flstandardbreds Chapter 180 Acceptance
Chapter 180 Acceptance
Zisu: "Brother Shen, what do you think of Sister Shuisheng's younger sister?"
Shui Sheng's sister-in-law, Shangguan Baizhi, is sixteen years old this year and is Zisu's good friend. Over the years, she has learned a lot of characters from Zisu and is now studying needlework and cooking at Wuliping Girls' Academy. She is a skillful, kind, and intelligent girl.
Upon hearing this, Shen Laihui's eyes lit up: "Hmm, not bad, very good!" Bai Zhi and Zi Su have a good relationship, and she is also a kind girl.
Zisu: "I've noticed she's interested in you. If you like her too, then I'll ask the old clan leader to find someone to propose marriage for you!"
Shen Laihui: "Okay, thank you, Princess!"
Zisu: "If Baizhi agrees, then you two should get married as soon as possible! The Emperor's health is not good, and he might not make it any day. If the Emperor passes away, you can't get married for a year!"
Shen Laihui: "Alright, we'll listen to the princess." Regardless of the emperor's wishes, the madam is due to give birth in three months. Before she gives birth, we should marry Baizhi. This way, Xiaoshitan will have another woman to take care of the two young masters. That way, Zisu can focus on taking care of the madam without worrying about the two young masters.
Zisu then went to find the old clan chief.
Upon hearing this, the old clan chief was overjoyed: "Oh my, Shen Laihui! He's a rare gem of a young man. He's taken a liking to Bai Zhi—this is wonderful news! Don't worry, I'll have Xiaoshan's mother propose marriage tomorrow!"
Zisu: "Elder Chief, there's no need to be in such a hurry. We need to wait for Brother Shen to go to the prefectural city so we can prepare some gifts. It wouldn't be good for him to go empty-handed to propose marriage!"
The old clan chief said, "Oh, no need to be so formal. Just have him go to the county town to buy some things! This is a marriage proposal, not a betrothal gift. The betrothal gifts, however, can be bought in the prefectural city!"
Zisu: "I'll go back to the capital to prepare the betrothal gifts for him, and have them sent over!" Clothes and jewelry, of course, should be from the capital to be of the best quality. Shen Laihui has always been like family to her. She wants to treat Shen Laihui like her own elder brother and arrange his marriage.
The old clan chief said, "Zisu, things in the capital must be very expensive, right? But she's just a girl from a mountain family. I think something more appropriate is fine. There's no need to buy her anything too expensive."
Zisu: "Sixth Grandfather, I know all this. I'll handle it accordingly. It won't be too expensive. Hmm, let's prepare it according to the standards of wealthy families in the county. What do you think?"
The old clan chief said, "A wealthy family in the county town? That would require at least sixteen loads and cost over two hundred taels of silver. Isn't that too extravagant? Does that Shen Laihui have that much money?" He's just a guard; why is he spending so much?
Zisu: "Sixth Grandfather, I will pay this money. In my heart, Brother Shen is like my own brother. Over the years, without his sincere protection, how could our family have had a peaceful life?"
The old clan chief said, "Yes, that's true. You're a grateful child! However, I still have to say, while you appreciate Shen Laihui's kindness, you should be careful with the betrothal gifts for Baizhi. Otherwise, it will have a negative impact on Wuliping. If in the future, every family in Wuliping uses Baizhi's betrothal gifts as the standard for marrying off their daughters, that would be terrible! Just listen to me, it's best not to exceed one hundred taels of silver! Oh, and the betrothal gifts should ideally not exceed twenty taels of silver!"
Zisu: "Sixth Grandfather's concerns are valid. I haven't considered things thoroughly enough. I promise you, the betrothal gifts will not exceed one hundred taels of silver. I want to repay Brother Shen, so I will subsidize him in other ways!"
The old clan chief said, "You're a good child. You can decide what to do yourself!"
