Chapter 417: Chapter 417: Congratulations to My Sister on Her Engagement_1

Wei Ruo and Wei Mingting had a discussion in the study for about half an hour, after which Wei Mingting returned to the backyard to tell Madam Yun about it.

“Did my lord agree?”

“Does madam has any objections?”

“The Zhao family… Zhao Xun’s background is too thin. Though he’s already a scholar, our family has earned merits… Ruo is the eldest legitimate daughter of our family. Is it inappropriate for her to marry someone of a lower social status?”Madam Yun expressed her concerns.

“Zhao Xun is a promising young scholar. Though we’re from a meritorious family, we’ve been on the decline for some time. The difference in social status is not big. It may also be good for Ruo to marry below her status; her future in-laws would think twice before mistreating her with our family in mind. Also, Zhao Xun’s parents have both passed away, so Ruo will not have to serve her in-laws after the marriage.”

“But Wanwan is promised as the concubine to the Sixth Prince. Ruo is her older sister, and if Ruo marries too far below her social status, it might not look good.”

“This is not a problem. The marriage arrangements are decided by the royal family. Are you suggesting Ruo should also marry a prince to surpass Wanwan?”

“That is not what I mean. I think she should at least marry someone from a more prominent family. Moreover, you might not always serve as an official in Taizhou Prefecture, there is a chance you might be promoted to a capital official. If Ruo marries Zhao Xun, I fear we might not have many opportunities to see her again.”

“It’s not necessary to worry about this now. I may not get a promotion, while Zhao Xun might surpass me. We cannot predict the future, we can only do our best in the present.” Wei Mingting said.

Seeing that Wei Mingting’s attitude was decisive, Madam Yun dared not to say any more, despite her disagreements.

Wei Mingting then instructed Madam Yun, “Ruo, as the oldest sister, should be married off before Wanwan. It might get a little tight schedule-wise, so be attentive.”

“I understand.”

“Also, about the dowries for our two daughters. We owe Ruo a lot. Since she did not have the fortune to stay under our care for long, we should try to make up for the lost years by preparing more for her dowry.”

“This…” Madam Yun hesitated.

“What’s the matter? Does Madam think there’s something wrong with what I just said?”

“My lord, Ruo has saved a lot of her own money, her dowry doesn’t need to be prepared by us, it should be quite generous already. However, Wanwan will marry into the royal family in the future, we should prepare more for her.”

“Ruo’s own savings are her own earnings, which have nothing to do with us. We should fulfill our duties as her parents, and can’t shirk our responsibilities just because Ruo’s been capable. As for Wanwan, we should also prepare a generous dowry for her, but it should be slightly less than Ruo’s according to the tradition.” Wei Mingting replied.

Seeing that Madam Yun was still hesitant, Wei Mingting added, “Madam, Ruo is our own daughter. She suffered for thirteen years outside. We can only make limited compensation.”

“I understand… I will arrange it properly…”

Madam Yun reluctantly agreed.

###

When Wei Qingwan found out that her father agreed to Wei Ruo’s marriage to Zhao Xun, she breathed a sigh of relief.

“Miss, in the future, you’ll be a princess, and she’ll be a peasant woman. Your statuses will be as different as chalk and cheese!” Cuihe said excitely to Wei Qingwan.

No matter whether Wei Qingwan will be favored in the Wang residence or not, she will be a concubine with a royal decree. This would place her far above Wei Qingruo.

Marriage is the most important event in a woman’s life. No matter how much grievance and loss Wei Qingwan suffered at the hands of Wei Ruo before, as long as Ruo gets a bad marriage, Qingwan will be able to get her breath back.

Wei Qingwan lifted her head to gaze at her own reflection in the copper mirror.

After a while, Wei Qingwan stood up: “Cuihe, let’s go congratulate my sister.”

With that, Wei Qingwan had Cuihe prepare some gifts and then headed to Tingsong Garden.

Tingsong Garden.

Inside the room, Wei Ruo was currently managing accounts about the expenditures and sales revenue of the relief station.

Although the relief station was not a profit-making project, Wei Ruo still wanted to keep a clear record of every expense.

There was a knock on the door. Xiumei walked over to answer it.

Seeing that it was Wei Qingwan and Cuihe at the door, Xiumei asked expressionlessly, “What can I do for you, second miss?”

“I heard that my sister’s marriage has been settled. I especially came to congratulate her.”

“My lady appreciates your kind thoughts, second miss. My lady is busy right now, I ask you to please leave.” Xiumei responded.

Cuihe raised her voice and shouted into the courtyard, “We’ve brought gifts to congratulate the eldest miss for finding a good husband.”

Wei Ruo, who was doing arithmetic inside, heard the noise and stood up to go out.

Seeing Wei Qingwan standing at the door, Wei Ruo inwardly rolled her eyes:

“Wei Qingwan, you really have a lot of free time, who was it that said we should keep ourselves to ourselves at the relief station last time?”

“Wasn’t that thanks to you, sister? I intended to keep to my own business, but you were the one who didn’t want to, right? Last time, you were the one who brought Madam Yuan and others to the relief station, weren’t you? You deliberately humiliated me in front of the other madams and made my mother reproach me.” Wei Qingwan said coldly.

At the time, she thought she was just unlucky and happened to be caught by others.

It was only after some inquiries that she found out that Wei Qingruo had met with Madam Yuan and others before her that day. After some unknown conversation, Madam Yuan proposed to visit the relief station.

And then, quite unexpectedly, she and Cuihe were seen by Madam Yuan and others.

It was all Wei Qingruo’s scheme, Wei Qingruo was trying to frame her!

If Wei Qingruo was so malicious, how could she swallow the insult and remain unresponsive?

Wei Qingwan continued, “Now you’re talking about keeping to ourselves, but you didn’t seize the opportunity when I gave it to you.”

Wei Qingwan stared at Wei Ruo with a resentful gaze.

Wei Ruo found it extremely boring: “Alright, it’s enough for you to perform in front of others. There’s no need for you to sing a solo at my place, especially when there is no audience.”

“How can I not come when such a big thing as sister’s marriage has happened? I heard that the son of the Zhao family is physically weak. I have especially prepared some tonics to give to sister. After you get married, you need to help your future husband to build up his strength.”

Wei Ruo glanced at the box in Wei Qingwan’s hand: “Really? You, who don’t even have money to buy ointment for your own wounds, what kind of good medicine can you come up with? Don’t put up a false front. I’m annoyed just by looking at it.”

“I don’t need you to worry about the ointment. I have my ways. You should focus on your future life as a peasant woman.”

“This life of a peasant woman is what I pursued. Of course, I have thought through it. Do you think everyone dreams of entering the deep and large royal courtyard like you?”