The Farm Girl's Charismatic Fortune-Chapter 335 - 331 Betrothal Gifts

The day Xuanbao of the Ruo Family went to propose marriage finally arrived.

The weather that day was exceptionally good; the sky was a clear azure, without a cloud in sight.

The entire flower hall of the Qingping Prince Residence was filled with the dowry gifts sent by the Ruo Family.

Five thousand taels of gold and ten thousand taels of silver.

The dazzling display of shiny gold and silver ingots left people astounded: The Ruo Family was indeed generous!

Together, the gold and silver amounted to sixty thousand taels of silver.

This dowry, even among the families in the Capital City, would rank highly.

The Emperor and the Crown Prince had only given a dowry of 9999 taels of silver when they had taken their wives, which is nearly ten thousand taels of silver, signifying everlasting union.

No one would give a bridal gift that exceeded the royal family’s dowry.

Therefore, the dowries from many families were either fifty thousand or sixty thousand taels.

Only the dowries from the imperial kinsmen were at eighty thousand taels, just slightly less than the Crown Prince’s.

Besides gold and silver, there was also a whole chest full of gold and silver jewelry, various gold jade bracelets, hairpins, pearl hairpins, jade bracelets, jade pendants, jade ruyi, kingfisher hair ornaments... you name it!

Each piece was exquisitely crafted, opulent and luxurious, with a priceless tag, all worthy of being family heirlooms.

As for the silk, brocade, and satin clothes, they were all top-quality fabrics from the most famous Cloth Store, many of which were tribute items not available for purchase elsewhere.

People were surprised to find the recently popular, priceless ice silk fabric.

There were complete sets of the ice silk fabric in matching color series, along with new patterns that no one had ever seen before.

This alone was estimated to be worth a thousand taels!

Most importantly, the Ruo Family managed to acquire the complete set, something that no one else had accomplished to date.

There were also complete sets of Fairy Face skin care and cosmetics products, and there were even products from the yet-to-be-launched Hundred Flowers series?

Rumors suggested that the owner behind Fairy Face was the Ruo Family, and now, most people were eighty percent convinced, since getting Fairy Face products seemed too easy for the Ruo Family.

Prince Qingping was so delighted to see the Ruo Family’s sincerity that he eagerly dragged Ruo Shan to play another round of chess, battling it out for three hundred rounds!

If it wasn’t for the marriage proposal today, and Ruo Shui, Ruo Jiang, Ruo Hai, and Ruo Chuan had all come, Ruo Shan might not have been able to return home that evening!

And the reason was none other than his father-in-law not yet having his fill of chess!

After dinner, when the Ruo Family brothers were bidding farewell, Prince Qingping clung to Ruo Shan’s shoulder with great reluctance, "My son, are you free tomorrow? If you are, do come and join your father for chess!"

Countess Zhaohua couldn’t even lift her head!

Her father was far too embarrassing!

Brothers Ruo Shui looked sympathetically at Ruo Shan.

Indeed, it appeared that being fortunate with romance wasn’t so easy to enjoy after all!

Princess Qingping was so upset she couldn’t even appreciate the handsome appearances of the Ruo Family brothers!

She said irritably, "Does Ruo Shan not have to open the clinic tomorrow?"

Prince Qingping said with a look of regret, "That’s right! The clinic is opening! Why on earth did you decide to run a clinic and make yourself so busy?"

Ruo Shan: "..."

Princess Qingping simply couldn’t bear listening anymore, and she said to Ruo Shan, "You guys should go back! Don’t mind him, he’s just thrilled today, drunk on chess!"

Laughing, the Ruo Family brothers said their goodbyes and left.

The Ruo Family’s bridal gifts had already captured the attention of the entire Capital City, so the news quickly spread among the noble families there.

The Fang Family was also aware of it.

Upon hearing the news, Madam Zhuang couldn’t help saying, "I never thought the Ruo Family would be so generous. It seems they really did scoop up a lot of silver from the river."

Madam Zhuang wanted to try her luck as well, but unfortunately, the Fang Family didn’t have a boat, nor could they rent one.

Lady Fang still looked down on the Ruo Family: "No matter how rich, they cannot compare to the royal family."

"Indeed, Yingying is destined to be an Empress!" Mrs. Zhuang nodded.

