The sky was clear and soft, and light, silky rain fell with the wind, falling on the eaves and among the crowd.
There were two guards standing on both sides of the door, pushing open the door of Xie's house.
It's like the doors are opening one after another, and the light and shadow are scattered.
Everyone looked up and through the gate saw the silhouette of the wall behind the Xie family's gate from a distance.
"Everyone, please——"
Mrs. Rong Guogong and everyone walked towards the gate, and Xie Jin and Xie Zhuo were preparing to go to the mansion: "You two, Mr. Xie, have also invited me."
However, the Xie brothers led Mrs. Rong Guogong, Rong Ci, Mrs. Cao Guogong and the official media through the gate, and someone behind them presented a gift letter for the Rong family's betrothal.
There was a steward at the gate who took Xie Jin's place, and the people delivering the betrothal gifts from the Rong family lined up according to the gift list.
The steward took the gift letter from the Rong family and began to chant:
"As the son of the Rong family, I want to marry the daughter of the Xie family, Yixiao. I'm here to give you a gift——"
"A token of engagement—a pair of white jade pendants—"
Someone came forward with a wooden saucer, and a pair of jade pendants were placed on it.
"A pair of wild geese——"
Someone came forward carrying the wild geese in the cage.
"The bride price - one thousand taels of gold, ten thousand taels of silver -"
As soon as the bride price came out, the onlookers couldn't help but exclaimed, and then started talking about it.
"This Duke Rong's government is really generous!"
"No, it seems that he values this girl from the Xie family very much!"
"Didn't I say earlier that His Majesty gave a reward when granting the marriage? It is said that the reward was actually a betrothal gift. Your Majesty arranged for Young Master Rong Jiu to marry the daughter of the Xie family!"
"really?"
"Of course it's true!"
"How come I haven't heard of it?"
"The Xie family is used to keeping a low profile and they don't like to talk about these things to the outside world. My cousin's sister-in-law's husband's sister-in-law works as a cleaning servant in the Xie family's house. I saw it with my own eyes. There were so many rewards.
The house is full of houses, and among them is the bride price."
There was a roar and a burst of admiration from the crowd.
"Isn't that two betrothal gifts?"
"You actually got two copies?"
Oh my god, who can get two betrothal gifts when marrying?
This is the only time in hundreds of years!
"That's two copies! One is given by the royal family, and the other is given by the Rong family."
"That is to say, Young Master Rong Jiu has a special status. His surname is Rong now, and he will be surnamed Li after adoption. Since he is surnamed Li, there are no elders in Prince Ding's palace. Your Majesty, as an uncle, must not ignore him."
"As for the Rong family, although His Majesty gave it, after all, his son wants to get a wife, so he can't give nothing."
Moreover, both the royal family and the Rong family were not short of money for the betrothal gift. After such a hassle, the girl got two betrothal gifts.
It's so enviable that your eyes are red, but you can't find fault with them.
If you want to be jealous, you can only be jealous of someone who is lucky enough to be married to the ninth master Rong. Not to mention the heavy betrothal gift, she is still marrying from a family of the Duke's family. In the near future, her husband may inherit the royal title.
I'm afraid no one can compare to him except the princess in the palace.
After singing about the betrothal price at the door, when he saw the box containing gold and silver being carried into the door, he began to sing about the ordinary gifts, including clothes and shoes prepared by the husband's family for the newlyweds, as well as high-quality cloth that was not made into clothes, a total of ten pieces.
There are six pieces, and there is no shortage of silk and satin.
After that, there are tea gifts, gift cakes, gift incense and candles, gift wine, as well as some fruits, dried fruit preserves, grains, meat, etc.
Decorated at the end are the treasures at the bottom of the box for the future bride. When an ordinary young man from a powerful family proposes marriage, he needs to give eight pieces, called the Eight Treasures Gift. If you have a rich family, you can add some more.
The Rong family prepared eight rites, which were the standards for marrying the Ming and Liao families back then. Rong Ci added some more to make the total number sixteen.
Leading the charge was a pair of golden gourds.
"A pair of golden gourds——"
"A pair of Yu Ruyi——"
"A pair of eight treasure bracelets——"
"Lotus grows at every step, with a golden lotus head and face——"
"A Jiaowei Qin——"
"..."
"..."
There was a constant sound of singing and reciting betrothal gifts outside, and from time to time there were cheers or discussions from the crowd at the door. On this side, Mrs. Rong Guogong was led by Xie Jin and Xie Zhuo to the main courtyard of Xie's outer courtyard where guests were entertained.
.
Everyone in the Xie family also attaches great importance to today's engagement. Everyone in the family is here, and they all put on brand new clothes to show their respect.
When the Rong family stepped through the door of the main hall, Mrs. Cao Guogong finally took on the role of a matchmaker, with a smile on her face: "Thank you, Mr. Xie, Mrs. Xie is so happy! Today I am the matchmaker and bid farewell to the Rong family's wife and the Rong family's son.
, come here to ask to marry the thirteenth girl of your house."
"We are all delighted. Please come and take a seat, distinguished guest. Come and serve tea."
After everyone exchanged pleasantries, they sat down.
Mrs. Rong Guogong was in great spirits today. She turned around and happily said to Mrs. Xie: "I have long taken a liking to this girl from your family. Now I have finally settled down. I have settled my worries. If
Otherwise, I will always worry about when such a good girl will be snatched away."
As soon as Mrs. Rong Guogong said these words, everyone present laughed. The scene was lively and harmonious.
Mrs. Xie said: "It is also her destiny to make the Duke's wife like her. Apart from other things, our Thirteen is also virtuous and capable, filial and gentle, and eloquent. She is an excellent girl."
A girl from a large clan, especially one who will marry as a wife and mother of the family, needs to be virtuous and capable. Her husband is busy outside, so she needs to take care of the family affairs at home and take care of the up and down operations.
The last one is to be able to manage the personal relationships between each family well.
Mrs. Rong Guogong smiled and said: "No, she is really a very good girl. It is because this boy in our family is so lucky that we have what we have today and will be able to marry someone back home in the future.
Mrs. Xie said: "Ninth Young Master is also an excellent young master, and our Xie family also likes him very much."
The two ladies started blowing each other back and forth, making Mrs. Cao Guogong beside them unable to say a word.
She pressed the handkerchief and thought to herself: Mrs. Rong Guogong, you must be too happy, why do you want to marry you a wife?
Thinking like this, Mrs. Cao Guogong glanced at Rong Ci again, and saw that he was sitting down to thank the man who was talking. Her face was quite calm, and she didn't appear to be very excited or happy.
Mrs. Cao Guogong clicked her tongue in her heart: She didn't know who wanted to marry her.
Not long after the group sat down, someone came in carrying betrothal gifts and placed them in the open space next to them. With the betrothal gifts being carried one by one, the ground was filled with things before long.
There were either boxes and cages tied with red silk or wooden pallets covered with red cloth, which looked dazzling.
After everyone had finished exchanging greetings, all the betrothal gifts were handed over.
The steward who chanted the betrothal gift finally came in, and then respectfully handed over the gift book (the betrothal gift list): "Master and Madam, this is the Rong family's gift book."