In fact, even just the house deeds, land titles, and some dividends from the Mu family business left behind by Xu Qinglan were enough to make Shen-shi lose sleep. After Mu Wan got engaged with the Marquis of Zhenbei, Mu Rou’s identity as the future sixth young madam of the Zhongyong Count Manor completely lost its advantage in front of Mu Xingde. Moreover, because of Shen-shi’s previous small tricks in front of First Madam Xie, Mu Xingde directly gave her a strict warning. For two months, not only did he not step into her courtyard, but he also handed over the authority of managing the household to Concubine Bai.
The first thing Concubine Bai did after taking over was to replace the teachers Shen-shi had hired for the concubine-born sons and daughters. After Mu Xingde learned about this, he often tested the shu1 sons himself, as if determined to nurture all the children to become talented.
Since it concerned her son’s inheritance rights, Shen-shi didn’t dare to act recklessly anymore. Perhaps seeing her behave herself, Mu Xingde privately gave Mu Rou some additional money for her dowry.
However, no amount of extra could compare to what Xu Qinglan had left behind. To make matters worse for Shen-shi, both Mu Rou and Mu Wan prepared their dowries at the same time. Shen-shi had to watch every day as Mu Wan’s dowry was moved, box by box, from the Xu Manor, causing her unbearable frustration.
“Why?! A good-for-nothing idiot, why is she marrying better than my daughter? Why does her dowry exceed my daughter’s?!”
Mu Rou picked up the account book Shen-shi had thrown aside and consoled her, “Don’t be angry, Mother. People say blessings in life are finite, and enjoying them early might not be a good thing. As the saying goes, ‘thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river.’ Who can say what the future holds? Do you really think her life after marriage will be better than mine?”
Hearing this, Shen-shi’s anger immediately subsided by half. “Of course! Even a blind person can see that your future will be better.”
Mu Wan and her Rou’er had their engagements set one after the other, but the Li family frequently visited to inquire about Rou’er preferences, saying that it was to better decorate the courtyard the newly-wed couple would use. Li Yichen also sent various trinkets every day—books one day and hairpins the next—finding ways to get anything Rou’er liked.
In contrast, it had been more than two months since the Xie family came proposing, yet aside from a steward occasionally visiting to discuss the details of the wedding ceremony, there hadn’t even been a single message from the Marquis. If not for the lively preparations for the dowry at Wutong Courtyard, one might not even notice that the two families were less than a month away from the wedding.
“But her dowry is at least 400,000 taels!” Shen-shi was still indignant. “Four hundred thousand!” Previously, just knowing that Mu Wan’s dowry was abundant didn’t seem too bad. But now that the items were being displayed in solid gold and silver, it was truly unbearable. Not to mention today’s delivery to Wutong Courtyard of a box of eastern pearls. “My daughter only has two, but she has an entire box!”
Shen-shi’s chest heaved with frustration. “My daughter’s also a legitimate daughter getting married, yet her dowry is only half of that bitch’s daughter. Oh, so she gets to have a grand wedding while my daughter gets laughed at?”
“I don’t know what kind of spell Mu Wan cast on your father. She’s just sending those wealth over to others, yet your father protects her like she’s precious. I think we shall nudge your grandfather—he will certainly take our side.”
After Mu Wan and Mu Rou’s engagements were set, a letter was sent to their grandparents in their hometown. The elderly couple arrived in the capital a few days ago, bringing with them a lot of gifts for celebration.
The previous head of the Mu family valued lineage and had always been dissatisfied with Xu Qinglan divorcing Mu Xingde just because he brought another woman into the house. He extended his resentment to Xu Qinglan’s daughter, Mu Wan, as well. Conversely, because Shen-shi bore a son Mu Zehai, even Mu Rou received her grandfather’s favor.
If the old master knew that Mu Wan’s dowry far exceeded Mu Rou’s, he would surely disapprove.
Unfortunately, Mu Xingde had warned her repeatedly, so Shen-shi dared not take any risks.
But Mu Rou, confident as ever, smiled faintly and said, “Don’t worry. She won’t have her moment of glory, and I won’t be laughed at.”
Hearing this, her mother’s interest was piqued. “Do you have a plan, Rou’er? Tell mother about it.”
