Chapter 436 — Discussing the Betrothal Gift

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Miao Anping fairly cried out, "Then—then what's to be done?"

The guard sighed. "When the lord bids a minister die, the minister cannot but die; when a father bids a son perish, the son cannot but perish. However formidable our heir may be abroad, before the Lord Protector of the Realm he must still keep to the duties of a son. At most he can vent his temper like this—what more can he do?"

Miao Anping was overcome with wild joy and, seizing Xie Wan by the arm, hurried him home.

Xie Wan, however, hesitated.

The reason he had been willing to act as matchmaker for the Miao family was the hope of gaining a word with Song Yan, son-in-law of the Dou clan of the North Tower. What had the second lord of the Ying Protector's Estate to do with him? The minor betrothal had not yet begun, and Song Sui had been driven off in a rage—was there any need for him to go to the Miao house?

But Wanping County was only so large, and Miao Anping pressed him urgently. The bearers, reflecting that the Miao family had now attached themselves to the Ying Protector's Estate, dared not slight him; by the time Xie Wan came to himself, the sedan had already halted before the great gate of the Miao residence.

He had no choice but to descend.

Miao Zhi's uncle, her father, and her father's younger brother all came pouring out to welcome him.

Xie Wan entered the gate with his chin held high.

Miao Anping, however, drew his father aside behind the pomegranate tree.

"Father, I tell you, I ran into the heir of the Ying Protector's Estate just now." He hastily recounted all that had passed. "So you see, this Song Yantang is soft within his own house, and today he was not even present. Tell me—can we not bargain over this betrothal gift and settle on a different sum?"

Miao's father's heart gave a violent throb, and he found his son's suggestion entirely workable.

He at once sought out Miao Zhi's eldest uncle to confer.

Miao Zhi's eldest uncle pondered a long while, then said, "No horse grows fat without night grazing; no man grows rich without windfall wealth. Let us try it first, and if it fails, we shall think again."

Miao's father and Miao Anping nodded without ceasing.

The three of them went to the hall.

They had drunk a cup of tea with Xie Wan when the party from the Ying Protector's Estate arrived to deliver the betrothal.

The Song family's matchmakers were a registrar named Qiao Lu from the Five Armies Command, and a fellow student of Song Cen's named Li Wen from the days when Song Cen sat for the county examination.

At the mention of the matter, Song Cen was filled with resentment.

He had originally wished to ask the Third Imperial Son-in-Law to preside as matchmaker, but the Third Imperial Son-in-Law, on the pretext that he had never in his life presided over a match, would on no account take it up. He had then to settle for the next best and ask the Marquis of Anlu to come forward. Little did he expect that the Marquis of Anlu still bore a grudge against Song Yan for making things difficult for him; not only did he fail to bring the man, but Song Cen had to endure a thorough mocking at the Marquis's residence. He was so furious that he stamped about at home, roundly cursing Song Yan, and then bethought himself of his own maternal uncle, Lu Fuli—but Lu Fuli pleaded that he was old and his energies failing, unable to bear the clamor, and told him to invite someone younger.

So back and forth the thing dragged on, and time was lost; they had no choice but to hastily make matchmakers of one of their own subordinates and a fellow graduate with whom they had some dealings.

Xie Wan looked at the two of them, and the corner of his eye twitched.

He himself was, after all, a graduate of the two lists—and was he to drink at the same table with a petty clerk and a xiucai?

Pressing his brow, he pleaded that he had caught a chill from the wind and thrust the whole business upon the county assistant, Ma Hao.

Wanping was a county of the capital, and its assistant too must be a graduate of the two lists.

Ma Hao had been secretly congratulating himself that today he need only play the secondary guest; never had he thought that in the blink of an eye he should become the chief host. His face changed at once. He sat in the eastern厢 chamber set aside for guests, drinking tea and chatting, and would not come out to play the host.

The Miao family could do nothing about it. They invited the two matchmakers of the Song family into the western chamber to be seated, and let the "complete-fortune" women of both sides exchange pleasantries and greetings and present the betrothal gifts.

A gold necklet set with many gems; earrings of rubies the size of lotus seeds; a heavy pair of red-gold bracelets in twisted-wire pattern; and yellow, gleaming horse-hoof rings.

At the sight of these ornaments, Miao's mother's eyes narrowed to slits of smiles.

The Song family's "complete-fortune" woman was none other than the Third Madam Song.

She put the necklet, the earrings, the bracelets, and the rings all upon Miao Zhi.

A gleam of a smile entered the depths of Miao Zhi's eyes. Supported by her maid, she rose and bowed her head in salute to the Third Madam Song.

The Third Madam Song took two gold-flecked kerchiefs as the gift of homage, and then had the young servants who accompanied her bring up the gifts for each branch of the Miao family.

And with that, the betrothal was concluded.

The Miao family's eldest married daughter and the Third Madam Song went into the main hall to discuss the betrothal silver, the dowry, and the wedding date.

Miao Zhi's personal maid came darting in then, all smiles, and said, "Madam, young miss, I have seen clearly now—what the Song family sent is tea and wine. The Fourth Lord says the tea is the finest West Lake Longjing, and the wine the genuine northern Shaanxi thick wine."

Miao Zhi pressed her lips together and smiled.

Miao's mother shot her daughter a glance and scolded fondly, "Are you satisfied now?"

Miao Zhi tugged at her mother's sleeve and began to play the spoiled child.

In the main hall, the Third Madam Song's face had turned cold as frost.

She lowered her head and took a sip of tea, slowly set the cup down, and only then said, "As the saying goes, a man takes one pick, a woman one turn. A grand betrothal of thirty-six palanquins and ten thousand taels of betrothal silver—for our Ying Protector's Estate, that is not so very much. In the year the heir took his bride, the betrothal was one hundred and twenty-four palanquins and cost a full twenty thousand taels. But the heir's lady's family returned a betrothal of one hundred and twenty-six palanquins, two of which were nothing but silver drafts of ten taels each, no less than forty thousand taels in all, the whole worth more than a hundred thousand. By that reckoning, your honored house should at the very least provide... thirty thousand taels' worth of dowry."

The other party said nothing.

Had she stung them to fury?

The Third Madam Song raised her head, and saw that the Miao family's complete-fortune woman—Miao Zhi's eldest aunt—was staring at her with a mouth wide enough to swallow a toad whole.

She could not help but sneer inwardly, several times over.

A dowry of less than three thousand taels, and they wanted a betrothal gift of ten thousand taels—since when did such a fine bargain exist?

When she herself had married into the Song family, the betrothal gift had been no more than two thousand taels.

Were it not for a certain exalted personage in the palace lending a hand, the Miao family—by their own merits—would not have been fit to carry the Song family's shoes, and they still dreamed of making their daughter her nephew's wife? Dream on!

The more she thought along these lines, the more she suddenly felt Dou Yan had become very dear to her.