2 Dowry
Li in time. The consequences of failing to protect them would be dire.Mo Xiuyao looked curiously at the eight guards who stood before him straightly. He could feel that these people were completely di...The Capital City Ode 2. Dowry
2. Dowry
Although it was well-known that Prince Ding was a good-for-nothing, he was still the only hereditary ultra-first-rank prince of the Great Chu Dynasty. Therefore, even though they had always ignored Ye Li, the Minister of State and his mother, Lady Ye, were rare to summon Ye Li for a conversation.
"Granddaughter greets grandmother and father," said Ye Li when she arrived at Lady Ye's Hall of Honored Joy, where Minister of State Ye, Madam Wang (Lady Ye's wife), and Fourth Miss Ye Ying were already present.
Lady Ye nodded with a loving smile and said, "Lily, rise. Since you have been betrothed to Prince Ding and Ying'er will be marrying Prince Li next month, our family can consider it as a double celebration."
Ye Li got up and lowered her gaze, looking very respectful, "Grandmother specially came back from outside because of me. I have caused my grandmother much trouble due to my lack of filial piety." Although she didn't like Ye Li very much, the few words that Ye Li said made Old Lady Ye very happy. The expression on her face also softened a little as she said, "This is our family's great happiness, how could I not come back Have the dowries for the two girls been prepared properly" Lady Wang hurriedly stood up and looked at the old lady with some difficulty, "Old Lady, originally it was only Fourth Miss who was getting married next month. Even if we rush a little bit, it should still be okay to prepare everything on time. But now that Third Young Miss is also getting married... It might not be possible."
Old Lady Ye was an experienced person and naturally knew what kind of small plans Lady Wang had in mind. After thinking for a moment, she said, "Ye Li's wedding date hasn't been set yet. Let’s prioritize Ying'er first."
Lady Wang happily agreed with the old lady's words.
Old Lady Ye looked at her two granddaughters and ordered the maidservants to take out two boxes and place them on the table, saying, "You both are blessed girls. One of you is marrying Prince Li while the other is marrying Prince Ding. As your grandmother, I will not show any favoritism towards either one of you. These items are for each of you, just as they will be for Fifth Miss and Sixth Miss in the future. The few manors that I am bringing as my dowry will also be divided equally between the two of you. How much more dowry your mother and father decide to give out from the family fund is their matter."
Lady Wang smiled and said, "Grandmother truly loves her granddaughters. Your wife has discussed it with Lord Ye and believes that if Ying'er's dowry for marrying Prince Li were too small, even the royal family might not approve of it. We have allocated 20,000 taels from the family fund to prepare the wedding trousseau, along with six manors and six shops. Additionally, your wife is also contributing two more manors from her own dowry."
Old Lady Ye frowned slightly and asked, "Isn’t it too much" Although a princess's dowry should indeed be generous when she marries the son of an emperor, if there were too great a disparity with future daughters-in-law, it would not look good for the reputation of the Secretary’s Mansion. "How are you planning to prepare Ye Li's dowry" The old lady was naturally more experienced than Lady Wang. Even though Prince Ding might be a useless person, his family background was still very impressive. If he hadn't been because of personal reasons, he would likely have been even more prestigious than Prince Li. If Ye Li’s dowry were too meager, those loyal to the Ding Family王府的人隻怕會有話說。
Lady Wang clearly did not expect Old Lady Ye to ask so directly and hesitated for a moment before saying, "Prince Ding is different from the emperor's brother, our house really does have... Your wife was thinking about whether we could wait until Prince Ding’s dowry arrives before deciding. At that time, we would just add two manors as her dowry."
Hearing this, Madam Ye's expression darkened as she said sternly, "Ridiculous! You have the nerve to send dowry back as a嫁妝. Do you have any idea what you're doing Are you going to ruin our Ye family’s reputation And what about your own reputation as stepmother While it is true that the Xu family has declined in recent years, they are still not on par with your Wang family!"