Mu Rou chuckled, “What plan could I possibly have? I’ve just heard some rumors that the third miss of the Cheng’en Marquis Manor is furious and plans to make some trouble for during the wedding.”
Shen-shi knew what her daughter meant. After the marriage edict for Mu Wan was announced, she once again became the talk of the town. Back when she was Li Yichen’s fiancée, people already thought she was unworthy; let alone now, as the future Marchioness Zhenbei. After all, the women vying for the position of Xie Heng’s wife had much higher statuses compared to those aiming for Li Yichen.
Moreover, while Mu Wan and Li Yichen’s engagement was arranged in their childhood, Xie Heng was forced into the marriage. Although it was the Empress Dowager who compelled him, how could the Empress Dowager possibly be wrong? If there was any fault, it could only be attributed to Mu Wan. Especially the third young miss of the Cheng’en Marquis family, who was infatuated with the Xie Heng. She loathed Mu Wan to the core and, in her fury, sought every opportunity to trouble her. During the period right after Mu Wan’s engagement was finalized, this Third Miss Wu frequently sent invitations to the women of the Mu family, attempting to provoke Mu Wan. But Mu Wan always used her dowry preparations as an excuse to decline.
Shen-shi remarked, “Even our Mu family suffered quite a bit of collateral trouble. Thanks to Liulang’s mediation, your father’s business wasn’t significantly affected.” She then sneered, “Mu Wan is so domineering at home, unwilling to suffer even the slightest grievance. Yet, even though she loved to go out so much, she was so frightened that she didn’t dare step outside for two whole months.” She sighed with a hint of regret, “It’s also fortunate that this marriage was decreed by the Empress Dowager. Those high-born ladies had to mind their statuses and didn’t go too far. Otherwise, if they had come crashing our gate, who knows how much chaos Mu Wan would have caused?”
Mu Rou smiled, “They had no suitable excuse to come and cause trouble, but on the wedding day, they’ll surely come to celebrate, won’t they?”
In her previous life, Third Miss Jiang had been bullied so much at her own wedding, creating a mockery so widespread that even she, confined within the deep palace, had heard about it. Even though Jiang-shi later became the glorified Marchioness Zhenbei, the scandal of her wedding would follow her for a lifetime.
The animosity Mu Wan had stirred up far surpassed that of Third Miss Jiang. By then, no one would likely pay attention to how much dowry she had.
Shen-shi caught on and immediately felt her mood elated. Right! She didn’t have to do anything; if those noble ladies caused a stir, even Mu Xingde wouldn’t be able to blame her for it.
“As for my dowry…” A proud smile spread across Mu Rou’s face. “Liulang said he would make sure I became the most glorious bride.”
Shen-shi was curious, “What is Liulang planning to do?”
Mu Rou could barely suppress her smile but chose to keep her mother in suspense. “Isn’t the Qixi Festival2 just around the corner?” She then pretended to sigh regretfully, “Without the Marquis accompanying her, my sister probably wouldn’t dare to go out for this year’s Qixi. What a pity.”
Shen-shi’s eyes suddenly lit up. “During lunch today, I’ll seek your grandfather’s advice about arranging guards for the Girls’ Day.”
Mu Rou burst into laughter. “Mother, you’re really…”
Shen-shi felt pleased with her idea. “What’s the use of having a large dowry? The true foundation of a woman’s status lies in her husband’s love.”
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- Dishu System: Children born from the legal wife (or registered under the legal wife’s name) are called di (嫡) children, while children of concubines shu (庶) children. It’s not as simple as di being legitimate with shu being illegitimate, since shu-born children are equally recognized by their paternal clan and recorded in its genealogy. By modern standards, shu children are legitimate enough. It was children born from outside mistresses, whose mothers aren’t officially recognized as concubines, who are considered illegitimate, and when they were being recognized as a shu child, it was a form of legitimization.
- The Qixi festival, celebrated during the seventh day of the seventh month, is known as the lovers’ festival, held in honor of the Cowherd and Weaver Girl in Chinese mythology.
Mu Wan doing her own thing while the mother-daughter pair just can’t leave her alone. Their need to outshine and one up Mu Wan is almost obsessive. They still don’t seem to realize, all that dowry is from her mother. The sorry excuse for a father was seriously equal – he gave both daughters the same amount of money.