Chapter 221 – I Am The Empress Dowager, Who Am I Afraid Of? (part 14)

“What? A-De is the prince? No way! How is it possible?!” It was Qin Wan’er’s eldest brother who spoke. His wife nodded repeatedly next to him. She had also seen that Gentleman A-De, whose words and deeds did not resemble the prince.

“Oh, my little sister is going to be a princess consort. This is incredibly lucky! Dad, hurry up and burn incense for our ancestors!” The one who spoke was Qin Wan’er’s second older brother.

“Just be quiet for a while. All of you are so happy, but you haven’t thought about Wan’er at all. What’s the big deal?” Mother Qin looked at Father Qin.

“He is too rich to be a good match!” Father Qin said quickly.

“That’s right. He is too rich to be a good match. That’s the prince. Look at our family’s background. If A-De, no, if the prince is not good to Wan’er, how can we help Wan’er!” Mrs. Qin said angrily.

“That shouldn’t be! A-De, no, the prince… The prince is very friendly and approachable, and treats Wan’er as well as we do,” the eldest of the Qin family continued.

“That’s right. A-De doesn’t look like the prince in a drama at all. Mother, don’t worry about this. I think you should worry about Wan’er’s dowry!” said the second child of the Qin family.

The Qin family’s third son was 6 years old and he had nothing to say in regards to such a big event. He was pulled aside by his second older sister-in-law, given some candy, and was asked to take the younger ones to play in the yard.

Mother Qin had a headache just thinking about it. She looked at her daughter. “Wan’er, what do you want to do? Do you want to marry? If you don’t want to marry…” They had accepted the imperial decree. The Qin family did not have the courage to resist.

Qin Wan’er lowered her head and said nothing. Did she want to marry? The answer was yes. She liked A-De, and she was willing to marry A-De. She just didn’t expect older brother A-De to be the prince. She was a little scared.

Mother Qin knew what the answer was when she saw Qin Wan’er like this. Since her daughter was willing, she would not say anything. A-De, no, the prince, she had seen him too. He was really good, talented and had a good temperament. He was indeed a good son-in-law. Otherwise, she wouldn’t turn a blind eye and let him and Wan’er meet each other.

“Okay, you can go and get married. Don’t worry, your parents are here.” Mother Qin patted her daughter’s hand.

Father Qin and the eldest brother of the Qin family also patted their chests and said that they would let their daughter/sister marry, and they would be there for her.

The two sisters-in-law also nodded in agreement.

Qin Wan’er’s eyes turned red with emotion. She knew the situation at home. She originally thought that older brother A-De was the son of an official. She never expected that older brother A-De was actually a prince. She bowed her head and hesitated for a long time before she said, “Mother and father, older brother and sister-in-law, older brother A-De knows our family’s situation. Since he came to propose a marriage, he must not dislike our family. So…” With regards to a dowry… It didn’t have to be extravagant.

Qin Wan’er just couldn’t say it directly, but she believed that her parents, older brothers and older sister-in-laws would definitely understand what she meant.

“Okay, this is not something you should worry about. Be good and obedient when you enter the imperial palace. Xiaochan, help the girl.” Father Qin waved.

When Qin Wan’er left, the Qin family gathered together to discuss the matter of the dowry.

“Wan’er is going to be a princess consort in the future. The dowry can’t be too little, otherwise it will make people laugh.” It was the eldest brother of the Qin family who spoke.

The eldest sister-in-law of the Qin family nodded. “It’s not enough. I’ll go back to my parents. I remember that my pawnshop had a coral tree that is half a foot tall.”

“I can also get some things from my mother’s family,” The Qin family’s second sister-in-law also said.

Mother Qin shook her head. “How can this work?! How can the girl’s sister-in-law’s family be responsible for preparing her dowry? No, absolutely not.”

The two sisters-in-laws of the Qin family were anxious. “Mother, are we not one family? Little sister’s affairs are the top priority of our family!”

“Then you can’t ask your parents for it. No!” Mother Qin said.

Father Qin also nodded and said, “Yes, your mother is right. You can’t ask them. We will find a way for Wan’er’s dowry.”

Standing next to him, An Hui felt that he had been neglected. He remembered the prince’s instructions, cleared his throat, which attracted the attention of all the Qin family, and then said, “Ahem! Master Qin, Madam Qin, the prince asked this servants to come. In addition to sending a letter to the princess, there is one more thing.”

An Hui took out a list from his pocket and handed it to Father Qin.

Father Qin opened it and his eyes widened. “What is this?”

An Hui said, “This is the prince’s private property. The prince means that this will be handed over to the princess and brought back as a dowry. Although the prince doesn’t care about this, he is afraid that the princess will care, so he wants to offer this to add to the dowry. This is also a good thing for the princess. This servant asks that Lord Qin does not refuse. In addition, the prince also said that the empress dowager is very satisfied with the princess and the Qin family, so the princess does not need to worry. Wet Nurse Wen, who came along with the imperial edict, was specially chosen by the prince. She has a gentle temperament and will instruct the princess on etiquette. The wedding date is set for September next year, which should have good weather. The prince was afraid that the princess would miss home, so he bought a house for the lord in the capital and bought a few acres of land. If the lord and the lord’s wife are willing to move to the capital, that would be good.”

