After rebirth, the Queen and I are on the run.

Chapter 888 Various Parties Add to the Dowry and the Guan Family Sends Betrothal Gifts [2]

"Wow, a six-panel screen! How big must that be? Even a small room couldn't fit it. Chen Xiaoqi's family is really generous."

The villagers who were watching were shocked.

"The bronze artifacts from General Gong's family are truly remarkable. Bronze pots, bronze mirrors, bronze stoves—how much brass must have been used to cast all of these!"

The dowry from the Gong and Chen families was indeed quite generous, especially the six-panel screen, which was specially sent by Chen Xiaoqi's maternal uncle from the prefectural city.

This was all to thank the Qin family for helping Chen Xiaoqi and protecting his wife, allowing the young couple to safely weather the crisis brought by County Magistrate Yang.

The Gong family also came up, expressing their gratitude to the Qin family for their protection and intercession.

Now, not only have they been reinstated to their original positions, but due to thorough investigation, they have become the cleanest people, and are expected to be promoted in the future.

"The dowries given by these families today are nothing compared to the dowries given by Lord Xue, Master Li, and Lord Kang... a complete set of gold and gemstone headdresses. Each of these headdresses is very expensive and only wealthy ladies can afford to wear them, but the Qin family girl received several sets."

"And the Wenchang Marquis's family. The Wenchang Marquis's family also sent people to the Qin family as a dowry, which was a complete set of jade artifacts."

Marquis Wenchang, who was far away in Tianmang Prefecture, sent congratulatory gifts to both the Qin and Guan families.

The reason why Marquis Wenchang went to Tianmang Prefecture was to wait for the envoy from the Eastern Desert.

Because of the spy case, the Great Wei court sent a letter of inquiry to the Eastern Desert. Since Marquis Wenchang was of high status and could keep the situation in check, Emperor Wuxing sent him to Tianmang Prefecture to handle the matter.

Unfortunately, so far, there has been no response from the Eastern Desert side, and the Great Wei's letter of inquiry has gone unanswered.

"Tsk tsk tsk, Clerk Guan really hit the jackpot! At his age, and still a widower, he managed to marry a daughter of an official and bring the Guan family a dowry that they could never spend in several lifetimes!" The villagers were filled with envy and jealousy.

The Qin family sent Uncle Qin and his wife to pick up the bride.

Granny Xiao, along with maids like Luo Ningfang and Lu Qing'an who were excellent at accounting, and Shen Luniang and Xiao Shanglu, along with maids who knew medicine, assisted the couple in collecting their dowry.

In short, the Qin and Guan families have been extremely busy since the Mid-Autumn Festival, preparing for the wedding of Clerk Guan and Qin Xiaogu.

The Guan family's house at the west entrance of the town, as well as the open space within a radius of about 30 meters around the house, have all been newly decorated.

Madam Guan summoned all the servants from the county town and those left behind in other places, and they busied themselves near the house at the west entrance of the town every day.

Every day, truckloads of goods are delivered to the Guan family.

When Magistrate Kang learned that the Guan family was going to hold a wedding banquet in town, he was surprised and went to talk to Qi Tianshi, who was staying at the Xiangwutang in the suburbs of the county.

In the end, both Qi Tianshi and Wang Baihu felt that holding the wedding banquet in Taifeng Town might be safer than holding it in the county seat.

Taifeng Town may appear to be a diverse area with a large number of people, but everyone who enters Taifeng Town has been checked and registered.

Taifeng Town also has sentry posts and more than 200 soldiers patrolling for protection. The students even brought martial arts instructors with them. It's much better than the county town, which only has less than 100 soldiers protecting it.

However, because of Guan's status as a clerk, Qi Tianshi was also afraid that something might happen, so...

"Good heavens! The Imperial Guards, the Imperial Guards who protect Qi Tianshi, are here in our town again!"

On August 20th, in the afternoon, sixty Imperial Guards rode into Taifeng Town, eventually splitting into two groups...

"A group of people went to the Qin family's house on Xindajie Street."

"A group of people went to Clerk Guan's house, they actually went to Clerk Guan's house!"

"Good heavens, this old widower Guan has finally run into trouble. This gigolo... if being a gigolo is a crime, Guan should be sentenced to death!"

The villagers all believed that the Guan clerk's family was protected by the Imperial Guard because of the Qin family.

