Chapter 561: Marriage (Part 1)
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 knelt and bowed, then retreated, hastily seeking advice from 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, my family is well matched..."
"What do you mean by a good match?" The Third Lady jumped up immediately. "Our family is the Empress's family, and the future Emperor's maternal family. How can he, a mere deputy commander of the East City Military Division, be compared with our family..."
When the third master heard this, he immediately covered his wife's mouth.
He said in a stern voice: "I have told you so many times, just keep these words in mind. Don't talk nonsense. If you are not careful, you will get into big trouble..."
Seeing her husband looking like he was facing a powerful 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 put on a smile and said, "Master, don't be angry!"
The third master did not let it go as quickly as before.
The third wife stepped forward and tugged at the third master's sleeve, which seemed like she was bowing her head.
A trace of helplessness flashed across the Third Master's brows, and he sighed softly.
The third lady's anxious heart finally settled down.
Others also lend money at interest rates, and she also lends money at interest rates. Who knew that her luck was so bad that she would cause such a disaster to her husband. What made her even more uneasy was that her husband had said nothing from the time the incident happened until now. In the past, when her husband lost his temper, she would cry and make a scene, and then accompany him and be careful, and her husband's anger would subside, and the two of them would be happy again. But now, no matter what she said, he just said "hmm". She cried, made a scene, and was careful, but it was like a punch on cotton. He still had a weird look.
If you think about it carefully, you can't blame him.
She was foolish for a moment and did not listen to her husband. Not only did she lose the family's financial resources, but she also lost the opportunity to start her own business. She felt guilty. She no longer had the same aura in front of her husband. She was even more cautious in what she said.
"I don't mean anything else." She slowed down her voice and said softly, "I just thought that our brother, now that he has joined the Imperial Guard, 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 high-ranking family in the future? It's not too much for me to plan for brother Zhao, 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's not too high for him 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 brother Zhao to marry. That girl is really pretty and speaks well..."
Why is it brought up with Fang again?
These days my wife seems to be possessed by a demon. She always blames her eldest son's wife for everything.
The wife of the prefect of Fengxiang looked down on Zhao Ge'er because he was the second son, could not possibly benefit from the favor, and had no achievements. What does this have to do with the eldest son's wife?
Thinking about what happened at home these days, the third master's face gradually became angry: "I don't know how much mother has been through. Since the old lady 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 bother with it anymore. It's not the same for the same age. This marriage is about being well-matched. Look at Qin'er..." At this point, thinking that Fang was his daughter-in-law after all, criticizing her would be a slap in his face. He swallowed his dissatisfaction in his heart, "Anyway, you should do this matter according to what mother said!"
The third wife looked at her husband in shock: "So, is Brother 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 large 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 my brother?" Fifth Madam said as she took the icy green bean soup from He Xiang's hand and fed Xu Lingkuan a spoonful with a spoon. "It turns out that she wanted to find a wife for my brother."
The cicadas outside the house kept chirping, and the room felt hot even with ice cubes in it. 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? I have no reason to go to their door. Do you know that I have spent two hundred taels of silver on this matter... and I still have no place to transfer the money!"
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 the brothers, and it's meaningless to mention 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 paperwork, not to mention the rest. You only spent two hundred taels, and those people in the Military Selection Department gave you face! They must have only asked for a drink from you, and didn't dare to ask for anything else. Not to mention 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 really smart!" Xu Lingkuan smiled and pinched Madam Wu's cheek. "I spent 160 taels at Chunxi Pavilion. The remaining 40 taels were given as a reward when I went to pick up the paperwork."
Madam Wu frowned as she listened: "Didn't Third Brother go with you?"
"Then the petty officials were teasing me." Xu Lingkuan said indifferently, "I just happened to have 40 taels of silver in my hand, so I just gave it to them. Later, my third brother took out another 50 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, and we're not close friends. But he seemed quite honest..." Xu Lingkuan recalled, "There was a large group of us 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 in charge of transporting grain and fodder. At that time, that area was supervised by Lord Sun."
Eleventh Lady was a little surprised.
I didn't expect that when Xu Lingyi was pacifying the Miao border, Grandpa Sun was supervising the grain and grass. No wonder the friendship between the two families is so special.
She laughed and said, "Mother went around visiting people all those days, and it turned out that she was looking for a husband for her brother!"
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. When he asked about Zhen Jie'er, "...Have you sent the dowry list?"
"It has been delivered!" Eleventh Lady said with a smile, "Grandma Lin was shocked. She said how could we load 124 bags when the time comes!"
"Then just pack up the most important things." Xu Lingyi disagreed. "If it really doesn't work, just exchange it for banknotes. 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: "Xiao Peng, Xiao Que and the others have served you since they were young, so they should go with you. I also picked a girl named Xiu Lan to live in her room. She is good at abacus and can help Zhen Jie 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's only been two hours, and Grandma Huang San is here! She's really quick! Please have a seat in the flower hall.
"I'll come to see you first and then go to see the lady." Grandma Huang San said with a wry smile, "I've taken on a hot potato. It's not right to throw it away, and it's not right not to throw it away." Grandma Huang San 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 wife 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 the family background and appearance of Brother Jian, why is there no one in Yanjing willing to marry her? Even if the Jin family has mountains of gold and silver, and there are three sons in the family, 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 choose someone with good morals. You can't just focus on the dowry. Otherwise, why would our lady choose such a provincial marriage for the young man? She could just marry a big merchant from Jiangnan. He can afford not only 200,000 taels, but even 200,000 taels!"
Despite this, Third Madam Huang continued to nag for a long time before she felt a little relieved and went to see the lady accompanied by Eleventh Lady.
"You're here early." The lady was very happy to see Grandma Huang San arrive so quickly.
Third Madam Huang was also a person who knew how to deal with things. She smiled and sat down next to the old lady: "What is the relationship between our two families? Why don't you call me just like you call our Fourth Madam?" The old lady smiled as she listened.
The third wife brought the engagement letter.
Eleventh Lady was a little surprised.
The Third Lady's dissatisfaction with this marriage was written all over her face. She thought that although the Third Lady was not disobeying the Grand Lady, she was not too aggressive either.
The lady didn't even move her eyebrows. She handed the seal to Grandma Huang San and said with a smile, "Then I'll wait for your good news!"