"Giving gifts? Haven't the holiday gifts been delivered long ago? Why are there more? Or is it a gift specifically for this kid?" Tian Mingwu said in a loud voice.
A few days ago, he saw his daughter taking Madam Xiao to tidy up the warehouse.
Suddenly he thought of something and quickly pulled the servant to ask, "Whose gift is this?" His expression looked as if he wanted to eat the person who gave the gift alive.
"Well, a lot, a lot of people gave it as gifts." The servant stammered.
Tian Mingwu was dumbfounded. So many people came to give him gifts. Doesn't that mean that many people are trying to compete with him for his son-in-law?
It turned out that because of the provincial examination during this period, people could hear people discussing this matter everywhere in the streets and alleys.
A few days ago, on his way to court, Tian Mingwu heard several officials talking about finding a new scholar who had passed the imperial examination this year to be a son-in-law for their daughters.
He also said that the gifts at home were ready and he would just wait for the results of the provincial examination to be announced, and then he would have his servants send them out, using courtesy first and force later.
So when he heard that someone actually specifically mentioned Zhao Yiming as a gift, he subconsciously thought that it must be Zhao Yiming that those people had their eyes on.
Tian Mingwu frowned and looked at Zhao Yiming. It must be said that this boy is good-looking and now he has passed the imperial examination, so he is quite likable.
However, since he was already engaged to his daughter, he was hers. If he dared to have second thoughts, he would break the stinky boy's legs.
But he still felt a little guilty. What if the person who robbed him had a higher rank than him and he couldn't suppress him?
Compared to Tian Mingwu's entanglement, Tian An was much calmer and was happy for Zhao Yiming.
This situation had been brought to her attention by her grandmother, aunt, and Aunt Rong when they went to the Duke's Mansion a few days ago.
Passing the examination to become a scholar only means entering the door to the imperial examination. Although it is difficult, it is not very rare.
But passing the imperial examination was a different matter, as it meant that one could at least become a local gentry and become an official in the government.
If you work harder to take the metropolitan examination or the palace examination, you will have the opportunity to become an important official in the court. No matter which one you choose, it is very promising.
Therefore, many large families would prepare a lot of gifts in advance when there were imperial examinations, and wait for the results to be announced. They would then have their servants deliver the gifts to the family of the successful candidate.
These gifts are not worth mentioning to the big families. It is just a matter of giving an order. Just by giving some gifts, they can win over these future upstarts of the court. It is a sure-win business.
Zhao Yiming will be working in the officialdom in the future, so socializing is a must. So after Tian An returned from the Duke's Mansion, he also took Madam Xiao to the storehouse to select a batch of gifts and prepare them.
Early this morning, the servants and guards of the mansion were sent out with gifts to follow the yamen runners who were bringing the good news.
When the yamen runners announced the good news, they would beat gongs along the way and shout out the names of those who had passed the imperial examination. The servants only had to follow them and they would be able to deliver the gifts to the homes of the successful candidates.
Nanny Xiao used to follow Zhao Yiming's biological mother, Princess Chaoyang. After the princess passed away, she followed the empress and was very adept at handling these interpersonal relationships.
With her guidance, the things Tian An picked out were neither too expensive to appear flattering, nor too shabby to make people feel belittled.
Knowing that Nanny Xiao was there to help was also the reason why Old Madam An felt at ease letting Tian An handle these matters on his own.
After all, no matter how much you talk about it, it is not as good as experiencing it yourself.
Zhao Yiming is going to be an official in the future, and Tian An is going to marry him, so these household management skills are compulsory courses for her.
Seeing that Tian An was heartless, he dragged Madam Xiao to collect the gifts and register them.
Tian Mingwu quickly stepped forward, pulling her aside and whispering softly. It was just that he had a loud voice, honed on the battlefield, and even if he thought he had lowered his voice, it didn't seem much quieter to others. He heard everything in the hall, whether it was something he should or shouldn't have heard.
"Silly girl, how could you accept those gifts? If you accept the gifts, doesn't it mean that you have agreed to them? Even though that guy is not worthy of you, he is still a good guy. How can you give him to someone else?" Tian Mingwu said with a look of grief on his face, fearing that his daughter would suffer any loss.
Tian An was completely confused by what he said, "Dad, what did I promise? What did I give up? Brother Yiming? When did it happen? How come I didn't know about it?"
Tian Mingwu was also confused by Tian An's series of questions. Why did it feel like what his daughter said was different from what he said?
After Tian An asked carefully, he found out that the two people had different understandings of this etiquette.
After listening to Tian An's explanation, Tian Mingwu finally breathed a sigh of relief. As long as no one was competing with his precious daughter, it would be fine.
But he was still worried and whispered to Tian An, "My daughter, although it was Dad's mistake this time, you still have to be on guard at all times and don't let the duck you worked so hard to cook fly away.
Especially since he's going to sing some poetry and do some dance the day after tomorrow. He's definitely going to attract a lot of attention, so you have to keep a close eye on him."
As he spoke, he pointed to his eyes with two fingers and glanced at Zhao Yiming beside him.
Zhao Yiming, the duck cooked by Tian An with great effort, Zhao Yiming, the one who attracts bees and butterflies: "..."
Everyone in the hall: "..."
Except for Zhao Yiming who was frowning, the others were trying to hold back their laughter so hard that their bodies were shaking like sieves.
Tian An took a look at Zhao Yiming, whose resentful eyes were glued to her, and feeling somewhat guilty, she pulled Nanny Xiao, who was there to watch the fun, and left the house.
They say that a poor scholar makes a rich juren, and it really is true. Wow, in just a short while, by the time the two of them reached the door, the gifts had piled up like a small hill, and they looked like they were worth quite a bit of silver.
Despite this, people who came to give gifts continued to enter the mansion.
Chen Qiang and Chun Xi were so busy just coordinating and directing the maids and servants to receive those who came to give gifts.
After Tian An had them taken to the warehouse, he took a book and wrote down everything by category.
That night, Tian An didn't like Zhao Yiming's Kuixing Dance and Luming Poetry. It wasn't that Zhao Yiming didn't want to dance, but Tian An didn't have time to watch.
After dinner, he ignored Tian Mingwu and Zhao Yiming's drinking. After giving them the wine, he went back into the warehouse to sort out the gifts.
Even on the next day, the Mid-Autumn Festival, he was busy until dinner time before Zhao Yiming forcibly dragged him out of the warehouse.
This year's Mid-Autumn Festival, because Tian Caiping and her four siblings were at home, Tian Mingwu simply sent someone to pick up Tian Mingcai and his wife as well.
After many years, the two families got together for a rare reunion festival.
Since Tian Mingwu regained his memory, he also knew that Tian Mingcai fainted after receiving a blood transfusion in order to save him.
I was grateful to him, but when I thought about what my wife and daughter had gone through in my hometown, I couldn't forgive him. My attitude towards him was always contradictory, and I kept holding my glass and acting sarcastic at the table.
Tian Mingcai felt guilty and was too embarrassed to look at Tian Mingwu, so he kept his head down and drank. In the end, both of them got drunk.
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