The lady brought the tea.
Faced with the old man's tough attitude, the third wife knew she had no choice but to avoid him.
She bowed and retreated, and hurried to consult her husband.
"My ancestor was a lieutenant general. Yin'en joined the Xishan Camp and followed my fourth brother to make military achievements. Now he is in the Wucheng Military Department." The third master pondered, "I am also Yin'en. Although I am a fourth-rank official, I am not like the Jin family, who have real power. In fact, he is a good match for our family..."
"What do you mean by a good match?" The Third Lady jumped up immediately. "Our family is the Empress's family, the future Emperor's maternal family. How can he, a mere deputy commander of the East City Army, be compared with our family..."
When the Third Master heard this, he immediately covered his wife's mouth and said sternly: "I have told you so many times, just keep these words in your heart. Don't say them carelessly. If you are not careful, you will get into big trouble..."
Seeing her husband looking like he was facing a great enemy, the Third Lady quickly pulled his hand away and said awkwardly, "I, I'm not saying this in front of you... and there's no one else around... I've never told anyone else..."
The Third Master frowned.
The third wife hurriedly smiled and said, "Don't be angry, Master!"
The Third Master did not let it go as quickly as he had before.
The third lady stepped forward and pulled the sleeve of the third master, as if she was bowing her head.
A trace of helplessness flashed across the Third Master's brows, and he sighed softly.
The third lady's heart finally settled down.
Others also lend money at high interest rates, so she also lends money at high interest rates. Who knew that her bad luck would bring such a disaster to her husband? What made her even more uneasy was that her husband had said nothing since the incident. In the past, when her husband got angry, she would cry and make a scene, and then be careful with him, and his anger would subside, and they would be happy again. But now, no matter what she said, he just said "hmm". She cried, made a scene, and was careful with him, but it was like a punch on cotton. He still looked weird.
If you think about it carefully, you can't blame him.
She was confused for a moment and didn't listen to her husband. Not only did she lose the family's financial resources, but she also lost the opportunity to establish her own family. She couldn't help feeling uneasy. She no longer had the same momentum in front of her husband. She was even more cautious when she spoke.
"I don't mean anything else." She slowed down her voice and said softly, "I was thinking that our Jian'er has joined the Imperial Guards now, and his status is different. The fourth brother has not arranged a marriage for Yu'er until now. Isn't it because he hopes that he can have the title of a scholar and marry a daughter of a noble family in the future? It's not too much for me to plan for Jian'er, right?" The third wife said while observing her husband's expression. Seeing that the third master's face was slightly relieved, she felt relieved and continued, "I dare not think of anything else. Since he is the nephew of Yongping Marquis and has a decent job, it is not too high to marry the daughter of a third-rank military officer, right?" At this point, she couldn't help complaining, "It's all Fang's fault. Otherwise, I would have asked for the daughter of Fengxiang prefect for Jian'er to marry. That girl is really pretty and speaks well..."
How did it get linked to Fang again?
These days my wife seems to be possessed by a demon. She always blames her eldest daughter-in-law for everything.
The wife of the Fengxiang prefect looked down on Jian'er because he was the second son and could not have been blessed by imperial family, nor did he have any achievements. What does this have to do with the eldest daughter-in-law?
The Third Master thought about what happened at home these days, and his face became increasingly angry: "I don't know how much my mother has been through. Since she has taken a fancy to the daughter of the Jin family, the daughter must be of good character and appearance. You don't have to make trouble anymore. A perfect match is not a good match. This marriage is about being well-matched. Look at Qin'er..." At this point, he thought that Fang was his daughter-in-law after all, and to say anything about her would be a slap in his face, so he swallowed his dissatisfaction in his heart, "Anyway, just do this matter as my mother said!"
The third wife looked at her husband in surprise: "So, is Jian'er's marriage settled like this?" Her voice was trembling.
The Third Master waved his hand, indicating that no more words should be said about this matter, then walked to the desk, took out a bright red invitation with gold sprinkled on it, and wrote Xu Sijian's birth date on it.
"Send the invitation now," he instructed the Third Lady, "Don't drag your feet and make Mother unhappy."
The third lady looked at the invitation and felt as if her arms were filled with lead and she couldn't lift them.
* * * * * *
"I was wondering why mother suddenly wanted you to find a job for Jian'er?" Fifth Madam said as she took the iced green bean soup from He Xiang's hand and fed Xu Lingkuan a spoonful of it. "So you want to find a wife for Jian'er."
The cicadas outside the house kept chirping, and even the ice cubes in the house felt hot. It was a rare day off at home, so Xu Lingkuan crossed his legs and leaned on a large pillow covered with turmeric-colored kudzu cloth, and drank a sip of iced mung bean soup comfortably. Then he said, "You think those people in the Military Selection Department of the Ministry of War are so easy to talk to, and I went to their door for no reason. Do you know that I spent two hundred taels of silver on this matter... and I still don't have a place to pay the bill!"
The Fifth Lady leaned on her husband's shoulder with a smile: "I'll help you!" She added, "This is the first time that our Fifth Master has shown his face in front of his brothers, and it's meaningless to ask for these two hundred taels of silver. Besides, the last time Tang Shiliu of the Zhongshan Marquis family sought a job of the seventh rank, he spent five hundred taels of silver to get the documents, not to mention the other things. I only spent two hundred taels, and those people in the Military Selection Department gave you face! They must have just asked for a drink from you, and didn't dare to ask for anything else. Besides, with the Fifth Master's status, it would be a bit shabby to invite people to dinner with less than two hundred taels per table!"
