Listening to the gradually fading drumbeats, Lord Xiang sighed, "I've already promised Yizhen about this." His brows showed a bit of fatigue, "After the mourning ceremony for the wife of the Marquis of Yongping, our two families will exchange engagement cards..."

Mrs. Xiang was so angry that her face turned red and her chest heaved.

She looked at her determined husband, rushed to the door, and shouted to her mother: "... Ask the servant to prepare the car, and you ask the three ladies to prepare their luggage. We will go to the uncle's house now."

Mr. Xiang rushed over and grabbed his wife's arm: "Mrs. Rong, don't be like this! Speaking of which, Brother Yu's child is not bad either..."

"How dare you say that!" Mrs. Xiang's eyes turned red with anxiety. "A child born to a maid, you call it pretty good?"

"Rong Niang," Lord Xiang's face darkened when he heard this, "A hero doesn't care about his background. Talent is the first thing to consider when choosing a son-in-law. Don't live your life by looking at your toes!"

"Yes, my late son-in-law was selected as a talent." Mrs. Xiang said with a hint of sarcasm, "I wonder if the second young master of the Yongping Marquis won the first or third place in the imperial examination? I can't see any talent in him."

When the personal nurse saw the maid serving in the hall, she winked and the people in the room retreated quietly. The personal nurse also considerately closed the door of the hall.

"He grew up by Yizhen's side. Doesn't Yizhen know what kind of person he is?" Mr. Xiang advised Mrs. Xiang, "Besides, Yizhen is alone now. If Roune passes away, she can keep her aunt company..."

"Yizhen, Yizhen, you only think about Yizhen!" Mrs. Xiang was furious, "Have you ever thought about Rouna? She is our daughter. She is well-behaved and sensible..." As she spoke, she burst into tears, "How can you bear to let her kneel down to serve tea to that maid Qin concubine. What's more, Yongping Hou's second wife is only two years older than her. She is her real mother-in-law. Maybe our Rouna can't walk anymore, but the wife of Yongping Hou is still full of energy. Other daughters-in-law will always have a day to get through it. If our Rouna really gets married, when will it end? Do you want her to set rules in front of her mother-in-law for the rest of her life?" She pulled Mr. Xiang's sleeve, raised her tearful face and looked at him, "Master, it's not that I don't care about my eldest aunt. I also know "My uncle wanted to send my fifth brother here at first, but it was my father-in-law who saw that you were in a difficult situation at home and asked you to come here despite your age. You followed my father-in-law to study and write, and that’s how you are today. Not to mention the master, even I, as a daughter-in-law, will be grateful to my father-in-law for the rest of my life. When Yizhen got married, it was said that she only had thirty-six loads of dowry, but my mother’s dowry of 6,000 acres of fertile land, an oil mill, and the family’s collection of books were all given to her. Don’t think I don’t know. I didn’t say a word because I thought she was my father-in-law’s own flesh and blood. But today, not only does she not have a trace of gratitude, she also wants to do my daughter a favor. Master, you might as well give me three feet of white silk. It is absolutely impossible for me to agree to this marriage!" After saying this, she burst into tears.

"Rong Niang, Rong Niang..." His wife's words made Lord Xiang's eyes slightly moist.

His biological mother died early, and his biological father remarried. When his stepmother gave birth to a son, she was dissatisfied with the previous one. Not only did he not have enough food and warm clothes, but he also used the excuse that he could not find a good teacher, and when he was ten years old, he still hadn't been taught. His uncle had no children and wanted to adopt a son. He originally had his eyes on his fifth brother who had just turned one year old, but later, seeing that he was not doing well, he took him back when he was twelve years old despite his aunt's opposition. Fearing that he would lose face, he personally taught him at home and taught him to write... After two years, seeing that he had some basics, he invited a teacher to sit at home. This matter later became a thorn in his mother's side, and she was worried about it until her death. So when his father died, he swore in front of his father that as long as he had a bite of food to eat, he would give his sister to him first.

Today, he has not only passed the imperial examination and become a fourth-rank official, but also inherited the ancestral property passed down from his father. However, the brothers in his family fought openly and secretly, and only the youngest brother survived. Not only did he lose the family property, but now he has to rely on him to make a living.

Thinking of this, he became determined to marry his second daughter.

"Rong Niang." Lord Xiang helped his wife to sit on the big kang by the window in the inner room. "The reason why this dowry was not written on the gift list at that time was, firstly, because the third and fourth masters of the Xu family were both discussing marriage. Yizhen was afraid that it would cause embarrassment to other families, and also afraid that it would cause rifts between the sisters-in-law. Secondly, it was mother's idea. She wanted to leave her dowry to Yizhen. Men get the family and women get the food and clothing. This is also understandable..."

Mrs. Xiang heard her husband's tone, as if he was advising her not to compete with Xiang Yizheng for the property, and she couldn't help but get furious.

"Master, you and I have been married for 20 years, am I such a person?" She interrupted her husband with a harsh tone, "If I wanted to argue with her about these things, why would I have waited until today?" She stared at Mr. Xiang, "For so many years, hasn't the master taken enough care of her? The annual gifts for the Mid-Autumn Festival, Dragon Boat Festival and Spring Festival, the cold and hot clothes for all seasons... I have never complained. But she wanted me to marry her daughter, but she discussed it with her brother. How could she take me seriously..."

Since they knew Yizhen's intention at noon, the couple had been arguing about it. Mrs. Xiang had only two ideas in her mind - why didn't the eldest aunt consult with her sister-in-law but with her brother when she was matchmaking for her niece; what had I done to wrong her that she would ruin my daughter like this.