The Imperial Guards, upon hearing this gossip, were speechless.

Indeed, ignorance is bliss.

Fearing that these rumors would damage the reputation of Clerk Guan, Commander Yu asked upon arriving at the Guan family home, "Madam Guan, would you like us to quell these rumors?" To his surprise, Madam Guan burst into laughter, laughing heartily.

General Yu was worried... that the old lady might have been driven mad by the rumors.

After laughing enough, Madam Guan waved her hand and said, "No need, no need. The rumors spread by the villagers this time are quite reliable."

Looking at it now, the Guan family is no match for the Qin family; the eldest grandson is definitely living off his granddaughter-in-law.

General Yu couldn't understand how such a rumor could be reliable. How outrageous would an unreliable rumor have to be?
General Yu looked at Clerk Guan.

The clerk said, "Chief Yu, there's no need to worry about it. In a few days, the villagers will naturally stop gossiping."

Let’s do it.

Commander Yu did not investigate further, but began to deploy defenses centered around the Guan family residence.

They guarded the western part of the town like an iron fortress.

With the Imperial Guards stationed there, the flow of various supplies became much smoother.

On August 21, Madam Kang, the matchmaker, arrived in Taifeng Town and moved into a house next to the Guan family's.

This house also belongs to the Kong family.

Village Chief Kong had specially cleared the place out just to make it convenient for the Guan family... Now that he learned it was Madam Kang's temporary residence, Village Chief Kong was so happy that he cried tears of joy!
He wanted to take some people to pay his respects to Madam Kang, but was stopped at the door. Steward Lu bluntly stated, "Madam has come only to help the Guan and Qin families complete their happy event. She will not concern herself with any other matters. Village Chief Kong, do you understand?"

"Yes, I understand." Village Chief Kong felt as if a layer of ice had been placed on his head, making him shiver. He dared not do anything else and hurriedly took his leave with his wife and children, assuring them, "I will definitely manage the Kong family well, please rest assured, Madam."

Steward Lu smiled and said, "It's alright. If Chief Kong really can't manage things properly, the laws of the dynasty will take care of it."

This!
This time, even the village chief's wife, who still had ulterior motives, was trembling with fear. She completely abandoned all her thoughts and the whole family fled back to Kongjia Village as if they were being chased by ghosts.

August 23rd was the day the Guan family sent out betrothal gifts.

Early in the morning, joyful sounds filled the Guan family home.

At the hour of Chen (7-9 AM), after the Guan family ancestors worshipped Heaven and Earth, Madam Kang, the matchmaker, led the way, with Mr. Qiong acting as the elder of the groom's family, carrying twenty-four loads of betrothal gifts, bowing respectfully at every step, to the Qin family.

The fact that the Guan family had invited Elder Qiong to act as an elder almost made Madam Kang faint... It seems that her husband's guess is very likely true.

Such a large group of students, it seems they're really going to be given to the clerk Guan... I can't think about it, I can't think about it, it's too outrageous.

Madam Kang secretly bit her tongue, using the pain to regain her composure and resume her role as matchmaker.

To save face for both families, the betrothal procession circled the old and new streets of Taifeng Town before entering the Qin family's residence at 9:00 AM.

After offering her congratulations, Madam Kang presented the betrothal gift list to Grandpa Qin: "Grandpa Qin, please take a look at the betrothal gift list from the Guan family for your daughter."

After praising the groom's family, Grandpa Qin accepted the betrothal gift book.

After another round of formalities, Madam Kang began announcing the betrothal gifts, while the Qin family held up the betrothal gift list.

"A pair of wild geese as a betrothal gift, wishing the newlyweds unwavering love!"

"A pair of twin lotus blossoms, pearls, jade, and gold jewelry as betrothal gifts, to celebrate the newlyweds' love that is stronger than gold!"

"A bolt of red silk fabric as a betrothal gift, wishing the newlyweds a prosperous and joyous life!"

"Twenty acres of fertile land as betrothal gifts, congratulations..."

The villagers who were watching listened with envy, but they still complained: "To be honest, the betrothal gifts given by the clerk's family look good, but they are not as valuable as the dowry given by the bride's family and friends."

"Exactly, exactly! Tsk tsk, the dowry that Clerk Guan saved up for half his life isn't even worth as much as the bride's dowry. It's shameful! How can he even have the nerve to marry her?!"

(End of this chapter)