Wang Shi's face turned red under the old matriarch's ruthless reprimand. She repeatedly declared her innocence: "Old Madam, I am wronged! How have I treated Third Miss harshly over these years It’s just that... it’s just that... we are facing some financial difficulties in our household. There are still several girls who haven’t married off, and when Rong'er gets married in the future, he will need money..." The old matriarch was so infuriated by her shortsighted wife's words that she kept rubbing her chest; Rong'er was only seven this year, and it wasn't clear when he would get married. She glared at Ye Shangshu who sat silently beside them: "You should be the one to decide what to do with your own daughter." Fortunately, she had asked for advice before proceeding—had Wang Shi really sent Li Girl off with such a meager dowry, they would have offended both the Ding Prince王府 and the Xu family. While there were fewer officials from the Xu family in recent years, it was not easy to offend an ancient clan like them. Ye Shangshu looked at his mother and wife apologetically: "Third Miss is a legitimate daughter too. Let’s give her the same dowry as Ying'er." As someone who had reached the position of Grand Secretary, Ye Shangshu was no fool; he knew what his mother was worried about.
"The same as Ying'er!" Wang Shi shrieked: "Where do you think we have that kind of money Sir, it's not that I am unwilling to give Third Miss a proper dowry, but the family situation is really difficult. Ying'er is her imperial sister’s younger sister, and she was married off to His Majesty’s own brother. If the dowry isn’t enough, both the prince and his consort would be displeased..." Wang Shi wiped away tears as she cried injustice, though in reality, she was inwardly furious at Ye Li for being silent beside them. How could she possibly let that woman's daughter have the same status as her own Ying'er Not a chance!
"This... " Ye Shangshu froze and looked helplessly at Ye Li. At present, the imperial concubine was in the prime of favor, and if she were to give birth to a prince...
Seeing her father’s expression soften, Ye Ying bit on her lips as she spoke softly: "Father, you don’t need to worry about this; I will let some of my dowry go to Third Sister. But it must not be too little for the expenses in the palace, and we should also leave something for Fifth Sister and Sixth Sister." Seeing that his most beloved daughter was so sensible, Ye Shangshu’s expression softened as he looked at Ye Li, hoping she would say something.
Ye Li smiled faintly in her heart and looked up at the four people present, saying softly, "Father, Mother, and Little Miss Four need not worry about this." Upon hearing these words, Lady Wang felt a glimmer of hope. Over the years, Ye Li had never been competitive or ambitious, which made her believe that Ye Li was someone who could be easily manipulated to yield. However, she heard Ye Li say, "Before Mother passed away, she mentioned that when she first married into the Ye family, my maternal grandparents accompanied her with eight estates and twelve shops, plus three woodland areas. These were all left for me as part of my dowry. As for other items, Father and Mother can prepare them according to what was done for Second Miss. It would be better to prioritize Little Miss Four." Two years ago, the second young miss of the Ye family married the third son from an official's household, and Lady Wang only gave her one thousand taels as dowry.
"What This can't be! Those are…" Unable to contain herself, Lady Wang exclaimed. Those estates were meant for her own daughter’s dowry and to leave behind for Jun'er.
Ye Li looked at her with a puzzled expression and asked, "What is it" Lowering her eyes slightly, she shyly turned to look at Old Lady Ye and said, "Mother mentioned that all her dowries were left for her granddaughter. This Auntie also knew about this. Grandmother, am I correct"
Old Lady Ye’s expression was not pleasant either; when Xu Shi married into the Ye family, she brought a grandiose dowry. If everything had been given to Ye Li, then Ye Ying's dowry would look rather poor in comparison. In recent years, the Ye household had spent lavishly and were already on the brink of bankruptcy. To prepare a dowry similar to what Xu Shi had back then, after Ye Ying was married off, the entire family might as well not live anymore. Yet, what Ye Li said wasn't wrong either; before Xu Shi passed away, her daughter-in-law was present and personally heard Xu Shi's final instructions. Seeing that Old Lady Ye remained silent, Ye Li didn’t rush to speak up. Instead, she sneered inwardly. She had no strong opinion about the quantity of a dowry, but she couldn't allow what belonged to her mother’s dowry to be used for Lady Wang's daughter’s. Although she had memories from her previous life after Xu Shi’s death, it didn’t change the fact that Xu Shi was still her mother. The meticulous care and education since childhood, along with the grievances Xu Shi endured, were all etched in Ye Li's mind. Since marrying into the Ye family, Xu Shi hadn't been happy for a single day; it could be said that she had passed away due to depression. If her dowry was still taken to support her husband’s concubine's daughter, even someone like Ye Li who didn’t believe in ghosts or gods would fear that her mother would rise from the grave.
After a long while, Old Lady Ye finally said, "Let’s set this aside for now. I will discuss it further with your parents later."r and walked over to sit beside Xu Qingchen, asking softly.Mos Yao followed her out and said with a teasing tone, "Do you really need to ask Naturally, it's because Lady Mu was smitten by the handsome...