Seeing Chen Afu's fearful look, Chen Shiying was extremely helpless and said, "Dad is really thinking about you. Girls only have a few years of youth. If you miss it, it will be hard to find someone else. Dad has helped you find two good young men. Listen to them. If you don't like them, Dad will help you find more."
Chen Afu certainly didn't want the son-in-law that Chen Shiying chose for her, but she was also curious about the kind of two people he chose, so she didn't say anything.
Chen Shiying continued, "These two young men have good character and were carefully selected by Dad. One of them is surnamed Zhou, the son of one of Dad's staff. He is sixteen years old this year. He passed the examination for a scholar at the age of fourteen. He will take the examination for a juren next year and will definitely pass it if nothing goes wrong. This child is good-looking, has good academic performance, a good temper, and knows his family background. The only shortcoming is that his family is not well-off. Dad will give you more dowry, and he and his family will treat you well. Fu'er is also smart and will definitely be able to live a good life in the future. Dad The one I like the most is this young man from the Zhou family. The other young man is surnamed Li, and he is the grandson of Mr. Li, the Tongzhi of Dingzhou Prefecture. He is fifteen years old this year, half a year younger than Fuer. He also passed the imperial examination and is good-looking, has a good family background, and is well-mannered. If Fuer wants to live a comfortable life in the future, the young man from the Zhou family is better. If Fuer wants to find someone with a good family background and good looks, then find the young man from the Li family. However, if you find the young man from the Li family, it would be best to let Jiang Shi register you under her name. Dad has discussed this matter with Jiang Shi, and she agreed.
After hearing the conditions of these two people, Chen Afu felt that Chen Shiying was quite reliable. Not only did he not want to use her for marriage, but the people he found were from lower families, which was also considered to be sincere in planning for her. With her embarrassing status, only those with lower family backgrounds or those who relied on him for promotion would truly accept her.
However, she would not agree to it no matter how good the man was. She shook her head and said, "I still have a son, he won't marry, I want to find a son-in-law."
Chen Shiying advised, "As long as he is a good person, why do you have to insist on finding a son-in-law? As for Dabao, don't worry, Daddy will give you more dowry and all the money Dabao needs, and then let the young man recognize Dabao as his adopted son. With Daddy backing you up, neither of the two families will dare to make Dabao angry."
Chen Ahfu still shook his head and disagreed, saying, "Master Chen, you don't have to consider me. The young lady in your house is not much younger than me. Please consider her more."
Chen Shiying's old face turned red. His mother threw the face of the eldest girl in the mansion and the entire face of the Chen family to his grandmother's house.
He calmed himself down and said, "Your sister is much younger than you. Dad will take care of your problem, and it won't be too late to think about theirs later."
Chen Ahfu still shook his head and said, "Thank you for your concern, Master Chen. I will not consider either of them."
Chen Shiying looked at Chen Afu, who was pursing his lips and looking stubborn, and said, "Fuer is too willful..."
As he was speaking, a servant came to report that Lord Chu's chief attendant Chu Huai wanted to see Lord Chen.
Chu Huai came in, clasped his fists to Chen Afu, then bowed to Chen Shiying and said, "My master heard that Master Chen is here, so please go to Tangyuan to have a drink and chat."
Chen Shiying didn't want to see Chu Lingxuan. When he saw him, he would think of the stupid things his mother had done. Besides, Chu Lingxuan was too arrogant. Although the two families were far apart in family background, it was not appropriate to marry their children. But the status of the two was similar. If he wanted to chat or treat him to a drink, he should come here in person to treat him. Moreover, he came to ease the relationship with his daughter. They had only talked for a while and had not spent enough time together.
However, Chen Shiying always showed kindness and generosity, especially to Chu Lingxuan, a person he did not want to offend. So he complained in his heart, but did not show any displeasure on his face. He smiled and said, "I just learned that Lord Chu was in Tang Garden, and I was thinking of visiting him in the afternoon. Since Lord Chu invited me, I will talk to Fu'er for a few more words and then go to Tang Garden."
Chu Huai clasped his fists again and went outside to wait for him.
Chen Shiying pointed at the two brocade boxes and said to Chen Afu, "The purple box is a gift for your mother's headgear..."
Chen Ahfu quickly refused, "Master Chen, I have already accepted your gift on behalf of my mother. Please do not give her anything again. Last time I accepted your money on behalf of my mother, my mother has been complaining about me. If I accept this gift again, she will definitely ignore me."
Chen Shiying was stunned for a moment, then said in disappointment, "Alas, your mother always blames me. Well, let's talk about it later... If your mother doesn't want it, Fu'er will keep it. And the vermilion box is the headgear that your father gave you."
Chen Ahfu refused again, "Master Chen, please don't give me anything anymore. I have already accepted your 'kindness'."
Chen Shiying frowned and said, "Fuer, you are my biological daughter. Even if you are angry and don't call me dad, the blood relationship cannot be changed. People say that gifts from elders cannot be refused. If your father gives you something, you cannot refuse it."
Without waiting for Chen Afu to say anything, he walked out.
He left the gate of Fuyuan, stopped and looked towards the gate of Luyuan, then turned and walked towards Tangyuan. His steps were as heavy as a thousand pounds. He didn't want to see Chu Lingxuan at all, but in his heart he couldn't help but blame Chu Lingxuan for not understanding human nature.
In early February, his mother said she dreamed of his father and wanted to go to Baoguo Temple in Beijing to light a long-lasting lamp for his father. Chen Shiying could not refuse this reason. He wanted Jiang to accompany her, but his son was sick and Jiang could not leave. Of course, it did not go as the old lady wanted. She asked Tang and Chen Yuhui to accompany her, and only sent Lu Yi Niang and many servants and guards to accompany her. He also asked the old lady to stay in Baoguo Temple for only one day and one night, saying that he was afraid that she would encounter danger outside.
Who would have thought that it was such a coincidence that when Chen's mother went to Baoguo Temple, the second wife of Yong'an Marquis's Mansion, Mrs. Li, was also there. She said that she was offering incense and eating vegetarian food for three days in memory of the deceased old lady. The courtyard she lived in was right next to that of old lady Chen.
Mother Chen was very good at scheming. When she heard about the Yong'an Marquis' Mansion, she thought, isn't that Lord Chu Lingxuan's family? Lord Chu was young and promising, handsome, and from a noble family. Everyone in Dingzhou Prefecture knew him.
In the old lady's view, the Yong'an Marquis's Mansion was a noble family, a powerful clan, and had married a princess. If she could establish a good relationship with them, it would be of great benefit to her son's career. Moreover, she had been planning something, which was really a pillow for her when she fell asleep.
So, she immediately attached herself to him. Chen's mother had a skill, that is, when she met someone she wanted to curry favor with, she would be very humble and speak nice words.
What Chen's mother didn't know was that although Li was the second wife of the Yong'an Marquis's mansion, she was of low birth, had small eyes, was only the daughter of a sixth-rank official, and her husband was disabled at home, so no one in the aristocratic circle in the capital cared for her. It turned out that Li was in charge of the household affairs of the Chu mansion. She would appear on important occasions, and people had to perfunctorily deal with her. Since the third wife of Chu returned to Beijing and took over the household affairs of the mansion, no one cared to care for her.
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