Logically speaking, the court officials' demands were not excessive.
No matter how powerful the Prince of Yanbei might be, he was still a feudal prince, and the stability of Yanbei was crucial to the security of the entire northern frontier of Great Zhou. It was only natural for court officials to be concerned about the issue of the Prince of Yanbei's heir. However, at this time, no one would believe that the court's intense focus on the selection of the Yanbei Prince's Mansion's heir was a simple matter.
Just then, another rumor emerged and caused an uproar in Yanbei.
An elderly nanny who had originally served in the Yanbei Prince's Mansion, in her dying moments, spoke deliriously and inadvertently revealed a shocking secret: Second Young Master Xiao Jingxi of the Yanbei Prince's Mansion was actually not the son of the Prince of Yanbei.
It was said that when the Princess Consort was pregnant with her first child, she was poisoned. Although the child was eventually born, toxins remained in her body, making it unsuitable for her to conceive again in the following years.
However, shortly after, the eldest son was sent to the capital as a hostage. At that time, the Yanbei Prince's Mansion urgently needed a young master to stabilize morale. Thus, the Princess Consort adopted the child of her elder sister, who had died in childbirth, and raised him as her own. This child was Second Young Master Xiao.
Nevertheless, since Second Young Master Xiao was not the biological son of the Prince of Yanbei, the Yanbei Prince's Mansion publicly claimed that he was in poor health. This was done so that once the Princess Consort recovered and gave birth to another son, the second young master could "pass away" naturally. Unfortunately, after several years of recuperation, although the Princess Consort became pregnant again, she gave birth to a daughter instead of a son.
To conceive a second child, the Princess Consort had a midwife administer a secret medicine to her. As the saying goes, all medicines have their side effects. While this secret medicine allowed the Princess Consort to conceive successfully, it also damaged her health. As a result, after giving birth to her daughter, she was never able to conceive again. This was why Second Young Master Xiao remained until now.
Although every prominent family has its share of secrets, the major secret exposed this time about the Yanbei Prince's Mansion shocked the entire Great Zhou. Some believed it, while others did not.
Those who believed it thought, "No wonder the Prince of Yanbei hesitated to appoint the second young master as heir after the death of the eldest son. We originally thought it was due to his poor health, but it turns out Second Young Master Xiao isn't even surnamed Xiao."
Those who did not believe it considered it a conspiracy orchestrated by the court to sow discord within the Yanbei Prince's Mansion and achieve their hidden agenda.
Regardless of whether people believed it or not, the issue of Second Young Master Xiao's origins had become the most talked-about topic among the people of Great Zhou during their leisure time. Everyone was waiting for the Yanbei Prince's Mansion to step forward and refute the rumor.
Unfortunately, to everyone's disappointment, the Yanbei Prince's Mansion showed no reaction to the rumor, as if they had not heard it at all. They carried on with their usual affairs, with the entire mansion busy preparing for Second Young Master Xiao's wedding, seemingly using practical actions to prove the absurdity of the rumor.
When Ren Yaoqi heard about this, she was momentarily stunned. However, she did not believe that Xiao Jingxi was not the Princess Consort's biological son. Ren Yaoqi could sense the Princess Consort's feelings for Xiao Jingxi from the way she treated her. Moreover, Xiao Jingxi bore some resemblance to the Princess Consort, which could not be explained simply by him being the son of the Princess Consort's sister.While the outside world was abuzz with rumors, what Ren Yaoqi truly cared about was the purpose behind those spreading such gossip.
However, with her wedding day approaching, this incident caused great concern for Ren Shimin and Madam Li. Ren Yaohua, Ren Shijia, and even Ren Shimiao all came to inquire, worried that Ren Yaoqi’s marriage might be affected by the situation.
At this time, her maternal grandmother, Rong Shi, also sent Ren Yaoqi a handwritten letter. The letter was brief, containing only four words: "Stay calm and patient."
After some thought, Ren Yaoqi took Rong Shi’s letter to show Madam Li. Upon reading it, Madam Li finally felt at ease. While others might not be trustworthy, her own mother certainly was. Since Rong Shi advised them to stay calm and patient, it meant that the rumors outside were most likely untrue, and Ren Yaoqi’s marriage would not be affected.
Thus, both the Yanbei Prince’s Mansion and the Ren Family remained composed and continued preparing for the wedding.
Not long after Rong Shi’s letter arrived, Prince Xian sent Ren Yaoqi a dowry gift, filling nine carriages. The carriages, bearing the emblem of the Prince Xian’s Mansion, drew the attention of everyone in Yunyang City as they made their way from the city gate to the Ren Family’s doorstep. Since Prince Xian left Yanbei to become Prince Xian, he had maintained a low profile. This was the first time the Prince Xian’s Mansion made such a grand public appearance, and for this reason alone, the spectacle was impossible to ignore.
As the items were carried one by one from the carriages into the Ren residence, a eunuch announced each gift by name. The scene was far more solemn, formal, and eye-catching than the dowry presentations of even the most prominent noble families.
Among the gifts were a jadeite bamboo double-phoenix crown, two sets of red gold eight-treasure head ornaments, two sets of red gold jade-inlaid head ornaments, four pairs of gem-encrusted gold hairpins, four pairs of treasure-engraved ornaments, two pairs of eight-treasure gold filigree bracelets, one pair of gold filigree gem-inlaid bracelets, one pair of phoenix-head beaded bracelets, one pair of red gold eight-treasure bracelets, twelve taels of pearls, twenty bolts each of ramie silk, damask, gauze, and luo silk, four sets of casual attire, twenty-four sets of seasonal clothing, nine pairs of vermilion lacquered and gold-inlaid leather chests, six quilts of various colors, four white silk bed sheets…
In addition, the Prince Xian’s Mansion also added fertile farmland and two villas to Ren Yaoqi’s dowry. Notably, one of the villas was located near the Sun-Moon Hot Springs outside Yunyang City, while the other was in Jinzhou, within Prince Xian’s domain. Judging from the property deeds, both villas covered vast areas.
