But before that, of course, the final component of the dowry was indispensable - the Wen family's banquet had just ended at noon when the imperial edict from the palace arrived, bringing additional dowry for Emperor Xuanren and the Empress Dowager.
The empress dowager's makeup was quite standard, including two jade ruyi and a set of twenty-four pieces of jewelry for her head, which were made mainly of rubies. They were very beautiful and luxurious. Just this set of things made countless people envious.
However, everyone's attention was not on this at the moment. They were all attracted by the rewards given by Emperor Xuanren.
What Emperor Xuanren sent was also two parts, but one part was very ostentatious and eye-catching. They were four "trees", two of which some people had seen. They were the gold, silver and gem trees given to Emperor Xuanren by Baoguo on his fiftieth birthday. These two trees were very high in both their own value and artistic value. In fact, there were quite a few people who wanted them, and some even asked Emperor Xuanren for them, but he did not give them to them. Now, he gave them to Xiaocao as a dowry.
This is not all. There are also two red coral trees. The value of coral trees in this era is unquestionable. Even one that is half a person's height is priceless. What's more, these two trees are almost as tall as a person. Both the texture and color are of top quality. The value of these trees probably cannot be determined by specific money.
One can imagine the attention the four "trees" attracted. People gathered around them in three layers, their eyes filled with amazement.
Compared to calculating, the other things seem to be less noticeable, but no one denies their value.
Xiao Cao was holding a box, which was divided into four compartments. In each compartment was a round pearl with a soft and charming luster. The four pearls were very close in size. The key point was that they were the size of a baby's fist. This was worth...
Xiaocao really couldn't estimate it. The more unique and rare something is, the more priceless it is. In her opinion, the value of these four beads far exceeded the four "trees". Fortunately, the imperial edict only mentioned four "Southern Region Pearls". Others didn't know what level they belonged to, so they didn't pay much attention to them. Xiaocao closed the box without leaving a trace.
Ever since her dowry entered the final preparation stage, it has been attracting all kinds of attention, time and time again. It was really too high-profile. Xiaocao did not want to cause a sensation again, and she felt sad for a moment.
The emperor's favor to people other than concubines is probably reflected in two aspects. First, various rewards come with or without reason, and good things are endless. Second, she is an absolute backer when needed, and third, she is particularly indulged.
Emperor Xuanren, the adoptive father, is perfectly embodied in Xiaocao.
Emperor Xuanren only showed partiality occasionally, but there was a limit and he would not go overboard. He would be strict when necessary, even towards Prince Duan, so he was particularly partial to Fan Wuguo and Xiaocao.
It makes people wonder whether he has some purpose, but he has always protected people well.
Han was worried again at the moment. She had reserved three loads, but these three loads were obviously not easy to handle. Finally, she decided to put the beads and the queen mother's together as one load, and divide the four trees into two groups, one for gem trees and one for coral trees. As for the large trees, and two of them together, it was a big problem how to deal with them. However, people had to think of a solution after all.
It hasn't been finished yet. The concubines and other members of the royal family have come one after another to add their dowry. For those with a good relationship, the hostess will deliver it herself, while for the others, basically they will send their capable stewards to deliver it.
For example, the one from Prince Duan's Mansion was delivered by Princess Duan herself. It is worth mentioning that Princess Duan gave birth to her third child in May. She originally wanted a cute little girl, but it turned out to be a bad boy. Princess Duan was not very happy about this. However, many people were so jealous that their eyes turned red and they were sour all day long.
She was jealous of the fact that she had given birth to three boys in a row. Moreover, as a royal woman, she had to fight frequently, especially when it came to giving birth to boys. If she had two, she was very lucky. At other times, she might not be able to conceive, and if she did conceive, she might not be able to give birth to the child, or the child might die at any time. No matter how angry the man was or how few his offspring were, the woman still hoped that her child would be the only one.
The first two children of Princess Duan were almost established, and the third child was also growing up well and strong. Both Emperor Xuanren and the Empress Dowager were very happy in the palace.
This led to a further increase in the wealth of the unmarried sisters from Princess Duan's family.
