vrcanaries Chapter 183 I treated you like a brother, and you actually want to be my brother-in-law.
Chapter 183 I treated you like a brother, and you actually want to be my brother-in-law.
Congratulations, third-place scholar!
Amidst cries of congratulations, Yu Ziheng's horse was led forward.
He gripped the reins tightly, the golden flower on his head swaying wildly with the horse's movements.
The top two scholars are on the street ahead; they're going to parade through the streets on horseback.
The Yu family was in a lively atmosphere, and Zhao Yining also brought Yu Zilie and Yu Zixi to congratulate them.
When Cui Ruixin heard the news, she smashed several teacups.
"How could he be the third-ranked scholar?!"
She always felt that Yu Ziheng had no real talent or ability, and that he was just lucky.
But finishing in the top three is not something that can be achieved by luck alone.
……
The Xie family also learned about this.
Xie Yuntan's maid, Qiao'er, looked at her with a smile: "Congratulations, Miss, on finding a good husband."
Xie Yuntan smiled faintly.
At that moment, her mother arrived.
"I never expected Ziheng to be so promising, becoming the third-ranked scholar. Luckily, I had the foresight to recognize his talent and arranged your marriage with Madam Shen long ago." Song Mingfang was very happy.
Xie Yuntan's ears turned slightly red after being teased by her mother.
"Come on, the top three in the first round will all have to parade through the streets on horseback. I've already had someone reserve a private room at a teahouse. Let's go take a look together." Song Mingfang happily led her daughter out onto the street.
They had just stepped out when they bumped into Xie Linchuan.
Xie Linchuan asked in confusion, "Mother, elder sister, where are you going?"
"To see my future son-in-law," Qiao'er replied cheerfully.
"What? What future son-in-law? My elder sister is engaged? How come I didn't know?" Xie Linchuan was completely bewildered.
She couldn't help but ask, "Which family's son is he? What is his character, talent, and appearance like? Is he worthy of my sister?"
"Hmph. You still have the nerve to ask. We're both students of Lushan Academy, but Ziheng got the third-highest rank in the imperial examination, while you couldn't even pass the lowest level. I really don't know how Ziheng and you became friends." With her outstanding son-in-law as a contrast, Song Mingfang found her son somewhat displeasing.
"Why are you bringing up Brother Ziheng out of the blue, Mother? We've been good buddies since we entered the academy. Brother Ziheng is a good person. Even though he went to Class A, he didn't look down on me, a student in Class D," Xie Linchuan retorted.
As he was talking, he suddenly realized something.
"You're not trying to say that my elder sister is arranging a marriage with Yu Ziheng, are you?"
Xie Yuntan nodded.
Xie Linchuan screamed.
"Yu Ziheng, I treated you like a brother, and you actually want to be my brother-in-law?!"
"What are you yelling about? Go back to your room and study." Xie Yuntan said sternly, and Xie Linchuan immediately became obedient.
"Oh." He silently walked into the house.
A moment later, she turned back and looked at her mother and sister with a fawning expression.
"Since Ziheng has become the third-ranked scholar, I'll go with you to watch him parade through the streets. Let's skip the lessons today. Hehe."
"Alright, alright, I'll take you with me." Song Mingfang finally gave in to her son.
The three of them went to the teahouse they had booked in advance.
The teahouse was now completely packed with people.
This is the best vantage point to watch the procession of the top scholars.
In the end, the teahouse owner specially sent someone to take them to a private room.
"Coming, coming!" The little maid exclaimed excitedly as soon as she sat down.
Xie Yuntan took her mother's hand and stood by the window.
She saw Yu Ziheng riding a horse from afar.
The top scholar was a man in his forties, and the second-place scholar was also of average appearance. Only Yu Ziheng was in his prime, handsome and dashing, attracting the attention of many young girls.
Some people, hearing that Yu Ziheng was only seventeen and certainly not married, wanted to find a son-in-law through the examination results.
"My lord, look at me!"
One of the bolder girls playfully threw a handkerchief at Yu Ziheng.
Before Song Mingfang and Xie Yuntan could say anything, Xie Linchuan couldn't stand it anymore.
"Don't look!" he shouted angrily.
His voice was so loud that everyone around him turned to look.
