After Lu Chengyu’s marriage was settled, Lu Tong’s marriage was also decided.
When Lu Lin heard who Lu Tong’s husband would be, he couldn’t help but be shocked.
Lu Tong was engaged to the Li family! How could it be the Li family?
Li Jizheng from the Li family was the one that Matchmaker Wang had previously introduced to Tang. Back then, Tang despised him for being a widower with a child left behind by his late wife. She was extremely dissatisfied with the match and even argued with Matchmaker Wang. It was quite a commotion at the time. Who would have thought she would now agree to it?
Tang was always concerned about saving face, yet now she was eating her words. Things must be really bad!
Chen Xiaomi pursed his lips and said, “Last year when taxes were due, most eligible young men got married because they were afraid of paying taxes.” Three taels of silver was quite a lot, and those like Lu Chengyu who would rather pay taxes than settle for someone were definitely in the minority. “A bride price of twenty taels isn’t something just any family can afford.”
Although Li Jizheng had a previous wife and a child from his first marriage, the Li family’s circumstances were still quite good.
“I never thought Lu Tong would agree,” said Lu Lin.
In Lu Lin’s impression, Lu Tong had always aspired to be an official’s wife. It was surprising that she would agree to marry into a family where she would become a stepmother.
Chen Xiaomi pursed his lips again and said, “She doesn’t have a choice!” Lu Chengyu wanted to marry the young lady from town, which seemed quite expensive. For rural weddings, they usually just used an animal to bring the bride back. When Lu Lin had married into the family, they had simply transported him on a wooden plank. But Chen Xiaomi heard that the Lu family was planning to go all out to please the new daughter-in-law’s family. They apparently intended to rent a sedan chair from town, and the betrothal gifts would be generous too. For poor rural families marrying off daughters, rice, flour, and oil would suffice. But to marry a young lady from town, they would at minimum need to prepare several pieces of jewelry.
Although the Lu family owned plenty of land, they probably didn’t have much money after supporting Lu Chengyu’s studies. Given the current situation, if they plan to have a lavish wedding, they might need to sell land. Farming families wouldn’t consider selling land unless absolutely necessary. Land was easy to sell but difficult to buy back.
Either way, Lu Tong had to get married eventually. The bride price received from marrying her off could be used as the betrothal gift for Lu Chengyu’s marriage.
Lu Lin smiled bitterly. Some things never change. In his past life, families would scrimp and save, even go into debt, just to pay exorbitant bride prices for their sons. It seemed this era was no different.
“I heard that the old woman in the Li family isn’t easy to get along with.”
From Lu Lin’s impression, his cousin was someone who avoided hard work and put on airs. If she married into the Li family, she would likely struggle with a difficult mother-in-law and a child from the previous marriage.
Although Tang loved her daughter, it seemed she was willing to sacrifice Lu Tong for Lu Chengyu’s sake.
On second thought, Lu Lin reasoned that if Tang wasn’t concerned about her daughter, there was no need for him to worry either. Besides, Lu Tong wasn’t a good person anyway.
As far as he could remember, Lu Tong had framed the original owner whenever she got into trouble. For example, when Lu Tong stole eggs from the family, she accused Lu Lin of eating them, causing the original owner to be punished by kneeling. There were many similar incidents.
Lu Tong stayed at home preparing for her wedding, feeling absolutely terrible.
She was very dissatisfied with the marriage arrangement but had no choice. Compared to other families who had proposed, although Li Jizheng had a son from his previous wife, his family was at least somewhat respectable, and they hadn’t haggled over the betrothal gifts.
Several other families who had come to propose were practically poor. Forget about twenty taels of silver for the betrothal gifts, they couldn’t even scrape together two taels.
With her tax deadline approaching, her family seemed increasingly anxious lately. Seeing no other suitors coming forward, they simply agreed to the Li family’s proposal.
Lu Tong had once dreamed of a grand wedding, but after all that waiting, this was the family she ended up with.
Being a stepmother was difficult, especially when the previous wife had left behind a son. She’d heard that Grandma Li didn’t like her son’s former wife much, but still doted on her little grandson. If Lu Tong married into the family and gave birth to a son, that would be fine, but if she had a daughter or a Shuang’er, then the Li family’s fortune would likely fall to that first wife’s son.
The thought made her sick. She wanted to refuse this marriage, but it was too late. The family had already agreed and accepted the betrothal gifts. There was no turning back now.