After bidding farewell to the old clan chief, Zisu went to find Shen Laihui: "Brother Shen, go to the county town tomorrow and buy some gifts. I have made an appointment with the old clan chief to ask Xiaoshan's mother to propose marriage the day after tomorrow! Remember, the gifts should not be too expensive, twenty taels of silver will be enough! The old clan chief is worried that if they are too expensive, it may affect the atmosphere of Wuliping."
If everyone follows suit in the future, it will be terrible; it will create tragedies for many truly loving young men and women! The old clan chief also said that the betrothal gifts should ideally not exceed one hundred taels. I will go to the capital to procure the betrothal gifts and send them back later! What are your thoughts on the old clan chief's suggestion?”
Shen Laihui: "I think it's a good idea. Listening to the old clan chief is the right thing to do!"
Zisu: "Well, after we're married, you can buy Baizhi anything expensive you want without much hesitation. As for the proposal and betrothal, we'll follow local customs. I'm sorry to trouble you!"
Shen Laihui: "Princess, I am not wronged. Thank you for your hard work!"
Zisu said, "I'm not tired at all. In my heart, you are my own elder brother! Here is a thousand taels of silver for your wedding!" As she spoke, she handed over ten one-hundred-tael silver notes.
Shen Laihui quickly declined, "Princess, there's no need to give me any. I have money! I've saved up quite a bit over the years!" His monthly allowance was as high as thirty taels of silver, which amounted to more than three hundred taels a year. He usually bought snacks for the two young masters, which didn't cost much.
Zisu: "What's yours is yours, and what I'm giving is what I'm giving. This is a token of our affection, from my parents, so please accept it!"
Shen Laihui had no choice but to accept it: "Then thank you, Princess!" In the future, he would serve the Princess even more diligently. Such a good master was probably hard to find another like him in the world.
The next morning, Shen Laihui went to the county town and, according to local custom, prepared several betrothal gifts. Naturally, these were prepared according to the standards of wealthy families in the county town, which was quite generous for the people of Wuliping.
Shui Sheng's family felt extremely proud, and since Bai Zhi was very satisfied with Shen Laihui, Xiao Shan's mother explained her purpose, and Bai Zhi's parents happily agreed.
Shen Laihui was a god-like figure in Wuliping.
His martial arts skills are unfathomable, he has an excellent demeanor, and he's a capable lieutenant under the Princess of Yulin. It's said he's also the commander of the guards in the Protector General's mansion. Moreover, I've heard his monthly salary is very high, several dozen taels a month. Where can you find someone with such conditions? The only drawback is that he's twenty-seven years old, a full eleven years older than Bai Zhi.
But so what? Shen Laihui is an orphan. If she marries him, she won't have to serve her in-laws or worry about the difficulties of mother-in-law/daughter-in-law relationships. Besides, over the years, he has maintained a clean reputation, neither taking concubines nor frequenting brothels nor keeping mistresses (Princess Yulin dislikes concubines and men who frequent brothels). Such a good man has now taken a liking to Bai Zhi; how could Bai Zhi and her family refuse?
The whole family naturally agreed with great joy.
The wedding was set for a month later, on the tenth day of the sixth lunar month. Yu's due date was around the fifteenth of the eighth lunar month.
The marriage was arranged, and the whole of Wuliping was in an uproar. Soon everyone in the village knew that Baizhi was going to marry Shen Laihui, the bodyguard of Princess Yulin.
Bai Zhi dropped out of the academy and stayed home embroidering her dowry. The girls who were close friends in the village came to her door in groups of three or five to talk about Shen Laihui. Their words were full of envy and jealousy.
Bai Zhi felt a sweet warmth in her heart, and she didn't care about those who were clearly jealous of her. So what if they were jealous? Jealousy, so what? Could jealousy steal her fiancé away?
Two days later, Zisu returned to the capital and personally went to a jewelry shop, where she selected a pair of gold clove earrings, a gold peony hairpin, a hair ornament, a pair of silver bracelets, and a bolt of fine satin. Although the items were few, each one was exquisite, costing a total of one hundred and ten taels of silver. She also purchased various pastry gift boxes for her employment, as well as cigarettes, alcohol, tea, and the like. These items cost another ten taels of silver.