Mother and Father Qin were concerned. “You said that the empress dowager and the emperor also know about our family?”

An Hui smiled. “The prince is the son of the empress dowager and is His Majesty’s younger brother. The prince has always been favoured. How could the Empress Dowager and the Emperor not look into his marriage?”

The Qin family didn’t think there was anything wrong with it. Ordinary people would inspect their daughter-in-law beforehand, not to mention the imperial family. However, the empress dowager and the emperor both said they were satisfied. Did this mean that their family was fine?!

The eldest and second eldest sons of the Qin family suddenly felt complacent.

Father Qin gave them a blank look and was still hesitating whether to agree or not. Mother Qin looked at the list and immediately said, “Okay, this is the prince’s good intentions. It would be disrespectful to refuse. We will shamelessly accept the dowry and the house!”

Father Qin glared at Mother Qin. “Why did you agree without discussing it with me?”

Mother Qin rolled her eyes at him, ignored him, and turned to look at An Hui. “I just forgot. I made clothes for A-De, no, the prince. Please bring them back.”

An Hui knew that this outfit must have been made by the future princess, and Mrs. Qin was just saying she made it. He quickly smiled and said, “That’s perfect. The prince wanted to come in person this time, but His Majesty would not allow it. Since the prince is about to get married, he has to find something serious to do. Now the prince has been sent to the Ministry of Rites for training.”

Mother Qin nodded with a smile. “Cui’er, go get that set of clothes.”

An Hui carefully took the clothes and then left. Mother Qin asked for Wet Nurse Wen to settle down again, and the family continued to talk.

Father Qin was still a little dissatisfied. “How can you take control of this and accept those things!” Father Qin still had the arrogance of a scholar, so he couldn’t bear to accept this.

Mother Qin rolled her eyes at him. “Our future son-in-law will give us face for our daughter and support the dowry. What right do you have to refuse?! That house is also future son-in-law showing his filial piety. What’s wrong with accepting it? If you don’t want it, then you can stay here. I’ll live by myself! Anyway, I’m reluctant to leave Wan’er. I will move to the capital permanently.”

The eldest and second sons of the Qin family and their wives said, “We can’t bear to leave Wan’er! We will also go to the capital.”

Father Qin stared. “What do you know? Is the capital somewhere we can go? There are noble people everywhere. If we accidentally offend someone, wouldn’t it be a hindrance to Wan’er?” He didn’t care. He was mainly afraid that the children would be fascinated by the rich and powerful, and then would do stupid things which would affect his daughter.

Mother Qin said, “Don’t you know who our sons are? How could they cause trouble? Our family has always gotten along well and we will continue to get along well. Even if we can’t meet every day when we are in the capital, we should get closer.”

The eldest and second eldest sons of the Qin family also expressed that they would be careful and would never cause trouble or embarrass their younger sister.

Father Qin was still worried. He frowned, looked at the children, and said solemnly, “Listen to me, you guys, if you dare to cause trouble in the future, I will break your legs!”

The eldest and the second sons of the Qin family looked at each other. “Dad, don’t worry. We will never hold back younger sister.”

The two daughters-in-law of the Qin family also nodded and said, “Don’t worry, father and mother. Our family has gotten along well and will continue to get along.”

Only then did Father Qin feel satisfied. “Not only you, but also a few children should be taught well. You can’t embarrass Wan’er.”

The others nodded in agreement.

The Qin family made up their minds and began to prepare for the marriage. Qin Wan’er also began to formally learn etiquette with Wet Nurse Wen.

Wet Nurse Wen, as her name suggested, was very gentle. Qin Wan’er studied with her for a few days. She was anxious at the beginning, but she gradually grew to love Wet Nurse Wen and even ended up not being able to live without Wet Nurse Wen.

Wet Nurse Wen knew that if nothing else happened, she would probably be inseparable from Miss Wan’er for the rest of her life. She knew the reason why the prince asked her to come. It was not to teach Young Miss Wan’er well. Wan’er had a simple temperament. The prince asked her to come so that she would be considerate of Wan’er.

Therefore, Wet Nurse Wen naturally wouldn’t put on a show.

Not long after, not only did Qin Wan’er fall in love with Wet Nurse Wen, but the entire Qin family was very happy with her.

Time passed slowly. Three months later, the Qin family moved to the capital.

When Li Su heard that the Qin family had entered the capital, she immediately wanted someone to bring Qin Wan’er into the palace so she could take a look, but she was stopped by Zhao Defang. “Empress mother, the Qin family only just moved here. It’s exhausting, so please wait a few days!”

Li Su thought about it and agreed. She would wait a few days.

As a result, Zhao Defang ran to the Qin family’s house that night. After Li Su found out, she rolled her eyes. “Didn’t he say that the Qin family is exhausted?”

Wet Nurse Xu held back her smile. “Empress Dowager, please be sympathetic to the prince. The prince has been working so hard this time. His sweetheart has arrived, so why would you stop him from seeing her?”

Li Su laughed. “The emperor still has a method. Defang has grown a lot recently.”