Chapter 354: A Dowry of One Million Coins
Then Lin Hao made his second request:

"After all, our Zhang family is a noble family. As the head lady, even if you don't need to wield swords and guns, you should at least be able to ride a horse!"

"As for the third thing, it's character!"

Molan's face was heavy at this time, because her ability to manage the rear house was weak. If she was asked to compose poems and essays, she could do it, but she couldn't wield a sword or a gun or ride a horse!
Rulan was quite happy because, under her mother's pressure, she had become quite capable in managing the rear house and was also good at riding a horse. The only thing she didn't understand was her conduct!
Minglan looked at Lin Hao with watery eyes, then quickly suppressed the excitement in her heart and smiled as before.

At this time, everyone in the Sheng family was shocked by Lin Hao's straightforward way of choosing a wife, which stated his intentions directly. Some of them found it difficult to adapt to Lin Hao's way!
However, Madam Wang frowned slightly. At first, she just thought that the Zhang family's conditions would be too harsh, but the more she listened to Lin Hao's conditions, the more she felt something was wrong.

Of course she knew what her daughter's quality was, and she knew that she was basically at a passing level.

But since King Yan put forward these conditions?
Thinking of this, Madam Wang looked at the three maids. There was no need to consider Molan at all, as none of her passed any of the tests. Rulan was basically qualified.

And Minglan?
Thinking of this, Madam Wang reacted immediately, remembering that the Duchess of England had previously praised Minglan and Hualan for being brought up very well by the old lady!

Madam Wang suddenly felt that Minglan might be Ruolan's biggest enemy, but she didn't know what this character meant?
So Madam Wang asked curiously, "Are there any standards for the conduct that the King of Yan is talking about?"

The Duchess of England took in the scene and said with a smile:

"Didn't you invite Madam Kong from the palace to come to the Sheng family to teach these three girls last year?"

"Yes, that's right!" Madam Wang thought for a moment and said:

"Mrs. Kong taught these children for half a year and left in the early spring of this year!"

At this time, Zhang Guifen said with a smile:

"Mrs. Kong is really amazing. My daughter-in-law has been taught by her since she was twelve years old. By the time she got married, she had been taught for nearly ten years!"

The Duchess of England smiled and said:

"You just happened to invite Madam Kong at that time, so I asked her to find out the real situation of Changbai. At that time, I had already examined the character of the three girls of the Sheng family!"

At this moment, Madam Wang took a deep breath. Under the guidance of Madam Kong, the three girls of the Sheng family seemed to have been reborn in just three months!
And my daughter-in-law has been taught for ten years, no wonder she was so respectful to me before and I couldn't find any fault with her!
But she also had to admire that the Duchess of England would go to such great lengths to investigate the husband's family for her daughter, just to choose a good son-in-law!
Minglan was also surprised. Lin Hao had never told her about this. He was really cautious!

The old lady was very calm. She and Nanny Kong were close friends who had known each other in the palace. She had long noticed the possible problems, but had never taken them seriously. She just thought that she came to test Changbai's character.

She even reminded Sheng Hong about this, but who would have thought that she actually had the mission of examining the three girls!
"What are the results of the investigation?" Mrs. Wang said nervously.

The Duchess of England calmly drank a sip of tea, and then said slowly:
"If you behave badly, we mother and son will not come to your house today!"

Madam Wang was immediately delighted when she heard this, but she thought that the Duchess of England had gone to so much trouble, while her own Rulan, except for her legitimate status, was inferior to Minglan in every other aspect!

Madam Wang was still unwilling to give up. She didn't think that a dignified Prince of Yan would marry a concubine without considering his reputation!
But at this time, Madam Wang was too lazy to guess, so she asked directly:

"So which girl from our Sheng family is lucky enough to be favored by the prince and the duke's wife?"

At this time, Lin Hao saluted to everyone and said:
"Sixth sister meets all the above requirements, so she naturally has her eyes on Minglan!"

At this moment, Wang Ruofu was struck by lightning, and suddenly felt incredible. Then he asked you without hesitation:

"But, but Minglan is just a concubine's daughter after all!"

Madam Wang felt that something bad was going to happen as soon as she said this, because Sheng Hong was born to her, so the distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children in the family has always been a taboo in the Sheng family.

At this time, Lin Hao smiled and helped her out:
"Madam, you are joking. There are many noble families in the Song Dynasty who are more powerful than us, and there is no noble family as noble as our Zhang family!"

