Ying Tongzhi acted as if he would not help either side, so Ge Xiaomao's classmates could only stare at Sheng's mother unhappily, unable to refute, not only for Ying Tongzhi's face, but also to avoid escalating the dispute.
Lu Lin coughed lightly and said, "It's getting late, so let's skip the formalities. Since Mr. Ying has arrived, I think the wedding can continue. Let the two newlyweds enter the bridal chamber quickly."
Ying Tongzhi nodded and was about to speak, but Sheng's mother shouted, "Wait!"
Everyone looked at Sheng's mother in surprise.
Mother Sheng glanced at the Ge family, smiled contemptuously, and said, "When we were discussing the marriage, the Ge family said that they could invite Fang Xusheng to come, so we waived the Ge family's betrothal gift and only asked for some ordinary gold and jade jewelry, which were finally left to Xiaorong. However, everyone has seen that Fang Xusheng is not here today, so your Ge family's betrothal gift will have to be changed."
"How to change?" Ge Xiaomao glared at Sheng's mother.
Mother Sheng smiled and said, "Our Xiaorong is not a master of music, chess, calligraphy and painting, but she is proficient in everything. She is also beautiful, and even a famous family came to propose marriage. The highest price offered by the proposer was three thousand taels of silver plus a large house with three entrances and three exits and three shops. Your Ge family should also offer the same. We will not leave these gifts to the young couple."
"You..." Ge Xiaomao almost burst into curse.
Customs vary from place to place. Some families will leave all the betrothal gifts and dowries to the newlyweds, while others will only leave the dowry and the woman's family will take all the betrothal gifts.
The Ge family members clenched their fists tightly, and many of them were eager to take action.
Mother Sheng continued, "Since Fang Xusheng is not here, our Sheng family's dowry will also be reduced. We can save on shops and other things, leaving only two hundred taels of silver. After all, my youngest son is going to get married, and we need to prepare a dowry for him."
After hearing this, everyone finally understood that the reason why Sheng's mother had been making a fuss was because of money.
If Fang Xusheng were here, the Sheng family would naturally benefit, and it wouldn't matter if they had more silver, money, and shops as dowry. But if Fang Xusheng wasn't here, the Ge family wasn't worth so much dowry from the Sheng family, so they took the opportunity to make trouble, asking for more betrothal gifts and less dowry. They didn't care about their daughter's life or death at all, they just cared about the youngest son in the family.
Under the candlelight, the bride lowered her head and tears flowed down her face.
Without waiting for the Ge family to answer, Sheng's mother said in a difficult tone: "If you really can't prepare the betrothal gifts, I don't know how to proceed with today's wedding."
Even several members of the Sheng family were stunned. Mother Sheng was relying on her own family's power to blackmail the Ge family.
If the Sheng family had regretted the engagement before, it would have been their fault. But if the Ge family could not come up with the due gift at the wedding banquet now, the Ge family would certainly be considered as being unable to afford a wife. As for Sheng Rong's future reputation, Sheng's mother no longer cared.
"Brother, do you think this is true?"
The head of the Xie family smiled slightly and said, "My sister's words are rough but true. Xiaorong grew up under my care, so such a small betrothal gift is too shabby. He'an is already fourteen and will be able to get married soon, so the betrothal gift should be more generous, so that he will not be looked down upon by his in-laws."
A young man in the Sheng family crowd smiled and said, "Thank you, mother and uncle."
Xie Zhiwen glared at his cousin fiercely, and Sheng Hean was so scared that he hid behind the adults.
Lu Lin and the others were so angry that their hands were shaking. If it was just three thousand taels of silver, everyone could get it together, but adding a large house and three shops was completely beyond the limit of the people present. Liang Yuan was the richest among all the people, but he couldn't afford a large house and three shops.
Ge Xiaomao gritted his teeth and clenched his fists, wishing he could cancel the engagement. However, Sheng Rong was innocent and he couldn't do that. If he canceled the engagement, the Sheng family would definitely sell Sheng Rong to a wealthy family as a concubine, because a wealthy family would not marry Sheng Rong as their principal wife.
Lu Lin said angrily, "You all know about the battle between Fang Yun and Jiao Sheng Palace! Now that he has just become the Lord of Changjiang, he naturally cannot come. Liang Yuan can come, which means that the Fang family has not forgotten Ge Xiaomao! Madam Sheng, you did such a ruthless thing, aren't you afraid of retribution in the future?"
Mother Sheng laughed and said, "Don't use Fang Xusheng's name to scare honest people like us. There are so many people in the Fang family in Ji County, and many of them have gotten married in recent years. Did Fang Xusheng go? Fang Xusheng didn't go, but he also wrote a poem "Taoyao" in his own handwriting to congratulate and sent it before the wedding. What gift did your Ge family receive from Fang Xusheng now? Is there a penny or a word?"
The Ge family was silent, even Ge Xiaomao's classmates were speechless.
Ying Tongzhi showed a look of realization and smiled.
Patriarch Xie sighed and said, "Everyone, you all think that my sister is being aggressive. In fact, it is the Ge family who is using Fang Xusheng's name to deceive the Sheng family! The Sheng family did not turn hostile immediately, but only asked for the betrothal gift, which is already worthy of the Ge family!"
"You..." Ge Xiaomao's father was so angry that his body swayed and was quickly supported by the Ge family.
"Dad!" Ge Xiaomao hurried to his father.
Father Ge's chest heaved, his face looked sad. He looked at Ge Xiaomao and said with gritted teeth: "This Sheng family is too much! Too much..." As he spoke, turbid tears slowly flowed down.
"Dad..." Ge Xiaomao gritted his teeth and told himself in his heart that he must not let the Sheng family see his tears.
Mother Sheng smiled and said, "My dear relatives, if you are not feeling well, drink more soup to nourish yourself. Xiao Mao, let's talk business. You have so many relatives and friends in the Ge family, and you have so many classmates. You will not be unable to afford the betrothal gifts, and you can borrow them. We knew that you liked Xiao Rong. Do you want to see Xiao Rong walk out of this house at the wedding banquet? If you don't marry her, her reputation will be ruined in the future! Xiao Mao..."
At this moment, a gentle and kind voice came from outside the door.
"I will pay for Xiao Mao's betrothal gift. From now on, the Sheng family and the Ge family will have nothing to do with each other."
Mother Sheng laughed loudly, turned her head and looked at the gate, and said, "Great! I said that you, the Ge family, were hiding something, and now it's exposed! As long as there is a gift, everything will be fine..."
When the voice came, Ge Xiaomao, Lu Lin and all the classmates who had come into contact with Fang Yun looked outside the door with an expression of disbelief.
When he saw the familiar yet unfamiliar figure outside the door, Ge Xiaomao burst into tears, blurring the world in front of him.
The groom, who had not shed a tear at all when being humiliated by Sheng's mother at the wedding, now burst into tears.
Those members of the Ge family who had often seen Fang Yun in those days looked at the newcomer, and like Ge Xiaomao, they couldn't stop crying.
Lu Lin and others' eyes turned red, and then they were overjoyed.
Many people were not familiar with the voice, but after seeing the reactions of Ge Xiaomao and others, they instantly understood who was coming.
There is only one person in the world.
The moment Mother Sheng saw the blue dress clearly, she was stunned.
The man was stepping into the door, but at this moment, everyone felt that the door frame was so small, because the man could almost burst the door frame; but they also felt that the door frame was extremely huge, because if it could accommodate even this man, then this door frame could easily accommodate a mountain.
The man was obviously just a young man, but everyone felt as if he had walked out of another world. The whole world seemed to be under his feet, and all living things could only look up to his figure.
.