Salina and her son Adonis had settled down in the castle. Every day, the castle residents would witness Salina coming up with new ways to urge Adonis to invite Dolores out, trying to create the perfect opportunity for a marriage proposal.
This marriage had, in fact, already received the approval of both families. All that remained was for the couple to make it official and begin the formal engagement process.
But Adonis didn't seem to be in any rush. While he did go on dates with Dolores, he never followed through with the proposal as Salina had hoped.
This, naturally, made people anxious.
Wei Wei had been observing for some time and noticed that while Adonis hadn't proposed, his pursuit of Dolores was earnest and genuine. Dolores herself didn't seem unhappy either—on the contrary, she appeared completely smitten and wrapped up in the romance.
As their relationship deepened and they spent more time together, it seemed the two had come to some kind of private understanding. With that, Wei Wei stopped worrying so much.
She didn't want Dolores to marry too early. In her view, Dolores was still too young. Even if she couldn't delay the wedding until Dolores turned twenty, sixteen should be the minimum.
So the later Adonis proposed, the later they would need to discuss the wedding plans.
Still, some preparations needed to begin, such as the dowry.
European women's dowries differed slightly from those in Huaxia. The former typically consisted of pure cash and valuables, unlike the latter, which followed a more structured tradition involving a variety of items. In Europe, as long as there was money, that was good enough.
However, since Dolores had long been neglected by her father, both in upbringing and care, let alone having a dowry prepared for her, this responsibility naturally fell to Felix and Wei Wei.
The larger a girl's dowry, the higher her status in her husband's family—a truth that holds universally.
Felix and Wei Wei were not the type to be stingy. The amount of money they were willing to put up would likely dwarf the dowries of most noble girls. But even so, Wei Wei believed it was important to prepare other parts of the dowry as well. They couldn't just send Dolores off with a pile of cash. Even if they skipped the furniture, they needed to buy her land and build her a small estate, so she could collect rent and live comfortably in the future.
Wei Wei had already thought it all out. When the time came, she would parcel out some land in Slot and gift it to Dolores, and while she was at it, she would also teach her how to manage it. Once the new town was built, Dolores would get a house and a few shops. As for Aldridge County, that couldn't be neglected either—they would send someone over to see if there were any suitable shops or land to buy and prepare for her. After all, land never lost value.
Wei Wei's mental abacus was clicking away rapidly. She planned to wait until Adonis left before formally beginning Dolores's education in land and property management, giving her the practical skills to stand on her own and never be taken advantage of.
Of course, all this would take time to prepare, so Wei Wei hadn't mentioned anything to Dolores yet. It was only when Salina, frustrated by Adonis's delay in proposing, came to talk to Wei Wei about letting the families decide the engagement directly that Wei Wei hinted at the ongoing dowry preparations and their intended wedding timeline, without pressing Dolores for an answer.
Even if the engagement was confirmed now, the wedding wouldn't be held until Dolores turned sixteen.
"She's still too young. We can't bear to marry her off so early, and besides, there are still many things Lola needs to learn. It would be too rushed otherwise."
Salina could understand that. While there were families who went from engagement to marriage quickly, it was more common to have a period of preparation. Much like in the East, the longer a fiancée remained in her family's care, the more it showed how much her family valued her. Wei Wei's reluctance to let Dolores marry too soon, if anything, only proved how close they were.
And while the engagement wasn't just about the dowry, the truth remained that the more generous the bride's dowry, the more prestige it brought to her husband's family. Naturally, Salina wasn't going to say, "No need to prepare so much."
Besides, even though they hadn't known each other long, Salina had heard stories of Wei Wei's abilities for some time now. After seeing her management and financial skills firsthand in the castle over the past few days—skills even Salina herself felt she couldn't match—she was more convinced than ever. If Dolores could learn directly from her, then their family would gain an exceptional mistress in the future. Salina was, of course, thrilled by the idea.
And since Dolores's sixteenth birthday was only about a year and a half away, it wasn't that far off. There was plenty of time to prepare for a grand wedding.
The more Salina thought about it, the more certain she became. So she assured Wei Wei they were willing to wait, then promptly turned around and began pressuring Adonis to propose sooner.
The wedding could take its time, but the engagement had to be locked down first.
Adonis's servant, who was always quick to tattle, had already told Salina that Adonis was growing more attached to Dolores. But he still hadn't proposed—what exactly did that mean?
The truth was, it didn't mean anything special.
