Chapter 128 Chapter 128 The official media came to visit.
Even Mr. Guo, who was in a bad mood, couldn't help but curl his lips and smile. He returned to his inn and told his eagerly awaited third sister the news: "I have been appointed Chief Clerk of Wuhu County. I will be there after the new year to take up my post."
"Pack your bags. We'll go back to our hometown to celebrate the New Year first, and then we'll go to Wuhu County."
"Wuhu County... Chief Clerk?" The five familiar words came into the mind of the third sister, making her open her eyes wide and her palms wet.
Everything in her past life began to go awry in Wuhu County. She urged her husband to socialize with higher-ups, but was rebuffed by Mr. Guo. The rift between them grew deeper and deeper. When her mother-in-law sent her a concubine, she could only elevate Linzhi to a foster mother...
No, no, no!
The third sister quickly shook her head, pushing those humiliating things out of her mind. She had already sent Lin Zhi away. As long as she softened her temper and didn't let her mother-in-law get involved, the situation would definitely not change...
Third Sister tried to calm herself, but she paid no attention to Mr. Guo's expression. Seeing Third Sister's gloomy face, devoid of any sign of joy, Mr. Guo couldn't help but recall the scene of the list announcement that day, and his expression darkened as well.
He originally wanted to tell his third sister some interesting stories about Chen Yan, and was wondering whether he should wait for a few days until Mr. Shen's marriage was finalized before sending him a gift to build a better relationship.
But at the moment, Mr. Guo felt that it would be better for him to leave early, for fear that if he took his third sister with him, not only would he not be able to build relationships, but he would offend everyone.
Just as she was thinking, the third sister also came to her senses. Noticing Mr. Guo's puzzled expression, she quickly said with a smile, "You're right, Mr. Guo. But since we're going home for the New Year, why don't we bring back some local specialties?"
Mr. Guo nodded. "I heard from my classmate that there are many famous restaurants in Bianjing City. I will ask someone to order some. I will bring some back for my father, mother, and father-in-law and mother-in-law to taste, and some can also satisfy our cravings on the road."
At this point, the third sister couldn't help but smile: "I heard that Xia Ji's crab roe pastry is very famous, and there's also Haoweizhai's braised duck..."
"And the flower-flavored crisps from Linzhiji," Mr. Guo continued with a smile. Unexpectedly, as soon as he finished speaking, the third sister suddenly raised her voice and screamed, "Linzhiji!?"
Mr. Guo was startled and looked at the third sister with a puzzled expression: "What's wrong?"
The third sister quickly recovered and smiled awkwardly, "It's just that the name sounds a little familiar. It surprised me a little... but after thinking about it, it's impossible."
The third sister thought about it again and finally felt relieved. Linzhi was good at needlework and there was no way she could open a fruit shop. She must be trapped in such a poor and miserable place now, worrying about her family's finances every day.
However, just hearing these two words made her feel unhappy. Then she thought about how she had never heard of Huasu in her previous life, so she quickly said, "I don't like this name. Let's not buy this. It's not a famous thing anyway."
Mr. Guo did not want to argue with her and nodded in agreement, but he was secretly glad in his heart that he did not mention taking her to the social event. Just hearing about her made him look like this, what would happen if she really met him?
The couple each had their own thoughts, but they appeared to be at peace. The third sister, absorbed in Mr. Guo's gentle demeanor, had forgotten that in her past life, she now accompanied him daily to socialize with his peers. She assumed that the place they were staying in this life was too cramped, so Mr. Guo couldn't bring anyone back, and so she had to attend banquets alone.
These are all later stories.
Putting aside the fact that this couple was sleeping in the same bed but had different dreams, Song Jiaoniang welcomed a top-notch matchmaker.
The matchmaker wore a gauze cape on her head and a purple jacket, and was followed by two maids. She looked even more impressive than the matchmaker who had acted as a matchmaker for officials of the seventh or eighth rank last time.
"Isn't this Mother Sun?"
"She is one of the best official media in Bianjing City!"
"Tsk tsk, I didn't expect... that they would invite Aunt Sun." Some people lowered their voices and stretched their necks to look at the scene inside.
They were all successful candidates in the imperial examinations this year, so they came to check it out after hearing the news. Unexpectedly, they happened to see Mother Sun visiting.
Song Jiaoniang was both happy and worried. She was happy because she heard the discussions of people around her and knew that the high-ranking official matchmaker in front of her was a well-known figure in the city of Bianjing. She was worried because she already had a favorite candidate, but Yan Ge'er had not appeared for many days!
Song Jiaoniang walked forward with a smile on her face and invited him to talk inside, but her heart was in turmoil, secretly blaming Chen Yan for not living up to her expectations.
She led the person directly into the main hall in the backyard, and Song Jiaoniang asked Mother Sun to sit down and talk.
Mother Sun smiled as she gently placed the two brocade boxes she had brought on the table. One box contained two rolls of Hangzhou-produced dark-patterned silk, and the other contained Dragon and Phoenix tea from Beiyuan. "This is a small gift from the Deputy Minister of Justice, Jia Jia."
Song Jiaoniang glanced at the two boxes of gifts. Both were prestigious, high-quality items, demonstrating the importance attached to them by the family of the Ministry of Justice. However, remembering what had happened a few times before, she wasn't surprised at all. She only spoke tentatively, "Which young man in the family is Mr. Shen here for—"
Basically it's just Erlang, Sanlang...
Before Song Jiaoniang could finish her thoughts, she saw Mother Sun covering her mouth and laughing, "Madam, I came here just for Mr. Shen."
