Chapter 63

Chapter 63

Although Shen Qinglan had long known that his mother would surely prepare a substantial dowry for him, and that his elder sister and second brother's wedding gifts would not be few, he was still taken aback by the sheer amount.

But upon careful reflection afterward, Shen Qinglan no longer found it surprising.

After all, his mother came from a merchant family in Jiangnan, and he, his elder sister, and second brother had all inherited her business acumen.

The four of them might not excel at much else, but when it came to amassing wealth and managing household affairs, each was a real pro!

Once Shen Qinglan had sorted through his long list of dowry items.

Time finally arrived on the day of the wedding procession.

On the Han family's side, funds were limited, so while they couldn't arrange a grand and extravagant wedding, they did their utmost to show the Shen family that they valued the match.

Not only did they renovate the house, but they also hired an eight-man sedan chair and a professional honor guard.

These things sounded simple, but the expenses were truly considerable.

Additionally, there were the banquet, red silk decorations, and a whole series of other costs—in short, without Han Zhang paying out of his own pocket, the Han family would never have been able to afford this wedding.

After all, a typical village wedding cost only a few taels of silver, and even the cheapest sedan chair was out of the question.

No matter the era, the gap between the rich and the poor was something ordinary people can't even imagine.

As for the guest list, it was relatively simple.

Han Zhang was currently only a minor Xiucai and had hardly any connections. Aside from the relatives and villagers, the only people he could invite were the academy's teacher and his fellow students—no important figures to entertain.

Everything was ready.

On the night before the wedding procession, the usually composed Han Zhang found himself strangely jittery and on edge.

After all, though he had many past lives and was not young, this was his first time getting married.

Initially, his approach to Shen Qinglan had been purely about being a kept man—he had treated marrying him like a business project.

For Han Zhang, who had once handled countless business projects, this was far too easy.

But when he truly fell for Shen Qinglan, when that little drama queen entered his heart, all his rationality and ease went up in smoke.

That old saying was true: love brings worry, love brings fear.

Han Zhang worried that after marriage, if he accidentally revealed his true nature, and Qinglan learned that he was not as honorable and upright as he appeared, not the gentleman Qinglan believed him to be—that he was in fact despicable, cunning, and ruthless—what would happen?

He also worried that when the passion of infatuation faded, when the filters he'd so carefully set up vanished, and Qinglan discovered that he was not as perfect as he'd thought—would his affection wane?

He worried even more... that he might fail to make Qinglan happy in the future, or that he might fall out of love and cause Qinglan sorrow.

But no matter how many worries, uncertainties, and fears there were, they all faded away when the image of the young lad's radiant smile surfaced in his mind...

"Oh, forget it. He smiles so beautifully—how could I bear to make him cry?"

Han Zhang chuckled and shook his head, scattering all the distracting thoughts from his mind, leaving only the anticipation of soon marrying the one he loved.

...

Meanwhile.

Shen Qinglan also couldn't sleep on the night before his own wedding, his heart filled with both anticipation and melancholy.

He looked forward to a happy life with his beloved after marriage, yet felt sad about leaving the home he had lived in for over a decade, leaving his beloved mother and brother.

He couldn't bear to part with his mother, nor with his second brother.

But then he recalled that Han Zhang had said that after marriage, they would not live in the village—Brother Han would use studying as an excuse to take him to live in a house near the academy, and he could go back to his family home whenever he wished. That thought immediately lifted his spirits.

"After we marry, I must supervise Brother Han in studying diligently, striving to pass the imperial examinations and become a High Official, and live in a mansion on Imperial Street. Then I'll bring mother over, and let her show off a little..."

Lost in dreams of a beautiful future, Shen Qinglan didn't fall asleep until late at night.

The next morning, when he was woken up early to get dressed and put on makeup, although he was very sleepy, after drinking some refreshing tea and with his mother, second sister-in-law, and elder sister constantly chatting by his side, he quickly became lively and energetic.

"Mother, Elder Sister, Second Sister-in-law... look at this crown on my head—isn't it gorgeous?"

Shen Qinglan saw his reflection in the bronze mirror, the exquisite and magnificent crown atop his head, and grinned smugly, totally full of himself.

Madam Shen naturally praised him: "My son is handsome; only a crown this fine is good enough for you."

Shen Qingyue smiled: "Mother, they say clothes make the man, but right now I think the crown looks even more dazzling because younger brother is wearing it."

Li Huilan also chimed in cheerfully: "Elder Sister is right. Second Young Master's looks are among the best of all the noble young ladies and gentlemen of the capital..."

Their flattery, though exaggerated, was certainly pleasant to hear.

Anyway, the carefree Shen Qinglan felt that his mother, sister, and sister-in-law were absolutely right in their compliments. He was so full of himself he was practically strutting.

