Zi Fu held a large round tray wrapped in red cloth and said, "Today it's our turn to give sister some dowry. Eldest brother and second brother favored sister with those good things, but unfortunately, we can't take out anything decent to return to sister, so we can only give her something ordinary."

  Zi Fu and Zi Lu first gave Zi Qing a silver note worth 100 taels to put under the box, but Zi Qing declined, saying: "Elder brother, second brother, you both just divided the family property, it's better for you to keep this money yourselves."

  "Silly girl, this is the intention of Big Brother and Second Brother. How can you not accept it? Originally, Big Brother had prepared an even bigger gift for you, but Father insisted on paying for it himself after arguing with me for half a day. Big Brother could only give you something smaller." After finishing speaking, Zifeng pulled open the red cloth, revealing a set of phoenix coronet and jade pendants. The large golden phoenix on her forehead was inlaid with pearls and jade, dazzling Ziqing's eyes. Ziqing was bewildered - even when Big Brother and Second Brother got married, their wives hadn't worn anything like this. She had thought it wasn't allowed?

  Zi Qing looked at them with a puzzled face, and Zi Fu said: "Your sisters-in-law don't have the conditions at home, this was thought of by both Kangping and Father at the same time. He wanted to personally give you one, but Father refused him. Father sent me a message, asking me to order a good one for you from the capital. Originally, Brother wanted to personally give it to you, but Father didn't allow it, so consider this xiapei as a gift from Brother. Also, there's a set of jewelry chosen by your sisters-in-law." Zi Fu finished speaking and handed over a small wooden box, which opened to reveal something glittering gold.

  At this time, Chen also handed over a wooden box and said: "Sister, the second sister's things may not be as good as the big sister's, but it is also the second sister's heart." Open it, it is also golden. It looks bigger than Liu's, but not so delicate.

  "It's all thanks to our Zi Qing's good fortune, so many people are rushing to send phoenix crowns and auspicious curtains, ordinary families can't even see them, let alone afford them. Our family's child, Zi Qing is the first one after all. Look at these two brothers, they took out 100 taels of silver from their savings without hesitation, and the two sisters-in-law are also very generous. The days in our brother's household are indeed getting more prosperous by the day. And it's also brought us some glory." Little sister-in-law Xiao Shi said with a smile.

  "It's not that, this child suffered a lot when she was young, it's all because of me, her father. I didn't take good care of her, and even after I came back, there were many things at home that I didn't handle well. The only thing I did right was to help her choose this husband, hoping that her future days will be peaceful and safe. As a father, I can then have no regrets." Zeng Rui Xiang said, his eyes reddening, probably thinking of the past years.

  Ziying was busy leaning on the past. Although this father is a bit weak, at critical moments he can't cope with it, but he always sincerely loves her. This time, he actually thought of sending her a set of phoenix crowns and auspicious curtains. It fulfilled her wish to get married, which is rare.

  Zeng Ruixiang stroked Zi Qing's head, choking back tears as he said: "Qing'er, Father really can't bear to part with you. Do you like the phoenix coronet I gave you? Father thinks that my Qing'er should have a grand and glorious wedding. Father wants to give you the best. Every woman has a dream in her heart, to have a set of phoenix coronets and auspicious decorations, to marry a good man, and to be cherished by others. Qing'er, you must remember, no matter when, you are always the treasure in Father's palm."

  Everyone who heard it was moved and shed tears.

  After Ziying finished her bath, just before bedtime, Shen Shi came over, holding a small box and stroking Ziying's head. She handed Ziying an old booklet and said: "Child, your mother won't say much to you anymore. You're clever, the 2,000 taels of silver for your dowry, the deed to the house, and the contract for the water field are all in here. I didn't take them out earlier because there were too many people around. I trust that you'll live a good life. There's just one thing - tomorrow night's matter is something every woman goes through, it's a bit painful the first time, so you need to endure it yourself and don't throw a tantrum. Whatever Kangping does to you, just go along with him. Your mother is afraid that you'll be embarrassed, so take a good look at this by yourself." After saying this, Shen Shi dropped off the items and left.

  Ziying curiously opened the legendary little book, the paper was a bit rough and the painting wasn't very exquisite, it could only vaguely make out the general human figure and posture. Ziying had never seen these before, although she had been good friends with Liu Cen for several years, but it was limited to holding hands, and they didn't even kiss much. Now that she thought about it, maybe at that time Liu Cen was just leaving a way out for himself, or maybe he still regarded her as the little girl next door.

  The next morning, Ziyin was still asleep when she was pulled up by Shen and Liu, who said: "You're quite bold, you can still sleep so soundly."

  Before long, Xiao Shu's wife, Xiao Shi, also got up and said she wanted to pierce Zi Qing's face. Zi Qing was afraid of the pain and asked Shen Shi: "Mother, can't I not have it pierced?"

  Shen slapped him and said: "What nonsense are you talking about? Just stay still and don't move."

  Just then, Tian Shi and the three old women also came over, as well as Zi Qing's mother-in-law and several aunts. Chun Yu, on the other hand, didn't dare to come forward all along, probably because she was ridiculed by everyone on the day of the dowry, and when she returned home, she was scolded by Tian Shi again. Today, there were still those familiar faces in the room, so she could only hide in the corner.

