The Farm Girl's Charismatic Fortune-Chapter 376 - 372 I Can’t Retreat Either

It took nearly two months, but the peace negotiations finally concluded. The ultimate agreement involved all four countries ceding a hundred miles of territory each, and exchanging 5,000 horses, cattle, and sheep, as well as all war prisoners, with a treaty signed to not engage in war for the next ten years.

The above were terms that all four countries shared. There were also exchange conditions tailored to the unique resources of each country. For example, the Beiyang Country had an abundance of cattle, horses, and sheep, so they were required to sell more to the Xuanyuan Country every year. The Nanling Country had numerous medicinal materials, so they would need to provide more of those.

Ruo Xuan didn’t pay much attention to the specifics because she was about to get married!

The joyous day for Xuanyuan Que and Ruo Xuan was set in the springtime of March, when a hundred flowers would be in bloom. ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom

A few days before the grand wedding, it was customary for the bride and groom not to see each other.

As such, Ruo Xuan did not seek out the Divine Lord Xuanyuan and stayed at home to watch her family arrange her dowry.

Mrs. Liu and the old Mrs. Lei discussed, "I’ve inquired a bit, and the family of the eighth Prince’s wife prepared only thirty-six dowry carriages. The Gao Family, the Zhu Family have all prepared thirty-six as well. It wouldn’t be good to surpass the eighth Prince’s wife. Should we also visibly prepare thirty-six carriages? But I’m afraid thirty-six carriages won’t hold everything we’ve prepared for Xuanbao."

Originally, she planned to prepare seventy-eight dowry carriages for Xuanbao. However, since the Emperor commanded that all the Princes marry on the same day in the Imperial Palace, it wouldn’t look right for Xuanbao’s dowry to be much more than the others, at least not publicly.

Old Mrs. Lei nodded, "Everyone is preparing thirty-six carriages; we cannot stand out too much, either. Let’s also prepare thirty-six carriages publicly and squeeze in as much as we can. The rest we’ll prepare in private for Xuanbao."

The dowry for Ruo Xuan, just from the gifts from her uncles, aunts, and brothers, amounted to more than thirty-six carriages.

Old Mrs. Lei and Mrs. Liu, along with other mothers-in-law, no matter how they tried to pack, felt that thirty-six carriages were far from enough.

The Ruo Family yearned to give Ruo Xuan almost everything they had for her marriage.

In recent years, under Ruo Chuan’s management, they had opened over thirty bookstores, more than thirty pharmacies, five restaurants, sixty-something rouge and powder shops, twenty cloth stores, and they owned two furniture workshops, not to mention farmland, mansions, and other estates.

Ruo Xuan saw that her family was giving her more than half of the household’s wealth.

But thirty-six carriages were truly insufficient, no matter how much they forced the items in.

He Xinghua suggested, "Everyone should choose the best item they prepared for Xuanbao’s dowry to put in those thirty-six carriages. We can group the rest together. Since the ninth Prince’s Residence is right next door, we could have the excess dowry delivered on the wedding day."

After marrying, a Prince would leave the Imperial Palace to establish his own residence.

The Emperor had granted Prince Xuanyuan Que a residence right next to the Princess Wuyou Residence; there was only a small alley separating the two estates.

For Ruo Xuan, getting married was as simple as moving next door and if she wished to return to her parental home, it was just a few steps away, which greatly pleased the Ruo Family.

With Xuanbao living right next door, they could see her whenever she stepped out.

Old Mrs. Lei, "This is a good idea!"

Ruo Xuan, "I’ll just pick something I like; I don’t need the rest. You don’t have to prepare so much for me. I also don’t want the shops, the farmland, the estates."

She and the Divine Lord Xuanyuan had already started many workshops together, all of which were solely hers.

Furthermore, all the silver she had earned over the years had been left untouched by her family.

Yet this time, nobody listened to Ruo Xuan; the Ruo Family insisted on providing for her.

Ruo Xuan thought she would just give the shops, farmland, and other assets to her brothers when they got married.

Just as Ruo Xuan was about to take a nap under the sun and also cultivate, Gao Yan arrived.

"Xuanbao, you must save me!"

Ruo Xuan glanced at her; nothing had happened to her or her family!

She asked in astonishment, "What happened?"