Only the eldest sister-in-law was a bit of a killjoy.

Lü Shurou was fuming inside because Madam Shen had openly set aside such a large dowry for her younger brother-in-law. Seeing this, she couldn't help but sneeringly blurt out:

"Mother is right. Since the younger brother is naturally beautiful, why wear such an exquisite crown? In my opinion, just tie it up with a red ribbon..."

"I heard that the eight-man sedan chair and the honor guard the Han family prepared are the most ordinary kinds. As the saying goes, 'a pot has its lid'—meaning a match made in heaven for something ordinary. So little uncle wearing such fancy stuff on a common sedan chair? So mismatched, so laughable..."

Marrying a poor scholar—look at how smug this little brother-in-law is.

And the mother-in-law had even prepared a dowry of more than a hundred thousand taels for him. Did an out-marrying little brother-in-law deserve it? That was all property of the main branch of the family!

Can't even let this happy day be peaceful.

Madam Shen, who had originally planned to deal with this daughter-in-law after her son's wedding, had had enough. She ordered the matrons beside her:

"Gag the eldest young mistress and lock her in her courtyard. She is not to be let out until Lan Ge'er leaves the house today!"

"Also, send someone to the eldest young master's courtyard to prepare. Raise all of the eldest young master's bed servants and page boys to the status of legitimate concubines!"

This move was a death blow to Lü Shurou.

In ancient times, legitimate concubines were not like low-ranking concubines who could be sold off. Legitimate concubines could be added to the family register, and in the event that the main wife died without children, the children of a legitimate concubine could be placed under the wife's name and even inherit the family estate. (Reference: Baidu Encyclopedia; please do not scrutinize.)

Thus, once there were many legitimate concubines in the household, the chaos inside the household was easy to picture.

Lü Shurou herself was not a nice person. In the past, she had treated her husband's bed maids and page boys like dirt, bullying and tormenting them as much as she pleased.

Now that these people had become legitimate concubines with the status to fight back, anyone could guess what they'd do.

"Mmph! Mmph mmph!"

With her mouth gagged, Lv Shurou's eyes were bulging with rage.

How could her mother-in-law be so cruel to her?!

Madam Shen glared back at her venomously and said, "Lv Shurou, stop looking at me like that! I haven't even settled accounts with you for helping Shuang and Bai scheme against my Lan Ge'er. Today is my Lan Ge'er's joyous occasion, and you dare to ruin it for him!"

"Since you don't want to enjoy these last few days of peace and think I'm a wicked mother-in-law, then today I'll show you what a truly wicked mother-in-law is like."

With that, she barked at the servants who had grabbed Lv Shurou: "What are you waiting for? Take her back to her courtyard immediately!"

She had been too kind and too easy on her eldest daughter-in-law all along.

That's why, in this era that prized filial piety above all, her eldest daughter-in-law had dared to climb over her head!

Li Huilan watched her eldest sister-in-law's fate from the sidelines and breathed a sigh of relief, still shaken: ...Sure enough, her mother was right—this mother-in-law of hers either does nothing or goes all out.

Still, her eldest sister-in-law had brought it upon herself. No matter how much she disliked her brother-in-law, she shouldn't have teamed up with outsiders to harm her own family.

With her brother-in-law's several broken engagements, if he hadn't been so open-minded, any other young woman or man would have succumbed to the gossip and sought death long ago...

With the unpleasant person gone,

Madam Shen's expression softened to one of gentle affection. She touched her son's face and comforted him:

"Lan Ge'er, don't take what your sister-in-law said to heart. She's just jealous and said those things to upset you."

"I've also inquired about the Han family. Although the eight-man sedan chair and the ceremonial procession they prepared aren't as grand and impressive, they still gave it their all."

"Besides, Little Han's promise to you not to take concubines is a written vow. That kind of sincerity is worth more than all the gold or silver..."

Actually, that wasn't true—she still thought silver was more important!

But she had to comfort her son, didn't she? No matter what the future holds, one should be happy on such a once-in-a-lifetime joyous occasion.

"I know, Mother, don't worry. I understand what kind of person my sister-in-law is. I won't take her words to heart."

Shen Qinglan nodded and cheerfully continued dressing up and changing into his wedding attire.

At last, the wedding procession finally reached the gate.

The Shen household didn't make things too difficult for Han Zhang. After asking him a few simple questions, they had Shen Huaizhi carry Shen Qinglan out on his back.

However, Shen Huaizhi didn't immediately hand his brother over to Han Zhang. Instead, he signaled to the steward beside him.

The steward got the signal and stepped forward, followed by two attendants carrying a tray.

On the tray lay the "Bronze Promise of No Concubines," which Han Zhang had presented to the Shen family, vowing never to take a concubine!