Chapter 62

Chapter 62

It is hard to part when meeting is hard.

Time spent with a beloved always passes exceptionally quickly.

Han Zhang coaxed Shen Qinglan for a long time, painting grand promises for him, ensuring that his young husband was truly carefree and not at all affected by his siblings' glorious marriages.

Only then did he leave, under the young man's reluctant gaze, to return and continue preparing for the wedding.

Meanwhile, Shen Qinglan was not idle either; he began busily organizing his dowry items and the accompanying servants to bring along.

The dowry itself was straightforward, but the accompanying servants were the main concern—not only were they numerous, but their loyalty had to be ensured.

After all, after marriage, whether Shen Qinglan would live well, whether he would be bullied by his husband's family, and whether his servants would serve faithfully were the most crucial factors.

Madam Shen handed him a stack of indenture contracts and said, "Lan Ge'er, your nanny, personal attendants, housekeeper, and so on—these people were all trained by your mother since childhood, and I hold their families' fate in my hands. But nothing is absolute; you can't predict people's hearts. You must not be too trusting of those around you and must stay vigilant."

"On the surface, besides the people you have now, your mother has prepared for you an extra 2 health-care matrons, 4 cooks, 8 embroiderers, and 10 rough-work matrons and 10 page boys..."

"Privately, there is another group of people scattered in your shops, estates, and other places... These people will only listen to you. If one day Young Han changes his heart and the people around you become unreliable, these people will be your retreat..."

Madam Shen was also an extremely favored daughter in her own family. When she married, her visible dowry alone was no less than a million taels, and her public servants were no fewer than a hundred, with an unknown number hidden.

Thus, over the years, it was not that Master Shen was a good man who let his wife dominate him and never touched her dowry.

It was simply that Madam Shen's maternal family was too powerful; most of her dowry servants were hereditary bondservants of the Rong family of Jiangnan, and Master Shen, as the master of the house, could not command them at all and could only just watch helplessly...

Now, Madam Shen naturally followed the same pattern as her maternal family, preparing two sets of personnel for her son, both overt and covert.

In short, the gist was: if Han Zhang dared to betray her son, she would give Han Zhang a big surprise!

In addition,

Madam Shen took out another stack of banknotes and pressed them into his hands: "As for your dowry, on the surface your mother only prepared 100,000 taels of silver for you. The rest are mostly valuable head ornaments, jewelry, rare ornaments, calligraphy, paintings, and books... these are items that can be recorded in the register and can't be used freely by others."

"These 700,000 taels of silver notes are private savings for you. Among them, 500,000 taels came from your mother, 100,000 taels are gifts from your uncles and cousins on your mother's side, 50,000 taels from your second brother and his wife together, and another 50,000 taels from your second brother alone..."

That is to say, his dowry, overt and covert, added up to nearly a million taels.

No wonder the He family had targeted him!

Even though Shen Qinglan knew his mother was well-off, he was still startled by her generosity.

Shen Qinglan couldn't help worrying: "Mother, you haven't given me all your dowry, have you? And Second Brother, it would have been fine if he and his wife gave a joint gift; why did he add so much separately?"

Madam Shen smiled and shook her head: "Don't worry, your mother still has plenty. The dowry your grandparents gave me was generous. Over the years, I've been good at managing money and not foolish enough to subsidize the Shen family. My wealth has multiplied many times over."

"I've said it before: your eldest brother and fifth brother look down on me, so I'll leave them be. Their share, I'll keep and divide among you, your second brother, and your eldest sister..."

"As for your second brother..." Madam Shen smiled with relief. "Your second brother may be unreliable in other matters, but he is good at business. If he gives it to you, take it. It's your second brother's heartfelt gesture. Only if you accept it will he be happy."

"It's only 50,000 taels of silver. If your second brother weren't so extravagant, he wouldn't have given you just this much alone..."

Mentioning his second brother's big spending, Shen Qinglan recalled the dazzling array of treasures in his own storeroom.

He blushed with embarrassment and scratched his head sheepishly: "It seems like Second Brother has been spending most of his money on buying me treasures."

That meant Second Brother had spent most of his wealth on him!

But Madam Shen waved her hand matter-of-factly: "It's fine. Don't feel sorry for him. Men with money turn bad. The silver he hands over to your second sister-in-law is considerable. Right now, it's just that his personal vault is a bit low."

"Besides, among all your siblings, your second brother dotes on you the most, and you are the most sincere to him."

"Usually, you give many gifts to your little nephew. In the future, if you do well, would you forget your second brother?"

Shen Qinglan immediately shook his head: "Of course not. Second Brother is the best to me. I naturally think of him always."

