Jia Lian corrected himself, and the old woman carried the bride onto the sedan chair.
The procession began its return journey, with music and drums.
Looking at the seemingly endless procession, truly a ten-mile red dowry, Phoenix Egg couldn't help but exclaim: "Sister Feng, oh, I should call you Second Sister-in-law now."
"This is what it means to be truly glorious, Second Sister-in-law."
"If I could have this kind of experience someday, who cares if it's marrying or marrying off?"
She savored the taste of it.
Li Xuan spoke plainly:
"Bao brother, if I heard correctly, you want to marry yourself off?"
Phoenix Egg nodded: "Yeah, how grand it is!"
Li Xuan exchanged a glance with Jia Lian.
They were both a bit dumbfounded.
If this unlucky thing went back to find Granny Jia and cried, begging for a dowry for herself...
Yikes, how do we even handle that!
Li Xuan was the first to change the topic: "Second Brother Lian, what are the rules regarding dowries?"
Jia Lian knew Li Xuan had passed the provincial exams to become a scholar.
He had even emerged victorious in Jinling, a place where literary talents converged.
How could he not know the rules of dowries?
He was using this to shift the topic.
If they kept going, Phoenix Egg really would turn into a delicate flower and get married, how could he, as the second brother, maintain a good image in front of the elders?
He smiled gratefully at Li Xuan, and Jia Lian said:
"The dowry, a full set is 64 carries."
"What is a carry? Two people carry one burden, that's one carry. 64 carries means 64 burdens, or 64 large chests."
"Wealthy families have a full set, less wealthy have a half set, which is 32 carries. Even less wealthy families might have 16, 12, or 8 carries."
"This crazy girl, she's extremely wealthy, a total of 128 carries."
Seeing Phoenix Egg indeed distracted, Li Xuan said:
"Dowries are a woman's private property, their personal belongings. Only incompetent men would covet their wives' dowries. Isn't that right, Second Brother Lian?"
Jia Lian said with a sigh: "That's right, dowries are a woman's confidence."
Now Phoenix Egg's attention was fully captivated.
She curiously asked: "Second Brother Lian, Fourth Brother Xuan, these dowries, 64 carries here, 128 carries there, what kind of good stuff do they contain?"
Li Xuan and Jia Lian exchanged another glance.
Jia Lian gestured with a "please" hand, and Li Xuan said:
"Alright, I'll throw out the first stone to attract jade."
"This dowry, there's a saying of 6 major items and 7 minor items."
"The 6 major items include a dressing box, a step-bed, a closed cabinet, a camphorwood chest, a bottom-of-the-chest item, and a descendant treasure bucket."
"The 7 minor items include a chamber pot, a red ruler, a vase, a copper tray and shoes, a silver pouch with a belt, a dragon and phoenix quilt, and dragon and phoenix bowls and chopsticks."
"Among them, the descendant treasure bucket is a three-piece set, including a descendant bucket (chamber pot), a wealth bucket (water bucket), and a gathering treasure basin (foot washing basin)."
"And the 7 minor items that are part of the dowry each have a meaning: the chamber pot signifies many descendants, the red ruler signifies seeking vast fields, the vase signifies blossoming wealth and prosperity, the copper tray and shoes signify growing old together, the silver pouch with a belt signifies being rich and affluent, the dragon and phoenix quilt signifies long-lasting love, and the dragon and phoenix bowls and chopsticks signify abundance."
Jia Baoyu's mouth hung open, his face full of disdain.
He mumbled: "Vulgar, so vulgar, simply vulgar beyond words!"
"How can everything be such mundane items?"
"Baoyu, this is where you don't understand," Jia Lian, knowing where he was stuck, laughed, "Little brother, you're actually being quite general."
"For example, the dressing box, it's full of treasures inside."
"The so-called dowry can be incredibly elaborate. Apart from the maids, old women, managers, and estates that come with the dowry, from large items like beds, tables, cabinets, and chests, to small items like seasonal clothing, even red sandalwood golden-rimmed chamber pots and bathing tubs, some even prepare even the shroud, exaggeratedly."
"It's not good to talk about the current dynasty, but in the past, there was an empress, her dowry included over 500 items. Among them, clothing items, not including crowns, hats, boots, shoes, socks, and fabric, amounted to 290 items."
"The dowry is carried from the maiden's home to the husband's home, open for everyone to see along the way."
"In order of appearance, it's gold, silver, jade, jewelry, bedroom items, study items like the four treasures of the study, antiques, silk, fur, clothing, chests, quilts, and so on."
"It truly encompasses everything, a sight to behold that shakes the soul."
Just now, Li Xuan only mentioned the corresponding furniture, including the things inside.
Therefore, Jia Baoyu, this fellow without life experience, couldn't imagine how exciting it would be for a camphorwood chest full of beautiful clothes and the bottom of the chest full of silver.
After all, he never cared how much he spent, and never looked for his own clothes.
But now that Jia Lian explained it, Big Face Bao could imagine it.
What he imagined wasn't the actual things, but how beautiful his sisters would look wearing and wearing them.
He wiped his mouth, Big Face Bao made a decision.
He would go back and make his sisters put on their dowries for him to see.
No, his sisters might not have saved up much dowry, he should find the sister-in-laws!
After indulging in his fantasies, he asked:
"Second Brother Lian, what about the concise version of elaborate?"
"That's simple," Jia Lian laughed loudly, "Simple means just supplementing with silver. If you have silver, everything else is easy!"
Li Xuan gave him a thumbs up: "Second Brother Lian, astute."
And Jia Baoyu, thinking about what dowry he would bring if he "got married," went into a daze.
Well, he's still thinking about these matters!
Li Xuan shrugged helplessly, and Jia Lian also covered his forehead with a wry smile.
The wedding procession continued, but unexpectedly, at Sifangjie (crossroads), they were blocked by another wedding procession.
Jia Lian's procession was going east-west, the other procession was going north-south.
Clearly, Jia Lian's side was supposed to go first, but they stubbornly insisted on passing when Jia Lian's procession was halfway through, directly colliding with them.
Li Xuan instantly became alert.
What about getting on the wrong sedan chair and marrying the right man, Ziwei and Xiaoyanzi getting married and marrying the wrong person, and the little puppy I married turning into a handsome older man…
In short, something was definitely going to happen!
The outcome was even more exciting than Li Xuan anticipated.
Seeing the servants couldn't handle it, Jia Lian ordered Li Xuan to watch over Phoenix Egg, then rode his horse forward.
But as soon as chaos erupted, their people swarmed forward, thoroughly mixing with Jia Lian's wedding procession.
Then, from the surrounding shops, dozens of masked men wielding knives rushed out.
They didn't hesitate, directly charging towards the bride's sedan chair. Anyone in their path was met with a slash of their knives.
Li Xuan and Baoyu were at the front of the procession, right next to the sedan chair.
Seeing the masked men charging towards them, it was as if they were charging at Li Xuan and Baoyu themselves.
Big Face Bao cried out in fear and hid in the arms of a Jia family old woman, like an ostrich burying its head in the sand.
The old woman was Lin Zhixiao's wife, sent by Granny Jia to help.
She remained clear-headed, holding Phoenix Egg and running to the side.
No matter what their purpose was, standing still was the most dangerous. Run first and ask questions later!