Chapter 624
Matchmaking and Betrothal
The streets of Fuyou were bustling with activity. Everyone watched as Chen Ji mounted his horse and rode away with Zhang Xia, leaving Qi Zhaoning behind in the heavy snow.
However, the two men and one horse were blocked at the end of Fuyou Street by a woman.
When the words "nonsense" rang out on Fuyou Street, everyone fell silent for a moment, then erupted in excitement: "Who is that woman? She's dressed so elegantly."
From the crowd, someone explained, "That's the wife of Zhang Zhuo, the Minister of Personnel, the niece of Grand Secretary Xu, Xu Yihong... the mother of Miss Zhang the Second."
A man whispered, "I saw her when I was performing at the banquet; all the officials' wives were swarming around her."
Madam Zhang's blouse was made of kesi (silk tapestry), the subtle pattern of which was not visible in the sunlight, only revealing the auspicious cloud pattern when she moved. A dark blue sash was tied around her waist, adorned with a white jade belt hook, its pure white color as smooth and lustrous as solidified cream.
Amid the noise, Chen Ji sized up Madam Zhang. Her warm boots and the hem of her coat were soaked with snow water, and she wasn't wearing a cloak over her coat, indicating that she had come in a hurry.
At this moment, a young maid ran over from a distance, draped a black mink cloak over Madam Zhang's side, and held up an oil-paper umbrella to shield her from the heavy snow.
Madam Zhang stood five steps away under an oil-paper umbrella, glaring at Zhang Xia: "Am I not your mother? I didn't even know you were getting married until someone told me."
Zhang Xia whispered, "Mother, let's talk about it when we get back..."
Madam Zhang pushed aside her oil-paper umbrella, waded through the snow, and slowly walked forward: "You dare to let someone marry you in public, so why can't I say it in public?"
Chen Ji took a deep breath, about to speak, but Madam Zhang gave him a sharp look, like a knife: "I'm asking my daughter, it's not your turn to speak yet!"
Chen Ji remained silent.
Zhang Xia lowered her head and said, "Mother, let me decide for myself."
Madam Zhang stopped in front of Zaozao, looked up at Zhang Xia and said, "Over the years, matchmakers have thronged the Zhang family's door, from wealthy and powerful families like the Yang family to humble and poor families. Have I ever given them a second glance? I just want you to take your time to choose someone you like. But the person you like must also like you."
Chen Ji began, "Madam, I..."
Madam Zhang's gaze cut like a knife: "Did I tell you to speak?"
She then looked at Zhang Xia: "Now that you've made your choice, let me ask you, you secretly ran away to Guyuan for him, and then secretly ran away to Chongliguan. You did so much for him, but has he ever done anything for you?"
Zhang Xia lowered her head and remained silent for a long time: "Mother, if it weren't for him, I would have died in Luocheng during the Battle of Longwangtun."
Madam Zhang said in a deep voice, "That was for Bai Li, not for you!"
Zhang Xia continued, "When the Liu family plotted rebellion, it was he who donned the armor of the Tiger Armor Cavalry and went to the Jing Prince's Mansion to save my father. If it weren't for him, my father would probably have died at the hands of the Liu family."
Madam Zhang was taken aback.
This was the first time she had heard about this incident. On the day Zhang Zhuo was taken away by the Liu family, the entire Zhang family was filled with anxiety. In the end, Zhang Zhuo escaped unscathed, but he remained tight-lipped about how he managed to do so.
Zhang Xia continued, "Outside Chongli Pass, people only know that I, Zhang Xia, stormed the White Tiger Hall for him, but they don't know that he was willing to stay in the hands of the Jing Dynasty traitors as a hostage to save my life."
She looked up at her mother and said, "Mother, what he has done for me has never been less than what I have done for him."
Madam Zhang remained silent for a long time: "Since you have made up your mind, I won't say anything more. However, the wedding doesn't necessarily have to be today. My daughter from the Zhang family can't just leave with someone without knowing why. Even if you don't care about formalities, there should still be a betrothal ceremony and a wedding gift. You should come home with me first, and wait for him to come with a sixteen-bearer sedan chair and a ten-mile-long red bridal procession to marry you."
For the betrothal ceremony, the groom's family must send a high-ranking official, a senior minister, or a clan elder, along with substantial gifts, as a matchmaker.
