Brother Rong of Red Mansion

Chapter 59 Makeup
  Today, Qin Mansion's "boutique", Mei Xiang, Chuntao and other girls and servants have been waiting in the yard.

Seeing "Grandma Rong's" dowry brought in, all the girls and servants were secretly envious.

When Grandma Li saw him, she looked at Shen Fei, raised her chin slightly, and became a little more arrogant.

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  A few days before the wedding, the woman will send the dowry to the man's home, arrange the boxes of dowry neatly, and open the lids one by one.

There is a nice saying for this move, which is called "making a fortune out of the box".

Of course, if we are more realistic, it also means showing off the dowry. The richer the dowry, the more respectable the woman is. The more status you have in the man's family.

This whole process is called "making a house" and follows the etiquette of the Song Dynasty.

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  When Qin Keqing married into Ningguo Mansion, she was considered a "high climber" in terms of social and political status, so the dowry must be generous, otherwise she would be looked down upon.

Qin Ye is a doctor in the Maintenance Department of the Ministry of Industry. Although he is usually low-key and calm, Qin Keqing's dowry is still a surprise. The Qin family's "family wealth" is indeed quite rich.

In fact, this is also understandable.

Although it is said that Ningrong, the eldest son of the Jia family, will follow the "civilian path" according to Jia Daishan's "dying will".

But after all, it is the Duke's palace. How can ordinary civil servants attach themselves to the direct lineage of Jia's family?

For example, "Jia Zhu", the eldest son of the second wife of the Rongguo Mansion, married Li Wan, the daughter of Li Shouzhong, the imperial concubine.

What is the position of the Imperial College?
  He is the leader of a country's cultural heritage and the person with the most say in the Qing Dynasty. It is not an exaggeration to say that "the world is filled with peaches and plums." Only such an official family can be worthy of being a direct descendant of the Jia family.

Jia Rong from the Ning Mansion chose the daughter of Qin Ye, a doctor from the Ministry of Industry's Maintenance Department. Qin Ye's "honest duty" is not a Qingliu official, but he is the chief officer of the first division of the Ministry of Industry's Battalion and Repair Department, in charge of "repairing temples, palaces, city walls, warehouses, buildings, and barracks. Supervising craftsmen, Work service, preparing materials, sorting materials and storing them in preparation for work to start."

Although he was an official of the fifth rank, he was a "capital official" and the head of the Maintenance Department of the Ministry of Industry. In the yamen, only the Minister of the Ministry of Industry and the left and right ministers could control him. A serious "boss with real power in the Ministry of Industry".

A typical example of "low position and power", he signed an unknown number of royal project documents on his desk every year. If he just "missed" a little, he could make a lot of money.

Only such a daughter of an official could match Jiarong, the eldest grandson of Ningguo Mansion.

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  Sure enough, when Qin Keqing's "dowry" was delivered to the Ningguo Mansion, everyone who saw so much gold and silver treasures respected Qin Keqing.

Although he is only a "fifth-grade petty official", he is not as "sour" as imagined.

"Uncle, everything is done. I am here to wish my grandpa and grandma a happy son soon, harmony and happiness."

In the southeast wing of Jia Rong's courtyard, Grandma Li placed a pair of red chopsticks on the red bed, which means "fast son". Another pair of men's shoes were placed, the "groom's shoes" sewn by Qin Keqing one by one, and then the "bride's shoes" were inserted into the "groom's shoes".

This is "fitting shoes" and the origin of the saying "harmony".

"Okay, thank you for your hard work, Grandma Li."

Seeing that Nanny Li was finishing her work, Jia Rong nodded with a smile and immediately lined up a large array of rewards.

I grabbed a "happy bag" with my own hands and stuffed it into Grandma Li's palm.

The bulging wedding bag was filled with gold barley seeds, silver barley seeds and copper coins, which were the man's thank you gifts to the "housekeeper".