Gao Yan, "Xuanyuan Jie begged the Empress Dowager to cancel the marriage but he couldn’t succeed. Could you possibly take me to the Imperial Palace to plead with the Empress Dowager?"

She didn’t want to bother Ruo Xuan, but she was truly out of options.

Xuanyuan Jie had gone to the Imperial Palace several times to discuss cancelling the engagement with the Empress Dowager, even seeking the Emperor, but both the Emperor and the Empress Dowager had refused.

The Empress Dowager had even severely scolded Xuanyuan Jie.

Xuanyuan Jie had barely arranged the marriage before he marched off to the Northern Border to fight a war; one year passed, and upon his return, he wanted to break off the engagement!

The Empress Dowager cursed Xuanyuan Jie as a heartless man!

Upon hearing this, Ruo Xuan said, "Nor can I break it off."

Still harboring a glimmer of hope, Gao Yan pleaded, "Xuanbao, just take me to see the Empress Dowager, that’s all. I’ll explain everything clearly; the Empress Dowager has always been understanding and reasonable, she will surely agree."

Ruo Xuan shook her head, "I can take you into the palace, but the mandate of heaven cannot be defied; it can’t be broken off."

Gao Yan refused to believe in any so-called mandate of heaven; she just wanted to enter the palace and clarify everything with the Empress Dowager.

So Ruo Xuan took Gao Yan into the palace.

Ruo Xuan didn’t know what the Empress Dowager and Gao Yan discussed, as she found an excuse to avoid suspicion and left to pick flowers in the Imperial Garden.

After meeting the Empress Dowager, Gao Yan left the palace with Ruo Xuan.

Xuanyuan Jie had long been waiting outside the palace gates. Seeing the two, he immediately approached Gao Yan and asked, "How did it go? Did the Empress Dowager agree?"

Ruo Xuan, knowing when to make herself scarce, saw Xuanyuan Jie waiting there and immediately boarded her own carriage and departed, leaving the two to cultivate their relationship.

Xuanyuan Jie, this time, did not pay much attention to Ruo Xuan; firstly, it wasn’t appropriate to do so anymore, and secondly, he was here for Gao Yan, eager to know if she had succeeded in breaking off the engagement.

Gao Yan shook her head, "The Empress Dowager didn’t agree."

Xuanyuan Jie: "..."

The Empress Dowager’s refusal was for Gao Yan’s sake. Every word she spoke was for Gao Yan’s benefit, for the good of the Gao Family, leaving Gao Yan with no room for rebuttal.

Seeing his furrowed brow, Gao Yan said, "I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have picked up that flower, causing you trouble."

Xuanyuan Jie came back to his senses, shaking his head, "It’s not your fault; I am actually relieved it was you who picked it up, not someone else. I’m glad it was you."

At least they had known each other since childhood and were thoroughly acquainted.

Gao Yan looked at him in surprise.

With nothing left to be done, he said to Gao Yan, "Let’s go! I’ll escort you back to your residence. We’ll talk about other matters after the wedding."

"Oh."

*

The day of Ruo Xuan’s grand wedding to Xuanyuan Que arrived in the blink of an eye. Alongside their union, several other princes and nobles bestowed with marriages by the emperor also wed that same day.

On this day, the palace gates were flung wide open, and the six noble grooms set out from the Imperial Palace to receive their brides from their respective residences.

The sound of ritual music filled the streets and alleys of the Capital City.

Every street in the Capital City was crowded with citizens eager to join the festivities.

This was the most boisterous celebration since the founding of Xuanyuan Country.

Residents living within the city were showered with wedding candies and cakes, delivered to every household.

Those living outside the city were also distributing wedding candies and cakes; by presenting household registrations, each person could receive a portion.

Various Governor’s Offices were also handing out wedding candies and cakes, similarly allowing each household to claim a portion upon presenting their household registration.

The wedding candies were funded jointly by the Imperial Family and the families of the brides.

Initially, Xuanyuan Que intended to bear the cost alone, but when the other princes learned of this, they also contributed, and upon hearing, the brides’ families did as well. Whatever shortfall remained was covered by Xuanyuan Que.

Every citizen of Xuanyuan Country received a share of the wedding candies and cakes, with the residents of Shaxi County receiving one portion per person.

A true celebration for all under the heavens.