Exile with Storage Space: Family Fortunes in the Barren Lands-Chapter 500 - 0474: When Necessary, Beat Them Quietly (2)
She just wanted everyone to come and feast, spreading the news of her daughter’s marriage far and wide.
The more people that come, the better.
In the countryside, a good banquet’s cost for a table of food and drink is just about seven to eight hundred wen.
Even a hundred tables would only cost seventy to eighty taels of silver, offering free banquets, the Li Family could afford it.
Those who came to see the Li Family’s embarrassment didn’t gain any advantage, and Lady Lou left dejectedly.
Lady Lou and the maid returned to their guest room.
This guest room was also on the side of the North Courtyard.
Currently, the North Courtyard had four rooms: a main room, an ear room, and left and right side rooms.
Originally, there were only two rooms, but later the family added two more.
The large room on the east was the bedroom of Prince Luling and his wife, and the ear room was originally the two children’s room, but later Guoguo stayed with her aunts in one room, and Li Jing went to stay with his uncles.
The ear room was empty, filled with the trousseaux of the three sisters, mainly the Second Princess’s dowry.
No one was in the guest room at the moment, as Mr. Lou went to the school next door to the mansion, listening to Prince Luling’s lecture.
He had realized the identity of Prince Luling, so he had to ingratiate himself in advance.
In case one day Prince Luling returned to the Capital, he could use today’s connection to chat about old times and ask Prince Luling to give him a leg up.
Anyway, flattering a bit and claiming Prince Luling’s knowledge is profound, and the students are well-taught, won’t cost him anything.
In the guest room, the maid helped Lady Lou sit down, "Eldest Young Madam, let me make you a cup of tea."
The tea leaves at the Li Family were all the same.
As she drank the tea brewed by the maid, recalling what the Li Family maid had said earlier, Lady Lou felt the tea at home tasted inferior.
Not as good as these tea leaves.
Should she ask her husband to request some from the Li Family? Or maybe ask her brother-in-law to bring some back; after all, she’s too embarrassed to ask.
The maid said on the side, "Eldest Young Madam, I didn’t expect a countryside family like the Li Family to afford such a considerable dowry, comparable to that of several other young mistresses in our family."
Lady Lou felt disgruntled inside, "It’s most likely borrowed, and borrowed things have to be returned. After returning to Zhen An Prefecture, I must report this matter to Madam, so Madam can keep a close eye on that rural woman. We can’t let her secretly bring the family wealth back home. Though our family is wealthy, we can’t withstand this kind of trouble from a home-moving rat like her. Besides, the Li Family still has two unmarried boys, surely counting on their sister marrying into a prestigious family to help them out. Hmph!"
The maid softly echoed, "What the Young Mistress worries about is indeed relevant."
.
The dowries of Li Yuzhu and the Great Princess were intended by Prince Luling and his wife to be completed in the future.
The Great Princess didn’t care about marrying Shen Yan and thus didn’t care about having a dowry. She followed Shen Yan’s advice and planned to remarry.
Since there’s the intention to remarry, why prepare any dowry now? Just a wedding dress for show would suffice.
Had the Princess Consort not said she looked ugly without the wedding dress and worried about outsiders commenting that she didn’t seem like a bride, fearing the fake marriage would seem too fake, she even thought about saving the wedding dress and moving directly to Shen Yan’s place.
Li Yuzhu cared even less about the dowry, as long as she could get married.
The sisters both agreed to give all of the household’s valuables to the Second Princess.
The gesture moved the Second Princess to tears.
In the sisters’ bedroom, the Great Princess was mocking the Second Princess, "Don’t be moved. Were it not for your uselessness, would we have given you the whole dowry to save face? You must be stronger and not be belittled by the Lou Family."
The Second Princess blinked in confusion, "What counts as being strong?"
The Great Princess, "..." She tapped the Second Princess’s forehead, frustrated with her lack of grit, "Like your big sister here, that’s what is called being strong. One phrase: it’s better the ally perishes than the poor monk. After you enter the Lou Family, ensure others suffer losses, but never yourself. Don’t pity this or that. If they cry and beg for your pity, let them cry. You aren’t the Bodhisattva. The Bodhisattva pities all living beings; your only concern is your own happiness. Understood?"
The Second Princess blinked, "What about Lou the Fifth?"
The Great Princess sneered, "If he treats you well, be good to him. If not, kick him out, immediately return home or take the money! If he doesn’t treat you well, he doesn’t consider you family. Why should you be good to him? Isn’t that foolishness?"
The Second Princess nodded, half comprehending, "Alright, I’ll remember."
The Great Princess sighed, "I don’t know if Er Niu or San Niu can help you. If the Lou Family bullies you, I’ll be furious."
