Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Preparing the Dowry Yu Changshan froze. “You?” “Mm.” Yu Lingchun nodded seriously. “Didn’t Father say that the Earl’s Residence is a prestigious household? I’m worried that the dowry Mother’s side of the family prepares won’t be good enough for them. I’d rather handle it myself. Besides, there’s still a month.” Yu Changshan studied her, seeming somewhat surprised. But then he thought about it. His daughter was willing to take charge of her dowry, which meant she had truly accepted this marriage. He readily agreed. “Fine. Handle it yourself. If you’re missing anything, tell Father.” “Then give me five hundred taels to start with.” The smile on Yu Changshan’s face froze. “How much?” “Five hundred taels.” Yu Lingchun counted on her fingers. “I need to buy a wedding dress, jewelry, and fabric to have new clothes made. Oh, right, I also need to have two new outfits made for Baizhi. Baizhi will be coming with me after I marry, so they can’t be too shabby. And…” “Wait,” Yu Changshan interrupted. “Five hundred taels is too much. When your Eldest Sister married, her entire dowry cost only one hundred taels.” And that was only the dowry. The silver meant to be placed at the bottom of the trunks hadn’t even been counted yet! “But Eldest Sister married a seventh-rank official, while I’m marrying into an earl’s household.” Yu Lingchun blinked, looking utterly innocent. “Didn’t Father say that the Earl’s Residence is a prestigious household? If my dowry is too shabby, it’ll be the Yu family’s reputation that suffers.” Yu Changshan was rendered speechless. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but then felt that his daughter did have a point. A household like the Earl’s Residence certainly couldn’t receive a dowry that was too shabby. But five hundred taels… His monthly salary was only thirty taels. That was equivalent to a year and a half of his income. His heart ached so badly that even his teeth hurt. “Four hundred taels,” he countered through gritted teeth. “Four hundred and fifty.” Yu Lingchun smiled sweetly as she haggled back. “Father received a thousand taels in betrothal gifts. Surely you aren’t so reluctant to part with this little bit of silver?” Yu Changshan: “……” He gave his daughter a long, searching look. Something seemed off. How had that quiet, pliable Third Miss suddenly become so sharp-tongued? “Fine. Four hundred and fifty taels it is.” In the end, he relented. “I’ll have the accountant send it to you later.” “Thank you, Father.” Yu Changshan turned to leave, but stopped when he reached the door. He turned back and looked at his daughter, who was leaning against the headboard and eating cherries. After hesitating for a moment, he asked, “Chun Niang, are you…angry with Father?” Yu Lingchun popped a cherry into her mouth, leisurely spat out the pit, then looked up and smiled at him. “I’m not angry. Father was only doing what was best for the family.” Looking at that smiling face, Yu Changshan suddenly felt a little guilty. He coughed dryly and turned to leave. When he reached the corridor, he faintly heard his daughter’s voice from behind him. “Baizhi, go look around the shops tomorrow and see which ready-made clothing store is the best. I want two new outfits. The spring dress should be goose yellow, and I also want a pomegranate-red beizi…” Yu Changshan shook his head and quickened his pace. Why did he have a feeling that those four hundred and fifty taels were going to vanish without a trace? …… The moment Yu Changshan left, Yu Lingchun got busy. More precisely, she had Baizhi dig out all her belongings and lay them out for inspection, one item at a time. “This is the white jade hairpin Old Master gave you. These are two silver flower hairpins. These are three silver bracelets. These are a few pearl hair ornaments…” Baizhi placed each item on the table, murmuring as the inventory continued. Yu Lingchun sat on the couch, sipping red-date tea as she looked at the things before her. Her expression was rather complicated. “That’s all?” “That’s all.” Baizhi spoke in a small voice. “Third Miss, you never liked dressing up before, so you didn’t have many pieces of jewelry to begin with…” Yu Lingchun sighed. She pulled open the lower drawer of her dressing case. Inside were a few pieces of broken silver and some copper coins, amounting to no more than five or six taels in total. There were also several little trinkets in the corner: a palm-sized bronze mirror, a tiny clay figurine no taller than a thumb, several colored stones, and a piece of amber. “All right, put them away.” She waved her hand, then picked up her red-date tea and took another sip. Baizhi carefully put everything away, unable to resist asking, “Third Miss, are you really going to prepare your own dowry?” “Of course I am. Father even sent over those four hundred