Mu Wan couldn’t help interrupting. “How did you know what Madam Xie was thinking?”
Yunling grinned. “Well, this servant can’t be sure what Madam Xie was thinking, but it’s obvious that’s the effect Madam and Second Miss were going for.”
Mu Wan: “…”
‘That’s quite a dramatic performance for a bit of gossip!’
“Anyway,” Yunling continued, “In their mind, Madam Xie must have decided that Second Miss was quick-witted, well-mannered, and full of sisterly love, while you, on the other hand, were supposedly having a clandestine meeting with a man on your proposal day. Even if it was a manager, it was still deemed improper. Just at that moment, the drawing room fell completely silent.” Yunling tapped her teacup against the table for emphasis. “And guess what happened then?”
Mu Wan humored her. “What happened?”
Yunling’s eyes gleamed with excitement. “The Marquis showed up! Apparently, the entire courtyard went dead silent in an instant. No one even dared to breathe. Inside the drawing room, Madam Xie and the others were confused. Second Miss was just about to stand up and check what was going on when—” She paused dramatically, drawing out the suspense, “—the Marquis lifted the curtain and walked in! And Second Miss was so startled she collapsed back into her chair, looking all pitiful, as if trying to grab the Marquis’s attention!”
Mu Wan chuckled in amusement. “What a shame you didn’t pursue a career as a storyteller!”
Yunling ignored her and pressed on, fully immersed in her tale. “But alas, the Marquis saw through her little trick immediately. He frowned and said, ‘This Marquis recalls that the one granted in marriage is Eldest Miss Mu. Who are you?’”
“Madam and Second Miss’s faces turned ashen. Master, who had followed behind the Marquis, didn’t even have time to explain. Seeing how embarrassed Second Miss was, Madam panicked and tried to use you as a shield. She claimed someone had already gone to fetch you, but that you were busy entertaining a shop manager and would be there shortly.”
Yunling burst into laughter, clapping her hands. “What a mess the house became today! The Marquis entered the house without anyone notifying the family members. Madam believed that stupid momo’s slander and, without even clarifying the details, ran headfirst into disaster!”
“The Marquis plainly stated that he was the so-called ‘unknown man’ and that a certain insolent servant had nearly tried to throw him out.”
“Master was on the verge of fainting from shock. Madam Xie was equally taken aback and asked what had happened. The Marquis explained that he had entered through the main gate, happened to run into you, and exchanged a few words. Not only did he overhear a mere servant mocking you, but she even accused you of privately meeting with a strange man. He added that if it hadn’t been him, any other outsider could have freely walked through the front gate and all the way to the women’s area in the inner yard. Then he asked, ‘Is it just Eldest Miss Mu’s courtyard that’s so accessible, or is it the same for all Mu family’s daughters?”
Yunling was nearly doubled over with laughter. “Now it’s Madam’s turn to wish for a hole to crack open and swallow her alive! If it’s just your courtyard, it shows she’s malicious. If it’s all the courtyards, then it shows she’s incompetent at managing the household. Either way, her so-called scholarly upbringing and whatnot had become a total joke!”
Still chuckling, she added, “I bet it was the gatekeepers who let him in, thinking someone would pass along the message. But instead, everyone was too busy watching the drama to bother. What a mess!”
Whatever the reason, it was undoubtedly a result of Shen-shi’s poor management.
“On top of that, a second-class momo dared to slander you, the family’s eldest daughter, on the very day your future husband’s family came to propose, with Second Miss even adding fuel to the fire. It’s clear that both mother and daughter are scheming and malicious. Afterward, Madam Xie didn’t even bother to hide her displeasure and left with the Marquis as soon as the marriage contracts were exchanged.”
“Later, Master flew into a rage and scolded Madam harshly. Both Madam or Second Miss must be too embarrassed to see people for a while,” Yunling said, looking immensely satisfied. “Who would have thought that, despite his cold demeanor and claims that he wouldn’t support you, the Marquis would do this?”
Mu Wan remarked, “He probably did it out of respect for my mother. After all, my mother died for the country.” Though his heart seemed made of stone, at least he had a conscience.
After the Xie family formally proposed, the marriage was set in stone. It was unclear what Xie Heng said to Mu Xingde before leaving, but the latter became energized and began preparing Mu Wan’s dowry with enthusiasm.
