Lin Wei softened her tone. “Sister, these betrothal cards have already been exchanged, and both of our marriages are set. If you dare to make a scene and disgrace the Lin family, Father will not spare you. In the best case, you’ll have your hair shaved off to become a nun; in the worst case, you’ll fall ill and die within a year or half. Are you willing to accept that, Sister?”
“But by what right—”
“You are being so unreasonable! Have you thought it through? Do you really want to set yourself against me?”
Lin Yulan seemed frightened by her. After struggling for a moment, she said with the despair of someone who had given up all hope, “What other choice do I have? Mother certainly won’t give me any dowry. Without a dowry to rely on, what kind of good life could I possibly live? I am not reconciled! Good younger sister, you go marry into the Marquis’s Estate. As for that Meng family, I don’t mind that their family background is poor, truly!”
“Don’t you dare!”
“I have never competed with my younger sister for anything, but this time I really cannot endure it! I—”
“Isn’t it just a dowry? I’ll give it to you then!”
Upon hearing this, Lin Yulan looked incredulous and stopped making a fuss. “Really?”
Lin Wei secretly breathed a sigh of relief, sneering inwardly at Lin Yulan’s shortsightedness! Wasn’t it just a bit of a dowry? She didn’t care about it at all. The financial foundation of the Duke of Rongguo’s Estate was a hundred times better than that dilapidated Marquis’s Estate! In less than a year, Big Brother Meng would return to the Duke of Rongguo’s Estate, and by then, mountains of gold and silver would be hers to spend however she pleased.
Right now, it was crucial to coax Lin Yulan and cut off all possibilities of any accidents.
“Of course it’s true.”
“But Mother won’t easily agree unless…”
“Unless what?”
“Unless it’s written in black and white, and you secretly coax Mother into pressing her fingerprint on it. I’ll keep it as evidence.”
Lin Wei frowned, looking somewhat reluctant.
Lin Yulan said softly, “If Mother gives all the betrothal gifts from the Marquis’s Estate to me and also prepares a generous dowry for me, this written note will naturally become useless. What does Younger Sister have to worry about?”
Thinking about it, Lin Wei felt it made sense and let out a contemptuous sneer. “Look at that unpresentable look of yours, so petty! Fine, I promise you then.”
Yet Lin Yulan hesitated again. “Otherwise, perhaps we should still swap our marriages back—”
“Lin Yulan, don’t you dare go back on your word! Just wait for me, I’ll definitely bring you the written note tonight!”
Lin Wei turned around and ran off in a hurry.
Lin Yulan breathed a gentle sigh of relief.
Gu cherished Lin Wei; sneaking away while Gu was asleep to press her hand for a fingerprint was very easy for Lin Wei to accomplish, so she shouldn’t fake this part.
After all, Lin Wei was afraid she would make a scene.
What if she forged it and got caught by her?
She smiled with a hint of irony. Her legitimate younger sister was truly devoted to this marriage. She only hoped that in the future, she wouldn’t be too disappointed.
The Duke of Rongguo’s Estate—heh!
Barely an hour later, Lin Wei brought over the note with Mrs. Meng’s fingerprint pressed upon it, threw it coldly at Lin Yulan, and said, “Remember what you promised me, and don’t make any trouble.”
With that, she turned around and left in a furious huff.
Lin Yulan inspected it carefully. Excellent—it was written clearly and explicitly, and the fingerprint seal was distinct. Her younger sister was truly invested in this!
After carefully tucking away this protective amulet, Lin Yulan went to the study to find her father.
Just this alone wasn’t enough; she also needed Father to speak the word.
Lin Daohui had been in a relaxed mood recently. The marriages of both daughters were settled; betrothal gifts would be delivered in two days, and next month they would leave the boudoir together—it would make quite a fine tale.
Although the younger daughter’s marriage had caused such a fuss, fortunately, not many people knew about it. To the outside world, they would simply say that he was optimistic about Meng Mingchi and thus the two families had formed an alliance; it was barely passable.
Hearing that his eldest daughter had come, Lin Daohui was slightly startled. It seemed to be the first time this child had proactively come to see him alone.
“Have the eldest miss come in!”
“Greetings, Father.”
“Ah, sit down quickly.”
