bullyxtreme Chapter 48 Wedding Date
Chapter 48 Wedding Date
After Li Qi left, Chang Sheng and the others went back into the private room. They saw Li Jinglong holding a document, his smile impossible to hide.
Upon closer inspection, Chang Sheng, Deng Zhen, and the others were astonished. They hadn't expected Li Qi to be so generous, offering 10,000 mu of paddy fields right off the bat.
"Jiujiang, what is this?" Chang Sheng looked at the numbers on the document and found it hard to believe.
"It was given to me by Li Qi, I had no choice!" Li Jinglong said with a smile.
"Damn, you're still the best!" Guo Zhen was extremely envious. In the capital, Li Qi was considered the number one among the noble sons. Who wouldn't give Li Qi some face?
Unexpectedly, Li Jinglong extorted 10,000 mu of paddy fields from them!
In the Southern Zhili region, the average price of paddy fields was three to four taels of silver per mu (unit of land area). For 10,000 mu, that would be thirty to forty thousand taels of silver.
Deng Zhen and Chang Sheng exchanged a glance, guessing that Li Jinglong must have caught Li Qi doing something wrong, otherwise Li Qi would be so generous.
Even if the Korean royal family were incredibly wealthy, they couldn't afford to squander their wealth like this!
"This... Jiujiang, Li Qi went to such lengths for this one servant?" Chang Sheng said incredulously.
"That young master Liu is also from a wealthy family!" Li Jinglong smiled, guessing that Li Qi would have to make up for the money he extorted from Liu Dan later.
"Alright, you've struck it rich today, so all the expenses are on you!" Deng Zhen said with a grin, trying to get away with it.
Li Jinglong looked at Deng Zhen. How could this guy be so shameless? It was clearly you who orchestrated this whole thing!
"No, Brother Deng, did you organize this gathering today? You want me to treat you?" Li Jinglong said irritably.
"Who told you to make a fortune every day and be so wealthy!" Deng Zhen was shameless.
Li Jinglong rolled his eyes at Deng Zhen, not wanting to pay him any attention! If we're talking about wealth, besides the Duke of Han's mansion, it's your Duke of Shen's mansion. After your father conquered the city, he became famous for his plundering.
Li Jinglong made up his mind that if Deng Zhen ever invited guests again, the club would definitely not host them, otherwise the kid would have to put the bill on his own.
"Jiujiang, we've had our drinks and listened to the music. It's getting late, so we'll head back now!" Chang Sheng smiled and prepared to leave.
"Brother Chang, can we stay a little longer?" Guo Zhen couldn't bring himself to leave when he thought of the lady in the cheongsam.
"Go ahead and play if you want. Curfew is coming soon. Do you really want to be arrested and sent to the Five Cities Garrison?" Deng Zhen rolled his eyes at Guo Zhen and said irritably.
"Old Guo, you can play by yourself, I'm going back first!" Li Jinglong, who was also preparing to go back, advised.
"Then I'll head back first!" Guo Zhen said, feeling embarrassed that he would be left alone.
The four parted ways at the gate and went their separate ways back to their respective residences.
On the other side, after Li Qi brought Liu Dan back to the Li residence, he was furious and immediately ordered his servants to lock Liu Dan in a dog cage.
Even now, Li Qi still remembers the miserable state of Liu Dan when Li Jinglong locked her in a dog cage at the Heaven on Earth.
"You bastard, you blurt out everything! Even in my mansion, there are dog cages!" Li Qi cursed angrily.
Upon returning to his residence, Li Jinglong found Madam Bi waiting for him in the main hall, so he quickly went inside.
"Mother, why aren't you resting yet?" Li Jinglong touched his head, somewhat embarrassed.
"Jiujiang, you're not getting any younger, and you're about to get married. You should go to those brothels less often in the future!" Seeing that Li Jinglong reeked of alcohol, Madam Bi frowned and gave him a word of advice.
