flstandardbreds Chapter 135 Meixiang's Dowry
Chapter 135 Meixiang's Dowry
Everyone looked towards the person who spoke in surprise, and saw the Third Prince Xia Hongyang kneeling on the ground with his back straight, looking at Emperor Taihe with firm eyes.
Emperor Taihe frowned slightly and said in an unhappy tone: "Alright. Let's leave it at that. You don't have to pretend to be filial in front of me. Your grandmother has already said that even if you agree to this marriage, Anyang will not agree."
Unexpectedly, the Third Prince spoke again: "If I can get the consent of Princess Anyang, can Your Majesty grant me a marriage?"
Emperor Taihe was so angry that he laughed. How could he not know what his third son was planning?
She didn't express her opinion before, but now she is making such a gesture. Isn't it because she sees that he and the Queen Mother have a special attitude towards Anyang, and wants to win their favor by marrying Anyang?
"Okay! As long as Anyang tells me in person, or tells your grandmother, that she wants to marry you, I will grant you the marriage!"
Amid the shock, astonishment, and disbelief of the other princes, the Third Prince kowtowed heavily to Emperor Taihe and said sincerely, "Thank you, Father!"
***
Ever since Yun Hao whispered something ambiguous in her ear that day, Rong Enqing has been waiting for Yun Hao to explain to her.
Unfortunately, no one came after waiting for two days.
It seemed that Nanny Gong and Xiu Zhang did not give him and Jiang any face that day, so Yunhao was not going to say anything to her.
At first, Rong Enqing was a little curious about what Yun Hao would say to her.
But gradually she was no longer so curious because Butler Li had made it very clear that Yun Hong's death was caused by the joint intervention of multiple parties.
Even if Yun Hao wanted to tell her, he probably wouldn't know more than she did.
Putting this matter aside, Rong Enqing turned his attention to Meixiang.
In a few days, Meixiang will marry He Zizhong.
"This, this, and this, find them all for me."
Rong Enqing was flipping through the account books of her private treasury, pointing at several sets of gold and silver head ornaments in the account books and giving instructions to Eryue.
February took the account book and went to the warehouse.
When Eryue came back with a few little maids carrying trays, Xiuzhang and Nanny Gong were both surprised.
Three sets of head ornaments, two sets of pure gold and one set of pure silver.
Both sets of pure gold have ordinary patterns. Although the workmanship is exquisite, there is nothing special about them.
On the contrary, the sterling silver set is the most outstanding, with unique patterns, lifelike flowers, birds, insects and butterflies, and exquisite workmanship.
The total value of these three sets of headgear is more than three hundred taels.
"Madam, these sets of headwear are very valuable. Isn't it inappropriate to give them to a maid?" Madam Gong reminded.
"There's nothing inappropriate about it. Meixiang may have to rely on this dowry to live for the rest of her life. After all, she has been my maid for more than ten years. I can't let her spend the rest of her life in misery."
Rong Enqing's tone was unusually heavy, and he instructed Er Yue, "Take these two sets of gold head ornaments and find a silver shop to melt them down, and then make some new jewelry that Mei Xiang can wear."
"Yes." Er Yue responded cheerfully, "What about this silver set?"
Rong Enqing thought for a moment and said, "Let's keep it. With its workmanship, I can get a lot of money from the pawnshop."
"I would like to thank the Madam for her kindness on behalf of Sister Meixiang!" Er Yue looked at Rong Enqing with emotion.
She never dreamed that Sister Meixiang would not only marry the person she loved, but also receive such a generous dowry from the Madam. In a few years, would she also be like Sister Meixiang, find someone she loved, and receive a large dowry from the Madam?
When February left, Rong Enqing instructed Xiu Zhang again: "Take out another 200 taels of silver notes from my small treasury and give them to Meixiang as a deposit."
After Xiu Zhang replaced Mei Xiang, Rong En Qing handed over all the affairs that originally belonged to Mei Xiang to Xiu Zhang, including her small treasury.
"I obey your command." Xiu Zhang responded respectfully. Her calm face concealed a deep shock.
Xiu Zhang glanced at Madam Gong secretly, and happened to meet Madam Gong's eyes. Both of them had strange looks in their eyes.
Even if a maidservant is favored by her master, it is impossible for her to be rewarded with a dowry of 500 taels all at once!
What does a dowry of five hundred taels of silver mean?
If an ordinary seventh-rank official married off his daughter, he would probably get about this amount.
What's more, Meixiang is just a maid!
Just as the two of them looked at each other and decided to think carefully about Meixiang, Yannian walked in from outside.
"Your servant greets the Madam." Yannian bowed respectfully and then reported: "Butler Li sent someone to deliver some things. He said that the young marquis ordered it before he left this morning."
"Then let's go out and take a look." Rong Enqing stood up and Xiu Zhang hurried forward to support him.
When he went out, he saw a row of large boxes neatly placed in the yard. Ron took a quick look and saw twelve of them.
Seeing her come out, Zishu smiled and came forward to greet her, bowing and saying, "Madam, these are the dowry that the young marquis prepared for Miss Meixiang. Here is the gift list, please take a look, Madam."
Rong Enqing took the gift list, looked at it, and handed it to Madam Gong, "Please help me count it, Madam Gong."
"Yes." Nanny Gong took the gift list with both hands, opened it and took a look, her eyes immediately narrowed into slits.
Twenty ounces of gold, two hundred ounces of silver, two boxes of fine furs, four boxes of various fabrics...
The items on the gift list add up to almost one thousand taels!
Nanny Gong quickly suppressed her surprise and suspicion, calmed down her emotions, and followed Zishu to check the items.
Three days later, Meixiang married He Zizhong in a grand ceremony, bringing with her savings of many years and the dowry prepared for her by the Marquis's Mansion.
At the same time, Emperor Taihe also received news from outside the palace.
Both Nanny Gong and Xiu Zhang became suspicious of Meixiang's dowry, and subsequently launched a series of investigations on Meixiang.
It turned out that Meixiang was just an ordinary maid in the Marquis's mansion. If there was anything special about her, it was that she was more loyal to Rong Enqing than others.
Since there is nothing wrong with Meixiang, then there must be something wrong with the person Meixiang married.
Soon, the two set their sights on He Zizhong, and then discovered that He Zizhong had a private relationship with Li Mao, the old housekeeper of the Hou Mansion.
Li Mao's residence was soon under surveillance.
The real news that prompted Nanny Gong to report to the palace was that Li Mao was actually in private contact with Yun Hao!
Putting all the people together, Emperor Taihe came to the conclusion.
Li Mao was Yun Yi's backup, and this hand reached out to Yun Hao, the second son of the Yun family. And all this happened after Rong Enqing reached out to the palace to ask for someone.
There was also news reported by Nanny Gong before, saying that Yun Hao suddenly mentioned Yun Hong's death, and it was suspected that he had secretly contacted the rebellious forces.
After a secret investigation, it was found that the people Yun Hao had contacted were not strangers who suddenly appeared. If there was anything unusual about his whereabouts, it was that recently, she suddenly became close to his father-in-law, the Minister of Rites Song Chenglin, and would run to Song Chenglin's house from time to time.
Did Yun Hao approach Song Chenglin out of trust after he had contact with Li Mao? Or did Yun Hao actually come into contact with Li Mao through Song Chenglin?
But no matter what, Song Chenglin can't stay.