Allure of a Country Maiden
Chapter 763 - 761

Chapter 763: Chapter 761

Xiao’er arrived at Du Mansion. Today, the mansion looked nothing like its previous desolate self, looking more like a bustling market instead.

The once old gate had been replaced with a new one, with lanterns and colourful streamers decorating the place, creating an atmosphere of joyous celebration.

For some reason, Xiao’er was reminded of a saying: When one person attains enlightenment, even his pets ascend to heaven.

She shook her head, laughing. Du Yijin had always strived hard to live a good life, even going so far as to attempt to improve the lives of those she loves.

It wasn’t easy for a young girl to shoulder the responsibility of caring for her sickly younger brother, to facilitate the education of her older brother, and to keep her household running smoothly.

She hoped that Du Yijin would be able to live a happy and fulfilling life hereafter.

Today, many people came to gift Du Yijin her dowry. However, their intentions weren’t to please Du Mansion or Du Yijin, but to ingratiate themselves with Prince An’s Mansion, instead.

Du Yijin managed to maintain a smile for those who haven’t interacted with her before but were now bringing in gifts. She had to endure the strain of this façade all morning. She realized how exhausting it could be to put on a happy face even when genuinely feeling otherwise.

Moreover, thinking about the people who were racking their brains to find reasons to compliment her made her all the more tired. Indeed, when the conversation lagged, every extra word could be exhausting.

Fu Ranhui was sitting aside, observing Du Yijin, wondering what on earth Shangguan Ruixi saw in her.

Being impartial, Fu Ranhui didn’t mean to boast about herself, but she felt that compared to herself, Du Yijin could only be described as delicate, like a piece of jade. In terms of beauty, she felt she was streets ahead! Speaking of the talent or family background, again she was nobility as a princess, and Du Yijin, well, she was merely from a humble family. She wondered, "Why didn’t my cousin see anything in me all these years, but he was so quickly taken by her? What could be the reason?"

Could it be that this girl was actually talented but kept it hidden?

While Fu Ranhui was still lost in her thoughts, Xiao’er finally appeared.

It was only after Xiao’er appeared that Du Yijin revealed a genuine smile, quickly standing up and going to meet her personally.

Given Xiao’er’s high status, everyone present, apart from Ruan Weizhen and Gu Qiqi, stood up to greet her.

Xiao’er presented Du Yijin with generous additions to her dowry. She was always generous towards her close friends, a known fact amongst the ladies of the Imperial Capital.

Everyone had gotten used to such grand gestures. After all, Princess Rui was a woman who sees a large increase in wealth every day!

Princess Ling’er despised Xiao’er and Du Yijin to the marrow of her bones.

Under the guise of adding to the dowry, she came today expressly to add to the trouble.

Thus, upon seeing Xiao’er’s generous gifts, she said, barely holding her smile, "Is Princess Rui worried that Miss Du is lacking in dowry? Is that why she’s added so much to it?"

With these words, silence fell upon the room. Everyone instinctively turned to look at Du Yijin and Xiao’er.

Compared to the noble houses in the Imperial Capital, Du Yijin’s family could certainly be deemed poor. How much dowry could such a family possibly offer? That said, on the day of the betrothal, Prince An’s Mansion did send quite a few betrothal gifts. It added up to the complete amount expected of a dowry. It was just uncertain whether her greedy stepmother would keep it all for herself or not.

"I don’t really have much of a dowry! Fortunately, Prince An and his princess don’t mind. The Empress Dowager and the Empress have also been generous, bestowing me with numerous gifts. Moreover, I believe that even without a dowry, the prince wouldn’t deny me a meal." Du Yijin’s face didn’t reveal any embarrassment due to this statement, instead, she accepted it with grace. Being poor was not a disgrace! Her family was honest, didn’t steal nor take bribes, didn’t flatter nor borrow. Striving for reality and not vanity, there was nothing for her to feel embarrassed about!

Xiao’er threw a sharp glare at Princess Ling’er, "What does Miss Du’s dowry have to do with you, Princess Ling’er? You’re meddling too much! If you have so much time, why don’t you spend it learning how to shepherd pigs? After all, you still haven’t shown me that performance!"

Everyone found the comment amusing, but nobody dared laugh. After all, Princess Ling’er was not easy to deal with. If she were to hold a grudge, it could turn into an unsightly ordeal in the future.

Princess Ling’er’s face turned red with anger at Xiao’er’s words. She huffed coldly, pretending not to have heard Xiao’er’s comments.

"Yijin looks truly lovely today!" Seeing that Princess Ling’er had no intention of speaking further, Xiao’er looked at Du Yijin’s attire for the day and sincerely praised it.

"Even the princess is joking about me!" Du Yijin replied with a somewhat embarrassed laugh.

In the company of such remarkable beauties, her own looks could only be described as better than mediocre but not exceptional!

Her high scores were only due to her skin complexion, flawless and delicate, which added to her appeal. However, her hands were quite rough, undoubtedly differing from those of the fine ladies around her.

"The taste of the Countess of Rui’an is really unique! Does this count as beauty?" Princess Ling’er could not help but slip a caustic comment.

Xiao’er glanced at her, wearing a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes: "When I judge whether a person is beautiful or not, I look at their heart. So, just like His Highness, I find Miss Du to be beautiful! However, Miss Du couldn’t possibly compare to Princess Ling’er. What were the words of the Empress Dowager that day..."

Just thinking of the Empress Dowager’s words about her resemblance to Ling’er, Princess Ling’er’s face darkened!

"What did the Empress Dowager say?" Fu Ranhui asked curiously.

Xiao’er was about to speak when she was interrupted by Princess Ling’er’s retort, "She said nothing! You dare to hear what the Empress Dowager says? Aren’t you afraid of being punished for disrespect?"

Fu Ranhui: "..."

Xiao’er’s lips curled into a mock smile, throwing Ling’er a warning look.

Princess Ling’er huffed softly in her heart!

Seeing the brewing tension among the trio, everyone else quickly changed the subject.

With Xiao’er’s arrival, the atmosphere improved significantly. She was familiar to everyone, and they were all eager to inquire about the latest Pohli Jewelry collections, the launch of the spring collection next year, as well as potential appointments at the beauty salon.

Gu Qiqi joked, "Miss Du, Princess Rui’s here for business! You should throw her out."

Upon hearing this comment, Princess Ling’er scoffed, "She even reeks of money everywhere she goes! She just can’t stop herself from accumulating wealth! She’s utterly embarrassing Prince Rui!"

Everyone: "..."

They quickly realized that Princess Ling’er was here to stir up trouble.

Getting angry means punishing oneself for others’ mistakes, and Xiao’er didn’t want to punish herself.

Not wanting to punish herself, naturally, she turned to punish others: "Princess Ling’er, your words have just reminded me! Yes, I am greedy! And about that bet you lost last time, and the request I hadn’t decided on...I know now! As you mentioned, I stink of money, so, how about you present your entire dowry to me? The dowry that reeks of cash!"

So, you want to laugh at others for not having dowries? Then, you can join them in not having one too!

"Have you gone mad with greed? My dowry is not for you to lay your hands on!" Princess Ling’er retorted vehemently.

"Of course, I am mad with greed! Otherwise, where would the smell of money come from? Princess Ling’er, I heard you arranged for 108 dowries. Remember to send them to the Wang Mansion tomorrow."

Recently, Xiao’er had taken a liking to Princess Ling’er’s villa on the outskirts of the city, which lacked a hot spring, and the land around it. She planned on expanding the hot spring resort.

"Impossible!"

"Princess Ling’er doesn’t keep her word!"