  A freshly boiled egg peeled off its shell, rolled back and forth on Zi Qing's face. Then, San Popo had a half-length of cotton thread in her mouth, and as soon as she touched Zi Qing's face with her hand, Zi Qing let out an "aiyo" of surprise. San Popo laughed and said, "This kid, I haven't even started yet, what are you 'aiyo'-ing about?" The crowd burst into loud laughter.

  After being pampered by the three old ladies, Ziqing finally finished dressing up and felt that her face had become numb, as if it didn't belong to her. Liu gave her warm water to wash her face, then helped Ziqing change into a bright red camisole, tight-fitting red undergarments, a thin red padded jacket with golden phoenix embroidery, and a crimson silk skirt with the same pattern as the jacket. Underneath, she wore red padded pants, and on top of that was the big red wedding dress, whose mandarin duck embroidery Ziqing had done herself. The dress was loose and flowing, almost touching the ground.

  "Sister, you look really beautiful in this outfit, I'm dazzled just looking at you. If your brother-in-law sees you, he'll be stunned. Later, we must ask for several big red envelopes." Liu said with a smile.

  The women next door also smiled in agreement, saying: "Really, Ziqing is the most beautiful bride we've ever seen. They say she's from the countryside, but I'm sure no one would believe it."

  At this time, Shen's family brought out the phoenix crown and misty veil, which naturally dazzled everyone's eyes again. They swarmed forward, saying they wanted to take a good look at the woman's lifelong extravagance. The gaze towards Zi Qing had envy, jealousy, and also genuine blessings.

  "This is a good fortune, really not ordinary. I've also opened my eyes. Tsk, tsk, all gold and silver, and these pearls and precious stones, I've never seen anything like it. How much silver would it take to make a set?" said Mrs. Zhou.

  "This is really opening one's eyes, where have I seen this before? Not to mention wearing it? If I could wear a set of this when I get married, and also wear this wedding dress, it would be worth it for this lifetime. What a pity, no one has such good luck." Qiu Yu sighed.

  "Your cousin is hopeless for this lifetime, it's better to earn money well and buy a set for your own daughter in the future, let her be proud and glorious, and fulfill your wish. Speaking of which, among the many children on our Shen family side, Ziqing is the first one." said Xiaoshi.

  "We also had a similar situation in our family, Big Sister. At that time, your family's condition was not bad, why didn't my aunt get you a set?" asked Qiu Yu.

  "What's the use? It's just a bit better than ordinary people's homes. Who would be willing to spend over a hundred taels of silver to make something like this? Most families wouldn't even have a hundred taels in their entire estate, let alone my dowry." said Xiao Shi with a smile.

  "Ah, this costs over a hundred taels of silver? Just wearing it on my head for a while, and afterwards it can't be used again, only left to dry out. That brother and sister are really generous. Their family must have a lot of silver." Zhou Shi sighed.

  "There are several of my younger sisters-in-law who are so fortunate, and many people are competing to give them hairpins, fearing that the silver in their hands will become moldy." said Wang Shi, Xiao Shi's elder sister-in-law.

  Qiu Yu and several others listened with curiosity, hastily asking for the reason. Xiao Shi took over and said: "Who else can it be? My brother-in-law and Zi Fu, and also Kang Ping... my brother-in-law also said that my niece has suffered a lot, especially being harmed by those who are blind to good things, almost unable to hold her head up. This time, my brother-in-law wants to marry off his daughter with great fanfare, letting those with ill intentions see that my Qinger can also live a good life."

  Xiao said, the few people in the house looked at Chunyu, Chunyu was staring at Ziying's phoenix crown with her neck stretched out, didn't expect everyone to look at her all of a sudden, and she blushed. Tian also changed his face, found an excuse to pull Chunyu out. Zifen was also heartbroken, growing up under the same roof as girls, but now their circumstances were really different, where did they start to differ? Zifen couldn't figure it out either, so she followed Tian and them out, the three of them sat together lamenting their fate.

  After changing into her new clothes, Wang Shi, the eldest daughter-in-law of San Gu Niang's family, began to comb Zi Qing's hair and style it in a bun. Since there was a phoenix crown, there were no complicated hairstyles on Zi Qing's head, only a circle of pearls and jade inserted at the top of the bun. Liu Shi applied a light makeup for Zi Qing, which was what she had requested herself. Originally, her skin was already rosy and white, and she had been drinking sheep's milk for years, even secretly using it to bathe, so with just a bit of rouge, she looked stunningly beautiful. "Sister is truly born with beauty, doesn't need any makeup to look so beautiful that people can't help but stare," Liu Shi said with a smile.

  "That's right, our brother-in-law is a lucky one. I've seen how he treats his wife this year, and it's truly loving. If they get married, won't she be even more cherished?" said Chen Shi.

  "Are you guys going to tease me like this all day? Big sister, I'm hungry, can you get me something to eat?" After getting up early and being busy for several hours, Zi Qing's stomach was growling.

  The several women nearby heard this and burst out laughing.