Meanwhile, Su Jin rushed out of the hall and ran hurriedly to the backyard. Just as she reached the corridor, she saw Jiang Shuyue walking towards her.
Su Jin quickly ran a few steps and said anxiously, "Sister, go back quickly, don't go to the front hall."
Seeing Su Jin's anxious look, Jiang Shuyue asked with a smile, "What's wrong? Why are you so worried? Did some wolves or tigers get into the manor?"
“Sister, you don’t know, they are more terrifying than jackals and tigers. Their tongues are as sharp as venomous snakes. You go back to the courtyard and rest. I will go to the front hall and send them away.”
Lan'er tugged at Jiang Shuyue's arm, "Miss, you should go back to the courtyard to avoid this. Judging from how anxious Young Master is, the people coming from the front hall are definitely not good people."
"Did Manager Jiang bring people to our door?" Jiang Shuyue asked, voicing her doubts.
Su Jin shook her head, "No, she's a matchmaker."
Jiang Shuyue was resistant to blind dates, and smiled indifferently, "What's so scary about matchmakers? You can just have Qiuju find an excuse to politely send the person off."
"Miss Qiuju is dealing with them in the front hall. I'll go tell her to keep the matchmaker Wang, sent by the official matchmaker, and find another reason to send the rest of the matchmakers away."
Su Jin knew that families capable of hiring official matchmakers were not ordinary people, and he also hoped that his sister could meet someone she liked.
Those private matchmakers are a mixed bag; their silver tongues can make the dead seem alive. In order to get their tea money, they will spare no effort to arrange marriages, so their words cannot be trusted.
"Them? How many people are you referring to?" Jiang Shuyue stared wide-eyed in disbelief.
"Hmm! A whole group of matchmakers, eight of them in total."
Seeing Su Jin looking like she was facing a formidable enemy, Jiang Shuyue blinked and said, "A-Jin, don't panic. Those people are probably after you. This is a good thing. Let your older sister go and take a look at them for you."
To celebrate Su Jin's success in the imperial examination, firecrackers went off in the Jiang residence for almost half an hour. It's only natural that matchmakers would come running.
"Sister, those people are after you."
Jiang Shuyue frowned slightly, and after a moment of silence, she said to Lan'er, "Go and prepare the purse for the reward, the sooner the better."
He then waved to Su Jinyi: "Come on, come with me to the front hall. If you're going to refuse, you have to make it clear. I'm not afraid of gossipy aunts and uncles, but try to be polite and respectful in your actions."
In this era, matchmakers are considered one of the lowest of professions, but Jiang Shuyue has no prejudice against any particular profession.
As soon as Jiang Shuyue stepped into the hall, the matchmakers' eyes lit up.
She was exceptionally beautiful, with a radiant complexion even without makeup. The beauty mark between her eyebrows was striking, and her clear, intelligent eyes revealed a rare and captivating charm.
While everyone was still stunned, Wang the matchmaker was the first to react.
She strode up to Jiang Shuyue, a bright smile on her face: "Miss Jiang, I am Wang, a commoner who makes a living at the official matchmaking office. My master..."
Before Wang the matchmaker could finish speaking, another tall matchmaker, fearing that Wang would get the first move, stepped forward and pulled her aside, causing Wang to stumble and be pushed to the back.
"Is this Miss Jiang? She is so beautiful. I am here on the orders of the Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices to act as matchmaker."
"Hey! Old Mrs. Li, you're being really unfair! There's always a proper order to things, isn't there? I arrived at the Jiang residence before all of you, shouldn't I be the one to speak to Miss Jiang first?"
"No, I was the first to arrive at the Jiang residence's main gate. If you don't believe me, you can call the gatekeeper in to confront me."
The matchmakers chattered and pulled at each other, and Jiang Shuyue finally understood why Su Jin was so frightened.
When Qiuju saw the matchmakers swarming towards the young lady, she quickly stretched out her arms to block Jiang Shuyue.
"Please stop arguing, everyone. My young lady can't understand a single word you're all saying."
Su Jin stood tightly behind Jiang Shuyue, afraid that the matchmakers might push his sister over.
Jiang Shuyue glanced at the matchmakers calmly and said in a gentle tone, "First of all, thank you all for your kindness. Secondly, I have no intention of discussing marriage, so I'm sorry to have made you all come all this way for nothing."
"No, no marriage proposal! Isn't the young lady over eighteen?" A sharp-eyed matchmaker, seeing Jiang Shuyue's composure and calmness, judged that she had already passed the age of marriage.
If it were an ordinary young girl, she would have blushed with embarrassment upon seeing the matchmaker; she was far more composed and at ease.
Seeing the matchmakers looking at each other dumbfounded, Qiuju seized the opportunity to interject: "My young lady's parents are both deceased, and her family is well-off. She will be looking for a son-in-law to marry into her family. You are all here to propose marriage on behalf of noble families. I'm sure no young master is willing to marry into her family."
The matchmakers' eyes twitched at the thought; if a son of a noble family were to marry into such a family, wouldn't he be laughed at?
"Is this...is this real?"
The matchmakers looked at Jiang Shuyue with suspicion.
Jiang Shuyue smiled faintly and nodded slightly. "Qiuju is right. I am all alone. I have dozens of people to support in the mansion and a business to manage myself. It is really not suitable for me to live with my husband's family."
Wang the matchmaker swallowed hard, stretched her neck, and said unwillingly, "What's so difficult about that? The girl just needs to get married. There's a steward in the mansion and a manager in the shop. It's no big deal."
The Jiang family's wealth and status were the envy of all the matchmakers. If they could secure this marriage, the family would definitely not let them down.
The other matchmakers, unusually, echoed in unison: "That's right. Although the government forbids officials from engaging in business, who doesn't have some business in private? Aren't they all managed by shopkeepers?"
"As you all know, my young lady also runs Jishetang, which isn't something you can just hire a manager for," Qiuju said, lowering her arm as she saw that the crowd had stopped pushing forward.
Those matchmakers only care about arranging the marriage; they have no idea how tolerant the groom's family will be of the new bride.
According to worldly thinking, it was already a sign of humility for a noble family to propose marriage to a merchant family; it was absolutely impossible for them to marry into the family.
Everyone gradually lost interest and secretly sighed with regret.
Just as the matchmakers were feeling dejected, Lan'er came in carrying a tray with a pile of purses for holding reward money.
Qiuju could tell at a glance that it was the young lady's idea.
Jiang Shuyue then said, "Thank you all for your hard work. This is a small token of my appreciation for the tea. Please accept it with a smile."
Jiang Shuyue finished speaking and left the hall.
Qiuju and Lan'er gave the purse to the matchmaker.
The matchmakers thanked them profusely, each holding a purse.
"Miss Jiang is truly a discerning person. Looking around the capital, you won't find another girl as talented, beautiful, and intelligent as her."
"That's right, look at us, we didn't do anything, but we got such a big reward."
"That's right, that's right. Miss Jiang is as beautiful as a flower and has a knack for making money. I wonder which family will benefit from her in the future."
The matchmakers took their tips and left in twos and threes.
Everyone chatted and laughed, exchanging a few casual remarks, as if the heated argument in the hall had never happened.
If you hadn't witnessed that scene with your own eyes, you would have thought they were such close sisters.
Since Zhenfu was the closest to Jiangfu, Wang the matchmaker put away the reward money, suppressed her smile, and headed straight for Zhenfu.
"What? You're only accepting sons-in-law?"
Upon hearing Wang the matchmaker's reply, the old lady immediately found it difficult to breathe.
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