The onlookers whispered among themselves, "With the reputation of this illegitimate son of the Chen family, even the Chen family doesn't want him anymore. Who would be willing to act as a matchmaker for him?"
"I heard that he and Zhang Zhuo were very close friends..."
"Are you fucking crazy? You want Lord Zhang to be his matchmaker and marry a daughter of the Zhang family?"
"So, Madam Zhang was deliberately making things difficult for him, using it as a delaying tactic, and she didn't want her daughter to marry such a disreputable person at all."
"Indeed, the Zhang family is a respectable family, how could they get involved with such people? I don't think this marriage will go through today."
Listening to the noisy discussions, Zhang Xia looked steadily at her mother and said, "Mother, we have been through life and death together many times, and we no longer need worldly things to prove ourselves to each other."
This time, Madam Zhang stopped looking at her and instead looked at Chen Ji: "If you are a responsible person, you should not let your beloved suffer such injustice. What others have, she should also have."
However, at that moment, a voice rang out from outside Fuyou Street: "Madam, I am willing to act as matchmaker for Chen Ji."
Everyone turned to look, and saw a bright red official robe gradually becoming clear in the snow. The person had a golden pheasant insignia embroidered on his chest, indicating he was a second-rank official, wore black boots, and had a jade unicorn belt bestowed by the emperor around his waist.
Minister of War, Wang Daosheng.
The crowd seemed to be held down by an invisible hand, and the discussions came to an abrupt halt.
Someone gasped, "Wang Daosheng...why is he here?"
"Didn't they say he went to Changping yesterday to inspect the capital's granaries? Why is he back already?" "Look at his boots, they're covered in mud, and his official robes are soaked through. He probably rushed back overnight."
Wang Daosheng, a student of Grand Secretary Hu Da, was the second-highest scorer in the imperial examination, a true scholar and warrior.
When the chieftains of Yunnan rebelled, the generals in the court were helpless. He, a civil official, volunteered to lead the army and pacified southern Yunnan in three months. He brought back the hostage, Lotsawa Sakya, to control the Tantric Gelug school.
In the fourteenth year of the Jianing era, the border troops in Guyuan mutinied. He entered the camp alone, shouted at the soldiers amidst the chaos, and beheaded the ringleaders and pardoned the coerced followers overnight. Six thousand rebel soldiers surrendered on the spot...
Over the years, Wang Daosheng had won six major victories in suppressing rebellions, and had already begun to earn the reputation of a literary giant. No one expected that he would come to act as matchmaker for Chen Ji, a man with a tarnished reputation.
At this moment, Wang Daosheng arrived through the snow: "Madam, Chen Ji is my personally taught disciple. I would like to propose marriage to the Zhang family on his behalf. I wonder if this is appropriate?"
Having said that, he stood before Madam Zhang and bowed deeply.
Madam Zhang suddenly looked around, searching for a certain figure: "Zhang Zhuo, you come out here! What good is your intelligence and talent if you don't use it in the court? Why are you using it on me!"
But she searched for a long time and still couldn't find Zhang Zhuo.
Wang Daosheng straightened up and said sincerely, "I have been watching Chen Ji since I was in Luocheng. I know him well. I am here today without being asked by anyone. I am doing this entirely on my own."
Madam Zhang said in a deep voice, "If it weren't for him, why would you suddenly rush back from Changping?"
Wang Daosheng looked troubled, unwilling to lie.
Madam Zhang took a deep breath: "Mr. Wang is a man of noble character. Since Mr. Wang has acted as matchmaker, my Zhang family naturally has no reason to be picky about the betrothal gifts. However, although the betrothal ceremony has been held, the formal betrothal gifts have not yet been presented. As the saying goes, good things often come with difficulties. Let's wait until Chen Ji has prepared the betrothal gifts and comes to present them before we ask for the betrothal gifts and set the date."
Zhang Xia suddenly said, "Mother, I don't want a betrothal gift."
Madam Zhang looked up at Zhang Xia and said angrily, "Shut up! Do you think my Zhang family lacks this little bit of betrothal money? I can't stand anyone neglecting you. Why can he spend 540,000 taels of silver to redeem Bai Li from the brothel, while you can only come empty-handed? What will the world think of you?"
Whispers arose again from the crowd: "The Zhang family is going to send off a ten-mile-long bridal procession..."
