The Red Mansion

Chapter 116 Yuanchun's Dowry

"Madam, you have been peeking at your husband for a long time. Are you satisfied?"

Jiang Nian held Yuanchun in his arms, opened his eyes and smiled, but there seemed to be stars flowing in his eyes, and there was a hint of teasing at the corners of his lips.

It turned out that when Yuanchun entered the bedroom a quarter of an hour ago, he was awake, but he pretended to be asleep.

Yuanchun sat on the edge of the bed in a daze for a quarter of an hour, and he dozed off for a quarter of an hour.

At this moment, Yuanchun was so embarrassed that she had nowhere to hide. She hurriedly said, "Xiangling is right next to us!"

Upon hearing this, Xiangling lowered her head and retreated quietly, closing the carved door tightly.

Jiang Nian smiled and said, "That's good now. Xiangling is out, and there's no one else in the room."

As he spoke, he tightened his arms, and the large red quilt suddenly rolled up into a red wave, pushing a soft pillow embroidered with mandarin ducks embracing each other to the corner of the bed.

Yuanchun panicked and reached out to push Jiang Nian's chest: "Master, please let go. It's broad daylight... Be careful, the hairpin will hurt you..."

She was going to say another sentence after "in broad daylight", but when it came to her lips, she swallowed it back. She was too dignified and reserved to say it out loud, so she changed it to "be careful that the hairpins and rings will hurt you".

Seeing Yuanchun like this, Jiang Nian thought she was adorable and kissed her on the cheek before letting go.

Yuanchun hurriedly got up, but found that the Ruyi hairpin on her head was tilted and her collar was a little loose, revealing a touch of snow-white skin on her neck.

She frantically fixed her hair and clothes, and glared at Jiang Nian: "Master, you are doing bad things!"

After saying that, she didn't dare to stay any longer and ran out holding up her skirt.

When they reached the main hall, Yuanchun saw Xiangling standing by with her head bowed. She forced herself to remain calm and said, "Master, you've gotten up. Come in and help him change."

The voice is three points thinner than usual.

Xiangling said "Oh" and noticed that Yuanchun's hair was a little messy. She lowered her head and pursed her lips, pretending not to see it.

……

……

That afternoon, a martial arts practice was held in the outer courtyard of the Jiang family's new house.

Jiang Nian changed into black arrow sleeves and tied a silver silk belt around his waist, and was practicing martial arts with He Yun, Meng Xiong and He Zhong.

The servants of the Jiang family were accustomed to this, however, Yuanchun, who had just arrived, felt it was new and very concerned.

Yuanchun brought her four maids, Baoqin, Xique, Jinchuan and Yuchuan, and stood under the hanging flower gate to watch.

Zhang Ruojin and his wife, Wu Gui, Miss Duo, and the Bai family, who came with the dowry, all gathered around curiously.

Jiang Nian first wielded a short-handled broadsword, its gleam as white as snow, dazzling the eyes in the sunlight. He then switched to a long-handled broadsword, wielding it with vigor and vigour. He then began practicing archery, his left hand like a mountain, his right like a child cradling his arms. His bow, drawn like a full moon, flew like shooting stars, many hitting the bull's eye.

Yuanchun was so fascinated by the scene that she felt that Jiang Nian's tall and straight figure seemed to be coated with a layer of gold in the sunlight. The beads of sweat on his forehead slid down his angular jaw, adding a bit of heroic spirit.

Yuanchun couldn't help but admire in her heart: "Although I have heard that Master is good at martial arts, I have never seen it in person. Now it seems that Master has mastered a great set of martial arts. He is truly a man of both civil and military skills..." She couldn't help but think: "No wonder he was able to pick me up last night..."

Thinking of this, my face turned hot and red.

Maids Baoqin, Xique, Jinchuan, Yuchuan and others all cheered when they saw this.

Miss Duo's eyes lit up as she watched, and she said to her husband Wu Gui, "Look at this master's skills. Even ten robbers wouldn't be able to get close to him."

