Chapter 338 Suitable
Jia Zhu knew that his younger brothers and sisters would engage in some small competition in private, but he did not expect that they would actually team up to bully their youngest cousin.
"Does Chang'an have a tail?"
Jia Zhu looked at his brother curiously, "Why did Cousin Lin ask you to push him down?"
"He's always got his tail up."
Baoyu had been rubbed by him many times in his studies, and he had a deep understanding of it. "It's just pretending to be well-behaved in front of you adults."
In fact, he did well in the exam, and every time I saw him, he was smiling.
In front of his sisters, he would hold his little head high, waiting for everyone to praise him.
Even when no one else praises him, he still praises himself.
The key point is that when he praises himself, he also steps on him intentionally or unintentionally.
"Hmm, that sounds familiar."
Jia Zhu could not understand his brother's sadness, and smiled and said, "Your second brother Lian said the same thing to me at the beginning. He cried and told your eldest brother Zhen that he wanted to find a few people to beat me up."
The days of youth are so nostalgic.
"So... did they really fight?"
Baoyu didn't expect that his brothers had also done the same thing when they were young, and he couldn't help but ask his brother out of curiosity.
"Hmm!" Jia Zhu stood up and brushed off the dust on the corner of his clothes. "I used a method to let them be beaten by the elders together, and then go and beg for mercy!"
Baoyu: “…”
Jia Zhu smiled at his brother and said, "Why are you still standing there? Hurry up and get up! As long as you can pass the Chang'an exam tomorrow, I will take you out to play for half a day."
The news that the two brothers had left the ancestral hall together soon spread to people in both governments.
Even Chen Ning thought that after Jia Zhu knelt down, he would not be able to come out at least tonight, but she didn't expect it to happen so soon.
But it's always a good thing to be able to get out of the ancestral hall.
Shen Ning just listened to it, what she cared about now was Zhang Hua and his son.
"Zhang Ping was originally the grain collector for the imperial farm. Later, because he was too greedy, he was beaten and driven out."
Xing Er reported everything he had found to Chen Ning, Old Lady You, and You Shi, "But in those years, their family lived a good life. The father and son did not lack anything except eating, drinking, whoring, and gambling.
It’s just that there were people praising it before, but now that it’s been driven away... it’s gone immediately. ”
At this point, Xing'er stole a glance at Old Lady You, "When I was proud before, I probably forgot about the arranged marriage. Now that I'm frustrated, I don't know where to start looking for a wife from my in-laws. Both father and son are working in the labor field in Houmiao Lane in South City. They are the kind of people who work when there is work and rest when there is no work.
But others there can at least earn some money every month to send home, but they just spend what they earn on food and drink. ”
It is obviously impossible for people who have enjoyed happiness to live like ordinary people after falling into the dust.
Why eating and drinking come first among eating, drinking, whoring and gambling? Because it really costs money.
"If you win, you can eat better. When you are in a good mood, you can have a pot of wine. If you don't win, the food will get worse and worse. I heard that you have been hungry one day and full the next. I went to him and promised him forty taels, and he gave me a letter of cancellation of the engagement."
As he said that, Xing'er brought up the letter of cancellation of engagement.
In fact, if you bargain more, maybe you can get a lower price, but if the matter gets out of hand, it will not look good for their grandmother.
Especially when Zhang Hua heard that someone had asked his father to cancel his engagement, he ran over madly, which made Xing'er just want to end the battle quickly.
The situation of the father and son clearly shows that they cannot afford to marry a wife.
Because of that small amount of silver, they almost got into a fight, and in the end each of them got twenty taels.
"Okay, okay, you did a great job!"
After seeing the letter of withdrawal of engagement, Old Lady You felt relieved.
Her daughter finally didn't have to fall into the fire pit.
"This matter really troubles my mother-in-law."
After putting away the letter of withdrawal of engagement, Old Lady You once again expressed her gratitude to Chen Ning.
"Look, you're being polite again, aren't you?"
Chen Ning smiled and waved her hand, "Second sister is gentle and quiet, I think she is very good."
As she spoke, she looked at Youshi and said, "Since the marriage here has been called off, you and Zhen'er, as the elder sister and brother-in-law, should pay more attention to it."
"yes!"
Youshi had already been chosen.
Although her second sister was a person who knew what was going on, her temper was much softer than her and her third sister.
If you marry into a family with many sisters-in-law, you will definitely be bullied.
The Jia family no longer needs to please anyone, so Youshi told Jia Zhen directly to find a family with few brothers and reasonable parents.