However, Shen-shi, likely to prevent Mu Xingde from secretly giving Mu Wan something valuable in private, suggested that Mu Rou’s wedding should also take place this year and proposed preparing everything for both weddings at the same time, ensuring everything was identical.
Mu Wan couldn’t be bothered to deal with her petty schemes. Her dowry had mostly been prepared by Xu Qinglan before her passing, so she only needed to make a few additions. She simply asked Mu Xingde for silver, saying she would handle the rest herself.
Mu Xingde was aware that Xu Qinglan had left capable people to assist Mu Wan. Knowing that they would be more meticulous and reliable than he was, he readily gave her the silver. “If you need anything else, just let me know,” he said.
In fact, he later thought the arrangement was so convenient that he did the same for Shen-shi, allocating silver for her to handle Mu Rou’s dowry. This way, she wouldn’t be constantly scheming against him.
Seeing that the amount of silver given to her was the same as Mu Wan’s, Shen-shi had no room to object.
Yunling, however, suddenly recalled a previous conversation. “Didn’t Madam say that if you married the Zhenbei Marquis, your dowry should be twice that of Second Miss?”
Mu Wan laughed. “Sometimes it’s better to let things go. Let’s just consider it a kindness to my father.”
The truth was, it wasn’t realistic. For wealthy merchant families like theirs, a dowry of 100,000 taels was already considered generous. Mu Xingde, mindful that both daughters were marrying very high, had stretched to 200,000 taels each, nearly depleting the family’s cash reserves. Asking him to produce another 200,000 taels for Mu Wan alone would break the financial chain of their business.
“Besides, I still have my mother’s dowry.”
At this, Yunling suddenly said, “Madam doesn’t know yet that you’re planning to take all of Lady Xu’s assets with you, does she?”
Mu Wan raised a finger to her lips. “Shh. Wealth should never be flaunted. Let’s keep a low profile.”
Shen-shi, like everyone else, had always assumed that after Xu Qinglan’s death, Mu Xingde had taken over the majority of her assets. Most people believed that Mu Wan would only inherit fixed assets like property deeds, land titles, gold, and jewelry, while at least 80-90% of the businesses would fall under Mu Xingde’s control.
After all, what Xu Qinglan left behind was substantial. The fact that Mu Xingde, who thought he would inherit most of it, had been willing to sell Mu Wan into the palace just to secure full control, spoke volumes about the scale and size of Xu Qinglan’s business holdings.
Managing such a huge enterprise was no simple matter. Even Mu Xingde and Xu Qinglan had to toil tirelessly to keep everything running. A young girl like Mu Wan, who appeared to only know how to indulge in leisure and fun, would seemingly have no chance of holding onto it. The most reasonable solution would be to entrust it to her father, who wouldn’t exploit her too harshly.
Moreover, compared to fixed assets like property and land, the true core of wealth lies in businesses. Take the Cangzhen Pavilion, for instance. While the property itself was worth only about 5,000 taels, its annual revenue exceeded 1 million taels. Even after taxes and other expenses, the net profit was at least 300,000 to 400,000 taels annually.
If people knew that her dowry was more than ten times that of Mu Rou’s, who knows how many would lose their composure?
With her wedding taking place in three months, Mu Wan had been busy enough with various preparations and didn’t want to deal with other troubles for the time being.
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Translator’s Note:
The author recently changed the title of this novel. The new title roughly translates to ‘Forced to Marry a Treacherous Official.’ I will keep old title though, since it would be too troublesome to change it now. Oh, and the synopsis has been changed too, perhaps to better reflect the plotlines.
I’ve updated the TOC page with the new synopsis while keeping the old one, enjoy!
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Fufufufufu!!! Love it all. Can’t wait until the mother-daughter pair finds out. All that money actually belongs to Mu Wan.
And the new synopsis is better, it captures the spirit of the novel.
I think so too.
It’s to his credit. After all, although she shouldn’t cut him too much slack until he proves himself diligently, someone treating my mother well would give him a point in my book. While I imagine the author might also be hinting that he is building some respect and consideration subtextually for Mu Wan as well despite himself, I believe that they’re indicating he at least knows to show her mother respect and consideration as well – as he should!