Princess Duan came with her three little brats. When she saw those things, she couldn't help but tease Xiao Cao. She patted her little brat's butt and said with a smile, "You can kiss your aunt Anguo more and ask her to take care of you more."
Xiaocao was holding the chubby little baby in her arms. The little guy was not shy. He was over four months old and kept babbling. His little arms and legs were very energetic.
All the people who came to pick up the dowry from the Pingyang Marquis's mansion have arrived, and the royal family's wave of adding dowry has not yet ended. But it doesn't matter, there will be people adding dowry tomorrow, and there is no need to pretend to take these things with him.
"The Prince of Pingyang is really anxious. He sent people here so early." Someone joked.
"It's only right to be early. After all, there are so many things to do. If we are late, we will have to wait till when."
"That's right."
The person coming from the Pingyang Marquis' Mansion was also quite important. Even so, my heart still beat fast when I took over the heavy gift list. Although I knew it would be a lot, it was unexpected that it was this much.
Moreover, looking at those valuable things, my eyelids began to twitch. If one or two of them were accidentally bumped into, it would be simply... I turned around and told people to be very careful and to be extra cautious.
Obviously, the Wen family was also prepared. In addition to the people responsible for carrying the dowry, hundreds of black-armored guards were also brought over. After changing into armor, they will be responsible for "escorting". However, this is by no means a small project. Some of the dowry can be carried by two people, but some may even require eight people.
As the names were called, the first load was the coral tree carrying the "Landing Jiao", followed by the gem tree, then the southern pearls, jade ruyi, and ruby head ornaments, then the bricks and tiles grouped together to represent real estate, and then the two thousand-work beds... One by one, they moved forward and left the gate of the Wenren family.
Many guests of the Wen family were watching. After all, there were too many things. At first, they could only look at them from the outside. Now, they were lifting them up one by one. Whether they were jealous or not, they put aside for the time being and just enjoyed their eyes first. For some of them, these things might be the only chance they had to see in their lifetime. Not to mention, when they left the imperial city one day, they would be able to talk about them for a long time.
Of course, they were not the only ones watching, there were many more outside.
For ordinary people, it is a great pleasure to watch the dowry of wealthy families. Even if they cannot touch any of it, it is still very happy to just watch. What's more, in recent times, it has been very lively with people coming in and out of the family. It is difficult not to be noticed.
After seeing so much, my "eyesight" seems to have improved a lot. When I saw the first few piles, I gasped. Such valuable things should definitely occupy one pile each, but they are actually "crowded together". I don't know whether to say that there are too many things and they have to do this, or that they look "cheap" and are crowded together, and the taste seems a bit low.
And on this bed, shouldn't there be a set of things like the wedding quilt? Why is there so much stuff on this bed? It takes up most of the space inside the bed. Even with eight people carrying it, it still feels heavy.
After all, only a few people can actually see the real thing.
Apart from the fact that the beginning was a little different, what these onlookers were most interested in was counting the number of lifts.
Not only are there a lot of things at the beginning, but also every time something is lifted afterwards, whether you can see the thing or not, you can tell from the expressions of the people lifting the things that they are all solid and not a single lift is fake.
"It feels like the box is about to burst. Why not separate it into two pieces? The same goes for the first few treasure trees. It's really strange."
When I counted to one hundred and twenty-eight, I saw that there was more after that. I didn't think it was strange, because she was Princess Anguo, so she still had some respect. But when I counted to two hundred and fifty-six, I saw that there was more after that. I unconsciously asked the people next to me how many I had counted to. I suspected that I had counted wrong, but the answer was the same for everyone, so I was a little confused.
When the number exceeded three hundred and two, and things were still being carried out continuously, I was so shocked that I was speechless.
I even wonder if this is the end.
Until the 384th load was carried, there was no more, and many people breathed a sigh of relief.
"I probably know why many things are not packed separately. It's because there are too many things. If they were packed separately, I'm afraid it would take thousands of loads to carry them."
Someone murmured, and the people around looked at each other. Oh, come to think of it, it is really true, incredible!