The daily life of a cold and aloof general raising his wife

"Alright, you stay home and organize Shuwan's dowry. I only have two daughters, so their dowries must be plentiful."

Marquis Dongping had no sons, and there would be no one to inherit the manor in the future, so he had long planned to give his two daughters generous dowries. Earl Huian knew this, which is why he arranged the marriage with him. Unfortunately, Marquis Dongping was completely unaware of all this.

Madam Gu's attitude immediately changed, "A lot of dowry? How is that a lot? Husband, don't forget we still have Rou'er."

"Of course I know that. I will not mistreat Rou'er either. I will treat the two sisters equally."

“My husband can treat everyone equally, but my mother might not. She didn’t even send anyone to inform us of Shu Wan’s marriage today. She probably thinks it doesn’t matter whether we know or not. Besides, my mother will definitely prepare a generous dowry for Shu Wan’s marriage, but that might not be the case for Rou’er.”

Marquis Dongping felt that Lady Gu was being too petty in thinking of his mother.

"Don't talk about Mother like that. Mother isn't that kind of person."

Madam Gu said unhappily, "If my husband doesn't believe me, we'll see when the time comes. Besides, Jiang Shuwan is a daughter of the Marquis of Dongping's family. She's about to get married, so why is she still living in the Grand Princess's residence?"

“Wan’er is used to living in the Grand Princess’s residence, so let her stay there.”

Marquis Dongping now understands that his wife and eldest daughter are not destined to be together. They will inevitably quarrel whenever they are together. Since that is the case, it is better for the two of them not to force themselves to be together.

Madam Gu's face was tense. "Is it our Dongping Marquis's family marrying off a daughter or the Grand Princess's family? If it's the Grand Princess's family's daughter, why should I bother preparing the dowry?"

Marquis Dongping said somewhat angrily, "How can you be so stingy with a dowry? She's your own daughter. Are you going to let others gossip about you and me if you don't prepare a dowry?"

Madam Gu's voice softened slightly, "I... I didn't say I wouldn't prepare anything for her, wasn't this just discussing how much to prepare..."

Marquis Dongping rubbed his forehead in exasperation. "Is there even a question? You and I each have two daughters, and naturally, we should treat our two daughters the same."

"What about Rou'er then?"

The Gu family is still thinking about Jiang Shurou.

“I’ve already said that I treat my two daughters equally. As for my mother, she is my grandmother, and she can give me as much as she wants. We, as her children, have no right to interfere!”

When Marquis Dongping said the last sentence, he was gritting his teeth. He didn't understand at first, and if he still didn't understand, he would be a fool.

Madam Gu was still unhappy, "Then Rou'er's dowry will definitely not be as good as Jiang Shuwan's when she gets married."

Previously, the Grand Princess had said that Lady Gu was biased towards Marquis Dongping and he was unhappy to hear that, but now he truly understands that every word his mother said came from the bottom of her heart.

The Marquis of Dongping's voice suddenly doubled in volume, "You keep mentioning Jiang Shuwan, but she's your own daughter, whom you carried for ten months!"

Madam Gu was startled, then realized what she meant. "You're yelling at me? How many times have you yelled at me since your mother and Jiang Shuwan came back? You never used to do that."

Marquis Dongping was speechless for a moment. He felt that he could no longer talk to Madam Gu, as she simply wouldn't listen to him.

Finally, Marquis Dongping turned and left, knowing that arguing would only hurt their relationship.

Watching his departing figure, Madam Gu stomped her feet in anger.

"That old woman is really too much!"

Granny Du watched the whole thing from the side. To be honest, she felt that this time it wasn't the Marquis's fault. The Madam had really gone too far. At first, she thought the Madam was concerned about the eldest daughter, but it turned out that she only cared about the second daughter.

Linfeng Pavilion

Jiang Shurou, "Is what you heard true?"

“Everything I said is true. I even went out to inquire, and today a eunuch did indeed go to the Grand Princess’s residence with an imperial edict.”

"I understand. Go and collect your reward."

"Thank you, girl."

The maidservant bowed happily and left.

Jiang Shurou was overjoyed. She had been worried after Jiang Shuwan lost her marriage to the Marquis of Huian, but the Emperor directly issued an imperial decree to grant her the marriage. It was as if even Heaven was helping her.

What good is being granted the title of princess? The emperor has assigned her to a commoner general. In retrospect, being granted the title of princess is not a reward at all; it's just a title to appease and win over the ministers.

Jiang Shurou felt much relieved that this was an arranged marriage and there shouldn't be any changes.

***

Jiang Shuwan knew that the Emperor would bestow a marriage upon her, but the two maids beside her were unaware of this. After the eunuch who delivered the decree left, the two maids returned to their own courtyard and began to fawn over Jiang Shuwan.

Jiang Shuwan smiled as she watched the two of them trying to speak but holding back.

Feiyun blurted out, "How can you still be laughing now, young lady?"

Jiang Shuwan laughed and said, "If I don't laugh, am I supposed to cry?"

Feiyue then asked, "Did you already know that the Emperor would bestow a marriage upon you?"

Jiang Shuwan nodded.

"what?"

Feiyun stood to the side, looking completely bewildered.

How did Fei Yue figure that out? She was just as worried about the girl as she was.

Feiyue was relieved. If her young lady knew, it meant that the Grand Princess had known about it beforehand. If the Grand Princess had tacitly approved of the marriage, then the marriage shouldn't be too bad.

"I knew about the marriage in advance, and it's true that General Xie was born a commoner, but I don't think being born a commoner is the worst thing."

Feiyue and Feiyun are people she trusts, and Jiang Shuwan has nothing she can't say to them.

Feiyun asked blankly, "Then what's the worst thing?"

Jiang Shuwan said seriously, "It's like marrying the wrong person. Sometimes things look glamorous but aren't. The worst things that seem bad in the end are actually not bad."

Feiyue seemed to understand, but Feiyun didn't understand at all.

Jiang Shuwan advised, "Don't think too much about it. The Emperor has decreed this marriage, and it's a done deal. The wedding will be in two months. You'll have to work hard during these two months."

"It's all part of our duties."

After the two maids left, Jiang Shuwan began to feel melancholy; how could she not worry?

Recalling Xie Huai'an's upright character, Jiang Shuwan felt that he didn't seem like a bad person. She didn't dare to hope for a harmonious relationship with him, but only wished to live a life of mutual respect.

Furthermore, the Grand Princess obtained an imperial edict from the Emperor, which stated that if Xie Huai'an treated Jiang Shuwan poorly after their marriage, Jiang Shuwan could take the edict to divorce him, provided that they lived together for several years. This could be considered the Emperor's compensation to Jiang Shuwan.

Ultimately, the Emperor was still calculating this marriage for his own benefit. Jiang Shuwan's grandfather died for him, and if he were to use Jiang Shuwan again, the Emperor would still feel guilty. Otherwise, he wouldn't have asked about these matters during the matchmaking process.

The marriage arranged for Xie Huai'an wasn't necessarily to be with Jiang Shuwan, but among the daughters of noble families, Jiang Shuwan was the most suitable. As the one in power, maximizing benefits was what he wanted.

It's not that there's no kinship in this vast palace, but kinship is insignificant in the face of power.