Adonis simply felt that the two of them still needed more time to develop their relationship. Proposing now felt too rushed. Besides, once the proposal was made, the engagement would become official. Even though the couple wouldn't be required to avoid each other, their interactions would inevitably become more constrained compared to how freely they could behave now.
So, Adonis planned to wait until it was nearly time for him to leave before proposing.
He hadn't originally intended to tell Salina about this decision, but after being nagged day after day, he finally gave in and explained everything. That was the only way he could get her to stop breathing down his neck—for now.
Leaving Adonis and Dolores's situation aside for the moment, the number of visitors to Sardinson Castle was steadily increasing. Most of them came from the capital—some were nobles, others commoners—but all were here on business with Felix.
They had brought considerable funds with them and were waiting to see the sweet potato harvest before deciding whether to buy only corn and potatoes or to include sweet potatoes in their purchase as well. However, upon learning that the quantity of potatoes in Sardinson County wasn't very large, most of them silently crossed potatoes off their list, especially since Earl Williams had made it clear he wasn't interested in selling them anymore.
With the arrival of these guests, the nobles from around Sardinson also sent in their calling cards. Though they hadn't received any gifts from Felix, they had long been watching Sardinson's every move. Naturally, they were well aware of the exotic crops being cultivated here this year and their astonishing yields.
They weren't about to miss this opportunity. Once they heard Felix was willing to sell some of the seeds, they quickly came to pay their respects. Alongside them came merchants who had been eyeing this business opportunity for some time.
Of course, the merchants were not allowed to stay in the castle, and even meeting with Felix was no easy task. Fortunately, the Earl had agreed early on to allow several merchants, along with noble guests and their envoys, to observe the sweet potato harvest. To secure a spot for this viewing, the merchants pulled every trick in the book. Luckily, the Earl had been generous with the guest list, or else they might have fought each other over the limited slots.
In the end, the number of confirmed attendees for the harvest viewing reached two to three hundred. With such a large group present, Felix and Wei Wei, as hosts, naturally had to make an appearance.
Under the scorching August sun, Wei Wei wore a lightweight, breathable linen dress. Her wide-brimmed straw hat was woven from wheat straw, with an artful wavy brim adorned with several clustered faux sunflowers—elegant and refined.
Still, compared to Salina's fabric hat decorated with feathers and gemstones, Wei Wei's looked quite modest.
Women were always keen on fashion trends. Ever since the first hat appeared last year, a full-blown hat craze had swept through Sardinson. Soon after, the trend spread to other regions. It didn't matter whether one was noble or common, young or old, married or single—suddenly, hats were everywhere, and the old competition over clothes and jewelry had shifted to the material and embellishment of one's hat.
Now, hats had become an essential part of every woman's wardrobe, second only to clothing. Hat shops had sprung up like mushrooms after a rainstorm. In Plady, you can now find custom millinery boutiques in every city.
Today's event wasn't one that many women would attend. The only ladies of status present were Wei Wei and Salina. Even Dolores had been left behind at the castle to help Wei Wei look after little Anthony. As the only two women at the scene, they naturally drew considerable attention.
Especially from one particular baron, whose gaze frequently lingered on Salina.
This baron was the one who had previously delivered a letter on behalf of Duke Romanov. At the time, he had come with a mission but failed due to a spelling error in the letter, which led to the duke's displeasure. Worse still, the duke began to suspect that the mistake had been deliberate—and that the baron was involved in some scheme.
Fortunately, the baron managed to defend himself and shift the blame, eventually convincing the duke that he hadn't been the one to alter the letter. That was how he earned another chance to visit Sardinson on the duke's behalf.
Originally, the duke's goal had been to form a marriage alliance with the Williams family. But after the previous incident, before the truth had been clarified, he instructed the baron not to bring up the engagement again, only to focus on repairing their relationship, so past mistakes wouldn't ruin any future dealings.
However, things now seemed… complicated.
Or maybe not just "a little" complicated.
Back then, the baron had thought the Duke of Williams's claim—that their young lady already had a suitor—was just a convenient excuse to reject them. But seeing Salina and Wei Wei chatting and laughing together, Adonis speaking cordially with Felix, and hearing the rumors circulating the castle over the past few days, the baron was now convinced: the one who was about to get engaged to Miss Dolores was none other than Earl Adonis Aldridge.
But everyone now knew that the Lady of the Aldridge family was set to marry Prince Andrew. Her family had naturally aligned themselves with the prince's faction, which stood in opposition to Duke Romanov's. The two families were political rivals.
And now, if the Williams family were about to marry into the Aldridge family, didn't that mean they too would soon be on the opposite side of Duke Romanov?
That was not good news.