Chapter 43 Chapter 43 Marriage

Chapter 43 Chapter 43 Marriage

"You met Cui Han when you were a child. Do you remember him?" the old ancestor teased Cheng Yiqiao.

Cheng Yiqiao looked uncomfortable and pouted, "I don't remember."

"The one I gave you on your seventh birthday, the crystal boat."

Cheng Yiqiao still had no impression. Cheng Yixin thought about it for a moment and suddenly understood, "It's him. I have seen him a few times. He is very beautiful and talented. I remember that he admired my father very much."

The old ancestor nodded, "Among the children of this generation of the Cui family, he is the most stable and outstanding. In terms of ability and reputation, he is comparable to your second brother."

The Cui family is also a large family with hundreds of years of history. In ancient times, it was even superior to the Cheng family. Although it has declined slightly in the past hundred years, it is still the family in the world that can best match the Cheng family.

So it’s not surprising that the ancestor took a liking to the Cui family.

"When he won the first place in the imperial examination, he was about the same age as your father was. He was a brilliant and talented man. He has been serving in other places for several years and just returned to Beijing not long ago. You should meet him when you have time and see if you like him."

At this time, Cheng Yian suddenly interrupted, "Grandma, what is the character of this Mr. Cui?"

The old man turned his gaze to look at her and said thoughtfully, "I have inquired about him. He is very good at dealing with people. People say that he has the demeanor of your father when he was young."

Cheng Yian pretended to be proud and looked disdainful, "Really? Not everyone can be compared to Daddy, but don't be a person who looks good on the outside but is actually bad on the inside. After all, it's a matter of a lifetime, so Grandma should keep an eye on it for my sister."

The old ancestor sighed, "Who says it's not true? We privately sent people to the Cui family's house to inquire. He has been very clean and self-disciplined. He has not had a concubine for more than 20 years, and he doesn't ask maids to serve him. As for his reputation in office, it is very good. But you are right. Some people can only be judged by their appearance, not their heart. Your father has to consider it carefully."

Finally, a hole was torn in the perfect shell.

Cheng Yian asked again, "Grandma, besides the Cui family, which other families would like to marry my second sister?"

The old ancestor counted them carefully, "There is also the eldest son Wei Shuting of the Chengnan Marquisate, and the young master Meng Ruchuan of the Sichuan Governor's Mansion..."

Meng Ruchuan, the son of the Sichuan Governor?

Cheng Yian was shocked.

She is familiar with this person.

In her previous life, she had dealt with the Governor of Sichuan. It was probably because her father and second brother secretly wrote letters to the Governor's Mansion. The Governor and his wife of Sichuan took great care of her. The Governor's wife even regretted not being able to marry her to her son.

Moreover, the son of the governor's mansion is a handsome and elegant young man who values ​​loyalty very much.

It’s a pity that home is too far away, and my second sister will definitely dislike it.

Of course, Cheng Yian had no intention of being a matchmaker, but it was not impossible to take this opportunity to sever the marriage tie with Cui Han.

At present, the old ancestor is very satisfied with Cui Han. If she rushes in, she may be questioned and thought that she wants to ruin her second sister's good marriage and can't bear to see her succeed. She has to start from other places.

Cheng Yiqiao was annoyed when she saw that they were talking so convincingly that it seemed like she had decided on Cui Han.

"Grandma just hates me and wants to marry me off. Humph, it's getting late. I won't talk to you anymore."

She tucked her hands in, knelt down and saluted, then left the ancestor's warm room angrily.

The old man pointed at her back and said to Cheng Yixin with a smile, "You're embarrassed..."

Seeing this, Cheng Yian confessed his guilt to the old ancestor, followed Cheng Yiqiao out, and called her to the gate of her yard.

"Second sister."

Seeing that she didn't go back to her room, Cheng Yiqiao asked in a teasing tone, "Why haven't you gone home yet? It's cold in the night, don't be careful not to freeze yourself."

Cheng Yian came forward holding Rulan's hand and said with a smile,

"I've been sleeping too much these past few days, and I can't sleep right now, so I just want to talk to my sister for a while."