Recently, everyone at home had been busy preparing for her older brother’s wedding, but her wedding had very little attention.
Lu Tong suddenly found her family becoming strangers to her. Without realizing it, she had grown much quieter. She secretly crept to the doorway and overheard her mother and older brother discussing matters inside.
“We need to buy a gold hairpin?” Tang asked painfully.
Lu Chengyu nodded and said, “Since they’re a family from town, we need at least one or two presentable pieces of jewelry.”
Tang gritted her teeth and said, “But we don’t need to buy gold ones!” In rural areas, silver jewelry was already considered elegant. There was no need for gold.
“After all, she’s a young lady from town. I heard when her sister got married, there was a bride price of eighty taels, three gold ornaments, and two carts of fine silk,” said Lu Chengyu.
Tang sighed, saying somewhat awkwardly, “But her sister married a Chief Clerk, didn’t she? We don’t need to compare ourselves to a Chief Clerk!”
Lu Chengyu bit his lip. “Even so, we can’t look too shabby and make people think we’re poor. Fangyue’s family doesn’t lack money. The betrothal gifts we give will probably come back as part of her dowry anyway.”
Tang gnawed her lip anxiously. “With the banquet to prepare and all these extravagance, I’m afraid we won’t have enough silver!”
Lu Chengyu pressed his lips together. “If we really can’t manage, we’ll have to sell a few mu of land.”
Tang frowned. “We just planted crops on that land. It’s not a good time to sell.”
“We have no choice. After I pass the Xiucai examination, we can buy it back,” Lu Chengyu said firmly.
A few days ago, he had run into Chen Jing. After their past conflicts, the two were now sworn enemies.
Lu Chengyu had always looked down on Chen Jing, but unexpectedly, Chen Jing passed the Tongsheng examination. When Chen Jing met Lu Chengyu, he didn’t hold back and pointed out bluntly that they were both Tongsheng now, and with a bit of luck, he might even pass the Xiucai examination before Lu Chengyu. Lu Chengyu felt Chen Jing’s words were nothing short of an insult.
Tang narrowed her eyes and said, “Chen Xiaomi’s family has quite a bit of silver. If we could borrow some, we wouldn’t need to sell land.”
Lu Chengyu shook his head and said, “Forget it. Chen Xiaomi is too ruthless. If he causes trouble, it could ruin the wedding.”
The fact that the Lu family had married Lu Lin off for ten taels of silver was not particularly honorable. Lu Chengyu cared a great deal about his reputation and didn’t want to cause any issues that might reach his future brother-in-law’s ears.
Tang gritted her teeth, reluctant to part with the land, yet vaguely feeling that Lu Lin had gotten off too easily.
Lin Xiu’er sat at home, sighing gloomily.
“Chengyu is making such a grand show for his wedding. Why prepare twenty tables for the banquet and invite so many people? When Lu Lin married into Chen Xiaomi’s family, he was just carried out on a door panel.”
Lu An gave Lin Xiu’er a glance and said, “How can Lu Lin compare with Chengyu? Chengyu is a scholar, so naturally there are more formalities.”
Lin Xiu’er said sullenly, “He’s been studying for so long but still hasn’t passed the Xiucai examination. How much silver has the family spent on him?” Lu Lin was actually better. He worked for the family for many years, and when he married out, he even earned the family ten taels.
“Once Chengyu’s wife comes into the family, with the Chief Clerk’s connections, things might become easier,” Lu An said.
Lin Xiu’er sighed and asked, “I hope so. How much is Chengyu planning to give as a bride price?”
“About thirty taels,” Lu An replied.
Lin Xiu’er said through gritted teeth, “Thirty taels? That’s robbery!” The family had gained thirty taels by marrying off Lu Lin and Lu Tong, but all of it wouldn’t be enough for Lu Chengyu’s marriage.
“Thirty taels is just the betrothal money. Cloth, jewelry, and other items need to be prepared separately. I’m afraid…” it wouldn’t be less than fifty taels. Grandpa Lu had consulted with him about advancing three months’ wages, but Lu An refused. He was afraid that it would create a bad impression with his superiors.
Lin Xiu’er bit her lip, worry flashing through her mind. The new daughter-in-law had a powerful background, and the family seemed ready to treat her like royalty. Tang was already difficult enough to deal with. If this new woman joined forces with Tang, she would have to endure not only Tang’s temper but the new daughter-in-law’s as well.
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