Chapter 86 : Dowry

Song Ying waited the whole morning and took several short naps before Faer finally returned.

The little maid came running in, face flushed. As always, Song Ying handed her a cup of warm tea she had prepared. “No rush, drink this first.”

Gulp, gulp. Faer drank two cups in a row, then smiled and said, “Princess, it’s done! The General agreed, the wedding date is set for the 26th.”

Song Ying replied, “So my aunt really is the best.”

Faer first ran outside to check for anyone nearby, then closed the doors and windows, sat down next to Song Ying, and whispered, “When I saw the Marchioness come out, her face was so long, looked like she had just had a fight with someone.”

Song Ying: “Oh?”

Faer continued, “I grabbed a young maid from the front yard of the General’s Mansion and asked. She said it was peaceful at first, but soon she could only hear the Marchioness’s voice. The General tried to argue back, but he was completely overwhelmed.”

“She went at it like she was charging into battle, every word a killing strike, all hitting the vital points. The General was so intimidated he barely dared to breathe, and in the end, he just agreed to the date.”

Song Ying laughed, “I can totally imagine the scene. But I have a small question, how did you manage to catch a maid from the General’s Mansion?”

Faer puffed up her cheeks proudly. “Besides serving you, Princess, my favorite pastime when left alone is catching young maids and brothers from other mansions. Well… actually, I just gave her a little money.”

Song Ying: “On the public dime.”

Faer: “Thank you, Princess!”

—

Now that they were engaged, Huo Zhen started coming to the Marquis’ Mansion whenever he had free time. He came right through the front gate, bold and open, with a clear conscience.

Song Shihe, still confined at home, overheard the servants chatting about this and angrily spat on the floor.

“Shameless!”

Fifteen came over carrying a food box. “Young Master.”

In Song Shihe’s mind, his father still loved him.

Even though he was under house arrest, he still allowed Fifteen to come visit.

With him around, the confinement wasn’t so boring.

“You’re finally here. Let me show you my treasure ‘The Golden Crown King!’”

Song Shihe took out a cricket he’d raised and proudly showed it to Shiwu.

Fifteen glanced at the books on the table and asked, “Young Master, aren’t you reading?”

Song Shihe replied, “Sigh, reading isn’t as fun as cricket fights. When I’m free again, I’ll take you to challenge others. My king is really powerful.”

Fifteen: “It’s getting cold. Will it survive the winter?”

Song Shihe, too busy playing with the cricket, stuck his butt out and said casually, “It’s fine if it doesn’t. If this king dies, I still have plenty of others to take its place.”

Fifteen: “That’s true. Even though there’s only one ‘Golden Crown King’ in name, there can be many of them.”

Song Shihe said heartlessly, “Exactly! This is the fourth Golden Crown King I’ve raised. It better last longer this time and win me more matches. If not, I’ll throw it out and get a stronger one.”

Fifteen smiled quietly, walked over to the table, and looked at the books. They were open, covered with Song Shihe’s messy writing and doodles, some words already smudged with ink spots.

Seeing him zoning out, Song Shihe called out quickly, “Stop staring at that. Come here and I’ll teach you how to play.”

Fifteen: “Okay.”

—

After leaving Song Shihe’s place, Fifteen tried to walk back to the Guest House by himself. Everything was going well until he reached a fork in the road and he chose the wrong way again.

He spotted someone coming toward him, so he walked up and asked, “Big brother, how do I get to the East Guest House?”

Huo Zhen had just received praise from Song Ying and was still feeling pleased with himself when this young boy showed up and interrupted his thoughts.

“East Guest House? No idea.”

Fifteen: “Oh, thank you anyway.”

Although Huo Zhen hadn’t been to the Marquis’ Mansion many times, he still had a general idea of the layout.

Seeing that Fifteen was about to head toward the pond, Huo Zhen quickly called out, “Wait.”

Fifteen stopped and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Huo Zhen said, “I may not know exactly where the East Guest House is, but I’m sure you’re going in the completely wrong direction.”

Fifteen scratched his head. “Sorry, I’m not very familiar with the place.”

Huo Zhen: …

Young man, this isn’t just a matter of being unfamiliar, you clearly have no idea where you’re going.

There were no servants nearby, but Song Ying’s courtyard wasn’t far from here.

Huo Zhen said, “Come with me.”

So Huo Zhen took Fifteen back to Song Ying’s place.

“He got lost. I don’t know where the East Guest House is either. Get someone to take him back.”

Song Ying looked at Fifteen helplessly. “Got it.”

While Fa’er was free ranging outside, Song Ying simply called another servant to take Fifteen away.

Fifteen thanked them and left.

Huo Zhen glanced at the gentle, refined-looking Fifteen and asked, “Who is he?”

Song Ying replied, “He’s the young Taoist priest who used to serve my grandfather. Oh, no, he’s returned to secular life now.”

Huo Zhen: “Returned to secular life? Then why’s he staying in the Marquis’ Mansion?”

Song Ying: “Aren’t you supposed to be heading to the military camp? Why are you still hanging around here?”

Huo Zhen: “Right, right. I’ll head out now and come back tomorrow.”

Song Ying: “Don’t come tomorrow. My uncle is visiting, and we have things to discuss.”

Huo Zhen: “Your uncle? Then I must meet him in advance.”

Song Ying gave him a look. Huo Zhen quickly said, “Okay, okay, if I can’t come tomorrow, I’ll come the day after.”

Not long after Huo Zhen left, the servant who had just escorted Fifteen returned in a hurry and said, “Princess, Taoist Priest Fifteen is missing again.”

Song Ying: …

“Forget it, just leave him be.”

Fifteen had stood there waiting for quite a while. When no one came back for him, he sighed softly and followed his instincts to leave.

—

Early in the day, Song Ying stood at the front gate of the mansion waiting.

When she saw Han Zhu’s carriage approaching, she cheerfully walked down the steps. “Uncle!”

The carriage stopped, and Han Zhu got out quickly. He wrapped his arm around Song Ying’s shoulders with affection, clearly emotional and at a loss for words.

Thousands of emotions condensed into one simple sentence: “You haven’t changed. Good, good.”

Faer called out, “Uncle.”

Han Zhu looked at the little maid. “Faer has put on some weight.”

Faer replied, “The princess has been taking good care of me.”

Han Zhu chuckled just as another carriage arrived.

When the person stepped out, Song Ying looked confused. “Aunt?”

Song Jinlan gave a brief nod, exchanged glances with Han Zhu, then looked away and walked straight into the mansion.

Han Zhu said, “Your aunt is still the same as ever.”

Song Ying said, “Let’s go inside.”

Song Jinzhuo and his wife were already in the hall. When Zhou saw Song Jinlan walk in as well, she was clearly surprised.

What is she doing here? Wasn’t the wedding date already set?

After everyone sat down, Han Zhu was the first to speak to Song Jinzhuo. “I’m here today for one reason only, regarding Aying’s dowry.”

As soon as he finished, the housekeeper beside him handed the dowry list to Song Ying.

“Have a look and see if anything is missing. The rest will arrive in the capital in another two days.”

Song Ying didn’t even glance at it and passed it to Faer. “As long as it’s from Uncle, that’s all that matters.”

Song Jinlan cleared her throat softly. “Brother Han, Song Ying is still a child of the Song family, and now she’s even a princess. The dowry shouldn’t come from you alone. The Song family should take the lead in this matter. Don’t you agree, Sister-in-law?”