Cheng Yiqiao quickly pulled her in and went into the warm room in the east room together.

The two sisters snuggled together in their arms, leaning on the kang and talking.

Cheng Yiqiao's house was filled with crystal decorations, and the antiques on the display cabinets were even more dazzling. For example, she liked the jade Guanyin very much, and bought one in different materials and colors.

Cheng Yian was amazed, "Second sister is such a good collector."

Cheng Yiqiao

She gave her a smug look and said, "Actually, I'm not completely unsuccessful. For many years, I've gone to the market several times a month to buy some clothes and jewelry, but I've found that money is becoming less and less valuable." She pointed to one of the white jade Guanyin statues.

"See the white jade Guanyin in the middle of the third compartment? I bought it ten years ago for only five hundred taels of silver. Look at the green jade Guanyin below it. I bought it two years ago and spent a full fifteen hundred taels of silver on it. In the antique business, green jade is not as good as white jade. If I sell my white jade Guanyin now, it will be worth at least two thousand taels of silver because it has the luster of mutton-fat jade. So my room full of treasures is worth a lot of money if we really count it as property."

Cheng Yian deeply believed this, especially after the chaos in the Jin Dynasty in his previous life, money became even less valuable.

It is a pity that such a wealth of treasures turned into scorched earth in the previous life.

Cheng Yian seemed to be filled with sadness.

After chatting with her for a while, I asked her about the business.

"Sister, do you have any idea about the three candidates today?"

Cheng Yiqiao felt embarrassed in front of the ancestors, but became much more serious when he was in front of his sister in private.

"I have no impression of Cui Han. With such a character and background, he is indeed a good choice." Marriage is all about matching up, and the Cui family is considered suitable. "As for that guy from the Sichuan Governor's Mansion..." Cheng Yiqiao shook his head.

"If you ask me to marry to Yizhou, I would rather not marry. I don't want to be so far away from my father."

"As for Wei Shuting..." Cheng Yiqiao paused and didn't say anything else.

She had played polo with Wei Shuting several times, and she had caught Wei Shuting looking at her intentionally or unintentionally several times. She guessed that he had some feelings for her, but Wei Shuting was Yao Yujun's cousin, and because of this, Cheng Yiqiao didn't like him very much.

When Cheng Yian noticed her strange tone, he knew there might be something going on between her and Wei Shuting.

"No matter what your origin or family background is, character is the most important thing in life. A man with good character can be respected even if he is in a low position. As for those men who always talk about love, they will pamper you to the sky when they admire you, but will abandon you with one hand when they don't admire you. They are the most unreliable. Therefore, my second sister must find a man with good character."

Cheng Yiqiao smiled bitterly, "We are both married blindly, and the so-called character is just hearsay. If we don't live together, who knows whether we are marrying a human being or a beast? Some people may not reveal their true colors even in front of their parents."

That's exactly the truth.

Cui Han was a flawless gentleman in his previous life, but who would have known that beneath his gentle appearance was hiding a wolfish ambition.

Cheng Yian gave her some advice, "As the saying goes, a man's character is determined by his performance on the polo field. Second sister, why don't you use the polo match to test the character of these men?"

Cheng Yian thought that chewing a few irrelevant itchy tongue buds would not shake Cui Han, so she had to severely undermine Cui Han's confidence in public, causing his reputation to plummet so that he would not dare to plot against the Cheng family again. The more people there were at a polo match and the more chaotic the scene, the greater her chance of getting Cui Han out.

Cheng Yiqiao stood up and laughed, "That's too much. It makes me look arrogant and pretentious. Besides, people may not be willing to let me choose them."

Cheng Yian said, "Some people say that marriage is a woman's second life. It is never too cautious. It is not worth sacrificing your whole life for a little worldly opinion."

Cheng Yiqiao was silent for a moment, unable to make up his mind.

"Let's talk about it later. We haven't even started yet."

Cheng Yian stopped at that point.

Before leaving, Cheng Yiqiao sighed, "Hey, where can I find a husband like my father..."

Cheng Yian smiled but said nothing.