"I heard that Chen Ji has spent all his money on the Jiaofangsi (a government-run entertainment institution), and the imperial court has also taken away his business of collecting morning reports and salt permits. How can he afford a ten-mile-long bridal procession?"
"But Madam Zhang has a point. A mother loves her own daughter. How could Madam Zhang be willing to let Miss Zhang marry like this?"
"Everyone says that sentiment is priceless, but if you accompany your loved one to a jewelry shop or a cosmetics shop, you'll know that sentiment always comes with a price tag."
Madam Zhang looked at Chen Ji and said slowly, "If you have her in your heart, then don't let the world look down on her."
However, at that moment, shadowy figures appeared in the snow curtain to the east, seemingly carrying something as they approached.
As they approached, they saw seventy-two men carrying large red lacquered boxes on red carrying poles, walking through the snow. The poles were tied with red silk cloth, making them look especially festive.
Chen Ji saw the thirteenth man standing in front of Madam Zhang with a smile and cupped his fists, saying, "Madam, my master once received a great favor from Lord Chen. Now, my master is helping him with the betrothal gifts. Someone, read out the gift list."
A person stepped out from behind Thirteen; it was none other than Xiao Jiu from Deng Huo.
He unfurled a roll of red silk, and in a clear voice, read aloud word by word: "Goldware: A set of red gold headdress inlaid with rubies, including one top hairpin, one hair ornament, one hair clip, a pair of side hairpins, and four small hairpins, weighing a total of 360 taels. A pair of red gold bracelets inlaid with cat's-eye beads, each cat's eye as large as a thumb, with three halos, originating from the Western Regions. A pair of red gold filigree phoenix hairpins, with the phoenix tails inlaid with fine tourmalines, totaling 108 stones. A pair of red gold lotus bracelets, openwork and exquisitely carved."
Someone in the crowd muttered, "How much silver must that cost? Probably tens of thousands?"
An experienced old swindler standing nearby scoffed, "Ten thousand? Just that ruby headdress alone would cost at least thirty thousand taels of silver. As for that cat's-eye bracelet, I've lived for sixty years and this is the first time I've ever heard of one the size of a thumb."
Xiao Jiu continued reading: "Silverware Department: A set of silver engraved tableware, twelve bowls, plates, dishes, chopsticks, and spoons, engraved with peony scroll patterns. A set of silver gilt tea set, one teapot, eight cups, and eight saucers, imitating the style of the Zhengde period. A set of silver inlaid tortoiseshell combs, twelve in various sizes, the tortoiseshell being obtained from Southeast Asia."
"In the silk and satin department: 20 bolts of Shu brocade, 20 bolts of Yun brocade, 20 bolts of Song brocade, 20 bolts of brocade satin, 20 bolts of Lu silk, and 20 bolts of Zhang velvet. In addition, there are 10 bolts of kesi tapestry from the Suzhou Weaving Bureau, each bolt being 42 feet long."
The people were in an uproar: "Keeping silk from the Suzhou Weaving Bureau? Isn't that something only the palace could produce?"
Xiao Jiu's expression remained unchanged: "Fur Department: Ten black fox pelts, twenty sable pelts, one hundred gray squirrel pelts, and one hundred silver squirrel pelts. The black fox pelts are from Changbai Mountain, with deep black fur, and each pelt is a whole tube without any splicing."
"Medicinal Materials Department: 20 deer antlers, 30 taels of musk, 5 taels of bezoar, and 1 catty of ambergris."
Someone in the crowd gasped: "Ambergris... that's something you only find inside big fish in the sea. A pound? All the pharmacies in the entire capital probably don't have that much."
Xiao Jiu's voice suddenly rose a little as he read this: "Ministry of Land: 800 mu of fertile land in the suburbs of Beijing, stretching as far as the eye can see. A residence next to the Nanjing government office, with three courtyards and a garden, the deed is ready..."
Fuyou Street was completely quiet.
Eight hundred acres of fertile land on the outskirts of Beijing—that's a fortune that many officials in the capital couldn't accumulate in a lifetime. The mansions next to the government offices in Nanjing were in the most valuable locations in the city; money couldn't buy them.
These thirty-six loads of betrothal gifts were all incredibly heavy, even more impressive than a ten-mile-long wedding procession. (End of Chapter)