It doesn't matter whether the child is civil or military, as long as he or she is motivated and has a job to do, it's fine.
She was also very clear that her stepsister's status was not high, so it would be impossible for her to get into a good family.
The next day, Jia Zhen found a few suitable ones for her.
One is Zheng Xiaoqi, an officer at the East City Gate, who is an eighth-rank official and was promoted this year. His father is from the Five Cities Military Department.
He is only eighteen years old this year and looks tall and strong.
He also has some skills. There are two brothers in the family. Although grandparents are still alive, they are open-minded and will separate the family as soon as their sons and grandchildren get married.
So, even though there are many sisters-in-law, it’s not a big deal at all.
If the second sister-in-law marries there, she will definitely not be bullied with the Jia family around.
There is another one, from the Ma family in Nancheng, who just passed the imperial examination this year. Mr. Ma is 21 years old and was raised by his widowed mother. The mother and son have depended on each other for many years. In order to allow him to go to school, the family’s house and land have almost been sold.
After the second sister-in-law got married, she had the support of the Jia family, so she would not be poor. However, whether she could get better completely depended on Mr. Ma's future academic performance.
These two, one civil and one military, were ranked at the front, and there were a few others behind them. However, Youshi didn't think her stepmother and sister would make a choice.
Sure enough, in the evening, she took out the candidates given to her by Jia Zhen and laid out all their advantages and disadvantages.
"Second sister, this is your lifelong event. Do you prefer literature or martial arts?"
What Yiyou's mother meant was that Zheng Xiaoqi was a very good official.
That's in the military.
With the eldest sister and Jia Zhen around, if the second sister marries him, even if she is not as good as the elder ones, she will definitely be better than the younger ones.
But the daughter's eyes were more focused on Mr. Ma's list.
Old Lady You sighed inwardly and could only give up.
Third Sister You also understood what her elder sister meant. Before Second Sister You could speak, she said, "Second sister, Zheng Xiaoqi is a good official. Although Mr. Ma looks better, he sold everything that could be sold at home in order to study, and he didn't care about his mother at all.
It would be fine if I could pass the exam in the future, but if I fail... I might have to take the exam again when I am in my seventies or eighties. ”
this? You Erjie hesitated.
You looked at her third sister and smiled. "Third sister is right. Both mother and son are very strong-willed and are devoted to the imperial examination. Their family originally had 300 acres of land and a big house, but they have all been squandered over the years due to studying and illness. Now they live in a rented house from someone else.
Although Mr. Ma is not very old and has a promising future, there are also many people who are optimistic about his future.
He thought that the commodity was rare and valuable, and he was very proud of it.
The requirements for the future Yue family are probably very high. ”
Although her younger sister, the second sister, is also qualified, her cousin Min Jianbai in the clan school has been relying on studying to make money.
There are many poor students out there who are earning money while studying.
The two gentlemen who passed the imperial examination this year have been earning money while studying.
If you can't be a teacher, just copy books.
There were many poor students copying books in her bookstore.
To be honest, in Youshi's eyes, her second sister would rather choose Mr. Qian, who is two years younger than her, than Mr. Ma.
Although he had two brothers, he did not let his brothers down. He had been studying and copying books at the same time. He earned nearly five taels of silver every year just from copying books.
"If you like scholars, this scholar Qian is also a good choice. Although he just passed the exam this year, he started studying late and his family is even poorer. Except for the first two years, his parents supported him. Later, he studied and copied books by himself to support himself."
Yu pointed to a person below and said, "A person like this can take good care of his family at any time."
this? You Erjie hesitated, "Big sister, can you let me think about it for two days?"
"Of course."
There was nothing that Yu Shi could not agree to.
She tried her best to find a future husband for her sister, naturally she wanted the best for her.
If she agrees to any of them casually and her life doesn't go well in the future, she will be sad.
"I just wanted you to take a look first."
Only after my sister agreed could we meet.
After seeing the match, she still had to make detailed inquiries.
You stood up and said, "Mother, second sister, third sister, it's getting late. I'm leaving first. If you have anything to say later, please tell me."
"Wait a minute, I'll go back with you!"
Old Lady You now lives in You's courtyard. She was worried at this late hour, "Third sister, please help your second sister."
“Hey~”
Third Sister You agreed immediately and sent them out with her second sister.
The two didn't go back until they were all far away.
"Second sister, are you interested in Mr. Ma?"
"…It's also very difficult to pass the imperial examination."
Although Mr. Qian is a good scholar, who knows if he can pass the imperial examination in the future? You Erjie said softly: "Our family..."