Lu Xusheng did not come that night, but Sister-in-law Ming came to Cheng's house with several matters to ask for her instructions.

I also told her about the past few days' income and expenditure.

"Grandma was away for a few days, but the Lu family's silk estate in Jiangnan did send several thousand taels of silver. Second Master asked Butler Hang to take care of this..."

Cheng Yian was very happy. "So there are already more than 40,000 taels in the account. We can finally get through the New Year."

She also gave Cheng Yian a list of favors that needed to be taken care of in various mansions. Cheng Yian made some adjustments based on their closeness and preferences and let her go back.

On the evening of the third day, the Cheng family had indeed put Cheng Yiqiao's marriage on the agenda.

After the meal, the old man asked Cheng Mingyu to stay and talked about the marriage proposal.

"The day after tomorrow, on the eighth day of the lunar calendar, the Cui family said they would come to pay their respects. They are sincere enough to send the young man to our house to meet him. I think it would be better to let the two children meet each other on this day. If they like each other, we can get married."

Cheng Mingyu looked at his second daughter who was sitting there in a trance, "Qiao'er, are you willing to meet Cui Han?"

Cheng Yiqiao's last fiancé was her second aunt's cousin, which was her mother's dying wish. The two children were childhood sweethearts, and Cheng Yiqiao had feelings for him. The child suddenly died of illness, and Cheng Yiqiao was heartbroken for a while and became discouraged about getting married.

Therefore, Cheng Mingyu wanted to let Cheng Yiqiao decide whether to get married or not and who to marry.

Cheng Yiqiao said she would not get married, but it was impossible for her to really not get married. She would be twenty after the Chinese New Year, and her younger sisters would be married. She could no longer stay at home. "Let's meet him... But how should I meet him? Will my father agree to my request?"

Cheng Mingyu was a little surprised, "What do you want to see?"

Cheng Yiqiao thought about it and felt that Cheng Yian's method was good, so he said, "I don't know Cui Han's background. Meeting him once is just to see his appearance and listen to his talk. I can't see through his character. After all, it's not just the Cui family that is proposing marriage. Aren't there also the Wei family and the Meng family? I want to hold a polo match to secretly see his character and choose the one I like."

Before Cheng Mingyu could say anything, the old ancestor frowned and said, "Child, this makes our daughter look unstable. I'm afraid it's not appropriate. Even the princess doesn't choose like this. If you don't like the Cui family, we can choose another family. There's no need to make such a big fuss."

Cheng Yiqiao stood up and moved to the old lady's side, hugged her arm and said, "I know I was a little too arrogant, but compared to that little bit of fame, I want to use the competition to find a man with a similar temperament."

The old ancestor looked at Cheng Mingyu, who pondered in silence.

Cheng Yixin chose her own marriage. He Qingyun was taught by him. The two children knew each other since childhood and fell in love with each other. The two families knew each other well. He Qingyun was indeed very good to Xin'er. Today, he has secured a fifth-rank academician position for He Qingyun. He Qingyun was a Jinshi and his painting skills were highly appreciated by the emperor. After spending a few years in the Hanlin Academy, he would have the opportunity to serve as an official in one of the six ministries in the future. His eldest daughter would be guaranteed a life of wealth and honor.

An An was wronged in this regard. Her marriage with Lu Xusheng was forced by the emperor, the fourth lady begged her, and he secretly planned it and did not give her the chance to choose. Fortunately, she and Lu Xusheng seem to be getting along well now.

When it comes to Cheng Yiqiao, why not let her choose by herself if she has the chance?

Cheng Mingyu decided to love his daughter again.

"become."

He made the final decision, and the ancestors had no choice but to say nothing.

"Well, we can let down thousands of families but not our own." The happiness of children is still the most important.

Cheng Yiqiao was very happy, and jumped down to hug Cheng Yian, "Anan, we can play polo again."

After all, Cheng Yian was the mistress of the house and it was impossible for her to live in the Cheng family for long, so she was taken back by Lu Xusheng that night.