Lady Fang said, "But why hasn’t the Emperor set a date for the selection yet?"

If it were delayed any further, she feared her daughter would be too old.

There was an age limit for the selection of maidens; Xuanyuan Country stipulated that they must be between sixteen and twenty-two years old.

Fang Yingying was already twenty-one this year, and in two more months, it would be her birthday, when she would turn twenty-two.

For these past years, Lady Fang had intentionally not arranged a marriage for her, hoping to wait for the royal selection.

Three years ago, during the Crown Prince’s consort selection, Fang Yingying fell ill and missed the opportunity; this time, for the Emperor’s queen selection, she absolutely couldn’t miss it!

Mrs. Zhuang was also anxious, "Who knows? I’ve heard that every day the court officials submit memorials urging the Emperor to choose a queen, but the Emperor holds onto them without issuing a decree. Could it be that the Emperor intends not to take another queen?"

Upon hearing this, Lady Fang immediately refuted, "Impossible, the Emperor is still in the prime of his life, still young, how could he not choose a queen?"

As a result, on the next day’s court session, the Emperor finally responded to the ministers pressing him to choose a queen and set a selection.

He refused the ministers’ suggestions on the ground that the palace already had enough concubines and decided not to hold any further selections, nor did he plan to take another queen.

The affairs of the palace would be managed jointly by the Imperial Noble Consort and the four consorts.

Once the Emperor’s decree was issued, many officials had objections, but unfortunately, the Emperor overruled them all, resolute in his decision.

Since it was the Emperor getting married, even if the officials objected, they couldn’t force the Emperor.

They then proposed that the Crown Prince choose side consorts, but unfortunately, the Crown Prince also refused on the grounds that state affairs were too busy and it was not suitable to indulge excessively in beauty and pleasure.

This left all the ladies who were waiting to marry into the palace dumbfounded!

Only one thought crossed Fang Yingying’s mind: All her efforts had been in vain.

She felt like she was the joke.

~

Time flowed like water, and very soon, it was the day before the Double Ninth Festival.

The entire family was bustling with activity, busy with preparations for tomorrow’s bridal welcoming.

Having their first wedding in the Capital City and also inviting many nobles, the Ruo Family was afraid of inadequate hospitality that could turn into a laughing stock.

Granny Lei was so nervous she couldn’t sleep, but fortunately, the Empress Dowager sent Aunt Yu Hua and the old shopkeeper to help.

Tomorrow, the two of them would also stay to help entertain the guests.

Ruo Shan was getting married, and Ruo Hai had received the Emperor’s permission to enter the capital.

Ruo Hai returned to the Princess Residence in the evening.

He Xinghua, heavily pregnant, wasn’t able to do much, but she was not someone who could stay idle, and this pregnancy had been easy for her; the baby was not troublesome, and her family was attentive, so she was very comfortable.

Today, as everyone was busy hanging decorations, after having slept in, she came out to the courtyard to watch the servants decorate.

Upon entering the courtyard, Ruo Hai saw a heavily pregnant woman with her hand on her belly, directing the servants in pasting paper-cuts on the windows.

Every door and window in the entire residence had to be adorned with paper-cuts featuring the character for "happiness."

"A little to the side, just a bit more, yes, that’s it, almost there!"

"Madam," Ruo Hai’s gaze fixed on her belly and couldn’t move away.

The unfamiliar yet familiar voice made He Xinghua turn around quickly.

Seeing her husband whom she hadn’t seen for months, He Xinghua’s eyes reddened, and with a faint smile, she said, "My Lord, you’re back?"

Ruo Hai looked at his heavily pregnant wife with reddened eyes, took big steps forward to support her, and said with a smile, "Yes, I’m back. You’ve worked hard these days. I’m so sorry I couldn’t be by your side."

He Xinghua smiled and shook her head, "I’m fine, it’s not hard. The child is very well-behaved, Xuanbao says it’s a little sister."

Ruo Hai helped her walk towards the pavilion, "As long as the child is well-behaved, that’s good. I’ve always been worried she would trouble you, and you wouldn’t sleep well at night, and I couldn’t be there to accompany you."

"Don’t worry, the child isn’t troublesome at all, I eat well, and I sleep well."

"That’s good to hear. This time I can stay until after the child is born before I go back to the barracks."

The two chatted away in the pavilion, and gradually evening fell...