The eldest wife hurriedly got off the carriage. Madam Hang, who was waiting at the door with hanging flowers, saw that Yuanniang was pale and had swollen eyes. She knew that Yuanniang's condition must be bad. As she followed the eldest wife into the house, she said hurriedly, "Two madams came to the Zhongqin Marquis's mansion and said that they would invite Miss Five, Miss Ten and Miss Eleven to come to the Zhongqin Marquis's mansion in five days to enjoy the spring."

The eldest wife suddenly stopped and Mother Hang almost bumped into her.

"The Gan family of the Zhongqin Marquis's residence?" The eldest wife's eyes were sharp. "Enjoying the spring?"

Mother Hang nodded quickly: "It was sent by Miss Gan's Seventh Miss. She invited me very sincerely, and the eldest grandmother accepted the invitation."

"Where is grandma?" The eldest wife's voice was a little stern.

"In the main hall." Mother Hang said with a smile, "Grandma has drawn up a list of dowries for the young ladies and is waiting for you to come back to discuss what to buy!"

The eldest wife nodded slightly and walked quickly into the house.

The eldest grandmother hurried forward and said, "Mother, the eldest aunt..."

Tears welled up in the eldest wife's eyes again: "It was just a false alarm!" She didn't want to talk about it too much.

"That's good." The grandmother was thankful. "I have two hundred-year-old Polygonum multiflorum in my dowry. How about giving them to the eldest aunt to replenish her body?"

The first wife thought for a moment and said, "That's fine. I can't get such a good thing right now."

The eldest grandmother asked Mother Hang to get it, and she helped the eldest wife to sit on the big kang by the window in the west room. Then she took the tea brought by the maids and handed it to the eldest wife herself.

The first wife took a sip of tea and asked, "Where's the first master?"

The grandmother smiled and said, "She was dragged out by her classmates to drink. She also asked the servant outside to keep the door open for her at night."

The eldest wife's face turned pale and the teacup in her hand began to tremble.

The grandmother kept silent and dared not say anything more.

After a while, the eldest wife's expression gradually eased.

"I heard that Miss Gan's Seventh Family from the Duke Zhongqin's Mansion sent an invitation to the Fifth Lady and the others, wanting to invite them to enjoy the spring?"

The grandmother quickly replied "yes" and said with a smile: "I'm waiting for mother to come back and make a decision!"

"Let them go." The eldest wife said indifferently, and suddenly changed the subject, "How is the dowry I asked you to buy for them going?"

The grandmother took out a thick list from her sleeve and said, "I wrote this when I had nothing to do. What do you think?"

The eldest wife read it very carefully. However, after reading a few lines, a little maid reported: "Madam, the eldest master sent someone to ask if you have returned. If you have returned, he wanted to ask how the eldest aunt is doing."

The eldest wife's expression softened after hearing this, and she said, "My Lord, it's nothing."

The little maidservant responded and left.

The eldest wife handed the list to the eldest grandmother and said, "You are very thoughtful. I will buy according to your list. If the money is not enough, you can add some more. I will do it in the next two days."

A few days ago, I said there was no rush, I should buy slowly, the most important thing was not to exceed the limit. Why today...

I thought of how my mother-in-law looked when she came back, and I felt something in my heart.

The grandmother smiled and said "yes".

The eldest wife instructed the eldest grandmother again: "I want Mother Hang to help me with something."

The grandmother naturally said "yes", and when Mother Hang brought the Polygonum multiflorum over, she smiled and said, "If you have anything to ask, just tell her."

The eldest wife handed the Polygonum multiflorum to Mother Xu and said, "Send it to the eldest aunt."

Mother Xu responded and left.

The eldest wife asked the eldest grandmother to get the almanac. While flipping through the almanac, she instructed Mother Hang: "Go to the residence of Mr. Huang Ren, the official in the Ministry of Justice, and tell him that the date for the engagement is set on..." As she spoke, she flipped to the ninth day of the third lunar month, "... the ninth day of the third lunar month is right."

Both Grandma and Mother Hang were surprised.

Isn't this a bit too hasty? There are less than nine days left until the imperial examination.

If grandma was still a little skeptical just now, she is very sure now.

She didn't dare to ask more questions and smiled, "Then I have to prepare."

On the day of engagement, the woman's side will treat the man's guests to a big meal.

Mother Hang bowed and congratulated the first wife, then left with a smile on her face.

The eldest wife did not look happy, but rather had a hint of fatigue in her expression: "We just moved in, and everything is new. We can just hang two big red lanterns at the door. As for the banquet, everything is sold in Yanjing. We can just pick up the expensive ones and ask the kitchen maid to cook. It's not like she doesn't know how to do it."

The grandmother smiled and nodded: "I'll arrange it right away."

The eldest wife said "hmm" and then said, "Go to Madam Wang's house early tomorrow morning and ask her to be our matchmaker! You might as well be sincere and invite her to come."

The grandmother agreed, and the first wife called Shanhu and Feicui to come in and help her change clothes. The grandmother tactfully withdrew.

By the evening, everyone knew that the first wife had betrothed Wu Niang to Master Qian.

Wu Niang’s face turned pale.

Ziwei and Ziyuan stood aside and didn't dare to say a word.

When Eleventh Lady found out, she couldn't help but sigh in her heart.

It seems that this young master from the Duke Mao’s Mansion has some serious problems?

Dong Qing was washing her feet and talking to her with a smile, "I heard that Grandmother bought all the dowry and it filled up half the room."

Eleventh Lady laughed and said, "Even if you pile them up in a room, they can't be worth more than a few thin banknotes."

"That's true." Dong Qing smiled, took a dry towel and wiped Shiyi Niang's feet again, then took the stockings and put them on her, "You said, if Mr. Qian is on the list of successful candidates, wouldn't our family have a son-in-law who is a Jinshi?"