After taking a bath, changing clothes and going to bed, Cheng Yian told Lu Xusheng about the Cui family's affairs, and Lu Xusheng then remembered the story behind it.

"Cui Han's focus on the Cheng family is not entirely because he wants to replace the Cheng family. There is also a personal grudge involved."

This was what he heard from his mother when he returned to Beijing after the Cui family fell into decline in his previous life.

Cheng Yian was shocked, "What private grudge? Tell me quickly?"

Lu Xusheng drew down the curtains and lay down beside her.

"Cui Han's mother was born in the Li family of Zhao County, which is adjacent to Hongnong. When your father was young, he was famous all over the world, and Li had admired him for a long time. However, she did not dare to express it because of the eldest princess. When the eldest princess failed to force a marriage, Li wanted to ask the elders to discuss the marriage with your father, but unfortunately, the Zheng family got there first, and Li was resentful about it."

"Later, she married the head of the Cui family and gave birth to Cui Han. Since she was young, she took your father as her role model and made demands on Cui Han in everything. When Cui Han became an adult, she forced Cui Han to marry your father's daughter."

Cheng Yian was shocked on the spot.

Therefore, Mr. Cui's sneaking into his daughter-in-law's room might not be a way to vent his hatred towards his father.

"But if my father knew about this, he would never marry my second sister to the Cui family."

Seeing that her hands and feet were cold, Lu Xusheng held her in his arms.

"Your father didn't know about this at all. This matter has always been Mrs. Cui's secret until her husband in the previous life was killed, the Cui family's reputation was infamous, and her son's future was ruined. Under multiple blows, she burned herself to death and then told the story. The Wang family married their daughter to the second branch of the Cui family at that time and witnessed the incident with their own eyes. They then quietly told my mother, and my mother told me."

Cheng Yian sighed and didn't say anything for a long time.

"No matter what, I'm going to teach Cui Han a lesson!"

"Can I help you?"

"Can you come over on the day of the polo match?"

"I have to go to Xuanfu the day after tomorrow. I may not be free. Does it have to be the day after tomorrow?"

Cheng Yian said, "It's okay, I can get help from Qiu Qing.

. "

It was impossible for Cheng Yiqiao to really invite those young masters with great fanfare. Instead, he planned to hold a polo match at the Xuyuan Polo Field north of Chengjiayuan under the pretext of competing with Shi Feiyan.

Upon hearing the news, the Cui family took action and immediately sent their son over.

The Governor of Sichuan, who returned to Beijing to report on his work, also kicked his son out.

Wei Shuting, the eldest son of Chengnan Marquis's Mansion, was familiar with the Shi family, and Shi Feiyan invited him through her brother Shi Feiyue.

On the eighth day of the first lunar month, several people gathered at Xu Garden.

Cheng Yian also got on the car early, and came to the outside of the polo field with several powerful maids and servants, as well as five or six guards including Qiu Qing.

And just outside the polo field at the parking lot, I saw the famous Cui Han.

Looking coldly at the young master of the Cui family being surrounded by so many stars, she finally understood why her second sister in her previous life chose him?

I saw that young man in a moon-white robe, with a handsome face and a clear and dignified demeanor. His temperament was 70% similar to that of my father Cheng Mingyu.

Cheng Yiqiao has been clamoring to find a husband like her father. Wouldn't she be confused when she saw Cui Han?

What a hypocritical gentleman! Today she will make him lose face and never harm girls again.

Cheng Yian gently lifted a corner of the car curtain, pointed at Cui Han in the distance and told Qiu Qing,

"Today, you have to think of a way to make Cui Han look ridiculous in public."

Let’s break up this marriage first, and then deal with this mess when we have time.

Qiu Qing, who was driving the car, held the reins and looked at Cui Han from a distance. "Young Madam, please tell me what kind of embarrassment this is going to be?"

Cheng Yian said bitterly, "It's the kind of person who can no longer face people."

Qiu Qing used to be a reckless guy in the military camp. Having grown up among men, what bad things had he not done?

He whistled, glanced at Cui Han, pulled the corners of his lips and smiled, "Okay, I guarantee you'll be satisfied!"