The road to wealth of a peasant widow

Chapter 253 Marriage Grant

The Chinese New Year is a time of joy and busyness, especially for the women in the family, who are always busy.

After finally waiting for the tenth day of the first lunar month, when the men had to go to work in the government offices, they finally had some free time. But before they could even catch their breath, the people of the Liu family were shocked by an imperial decree granting marriage!

This was an imperial decree issued personally by the emperor, granting marriage to Princess Fuyou and Liu Changfu, the Deputy Minister of Works.

Even after receiving the imperial edict and sending away the angel who brought it, Chen Cui had not recovered from this huge surprise, let alone Liu Changfu himself.

He has been very melancholy recently, feeling that he has become abnormal. He would often think of Princess Fuyou, recalling her voice, smile, clothes and conversation.

Even though he knew that she was now in the imperial palace and he had no chance to see her, after leaving the government office, he still couldn't help but go to the calligraphy and painting shop where they had met. He would stop in the shop and reminisce about their time together.

He would even deliberately take a detour, pass by the gate of Prince An's Mansion, and take a look at the large courtyard, wondering when its owner would come back.

Even in the study, when he saw the calligraphy and paintings he had copied, he couldn't help but think of what they had discussed at that time. As he thought about it, he couldn't help but chuckle.

Changfu had never been so worried about a woman before. He felt as if he was sick, and very sick. No one could cure him except the princess.

However, he was well aware of the gap between himself and the princess. The Liu family's family background and his own official position were far from those of the princess.

He even felt a little regretful now. After passing the imperial examination and being appointed as an official, why did he feel as if he had lost his goal? He no longer worked so hard and strived like his elder brother?

If he had the diligence of his elder brother, he would definitely not be a seventh-rank official now. He would at least have been promoted to a higher rank.

Although no matter whether he was promoted to the seventh, sixth or even fifth rank, he still seemed very far away from the princess, but at least it would make him feel closer and he would not feel so ashamed when he thought of the beauty.

During the entire New Year period, everyone was immersed in a joyful atmosphere, but he was the only one who was sad about it. However, he had to put on a smile because he didn't want his family to know the situation and worry.

However, on the tenth day of the first lunar month, he had just been on duty at the yamen for half the morning when he was struck by this great happiness!

Changfu felt dizzy, as if he was dreaming. He asked Suisui to pinch himself to see if he was dreaming.

Sui Sui grinned and twisted his arm hard. This real pain made him feel that he was in reality.

"Mother, mother, I have been granted marriage to the princess, I..."

Changfu excitedly ran to Chen Cui and reported the good news to her like a child. He was even happier than when he passed the imperial examination!

Chen Cui was also extremely happy. She was still struggling with something that made her depressed before the New Year, but after the New Year, it suddenly came true without any effort at all. It was like a blessing from heaven. This was too good to be true!

At this moment, she didn't bother to think about why such a great thing happened to her family, and she hurriedly asked someone to arrange the servants.

Such a big event as the imperial decree of marriage will spread quickly, and people are bound to come to congratulate and inquire about the news. The people under you have to be prepared to entertain them, so as not to fail to entertain them properly.

Sure enough, not long after, guests came to congratulate one after another. Some were pre-existing friends, while others were people the company had never dealt with before. However, since they came to congratulate, the company had to treat them well.

Of course, there were people who wanted to know the reason. How could such a good marriage fall into the hands of the Liu family?

This was naturally the result of Princess Fuyou's manipulation.

The Queen Mother's love for her over the years was genuine. Although she was somewhat unhappy that she had acted so recklessly, she took pity on the child and fulfilled her wish, considering that she had been in poor health for many years and that it was uncertain how long she would live.

As for the emperor, what he cared about was whether the person to be married to was an old and powerful noble, or whether he was too closely related to the ministers in the court. Liu Changfu had neither of these, so it didn't matter. Besides, the empress dowager had also approved this candidate, and he would not make his mother unhappy over such a trivial matter.

Therefore, after the Chinese New Year, there was an imperial decree to grant marriage to Princess Fuyou in marriage to Liu Changfu. All the property of Prince An's Mansion would be the princess' dowry. The Ministry of Rites would be responsible for supervising and organizing the wedding, and the Imperial Astronomical Observatory would be responsible for calculating the specific date of the wedding.

So, in this way, everyone is happy!

Because of this arranged marriage, the Liu family once again became a little famous in the capital.

Everyone knows that Princess Fuyou is a walking treasure pot. Whoever gets her will be happy to hold her. So many families were hoping to get her but failed to do so. In the end, she was given to an outsider family, the Liu family!

Yes, the Liu family has been in Beijing for nearly ten years, but they are still regarded as a small family from a remote area in the northwest. Even though Gao married two daughters-in-law and married into the families of civil officials and military generals, he still couldn't change some people's views of them.

However, Chen Cui didn't care about these things. She would rather people think that their family was not that good.

She has always adhered to the principle of keeping a low profile. Before her sons had matching official positions, she would not let others know how wealthy her family was. Otherwise, it would easily attract the attention of interested people and bring about unnecessary trouble!

However, with this arranged marriage, the Liu family could no longer keep a low profile.

The princess was a first-rank imperial concubine, so her wedding naturally had corresponding regulations. Although there were no strict requirements for the man's betrothal gift, it could not be lower than a certain number. This number would definitely exceed the standards of her two older brothers when they got married.

According to general rules, there is an order of seniority, and the rules for the younger brothers to get married should not bypass the eldest son. However, Changfu is going to marry a princess of the royal family, so this is different.

Therefore, regarding the preparations for Changfu's wedding, Chen Cui convened a family meeting and laid the matter out to her two sons and their wives.

"Mother, we all understand this. The marriage between Changfu and the princess is a major event for our Liu family. It cannot be too solemn. In short, we cannot neglect the princess."

Qin Ruozhi smiled.

"Yes, don't worry, mother. No matter how much the betrothal gift is, we will definitely not object. During the preparation process, if there is anything I can do for you, just let me know!"

Zhang Hongjuan also patted her chest and made the promise.

Changping and Chang'an had no objection to this.

The youngest brother is finally getting married, and his wife is a royal princess with a generous dowry. This will be an extra layer of security for the future, and as brothers, they can only be happy about this.

As for how much more my betrothal gift is than when they got married, they really don't care!