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墨書 Inktalez
Qin Yaru attended several banquets at the Gao Family and met Gao Feng's biological mother, Tao Jie. Tao Jie seemed somewhat dissatisfied with Qin Yaru, which is understandable; her son was supposed to marry a princess, but now he was marrying a woman who had been married before. Any mother would likely feel displeased.
However, Qin Yaru did not make any special effort to please her and barely exchanged a few words with her. Even if she married Gao Feng, her proper mother-in-law would be from the Fang Family.
Tao Jie did not have the right to act like a mother-in-law.
The atmosphere in the Gao Family was far from pleasant; it was at least ten times stricter than the rules of the Qin Family. If it weren't for their way of doing things, which Qin Yaru was somewhat familiar with, and if she were not just a girl who had taken a brief trip to the twenty-first century without truly being a time traveler, her expectations for this marriage would have significantly decreased due to fear of the Gao Family's atmosphere.
Fortunately, the Fang Family was composed of smart people.
As a stepmother, she was quite responsible. She was not particularly close to Gao Feng but also did not set traps for him. She fulfilled her responsibilities and treated Qin Yaru with kindness, though not overly warmly.
In fact, the Fang Family probably felt that Gao Feng marrying Qin Yaru was more agreeable than marrying a princess. If a princess were to enter their home, this stepmother would truly be at a loss about how to act as a mother-in-law. Moreover, since she was not his biological mother, as long as things appeared acceptable on the surface, she wouldn't genuinely care about what kind of bride he married!
Regardless of whether both families supported or begrudged this union or were indifferent, Gao Feng and Qin Yaru were finally going to get married.
There were numerous tedious rituals such as betrothal gifts and auspicious dates, especially since the emperor had arranged the marriage, which caused quite a stir for both the Gao Family and the Qin Family.
The betrothal gifts were more lavish than the dowry from the Qin Family. Qin Yaru did not insist on maintaining face; after all, their Qin Family was relatively weak compared to a prestigious family that had been around for centuries. There was no need to exhaust their resources for a dowry when her elder brother still needed to marry in the future. They could not allow the Qin Family to become impoverished and cause future Sister-in-law to be upset.
Qin Wenyuan found a large number of valuable items for his sister. According to Gao Feng, these were all collected during wartime—some valuable and some worthless—just a chaotic assortment. Since he did not understand much about them, he simply left everything for his sister.
Qin Yaru only selected some exquisite items from among them and did not take any of the larger antique collectibles.
Everyone initially thought that the Qin Family's dowry might be somewhat lacking, but no one expected that even Qin Yizhi was surprised. Gao Feng, General Gao, kept his word and generously transferred all the assets of his general's residence to Qin Yaru's name.
This matter even caught the attention of the Emperor.
The general's residence was a royal grant, and any change in ownership had to be reported to the Emperor. The Emperor merely smiled and nodded in agreement but couldn't help but mock Gao Feng, a renowned military general celebrated by both court and commoners, for being a man who was sentimental and weak when it came to family matters. He would surely fear his wife like a tiger in the future.
Of course, it wasn't just the Emperor; all the officials in court whispered among themselves, sharing many mocking remarks, which left the Gao Family quite embarrassed.
Qin Yaru was both amused and exasperated as she tugged at Gao Feng's ear. "You really... stop messing around!"
Gao Feng didn't mind the reputation of fearing his wife, while she didn't want to be seen as a fierce woman. After all, Qin Yaru had always been gentle and demure; how could she allow Gao Feng to ruin that?
General Gao paid no heed to others' gossip and even went further by spending all his spare money on various jewelry and gifts, openly sending them to the Qin Family. He spent money like water and eventually withdrew all the gold and silver he had accumulated over the years from the bank to give to the Qin Family.
His subordinates, fierce warriors who had crawled out of battlefields, couldn't help but advise him against this.
In particular, several of his trusted confidants who worshipped Gao Feng as a deity found it incomprehensible. Even Qin Wenyuan frowned and said, "General, I know you care for my sister, but this is too much. It’s not good for her reputation. The Qin Family can afford a dowry; although it may not compare to your betrothal gifts, it is still respectable. There’s no need to empty your entire general's residence."
Seeing Gao Feng's demeanor, Qin Wenyuan felt uneasy.
"What’s wrong with that?" Gao Feng had been drinking and had already dropped his previous pretenses. Although he wasn't completely inebriated, he wasn't as serious as before either. He elongated his words and frowned as he said, "Don’t think it’s trivial; don’t look down on silver. A woman who holds all of a man's wealth isn’t afraid he’ll go astray; this is security."
Seeing Qin Wenyuan's skeptical expression, Gao Feng sighed. "Besides, what kind of people are we? We are soldiers. We might go off to battle and never return or die in the north or west, leaving behind widows and orphans at home suffering. It’s not easy for women like ours. I marry Qin Yaru with a heavy heart; I give her everything I own, yet she still bears the brunt of it..."
Gao Feng's words spread, and during this season of budding romance, the daughters were quite taken with his deep feelings. General Gao's status in the capital rose even higher, becoming the object of admiration for many young ladies in their secluded homes.
The scholars did not understand and thought he was being pretentious, but the families of the military officers felt a sense of empathy—Husband stationed at the Borderlands had not returned for ten years. At home, they raised children and took care of their in-laws, enduring a lifetime of hardship. Even if they lived without worry for food and clothing, enjoying wealth and honor, life was truly difficult without a caring man by their side.
Although peace seemed to reign now, both Liao and Western Xia were eyeing them covetously. Conflicts in the Borderlands were frequent, and while various peasant uprisings had not swept the nation, there were still many. No one could guarantee that their men would return one day.
At this time, literature was valued over martial prowess; military officers were not given much importance, and even their families seemed to be regarded as inferior to those of scholars. Upon reflection, marrying a military officer indeed made life quite challenging.
Time passed swiftly, and finally, the day of the wedding arrived.
Gao Feng rode a snow-white steed, bringing an eight-litter bridal sedan chair to the Qin Family to fetch his bride. The sedan chair was adorned in bright red with strings of pearls and jewels hanging from it, truly luxurious. Many young women watching from the streets couldn't help but sigh that if they could ride in such a sedan chair on their wedding day, they would gladly accept death.
Qin Yaru sat obediently at her dressing table, grooming herself in front of the mirror. Her beloved son Da Lang stood beside her cheerfully, though there was a hint of nervousness in his eyes.
Wang and Fang Family members who had hurried over from Jiunzhou carefully styled Qin Yaru's hair into elegant clouds and repeatedly reminded her: "Once you're married, you must keep a close eye on your man. He is quite charming; it's fine if he takes a few concubines, but don't let anyone push you around or step on your toes..." (To be continued)
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