"Since none of them are as good as our Zhang family, then the so-called legitimate and illegitimate children are naturally not that important to our family. In this case, we might as well choose the one that suits our heart. What do you think?"

Madam Wang was speechless for a moment, but for some reason, she felt that what Lin Hao said made a lot of sense!
The Duchess of England also said:

"Our Zhang family has long passed the point where we need to rely on marriage to maintain the prosperity of the Duke's Mansion. I have already said this when I came here before. Haolin will make the decision on his own!"

"As long as the basic conditions such as character, conduct, and ability are met, the rest will be up to the Haolin Zhang family to choose!"

Madam Wang sat down somewhat dejectedly. Just as Lin Hao said, their Zhang family had reached such a high position that the so-called legitimate and illegitimate children did not make much difference to them!

At this time, the Lady of the Duke of England asked the old lady, "What do you think of Minglan?"

The old lady smiled and said, "I am an old man, what can I say? As long as Minglan agrees and can live happily in the future, I don't care about anything else!"

But at this moment, Madam Wang's heart was bleeding!

Princess! That's the Princess of Yan. If Rulan from their family married into the family, it would be so great!
Sheng Hong was a little surprised that Lin Hao chose Minglan, but he didn't care too much. Although he didn't marry Ruolan, the legitimate daughter, Minglan was still his daughter!
However, Sheng Hong still wants to find an opportunity to test whether Lin Hao is interested in his other two daughters~!

So after Lin Hao and the Duchess of England finished their lunch at the Sheng family, Sheng Hong found Lin Hao alone to chat.

At this time, Sheng Hong took advantage of the fact that there was no one around and asked Lin Hao in a low voice whether he could marry Ruolan as the princess, and he would be Minglan and Molan's concubine!
Lin Hao looked at Sheng Hong in surprise. In the original plot, through the marriages of his children, Sheng Hong, a civil servant, had his feet on both the clean and dirty sides, relying on civil officials and military generals, and could be said to have the best of both worlds in the court.

Unexpectedly, now she actually wants to marry all three daughters to him, but Lin Hao has his own considerations.

So Lin Hao smiled and said:

"In fact, Minglan is not the only choice for the princess. Yu Yanran, the eldest daughter of Grand Tutor Yu, is also under consideration. It's just that he was hesitant between Yu Yanran and Minglan before!"

Sheng Hong felt nervous. He had to be careful not to let the cooked duck fly away. That would be a huge loss! Then Sheng Hong asked in confusion:
"Then why did you choose Minglan?"

At this time Lin Hao said to Sheng Hong:

"Because my mother later reminded me that the position of Princess Yan of the Zhang family is not something that every woman can take, and even if she does, she may not be able to sit firmly in it!"

"The most important thing is that Yanran's personality is too weak!"

Sheng Hong retorted with a smile: "But Minglan is not very capable!"

Lin Hao smiled and said, "My Lord Sheng, you should spend more time and energy to care for your own children!"

"Of course, the most important point is that I have watched Minglan grow up, so I know her quite well!"

Seeing Sheng Hong relax, Lin Hao suddenly said: "If you let the Sheng family's daughter be given to me, I will naturally be happy, but I can only do the same as Yu Yanran, the daughter will be my concubine!"

"What? A legitimate daughter becomes a concubine?" Sheng Hong looked at Lin Hao in surprise, and then asked incredulously, "Did Grand Tutor Yu agree?"

Lin Hao smiled and said: "Why not agree? Even if Yu Yanran is just a concubine, the benefits she brings to the Yu family are simply innumerable!"

"To put it bluntly, the Zhang family has two hereditary dukedoms. Do you really think it's so easy to get into our Zhang family? Now there are many noble families who want to marry their daughters to me as a concubine!"

Sheng Hong was speechless, but he could only say: "I still have to go back and discuss this matter with the Madam!"

"Okay, I won't force you to do anything about this. You can do it yourself!"

With this, Lin Hao and Minglan’s marriage was settled, and the next step was to go through the process of three books and six ceremonies!

After Lin Hao left the Sheng family, the Sheng family started discussing again!
At this moment, there was a sound of porcelain breaking coming from Linqi Pavilion!

"Bang bang~"

"Clang~"

"Wow."

When Molan learned that Lin Hao actually fell in love with Minglan, she became jealous and started smashing things again!

Lin Qinshuang scolded Molan distressedly:

"Molan, put down the mirror in your hand! It's the latest mirror from the Treasure Pavilion, and it costs more than twenty strings of cash!"