The Da Zhou provincial examination was held in October every year, the metropolitan examination was held in mid-March of the following year, and the palace examination was held on the first day of April.

Just then, Amber came in with some clothes. She laughed and said, "There are so many people taking the exam this year!"

Dong Qing nodded: "Our eldest uncle, the fourth uncle of the second house, and Mr. Qian...if they all pass the exam, then our family will have three Jinshi in one family."

Amber covered her mouth and laughed, "There are already three Jinshi in our family. It's not right to say that the father and son are both Jinshi. It's not right. The aunt and uncle are all Jinshi? That can't be said... Oh, there are so many Jinshi in our family!"

Everyone burst into laughter.

* * * * * *

The master on the other side frowned upon hearing this: "Isn't it too soon? How can you get engaged at this time? Let's wait until May!"

"The master can be confused sometimes." The first wife laughed, "When the new Jinshi is announced in May, it is still unclear whether we can get married."

The eldest master disagreed: "If that Qian is so short-sighted, then this marriage is for nothing!"

"It's up to you. Which is more important, face or my daughter's future?" The first wife said angrily, "I have the final say on this matter." She added, "I have something to discuss with you." The first wife smiled and said, "You also know that the Qian family is poor. I am afraid that Wu Niang will suffer when she passes away. I want to give her a dowry of 1,000 taels of silver. What do you think?"

Seeing the eldest wife being so generous, the eldest master was naturally very happy and nodded repeatedly: "Okay, okay, okay."

* * * * * *

On the ninth day of the first lunar month, Mrs. Huang came to the door early in the morning with silver ingots, golden hairpins, eight-colored fruits, tea and other items. She sat down and drank a cup of tea. Then, Mrs. Wang, the matchmaker of the Luo family, came slowly.

The two exchanged red cards with words "Wu Niang" and "Mr. Qian" written on them in gold. Mrs. Huang handed the things she brought to the people from the Luo family, and had a drink in the inner house accompanied by the eldest lady.

During the conversation, he mentioned Mr. Qian's residence: "... I rented a two-room apartment next to the Imperial College, but I can't find another apartment for the time being. We can only discuss the wedding date after May. It's just in time for me to finish my exams by then, so it's a double happiness."

The first wife thought that if Mr. Qian really passed the imperial examination, he would have to take the examination for the imperial examination. If he passed the examination, he would have to stay in Yanjing for another three years. If he failed, he would have to be a marquis in Yanjing. If he passed quickly, he would be able to find a job in July or August. If he passed slowly, he might not be able to do so until the beginning of next spring.

She calculated in her mind and said with a smile, "May is almost here, why not wait until September to see if there are any good days."

It was common for wealthy families to arrange marriages in a year or two, and four to five years was also normal. Mrs. Huang was very satisfied to hear such a statement from the Luo family, and she quickly agreed with a smile.

Wu Niang's marriage was settled.

The next day, the eldest lady divided the fruits, tea and other items brought by Master Qian into two portions and sent one portion to the second master and one to the third master.

When the second and third wives found out, they all came to congratulate.

Wu Niang hid in the house and refused to come out.

Tenth Lady and Eleventh Lady came out to pay their respects to the elders.

Everyone went to Wu Niang's place, chatting and laughing. Wu Niang stood there shyly without saying a word, but Shiyi Niang remembered the sound of broken porcelain she heard last night.

The second wife took Wu Niang's hand and said with a smile: "Our fifth daughter is very lucky. She married a scholar. She will definitely earn a phoenix crown and a red robe in the future."

The third wife also smiled and said, "This is also the blessing of the eldest sister-in-law."

The eldest wife laughed, and seeing that Wu Niang's face was so red that it was about to bleed, she smiled and asked everyone to go to her room.

Everyone sat down to drink tea and chat, and after lunch, they started playing cards and chatting. Qi Niang and Shi Niang watched the cards on the side, while Shi Niang sat aside and cracked melon seeds.

After a few rounds, Qi Niang couldn't sit still anymore. She winked at Shiyi Niang, then said to the Second Wife, "Mother, we want to go see Fifth Sister."

The second wife was preparing a big three yuan, and she waved her hand and said, "Go, go, so as not to bother me here."

Qi Niang responded with a smile, took Shi Niang's hand and raised her chin towards Shi Niang.

It means asking her if she wants to go.

As before, Shi Niang ignored her, but this time she even put down the melon seeds in her hand and said, "Mother, let's go see Fifth Sister too."

The eldest wife looked up at her, then saw Qi Niang holding Shiyi Niang's arm, and nodded.

The three of them stood up and were about to leave. The Fifth Master and the Sixth Master, who had been standing aside impatiently, immediately stood up and followed them: "Mom, let's go see the Fifth Sister too." As they said that, they ran in front of them, making the Seventh Sister giggle.

The Third Madam hurriedly ordered the maid beside her: "Hurry and follow."

A group of people went to Wu Niang.

Wu Niang was sitting cross-legged on the kang by the window, doing needlework.

When Qi Niang saw her, she covered her mouth and laughed. Wu Niang looked up, her face was stern, without any joy. Qi Niang felt embarrassed: "Fifth sister, mother and the others are playing cards, we came to your place to rest."

Wu Niang forced a smile and asked Ziwei to serve them tea.

Qi Niang and Shiyi Niang sat down, while Wu Ye and Liu Ye were running around the room.

Sui'er followed behind him, saying "Be careful not to knock down the pen holder on the young lady's desk," and "Be careful not to knock over the young lady's flower table," which revealed Wu Ye's temper. He raised his foot and kicked Sui'er in the chest: "Little whore, who are you talking about?"