After the whole family was swept away, I lay down flat

Chapter 1134 Kindness
Haitang blinked and asked, "Did the Wu family buy a lot of good materials? Did they spend a lot of money?"

Ma replied, "I only have a few dozen pieces here, which is less than half of the remaining hundred pieces of fabric from Jiyuan Cloth Shop. The amount of fabric purchased by the Cheng'en Marquis's Mansion is three or four times more than mine! And they are all the best, with a lot of gold and brocade fabrics, which are more expensive than what you bought. I spent several hundred taels of silver to buy these materials. Can you calculate how much money the Cheng'en Marquis's Mansion spent? His family has just made a comeback, how much wealth can they have? Even the reconstruction of the house was done with the help of relatives and friends. You and your brother are still the creditors of the loan! As for the wife of the Marquis Cheng'en, she is also a daughter of the side branch of the Zhang family. She lost her father early and has no brothers. She only depends on her widowed mother for life, and the dowry she brought from her mother's family is also limited. With such a family background of the Marquis Cheng'en Mansion, the wife of the Marquis Cheng'en dared to spend so much money on clothes for her sister-in-law's dowry. Isn't it generous? I can't believe it! Could it be that his family did everything they could to raise a generous dowry for the girl's grand wedding, and even had to live a normal life?"

There are kind and friendly sisters-in-law in this world, but it is rare to find a sister-in-law who is willing to spend all her money for the dowry of her younger sister-in-law as soon as she gets married. Ma thought of the behavior of the Zhang family's direct lineage. There were also rumors that the family secretly withheld the dowry of her niece, leaving her to go out with only her widowed mother's dowry and private property, and only gave her three hundred taels of silver. Such stinginess and meanness really did not have the style of a noble family. The daughter of the second branch of the family became the wife of the Earl of Cheng'en, and she was more dignified than the Zhang family members of the direct lineage.

Ma couldn't help but sigh, "I heard from the past that the Zhang family was unwilling to marry the daughter of the direct branch to Wu Ke, and they also complained that the Zhang family looked down on people. Now I think this is a good thing. The direct branch of the Zhang family has very poor family education. If the daughter of the direct branch married Wu Ke, I don't know how much grievances Wu Ke and Wu Qiong would have suffered! Although the current wife of the Marquis of Cheng'en is only from the side branch of the Zhang family, her character and temperament are a hundred times better than those of the sisters of the direct branch. She and Wu Ke are a pair made in heaven. With her in charge of the Marquis of Cheng'en Mansion, Wu Qiong can feel more at ease before she gets married."

Haitang had had contact with Zhang Yingfeng before, and had also heard from her brother Haijiao about Zhang Yingfeng's deeds after she married into the second branch of the Jin family in her previous life. She knew that Zhang Yingfeng was a smart and capable person, and as long as she married into a reliable family, she would be able to manage her life well.

However, since Zhang Yingfeng was a shrewd person, how could she impulsively spend a lot of money to buy expensive clothes for her sister-in-law to fill her dowry? Wu Qiong's dowry was prepared by the Imperial Clan House and the Ministry of Rites, and her cousin Wu Ke gave her some of the old things and property of the Wu family returned by the court. In fact, it was basically ready. The family spent money to add some things she liked, and it would be enough to show off, so as not to make a fool of herself in the circle of the royal family.

A few days ago, the Luo family abandoned the old Zhang family and moved to the Kangwang Mansion. When the Luo family business changed the shop to a new location, they sold the accumulated goods at a discount. The women of the Hai family also went there to shop. As a close relative and in-law of the Kangwang Mansion, there was no reason to miss it. In this way, Wu Qiong's dowry was not short of high-quality fabrics. Now Zhang Yingfeng spent a lot of money to buy more good fabrics. Why?

If it was just to ensure that Wu Qiong would have enough good fabrics to make clothes after she married into the Kang Palace, the Kang Palace would have already bought a batch of the best fabrics from the same Jiangnan cloth merchant, and then it would be up to Wu Qiong, the mistress, to arrange it. It was really unnecessary for Zhang Yingfeng to buy another batch for her.

