Chapter 37 Adding Hands

Zhao’s father couldn’t figure it out, after all, she was his daughter, so he decided to prepare the dowry for his daughter.

His daughter was good at business. In recent years, the Zhao family’s business had thrived under his daughter’s management, more than doubling the profits when it was in his hands.

He had kept some of the old businesses that the Zhao family had always been involved in for himself, while all the profitable businesses his daughter had created were handed over to her.

He hoped that the Anding Marquis Family would not make things difficult for Zhao Qing Qing considering the money involved.

Zhao’s father looked up at the sky, wondering if Jingjuan would be happy to see her daughter marry into the Marquis Mansion.

…

The two sides quickly settled on a date, set for next month. Although the date was rushed, An Shaoyu and Zhao Qing Qing didn’t mind at all; in fact, they were very happy.

An Shaoyu’s second sister-in-law, Mrs. Liu, whispered to her younger sister, “The third brother really wants to marry that merchant’s daughter.”

“Look how happy Third Brother is.”

Mrs. Liu looked at her sister’s expression, which was as calm as water, and didn’t know what else to say. She had to change the subject to comfort her.

Shu Yuwan also didn’t expect that by sending these two people away with a beating, the end result would be their quick marriage.

She really want to divorce Shaoyu quickly, partly to continue to disgust An Shaoyu as his wife, and partly to ensure that these two could marry smoothly without involving the Fifth Prince and forcing the Shu family in the future.

But obviously, whether they divorced or not, they would still be involved in the Fifth Prince’s plan for the Longevity Ceremony.

The enmity between the two families had been settled.

So now, whether they got married or not, Shu Yuwan didn’t care too much.

The Crown Prince now knew that the Fifth Prince had ulterior motives, and he also knew about Zhao Qing Qing’s connection to the Fifth Prince. She just needed to wait quietly to see the results.

When necessary, she could also lend a hand to the Crown Prince.

Thinking about it, she called out, “Qing Dai.”

“What’s the matter, Miss.”

“Before Zhao enters the house, send a few more people to the Anding Marquis Mansion. After Zhao Qing Qing enters, find a way to sneak into Zhao Qing Qing’s courtyard.”

“Yes, Miss.”

After instructing, Shu Yuwan continued to play with her daughter for a while. When her daughter fell asleep, she began to look at the account books of her dowry shop.

She had never cared about these things before; the shop’s managers were all brought from the Shu Mansion, and she trusted them. Now she had to rely on the income from these shops and farms to support herself and her daughter, manage the staff, and save up a dowry for her daughter. She had to take care of these dowries properly.

Fortunately, she wasn’t completely clueless. She had learned everything that a proper lady should know, but she had never taken it seriously before. Now that she was serious, it wasn’t difficult.

Shu Yuwan kept reading until it got dark. Mother Zhao came in to refill her tea and reminded her to rest for a while and not strain her eyes.

Shu Yuwan looked at the darkening sky and put down the account book.

“Is the mother awake?”

“Just came from the young lady’s place, and now the nurse and a few maids are playing with the child.”

“Serve dinner.”

“Bring the Wenyue over, I will have dinner with the her.”

…

The mother and daughter were having dinner when Shu Yuyang brought several people over.

“Who is this, big brother?”

“You hit An Shaoyu. I’m afraid thet hold a grudge and cause trouble for you, so I’ve arranged several skilled bodyguards for you.”

Shu Yuwan couldn’t help but laugh and cry.

“It’s not necessary. An Shaoyu was unreasonable first, and the Anding Marquis family wouldn’t come looking for trouble openly.”

“One must be cautious. It may not be easy to handle things openly, but it might be possible to handle them privately.”

“And this,” Shu Yuyang pointed to a young girl behind him, “was arranged by mother for you. She said her skills are similar to the previous girl, but this one has signed a contract to sell herself.”

Zhang Yi knew that she hadn’t signed a contract to sell herself. The girl had signed a five-year contract, and after five years, she would be free.

“Thank you to mother and big brother.”

Shu Yuwan handed everyone over to Qing Dai to arrange.

When the child saw people coming, she kept saying, “Uncle, uncle…”

Shu Yuyang laughed and picked up the child, taking out a cloth tiger from his arms. “Look, uncle brought you something.”

Nowadays, whether it was mother or big brother, they never brought her various pastries and jewelry when they came here. It had all turned into various toys and snacks for the daughter. She had completely fallen out of favor…

But now that the sister-in-law was pregnant, the big brother couldn’t always come to her.

“Big brother, now that more people have been added here, you can rest assured. After your duty, go home more often to accompany the sister-in-law.”

“I go to the Zhuying Academy every day, come here once, and when I return home, I spend time with your sister-in-law. She was injured giving birth to Qing Ge, and I’m afraid she won’t have an easy delivery this time.”

He smiled and said, “Don’t worry, your sister-in-law won’t be jealous of you.”

Although the big brother teased her, Shu Yuwan felt a little relieved. She didn’t want the sisters-in-law to have conflicts with the brothers because of her.

“I made two sets of clothes for the two unborn nephews and nieces. Big brother, you can take them back.”

…

In about a month, the Anding Marquis and Zhao families had already finalized all the details of the marriage. The two were finally going to get married.

The bridal sedan chair was carried out from the Zhao family.

Zhao Qing Qing finally achieved her wish and felt extremely pleased.

But her father couldn’t help but shed tears. His only daughter was about to get married, and she was marrying into a family that couldn’t support her. He was worried about his daughter’s future.

The sedan chair went around the city, passing by the Yingshi Teahouse. Ning Shizi opened the window in the private room and looked at the sedan chair below, lost in thought.

“The Anding Marquis’s mansion is really declining. They actually married such an unruly merchant’s daughter.” The companion with Ning Shizi, the dandy, the youngest son of the Shangshu Mansion, Chen Gongzi, mocked.

“Even if we, the dandies with a bad reputation in the capital, marry such a woman, we would be beaten to death!”

“What unruly behavior? She seduced a married man before getting married, and even intervened in a family’s divorce, more promiscuous than a brothel woman…”

“Haha, your comments are sharp!”

“And you, with your bad reputation, don’t drag me into it!”

“Is your reputation better than mine?”

Ning Shizi disdainfully curled his lips.

“Let’s go, let’s go to the entrance of the mansion to see the excitement!”

“What’s there to see.”

Although Chen Gongzi was stubborn in his words, he followed Ning Shizi’s footsteps honestly.

“I didn’t know you were so boring, so fond of joining in the fun.” Chen Gongzi muttered as he walked.

The surrounding people gossiped with each other, “Is this the third son marrying the pregnant woman and divorcing her to marry the Zhao family girl?”

“Really shameless!”

“And still making a big fuss like this.”

“There were many notices posted in the capital before, saying that this Zhao girl was truly loved?” A middle-aged woman said with a fluctuating tone.

“What true love, adulterers!” Someone nearby spat.

Ning Shizi and Chen Gongzi listened to the discussions of the people in the capital all the way and followed to the entrance of the mansion.