The Lucky Farmgirl

The reason Ministry of Rites hinted in this way, aside from the regulations, was due to the Emperor’s suggestion.

The Emperor prepared quite a few dowries for the two princesses. No matter how much betrothal gifts the Bai Family prepared, it would all be converted into a dowry, which would exceed the limits of ceremonial protocol, and the Emperor felt this was improper.

The reason he felt guilty was naturally because a few years ago, he was scolded by Wei Zhi when arranging a marriage for his daughter. Of course, he acknowledged his mistake but just didn’t change.

This time, marrying off two daughters in a row, the Emperor had the state treasury prepare a substantial dowry, just at the ceiling of the protocol limits. He added a little from his private funds, and the Empress also contributed from her dowry. Carelessly, the excess became quite significant.

Wei Zhi had already submitted a remonstrance, and the Emperor hadn’t been keen on seeing him lately. Every time he saw him, Wei Zhi would nag about this once, making him feel guilty.

Old Zhou didn’t quite understand this. He asked, "Why is this Lord Wei so troublesome? What’s there to say about a father giving his daughter a dowry? It’s the Emperor’s money. He can give it to whomever he pleases. Why listen to an outsider’s words?"

Manbao said, "You can’t say that. In the imperial family, there’s no private matter. Furthermore, this matter concerns ceremonial protocol. It’s not just the Emperor’s matter, nor just the imperial family’s. Mingda has already refused such a high dowry twice, but this is the Emperor and Empress’s love for her. She can’t be too harsh, or it would hurt the Emperor’s feelings."

Old Zhou didn’t understand, "Isn’t marrying off a daughter a family affair?"

Manbao shook her head. Bai Shan also shook his head and said, "Ceremonial protocol is to standardize people’s statuses and social relations. The Emperor has sisters. According to protocol, the late Emperor’s princesses rank higher than the Emperor’s princesses. Exceeding the protocol would not only disrupt this relationship but also set a bad precedent for future generations. What if someone imitates it in the future?"

Bai Shan said, "The Emperor’s love for his daughter is understandable, but Lord Wei isn’t wrong either. He’s looking at the matter from the bigger picture. Now, the Emperor is merely staying just at the upper limit of protocol, having the state treasury prepare the list, and covering the rest himself. But what if a future Emperor doesn’t want to take money from his private funds, or doesn’t have money in his private funds but wishes to provide for a marrying princess respectably?"

Old Zhou asked, "Then what?"

"Then he would transfer the responsibility to the state treasury, and the lower boundary would be incrementally lowered," Bai Shan said, "Moreover, the Emperor’s private funds are not solely his. Besides him, it also involves other princes and princesses, not to mention departments like the Imperial Hospital and the Imperial Ministry of Rites, which often need subsidies from the Emperor. If he gives more dowry to the princess, the items for the Imperial Hospital and the Imperial Ministry of Rites will surely be less."

Currently, 40% of the Imperial Hospital’s expenses are still covered by the Emperor’s private funds. It will still take a long time before the state treasury can fully bear its expenses.

Not to mention the Imperial Ministry of Rites.

The Imperial Ministry of Rites is responsible for constructing imperial tombs, which is a large expenditure. Of course, this money is paid by the state treasury, but the current Emperor has been independently covering part of the expenses to ease the state treasury’s burden. Otherwise, why would the Emperor be so poor?

Year after year, marrying sons and marrying off daughters is one thing, and such fixed expenses are also a significant reason.

Look at the Daming Palace, even after twenty years of construction, half of it is still wasteland, and you know how poor the Emperor is.

So this really isn’t just the Emperor’s personal affair.

But the Emperor is also stubborn. Even though Wei Zhi and others scolded him, he obediently listened. Yet, when turning around, he still prepared what should be prepared for his daughters, without changing.

Wei Zhi felt helpless. The New Year was approaching, and various taxes needed to be integrated. Plans for next year’s spending needed to be prepared, and this year was the year for the Ministry of Personnel’s grand investigation, with important officials from various places needing to return to the capital to report. The Astronomical Bureau warned two months ago that the cold would arrive early this year, and there might be snow disasters in the Central Plain and Southern regions.

Yes, it’s not the North that might have snow disasters, but the Central Plain and South, which happen to be major grain-producing areas. It’s really a headache.

So there are many things to do. Wei Zhi didn’t want to strain relations with the Emperor over such a trivial matter, especially when the two of them were about to become in-laws.

So he submitted two memorials, advised two times in person, and found that the Emperor would admit his mistakes in person, but still did as he wished behind the scenes. So he turned a blind eye and moved past it.

The Emperor felt guilty for a few days and found that Wei Zhi really stopped inquiring, was instantly delighted, and thus became more carefree. While preparing dowries for his daughters, he also inquired about the ministers’ dowries.

Mainly because Zhou Man had come to check the pulse of the Empress for her peace. With all the children about to be married off, the Emperor casually asked, "Have your parents prepared your dowry?"

Manbao nodded, "They have prepared it, and it’s quite a lot."

The Emperor smiled and asked, "I’ve heard you earned quite a bit yourself. Will you add it to your dowry?"

Manbao shook her head.

The Emperor then frowned, "Why, do you want to keep your money for your parents and family?"

How can a father take the hard-earned money of his daughter?

Manbao said, "No, my father won’t let me add my money to the dowry. He told me to secretly keep it as it’s private wealth. If it’s added to the dowry, it’ll become public, and it’s better to have some private funds on me. It makes things more convenient as no one knows how much I have."

Actually, if it weren’t for looking at the account books, she wouldn’t even know how much money she had.

The Emperor, upon hearing this, became thoughtful. Later, he told Mingda, "It’s a pity that all our things are accounted for in the ledgers, and it’s impossible to secretly leave some for you as private wealth. But what Zhou Man’s father said is correct, you should have some private wealth. I’ll find an excuse to withdraw some money from the private treasury for you to secretly stash as private wealth."

Mingda: "...Father, didn’t you and Mother prepare me a purse of silver for my wedding dowry? That’s already enough."

"That’s legitimate expenses, not private wealth."

Mingda believed that Bai Erlang wouldn’t mind these things, although it might trouble him a bit. Since her father insisted, she could only say, "I don’t spend much, perhaps I can give some to my sister, and I’ll take a little less."

The Emperor nodded, reached out to pat her head, and said, "You’re not in good health. At that time, I’ll have people prepare more medicinal materials for you to take. You’ll live in the princess’ manor later. If the medicine isn’t enough, just send someone back to report, and I’ll find more for you."

Mingda smiled and nodded. Her father had been a bit emotionally volatile recently, so forget it, just agree to everything first and see how it goes.

The Emperor was very gratified, holding his daughter’s hand and sighing, "Unknowingly, you’re also going to be married off. I still remember a few years ago when you were so small, with dry and sparse hair. No matter how much you ate, it didn’t help. At that time, your mother and I were worried sick. The Imperial Hospital said you were weak and couldn’t absorb supplements, with a frail stomach, quite unlike your sister. You ate like a little cat, and now, look at how you’ve grown."

The Emperor looked at Mingda’s hair, which only had a slight yellow tinge at the tips, satisfied, and reached out to touch it. His daughter’s health was improving, just as evident from her hair.

Mingda didn’t want to talk to her father anymore. She was beautiful all over, except her hair wasn’t very good, yet her father insisted on mentioning it.

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