"You are so smart!" Xu Lingkuan smiled and pinched the Fifth Madam's cheek. "I spent 160 taels at Chunxi Tower. The remaining 40 taels were given as a reward when I went to get the documents."
Madam Wu frowned as she listened: "Didn't Third Brother go with you?"
"That bunch of petty officials were teasing me." Xu Lingkuan said indifferently, "I just happened to have a silver note worth forty taels of silver, so I just gave it to them. Later, my third brother took out another fifty taels of silver and treated them to a drink."
The smile returned to the Fifth Madam's face. "Do you know Mr. Jin from the East City Military Department? What is his family like? Is Miss Jin really as good as mother said?"
"I've only met him a few times, but we're not close friends. But he seems quite honest..." Xu Lingkuan recalled, "There was a large group of us at that time, and he was the oldest. He sat near the door. If anyone wanted something, he would immediately arrange it. He was a very cautious person..."
* * * * * *
Xu Lingyi and Shiyi Niang also talked about Lord Jin: "I don't remember having such a person under my command. Otherwise, he was responsible for transporting food and grass. At that time, that area was supervised by Old Marquis Sun."
Eleventh Lady was a little surprised.
I didn't expect that when Xu Lingyi was pacifying Miaojiang, Lord Sun was supervising the grain supply. No wonder the friendship between the two families was so special.
She laughed and said, "Mother was visiting people everywhere those days. It turns out she was looking for a wife for Jian'er!"
Xu Lingyi trusted his mother very much. And by the time the engagement letter was exchanged, the Jin family must have tacitly agreed to the marriage.
He never thought too much about things that were already decided. He asked about Zhen Jie'er: "...Has the dowry list been delivered?"
"It's been delivered!" Eleventh Lady said with a smile. "Grandma Lin was shocked. She said how could we load all the 124 bags?"
"Then pick up the important ones." Xu Lingyi disagreed. "If it really doesn't work, just change it into silver notes. Then buy some land and keep it quiet, so that no one will get jealous."
Eleventh Lady laughed: "Mrs. Lin was just being polite. You took it seriously! When Hui Jie'er got married, her dowry was no less than our Zhen Jie's."
Xu Lingyi was slightly stunned, then started laughing.
Eleventh Lady told him about the selection of dowry: "Xiaoli, Xiaoque and the others have served by your side since they were young, so they should go with you. I also picked Xiulan to stay in her room. She is good at abacus and can help Zhenjie to settle accounts when the time comes..."
As the two were talking, a little maid came in and said, "My Lord, Madam, the Third Madam Huang from the Yongchang Marquis's Mansion is here!"
Eleventh Lady was a little surprised.
It only took two hours for Grandma Huang San to come over! She was really quick!
She invited Grandma Huang San to sit in the flower hall.
"I'll come to see you first and then go see the Madam." Grandma Huang San smiled bitterly, "I've taken on a hot potato. I can't throw it away, and I can't not throw it away."
Grandma Huang was still worried about Xu Siqin’s marriage last time.
Eleventh Lady smiled and said, "This marriage was arranged by the Madam, and you, the matchmaker, were also chosen by the Madam. We are unreliable, but our Madam is not that kind of person. Sister, put aside your concerns for now, and it won't be too late to talk about it after you meet the people of the Jin family!"
Huang San's grandmother said, "I'm not afraid of the Jin family. I'm afraid of your Third Lady. You don't know, she has spread the word that the eldest daughter-in-law will have a dowry of 20,000 taels of silver, and the second daughter-in-law can't be worse than the eldest daughter-in-law. Otherwise, with Jian'er's family background and appearance, why wouldn't there be anyone in Yanjing willing to marry her? Even if the Jin family has mountains of gold and silver and three sons, there is no way they can come up with 20,000 taels of silver as a dowry for their daughter!"
"Everyone hopes that there will be someone better than you." Eleventh Lady had to comfort her, "When choosing a wife, you should still choose one with virtue. You can't just focus on the dowry. Otherwise, why would our lady choose such a marriage for Jian'er? She could just marry a big merchant from Jiangnan. He can afford not only 20,000 taels, but 200,000 taels!"
Despite this, Grandma Huang San continued to nag for a long time before she felt a little relieved and went to see the lady accompanied by Eleventh Lady.
"You came early." The lady was very happy to see Grandma Huang San arrive so quickly.
Huang San's wife was also an experienced person. She smiled and sat down next to the old lady. "What kind of relationship do our two families have? You order me around like you order our fourth lady around?"
The lady listened with a smile on her face.
The third wife brought the engagement letter.
Eleventh Lady was a little surprised.
The Third Lady's dissatisfaction with this marriage was written on her face. She thought that although the Third Lady would not disobey the Grand Lady, she would not be too active either.
The lady didn't even move her eyebrows. She handed the birth certificate directly to Grandma Huang San and said with a smile, "Then I'll wait for your good news!"
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There are a lot of typos during this period, which brings inconvenience to everyone's reading. I apologize for this. I will try to pay more attention in the future. Thank you for catching bugs for me, and you are welcome to catch bugs for me!
O(∩_∩)O~
PS: One update today!