Yu Ziheng also looked over and immediately spotted Xie Yuntan beside him.
The two looked into each other's eyes and couldn't help but smile.
"Mother, elder sister, why aren't you worried at all? What if Yu Ziheng gets snatched away to be your son-in-law? He belongs to my elder sister, and no one is allowed to take him away!" Xie Linchuan glared angrily at his mother and elder sister.
"Don't worry, the betrothal papers have been changed, and Ziheng is our son-in-law. No one can take him away from us." Song Mingfang looked at her son with a smile.
Xie Yuntan meant the same thing.
Yu Ziheng had come to the house with his younger brother a few times before, and they bumped into each other once.
At first, she thought Yu Ziheng was just as good-for-nothing as her younger brother, but after sending someone to inquire and discovering that he was excellent in both character and academics, she did not stop her brother from associating with him.
She thought that with such a good friend by her side influencing her younger brother, he should be able to learn more.
Unexpectedly, Yu Ziheng has now become a third-ranked scholar, while his younger brother is still just a student.
Later, her younger brother's page would come every few days to report to her what her brother and Yu Ziheng had done. Unconsciously, she developed an endless curiosity about this young man she had only met once.
It wasn't until she went to Yulong Temple with her mother to offer incense that she learned the person she was supposed to meet was actually him.
When the two were alone, she immediately understood Yu Ziheng's clumsy manner.
He was pleased with her.
Xie Yuntan was relieved.
……
Ever since Yu Ziheng passed the imperial examination with flying colors and was appointed as the third-ranked scholar, matchmakers have practically worn down the threshold of the Yu family mansion.
Shen Jinzhu had no choice but to refuse them one by one: "Please go back, everyone. My son has already been engaged to the Xie family, and the betrothal ceremony will be held on the sixth day of the sixth lunar month!"
On the auspicious day, the wedding procession marched through the streets in a grand procession.
Sixteen strong men carried a red lacquered and gilded betrothal letter box to lead the way, followed by sixty-four ebony and gilded chests that stretched for half a street, their bright red silks shining like fire in the sunlight.
The onlookers were abuzz with discussion.
"Wow, this is quite a grand affair!"
"Isn't it said that Lord Yu's annual salary is only two hundred taels? How come the eldest son of the Yu family has so many good things as a betrothal gift?"
An insider replied, "Lord Yu's salary isn't high, but he's married to a wealthy woman. She's the daughter of the richest family in Jiangnan, the Shen family."
"Back in the day, when the Shen family sent their daughters off, the dowry fleet stretched for three miles along the canal."
A group of people were having a lively discussion.
Suddenly, a servant in the crowd shouted, "Sixty-four loads of betrothal gifts? That's against the rules!"
The shopkeeper next to him slapped him on the back of the head: "Silly boy, the Yu family is giving you the maximum allowable amount in the common folk, they haven't overstepped any bounds. They've got the sense of proportion perfectly!"
The news of the Yu family's betrothal was widely circulated in the capital, and Cui Rui thought it would be hard not to know.
"Show-off! So what if you're rich? The daughter of a mere fifth-rank official, acting all high and mighty." She cursed under her breath, her heart burning with jealousy.
The eldest son, Yu Ziche, got married two years ago. The Marquis chose the wife for him and didn't let her interfere.
When the mourning period ended, Ziche was already sixteen years old and it was time to arrange a marriage.
She was thinking that her eldest son would inherit the title in the future, so the lady had to choose carefully.
As a result, Yu Kangping forbade her to interfere in her eldest son's marriage. After careful selection, a year later, he chose a merchant's daughter.
She was devastated when she found out.
But Yu Kangping had a very convincing argument.
"After the three branches of the family separated and became independent, the Marquis's accounts were practically starving!"
"The rent for the sacrificial fields in the western suburbs has been delayed for three months, and the accountant can't even afford the silver foil for burning paper money for the ancestors—the Zhang family has 500,000 taels of silver in cash as a dowry. It's worth it to bring in a memorial tablet to worship, let alone marry their eldest daughter!"
"Furthermore, the Zhang family are imperial merchants, controlling the largest salt fields in the north, supplying the capital and the nine border towns. The Zhang family has close relationships with officials in the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue, which is incomparable to ordinary merchants."
"Don't be ungrateful."