"What do we have at home?"
Third Sister You interrupted and said directly: "We are said to be a family of officials, but both our biological father and stepfather are dead."
She knew what her sister was thinking, "They are all minor officials, and they haven't accumulated any wealth."
On my father's side, more of the family property was taken away by my uncles.
Her mother married her stepfather with her two children.
The stepfather was grateful to their biological father for saving their lives, and although he was nice to them, he did not live long.
Now they, mother and daughter, depend on their stepsister.
The stepsister is nice to them, mother and daughter, because that’s because she is a nice person.
But if they go too far...
I'm afraid some people in the Jia family will look down on my stepsister.
"If you want to talk about the Jia family, it's not that we can't rely on them, but when my eldest sister married into the family, she married into a wealthy family. We can't be a help to her, but at least we can't be a burden to her."
Her second sister has always been very soft.
If you don't pay attention, it won't work at all.
In the Jia family, they were respected because of their eldest sister, and You Sanjie became more self-respecting and self-respecting. "Mr. Ma is a man who sticks to his own path. If things go well, it's fine. If things don't go well... If the Jia family can't help him, I'm afraid they will blame my sister.
When the time comes, second sister, how will you deal with it? ”
this? You Erjie lowered her eyes and stammered after a while, "But we live in the Jia family now, and I heard that the Jia family has a very good school. This year, three people from that school passed the imperial examination. There are also many men in the Jia family studying. Master Zhu from the West Mansion is a student of the Imperial Academy."
"So, you have your eyes on Mr. Ma?"
Sister You San was so disappointed.
"Then...if you were me, who would you choose?"
You Erjie asked back, "Do you want to elect Zheng Xiaoqi?"
this? Third Sister You hesitated for a moment and said, "Let me take a look at their appearance first."
She likes good-looking ones.
“Then choose the appropriate one.”
"What do you mean by suitable?"
"For example, if Mr. Ma and Mr. Zheng look similar, I would definitely choose Mr. Zheng."
Third Sister You said, "There is also Scholar Qian. If he is not too bad looking, I will definitely choose him over Scholar Ma."
"Why did you choose him?"
"Because he can support a family regardless of whether he relies on the Jia family or not."
Their biological father has died and they have no brothers or sisters at home, so if they say they don't want them, then they don't want them.
Although my stepfather is a good person, he is not my biological father.
If it weren’t for the eldest sister’s good marriage, the You family would have driven them away long ago.
"I think someone like Mr. Ma cannot support a family before he succeeds in passing the imperial examination."
Third Sister You sighed, "But now that he has passed the imperial examination, I'm afraid he may not like his ex-wife anymore. After all, he is already in his twenties, and he hasn't proposed marriage yet. How can his standards be low? If you like him, he may not like you."
You Erjie: "..."
It would be a lie to say I wasn't sad.
They don't have a powerful family.
"Tomorrow, can I talk to my elder sister and take a look at them secretly?"
"That's fine!"
Third Sister You said, "It's just that Big Sister is in poor health right now, so I'm afraid she can't accompany us in person."
Wanting Madam Shen to accompany her… is even more impossible.
Third Sister You already knew that the Japanese had attempted to assassinate her several times.
"Brother-in-law is busy again."
Third Sister You sighed, "It might be that housekeeper Xing who took us in a carriage so that we could secretly watch from afar."
“It’s okay to watch from a distance!”
You Erjie had already learned about this from Youshi, so she prepared a dowry of about one thousand taels for each of them.
This was something she had never dared to imagine before.
Moreover, when they arrived at the Jia family, not only did Mrs. Shen send a greeting gift, but the old lady, the wife, and the two aunts from the West Mansion also sent greeting gifts.
After just a few days at the Jia family, You Erjie discovered that she already had a fortune of several hundred taels.
With the dowry given by her sister in the future, it will be no problem for her to choose a better man.
"Sister, do you want to choose a nice one too?"
"It certainly can't be too ugly!"
The two sisters smiled at each other, picked up the information of Ma Juren and others, and looked at it carefully.
Since Youshi did not choose a high-class family for them, the two of them felt much more relaxed.
Among the wealthy and powerful families, there are actually few like the Ningguo Mansion.
In the Rongguo Mansion next door, the second wife and second master died early.
Third Sister You had always been worried that her mother would take them to live with her sister, and that they would eventually have no future.
With beauty but no family background, what can she be in the eyes of the powerful people in the capital?
It’s just like that in the countryside too.
They are beautiful but have no family background. Even if they get married and become a legal couple, there is no guarantee that they will not be sold one day.
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