Chapter 40: Betrothal Gifts
After the New Year passed, the wedding dates for several imperial princesses were set.
The wedding date for Fourth Princess Feng Bai Shao and the son of the Marquis of Yongcheng was set for March. Feng Bai Wei and Shen Ruo’s wedding date was set for July. As for Feng Bai Su and Wei Jing Mo, their wedding date was set for October.
After the New Year, Wei Jing Mo began to devote himself to embroidering his wedding clothes at the Northern Garrison Prince’s mansion.
There was a customary tradition in Fengling. Any man about to be married needed to embroider his own wedding clothes, stitch by stitch, imbuing every needle and thread with the purest emotions. This symbolized the man’s importance placed on the marriage and his hopes for a happy married life in the future.
Although there were still several months until the wedding day, and men of noble families like theirs didn’t actually need to do it themselves.
Most families would hire professional embroiderers to make the wedding clothes. The groom-to-be only needed to symbolically embroider a few stitches at the end when it was almost finished.
As the legitimate son of the Northern Garrison Prince’s mansion, if Wei Jing Mo wanted, he could afford to hire all the embroiderers in Fengling City.
But he didn’t want to entrust his wedding clothes to others.
Although he invited an embroiderer to the Northern Garrison Prince’s mansion, it was only to guide him on how to embroider.
Every day, except for eating, paying respects, and resting, Wei Jing Mo spent almost all his other time in the embroidery room.
Several times, when Shen Ruo came to invite him out for spring outings, he declined!
Time passed bit by bit, and in the blink of an eye, it was the wedding day of Fourth Princess Feng Bai Shao and the son of the Marquis of Yongcheng.
Three months passed in the blink of an eye, and Wei Jing Mo had only embroidered one-third of his wedding clothes.
With each passing day, the anxiety in his heart grew!
Sometimes he felt time was passing too slowly, with several months still to go before the wedding. Other times he felt time was passing too quickly, afraid the wedding day would arrive before he could finish the wedding clothes.
These two contradictory emotions intertwined, and even Dong Qing and Dong Gua beside him could sense his anxious state.
The two thought he was frustrated because of embroidering the wedding clothes, and wanted to persuade him to hand it over to the embroiderers.
But Wei Jing Mo pressed his lips together without speaking, still sitting on the embroidery stool stitching needle by needle, his jade-like slender fingers pricked countless times.
After the Fourth Princess’s wedding, when there were five months left until the wedding, it was time for the betrothal gifts.
The betrothal gifts for an imperial princess were usually managed by the Ministry of Rites, with the quantity of gifts stipulated according to etiquette.
Early in the morning, people from the Ministry of Rites delivered the betrothal gifts to the Northern Garrison Prince’s mansion.
Wei Jing Mo rarely left the embroidery room today.
He stood in the hall, watching as people carried the betrothal gifts in one by one.
Although he knew that for royal weddings, the princess herself didn’t need to worry about these things, as the Ministry of Rites would arrange everything.
The betrothal gifts were all arranged by the Ministry of Rites according to etiquette, so he actually didn’t need to come to the front hall.
But Wei Jing Mo still wanted to come and see for himself, even though he knew in his heart that these weren’t prepared by Feng Bai Su.
After all the betrothal gifts were brought in, the people from the Ministry of Rites bowed to Wei Jing Mo and then withdrew.
Wei Jing Mo stood up to take a look, just about to instruct people to put away the betrothal gifts, when he saw Cong Bai enter carrying a wooden box.
When she came in and saw Wei Jing Mo, surprise flashed in her eyes, clearly not expecting him to be waiting here.
Seeing Wei Jing Mo look up, she quickly composed her expression and bowed, saying: “Greetings to the young master, this is something Her Highness specially instructed this servant to give to you. She said it’s a small betrothal gift she prepared, and hopes you won’t mind.”
As she spoke, she handed the wooden box to Wei Jing Mo.
Seeing him reach out to take it, she immediately took her leave: “Now that the item has been delivered, this servant will take her leave!”
After saying this, she bowed to Wei Jing Mo again, then turned and left.
Wei Jing Mo looked at Cong Bai’s retreating figure, then turned his gaze to the wooden box in his hands.
He hadn’t expected Feng Bai Su to specially send something over with Cong Bai. While happy, he also couldn’t help but be curious about what was inside the wooden box Feng Bai Su had sent.
Wei Jing Mo instructed the servants to put away the other betrothal gifts, while he himself carried the wooden box towards Wanyue Pavilion.
Even his footsteps unconsciously quickened.
Dong Qing and Dong Gua followed closely behind him, glancing at each other, also full of curiosity about the wooden box sent by the Seventh Princess.
They wondered if it contained priceless jewelry and accessories, or family heirlooms.
As soon as Wei Jing Mo returned to Wanyue Pavilion, he sat down and eagerly opened the wooden box in his hands.
Dong Qing and Dong Gua stood behind him, also curiously craning their necks.
When the wooden box was opened, all three were stunned. Inside was neither jewelry nor rare treasures, but a stack of land deeds and property deeds. A thick pile lay quietly in the wooden box.
Wei Jing Mo reached out to take the deeds, looking at them one by one. The more he looked, the more shocked he became!
Zhenyu Tower… Feicui Tower… Xinglin Residence… Yuelai Restaurant… and so on, and so on!
They were all famous shops and buildings in Fengling City!
Jewelry stores, teahouses, restaurants, brothels, almost covering the entire Fengling City!
Wei Jing Mo couldn’t help but take a sharp breath, feeling as if the deeds in his hand weighed a thousand gold.
Behind him, Dong Qing and Dong Gua couldn’t help but widen their eyes, looking at these deeds in astonishment.