"Mr. Shen...how old are you this year?" Song Jiaoniang was stunned at first, but then she calmed down. She thought it must be the official who wanted to marry Lin Zhi as his second wife last time, but this time he came more generously, more decently, and his attitude was more sincere.
"He is only twenty years old, and he is the top scholar this year. He has a handsome appearance and a kind character. He is also an old acquaintance of your family..." Mother Sun smiled and continued in a gentle voice.
What puzzled her was that the more she spoke, the more shocked the woman in front of her became, and in the end her eyes and mouth opened into an O shape.
Song Jiaoniang suspected that she had auditory hallucinations, otherwise how could she hear Mother Sun coming to propose marriage for this year's top scholar, and even said that she was an old acquaintance of her family!
Who are you kidding! Who knows the number one scholar?
Just when Song Jiaoniang was about to blurt out something, a flash of inspiration came to her mind. It was the strange hesitation of Manager Jiang, the sighs hidden in the corners of the neighbors around her, and the doubts about Chen Yan's future for many days.
Song Jiaoniang gasped, her scalp tingling with shock at her own guess. Could it be that Yan'er hadn't come these days because... he had gone off to take the imperial examinations!?
Is this reasonable?
Is this possible?
Is this... normal?
Song Jiaoniang swallowed her saliva and said in a trembling voice under Madam Sun's puzzled gaze, "Excuse me, Madam Sun, what is the name of this official?"
Mother Sun had a strange expression on her face. She looked at Song Jiaoniang deeply and said in a deep voice, "Mr. Shen, his surname is Shen, his given name is Yan, and his courtesy name is Zhongyan."
Song Jiaoniang's pupils trembled wildly.
Mother Sun saw the truth in Song Jiaoniang's reaction and was even more surprised.
You know, the imperial examination held every three years is the top priority in Bianliang, and every household will pay attention to it. I never thought that the Lin family didn't notice it at all!
It really is——
It really is——
Mother Sun hesitated for a moment before she regained her professional ethics as a top matchmaker. With a smile on her face, she pulled out a red slip of paper with Chen Yan's birth date and eight characters written on it. "If Madam Song is interested, please leave the slip first. I will report to Mr. Shen and then choose an auspicious day for you to meet Mr. and Mrs. Tao, and for the two children to meet as well. What do you think?"
Song Jiaoniang finally came to her senses and let out a long sigh, "Thank you, Madam Sun, for taking the trouble. I'll do as you say."
Mother Sun's smile became more genuine. She stood up, said goodbye, and went back to reply to messages.
Song Jiaoniang sat in the room for a long time. After a while, she suddenly stood up and rushed into the backyard like a gust of wind: "Lin Sen! Brother Sen!"
Lin Sen was counting the goods with the vendors when he heard Song Jiaoniang's shaky cry and straightened up. He handed the matter over to the servant and hurried back. "I'm here. What happened?—Ah?"
Lin Sen staggered and was dragged into the house by Song Jiaoniang, who talked to him all sorts of things.
He took a deep breath, his reaction not much better than Song Jiaoniang's just now. After a long while, he managed to utter a sentence: "Yan'er has been missing for so many days. He is not going out to investigate a case, but to take the imperial examination?"
"Uh-huh."
"...Brother Yan became the top scholar?"
"Uh-huh!"
"...Brother Yan has even invited a matchmaker to come to your house?"
"Uh-huh!"
"..." Lin Sen jumped up three feet high, "Hurry up and tell Sister Zhi about this!"
"Have you forgotten? Sister Zhi went to Mr. Qiu's house today." Song Jiaoniang wanted to say it. Look, after the Qionglin Banquet was over, Lin Zhi received an invitation from Mr. Qiu to go to his house to prepare for the banquet.
Even though this banquet cost only 300 strings of cash, it was a stepping stone to the major mansions in Bianjing City. As long as the banquet was well organized, there would be more and more invitations to organize banquets in the future.
Lin Zhi took this banquet very seriously, so he left two kitchen helpers to look after the shop and took the rest of the staff with him to take care of it.
While the couple understood their daughter's thoughts, they suddenly thought of this marriage: "You said..."
"you say……"
The couple said in unison.
After a while, Song Jiaoniang finally spoke: "If Zhijie'er and Yan'er get married, will Zhijie'er still be able to run the family business?"
Lin Sen remained silent and could not help but sigh. The family of three originally thought that Chen Yan had good character. Although the future of a minor official was not bright, it also meant that his daughter could continue to manage the family business without being too restricted.
But Chen Yan became the top scholar and the deputy minister of the Ministry of Justice, and his future was obviously bright.
If my daughter marries him, it means she will become a government official's wife, but who would listen to a government official's wife working as a cook outside the home?
When the couple thought of this, their initial joy disappeared and they became embarrassed. But the other party happened to be Chen Yan, who had a good character and was unanimously praised by his family, which made the couple even more hesitant.
In the evening, as soon as Linzhi got home, the couple pulled her into the house and talked about the matter in detail.
Lin Zhi's expression was indifferent, but Song Jiaoniang caught a glimpse of Lin Zhi's tightly clenched sleeves and knew that her daughter was also shocked by the news.
Song Jiaoniang reached out and held her daughter's hand.
Lin Sen sighed and asked in a softer voice, "Sister Zhi, what do you think?"
Song Jiaoniang continued, "No matter what you think, we support you."
Linzhi felt a surge of warmth in her heart, a slight bitterness in her nose, and tiny tears welled up in her eyes.
Parents’ orders and matchmaker’s words.
According to current laws and customs, Lin Sen and his wife could decide on the marriage, but they still gave the choice back to her.
Lin Zhi lowered her eyes and thought deeply. After a while, she finally said, "I—want to meet Yan'er."
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