and fifty taels. What else could it be?” Yu Lingchun pointed to the small box by the head of the bed. Inside sat several neatly arranged ingots of silver and four one-hundred-tael banknotes. When Baizhi had seen them earlier, their eyes had gone wide. After following Third Miss for so many years, this was the first time they had ever seen so much money. “Then…what does Third Miss intend to buy?” “First, clothes.” Yu Lingchun counted on her fingers. “I went through my wardrobe. There are only a few pieces that are still wearable. Once I marry into an earl’s household and become its Young Madam, I can’t go around dressed like a beggar.” Baizhi nodded repeatedly. “Second, jewelry.” Yu Lingchun touched the few old pieces in her dressing case and shook her head. “These are too shabby. I can’t bring them out in public. At the very least, I need two proper sets of head ornaments.” Baizhi continued nodding. “Third…” Yu Lingchun paused, her eyes lighting up. “Buy some good food.” Baizhi’s nod stopped halfway. “…Huh?” “Zhang’s pastries, Li’s preserved fruits, Old Mrs. Wang’s sugar-roasted chestnuts. I want all of them.” Yu Lingchun spoke with complete justification. “I went hungry for three days. Can’t I make up for it now?” Baizhi opened their mouth, wanting to say, “Third Miss, you weren’t like this before,” but swallowed the words before they could leave. Never mind. As long as Third Miss was happy. “Oh, right, Baizhi.” Yu Lingchun suddenly remembered something. “Do you know what the situation is like over at the Earl’s Residence? Besides that Young Master He, who else is there?” Baizhi thought for a moment, then told her everything they knew. The Old Master of Earl Dingshan’s Residence had originally been Marquis Dingshan, who had followed the Founding Emperor in conquering the realm and earned illustrious military honors. The current Earl was the Old Master’s son. He served as Deputy Commander of the Palace Front and was an official of the Lower Third Rank. The Earl had two sons. His elder son had previously served in the Northwest, but later returned after being wounded. He had married and had a daughter. His younger son was He Zhaoran—the man Yu Lingchun was going to marry. Because the elder son was disabled in the legs, the title of Earl would most likely pass to the younger son in the end. That was also why Yu Changshan had been so eager to push this marriage through. “I heard that the Earl and the Countess both dote on their younger son,” Baizhi said quietly. “Especially Old Madam. She treasures him like the apple of her eye.” Yu Lingchun nodded thoughtfully. “So this Young Master He was spoiled by his family?” Baizhi considered the question, then answered cautiously, “That’s what everyone outside says…” “Then it’ll be easy.” Yu Lingchun smiled. Baizhi looked bewildered. “Easy? Third Miss, aren’t you worried?” “Worried about what?” Yu Lingchun picked up a preserved fruit and put it into her mouth, speaking slowly. “A child who’s been spoiled is the easiest to placate. As long as I don’t oppose him and simply go along with him, it’s not as though he can eat me, right?” Baizhi listened, utterly dumbfounded. “Besides…” Yu Lingchun stretched lazily and smiled. “He can be a fop, and I’ll live my own life. He can go out drinking and fighting while I stay home and eat and drink well. He’ll have his pleasures, and I’ll have mine. We’ll stay out of each other’s way. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?” Baizhi felt that Third Miss’s words…seemed to make a great deal of sense, yet somehow also seemed wrong in some way. “But Third Miss, don’t you want someone who truly understands you?” “Someone who truly understands me?” Yu Lingchun tilted her head and thought about it. Then she said very seriously, “What would I want that for? It can’t serve as food.” As someone who had received a modern education, was she out of her mind to look for an ancient man to be her confidant in an era when a man could legally have three wives and four concubines? Why live a perfectly good life only to seek out misery? She must have been completely bored and overfed. Baizhi was utterly speechless. Outside the window, the spring sunshine was bright. Several sparrows chirped noisily on the branches. Yu Lingchun leaned against the low couch by the window, chewing on preserved fruit as she narrowed her eyes and basked in the sunlight, planning what she would buy when she went into town tomorrow. Getting married was no big deal. She had even experienced sudden death in her previous life. Was she really going to be afraid of one fop? At that thought, she couldn’t help smiling again. “Baizhi, we’ll leave first thing tomorrow morning.” “Where are we going?” “To buy clothes, jewelry, and good food.” Yu Lingchun’s eyes curved into crescent moons. “And while we’re at it, we’ll see just how lively Bianjing really is.”