Chapter 21 Official-Oriented Thought
"Miss, the people from the Marquis' Mansion who are going to pick up the bride have already arrived at Cuijia Town!"

"Miss, the clan leader and the elders have already gone to the town to welcome the people from the Marquis' Mansion who are coming to pick up the bride!"

"Miss, the master and mistress are already waiting for you at the gate!"

At the Cui family, the maid Xiaowei went in and out of the yard, bringing Cui Shuyun countless first-hand information.

"Okay, Xiaowei, calm down!"

"What a rush you are in!"

Cui Shuyun today is completely different from Cui Shuyun a few days ago.

The state of calm was restored.

Perhaps it's because the facts cannot be changed.

Or maybe it’s because Cui Shuyun really figured it out!

"Sister Yun is indeed worthy of being the one who is about to marry into the Marquis's Mansion. She is calm in everything she says and does. I still remember how nervous I was when I got married!" The eldest sister-in-law of the Cui family said in a flattering tone while helping Cui Shuyun with her makeup.

Although the eldest sister-in-law of the Cui family had heard that Cui Shuyun had been in close contact with the second sister-in-law of the Cui family in recent months, she had not seen it with her own eyes.

Out of sight!

After all, Cui Shuyun is Cui Ronghe's biological sister, and she married into a marquisate. The eldest sister-in-law of the Cui family did not want to leave any grudges at the last moment of Cui Shuyun's marriage.

"Sister-in-law, you are too modest! Everyone knows that sister-in-law was a famous lady at home. After marrying into our Cui family, she was virtuous and helped mother to manage the Cui family in an orderly manner. After I get married, my father and mother will have to trouble sister-in-law to take care of me!"

Cui Shuyun was also very polite in her speech.

After all, she became an outsider after she got married.

My parents at home still have to rely on Cui's eldest sister-in-law for support.

After saying that, Cui Shuyun looked outside the house again.

In the end, I still didn’t see my second sister-in-law Ai Jingxia.

Although the second sister-in-law had said before that she didn't like this kind of atmosphere and was too lazy to deal with all the superficial work, she would not come to see Cui Shuyun off to get married.

But when her second sister-in-law really didn't come, Cui Shuyun couldn't help feeling disappointed!

She really wanted to tell her second sister-in-law.

She broke through!

She did not force her own progress, nor did she rely on the resources of the Marquis' Mansion. Instead, she relied on her own efforts and made a breakthrough naturally last night.

Second sister-in-law is right. The most important thing to avoid when cultivating the spirit is being impatient and irritable!
Need to stay calm about everything!

We must always maintain a detached attitude that "if I gain it, it is my luck; if I lose it, it is my fate."

Finally, God will not let down those who work hard!

Of course, in addition to being grateful to God and grateful for her hard work, Cui Shuyun also had to thank the Fu'an Marquis Mansion's wedding procession for arriving much slower than expected, which gave Cui Shuyun time.

……

"I'm coming!"

While Cui Shuyun was getting dressed, the wedding procession from the Marquis's Mansion finally arrived at the second branch of the Cui family.

"General Zhao, everyone, thank you for your hard work!"

Cui Zongyan immediately went to meet him.

In the Ming Dynasty, in a situation like the Cui family, it is not advisable for the girl's parents to be too pushy, otherwise they will easily be looked down upon by the boy and the literati.

That was why the Cui family's clan leader and clan elders were responsible for welcoming the wedding party from the Marquis's Mansion.

Cui Zongyan and his wife were waiting at the gate.

"Master Cui, you're welcome!"

Zhao Xinghan greeted him with a smile on his face.

Zhao Xinghan could show some emotions appropriately to other members of the Cui family, but he had to respect the biological parents of the future wife of the marquis, even if it was only on the surface.

Otherwise, Zhao Xinghan would not be able to justify himself anywhere.

More importantly, Cui Zongyan was an official in Beijing. Although he was only a fourth-rank official, his rank was not lower than that of Zhao Xinghan, a general in name only.

And maybe Cui Zongyan has even greater real power.

Zhao Xinghan is a typical example of "official-centered" thinking.

A wealthy merchant family?

A martial arts expert?
In Zhao Xinghan's heart, nothing is more important than official position or rank!

Although martial arts is a prominent discipline in this world, the status of scholars is not low either.

Confucianism and Taoism are also prominent schools of thought.

