Mu Wan parted the decorative curtains and entered the room, beaming with a smile, “Discussing the dowry for Second Sister?”
The room fell silent. Shen-shi was the first to recover, hurriedly greeting, “Eldest girl, you are here? Come in now, have a seat.”
Mu Wan looked at Mu Rou, who was leaning against the couch, and smiled, “My sister is injured, so I came to visit her. I didn’t expect there to be guests.”
The messenger sent by the Li family was an elegant servant girl. At Mu Wan’s arrival, she straightened up and offered a polite curtsy, saying, “Greetings, Eldest Miss Mu.”
Mu Wan casually waved her hand, not even glancing at the servant girl, and instead spoke to Mu Xingde, “I just heard Father and Madam talking about Second Sister’s dowry. Shall we procure some items from the north? Second Sister is going to marry into the Zhongyong Count Manor, so the dowry she brings must be grand enough to show. Rest assured, our Shunfeng Escort Agency is fast and dependable.”
Mu Xingde felt his teeth ache. Ever since Mu Wan bared her fangs at him, she didn’t hide her skills anymore and showed him how the Shunfeng Escort Agency was organized. After seeing it, Mu Xingde immediately abandoned the idea of taking over the agency. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to; rather, Mu Wan’s clever structuring meant he would have to bribe over twenty managers to achieve his goal. And even then, if Mu Wan replaced just one manager, all his efforts would be wasted. It was clear that taking over the Shunfeng Escort Agency without Mu Wan’s consent was downright impossible.
At the same time, Mu Wan also handed him a renewed contract that slightly lowered the supply transportation costs compared to when Xu Qinglan was in charge. This new contract made it more practical and cost-effective to maintain the current partnership rather than take over the agency, so Mu Xingde immediately agreed.
He finally understood that Mu Wan’s business acumen might be far superior to both Xu Qinglan and his own. Thinking back to how he had not only spent nearly ten days exhausting himself but also lost twenty thousand silver to buy back the deeds for the Cangzhen Pavilion, Mu Xingde felt a sting. This pain was especially sharp when he remembered that all of this trouble had been caused by Shen-shi’s carelessness.
So, facing Mu Wan’s smile now, he didn’t dare to dismiss it lightly and quickly responded, “That’s a good idea. Let’s write to Manager Zhao to arrange some quality leather and gems, double portions—one for you and one for your second sister.”
Shen-shi frowned. However, as she looked over at the Li family’s servant girl, her confidence quickly returned. “Leather and gems are simple enough to handle, but this hot spring estate…”
Mu Xingde looked at her and said coolly, “If you can find one for sale, buy it. Money is no issue.” He then reassured Mu Wan, “Whatever the dowry costs for Rou’er, I will give the same to you. The dowries for you sisters will be the same—Father will not favor one over another.”
At this, Shen-shi’s face changed slightly; she did not expect that after bringing up the Zhongyong Count Manor, Mu Xingde would still favor Mu Wan so openly. Not only did he deny Rou’er the hot spring estate, but he even insisted on equal dowries!
Rou’er would be a daughter-in-law of the Zhongyong Count Manor, whereas Mu Wan, with her tarnished reputation, who could she marry? Why should their dowries be equal—no, it was never equal from begin with, because Mu Wan also had Xu Qinglan’s inheritance. If Mu Xingde gives them both the same amount, overall, Mu Wan’s dowry would be much more!
The more Shen-shi thought about it, the more upset she became. She was about to speak up and stop it when Mu Rou’s gentle laugh interrupted, “That sounds right. Last time, Eldest Sister mentioned she wanted to marry into a family more powerful than Liulang’s. Have you found one yet?”
Shen-shi also recalled Mu Wan’s bold words, saying Rou’er might not necessarily marry Li Yichen, and that she must marry a husband more powerful than Rou’er’s. This sparked an idea, and adopting her ‘virtuous wife and mother’ demeanor, Shen-shi gently spoke to Mu Xingde, “Actually, it doesn’t have to be exactly the same. A dowry lays the foundation for a girl in her husband’s family and represents the honor of our Mu family. If Eldest Girl marries into a family more prestigious than the Zhongyong Count Manor, her dowry should indeed be richer than Rou’er’s.”
Naturally, the reverse is also true! The dowry should reflect the status of the family a girl marries into; the higher their standing, the more generous her dowry should be!
Then, as if recalling something, Shen-shi casually mentioned, “Could Eldest Girl be referring to Marquis Zhenbei?” Her face brightened with excitement, “That explains it! The last time the marquis supported you, he undoubtedly showed you a special favor.”
“If your match is Marquis Zhenbei, then Eldest Girl’s dowry naturally should be richer than Rou’er’s. Even doubling it isn’t excessive at all.”
“Pfft!!” A stifled laughter suddenly came from the side—from the Li family’s servant girl.
Mu Wan looked disapprovingly at Shen-shi, “Madam, please be careful of your words. Look, even the Li family’s servant is laughing at you.”
The servant girl’s face turned pale with fear, but Mu Wan continued, not even glancing her way, “Madam hails from a scholarly family; she should understand the principle of a suitable match. Unless I’m seen completely by Marquis Zhenbei like my second sister, how could I possibly marry someone of his status?”
“…” Shen-shi’s virtuous smile disappeared, replaced by a silent look of fury. ‘What do you mean by seen completely?!’
Mu Wan then turned to Mu Rou, noticing the similarly vanished smile on her face, “Right, Second Sister?”
The Li family’s servant girl hastily corrected herself, “No, no, it was all an accident. It was mostly because our young master cares so much about Second Miss Mu, he was in such a rush that he arrived at the scene before anyone else.”