The Cheng'en Marquis's Mansion isn't rich in gold and silver, and Wu Ke is still in debt. How much spare money can she have for squandering?
Given Zhang Yingfeng's temperament and ability, she shouldn't do something stupid for no reason. So what was her intention?

Haitang suppressed this question in her heart, without showing any strange expression, and just followed her grandmother Ma's words, sighing a few times about Zhang Yingfeng's thoughtfulness and kindness to her sister-in-law, and Wu Qiong's luck, guessing the size of the latter's dowry, and then imagining the lively scene of King Kang's wedding. When her grandfather Haixiya left the government office, Hai Chang'an and Hai Jiao left the palace and returned home one after another, and the family prepared to gather together for dinner, this topic naturally ended.

After dinner, the family stayed in the upper room of the main courtyard to drink tea and chat. Ma also ordered someone to bring out a few pieces of high-quality fabrics that had just been obtained today for the family to appreciate.

Hai Xiya took a few glances and knew that this batch of materials was very expensive. He sighed and said, "Madam loves her granddaughter and wants to prepare a generous dowry for Tangtang. I understand. But Tangtang's wedding is coming soon, and the dowry we have prepared for her is already generous enough. Where is the end of the good things in this world? Madam, don't always spend your mind on these trivial matters. Our family can't be compared with those wealthy families, so there is really no need to compete with others in dowry."

Haitang was stunned for a moment, then she realized what was going on. It turned out that Ma had put so much effort into her dowry, stuffing her with goodies over and over again, because she was afraid that her dowry would be inferior to that of the other ladies who were also granted marriages by the late emperor, and that she would be laughed at. Although this comparison was not a good idea, she was really moved by her grandmother's kindness.

Haitang moved to sit next to her grandmother and hugged her softly without saying anything, but this intimacy spoke volumes.

Ma blushed a little and said awkwardly, "Although our family is only of the fifth rank, it is not inferior to other families. Why should we be looked down upon? Look at those noble ladies from the royal and noble families. In terms of character, appearance, talent, temperament and knowledge, which one can compare with our Tangtang? They don't compare their real abilities with Tangtang, but only use their family background and wealth to belittle others. I couldn't help but feel sorry for the child when I heard it! Our Hai family has a lower official position, but in terms of wealth, it is really not worse than theirs. It's not that I want to show off, but I just don't want outsiders to look down on Tangtang. What other girls have, our Tangtang must have. Even if we dare not compare with the daughters of those royal and ministerial families, we can't be inferior to the Wu family and the Zhang family, right?"

Haitang smiled and hugged her grandmother and said, "Grandma, I am no worse than others. My dowry is also very generous. I have everything that others have, including gold, silver, treasures, silk and satin. I also have things that others don't have. I have ten boxes of books, countless articles and paintings by famous authors. Although I am a descendant of a military household, the daughters of the prominent scholarly and official families in the capital may not be as respectable as I am when they marry. Grandpa, grandma and my brother are willing to prepare such a generous dowry for me, which shows how much they value me. Other families may be so generous when marrying off their daughters even if they have been rich and powerful for generations. Those self-righteous fools will look down on me because our family is only a fifth-rank family. But there are many discerning people in the world, and who knows who will be the joke by then!"

Ma couldn't help but laugh when she heard this: "That's true. Our Hai family is not a poor family. We are much more respectable than those wealthy families that are just empty shells!"

Seeing that his granddaughter had coaxed his wife, Hai Xiya also laughed: "Okay, it's good that Madam understands. In fact, our children are sensible and filial, which is better than anything else. What's the point of a dowry? There is no need to worry about such mundane things. As long as Tangtang can live in harmony with her grandson-in-law after she gets married and live a happy life, that's enough. No matter how much dowry there is, it will only bring temporary vanity. How can it compare with a long-term good life?"