserves more credit for his ability.

In addition to the betrothal gifts prepared by Chen Ji himself, Emperor Tianqi also gave him many other rewards, which were all brought to Prince An's Mansion.

Seeing that the warehouse could hardly hold the betrothal gifts, Luo Xiaoran became very worried.

Kyoto is not a place to stay for long. What should I do with these things when I leave?

There are also gifts from officials at the wedding, which must have included a lot of good stuff. If they were liquidated together with the betrothal gifts, they could be used as military pay for the Northern Border Army.

When Wei An heard Luo Xiaoran talking about this, he almost couldn't breathe.

My princess!

Now, all the women in Kyoto, married or not, twelve years old or thirty-two years old, from common people's families or from official families, who would not envy your betrothal gift that stretches for three whole streets?

But none of these women would have thought that the man they deeply envied was actually planning to convert these betrothal gifts into gold and silver as military pay for the Northern Border Army.

In this regard, Wei An can only say:

Princess, the Northern Army is blessed to have you!

Oh no! It is our entire North that has you. It is a great blessing for the North!

In the past two years, all the money the princess earned was given to the Northern Army. In addition, the trade was running smoothly and there was no war on the border, so the Northern Army no longer needed support from the people of the Northern Border!

Luo Xiaoran didn't want to be so petty, but when she saw the people unloaded a burden, the kind of happiness from the bottom of their hearts on their faces, and the hope for the future life shining in their eyes...

——She wanted to rob a few corrupt officials in Kyoto and use the money to help them.

Really, after coming to this prosperous era, Luo Xiaoran deeply felt that "the rich have wine and meat, while the poor freeze to death on the streets" is not an exaggeration, but a realistic description.

"The lives of ordinary people are as cheap as grass." This sentence is often said by some dignitaries and is very true to reality.

The few taels of silver that the rich and powerful gave to their servants could cover the expenses of an ordinary family of five for several years.

The annual expenses of a duke's mansion can reach tens of thousands of taels of silver, while for a farmer who only makes a living on farming, it is considered good if the whole family can earn three taels of silver a year.

Note that we are talking about “income” here, not “savings”.

After deducting various household expenses, how much money can this farmer save in a year?

If someone in the family is seriously ill, you may have to empty your family's savings and borrow a lot of money, but even then you may not be able to save the person.

There are clear class distinctions here, a huge gap between the rich and the poor, imperial power is supreme, and this is the Daliang Dynasty.

……

Wei Lin learned about Luo Xiaoran's thoughts from Wei An, and then... Chen Ji also knew about it.

At that time, Chen Ji was making a hairpin for Luo Xiaoran. After hearing Wei Lin's report, he was distracted for a moment and almost cut his finger with the carving knife.

He put down the hairpin that was almost finished, shook his head and chuckled, "No wonder..."

When their wedding started, Luo Xiaoran went to Chen Ji and asked him shyly:

"Chen Ji, can I not prepare a dowry? I can just make up a dowry list and put some stones in the box."

Looking at Luo Xiaoran's embarrassed expression, Chen Ji was slightly stunned. He rarely saw Xiaoran with such an expression and found it very novel.

Moreover, he had actually prepared a dowry for Luo Xiaoran.

Hearing that Chen Ji had prepared the betrothal gifts and dowry for her, Luo Xiaoran's face was filled with emotions of emotion, happiness, shyness, and regret, which turned into a coquettish rebuke:

"I'm so rich now, why do I need you to help me prepare a dowry? You didn't even discuss it with me in advance, humph!"

After saying that, he gritted his teeth, stamped his feet, and ran away like the wind.

Chen Ji continued to carve his hairpin. It was almost finished, so he didn't want to be distracted now.

……

When Chen Ji came to Prince An's Mansion with the hairpin, Luo Xiaoran was still so absorbed in thinking about her "cash-in plan" that she didn't notice his arrival.

"What is Xiao Ran thinking about?"

Luo Xiaoran in the pepper field suddenly looked up and saw Chen Ji standing not far away, like a god descending from heaven.

He changed his usual black and tight attire and wore a red brocade robe with a cross collar and wide sleeves, which made him look taller and more upright, and particularly eye-catching.

Around her waist she wore a golden belt embroidered with auspicious cloud patterns, and a mutton-fat jade pendant with a heart-shaped knot. The patterns on the jade pendant were exquisitely carved, and it didn't look like an ordinary item.

Her long black hair was tied up high and neatly combed behind her head, fixed with only a wooden hairpin.

Although this wooden hairpin is plain and somewhat inconsistent with his overall attire, it does not affect his style at all, but instead adds a touch of unruly.

Looking at Chen Ji who was coming in a gorgeous dress, Luo Xiaoran couldn't help but take two steps back, her little heart pounding.

What Luo Xiaoran couldn't stand the most was that Chen Ji's eyes were covered with a piece of red silk. The red silk was like a burning flame, making Chen Ji's face look extremely handsome.

Chen Ji's already deep facial features appeared even more three-dimensional against the backdrop of the red silk. Under his high nose bridge, his lips were slightly raised, revealing a faint smile.

Luo Xiaoran immediately understood why Wei An insisted that she wear this dress today. The scarlet skirt embroidered with flowers and butterflies with gold patterns on her body was clearly a pair with Chen Ji's brocade clothes!

In a sense, it would not be an exaggeration to say that what the two were wearing now were wedding dresses, and someone was a little excited in his heart.

"Xiao Ran?"

Seeing that Luo Xiaoran had not responded yet, Chen Ji strode forward, wanting to find her.

"Can you see?" Luo Xiaoran asked when she saw him walking steadily.

"I can't see you, but I know you are right in front of me."

Chen Ji stopped and there seemed to be something meaningful in his tone.

Luo Xiaoran's eyes flashed with cunning, "I'm going to answer your question now. I was just thinking that the wedding is in three days. If I run away now, it should still be in time."

Luo Xiaoran thought Chen Ji would be panicked or angry because of her words, but he didn't. He just raised the corners of his mouth gently and said in a very sincere tone:

"it is good."

"Hear me carefully, I am considering whether to break off the engagement. I may not marry you!" Luo Xiaoran glared at him, even though he couldn't see.

Chen Ji nodded heavily, "I heard it clearly, I said 'OK'."

"As long as it's a well-thought-out decision, I support it."