Chapter 1837: Chapter 1826: Playing by Their Own Rules

This was also something Wang Yongzhu and Song Chongjin had discussed. While they are free now, in a few days when the Capital City stabilizes and the Emperor has time to focus on commerce, they will likely be busy. By then, forget about getting married, they might not even have time to return home for a few months.

So they decided to take this opportunity to arrange the marriages of those under their care, so everyone can feel at ease.

This matchmaking event, you know, even though many young girls were found, there were ultimately more men than women. By the end, there wasn’t a single girl left, but there were still a few guards who arrived late and missed out, regretting it immensely.

It must be said that the requirements of women in this era are truly not high. Although these guards are a bit older, when they say they are subordinates of the County Magistrate, it carries weight.

As the saying goes, having connections in the court makes it easier to become an official. For ordinary folks, making connections with people close to the County Magistrate is a rare opportunity.

Moreover, everyone knows that the County Magistrate and Madam are generous people. These guards all look well-fed, wear new cotton clothes every year, and are known to have good monthly wages with bonuses during festivals.

This kind of good match, where they are even allowed to see the suitor in person and exchange a few words, makes the girls bashful. As long as the man doesn’t look too fierce, they simply cast a few glances before shyly agreeing.

On the other hand, the guards were picky, choosing girls based on looks, figures, or perceived honesty and ability to work. Most of them found someone suitable.

After all, these young girls are fair and decent, around the age of seventeen or eighteen, in the prime of their youth. The guards were eager to take them home that very night.

Nearby, there were older women and matchmakers keeping track of who paired with whom.

Once most of them had chosen each other, they were given a stick of incense’s time to say a few words to their selected bride to get to know them better.

These guards, rough as they might be, were quite delighted to have chosen a bride themselves. They already regarded the girls as their women.

The honest ones would pull the girl aside and quietly explain their family situation, such as their hometown, the number of family members, and how much land they have.

The smarter ones would talk to the girl and ask about her family situation and conditions.

Some were eager to please, having learned how to win a girl’s heart, and promised to buy her a silver hairpin and more after marriage.

The bolder girls, initially just nodding with blushing faces, gradually became more composed and asked a few questions, feeling more at ease.

At one point, the atmosphere seemed quite harmonious, easing the minds of the women and matchmakers nearby and earning the envy of onlookers.

Some envied these girls for their good fortune in finding a good match, while others regretted their daughters being too young to be chosen.

There were even those who, having married off their daughters early, missed this opportunity and regretted it deeply.

Regardless of what they thought, Wang Yongzhu was very efficient in organizing the event.

After hearing the reports from the women and matchmakers, she was relieved and picked an auspicious date to hold a group wedding for about twenty couples, with Jian Huaifeng presiding over it.

Wang Yongzhu kept her promise, giving each married couple twenty taels of Settlement Silver and prepared a red wedding dress for each bride.

For those brides from poor families who could not afford new wedding dresses, this was a timely blessing, saving them from being overshadowed or mocked on the wedding day.

On the wedding day, although Wang Yongzhu did not attend, she sent some women to observe, and upon their return, it was reported that the event was quite lively.

These women were adept at gathering information, and after a brief outing, they returned with an earful of gossip.

They said among the twenty or so newlyweds, several families were quite friendly and harmonious. The bride’s family did not demand much in dowry and even provided a dowry, which was a proper way of marrying off a daughter.

The groom’s side was generous with the dowry, offering it readily and even increasing it a bit. On the wedding day, everyone looked harmonious and joyous.

Most saw the County Magistrate’s people as wealthy and relied on their daughter’s dowry to support their family or marry off a son. Expecting a dowry of five or eight taels was already good, yet some shameless families demanded fifteen, twenty, or thirty taels, making it seem more like selling their daughters than marrying them.

Some quick-tempered ones declared they wouldn’t marry such an expensive bride, frightening those families who then had to lower their demands, worried they might not find such another good match for their daughter.

Despite this, they managed to maintain a facade. No matter what they truly felt, everyone smiled on the wedding day.

The most dramatic cases involved two families who, despite having agreed to everything and completed the matchmaking rituals, blocked the groom at their doorstep on the day of the wedding, demanding extra money, saying they wouldn’t let the bride leave otherwise.

When others tried to intervene, these two families wailed about their hardships, their daughters being their only hope, and questioned whether the son-in-law could watch his in-laws suffer and let his wife’s brothers remain bachelor.

Ordinary folks might have caved into such pressure, having already given the dowry and not wanting to delay the wedding at an auspicious time, begrudgingly paying up and taking the bride home.

But these two guards, what kind of people are they? Former soldiers who retired due to injuries or other reasons, and having mixed with Zhao Liu’s notorious group, they’ve seen all kinds of scoundrels and lowlifes.

How could they be intimidated?

They immediately called their men and turned to leave, saying they didn’t want the marriage, insisting they could find another bride with money and didn’t need to marry this family’s daughter. They also threatened that if the dowry wasn’t returned, there would be consequences!

The two families had muddle-headed parents who spoiled their sons so much that they did such damaging things to their daughter’s wedding prospects.

Seeing the guards not playing by the rules, they were dumbfounded, unable to leave nor gain any benefits from the guards, presenting an unattractive sight.

Bystanders, some there for the entertainment, others trying to mediate, urged the two guards to pay a little to smooth things over and first take the bride home.

Ordinary folks might have given in to such persuasion, it being a good day and all. It would be unlucky if things didn’t work out.

But these two guards were not the type to give in easily. Seeing the two families backpedaling, they doubled down.

Chattering loudly, they insisted on not marrying and demanded the return of the dowry.

The people they brought, being friends enjoying the spectacle, didn’t try to dissuade them but instead cheered them on, attracting even more curious neighbors.

Originally, with about twenty couples marrying today, the locals in Chicheng County were already talking about it, and when such a spectacle unfolded, a crowd quickly gathered.