In the back house, Lu Jin was discussing the dowry and financial gifts with his wife Xu. Xu firmly disagreed with her husband's idea of spending all his money and took out all his savings. What would she do when her daughter got married?
"In my opinion, we don't take advantage. All of Chen Qing's financial gifts are used as dowry for Xiu'er, and then the two portions of money given by father are used as financial gifts for Wei'er. Isn't this a perfect balance?"
Lu Jin sighed and said, "It's a little too little!"
"Sir, it's quite a lot. One thousand taels of silver is equivalent to five thousand guan. You can buy 500 acres of land in the countryside. The land rent will be at least 2,000 guan a year."
"I said Wei'er is too young. He only gave the Li family a gift of one thousand guan, which is not worthy of our family status!"
"Master, the Li family's financial situation is not good! They have many children. Can they give a dowry of one thousand gu? You have forgotten that Li Mei's second uncle wanted to borrow money a few days ago. If their family can come up with a dowry of 1,000 gu,
With Qian Guan’s dowry, Li Mei’s father would not have been without promotion for so many years.”
"That's what you say, but when Jing'er got his wife, we gave her a gift of two thousand guan!"
"But it's not true that a dowry of two thousand guan is required, and Wei'er is the second son, not the eldest son, so he can't be the same as the eldest son!"
Lu Jin had no choice but to say: "Let's do this! We will spend 500 guan ourselves and give Wei'er 1,500 guan as a gift. The Li family will then give this money as a dowry. The Li family will no longer have to bear the burden. Then I will do it again."
I went to the old man to ask for some gifts from the emperor as a dowry. I remember the old man once said that he would give Xiu'er a pair of plum vases from the Ru kiln in the study as a dowry."
The pair of plum vases from Ru kiln were of high value, and they were actually given to Xiu'er as a dowry. Mrs. Xu felt a little sad, but she had no choice. Xiu'er was her eldest granddaughter, and her own daughter was just a concubine. How could they be compared?
At this moment, the housekeeper said in the hall: "Sir, Mr. Chen Zhun sent someone to deliver a box, saying it was for the embroidery girl. The embroidery girl said, let the eldest gentleman take a look first."
Lu Jin hesitated for a moment. This was given to his daughter by his son-in-law. He didn't want to open it. Wouldn't it be bad if it was someone else's private thing?
Mrs. Xu was very curious. She smiled and said, "Since Xiu'er asked you to open it, just open it and take a look!"
"Okay! Just open it and take a look."
The workmanship of the box is very exquisite, with various patterns drawn with paint. It is obvious that it was made by a famous artist and is of great value. There is also a small lock on it, and the key is hanging on the side of the lock.
Lu Xiu opened the lock and pushed the box open. The box was filled with bright golden light, which made her eyes dazzle. Mrs. Xu exclaimed, and Lu Jin was also stunned.
Inside were countless gold and white jade jewelry, including a gold phoenix crown inlaid with jewels. This phoenix crown alone was priceless, as well as bracelets, armbands, necklaces, rings, gold hairpins, jade hostas, breast pendants and other jewelry.
There are dozens of pieces, including ten gold and jade bracelets of various kinds. The gold bracelets are also inlaid with precious stones. If the phoenix crown is not included, the other gold and jade jewelry alone is worth tens of thousands of dollars.
At the bottom there is also a very expensive wedding dress with yellow pin gold skirt.
Lu and Jin were stunned. At this time, Lu Xiu walked into the inner hall, bowed and asked, "Dad, are the things in the box safe?"
"What's appropriate?" Lu Jin was confused.
"Qinglang said that these jewelry belong to the imperial palace."
Lu Jin was startled. He shook his head and said, "You have to ask your grandfather about this. I don't know much about it!"
........
In the outer study room, Lu Yihao looked at the jewelry in the box with great interest. He smiled and said, "My prospective grandson-in-law is really awesome. How many treasures from the palace does he have in his hands?"
"Father, are these things from the palace?"
"It should be true that this phoenix crown, bracelet, jade bracelet, gold hairpin, and jade hairpin are all top-notch items. Even if they are not leaked from the palace, they are still treasures given by the palace to relatives and dignitaries."
"Then if Xiuer wears these when she gets married, does it matter?"
"It doesn't matter. Chen Qing is the Duke of Jing. His wife wears these jewelry, which is completely in line with the etiquette. However, I seem to have an impression of this phoenix crown, which is a bit like Queen Zhu's phoenix crown."
Lu Jin became nervous, "Is it really Queen Zhu with the phoenix crown?"
Lu Yihao looked at it carefully again, shook his head and said: "The shape of the phoenix is a bit small, and it can't reach the level of a queen. It's not the one of Empress Zhu. It should be the phoenix crown of a certain princess. There are too many, and I can't tell who it is.
of."
Seeing his son's nervous look, Lu Yihao smiled and said: "Don't worry, the court has already reached a consensus. The officials made a decree in the third year of Jianyan that they will not hold the people accountable for using the utensils of the Tokyo Imperial Palace. You can't blame the people for this."
, you remember, as long as it is not for the official's personal use, other things in the palace can be used, so you can use this box of jewelry and clothing."
Coming out of the study, Lu Xiu took a white jade bracelet from the box and handed it to Madam Xu. She smiled and said, "Madam, you have worked hard these days. I will give this bracelet to Madam. Sister Wen is still young. When she grows up, I will give it to you."
