Although Jiang Changning's 358 loads of dowry were much more valuable than Park's, there were indeed two loads less in number, so it was not more than Park's, which was acceptable in terms of etiquette.
But Jiang Nan overlooked one thing. The number of her concubines exceeded that of Qiao. Originally, Park's concubines had more concubines than her, and now a concubine had also exceeded her.
After hearing the maid's report, Mrs. Qiao was so angry that she pounded the table and cursed, "You are a nouveau riche, and you stink of money."
On the afternoon of the fifth day, the dowry was carried into the west courtyard, filling the main house, east and west wing rooms.
After Jiang Changning gets married, we will slowly put things in order.
Fangju and several maids who brought the dowry lived in the corner room, guarding the pile of boxes.
In the evening, the King of Jin came over, looked at the courtyard decorated with lanterns, and nodded with satisfaction, "Tell them to be careful with the candles."
Tomorrow is his big day and he doesn't want anything to go wrong.
After visiting the main courtyard, the backyard, and the east wing, Prince Jin walked to the west wing and asked, "Are you the people who serve the county lady?"
"Yes." Fangju replied with her head down.
"Your servant Lu greets the prince." The maid standing behind Fangju took two steps forward and saluted to Prince Jin in an alluring manner.
Fangju looked up at her, her eyes as sharp as a knife, as if she wanted to kill the egret with her eyes.
She never thought that Lu Xi had a crush on Prince Jin! She even seduced the prince at this moment. How would the prince view his own daughter
As Fangju was worried, the Prince of Jin said, "Tell Youzhong what the county lady likes to eat and have someone prepare it first. Don't let the county lady go hungry."
After saying this, without even glancing at the egret, he turned around and left with Cao Jiang.
There is no way that Prince Jin would pay any attention to Lu. Even if tomorrow is not his wedding day, he would not sleep with a maid casually. He is not a lecher.
"Your Highness." The heron shouted without giving up.
"Youzhong, please help deal with some unruly things." Prince Jin said coldly.
"Yes, Your Majesty." Chang Youzhong replied.
The King of Jin said again: "I will get married tomorrow, please don't see any blood, but everything else is up to you."
The egret's legs went limp and he fell to the ground, his face pale.
Chang Youzhong bowed to Fangju and asked with a smile, "What's your name, young lady?"
"Hello, eunuch. My name is Fangju, and I serve the county lord. This Lu was only called up to help count the dowry. She does not serve the county lord normally." Fangju seized the opportunity to explain. She could not let the prince misunderstand that her daughter was not decent.
"Miss Fangju, you heard the prince's instructions just now. This slave girl doesn't follow the rules. How do you think we should deal with her?"
"Sister Fangju, I know I was wrong. Please forgive me this time." Lu knew this was her last chance.
Fang Ju took a step to the side to avoid her grabbing hand, "Eunuch, how do you deal with people like this who betray their master?"
"Okay, then I will take over your duties for once. When I go to the princess, I will ask Miss Fangju to help say a few good words for her."
Fang Ju smiled and said, "Young lady is the most sensible person. She will only thank the eunuch with a generous gift and will not blame him."
Chang Youzhong had to do his job with or without this sentence, but with this sentence, he was happier, "Someone, drag this bitch away."
“No, no, Sister Fangju, help me, Grandpa, please spare me… Mmmm…” The heron had her mouth covered and was dragged away.
"Miss Fangju, my family has to go to work. You should go to bed early. You will be busy tomorrow." Chang Youzhong said with a smile.
"Thank you for your hard work, father-in-law." Fangju knelt down and saluted.
After Chang Youzhong and his men left, Fang Ju turned around and looked at the other four maids. "It seems that Xiulan is too lenient to you, allowing you to have other thoughts. Good, that's good."
The four maids were so scared that they all knelt down. One of them, who was a bit braver, said, "Sister Fangju, we would never dare to have such bad thoughts. Lu Xi had such thoughts because she was instigated by someone."
"Who is it?" Fangju asked in a deep voice.
"Mrs. Qin is the maid the old lady asked to serve the young lady."
"When did Lu meet that old lady Qin?"
"Just a few days ago, Lu went to the back alley to buy silk thread and met Granny Qin. They talked for a long time."
Fang Ju asked unhappily, "Why didn't you report this?"
"I thought they were just chatting and didn't take it too seriously."
"Forget it, let's fetch some water, wash up and go to bed. We have to get up early tomorrow." Fang Ju knew that now was not the time to worry about this matter, and she would wait until the girl got married.
At Jiang's residence, Duke Xinjian and Princess Jiashan have already arrived.
Jiang Changning had ordered his servants to clean up the yard for the two of them to live in.
As soon as you enter the door, you can smell a faint fruity aroma, and light smoke is rising from the jade carved incense burner.
The furnishings in the house are also elegant and exquisite. There are landscape paintings hanging on the walls and ornaments made of various materials placed on the treasure chests.
In the corner, there was a half-person-high copper-plated charcoal stove, which made the house as warm as spring.
The Duke of Xinjian went straight to the landscape painting and said, "This painting by Li Gongxianxi has a magnificent atmosphere, clear mist and forest, and the brushstrokes are sharp and the ink is fine. This is a rare and fine painting."
"Keep it if you like it." Princess Jiashan said with a smile.
“This is someone else’s stuff.”
"Everyone in Beijing knows that you like Li Xianxi's paintings. That girl hung this painting here just to give it to you."
The Duke of Xinjian raised his eyebrows, "So, this painting is a thank-you gift from that girl to us."
"Although this girl is young, she is very smart. I did this for Yu's sake before. Now, even if it's not for Yu, I am willing to give this child some respect."
Princess Jiashan touched the jade box in her arms and said, "It's worth it for me to give this treasure to her."
"I like this thank-you gift, but I don't want you to like it. Are you willing to give the treasure to her?" asked the Duke of Xinjian with a smile.
"The thank-you gift I give you won't be any worse than yours." Princess Jiashan smiled, "Boy Yu and girl Ning are both smart people."
"Putting two smart people together, the plan of the man in the palace is likely to fail." The Duke of Xinjian said with a smile.
Princess Jiashan snorted coldly, "That self-righteous, smart-aleck woman."
The Duke of Xinjian smiled and said, "Okay, it's time for you to go over."
"You don't want me to disturb you from looking at the paintings, right? Okay, I'll go find that girl." The eldest princess of Jiashan held the jade box and went to the courtyard where Jiang Changning lived.
At this time, Jiang Changning was taking a bath with medicinal plum stamens. The stamens had no medicinal smell, but a faint fragrance.
After bathing, Jiang Changning changed into a brand new undergarment embroidered with mandarin ducks playing in the water, put on a red middle shirt, wrapped himself in a cotton cloak, and left the bathroom.
"Miss, the Grand Princess is in the warm room." Su Fei reported in a low voice.
Jiang Changning raised her eyebrows. Princess Jiashan was really responsible and came to give her premarital education.
Seeing Jiang Changning with her bare face, Princess Jiashan smiled and praised: "What a pretty lady, as beautiful as a lotus in clear water."
"Thank you, Princess Grand Princess, for your compliment." Jiang Changning bent his knees slightly.
"Come here, child. You are getting married tomorrow. There are some things I need to talk to you about."
(End of this chapter)