Transmigration: From Farmer To Empress
Chapter 856 - 858: Probing (5)

Chapter 856: Chapter 858: Probing (5)

General Li and Jin Dapeng thought for a long time, and eventually came up with this idea: three days later, the wedding would proceed as usual at the Duke An’s Mansion and the Mansion of Marquis Wuchang. The Duke’s Mansion would select another outstanding legitimate daughter to marry the Marquis of Wuchang, and this Miss’s talents and beautiful appearance must be no less than Du Wanqiu, moreover, the bridal gifts must be five times more generous than the original!

Although providing five times the dowry was a bit difficult for Duke An’s Mansion, in order to get rid of this plague, everyone agreed to economize and it could still be done; the question was, which excellent legitimate daughter to choose?

The primary household still had a legitimate daughter, Du Wanying, but she was only fourteen years old and not yet of age; although Du Wanyue and Du Wanru from the Second room had reached fifteen years old, Second Brother Du Yongbang insisted that since it was the primary household’s daughter who had fled, it should be replaced by another daughter from the primary household, it made no sense for them to cause trouble and let the Second room suffer. The two brothers argued over this matter and specifically came to ask Duke An to decide.

Upon hearing this, Du Ruohai’s old face immediately furrowed. Marrying into the Mansion of Marquis Wuchang was not as simple as marrying off a daughter; this daughter not only needed to possess an ethereal beauty but also needed to have a strong mental fortitude, able to calmly face Jin Dapeng, the disabled pervert, as well as be shrewd and adaptable, capable at least of handling that plague, otherwise, even if she was married off and temporarily secured peace for Duke An’s Mansion, it would sooner or later lead to discord between husband and wife, bringing disaster upon Duke An’s Mansion!

Therefore, Du Wanying, Du Wanyue, and Du Wanru did not meet these standards at all, and Du Ruohai wouldn’t risk letting any of them marry into that house; looking around the entire mansion, the only daughters who met these requirements, besides Du Wanqiu, were the Second room’s youngest daughter, Du Wanqing.

Du Wanqing was only thirteen years old, frail and frequently ill since childhood, rarely seen in public. However, she was smart and stable, wise and magnanimous, and whether it was her insights or her style in dealing with people, she was far superior to the other three by more than a little bit.

With an idea in mind, Du Ruohai shared his decision with his two sons, and finally said to the Second Brother, "Your father knows you are reluctant to let Qing’er marry Jin Dapeng. It is indeed a wrong to her because she is too good for Jin Dapeng, but from the perspective of rights and interests, having offended Jin Dapeng, we are now in grave danger. The only option now is to sacrifice a single piece to save the game; we sacrifice her to preserve our entire Duke An’s Mansion. If it comes to it, your father will compensate you in other ways..."

Du Wanqing never dreamt that the one to marry Jin Dapeng would turn out to be her, living proof of the saying ’You sit at home and disaster comes from the sky!’

Yet, Du Wanqing was much calmer than everyone expected. She neither cried nor made a fuss, because the situation was clear, and crying or making a fuss was useless; even fleeing was no longer an option. Having learned the lesson from Du Wanqiu’s case, Du Ruohai, since deciding to have Du Wanqing marry into the family, had assigned eight maids to watch over her day and night, rotationally guarding her lest any mishap occur.

Second Old Master Du Yongbang and Second Lady Lady Wang never imagined that their gentle and obedient youngest daughter would be the one to end up marrying Jin Dapeng. They were so devastated they almost sought death, but out of respect for the patriarch’s authority, they could only swallow their tears in sorrow, packing their daughter’s generous dowry, preparing for tomorrow’s wedding...

This ordeal severely weakened the vitality of Duke An’s Mansion. Repairing the East Courtyard’s furniture cost several ten thousand taels, coupled with Du Wanqing’s generous dowry, caused a deficit on the mansion’s ledger. To alleviate the financial difficulty, Du Ruohai had no choice but to secretly instruct Steward Cao to sell two manors from the mansion, just to keep the mansion barely running!

After a few days of preparations, the day finally arrived when Nangong Yi would return to court. The five thousand pieces of glass had been fired and were properly placed in crates. The Great Kahn of the Meng slaves, Tuoba Kui, accompanied Nangong Yi. Before departing, he promulgated three new laws.