【Quick Wear】My Years as a Mother-in-law

"Old lady, this is the auspicious day I chose, please take a look."

Taking the red paper handed over by Matchmaker Li, Yun Xi said, "All the previous procedures have been completed. The eldest brother will get married on October 16th. The weather will be neither too hot nor too cold, just right."

Matchmaker Li nodded. "Where are the young ladies?"

"What does the Yang family say? Are they in a hurry to get married? I want to keep Yue'er for a few more days. You know that we mother and daughter have been separated for more than ten years." Yun Xi said a little sadly.

"Old Madam, since the eldest grandson of the Yang family hasn't married yet, it's going to be hard for the other grandchildren to get married. What do you think?" Matchmaker Li advised, "Besides, the fourth young lady is already eighteen. It will be bad for her reputation if she delays any longer."

"Oh! Okay then. The fourth brother will choose the sixth day of February next year, the sixth brother will choose the eighth day of March next year, the seventh brother will choose the sixteenth day of May, the eighth brother will choose the sixth day of June, and the ninth brother will choose the twenty-sixth day of July. Please ask the man's side about the situation." Yun Xi sighed and looked at the matchmaker Li seriously.

Matchmaker Li patted her chest and promised, "I will definitely get it done for you."

Within two days, news came from the Wu family that everything was ready.

Yun Xi got the news and asked her son to go to the Wu family to go through the formalities of paying the betrothal gift, the betrothal gift, and the financial gift.

Yun Xi selected precious tea, wild geese, silk fabrics, food, wine, and gold and silver jewelry according to the rules, and Qi Xian, under the arrangement of matchmaker Li, sent them to the Wu family one by one.

Wu Zhubu was very satisfied with the sincerity of the Qi family and added another 1,000 taels of silver to the dowry list for his youngest daughter.

Wu Wenjun played with the jewelry sent by the Qi family and said to her father, "Dad, don't add any more. I don't need so much dowry."

"Tsk, what do you know? The richer the dowry, the more confident you will be, and the more your in-laws will value you." Mother Wu looked at the dowry list, thinking about what else she could add to it.

"But my dowry and the Qi family's betrothal gifts are worth 20,000 taels in total. How can I spend it all?" Wu Wenjun said helplessly.

Mother Wu said mysteriously, "I heard that when the second daughter of the Qi family got married, her personal allowance alone was 20,000 taels."

Wu Wenjun hates the trend of dowry comparison the most, and she believes that one should do what one can afford.

"The Qi family is a merchant family, so naturally they have a lot of money. Our family can't compare. My nieces are getting married soon, so you guys better take it easy."

Wu's mother did not listen to her daughter and took out another 500 taels of silver from her own private money and added it to the amount.

"A complete set of furniture, a mahogany coffin, a shop, a farm, six sets of gold and silver jewelry, a pair of jade bracelets and five thousand taels of silver, plus the Qi family's betrothal gift of almost five thousand taels, is just enough. Don't spend this dowry money carelessly, it is your foundation. You also have to manage the shop and farm well. After you have children, you will also have to prepare a dowry and betrothal gift." Father Wu advised his daughter.

"Mom, I know. Don't worry, I don't have the money to spend." Wu Wenjun said coquettishly.

Wu's mother started nagging, telling her to have a baby as soon as possible after arriving at the Qi family and not to act like a spoiled brat, etc. Wu Wenjun's ears were almost callused from listening to her.

Fortunately, the wedding date was set soon, so she began to try on wedding dresses and learn the etiquette of getting married. Although she had been married once, no one wanted to have more experience in such matters.

Yun Xi has become proficient in organizing banquets at home, writing invitations, cleaning the house, ordering ingredients, etc., and everything is done in an orderly manner. After finishing her work, she started preparing dowries for her daughters.

The fourth daughter's dowry was prepared according to the specifications of her second sister, and all of this was paid for by the public treasury. Yun Xi allocated 20,000 taels of silver from the public treasury and took out another 3,000 taels to purchase a farm, a two-story house and two shops.

Yun Xi called Qi Yue over and handed her the deed for the shop. "Yu'er, the Yang family has already sent word that they've agreed to the wedding date. You'll be getting married next February. You can use this shop to practice your skills. You've learned from mother and Master Qin for so long, it's time to put it into practice. If you have any questions, just ask me."

Qi Yue took it and said steadily: "Mother, don't worry, Yue'er will run the store well."

"Hey~ Mother believes in you. I have prepared your dowry, the same amount as your sister's. But mother doesn't know how much private money your father gave your sister. So mother secretly prepared an extra 5,000 taels of silver and two sets of jade ornaments for you. These 5,000 taels and jade ornaments are not written on the dowry list. They are only placed in your house. You must keep them well and let your confidant keep them. There are many young women in wealthy families. Mother will ask a female doctor to come back soon to recognize various medicinal powders and herbs for you. You must study hard, understand?" Yun Xi really had good intentions.

Qi Yue understood why? Her nose felt sore, and she knelt heavily on the ground. "Thank you, mother, for planning for me. I will keep it in my heart and never forget it."

"What are you doing? Get up quickly. You are my biological daughter. I may have some thoughts about your sisters, but for you, I only hope that you will be happy and safe in the future."

Yun Xi and Qi Yue acted out a loving motherly and filial daughter show, Qi Yue was deeply moved.

Two days later, Yun Xi called Xiaoliu again. The same operation and the same words moved Xiaoliu to tears. Then it was Xiaoqi, Xiaoba and Xiaojiu. As for Xiaoshi, she was still young and would study with Master Qin first. However, the mourning period had passed, and Master Qin would not come back to the Qi family to teach in the future. So Xiaoshi was asked to go to the Qi family to study every day. After finishing her studies this year, Yun Xi planned to send her to a girls' school until she got married.

This is getting off topic. The dowries Yun Xi prepared for her concubines were quite large: five thousand taels of private money for each of them, a farm, a shop, and a pair of jade bracelets. When combined with the betrothal gifts from the men, these dowries might not even be enough for the officials.

Otherwise, why is it said that Su Che of the Song Dynasty emptied his family fortune in order to marry off his daughter? This trend of dowry competition is really outrageous.

As the wedding date approached, Qi Xian became increasingly busy. Every corner of the house had to be cleaned, the trees trimmed neatly, and even the servants had to change into new clothes.

On the wedding day, the Qi family was bustling with activity. Qi Xian successfully brought his new bride home. He was so excited that he got drunk. Yun Xi was very disgusted with him and forced the servants to give Qi Xian a bowl of sobering soup before letting him into the bridal chamber.

On the second day, the new daughter-in-law came to offer him tea. Seeing her radiant face, he knew that the couple was getting along well. Reassured, he took off a pink jade bracelet from his wrist and put it on his daughter-in-law, saying lovingly: "You two are destined to be together. Live a good life in the future and give me grandchildren soon."

Wu Wenjun lowered her head and nodded gently, "Daughter-in-law understands."

Next, Qi Xian brought his wife to meet his family members. All the elders in the Qi family came and said that it was a good marriage and gave her many gifts. Wu Wenjun also gave her the shoes she had made for him in return. The main hall was filled with harmony and peace.