Chapter 491: Anxiety (Part 1)

After hearing this, the lady ordered Yuban to rearrange the bowls and chopsticks and serve the side dishes.

The Third Lady then realized that the Lady Dowager and Eleventh Lady had already had breakfast.

She felt a little uncomfortable.

In the past few years in Shanyang, she made the decisions on all matters at home. Even when she was a guest at other people's houses, they respected her as the county magistrate's wife and acted according to her wishes. Now that she was back home, she had to give in to others and suddenly she was a little uncomfortable. This also made her more determined to live independently. But she had already said that she wanted to eat for free, and it was too late to change it. She had no choice but to pick up the bowl and said, "I'm late!"

The old lady always thought that the third daughter-in-law was out of tune, and that being too close to her was just asking for trouble. In the eyes of others, she was particularly lenient to the third lady because of this.

"It's not that you're late, it's that we ate early!" The lady said with a smile, "Take your time to eat, there's no need to rush, it's still early."

The Third Lady didn't dare to eat slowly, nor did she care whether she could eat enough. She asked the maid to serve her half a bowl of porridge and ate it hurriedly.

Xu Sizhen came over to greet his grandmother. He was a little surprised to see his mother and third aunt. After paying his respects, he leaned against Shiyi Niang's side and said, "Mom, the master will be back soon. My fifth brother and I haven't gotten used to having a son yet..." He looked at Shiyi Niang with a slightly coquettish smile.

For fear of disturbing Jin Ge'er, Xu Sizhen would go to Zhen Jie'er's place when he wanted to practice with Youzi. Xu Sizhen said this, but in fact he wanted to go to Zhen Jie'er's place to play with Xu Sizhen.

The lady laughed and said, "I'll let you off for now. When you come back, don't just think about Chui Youzi and forget your homework."

Xu Sizhen said hurriedly: "No, no. I have already done the homework assigned by the teacher."

The lady nodded slightly, her eyes filled with satisfaction, and then looked towards Eleventh Lady.

Eleventh Lady agreed with Xu Lingyi's opinion that Xu Sizhen couldn't always act like an immature boy like he is now, but nothing can be achieved overnight.

"Remember to come back for lunch at noon!" She reminded Xu Sizhen with a smile.

When Xu Sizhen saw that his request was approved, his face lit up. He nodded repeatedly and was accompanied by his maid to find Xu Sizhen.

The third lady looked at him and turned her eyes slightly. She smiled and said, "Our brother Zhe is changing every day. It seems that it is better for him to go to school!"

Speaking of Xu Sizhen, the grandson who grew up in her house and became more and more obedient and sensible day by day, the lady's face was full of sneers: "People are obedient from books!"

"That's right." The third lady followed the words of the grand lady and said, "I didn't feel it at home before. Everyone was the same. But after I came to Shanyang, I realized that being educated and not educated are two different things.

No wonder my father has always dreamed of being nominated as a Jinshi." She changed the subject to Xu Siqin's marriage, "... I didn't tell you in detail yesterday because the children were there.

I came here this morning just to tell you about this."

The lady had always been puzzled by this marriage: the news came so suddenly, and the marriage was arranged so hastily.

The old man leaned forward and asked with concern, "What's going on? Tell me."

The Third Lady naturally would not say whatever she wanted to say like the Third Master. She only talked about how dignified Fang County Magistrate was and how much the Third Master admired him. Mrs. Fang was worried about her husband, so she brought her children to take care of Fang County Magistrate's daily life a year ago. She also told how she occasionally saw the eldest daughter of the Fang family, how her appearance and knowledge were outstanding, and how Fang County Magistrate loved her like a treasure, but ended up delaying her daughter's marriage. Mrs. Fang told the Dowager how anxious she was, how she asked for marriage, and how the two families finally agreed on the marriage.

The wife listened and twisted the agarwood beads in her hand.

"Is the father of the county magistrate Fang still alive?"

This is a very thoughtful question.

In general official families, when the husband is working as an official away from home, he usually brings a concubine to take care of his daily life, while the mistress stays at home to serve her parents-in-law and raise the children.

Mrs. Fang was worried about her husband's departure for work. If you think about it superficially, it can be said that she is jealous, but if you think about it more deeply, it can be said that she is unfilial.

The third lady was startled when she heard this.

She didn't want the eldest daughter-in-law to be embarrassed in front of the dowager and the aunt in the future. She said hurriedly: "Mr. Fang's parents are still alive, and the affairs of the family are managed by Mr. Fang's elder brother who resigned from his official position. When Mr. Fang took office, he also brought a concubine to serve him. Last spring, Mr. Fang caught a cold and was not well taken care of. He was bedridden for several months. That's why Mrs. Fang brought her children from afar to see Mr. Fang. If Mrs. Fang hadn't brought medicinal herbs from Jiangnan to take care of him, Mr. Fang would have almost resigned and returned home!"

The lady's face brightened up when she heard this, and she said with a smile, "It seems that this lady Fang is a person with her own opinions."

"That's right!" The Third Lady breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile, "Otherwise, this marriage wouldn't have been arranged in such a hurry. Madam Fang said that now Lord Fang is well again. She can also go back to Huzhou with peace of mind and serve her parents-in-law wholeheartedly. After marrying the eldest daughter, she will go back to Huzhou to take care of the second daughter's affairs."

"Is he the eldest son of the prefect of Chengdu?" the lady said with a smile.