Lin Daohui sighed with affectionate a smile. “In the blink of an eye, both of you sisters have grown up. If your birth mother were still here, seeing you secure such a fine marriage, she would surely be comforted for your sake.”
A wave of sorrow washed over Lin Yulan. Her birth mother, Concubine Fang, had passed away from illness three years ago, which to her felt already two lifetimes away. When the concubine mother was alive, the mother and daughter depended on each other; once she was gone, she could only endure with bitter hardship.
She had originally thought that marrying would bring a breath of relief; as long as she steadfastly and attentively managed things, she could surely live quite well.
Never had she expected that fortune would play tricks on her, and in the end, she never had a single day of ease.
Thinking of this, Lin Yulan felt her eyes turn red. “Mm. Seeing that Father and Mother have thought so much for Daughter, Concubine Mother will surely be comforted and grateful.”
Following her father’s sentiment for a moment, Lin Yulan then said, “Father, the Marquis of Wuwei’s Estate is an aristocratic noble family after all. Yulan is only a concubine-born daughter, and I’m afraid the servants up and down the Marquis’s Estate, as well as the families of relatives and friends who visit, will look down on Daughter. Being looked down upon by them is one thing, but I’m afraid it might even implicate the maternal family, causing them to be despised and humiliated. Thinking of these things makes Daughter feel quite uneasy, so I’ve specifically come to seek Father’s guidance…”
Lin Daohui was momentarily stunned and fell into deep thought.
He was merely a fourth-rank official, falling far short compared to the Marquis of Wuwei, who held a primary-first rank!
No matter how dissolute and unprincipled the Marquis of Wuwei was, for his family’s concubine-born daughter to marry over and become the Marchioness was indeed marrying upward.
If not for the marriage decided by the departed elders through a fortuitous coincidence, and if not for the kindness and benevolence of the Marquis’s Estate’s old dowager, their family could never even dream of this match.
Yet, just because the old dowager was kind and generous didn’t mean everyone else in the Marquis’s Estate was willing to welcome their daughter with open arms.
Among the servants of noble families, which ones weren’t snobs?
As for those relatives, friends, and socializing acquaintances, there was no guarantee there wouldn’t be those whose noses were stuck up in the air.
Lin Daohui thus said, “You are a good child. After leaving the boudoir, as long as you properly serve your elders and husband, and act with virtue and propriety in your dealings with others, no one will be able to pick faults with you. Father will give you all of the betrothal gifts from the Marquis’s Estate as your dowry, and the family will also prepare a share for you, ensuring it won’t disgrace the Lin family. But as for how things go hereafter, you will have to rely on yourself.”
If a woman wanted her husband’s family to hold her in high regard, aside from a strong maternal family background, the other thing was having a generous dowry to lean on!
Deeply moved, Lin Yulan immediately knelt down before her father. “Father, rest assured. Since Father has already thought this much for me, if I were still unpromising, it would truly shame the Lin family. I don’t want too much dowry either—just give me seventy percent of the dowry originally prepared for Younger Sister.”
“Good, good! Yulan is truly sensible! Get up quickly, get up.” Lin Daohui chuckled as he helped Lin Yulan up, highly gratified in a display of paternal benevolence and filial piety.
Within a few days, the betrothal gifts from the Marquis of Wuwei’s Estate were delivered—a grand procession of fully thirty-six chests brought right into the Lin residence and laid out in the courtyard. It made quite a spectacle, and neighbors all along the street praised it endlessly while the servants of the Lin residence chattered among themselves with envy.
Xiaoqu said to Lin Yulan in a low voice with a curious look, “Eldest Miss, is the Second Miss out of her mind? Why on earth did she forsake such a good marriage into the Marquis of Wuwei’s Estate, insist on blowing an accident that could have been covered up into a huge fuss, and insist on marrying that Meng family young master? This servant—this servant truly cannot understand it!”
Lin Yulan smiled faintly. “Perhaps Younger Sister fell in love at first sight with the Meng family young master. Let’s not meddle in this matter, nor speak of it.”
“Yes, Eldest Miss!” Xiaoqu beamed, genuinely happy for her own mistress. As for the Second Miss’s affairs, she wouldn’t ask too many questions.