Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

The complete set of rosewood tables, chairs, and cabinets drew continuous praise from the guests.

"Yes, although this Marquis's family is newly wealthy, they do have quite a bit of wealth!" said an elderly noblewoman among the guests to her friend.

"Yes, we thought that although they had some shops in the capital, they had risen too quickly. Their wealth couldn't be that great. But looking at the princess's dowry, it's truly extraordinary. I wonder if the Marquis's mansion emptied its coffers to put on this show!" The woman whispered, covering her mouth with her handkerchief, afraid that others would hear.

"So what if we emptied our coffers? We've benefited from this and had a good look at the sights! Hahaha!" The old lady noticed something was off about her words and quickly made a joke to change the subject.

“What the old lady says is true. I’ve only seen that golden nanmu makeup box twice before in the palace. Now that I can see it so closely, it’s all thanks to the Princess!” The lady seemed to realize that what she had said earlier was somewhat inappropriate and tried to make amends.

"That's exactly right!" The old lady patted her arm affectionately and said with a smile.

A magnolia-inlaid bronze mirror, a magnolia-inlaid mirror for confinement, a double-phoenix brocade mirror, an ivory openwork round mirror, ivory combs, jade combs with flower and bird patterns, rhinoceros horn and jade combs, and gilded combs inlaid with jade beads were all crammed onto a single table. It was dazzling to behold. Those viewing the dowry noticed something amiss; this dowry was different from ordinary dowries. Upon closer inspection, they realized that everything was arranged in the same way, several items stacked on a single table.

Someone gasped.

"If this thing were stored separately as usual, I'm afraid even five hundred loads wouldn't be enough to hold it all!"

"You've noticed it too, haven't you? The furniture at the beginning was all set up properly, one load at a time. But how come all of this has become like this? Everything is piled together and counted as one load. Putting everything else aside, if you put the dressing mirror and comb in one load properly, it could make ten loads of dowry." Another person immediately chimed in.

"Look at that box of calligraphy and paintings, there must be more than a dozen paintings in there, right?" He pointed to the box of famous calligraphy and paintings.

"Yes, I saw about twenty of them. If they were separated, that would be twenty sets..." Everyone was talking about Xia Yu's dowry, mainly because they had never seen anything like it piled up together before.

Some people, to show off the size of their daughter's dowry, would count even a single needlework basket or a single bowl and plate as a "bundle." But judging from the scale of the Marquis's mansion, it's clear that 188 "bundles" wouldn't be enough, hence the way it's being packed. Having understood Xia Yu's dowry, everyone was astonished by its sheer abundance. In an instant, everyone envied the Shen family; this wasn't just marrying a princess, it was practically inviting a god of wealth home! Even if the Shen family had nothing else, the princess's dowry alone would be enough to ensure their livelihood for generations.

Amidst the murmurs, a sudden commotion arose outside. There stood Eunuch Changshou, dressed in a brand-new eunuch's robes, followed by a line of guards carrying chests. The procession of the Marquis's dowry temporarily halted, making way for them.

The Shen family members hurried out to greet Changshou. Changshou then pulled an invitation from his sleeve and handed it to them, offering his congratulations.

"Congratulations on the marriage of the Zhang and Shen families. This is a dowry prepared by the Emperor, the Empress Dowager, and several imperial concubines for the Princess. Your Excellency, please have someone arrange a place for it?"

Shen Jingheng glanced at the invitation that was handed to him; it was a long, drawn-out letter. He quickly asked in a low voice...

"Father-in-law, wasn't the dowry from the palace already delivered to the Marquis's residence along with the dowry?"

"Grand Tutor is in a good mood today, perhaps he didn't hear what I just said. These are the dowries given to the Princess by the Emperor, the Empress Dowager, and several imperial concubines. The previous dowries came from the palace, these came from the concubines' own palaces." After saying this, he looked at the onlookers and then whispered to Shen Jingheng.

“These should have been sent to the Marquis’s residence and carried over with the dowry. However, the Marquis’s residence gave the Princess a dowry that was too much, and the 188 palanquins were simply not enough to hold it all. So the Emperor came up with this solution and sent it over separately today. This way, it doesn’t take up any space on the 188 palanquins and also shows the Emperor’s favor to the princess.”

"I see. You must be tired, Father-in-law. Please come in and have some tea. Please!" After hearing his explanation, Shen Jingheng understood what was going on and smiled as he invited his father-in-law inside.

"Thank you for the tea, Grand Tutor!" Changshou's voice was somewhat high-pitched.

"please!"

Afterwards, Shen Jingheng sent someone to accompany Changshou into the inner flower hall. All the dowry items were brought in, and they were carefully checked against the list again, which would take some time. Only after all the items were confirmed to be correct could Changshou return to the palace to report.

It wasn't until noon that Xia Yu's entire dowry was carried out of the Marquis's mansion. The onlookers lining the road, aside from exclaiming in amazement, were completely silent. For a time, almost everyone in the capital was talking about Xia Yu's dowry. Somehow, the conversation eventually turned to the Jiang family.

"From now on, only the Empress's dowry will be able to compare with the Eldest Princess's!"

"According to custom, the Empress's dowry can be two hundred loads, but I don't know if the Jiang family is willing to give their daughter so much."

"Today, the princess's dowry is much more than 188 pieces. Only this kind of arrangement can match the princess's dowry."

"..."

These words were originally just circulating among the common people, but they were overheard by a servant of the Jiang family who was out shopping. The servant then went back and told his friends in the mansion about the rumors, and so the rumors spread like wildfire, quickly reaching everyone in the Jiang household.

Upon hearing the rumors, Madam Jiang was so angry she wanted to smash the cup in her hand to the ground, but then she remembered that a cup cost at least ten taels of silver, and she held back. However, she harbored deep resentment towards Princess Xia Yu. She wondered which poor, spoiled brat had crawled out of some backwater, only taking advantage of her relationship with the young emperor. Not only had she usurped the position that should have belonged to a Jiang family daughter, but she had also dared to humiliate her daughter, Le'er. Madam Jiang was determined to find a way to get revenge. Madam Jiang thought bitterly.

Xia Yu had no idea that her generous dowry had attracted so much jealousy. She was currently lying in bed, a beauty mask made of milk and pearl powder on her face, while several maids trimmed her fingernails and toenails beside her, all in preparation for her wedding the next day.

'Sigh, no matter how well you dress me up, it's useless. In Old Shen's eyes, I'm just a giant farm,' Xia Yu thought to herself. 'Old Shen' was a new nickname she had given Shen Jingheng in her mind. She firmly believed that their relationship was purely cooperative, without any feelings. Shen Jingheng only married her because he was afraid that it would be inconvenient for him to cooperate with her in the future if she married someone else.