diskusbooks Chapter 222 Finale 4
Chapter 222 Finale 4
Prince Duan couldn't help but laugh: "Lord Yu is your own maternal uncle, a relative you regard as your father. Give him as much money as you want, no need to tell me!"
Even if it weren't your own money, or even if it were the Prince's money, it wouldn't matter. After all, the Prince's family has more money than they can spend, and the money is going to Zisu's own uncle. Besides, it's for the Prince's family's reputation; if the betrothal gifts are too small, the Prince's family will lose face, won't they?
Zisu: "That won't do. It's not like I'm giving you a hundred or two hundred. Such a large amount naturally needs to be reported to you! Shouldn't husband and wife be more honest with each other?"
If she hides anything from him and he finds out later, it will affect their relationship. Just because you have plenty of money doesn't mean you can give it away without asking. In the future, if he also gives money to others without even consulting her, she'll be incredibly upset!
Prince Duan couldn't help but laugh. He was afraid that the prince wasn't being honest enough. He chuckled and said, "Alright, I'll be honest. I swear, I will never hide anything from you and secretly give money to anyone!"
Zisu couldn't help but laugh, and rolled her eyes at him: "Your relatives are all rich. I'm just worried that you'll secretly give money to other women!" These were words spoken in anger, but also from the bottom of her heart.
Prince Duan pulled her into his arms, lowered his head and sealed her lips with a kiss. After a long while, he released her and said with a smile, "You're worrying for nothing. In this life, I may wrong anyone, but I would never wrong you! If I lost such a good wife as you, I would regret it for the rest of my life!"
Zisu nestled against his broad, muscular chest, and couldn't help but smile through her tears.
Her choice was indeed right. She was content and fortunate to have chosen Prince Duan as her husband. Her decision was correct. Missing out on such a wonderful man would have been the biggest regret of her life.
Sensing her deep affection, Prince Duan's heart overflowed with a surge of happiness. His feelings were, in fact, the same as Zisu's.
He held the person in his arms even tighter, and said with deep affection, "Don't worry, having you in my life is enough for me. I will never look at another woman again. From now on, everything I have is yours, and what's yours is yours! I will report to you on any expenses exceeding one hundred taels of silver, is that alright?"
Zisu couldn't help but punch him a few times, laughing so hard she almost choked: "What are you saying? It sounds like I'm being unreasonable! Yours is yours, as long as you give me enough living expenses every month. I won't restrict your spending, and I certainly won't tie you to my belt. You're free."
She knew very well that being too controlling of a man would only make him rebellious and feel suffocated in the relationship. Sooner or later, this would drive him to constantly think about divorce and treat the home like a den of wolves and tigers.
Men can be quite perverse sometimes. The better you treat them, the more anxious you are about them, the more they perceive your love and affection as worthless and insignificant. Conversely, if you maintain a certain distance and appear less concerned about them, they become anxious.
Besides, she utterly despised the idea of keeping a man by binding him to her belt. If he found someone new, she would leave him immediately and would never share a man with another woman.
She can survive without a man!
However, she was still very happy and cherished to have a man who truly loved her and could accompany her for life. Living alone was simply too lonely and desolate. Having children and a husband who truly loved her made for a perfect and warm home.
Prince Duan then said to Zisu, "How about we give your uncle another 30,000 taels of silver so he can prepare more betrothal gifts?"
Zisu: "Come on, a dowry of 20,000 taels is more than enough! He's an honest official with nothing in his pocket, where would he get so much money? If it's 20,000 taels, I can say it's from me, but any more than that is a bit much!"
Prince Duan nodded inwardly. Well done; his wife was clear-headed and acted with great discretion. That was excellent. This way, he wouldn't have to worry so much in the future. He could completely refrain from interfering in matters of the inner quarters; he only needed to manage his own businesses and secret guard organization.
As the Prince of Duan, a prince of unparalleled wealth, he naturally possessed his own large and powerful secret guard. This wasn't an act of rebellion, but rather for self-preservation; otherwise, if someone were to attack the Prince of Duan's residence, he wouldn't even have the ability to retaliate.
Yu Zhe is getting married, and he will have to go to the Prince's Mansion to present the betrothal gifts in a few days.
Shangguan Mufeng then asked Madam Yu, "Yu Zhe is going to propose marriage, should we give him five thousand taels of silver?"
Madam Yu waved her hand: "No need, Zisu told us that she would give her uncle 20,000 taels of silver notes, so we don't need to worry about it!"
Shangguan Mufeng: "Oh, that's good. Twenty thousand taels is quite respectable!"
Madam Yu: "Yes, if it's too little, the Prince's Mansion will lose face."
When Madam Yu heard that Zisu had given her another 20,000 taels of silver, she sighed deeply and couldn't help but scold her son: "You, you, tell me yourself, how much money have you spent on Zisu over the years?"
Yu Zhe was naturally very ashamed: "When I am able to do so in the future, I will definitely repay the money to Zisu." Before he had the ability, any guarantee or promise seemed so pale and powerless.
Madam Yu sighed again, "Princess Jiahe's dowry must be very generous, right? Why don't we have Jiahe subsidize it and return the 20,000 taels of silver to Zisu as soon as possible?"
Upon hearing this, Yu Zhe's face turned as red as a sheet of red cloth, and he shook his head repeatedly: "Mother, what are you saying? Princess Jiahe's dowry is not something we can covet. I would rather owe Zisu money than take advantage of Princess Jiahe. If I use a large sum of Princess Jiahe's money, how can I face her with my head held high in the future?"