If he became prosperous, he would not forget Second Brother, but he feared he might not become prosperous and would still need Second Brother's care, which would be too unfair to Second Brother!

He felt like the notorious younger brother-in-law in storybooks...

Madam Shen could see through her son's thoughts. She sighed and laughed: "You're too naive. If the things your second brother gave you were truly excessive, would your second sister-in-law really be as free of resentment as she is now?"

"Hui Lan may seem gentle and unhurried, but she is actually shrewd. She is not like your eldest sister-in-law, who wears everything on her face—such a fool. However, as long as she treats my son well, I don't mind some little schemes."

Shen Qinglan: ...So that means he and his eldest sister-in-law are the only dumb ones in the family?

Mother and son chatted for a whole night.

Shen Qinglan finally left carrying a thick stack of dowry lists.

After returning to his own courtyard.

Shen Qinglan thought about it and summoned his four personal attendants: "Qiao Dong, Qiao Xi, Qiao Nan, Qiao Bei. I will be married soon. Let me make something clear to you in advance."

"As my close attendants, according to common practice, you would likely be made into concubines in the future to secure the husband's favor for me."

"In the past, I would not have minded promoting you, but you also know my bond with Brother Han. He promised me he'd never take another person in this life, and I cannot bear to see anyone else by his side."

"Therefore, if you accompany me as part of my dowry, the best future for you would be to marry one of my stewards or shopkeepers..."

"If you are unwilling and have other plans, speak up now. I will let you go and grant you a bright future. We'll part on good terms, so we don't waste our years together."

These words had to be said early. He did not want his personal attendants to get second thoughts after trying and failing to get into the master's bed—that would be too troublesome.

They knew their master well.

The four attendants—Qiao Dong, Qiao Xi, Qiao Nan, and Qiao Bei—could all tell that the young master was speaking sincerely and not testing them.

They did not hesitate for long before kowtowing in unison:

"As long as the young master doesn't abandon us, we are willing to serve you for life, attend to you forever!"

In fact, they had already mentally prepared themselves. Given how devoted the young master was to Master Han, how could he tolerate anyone else?

They didn't even dare to think about coveting Master Han, and they were not particularly eager to do so either.

After all, the example of their father was still there: both were poor scholars who had married into wealth—whether to a husband or wife... It was better not to mess with such a lord; there was no good life in it.

It was much more promising to become one of the young master's trusted stewards in the future. Look at Madam's confidante, Steward Zhang—how impressive and dignified she is!

Since they were all loyal and wished to stay, Shen Qinglan naturally nodded happily.

After all, Qiao Dong, Qiao Xi, and the others were clever and capable, and they had grown up with him. The bond between master and servants was extraordinary.

After finishing organizing the dowry servants,

His older sister, Shen Qingyue, whom he had not seen for a long time, finally came back to her parents' home to give her wedding gift.

"Big Sister, you're finally back! I've missed you so much—it's been ages since I last saw you..."

Seeing his big sister return, Shen Qinglan was overjoyed.

Although he was closest to his second brother, his big sister had always been good to him since childhood, especially because the marquis's family was prestigious and had always looked down on the Shen family. However, ever since she married into the marquis's household, they rarely saw each other.

The only reason she could marry into it was as a second wife and brought a generous dowry.

Her husband's family was overbearing, and without their permission, it was extremely difficult for his sister to return to her natal family.

And she had accepted this marriage entirely to pave the way for their father's official career. His sister had sacrificed her whole life for the Shen family!

Fortunately, Shen Qingyue was broad-minded by nature. Although her in-laws were troublesome, her complexion was still decent, clearly showing she hadn't let the harsh environment get to her.

Shen Qingyue pressed a stack of shop deeds, land deeds, and farm deeds into Shen Qinglan's hands:

"Lan Geer, take these! These are shops, estates, and fertile lands in prime locations in the capital—impossible to acquire without power and influence."

"You think I don't want to come back to see you often? You know my situation. It's better for me to visit home less, and don't come to see me either, to avoid giving the marquis's household any chance to ask for money."

"Don't worry about me. My life isn't as hard as you think. If the marquis household wants to spend my silver, I'll make them trade for these fine shops and estates in return."

"Now most of the marquis household's properties have been swapped out by me. In the future, if you fancy any estate or shop in the capital, just tell me, and I'll use the marquis household's name to acquire it for you!"

Shen Qingyue said it as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

They spent her silver, and she used their power—that was a fair exchange between in-laws.

Shen Qinglan, having received yet another massive pile of dowry: "..."

Burp, he was stuffed.