Goodness, the Seventh Princess had given the entire Fengling City to the young master!
Dong Gua couldn’t help but murmur in a daze: “I didn’t expect the Seventh Princess to be so low-key! This is giving her entire fortune to the young master!”
Dong Qing was also shocked: “I really didn’t expect all these shops to be backed by the Seventh Princess! This is really…”
This could probably buy several Northern Garrison Prince’s mansions!
Wei Jing Mo also hadn’t expected Feng Bai Su to be so generous. He stroked his small heart that was beating faster from the shock, and carefully put the deeds back into the wooden box.
At this time, Dong Gua couldn’t help but sigh again: “The Seventh Princess is truly sincere towards the young master!”
If it were someone else, who would be so willing to give?
Hearing his words, Wei Jing Mo couldn’t help but hug the wooden box to his chest.
Waves rippled in his cold ink-like eyes, and his heart felt as if it had eaten honey.
Suddenly, a certain impulse arose in him, wishing the wedding day would come sooner!
—
The total word count of this book is: 544,184
Meanwhile, after leaving the Northern Garrison Prince’s mansion, Cong Bai went straight to the Capital Governor’s Office.
At this time, Feng Bai Su was sitting in the Capital Governor’s Office reviewing cases and stamping them with her seal.
Seeing Cong Bai enter, she leaned back and raised an eyebrow, asking: “Has the item been delivered?”
Cong Bai immediately nodded, “In reply to Your Highness, this servant personally delivered the wooden box to Young Master Wei.”
“Mm.”
Hearing this, Feng Bai Su responded casually, then turned her gaze back to the desk.
But Cong Bai curiously asked: “Your Highness, what exactly did you send to the future consort?”
She couldn’t help but think to herself: Such a small wooden box, what could it possibly contain?
Feng Bai Su looked up, smiling somewhat mysteriously: “This princess’s life and fortune…”
Cong Bai: “…”
If Your Highness doesn’t want to say, forget it!
Feng Bai Su wasn’t actually lying. Those things were indeed assets she had prepared for her future leisurely life.
Although she was an imperial princess with a noble status, and on the surface indeed had no worries about food or clothing.
But if she wanted to live more freely, her pitiful princess’s salary alone couldn’t do anything!
Therefore, she had started preparing from very early on.
After all, her dream was to be a happy and carefree salted fish, and to be happy and carefree naturally required capital, which meant money!
As someone with memories of two lifetimes, and being a smart person herself, Feng Bai Su had accumulated quite a lot of assets over the years.
Although marrying Wei Jing Mo was something outside of her plans, and might mean she could never be carefree again.
However, the things that should be given couldn’t be lacking.
She had accumulated so many assets intending to give them as betrothal gifts when taking a husband to show her sincerity.
The only difference might be the amount given.
What she gave to Wei Jing Mo was naturally everything, not a single deed left!
—
Time flew by and it was soon July, with Shen Ruo and Feng Bai Wei’s wedding day approaching.
Because new brides couldn’t show their faces in public for three months before the wedding, Wei Jing Mo was unable to attend Shen Ruo’s wedding due to customs. He could only take this time to prepare wedding gifts for him in advance.
Wei Jing Mo directly brought Dong Qing and Dong Gua to Zhenyu Tower.
As soon as the three entered, the shopkeeper immediately came forward to greet them, bowing to Wei Jing Mo and saying: “Master, you’ve come!”
Hearing this, Wei Jing Mo was stunned, looking at the shopkeeper with some bewilderment.
Seeing this, the shopkeeper immediately explained with a smile: “It was the former master who instructed this small one that from now on, you are the only master of Zhenyu Tower. She repeatedly reminded this small one not to forget!”
The former master she referred to was naturally Feng Bai Su.
Wei Jing Mo hadn’t expected that she not only gave him the shop deeds, but even changed how she addressed him so quickly!
She really thought of everything!
Dong Qing and Dong Gua, following behind him, couldn’t help but cover their mouths and smile when they heard the shopkeeper’s words.
The Seventh Princess was truly so considerate and thorough!
Looking at the shopkeeper still waiting respectfully and enthusiastically to the side, Wei Jing Mo pressed his thin lips together a bit embarrassedly and said softly, “Does the shop have any jewelry suitable as congratulatory gifts?”
“Is the master planning to give it to Young Master Shen Ruo?”
The shopkeeper immediately asked perceptively.
Wei Jing Mo nodded.
Seeing this, the shopkeeper replied with a smile, “Yes, we do. Please wait a moment, this small one will fetch them for you right away.”
After the shopkeeper left, Wei Jing Mo sat in a small private room on the first floor to wait.
Dong Gua looked at Wei Jing Mo and couldn’t help but smile, “The Seventh Princess is really generous to the young master! She gave away these shops just like that, and even had them change how they address you!”
Wei Jing Mo took a small sip of tea and slowly put it down. The embarrassment he felt earlier when facing the shopkeeper had faded.
Hearing Dong Gua’s words, he couldn’t help but bite his thin lips, a blush appearing on his jade-like face.
While feeling happy and sweet in his heart, he also couldn’t help but feel some trepidation and insecurity.
Feng Bai Su was really quite contradictory!
When she didn’t care about you, she could be extremely cold! Even when her gaze fell on you, you couldn’t see a single trace of emotion.
But when she cared about someone, she was terrifyingly attentive and considerate, taking care of every aspect for you, making one involuntarily drown in this boundless gentleness.
It was precisely because of her contradictory personality that one couldn’t help but worry more.
If one day she no longer wanted to be good to you, when she wanted to take back all her kindness towards you, what would you do then?