Molan looked at the palm-sized mirror in her hand, which could take a very clear picture of a person. She knew it was expensive, but she was still angry and looked aside!
Seeing Molan still about to lose her temper, Lin Qinshuang tried to persuade her with a distressed look on her face:

"Don't be angry, Mo'er. The King of Yan doesn't like you because he has poor taste. Don't worry, your mother will find a good family for you."

"Why?"

Molan shouted angrily: "If it was Rulan, it would be fine, she is the legitimate daughter after all, but who is Minglan?
"She is just a concubine's daughter. The young master had a special liking for her at the beginning, and now even the King of Yan wants to marry her as his princess!"

"Why? How is she better than me?"

As she spoke, Molan angrily smashed several pieces of porcelain, which made Lin Xiaoniang, who was standing beside her, very distressed.

"Please be quiet for a while!" Then he pulled Molan and whispered in her ear:
"I've already talked to your father before, let's see if you can be the concubine of the King of Yan..."

At the same time, Shou'an Hall was also bustling with activity.

"A prince actually chose a concubine as his princess?" The lady muttered to herself in displeasure.

"What do you mean by concubine's daughter?" Sheng Hong immediately corrected him, "Minglan was already registered under your name when Wei Xiaoniang passed away. She is also the legitimate daughter of our Sheng family~!"

The old lady looked at Sheng Hong and nodded. This son of hers was not stupid after all. He always had a clear view of the major issues!
"When did Minglan register under my name? Why don't I remember it?" Mrs. Wang frowned and thought about it. How come she had no impression at all?

At this time, Old Lady Sheng rubbed her forehead. This lady is still smart about small things but confused about big things!

Then the old lady said to Madam Wang:

"Although the Lady of the Duke of England said that she doesn't care whether the child is legitimate or illegitimate, we can't be ignorant and bring shame to the Zhang family!"

Then he said to Sheng Hong and his wife:

"Now write a letter to the Youyang Ancestral Hall immediately and ask them to record Ming girl under the name of Madam in the family tree!"

At this time, Sheng Hong said to Madam Wang again:

"Do you remember now?"

After listening to the old lady, Mrs. Wang understood what was going on, so she said:

"I understand. Minglan must be a legitimate daughter. She must be..."

Next, Lin Hao started to get busy, and he was busy for three whole months. The six ceremonies finally came to the day of paying the betrothal gift (bride price)!
Lin Hao also specially selected three thousand soldiers from the Dragon Guard Army to help him carry the betrothal gifts.

These soldiers set off with the betrothal gifts, forming a long line that stretched from Zhang's house to the gate of Sheng's house, without a break in between.

Directly connect the two families through this team carrying the betrothal gifts!
For a time, the whole Bian Jing was shocked. If a girl from another family got married, a ten-mile red makeup would be the highest praise.

I didn't expect that this guy Lin Hao, with just the betrothal gift, could create a good story of a complete family relationship and a connection between the beginning and the end!

Even the Sheng family was stunned by Lin Hao's gesture. It was really too scary. The gift list alone was a whole book!
For other families, it was just a matter of filling up a piece of paper, but for Lin Hao, it was a matter of filling up a book, so the Sheng family also felt tremendous pressure.

The betrothal gifts sent by Lin Hao included not only the necessary combs, rulers, scales, scissors, abacus, mirrors, boxes and betrothal money, but also countless silks, satins, rare treasures and precious items.

"How much does this cost?" Mrs. Wang asked in astonishment.

After reading the gift list, Zhang Cuifen gave an estimate directly:
"These are about one million strings of cash!"

This made the Sheng family very worried. The betrothal gift from the man was so heavy, which put them under unprecedented pressure.

All the assets of their Sheng family added up is only about 100,000 strings of cash. How should they return the gift when the time comes, or how much gift should be given in return?
Fortunately, Zhang Cuifen comforted her:

"In fact, my parents-in-law don't need to worry. The Zhang family doesn't lack this little money, so when returning the gifts and welcoming the bride, just pack more practical items. It will save both face and substance!"

At this time, Sheng Hong and his wife finally breathed a sigh of relief. It was really that the pressure from Lin Hao was too great. Who would use the army to transport the betrothal gift, and the gift was worth millions!
At this time, Sheng Hong's confidant Dong Rong shouted:

"Master, the front yard is already filled with betrothal gifts!"

At this time, Sheng Hong glanced at the old lady, and finally said:
"Arrange the female relatives to stay in Mu Cang Zhai and Shou An Tang, and then send the betrothal gifts to other courtyards for temporary storage!"

(End of this chapter)