Mu Wan nodded, “True, Li Liulang acts impulsively when it comes to love, but Marquis Zhenbei is a gentleman of integrity. Back then he helped me, a stranger, likely out of disapproval when seeing an innocent girl being plotted against.”
“If he intends to marry someone, I believe he would do so openly and honorably, without causing any messy accidents that would draw gossip to his fiancée,” she said, staring directly at the servant girl. “Don’t you agree?”
“…” The servant girl was left speechless. ‘I was only poking fun at her presumptuousness, but why are the insults now directed at Young Master and Second Miss Mu?’
Mu Xingde, watching the paled servant girl and the stunned Shen-shi and Mu Rou, sighed inwardly. ‘See? Why did you have to provoke her?’
Still, this servant girl was a messenger sent by Li Yichen, and she represented the Zhongyong Count Manor. Not wanting Mu Rou and Shen-shi to be embarrassed further, Mu Xingde was just about to say something to smooth things over when the Mu family’s chief steward, a man called Uncle Cai, ran in breathlessly, “Master, Madam, it’s a big deal! There’s an envoy from the palace…!”
“What?!”
Everyone stood up in unison. Mu Xingde quickly walked out, “What’s going on?”
Uncle Cai, with a face mixed with anxiety and excitement, announced, “The palace sent an envoy with an imperial edict of marriage grant!”
Shen-shi’s face lit up with joy, “It must be Liulang!” She turned to her daughter, “Liulang works close to the emperor and must have spoken to His Majesty directly. What an honor!” She then shot a meaningful look at Mu Wan, “Now, let’s see who still dares to spread nasty rumors!”
Mu Rou couldn’t hide her excitement either. She quickly straightened her dress and gestured for Mu Wan to lead the way with feigned modesty, “Eldest Sister, after you.”
Mu Xingde had already run out, and Shen-shi, holding onto Mu Rou, said, “Oh, I know you’re being modest, but this imperial edict is for you. For what reason should your sister go first? We can’t have the palace think she is ill-mannered.”
With that, she hurriedly pulled her daughter towards the front yard.
Yunling, feeling indignant, muttered to Mu Wan, “What’s going on? Is the palace granting marriages so casually?”
Mu Wan also found it strange. Li Yichen was just one of the many nephews of a newly-minted count. His own position in the court wasn’t significant, nor was his engagement with Mu Rou could be considered honorable. The palace usually looked down on this kind of affairs, so why would they support him? But the current emperor and the empress dowager had done many absurd things, so Mu Wan didn’t think much of it, merely instructing, “Don’t speak carelessly.”
Yunling pouted, “So do we have to go?”
“Of course,” Mu Wan nodded. “Who receives an imperial edict without the whole family turning out?”
No matter how absurd the current court, a mere merchant daughter like her still had to treat them with complete deference.
…
When Mu Wan and Yunling arrived at the front yard, Mu Xingde was already kneeling excitedly in front of the eunuch who was holding the imperial edict. Shen-shi also excitedly took Mu Rou over. The family’s shu sons and shu daughters were also notified and came over. Mu Wan was about to kneel quietly behind them, but Shen-shi waved at her, “Eldest Girl, you are the eldest di daughter of the family, come here.”
But she was pointing at the position behind Mu Rou.
Under normal circumstances, Mu Wan would indeed kneel behind Mu Rou, the recipient of the edict, but Shen-shi’s plain provocative behavior was irritating.
‘Does she think she can intimidate me in front of the palace eunuch?’ Mu Wan thought, choosing to disregard the provocation. If Shen-shi was bold enough to stir up trouble even on such an occasion, then so be it. Any fallout from this would affect Mu Rou, not her.
But when Mu Wan was about to kneel, the eunuch looked at her and asked amiably, “Is this Eldest Miss Mu?”
Everyone was stunned for a moment, and although Mu Wan didn’t know what was happening, she made a curtsy and graciously responded, “Yes, sir.”
The eunuch said with a smile, “Why kneel so far away? You should receive the edict.”
Everyone was dumbfounded, and Shen-shi blurted out, “Isn’t the edict for our second girl?”
The eunuch cast her a disdainful glance and sneered, “Isn’t the Mu family’s second young lady already engaged because of an… incident? What edict could you possibly mean?” His tone dripped with mockery, as if to say, “Since when does such a disgraceful matter deserve the honor of a marriage grant?”
Shen-shi and Mu Rou turned pale in an instant.
Mu Xingde could no longer care about them, and as he beckoned Mu Wan forward, he slipped the eunuch a large purse, “Then this marriage is…”
The eunuch, accepting the purse, smiled warmly, “Naturally, it’s granted to your eldest daughter. Rest assured, it’s a great fortune.”
“Eldest Miss Mu, come forward to receive the edict.”
Not to mention everyone else, even Mu Wan herself was baffled. How did she, a merchant’s daughter recently called off from engagement, be granted such an ‘honor’ by the palace? Who was she to be married to?
The only person she had offended recently was the State Uncle, Lord Wu. But no, Lord Wu already had a legal wife, and taking a concubine wouldn’t warrant an imperial edict. But again, Empress Dowager Wu was willful and liked to act on whims, so it wasn’t entirely impossible…
As the eunuch recited the usual praises of her virtue and dignity, Mu Wan was silently plotting to get rid of Lord Wu. But then, the shrill voice rang out, “…specially granted in marriage to Marquis of Zhenbei, Xie Heng, to be wed in three months…”
Mu Wan’s mind went blank in shock. ‘Who’s being married off to whom?!’
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🤣
Ahahahaha
O.o hehe. This will be good.
Awesome!
She can hide, but she can’t run