Xu Rao laughed and said, "Okay, I happen to have nothing to do right now. I'll go home with you and discuss it with your mother."

Xu Di asked in surprise, "Are you skipping work?"

Xu Rao said with some pride, "I have the highest official rank here, so I can decide for myself."

Xu Di shook his head and said, "From now on, it's really better to be the head of a chicken than the tail of a phoenix. The size of your official position is secondary; the key is to make your own decisions and not let others lead you by the nose."

Xu Rao smiled and said, "Then you have to study hard and prepare well for the imperial examination. In two years, you can take the exam to become a Xiucai (a successful candidate in the county-level imperial examination), and then take the exam to become a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial-level imperial examination). As for the Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest-level imperial examination), you can wait a little longer. Just pass the Jinshi exam before you turn thirty."

Upon hearing this, Xu Di said, "You don't believe in my learning ability. If I want to, how could I not learn well?"

Xu Rao gently shook his head and said, "Son, it's not that I look down on you, but do you think the imperial examination is the same as the college entrance examination or the postgraduate entrance examination? It's not the same. As for how it's different, let's talk about that after you pass the county-level examination. If you think about it, you haven't had any systematic study. I think you should study the Four Books and Five Classics properly. I'll try to get those original questions for you so you can have a better understanding."

Xu Di agreed, and the two of them went into the backyard while talking.

Zhang Zhaoci was surprised to see the two of them return and said, "It's not time to get off work yet, why are you back?"

Xu Rao said, "We can't take our son's marriage too seriously. He's thought it through and wants us to ask the Li family for his hand in marriage."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Zhaoci said, "Is Xu Di really willing? If so, let's write a letter to the old lady of the mansion first and tell her, so that people won't say we acted on our own later."

Upon hearing this, Xu Di said, "What if the people in the manor disagree?"

Zhang Zhaoci said, "It's an honor to tell them. We are your parents, and we can decide your life's most important matter. Besides, I only wanted to talk to the old lady. As for other people, I don't want to talk to them. Why should our family's important matters require their consent?"

Xu Rao said, "I will write this letter. I have already thought about how to write it. Once it is written, I will ask my third brother-in-law's people to send it back. It just so happens that it will be the old lady's birthday soon. You can prepare some gifts and send them back with the gifts, so as not to just send a letter and make a fool of yourself."

Zhang Zhaoci agreed, saying, "In that case, let's do it tomorrow. Tomorrow I'll go to the Li family first to sound them out and see if they'd approve of our son. If they do, then we can slowly start exchanging gifts and try to finalize the marriage."

Xu Di listened to his parents' discussion and sighed, saying, "I'm about to find a wife, and she's a little girl. I'll have to watch my little wife grow up before I can marry her. Isn't that just raising her?"

Zhang Zhaoci said, "It's good to cultivate good character. The child is only ten years old, and their values ​​haven't been formed yet. If you guide them slowly, at least their values ​​will be compatible with yours when they grow up."

Xu Di said, "Okay, then I'll listen to you and guide you properly. Anyway, our family won't have any titles to inherit in the future, so we can just live our lives peacefully and steadily."

Now that a consensus has been reached, things will be much easier.

Under the guise of delivering a return gift to the Li family, Zhang Zhaoci chatted with Madam Li for a long time about their children's marriages. Without saying anything specific, he left. Madam Li was somewhat confused by Zhang Zhaoci's sudden visit and conversation. To be honest, Madam Li hadn't really considered the possibility of a marriage alliance between the two families. She probably felt that the two families' statuses were too disparate. No matter what, Xu Rao was from the Marquis's family. Although Xu Rao was a son of a concubine in the Marquis's family, Xu Di was the eldest grandson of the Marquis's family. The marriage of the eldest grandson should only be approved by the Marquis of Yongning.

Madam Li couldn't figure out what was going on, so she told Clerk Li about it when she went to bed that night. Clerk Li listened and pondered for a long time before saying, "I think the Xu family has the idea of ​​forming a marriage alliance with our family. Their young master is not engaged yet, so I don't know whether he has his eye on our Yuelin or Yuexi."

Madam Li said in surprise and doubt, "Impossible. What kind of family is the Xu family? What kind of family is ours? You are a scholar who passed the imperial examination and are now an eighth-rank registrar. There are no outstanding people in our hometown. Why would their family take a fancy to our family?"

Li, the registrar, said, "I think Lord Xu and Madam Xu are not ordinary people. Don't overthink it. Just do what you normally do. It's their intention, not ours. We'll know when they come to tell us."

Meanwhile, Xu Rao's letter to his grandmother was sent to the Marquis's residence along with the birthday gift for the old lady.

Xu Rao didn't hide it from Zhang Zhaozhi. He even asked Zhang Zhaozhi to find a eloquent old woman from their family to personally deliver the gifts and letters to the old lady, all under the guise of the Zhang family's business. He figured no one in the Xu family would dare to stop him.

Zhang Zhaozhi was naturally delighted to learn that his sister and brother-in-law were going to find a wife for their eldest nephew. He trusted their judgment and immediately made arrangements after receiving the letter. Once the gifts from Hexi had arrived, the chosen person took the gifts and the letter to the Yongning Marquis's residence.

Although the servants of a noble family were only given what they were given, with money to pave the way, the old woman, carrying gifts and a letter, managed to force her way into Madam Xu's courtyard.

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