"Yeah, auntie, my little sister has been raised plump and fair because of the efforts of us three men. We never made her do the heavy work; we raised her just for your family’s son!
The young lady’s elder brother said.
"Bah, she’s lazy and pampered and won’t admit it, and you say she’s been raised for our household? Some shabby concubine—a hundred taels won’t cut it."
The young lady’s father went on, "I haven’t even mentioned the other conditions yet. I’m marrying off my daughter and I need to have three gold items, don’t I? We need money for the banquet too, right? You’ll be the ones to provide all the food for the banquet!"
The young lady’s eyes darted around; she didn’t want to be controlled by the old witch, being bought into servitude with a contract bound to the Madam. So she whimpered, and while crying, she threw herself onto her mother and clung to her, pretending to be pitiful as a married couple. In fact, she whispered a few words to her mother.
Upon hearing this, her mother instantly slapped her thigh, let go of her daughter, and pulled her husband aside to whisper a few more words.
The family secretly agreed on a plan, sending the young wife out to fetch the hemp rope used to tie up cattle.
After a short while, the young wife returned with the hemp rope in hand, and thus, a new round of negotiation began.
Mrs. Lai, at this moment, was still unaware, not having thought of what others had already concluded.
It was as if Mrs. Lai was meeting her in-laws for the first time, all shameless and insufferable, yet she still didn’t realize they were scheming against her:
"What, a hundred taels isn’t enough, and you want three gold items? And a banquet too? How thick is your face? Does a concubine even need a banquet?"
The young lady’s father, after listening to his wife, nodded and then whispered something to his two sons.
"Wuu wuu!" The young lady’s cries erupted again! She also snuck a glance at Hongji’s father.
Hongji’s father’s heart softened. Is it just a hundred taels?
His household had not possessed a hundred taels before, but these last two years he had managed to save up the amount from side jobs. As for buying three gold items, for the sake of marrying a young lady as beautiful as a flower, it was a must to offer them!
Three gold items come in various prices; one could only choose what was within their financial means.
So he made a final decision, stating, "A hundred taels, three gold items—you can only set up ten tables; don’t talk about the rest. No one will be sent here to meet. But on our side, we’ll only prepare a few tables as well, and there’s no need for you to send people over, we’ll have someone come to fetch."
Hongji’s father felt, after all, he was getting old. When his eldest son got married, they also only arranged ten or eight tables, and the betrothal gifts were just two taels of silver.
Later, when his eldest daughter got married, the other side also gave a few taels of silver as betrothal gifts.
They were very stingy too; both families only held ten or eight tables.
Things were a bit better for his second daughter; by then, they had become richer, and the other side provided a bit more in betrothal gifts, so they were able to give a more considerable dowry.
And then, with his youngest daughter, the spectacle was huge. The other party was very fashionable, giving plenty of gifts and betrothal gifts, which honored them greatly.
"Husband, a hundred taels, I won’t pay that. Let her dream on!"
At this point, Mrs. Lai was so exasperated, not only did she have to take in this rival wife, but also provide such an exorbitant betrothal gift. She felt like vomiting blood.
She was about to faint at this moment; the little maid couldn’t hold her up.
The opposing family members who were just hostile, for even more profit, came over to support Mrs. Lai.
Mrs. Lai tried to push them away, but she was dizzy and had a terrible headache—she had overexerted herself earlier and now was exhausted, completely unable to push them away.
Hongji’s father spoke to them again, saying they hadn’t brought that much money today and absolutely needed someone to come over to settle the marriage tomorrow.
But verbal promises are not proof, so he wrote a note to that effect.
Mrs. Lai’s eyes turned; there was no turning point in this matter, so the only way was to let this shameless wretch write a deed of sale, a way to compromise her entry with the hundred taels of gift money.
The young lady’s family had already thought of a plan and obviously disagreed. They insisted on marrying off the daughter in the proper way—she couldn’t write a deed of sale.
Mrs. Lai was just as adamant on this issue, wanting to grasp the lifeblood of this contemptible person.
So another argument erupted between the two parties, with each side unwavering.
Hongji’s father..., this old woman, stirring up trouble again even after arrangements were made. He saw that it was getting late and feared that if the quarrel continued, they might be trapped here. They couldn’t overpower this family and definitely could not risk being tied up and abducted.
Mrs. Lai hadn’t thought that far ahead; she was just concerned that if she didn’t do this, the wretched woman would come to bully her later on.
The young lady’s family members became threatening again, brandishing their sticks, while the young wives had already brought the ropes that were used to bind the cattle.