"Yes!" The Third Lady nodded with a smile, "The second daughter of the Fang family is betrothed to the eldest son of the prefect of Chengdu." She felt that Fang's relatives were all Jinshi and officials, which was very prestigious, and her face was flushed, "The prefect of Chengdu is not only in the same class as Fang Zhixian, but also from the same hometown. The engagement was made four years ago. If Madam Fang hadn't wanted to marry the eldest daughter first, the second daughter of the Fang family would have been married long ago."

"Mrs. Fang, why are you so anxious?" The lady laughed, "The second daughter of the Fang family is two years younger than the eldest daughter, so she is only fourteen this year and has not yet reached the age of marriage!" Then she said, "Oh," I wonder how old is the eldest son of the Chengdu prefect?"

"Sixteen years old this year!" The third wife laughed, "In fact, the age difference is not that big. It's just that the wife of the prefect wants to make some concessions and marry a daughter-in-law. Her son also wants someone who understands her feelings. The matchmaker came every few days, and the eldest daughter's marriage was also settled. Madam Fang was a little overwhelmed and had to agree. However, Madam Fang also said that she would arrange the second daughter's marriage when she returned. It would take at least three or two years to get it done after coming here and staying here for a while!"

"They have strict rules in Jiangnan!" said the lady, looking at Eleventh Lady with a smile, "They are very particular about makeup. Each family has a grander wedding than the other. Marrying off a daughter of the royal family can make the whole family bankrupt." The topic then turned to the wedding splendours of each family.

Eleventh Lady was thinking about Jiange'er and wanted to find an opportunity to say goodbye, but the Lady was in high spirits and kept chatting with her. She had no choice but to stay with her.

During the conversation, the Third Lady mentioned who should be the matchmaker, and the Grand Lady recommended Third Lady Huang before she could say anything. The Third Lady thought about it and decided that Third Lady Huang was the wife of the prince of Yongchang Marquis, and it would not be an insult to her son if she went to propose marriage. Moreover, Third Lady Huang was famous for her hot temper, and her personality was more to her liking than that of Eleventh Lady. When the Grand Lady mentioned asking Xu Lingyi to be the matchmaker, the Third Lady had already figured it out. She agreed with a smile, and bowed to the Grand Lady with many thanks, which pleased her, and then stood up: "...Since Third Lady Huang is invited to be the matchmaker, the matchmaker gift cannot be missing. I'll prepare it now. I'll go to the Yongchang Marquis's Mansion in the afternoon."

The lady smiled and nodded. After the third lady left, she asked Madam Du to go to Yongchang Marquis's mansion to get the letter from the common people. She left Eleventh Lady to talk.

"I think there is something fishy about this matter." The old lady sent the servant away and whispered, "Think about it, the prefect of Chengdu and Fang Xianjin are from the same family and hometown, and their eldest son and daughter are of the same age, why did the prefect of Chengdu ask to marry the second daughter instead of the eldest daughter? And Madam Fang, when Fang Xianjin was ill last spring, she took her children to take office. The eldest daughter has been raised in her hometown, and the third daughter-in-law only knows how to watch the fun. What's going on..." As she spoke, her brows locked, "Qin Ge'er is the eldest grandson after all. If he makes a mistake here, it will be difficult for Zhe Ge'er's wife to marry into the family in the future."

These are all guesses.

They haven't even seen the person yet, so it's too early to say this now.

Besides, the marriage has already been decided, is it possible to cancel it?

How much harm would that do to girls?

"A thousand miles of marriage is tied by a thread." Shiyi Niang said with a smile, "Whether this marriage will be successful or not depends on whether the horoscopes are compatible. Maybe the horoscopes of the eldest daughter of the Fang family and the eldest son of the Chengdu prefect are not compatible? Otherwise, one is worried about getting married, and the other is worried about getting married, and they just happened to meet each other at the right time. Maybe this is the fate of the eldest daughter of the Fang family and our Qin'er!"

The lady did not say anything for a long while, but just sighed softly.

Eleventh Lady had no choice but to persuade the Lady Dowager: "Once you marry into our family, you are one of our family. You are well-informed and knowledgeable. If she does anything wrong, you should remind her from time to time. If you hadn't pointed it out to me, I wouldn't be where I am today!"

The lady laughed at these words.

"Flattery never gets worn out."

Eleventh Lady pursed her lips and smiled.

At 9:00 pm, Grandma Huang San arrived.

She first went to pay her respects to the lady-in-waiting, gladly accepted the matchmaking, then bypassed the Third Lady and went directly to Eleventh Lady's room.

Jiang'er was sleeping soundly in his cloud silk quilt after having eaten and drunk his fill. Shiyi Niang and Gu Mama were sitting on the kang, one sitting on the kang, and the other sitting on a brocade stool beside the kang, doing needlework for him.

"I thought you would come tomorrow!" Eleventh Lady smiled and invited Third Lady Huang to sit on the big kang by the window in the west room, and teased, "Everyone says to invite a matchmaker, but Sister, you came uninvited. We made the right choice to invite Third Sister-in-law as the matchmaker. But Sister, don't even refuse the matchmaker's gift when the time comes!"

Grandma Huang San is a straightforward person and likes to make jokes like this. She thinks this is the way to be close to others.

Shiyi Niang thought that she would say something sarcastic to her, but unexpectedly, she just smiled awkwardly and asked about Jiang'er: "...Fall asleep? Or did the wet nurse take him out to play?" Her tone was still a little absent-minded.

"Falling asleep!" Eleventh Lady smiled and brought the tea served by the maid to Grandma Huang San. Grandma Huang San took the teacup and took a sip. She did not ask to meet Jiang'er, which was very different from her usual cleverness.

Eleventh Lady was secretly amazed.

Then I saw Huang San's grandmother took a deep breath and asked in a deep voice, "Is the Marquis at home?"

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