Even the servants, maids, and boys from the Qin Mansion were all rewarded. Outside in the main courtyard, Lai was rewarded. The plum fragrance inside is also appreciated.

All the procedures were in order, and it was very interesting for Jia Rong to participate in them. “Thank you very much, uncle.”

Holding the bulging "happy bag", Grandma Li smiled happily, feeling that her hard work was finally in vain. As expected of the Duke's Mansion, it is generous in its dealings!

Then, Jia Rong saw off Nanny Li and her party, and the Ningguo Mansion became quiet, waiting for the man to go to the Qin Mansion to "make up" on June 13th.

time flies.

Just three days flew by.

On this day, the sun came out, and the snow that had been falling for several days finally stopped. The wide street was muddy, and pedestrians were shouting and cursing.

"That won't work!"

Jia Rong looked at the muddy street and called Lai Sheng over, "Tomorrow is the wedding. If the road is like this, how will the bride-to-be get there and how will the bride come?"

After hearing this, Lai Sheng said quickly: "Don't worry, uncle. I will ask someone to pave it with loess later to ensure that the road is clean and smooth and will not affect the wedding tomorrow."

"Okay, Grandpa Lai still has a way."

Jia Rong smiled, then rode on horseback, called the fine cooks in the kitchen, pushed a cart carrying vegetables, fruits, chickens, ducks and fish, and headed towards the Qin Mansion.

Today is the day before the wedding. According to the wedding process, the man has to go to the woman's home to "make up."

That is, a table of food, two roosters and other gifts are sent to the woman's home.

The Qin Mansion is indeed engaged in engineering. Now that I know that Ning Mansion is coming, when I enter the city, I see many military squads carrying baskets on their backs, spreading loess on the street, and smoothing it out very carefully.

Qin Ye is a fifth-grade civil servant, and his residence is located in Chongpingfang in the south of the city. The house occupies a small area, just over a hundred acres, and has five courtyards. It is not spacious, but it is kept very neatly. Fish scale tiles, cypress purlins, courtyard walls and floors are made of large blue bricks. The brick joints are clear, straight and well-proportioned, arranged like a city in Shenjingfang, giving it a pleasing beauty.

In the yard, there is also a tall osmanthus tree. It's sunny after the snow, the snow on the branches melts, and a string of crystal water droplets hangs under the branches.

"It's summer now. When autumn comes, the laurel trees will be in full bloom and the garden will be filled with fragrance. It will be really beautiful."

Seeing Jia Rong looking at the osmanthus tree, Qin Ye stroked his beard and smiled, his face full of pride. Immediately, Jia Rong was invited into the hall. After taking off his clothes, he went to the hall to pay homage to Mrs. Qin. He also said a few words to his fiancée Qin Keqing across the rosewood screen.

Although they were all greetings, Qin Keqing's tone was delicate and as clear as a bell. Just like a clear spring nourishing the heart, and like a breeze blowing across the cheek, Jia Rong can't help but let her soul sway, secretly daydreaming about thousands of things.

"Qin Keqing, the legendary most beautiful woman in the Red Mansion, what does she look like?"

It's embarrassing to say that Jia Rong has never seen Qin Keqing's true appearance since her engagement.

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  Qin Ye is also from Jiangnan, and there are not many clansmen in Shenjing City. Today, to "make up", Qin Ye only invited a few colleagues, friends, and students, and barely managed to put together two banquet tables.

On the Jia clan's side, except for Jia Zhen who was ill and did not come, Jia She, Jia Zheng, Jia Lian, Jia Qiang and others all came, giving Jia Rong a great deal of support.

Especially Jia Zheng, he is a member of the Ministry of Industry, and most of the people here today are officials from the Ministry of Industry. He was full of smiles at the banquet, and he was like a fish in water.

After the banquet broke up, Jia Rong went back home to prepare for the formal wedding tomorrow.

(End of this chapter)