The Second Princess waved her hand, "Don’t be mad, calmness benefits one. Otherwise, others profit if you lose your temper, and you miss out on good things. Living well is better."
The Great Princess, "..." She couldn’t help but laugh, "Alright, alright, with your carefree attitude, it might be the other party who gets furious in an argument."
Li Yuzhu returned to their bedroom and recounted how earlier, when Lady Lou intended to make a scene, she ended up outmaneuvered by Er Niu to the Great Princess and Second Princess.
The Great Princess clapped, "Er Niu’s style, I’ll reward her with a silk flower I made."
The Second Princess also laughed and said, "Really, as long as the people around me are capable, why should I worry about anything?"
The Great Princess sneered angrily, "Oh, just carefree with everything, only growing flesh, be careful you don’t get too fat and die, humph!"
The Second Princess wasn’t upset by the comment, "Worrying is so tiring, I’d rather just live happily."
Li Yuzhu was speechless.
The Great Princess’s face turned even darker with anger.
The whole family was worried sick to ensure the Second Princess wouldn’t be bullied after marrying.
Not only did they gather all the family’s resources for her dowry, but they also trained the people who would accompany her.
Princess Consort Luling instructed Second Lady Liu and Er Niu, San Niu in etiquette, and Second Young Master Li Xingsheng taught Liu Er and Jinbao, Yinbao on how to protect the Second Princess.
But the Great Princess was still uneasy, so she called Er Niu, San Niu to her room for further instructions.
"When someone bullies the Second Miss, don’t just endure politely, just beat them up, remember, don’t hit the face, aim for the body, make them cry and call for grandma," the Great Princess sternly said.
The two little girls were shocked, "But Madam said we should understand the rules and not act barbarically."
The Great Princess sneered, "That’s when we’re in front of others, we should maintain politeness and appearances. What I’m saying is, in private, find a place with no one around and teach them a lesson. Some people just need a beating to behave."
Back in the Capital, the Great Princess was praised by everyone as the top beauty.
She appeared gentle and harmless.
Later, someone became jealous of her reputation and plotted to defame her.
Knowing this, the Great Princess tricked the person into a secluded place and personally gave her a beating.
She didn’t even let her maid take action.
She didn’t hit the face or hands, only kicked the well-padded behind, made the noble lady who harmed her bawl her eyes out and beg for mercy.
As there were no witnesses seeing the Great Princess hit anyone.
That noble lady later complained to the Empress, but the Great Princess remained calm and casually claimed the noble lady was framing her.
She even spread the matter of the noble lady’s false accusation all over the city, and since her reputation was always excellent, everyone sided with her. The noble lady was frustrated and helpless.
The Great Princess used it as an example of how to hit someone without being noticed.
Er Niu and San Niu listened in shock, their eyes wide and mouths agape.
Li Yuzhu listened with a twitching smile, well, she was indeed the Great Princess who never suffered losses.
Only the heartless Second Princess was drowsy from listening.
The Great Princess grabbed the Second Princess’s ear in anger, "Wait, I’m not done yet."
The Second Princess yawned, "Huh? There’s more?"
"Of course, there’s something very important I haven’t mentioned." The Great Princess pointed at Er Niu and San Niu, "Sometimes, people may not dare to trouble you directly but may trouble those around you. At those times, you have to protect them too. Bullying them is like slapping your face."
"..."
"For example, if someone bullies you and the Third Sister, it means they don’t respect me, it’s an expression of looking down on me. Only I am allowed to bully you two, and if others do, I have to make them pay. You should be like me, protecting those around you, remember that."
She arrogantly lifted her chin.
Li Yuzhu smiled and twitched at the corners of her mouth.
The Second Princess blinked, "Okay, I’ll protect them."
Er Niu and San Niu were moved to tears, Miss Li was really nice, always thinking of them.
.
In no time, it was the day nearing the wedding feast.
All the dowries for the Second Princess were prepared.
That day, it was early on the seventeenth, Prince Luling found Li Lixing’s aide Qin Hu and asked him to return to the county seat to send a note to Li Xing’an, telling him to come home. He also asked Qin Hu to notify the County Magistrate that they were marrying off a daughter and sent a wedding invitation.
He also asked Qin Hu to notify Eldest Young Master Chai and his wife along the way.
In the capacity of the County Magistrate, he certainly wouldn’t come to the banquet, but out of courtesy, their family still needed to inform him.
Li Lixing needed to return home to fetch the wedding gifts, so he went back with Qin Hu.
Li Xing’an learned that his three sisters were about to get married soon, in just three days, and was furious, jumping up and down.
"Am I not part of the family? Why tell me so late?"