Once everything was prepared, Zisu sent a guard on horseback to deliver it to Wuliping.
Shen Laihui was quite satisfied with these gifts.
How could something prepared by the princess herself be bad?
Shen Laihui personally went to the deep mountains again and hunted a pair of geese and a lot of other game. He sent them to Baizhi's house along with the things that Zisu had prepared.
All of this stuff together is worth at least 160 or 170 taels of silver. Not only in Wuliping, but in the entire Zhangshu County, it's probably unique. You know, 100 taels of silver can buy a one-courtyard house in Zhangshu County!
Before long, Shen Laihui's wedding day arrived.
Zisu brought black tea and red leaves to Wuliping to attend Shen Laihui's wedding. Shen Laihui's new house was set up in the master bedroom in the backyard of the thatched cottage in Xiaoshitan, and it was decorated very festively.
Zisu donated a room full of furniture and decorations, all hastily made by carpenters from Wuliping, costing a total of fifty taels of silver. For this wedding, Zisu also gave a red envelope containing two hundred taels as a congratulatory gift.
After the guests left, the bride and groom were busy arranging the wedding gifts in their bridal chamber. Bai Zhi opened the red envelope Zi Su had given her and exclaimed in surprise, "Husband, the princess gave us two hundred taels of silver!"
Shen Laihui was taken aback: "What? It's actually two hundred taels? Didn't the princess already give me a thousand taels before?"
Bai Zhi was deeply moved: "The princess is so good to you. We must treat her even better in the future, otherwise we will feel guilty!"
Shen Laihui: "Yes, the princess said that she considers me her own elder brother in her heart. In the future, we should also treat the princess as our own younger sister, but we must not forget that she is still our mistress. In the future, you must not lose your sense of propriety, and you must not neglect or betray the princess just because she is kind and benevolent!"
Bai Zhi: "I know, I will definitely keep to my duty and will not have any improper thoughts! The princess is such a good person, and her status is so high, I will not forget my duty."
Shen Laihui: "That's good, then I can rest assured!" The reason he agreed to marry Bai Zhi was because she was a sensible girl, literate, and quite beautiful. In the future, as long as Bai Zhi didn't betray Zi Su and remained loyal to her, he would truly love her and grow old with her.
Night deepened, the air was fresh, and in the joyous new house, the bed curtains swayed almost all night. Twenty-seven-year-old Shen Laihui, having tasted the sweetness of love for the first time, was reluctant to let go. If he weren't worried that his wife's body couldn't handle it on her first time, he would have made love until dawn.
Shen Laihui readily agreed, but Bai Zhi had something to say but couldn't.
Sigh, this man is too healthy and has too much energy. It's not a good thing for her on her wedding night!
The morning after Shen Laihui's wedding, Zisu returned to the capital.
Before returning to the capital, she gave Shen Laihui a five-day wedding leave. During these five days, Xiangli and Luo Jianming took Shangguan Yi and Yu Han to and from school.
After getting married, Bai Zhi became a member of Xiao Shi Tan. From then on, she worked with Shen Laihui to take care of Shangguan Yi and Yu Han's daily needs. She received two taels of silver a month, the same as Hong Cha.
Bai Zhi was overjoyed! She never dreamed she could earn such a high monthly salary. You see, at Xiaoshitan, her job was limited to washing and cleaning. Cooking and preparing meals were still done by her sister-in-law, Shui Sheng's sister-in-law.
This time when she returned to the capital, Zisu took six maids with her.
These six maids were for her own use, and also to be taken to her husband's family after her marriage. If nothing unexpected happens, she will become the Princess Consort of Duan, and having too few maids would be beneath the dignity of the royal family.
Of these six maids, three were second-class and three were third-class. The second-class maids were named Green Tea, Green Leaf, and Green Bean; the third-class maids were named Blue Fruit, Blue Leaf, and Blue Grass. Red Bean, Red Tea, and Red Leaf, who were previously mentioned, were naturally first-class head maids.