Wu Gui burped, and a puff of alcohol came out, and he said, "When it comes to drinking, he can't beat me!" Miss Duo quickly covered her mouth with a handkerchief, looked at her husband with contempt, and when she looked at Jiang Nian again, her eyes seemed to shine even brighter.

Zhang Ruojin's wife, Shen, said to him, "Our Jia family is a family of military honors, but the men in the family don't like to practice martial arts. I saw that when I came here."

Zhang Ruojin sighed, "When the Duke was alive, martial arts were often practiced in the mansion, even the servants practiced martial arts. After the Duke passed away, it became rare to see such people."

Shen said, "You are in good health. Why don't you learn martial arts with the masters in the future?"

Zhang Ruojin thought for a moment and nodded, thinking, "This is feasible! I can hone my skills and learn martial arts, and at the same time, I can get closer to you, Master."

……

……

After half an hour of martial arts training, Jiang Nian took a bath, changed his clothes, and then went into the study to read and study.

Yuanchun led four maids, Baoqin, Xique, Jinchuan and Yuchuan, to organize her dowry.

The gilded jewelry boxes shone with jewels, and the rosewood dressing boxes were inlaid with mother-of-pearl flowers and birds. There were also complete sets of furniture, clothes for all seasons, silks of various colors, and daily necessities like tea sets and incense burners. Of course, there was also a large amount of gold and silver, and a thick stack of banknotes.

Baoqin took advantage of the fact that no one was around and whispered to Yuanchun, "Grandma's dowry, if you calculate it, isn't it worth tens of thousands of silver?"

Yuanchun fell silent when she heard this.

When she got married this time, all her dowry added up to a value of more than 50,000 taels of silver, part of which was a reward from the Empress Dowager.

This is already a generous dowry.

Lady Jia and Lady Wang were willing to give such a generous dowry because of the Empress Dowager's arranged marriage, because of the Thirteenth Prince who was very close to Jiang Nian, and for the dignity of the Rongguo Mansion.

However, when Lin Daiyu's mother Jia Min married Lin Ruhai, her dowry was much larger than Yuanchun's dowry this time.

……

……

In the afternoon, when applying for a license.

He Yun brought Wang Guangcheng, the owner of "Jiangnan Ju", to visit Jiang Nian. Also coming with him were Wang Guangcheng's trusted accountant Cui Qidi, and Wang's cook and her family of three.

Wang Guangcheng is only in his early thirties this year. Although he is the son of a wealthy businessman, his skin color is a bit dark because he has been traveling for many years.

Cook Wang has a husband named Cai Quan and a son named Cai Ji.

Jiang Nian received Wang Guangcheng and Cui Qidi in the study. After some pleasantries, Wang Guangcheng took out three deeds and presented them with both hands. "Master Jiang appreciated Wang's craftsmanship and wanted to buy them for his service. It's my honor. Wang's craftsmanship is decent, but it would be useless if he kept them in our small shop. How about giving them all three of them to you as a gift, just as a good relationship."

Jiang Nian took the three indentures and took a quick look at them, then said, "I appreciate Mr. Wang's kindness, but the transaction must be fair, and I must pay the money."

The two of them refused again and again. Seeing that Jiang Nian was determined to give it, Wang Guangcheng symbolically accepted the silver note of 100 taels and said some polite words such as "I will invite you to a banquet another day".

After Wang Guangcheng left the Jiang family, he left in a carriage with Cui Qidi.

Inside the carriage, Cui Qidi stroked his beard and smiled, "Congratulations, Third Master! Today's relationship was fantastic. Although this Mr. Jiang has no family or parents to rely on, he is very close to the Thirteenth Prince. At such a young age, he has been awarded the rank of Third Class Guard by the Current Emperor and has been betrothed to the daughter of the Rongguo Mansion by the Empress Dowager. His future is limitless!"

Wang Guangcheng stroked the banknote he had just received and sighed softly, "It's a pity that he insisted on giving me money. If he didn't give me the 100 taels of silver today and let me give him the three members of the Cai family, that would be a greater favor and would make it easier for him to get close to me."

(End of this chapter)