If she takes credit for her service and berates Yu Han and Zhen'er, do you think we have the right to criticize her? We absolutely cannot accept her money, even if she offers it to us voluntarily. She's using her own money to supplement her household expenses; we can at most pretend we don't know, but we absolutely cannot take her money!
Princess Jiahe was used to a good life. If she felt that the food, clothing, and housing in the Yu household were too poor, and she used her dowry to supplement the household expenses, that was her business. He couldn't and shouldn't interfere. He couldn't possibly not allow his wife to use her dowry to improve her quality of life just because he himself couldn't provide her with good food, clothing, and housing.
That would be too hypocritical!
After hearing her son's words, Madam Yu remained silent.
The son holds such a high official position and his salary is quite substantial, yet his monthly salary might not even be enough for Princess Jiahe to buy a single hairpin. Alas, marrying into a wealthy family has both advantages and disadvantages.
Sigh, when will my family be able to become rich?
Zisu's money was all hard-earned, not something that grew out of thin air. Having accepted Zisu's twenty thousand taels of silver, she couldn't accept any more, even if Zisu offered her a hundred or two in the future. To do so would be shameless!
I hope my son can have a happy marriage with Princess Jiahe this time, and grow old together. Otherwise, if they marry again, the family will be in debt again!
Madam Yu felt a pang of sadness and felt very uncomfortable.
A wave of bitterness washed over Yu Zhe. "Alas," he sighed, "being an honest official isn't easy. I can't even afford to marry a wife. If it weren't for Zisu, I really wouldn't dare marry a daughter from a wealthy family. If I were to marry a daughter from a poor family, a dowry of one thousand taels would be the limit."
Yu Han knew that her father was getting married, and to the same woman who was Xiao Yun'er's mother. Her heart was filled with complex emotions, and she felt quite down.
Will this stepmother, the princess, be able to treat him and Zhen'er well?
That day, Yu Han and Shangguan Yi returned home on their day off, while Zisu went to the General's Mansion to visit her younger brother. Upon hearing that she had gone to the General's Mansion, Yu Han came to see her with tears in her eyes: "Elder sister, Father is going to marry a stepmother. Will that princess treat me and Zhen'er well? Will she secretly poison us?"
Upon hearing this, Zisu felt a pang of sadness. Her uncle was getting married, which should have been a happy occasion. But look how frightened the child was; the trauma from that Li woman probably hadn't completely faded from his heart yet.
Yu Han threw herself into Zi Su's arms and cried.
Zisu hugged him and gently comforted him, "No, Princess Jiahe is a kind person. At most, she might scold you a few times for doing something wrong. I believe she wouldn't poison you. Don't be afraid. She will take her daughter Yun'er to live in the Yu family. She also wants your father to treat Yun'er well. Put yourself in her shoes, so don't overthink it. As long as you are genuinely good to her and genuinely good to Yun'er, I believe she will treat you well in return!"
Yu Han's heart was still trembling: "But I'm still scared, big sister, what should I do?"
Zisu couldn't help but sigh; "Don't be afraid. If she dares to treat you badly, go to the Prince's Mansion and find me. I'll settle the score with her! Also, if she treats you badly, you can stay at the General's Mansion during your days off! When you grow up and turn eighteen, your eldest sister will buy you a small two-courtyard house so you can open your own house and live independently!"
Hearing this, Yu Han finally felt a little relieved: "Big sister, I don't need you to buy me a house. I just need you to convince my father to let me move out and live independently. Then, I can rent a small one-courtyard house first. Since it's just for me, I can hire a middle-aged couple to work as the gatekeeper, gardener, cook, and cleaner!"
Over the years, before I turned eighteen, I could sweep floors at the academy and work part-time at tourist attractions, saving the money I earned to rent a place later!
Zisu laughed: "Very good, very ambitious! You don't need to wrong yourself like this. Just study hard, and if you can pass the imperial examination before you turn eighteen, I will buy you a small two-courtyard house as a reward! Don't argue with me, you can't refuse a gift from your elders!"
Yu Han smiled sheepishly, "Alright then, I'll accept your offer! I'll study hard and strive to pass the imperial examination as soon as possible." She added with a chuckle, "Hehe, even if it's just for my elder sister's reward, I'll study hard. That two-courtyard house is worth quite a bit of money!"
Hearing this, Shangguan Yi couldn't help but scratch his head and asked with a smile, "Big sister, if I pass the imperial examination before I turn eighteen, will you also give me a small two-courtyard house as a reward?"
Zisu flicked her finger and gave her younger brother a light tap on the head, her eyes crinkling with laughter: "Well, if you're this promising, your older sister will also give you a small two-courtyard house. Tomorrow, I'll have someone find two adjacent houses and reserve them for you two. Whoever passes the imperial examination first will get one!"
Yu Han suddenly asked again, "Elder sister, if I pass the imperial examination at the age of sixteen and become a Juren, can I be assigned to a separate household at the age of sixteen?"
Zisu was taken aback for a moment, then nodded with a smile: "Hmm, that's ambitious! Let me put it this way, no matter when you pass the imperial examination, I will help you persuade your father to allow you to establish your own household and live independently! Even if you are only fifteen years old that year, I will still help you achieve your wish!"
Yu Han is eight years younger than Zi Su. Zi Su is almost nineteen now, while Yu Han is just over eleven. He is already a student who has passed the preliminary examination, and in two years, he will take the county-level examination to become a scholar. He is a very good student and is quite well-known at Wuliping Academy.