After all, warriors can only conquer the world, but it is up to the scholars to rule the world.

Moreover, in many cases, the pen of a writer is more deadly than the sword in the hands of a warrior.

Cui Zongji and the elder members of the Cui clan looked at Zhao Xinghan, who had just ignored them and had a formal expression on his face, and now smiled so hard in front of Cui Zongyan that his face was about to break. They couldn't tell how they felt.

Is this what it means for a father to be honored by his daughter?

It turns out that Zhao Xinghan is not incapable of laughing!

Zhao Xinghan has never been a rigid and conservative person, otherwise he would not have given up the traditional route of Zhao family's children to join the army and make merit, but chose to take a shortcut and seek merit by following the dragon.

Zhao Xinghan was unhappy about Zhu Chengwu's decision to marry Cui's daughter, but he was by no means cunning or unable to act.

Zhao Xinghan is very smart. He knows when to express his emotions and when to keep his displeasure in his heart.

If Zhu Chengwu didn't know Zhao Xinghan well, how could he have given him the task of picking up the bride?

If Zhao Xinghan was really a rough man who showed his emotions on his face and had no scheming at all, wouldn't Zhu Chengwu be asking for trouble by entrusting such an important task to Zhao Xinghan?

After meeting them one by one, Cui Zongyan invited Cui and some important figures from Fu'an Marquis' Mansion to enter the courtyard.

As for the others, there are other arrangements.

Even though the Cui family is a large clan, Cui Zongyan is only the head of the second branch.

It was impossible for his home to accommodate the Cui family members and nearly 300 guests from the Hou Mansion at the same time.

Most of the wedding guests at Fu'an Marquis' Mansion will be received and arranged by Cui clan members.

When one side has a problem, all sides contribute.

This is the cohesiveness of a big family in this era!

Inside the hall, the wedding procession from the Marquis' Mansion was still chatting with the Cui family. The person in charge of counting the betrothal gifts from the Cui family had already counted the betrothal gifts sent by the Fu'an Marquis' Mansion.

"The Fu'an Marquis's mansion has 1000 taels of silver for gifts, 10 taels of silver for welcoming and seeing off, 10 taels of silver for knocking on the door, 10 taels of silver for net increase, 30 taels of silver for the calligraphy gift, and taels of silver for welcoming the letter, totaling taels of silver. In addition, there are fine horses, carts of medicinal materials, carts of silk and satin, and carts of rice..."

With the loud announcement from the person who was selecting the bride price, the Cui family suddenly became lively.

"so much!"

"The Marquis' Mansion really values ​​Sister Yun!"

"Sister Yun is so lucky!" "The second wife gave birth to a good daughter!"

……

Many members of the Cui family were talking about it.

The smile on Cui Zongyan's face became more and more obvious.

The betrothal gift represents the respect that the Marquis’s Mansion has for the Cui family, and represents how much Marquis Fu’an values ​​Yun Jie’er.

Of course the more the better!

In the Ming Dynasty, the betrothal gift was given by the man to the woman's family. It was a reflection of how much the man valued the marriage and his ability.

In contrast, dowry is given by the woman's family to their daughter, which shows the importance the woman's family attaches to their daughter and the strength of the woman's family.

At the same time, according to the etiquette of the Ming Dynasty, the man cannot use the woman's dowry. It is at the woman's disposal and even after her death, it will go to her parents' home or children.

Once the man uses the woman's dowry, he will be considered as a loser and a spendthrift, which is a disgrace.

It can be said that in the Ming Dynasty, the price a man paid to marry was greater than in Zhu Chengwu’s previous life.

Therefore, it is not surprising that there was a custom of bride exchange in many places during the Ming Dynasty.

The so-called exchange marriage means that both families have children. Your daughter marries my son, and my daughter marries your son.

It is said to be a closer relationship, but in fact it is just a roundabout way to save the betrothal money.

This time, Zhu Chengwu married not just Cui Zongyan's daughter, but a daughter of the Cui family.

Naturally, the Cui clan will have a share of the betrothal gift.

As for how to divide it in the end?
That is what Cui Zongyan, Cui Zongji and the elders of the Cui family need to discuss!
Of course, the majority of the money will definitely go to Cui Zongyan's family. After all, Cui Zongji originally planned to keep a certain distance from Fu'an Marquis' Mansion and not get too involved.

How could he change his mind just because of this tiny betrothal gift which was insignificant to Cui?