"Mother, today Chang Sheng, Deng Zhen, and Guo Zhen invited us to discuss some matters, and we had a few drinks along the way!" Li Jinglong explained.
Upon hearing this, Madam Bi's brows slowly relaxed, and she then said seriously, "These past few days, the Ministry of Rites replied, saying that they have chosen an auspicious date, the eighth day of the tenth month. So, Madam Fu and I have discussed it and decided to set the wedding date for that day!"
"The eighth day of the tenth month?" Li Jinglong calculated for a moment, and that was less than three months away.
Having lived two lives, Li Jinglong has never lacked women, but this is his first time getting married.
"There are less than three months left. We should hurry up and prepare the necessary items for our mansion!" Madam Bi said, looking at Li Jinglong.
"Mother, have someone make a list, and I'll have someone prepare it!" Li Jinglong replied.
Madam Bi nodded. "That would be best! The Fu family is a prominent and wealthy family, and our family cannot be impolite. We must prepare a generous betrothal gift!"
Li Jinglong nodded. The betrothal gifts naturally needed to be generous, after all, there was the matter of refusing the marriage before. If they were less, Fu Youde would probably be furious.
"Invitations must be sent in advance, especially to the Marquis of Xiping, whose relationship with your father is the best, even better than that of brothers. We cannot neglect him!" Madam Bi instructed again.
"I understand!" Li Jinglong nodded.
After giving her instructions, Madam Bi returned to the backyard, leaving Li Jinglong alone in the main hall, where he began to consider how much the betrothal gifts should be.
"Uncle Yuan, how much do you think we should spend on the betrothal gifts?" Li Jinglong asked Li Yuan, who was standing to the side.
Li Yuan smiled and said, "My lord, in my opinion, let's prepare 50,000 strings of cash! When the Prince of Ninghe and the Duke of Han formed a marriage alliance, the dowry was only 30,000 strings of cash. 50,000 strings of cash is quite a lot for us!"
Li Jinglong nodded, then took out Li Qi's written agreement and handed it to Li Yuan: "Uncle Yuan, the Duke of Han's mansion will send these land deeds over later. Please keep them in your accounts!"
"This..." Li Yuan's eyes widened in surprise. "Young Master, how come there are so many?"
Li Yuan could hardly believe it—ten thousand mu of prime paddy fields in Southern Zhili! His family had only acquired eight thousand mu of paddy fields over the years.
"It's from Li Qi, why not take it if it's free!" Li Jinglong said casually.
Seeing that Li Jinglong didn't explain the specific reason, Li Yuan didn't ask any further questions. Looking at the document, the wrinkles on his face trembled.
The wedding date was set, and within three days, the entire circle of nobles in the capital knew about it. Not only that, Li Jinglong learned from Zhu Biao that the imperial edict had been issued, and Fu Youde would be returning to the capital in about ten days.
"Great news, great news!" Li Jinglong said with a smile.
"The Duke of Ying's return shows how much he values you. Make sure the wedding arrangements are in place. If you need anything, just tell me!" Zhu Biao said with a smile as he sat behind his desk.
Since Li Jinglong proposed a method for handling government affairs, modeled after the cabinet, Zhu Biao has had more free time. Upon closer inspection, Zhu Biao's complexion is indeed much rosier than before.
Biaozi! Live well! My honor and shame rest on your shoulders!
"Thank you for your concern, Your Highness! I understand!" Li Jinglong cupped his hands in greeting, then leaned closer to Zhu Biao. "Your Highness, you seem to have some free time. Would you like to come to my place and relax for a bit?"
"Hmm?" Zhu Biao glanced at Li Jinglong, then thought of Old Zhu, who was still reviewing memorials in the Jinshen Hall, and felt a little conflicted.
"Your Highness, a balance between work and rest is essential for physical and mental well-being!" Li Jinglong smiled.
"You!" Zhu Biao said with a smile, pointing at Li Jinglong. "Then I'll go change my clothes and go listen to some music!"