Chapter 869: Chapter 689: The Southern Emperor’s Truly Meager Dowry (Part 2)
"Thus, Your Majesty of the Zhou Dynasty, this is the Letter of Appointment for Marriage between our emperor and your Zhou family." Hongyan Jiaojiao waved the letter, and a female official behind her presented a tray. Hongyan Jiaojiao pointed to the letter on the tray, eyes smiling, "Please have the Imperial Jade Seal affixed to it as a State Document for the betrothal."
This Letter of Appointment for Marriage was the one written by Zhou Mu before his expedition to Liaodong, promised to Mr. Ban Shan.
But now, it needs the Imperial Jade Seal to be recognized as the betrothal letter to the Emperor of the Southern Country; the betrothal letter becomes the State Document.
"Someone, come." Emperor Zhoulin, without hesitation, ordered the Jade Seal to be brought and affixed in front of everyone.
After all, the previous engagement was to the Medicine Lady Gu Changsheng of Liuzhou City, but now it was intended for the Emperor of the Southern Country. The betrothal letter becoming a State Document is indeed reasonable.
Everything proceeded exceptionally smoothly. Hongyan Jiaojiao was very pleased, had the document put away again, and looked at Emperor Zhoulin with a smile, "Your Majesty, our emperor cherishes past feelings: when she was a dragon hidden in the Central Plains, you promised her unparalleled honor through the ceremony, and today, although she is the Southern Emperor, she still comes to fulfill the past agreement. The wedding with the Imperial Husband will be held in your Zhou Dynasty."
Emperor Zhoulin’s face immediately broke into a smile at this.
This was marrying a granddaughter-in-law, not marrying off a grandson. There was nothing better or more joyous for him!
Emperor Zhoulin was very happy, and so were the ministers of the Zhou Dynasty. Their Prince Mu was marrying an incredible wife, the Emperor of the Southern Country. Who among women could be more noble than the Southern Emperor?
"Hmph!"
Some were happy, but certainly, some were not. From the side of the women came a disdainful snort.
Who was Hongyan Jiaojiao? Even from a distance, she heard it clearly. Her face immediately darkened, but thinking of the important matter, she did not act on it and maintained a diplomatic smile, very composed.
Emperor Zhoulin also heard the sound, and his face showed apprehension, immediately trying to smooth things over, "The wedding date is a serious matter, and the Imperial Observatory should carefully determine it. The Southern Emperor remembering the past agreement is a great fortune for Zhoulin."
"There’s no need; the wedding date will be set by the Secret Sect Shang Clan’s successor, Shang Xie." Zhou Mu, who had remained silent with a cold expression, finally spoke his first words.
Hearing this, Emperor Zhoulin naturally had no objections and concurred.
Hongyan Jiaojiao naturally knew that Shang Xie was the Little Monk beside her emperor, so she raised no objections. The matter was thus settled, so Hongyan Jiaojiao spoke again, "Since the wedding date is near, at this time of diplomatic exchange, I should present our emperor’s dowry!"
Emperor Zhoulin was taken aback upon hearing this.
Hongyan Jiaojiao’s expression was solemn, "I have heard that during our emperor’s ceremony in the Central Plains, there was a tradition of displaying the betrothal gifts. Since the most important purpose of this visit is to conduct the grand ceremony of the national wedding, our Southern Country dares not be negligent."
Saying this, Hongyan Jiaojiao waved again to the female official behind her, "Present the dowry of our emperor!"
"As you command."
Dozens of female officials immediately carried forward nine exquisitely crafted wooden chests.
Everyone, upon seeing this, widened their eyes.
There were indeed nine chests, right?
The Emperor of the Southern Country’s dowry consisted of only nine chests?
This...
"Making such a grand affair, yet the dowry consists of only nine carriages. The Southern Emperor indeed has grand ambitions." Standing among the women, Madam Zheng immediately curved her lips into a smile, speaking with clear disdain, "When I got married, I had a dowry of one hundred and twenty-eight carriage-loads. Who would have thought the Emperor of the Southern Country’s dowry would be so meager, not even comparable to ordinary families in our Zhou Dynasty."
Meager!
Everyone thought the same.
The dowry was indeed far less than anticipated and, as Madam Zheng said, extremely meager, even less than an ordinary girl’s dowry.
Upon hearing this, Hongyan Jiaojiao’s face darkened again.
"Haha... I thought the Southern Emperor’s dowry would be earth-shattering, but now it seems I worried in vain. Even though she is now the Southern Emperor, she was still born in a poor family!" Taking this opportunity, Prince Liang, who harbored deep resentment towards Gu Changsheng, immediately spoke, his voice loud enough for everyone to hear.
As a result, the onlookers began to murmur among themselves.
"Just nine carriages! It’s really just nine carriages!" Prince Liang pointed at the chests, laughing with ill intent, "But thinking about it, since the Southern Emperor was born into poverty, it’s heard she was once so poor she almost couldn’t afford meals. It’s no surprise that even as the Southern Emperor, she cannot shake this small-town mentality, a truly eye-opening sight, a laughingstock for others."
"Silence!" Emperor Zhoulin immediately shouted coldly.
"Hmph." Prince Liang snorted, "Father, why chastise me? They brought out the dowry themselves, speaking of a national wedding. I truly have never seen such a meager dowry for a national wedding before. Ask these ministers. When they marry off daughters, I’m sure it’s not this meager, right?"
The ministers, upon hearing this, immediately had subtle expressions. As Prince Liang said, when they marry off daughters, the dowry is at least thirty-six carriages. This nine-carriage dowry truly embarrassed them. However, since the envoy before them was from the Southern Country, they couldn’t speak up.
Not far away, among the onlookers, people began pointing at the nine-carriage dowry.
Madam Zheng and Prince Liang laughed gleefully, having expressed their disdain.
"Lord Hongyan, don’t mind them; there’s always one or two unobservant people. Please don’t take it to heart." Although Emperor Zhoulin also found the nine-carriage dowry a bit meager, he tried to smooth things over.
Hongyan Jiaojiao’s face was as dark as ink, her gaze burning as she looked at the haughty woman among the women, the very one who interrupted her and first started mocking!