HLnovel Chapter 407
Chapter 407
When Li Zhiwei came out, she saw the entire courtyard piled high with large and small chests tied with red silk.Cheng Qingli clicked her tongue in wonder.
"Sister Li, this Prince An is quite generous," Cheng Qingli nudged Li Zhiwei gently and teased.
"It is indeed not bad. Among the betrothal gift standards for noble ladies in the capital, yours is the best I have ever seen," Wen Xiu also nodded and said.
"It seems this Prince An really knows what he is doing," Cheng Qingli said with great satisfaction.
"Greetings to Princess Consort Rong!"
The few of them entered the main hall, gracefully bowed to Princess Consort Rong, and then paid their respects as the younger generation to Madam Cheng and Madam Wang.
"Good! Good! What a good child." In her youth, Princess Consort Rong had a good relationship with the old Princess Consort. Now, seeing the beautiful and blooming Li Zhiwei, she nodded in satisfaction.
She thought to herself that the boy Xu Heming was truly blessed. Although his previous wife had passed away, this one looked like a woman of great fortune.
"Thank you for the praise, Your Highness." Being stared at like this made Li Zhiwei a little uncomfortable, but she remained poised and generously allowed Princess Consort Rong to observe her.
Prince Rong was the youngest uncle of the late emperor.
He was a kind and benevolent man.
In the capital, his prestige was also extremely high.
Being able to invite Princess Consort Rong this time was considered giving the Li family a great deal of face.
Xu Heming waited until everything was settled before coming to Princess Consort Rong's side.
"Lord Li, Madam Li, although this marriage is a bit rushed, both of these children are good kids. The Ministry of Rites will also handle the wedding preparations. If you have any requests, feel free to bring them up. If there is anything we do improperly, we will correct it. The union of these two families is not just about the young couple living their lives; it is a powerful alliance between the Xu and Li families," Princess Consort Rong looked at Li Tianyou and added.
"What Your Highness says is true. We will simply follow all the customs of the capital," Li Tianyou quickly replied.
"According to the rules, we should go through the Six Etiquettes so as not to wrong Zhiwei. However, today, although we call it sending the betrothal gifts, in reality, we are also doing the inquiring of the name, the matching of the horoscopes, the sending of the formal gifts, and the requesting of the wedding date all at once. This is indeed a bit abrupt. But the Imperial Astronomical Bureau has already matched their birth dates, and it is a match made in heaven! Moreover, this marriage was bestowed by His Majesty. Still, Prince An's Manor doesn't want to wrong Zhiwei, so they have provided three hundred and sixty chests of betrothal gifts as compensation." As Princess Consort Rong spoke, she remembered that Li Zhiwei's original dowry had been over a thousand chests. In the eyes of the Li family, this amount might seem a bit lacking.
However, in the capital, three hundred and sixty chests of betrothal gifts was already extremely generous.
If it were not to avoid exceeding the betrothal gifts given to the Empress at the time, Prince An's Manor would definitely have given more than this.
"Three hundred and sixty chests of betrothal gifts is indeed a lot. When Her Majesty entered the palace, the Emperor gave three hundred and sixty-nine chests," Madam Cheng quickly said with a smile, fearing any awkwardness.
"Three hundred and sixty chests is already very much. We are actually quite overwhelmed. After all, as you know, we had prepared for Zhiwei's marriage for over ten years, but now, all those things have been given to the national treasury." Li Tianyou looked at these betrothal gifts, feeling a bit troubled.
His daughter's dowry was three hundred and sixty chests. They had said they would match whatever betrothal gifts Prince An's Manor gave. But now that Prince An's Manor had given three hundred and sixty chests, returning another three hundred and sixty chests would be too flashy.
At this moment, he only thought about pretending to be poor first, and then secretly subsidizing his daughter with more silver later.
"Lord Li, you do not need to be troubled. We are all clear about this matter. You do not need to prepare any additional dowry," Princess Consort Rong quickly said.
This was also what the old Princess Consort had specifically instructed her.
"How can that do? We only have this one daughter," Lady Yao said, displeased upon hearing this.
A daughter's dowry was definitely still necessary.
"Yes, yes, yes. Marrying off a daughter should be done grandly and beautifully." The others also smiled and chimed in.
This scene at the Li family naturally fell into the eyes of the Zhang Zifu siblings next door.
"Did you not say you had a way to marry Prince An? Is this your way?" Zhang Yanchu looked at his sister with a face full of dissatisfaction.
He thought to himself that he must have been blinded by greed to believe her nonsense.
"Brother, what are you anxious about?" Zhang Zifu saw the courtyard full of betrothal gifts. If she were the one marrying Prince An, would not all those things be hers?
Thinking of this, Zhang Zifu felt even more furious in her heart.
Compared to the liveliness of the Li family, Prince Lanhuai's Manor was enveloped in a gloomy atmosphere.
"Your Highness, there is nothing at the estate. It is just a dilapidated place," Shanzi said, glancing at Huo Yunzhi who was standing to the side.
He suspected in his heart whether this woman had deliberately said those things to deceive the prince.
"Did you search carefully?" Prince Lanhuai asked with a gloomy face.
After all, everything mentioned in Huo Yunxuan's letters before had been true.
But now, he had not seen a single piece of the millions of jewels supposedly at this estate.
At this point, he could not help but suspect that he had been played by these siblings.
"Your Highness, I have searched everywhere possible. There is nothing!" Shanzi said with great certainty.
"Where are the things your brother mentioned?" Prince Lanhuai looked down at Huo Yunzhi and asked coldly.
"This concubine does not know what things Your Highness is referring to," Huo Yunzhi shook her head, feeling extremely terrified inside.
But she truly did not know what things from her brother Prince Lanhuai was talking about.
She had never seen them.
"Stop playing dumb with me! Huo Yunxuan promised to be my money bag and help me make a comeback!" Prince Lanhuai angrily stepped forward and grabbed Huo Yunzhi by the neck.
"Cough! Your Highness, this concubine does not know." Huo Yunzhi's face turned red, and she soon felt like she could not breathe.
She did not understand what her fourth brother had told Prince Lanhuai, but she had never seen those things either.
"Your Highness, could it be that the secondary consort has hidden the things?"
Seeing that Prince Lanhuai looked ready to strangle Huo Yunzhi to death, Shanzi raised a mocking smile at the corner of his mouth and said.
"Speak, where did the things from the estate go?" Hearing this, Prince Lanhuai let go and gave her a push, causing Huo Yunzhi to fall to the ground.
"This concubine does not know what was at the estate. After brother Xuan gave me the land deed, I have never been there. Your Highness, could it be the Second Miss Cheng? Did she go?" Huo Yunzhi was terrified. Right now, she needed to find a scapegoat.
Obviously, Cheng Qingli was the best scapegoat in Huo Yunzhi's mind.
"Do you think I will let you off just because you say that? Whether the Second Miss Cheng has left the capital recently, I can find out with a single investigation. As for you, you had better not be hiding anything from me! Otherwise, I will make you suffer the consequences!" After Prince Lanhuai finished speaking, he stood up and ordered Shanzi, who was beside him: "Go investigate if the Cheng family has made any recent moves!"
In his heart, however, Prince Lanhuai did not believe it. If the Cheng family truly knew about this matter, they could not possibly be this calm.
"Third Brother, is this the capital of the Lanno Kingdom?"