Give her some more jewelry."
Lu Xiu is so smart. Mrs. Xu can't keep her eyes away from the box, so she knows what Mrs. Xu is thinking. After all, she is also her stepmother.
Mrs. Xu's eyes lit up and she happily took the bracelet, "Are you really willing to give me such a good thing?"
"I'm afraid the lady won't like it!"
"Embroiderer, don't laugh at me. How can I look down on the things in the palace? I know this is the finest Khotan white jade bracelet. One bracelet costs a thousand dollars. Hey! I wear it just right, sir.
what do you think?"
The more Mrs. Xu looked at it, the more she liked it. She put it on her arm and no longer wanted to take it off.
Lu Jin smiled and said: "It's not bad. The jade is very warm and moist, like mutton fat."
Lu Jin's smile was a little bitter. He should have prepared his daughter's trousseau jewelry by himself!
In fact, Lu Xiu's biological mother also left some jewelry for her daughter, but she lost it when she fled south, and also lost her entire collection of books. This has always been a pain in Lu Jin's heart.
Lu Jin returned to his father's study, where he wanted to ask for the pair of Ru kiln vases for his daughter.
"Father, are those jewelry really okay? Or are you comforting Xiu'er?"
Lu Yihao smiled faintly, "All of them! It is true that the officials have decreed not to pursue the common people who use the palace utensils, but he is referring to ordinary people. If they are officials, they will be a little stricter. You know that some censors are very hateful and open their eyes.
Eyes are fixed on the problems of the officials, and they will hold on to the smallest problem. If Xiuer uses those jewelry, someone will definitely find trouble, but you don't have to worry, those jewelry were snatched from the hands of the golden man, no matter how much impeachment
It’s untenable, not to mention those annoying censors can’t even see it, so I won’t invite them.”
"Okay! But isn't our dowry for Xiu'er too small?"
Lu Yihao took out a wooden box from the cabinet, "This is a pair of Ru kiln plum vases, given to me by the late emperor. I promised to give them to Xiu'er. I keep my word and give her as a dowry!"
"Thank you father, this is your favorite, I'm ashamed of myself!"
Lu Yihao smiled slyly, "Do you think I will give away this pair of plum vases for free? Someone taught me that when fishing, you need to make a nest first, and these pair of plum vases are the nest."
"Father, what does it mean to be a nest?" Lu Jin asked in confusion.
Lu Yihao laughed and said, "I just can't bear to bear the child, so I can't trap the wolf!"
.........
Huang Qun sat dejectedly in the lobby. He never thought that he would become the main suspect in the disappearance of his son Xiang Xiaoyi. For this reason, his wife Xiang Shi had divorced him, and the Xiang family had severed ties with him.
The head of the family swore to Quan that he would be sent to prison to pay for his death.
In order to save himself, Huang Qun had to take out another 20% of the money from the teahouse and give it to Wei Tong, the brother of Empress Dowager Wei, and then he was able to get out of prison.
Wei Tong was sitting at the top, narrowing his cold little eyes like a crocodile and staring at the helpless fat sheep in front of him. He got 50% of the shares of Huangjianzui Teahouse without spending a penny. He was thinking about how to use the remaining
Get the next 50% of the ingredients.
Wei Tong is the younger brother of Empress Dowager Wei. He was also kidnapped by the Jin people and taken to the north. He became a slave in Wanyan Zongxian's mansion. He suffered all the bullying and smiles. Last year, he also returned to the Song Dynasty with Empress Dowager Wei.
He was named the Duke of Wei, the general of the auxiliary country, and was given a beautiful house, thirty hectares of manor, and countless gold, jewels, and treasures. Overnight, he was transformed from a slave of the Jin Kingdom to a nobleman of the Song Dynasty.
Wei Tong took a sip of tea and said calmly: "There are only two of us in the lobby. You might as well tell me the truth. Was it you who did Xiang Xiaoyi's disappearance?"
Huang Qun sighed, "Although he is not my biological son, he was raised by me after all. With the relationship between father and son for more than 20 years, how could I kill him?"
"Xiang Xiaoyi just disappeared, but he didn't say he was killed?"
"It all seems the same to me. He has done too many evil things and his enemies will not let him go. But it was definitely not me who kidnapped him."
Wei Tong smiled sinisterly, "If it wasn't Liu Dongzhu who did it, then how could the Xiang family think it was you?"
"I don't know how they thought it was me?"
Wei Tong smiled and asked: "I have known you father and son for many years, but I never thought that you are not biological father and son. I am very curious, who is Xiang Xiaoyi's biological father?"
Huang Qun shook his head, "This is a scandal about the Xiang family, so don't mention it!"
Wei Tong put away his smile and said: "Okay! You go back first, I will try my best to help you get rid of the crime, and you can just wait for the good news."
"Thank you very much, uncle Guo. I'll take my leave then!"
Huang Qun said goodbye and left. Wei Tong watched him go away coldly, turned around and said to a confidant: "Go to Xiang Mansion and tell Xiang Ying that Huang Qun has admitted in front of me that Xiang Xiaoyi was killed by him.
I can serve as a witness for the Xiang family, but the benefit I want must be increased by 20%."