Lord Xiang knew that if he continued talking, his wife would only express these two meanings.

He didn't want to beat around the bush with Mrs. Xiang anymore. He simply asked his wife, "Are you dissatisfied with this marriage? Or are you dissatisfied that Yizhen didn't discuss it with you?"

Mrs. Xiang was stunned for a moment and said, "I am not satisfied with either of them!"

"Well, let's talk about this marriage first." Lord Xiang showed his calmness and rationality when handling official business: "After all, you think that Brother Yu's biological mother was a maid and of low status. But no matter how low his status is, he is the eldest son of Yongping Marquis Xu Lingyi listed in the family tree. Otherwise, why would he marry into our Xiang family. Moreover, Yongping Marquis can take care of his brothers like that, let alone Brother Yu, who is the eldest son."

"I..." Mrs. Xiang just opened her mouth to say something, but Lord Xiang waved his hand and said, "Listen to me first." Then he said, "Marquis Yongping is only 28 years old this year, and he has at least 30 years to live. As for the title, he has to wait until his son dies before he can have a chance!" As he said that, he glanced at his wife coldly, "Instead of dreaming about those unrealistic things, it is better to live alone in a separate house while he is young and strong. Isn't it a hundred times better than marrying an ordinary official's son? Can that concubine not serve in front of the legitimate wife and live with Yu Ge'er? OK? Let's talk about what Yizhen didn't discuss with you. "At this point, Lord Xiang's eyes flashed with annoyance, "How do you want Yizhen to discuss with you? When Roujin was serving the Queen Mother of Pox, she went to great lengths to get the medicine for reconciliation from the palace. What did you say? How can you take this medicine carelessly? Then she asked the maid to put it in the cabinet in front of Yizhen. Later, Yijia wanted to start her education, and the teacher who had taught Yizhen classics and history happened to be idle at home, so she recommended him to you. What did you say? The child is too young, so he should first learn all the "Youth Studies" and then read the classics and history..."

The louder Mr. Xiang spoke, the worse Mrs. Xiang's face became. She could no longer hold back and jumped up: "You only blame me, why don't you talk about the eldest aunt. What did she say at that time? She asked for the medicine for reconciliation for me from the palace, but do you know what she said when she saw the medicine sent by my sister-in-law?" Mrs. Xiang smiled coldly, "You don't know the bottom of the matter, so it's better to be careful. Is it that only she gave medicine, and my sister-in-law gave poison? When Yijia was enlightened, she recommended the teacher. But what did she say? Poetry and songs are all evil ways, only the various schools of thought are serious... She thought that everyone was illiterate, and only she was familiar with the classics and history, and was a person who understood reason."

"When did Yizhen say that poetry and songs are evil?" Lord Xiang was dumbfounded. "She just said that the teacher your brother introduced to Yijia was too focused on poetry and songs. Yijia will take the imperial examination in the future. Instead of spending energy learning these, it is better to focus on the "Four Books Annotations". What's more, this is what my father said when he was alive. You are making this up completely out of thin air!"

"I made it up!" Mrs. Xiang's eyes widened with anger. "When did I make it up? It is a fact that she sold my daughter to the Yongping Marquis's Mansion as a favor..."

"Forget it, forget it," Mr. Xiang shook his head gently, deciding to stop. To avoid Mrs. Xiang getting angry and entangled in trivial matters later, "These are all old things, and we don't want to talk about them again. Now we are talking about the marriage of our children. We can't delay it just because of being angry with Yizhen..."

Mrs. Xiang was so angry that she laughed: "How could I be angry with my eldest aunt. What right do I have to be angry with my eldest aunt. The master is right. This is the marriage of our children and it cannot be delayed because of those messy things. Roune is my sweetheart, I can't bear to see her suffer after marrying him, so I will not agree. But the master must agree for the sake of my eldest aunt. In this case, I think you don't have to listen to me or the master. Let's go to my father to reason - my father and father-in-law are old friends, and he used to be the prefect of Shuntian Prefecture. He is familiar with the criminal laws of the Great Zhou Dynasty. I don't know how many cases he has judged. He will not speak nonsense to you!" As he said, he shouted loudly to his mother.

Whenever you encounter something unpleasant, you should go back to your mother's home to reason with your father-in-law and uncle!

Lord Xiang was filled with anger, "Okay. I've always wanted to talk to my father-in-law. Back then, when my eldest brother-in-law passed away, the Xu family was in trouble. Any sister-in-law would have to go and comfort them. But you insisted on going to the post with me. Not only that, but only a few old people were left to take care of the house. The servants and maids in the family were either dismissed or taken to the post. Yizhen didn't even get a reception when she went back to her parents' home. It's just right, I can take this opportunity to talk to my father-in-law. Let's see how the Great Zhou Criminal Law would judge such a thing!" After that, he didn't even look at Mrs. Xiang, and went straight out to call the steward, "Arrange the carriage, my wife and I are going to visit my uncle!" Mrs. Xiang was really upset.

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It's a bit late to update at night, everyone should get up tomorrow morning to read it...O(∩_∩)O~

PS:

Recommended: "If I Were a Concubine"

Content: A brave female special police officer accidentally traveled through time and became a prisoner of war with an ordinary appearance and unknown identity in the cold weapon era. In the land where the four independent countries were fighting, she shocked everyone: If I were your concubine, you would have to give up three cities for me! If I were your concubine, you would not marry anyone else!