If Cui Shuyun had not been married under the name of Cui's daughter and part of the betrothal gifts had not belonged to the clan, Cui Zongji would not have wanted to come out to greet the wedding procession from the Marquis' Mansion and accept the betrothal gifts.

After the betrothal presenter has delivered the betrothal gifts, everyone has exchanged a few simple greetings, rested, and had lunch. Then the wedding procession will return with the bride.

The wedding procession will not stay overnight at Cui's house.

Because the betrothal gifts were too large and had been delayed for too long, Cui Shuyun's wedding date was postponed again and again.

If we don't seize the time now and make up for the lost time, when the wedding comes, there will be no bride in the Fu'an Marquis Mansion, which will be a huge joke!

The auspicious time for arriving at the mansion and getting married had already been chosen.

The invitations have been sent out.

Changing the wedding time would also become a joke.

"Sister-in-law, go see if Sister Yun has finished dressing up. If she has, call Sister Yun over!"

After lunch, Cui Zongji gave these instructions.

"Yes, patriarch!"

Cui's mother was stunned, turned to look at Cui Zongyan, and when she saw Cui Zongyan nodded, she walked out.

"Qiuyue, Dongxue, accompany Madam Cui and bring her here!"

Zhao Xinghan ordered.

"Yes, General Zhao!"

Zhao Xinghan is the chief of the guards of the marquis's mansion and the chief envoy of the wedding reception. During the wedding reception, he has the authority to order Qiuyue and Dongxue.

Moreover, the purpose of Qiuyue and Dongxue following the wedding procession this time was to see the wife who was about to marry into the family.

"Zongji, Zongchen, go and call those ten people and wait outside!" Cui Zongji turned around and gave another order in a deep voice.

Cui Zongji and Cui Zongchen were the heads of the third and fourth branches of the Cui family.

"You go out, pack up your wife's dowry, instruct the troops, and prepare to return!" Zhao Xinghan also drove out several of his general flags and several key members of the Foreign Affairs Office.

Several key members of the External Affairs Office looked at the general manager Dai Fayan.

Dai Fayan nodded to several key members of the Foreign Affairs Office.

Several key members of the Foreign Affairs Office then bowed and withdrew to do their work.

Seeing this scene, Zhao Xinghan frowned slightly, but didn't say much.

The External Affairs Department, Internal Affairs Department, and Guard Corps of the Marquis' Mansion were three independent institutions.

Unlike Qiuyue and Dongxue, Dai Fayan, the general manager of the Foreign Affairs Office, was present at the scene.

Although Zhao Xinghan was the chief envoy for this wedding reception, several key members of the Foreign Affairs Office had some questions for the deputy envoy Dai Fayan, so Zhao Xinghan could not say much.

……

"Jun Jie'er, I didn't expect that you would be getting married in the blink of an eye!"

Cui's mother came to Cui Shuyun's boudoir and looked at Cui Shuyun wearing a phoenix coronet and bridal robe. She couldn't help feeling mixed emotions of sadness and joy, with tears in her eyes.

"Mother! You should be happy for me!"

Cui Shuyun hugged her mother and comforted her.

Tears welled up in my eyes involuntarily.

"Okay, mother, Sister Yun, your makeup will be ruined by crying soon!"

After Cui's mother and Cui Shuyun cried for a while and vented their emotions, Cui's eldest sister-in-law interrupted Cui's mother and Cui Shuyun.

"Yes, yes! Look at me, I almost forgot about the important matter!"

Mother Cui patted her forehead apologetically.

"Jun Jie'er, the clan leader and your father want you to go!"

As Cui's mother said this, she pulled Cui Shuyun up and was about to leave.

"Now? But it's not time to say goodbye to our parents yet!"

The eldest sister-in-law of the Cui family asked.

When a girl gets married, she also has to choose an auspicious time.

It’s not time yet!

"Sister-in-law, the clan leader and father must have something to tell Shuyun in advance!"

Cui Shuyun was not surprised at all.

During the conversation with the second sister-in-law, they all agreed that Marquis Fu'an definitely had other purposes in wanting to marry Cui's daughter.

Now, perhaps it’s time to reveal the answer!

After all, no matter what the purpose of Cui family and Fu'an Marquis Mansion is?
It is impossible to bypass her, the button that connects both parties!

That's why the clan leader called her over in advance to give her some instructions!

(End of this chapter)