While Prince Xian’s gift of a villa in Yanbei was understandable, his gift of a villa near his own domain inevitably gave the impression that he intended to support his granddaughter, who was about to marry into the Yanbei Prince’s Mansion. It seemed as if he were telling the Yanbei Prince’s Mansion that Ren Yaoqi still had the backing of the Prince Xian’s Mansion.
The sheer number and extravagance of these gifts left onlookers dazzled. This was no ordinary dowry for a daughter’s marriage—it was more akin to a princess’s wedding!
Some even remarked that they had assumed Prince Xian’s mansion in his new domain was merely for show, but this display revealed the true strength of the Yanbei Prince’s Mansion. And this was just for the marriage of a granddaughter! With such lavish gifts, it was clear that Prince Xian’s wealth was anything but modest.Thus, the dowry gifts from Hezhong Residence for Ren Yaoqi not only expressed their regard for this granddaughter, but also, in a jaw-dropping manner, proudly and reservedly displayed their strength to the world. After this event, no one dared to look down upon Hezhong Residence again.
The Ren Family was also quite astonished upon seeing this procession of carriage-loads of dowry gifts, with Madam Li particularly moved. Others did not understand, but only she knew that these were the dowry items her grandmother had promised her in jest when she was still young. Unfortunately, when she married, Xianwang Residence had fallen into decline, and her dowry was never fulfilled. Unexpectedly, it was now being fulfilled for her daughter.
From this, Madam Li also realized that the grievances she had endured over the years had been seen and remembered by her father and mother. Was this not a form of compensation for her?
Although the Ren Family’s residence was relatively spacious, when the contents of nine carriages were all moved in, they still occupied the entire front courtyard. In the end, Madam Li had no choice but to use the entire east wing, which had been left vacant after Ren Yaohua’s marriage, to store these dowry gifts. Items that could not fit were temporarily moved to the side courtyard that Ren Shimin used as his study, as Master Ren’s area was the most spacious in the entire residence. Master Ren, who had always regarded money as dirt and declared his study a forbidden zone in the house, turned a blind eye this time and said nothing.
The grand scale of the dowry gifts from Hezhong Residence for Ren Yaoqi shocked the entire Yanbei region, making the dowry gifts from others appear rather meager in comparison. However, compared to other young ladies of noble families upon their marriage, the dowry Ren Yaoqi received was still quite substantial.
In addition to giving Ren Yaoqi four thousand taels of silver as a bottom-of-the-chest gift, Ren Shijia and her husband also gave her two shops and a villa. Although it could not compare to the villa given by Hezhong Residence, it was still located in a prime area of Yunyang City.
The dowry gifts from Ren Shijia and her husband for Ren Yaoqi were much heavier than those for Ren Yaohua, but this could not be blamed on them for favoring one over the other. The relationship between Ren Yaoqi and Ren Shijia, as well as the Lin Family, was different from that between Ren Yaohua and them.
Back then, not only did Ren Yaoqi play a role in ensuring the survival of Ren Shijia’s child, but Lin Kun was also able to break away from the Lin Family and establish his own household after reclaiming what was rightfully his, all thanks to Ren Yaoqi’s discreet assistance.
Even now, the reason the Lin Family could not only stand firm in Yanbei despite overt and covert suppression from the main family but also surpass the main Lin Family in various competitions was due to Lin Kun’s secret alliance with the Lei Family. And this, too, was the result of Ren Yaoqi’s mediation.
Although Ren Shijia and her husband never spoke of it, they understood this in their hearts. Thus, they felt that the dowry gifts they gave to Ren Yaoqi were still too light. However, as Ren Shijia was only an aunt and her husband an uncle, and with several unmarried nieces still in the family, they could not openly favor one over the other too blatantly, lest it cause displeasure.
Fifth Master Ren and his wife also gave dowry gifts to Ren Yaoqi. Although not as extravagant as those from Ren Shijia and her husband, they were still considered quite generous.
The old residence of the Ren Family also sent gifts for Ren Yaoqi, but Third Master Ren did not accept them and had them returned as they were. This infuriated Old Madam Ren, who scolded her son at home for not knowing what was good for him.
As for the gifts from Ren Yijun and his wife, Ren Yaoqi accepted them, even though they were only a pair of jade pendants and a few hairpins.Additionally, Ren Yaoqi's teacher, Lady Xu, also sent her a dowry gift. Unlike others, Lady Xu did not send gold, silver, or jade ornaments. Instead, she gifted two books—both rare and highly sought-after editions cherished by scholars and book lovers alike.
What surprised Ren Yaoqi the most was that Pei Zhiyan also sent her a gift. Mr. Pei’s present to Ren Yaoqi was a qin. Though not crafted by a renowned master, Ren Yaoqi knew it was made by Pei Zhiyan’s late wife with her own hands. Over the years, Pei Zhiyan had always kept it close.
Wishing all mothers and expectant mothers health and happiness ^^~
I intended to post this before midnight, but the system crashed for a few minutes and I couldn’t get in... 〒_〒
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