Xiao Mochen had no intention of getting involved in Li Xinniang's marriage, although he also felt that the Wu family was not a good match. However, he simply looked down on the Wu family's status as merchants.
He felt that Li Xinniang should at least be given an official position.
What made Xiao Mochen unhappy was that Li Xinniang had angered Yan Qingqing because of the Wu family.
But since Li Xinniang was his aunt's biological daughter, he couldn't say anything.
Finally, Yan Qingqing specifically instructed Xiao Mochen to keep a close eye on that patch of white clover, as she had a great use for it.
Xiao Mochen readily agreed.
The Li family was bustling with activity all day, but Yan Qingqing never showed up.
In the evening, after Yuan Huiniang finished her work, she came to report the day's events to Yan Qingqing.
Of course, he emphasized the Wu family's betrothal gifts to put Yan Qingqing at ease.
Yan Qingqing simply nodded without offering any opinion.
After finishing her sentence, Yuan Huiniang said with some difficulty, "Mother, the Wu family said they will ask for my hand in marriage after the New Year. What do you think?"
Yan Qingqing snorted and said, "The Wu family didn't even show up, they only sent a steward. Now they're rushing to ask for a marriage proposal. Anyone who doesn't know better would think it's not a wedding but a way to bring good luck."
Unfortunately, Xinniang herself is hopeless, so I will pretend I don't have this daughter from now on.
Go ask her. If she's willing, I wouldn't mind if she married me right now.
Since the dowry was prepared in such a hurry, there was no time to prepare it. The betrothal gifts sent by the Wu family were to be given to her as dowry.
In addition, prepare another 50,000 taels of silver for her to keep as a dowry.
This can be considered a fulfillment of the mother-daughter relationship.
Yuan Huiniang quickly agreed.
She could tell that although Yan Qingqing was angry, she still felt sorry for Li Xinniang.
Although Yuan Huiniang has been neglecting the household affairs for some time, this 50,000 taels of silver is the limit that their family can afford right now.
A few days later, the mushroom cultivation workshop officially began harvesting.
Many restaurants in the county sent people to wait and see, hoping to try their luck.
As a result, the mushroom cultivation workshop's business was booming for a time.
Of course, in addition to local restaurants, some out-of-town merchants also wanted a piece of the pie.
However, they couldn't take these freshly picked mushrooms with them, so Li Xiang'an promised to save a batch for them after they were dried.
The Li family's businesses are all progressing well, and before they know it, it's Mid-Autumn Festival again.
This year, because Yan Qingqing and Li Xiangping both became officials, there has been an unusually large amount of social interaction.
Because Li Xinniang was engaged and would be getting married after the New Year, she handed over the power of managing the household and focused on embroidering her wedding dress.
Therefore, Yuan Huiniang still needed to manage these social interactions.
Yan Qingqing understood that she was having a hard time while pregnant, so she tried her best to share the burden herself.
Sometimes, Ruyi would be asked to help check the gift list.
Finally, the holiday is almost here, and all the busy work is finally over.
Yuan Huiniang also had some free time to go to Yan Qingqing's room to chat.
Yan Qingqing looked at her gently and said, "Hui Niang, you've really worked hard these past few days."
Yuan Huiniang smiled and said, "Mother, to be honest, I've been quite tired lately, but I'm happy."
Yan Qingqing glanced at her and asked, "Why is it that you're so touched by all this hardship?"
Yuan Huiniang nodded and said, "In previous years, our family was extremely poor, let alone receiving any gifts from others."
We can't even afford to give gifts when visiting relatives and friends.
Although our family's situation improved a lot last year, we were still busy with the mooncake business every day.
It's not even considered a prominent name in Chengyang County.
But ever since my mother and husband became officials, our family has been receiving so many gifts that we can't even count them all.
"This is all thanks to Mother."
In any case, Yuan Huiniang felt that without Yan Qingqing, her family wouldn't have the good life they have now, and that's the truth.
Ruyi chimed in with a laugh, "No wonder Madam likes our eldest young mistress the most. Now even the fourth young master is jealous of you."
Upon hearing Ruyi's words, Yuan Huiniang's eyes darted around as she said, "Ruyi, what you said has reminded me. I have three younger brothers. Let's not talk about my fourth brother for now, as he is still young. My second and third brothers are also approaching marriageable age."
I wanted my two younger brothers to get married quickly so they could help with the household chores, but I was also afraid that once they married into the family, my mother would dislike me because I was clumsy and tongue-tied.
Yan Qingqing watched Yuan Huiniang's mouth chatter incessantly, then chuckled and said, "I can't help it, I just love this kind of clumsy-tongued daughter-in-law."
Yuan Huiniang: ...
Should she be happy or sad about what her mother said?
But before she could react, Yan Qingqing sighed again.
Yuan Huiniang quickly asked, "Mother, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell anywhere?"
Yan Qingqing shook her head and said, "When you mentioned the third brother, I started to miss him. You said he's always been carefree, and he hasn't even sent a letter home in all this time."
Yuan Huiniang comforted him, saying, "Mother, you don't need to worry too much. Although Third Brother seems reckless, he is actually quite shrewd."
However, Yuan Huiniang knew that her words of comfort were somewhat powerless. Li Xiangjian had been gone for more than three months, yet he hadn't written a single letter home.
Not to mention Yan Qingqing, even she and Li Xiangping were privately worried about Li Xiangjian's safety, since he had gone to the battlefield.
At this moment, Li Xiangjian is on a mission thousands of miles away.
Because of his outstanding qualities, he has been successfully selected into the Flying Cloud Cavalry.
Li Xiangjian wouldn't easily reveal his abilities before he truly understood the situation in the military camp. This was something Yan Qingqing had taught him.
Moreover, there's a Ninth Prince living in their house, and he's certain that his mother will pull off something big for Xiao Mochen sooner or later.
He naturally had to stand firmly on the same side as them.
What does Xiao Mochen need most to succeed? It's definitely military power.
If he wants to gain power, he naturally needs to be promoted by his superiors.
To be promoted, you must first be valued and trusted by your current superiors if you are not being noticed by higher-level leaders.
However, the talents he displayed were no better than those of his superiors.
Simply put, you need to be capable, but your capabilities must never surpass those of your superiors.
Therefore, Li Xiangjian has been training in the military camp in a routine manner during this period.
Moreover, his performance was just right, slightly better than an ordinary soldier, but slightly weaker than a centurion.
He was assigned by his superiors to lead the raid on the enemy's supplies.
However, there was a high mountain separating the two armies, which was inaccessible to ordinary people.
Not wanting to reveal his skills, Li Xiangjian thought for a moment and picked up the hook and rope he carried with him.
He quickly made a climbing tool and, with the help of the rope, climbed to the top of the mountain in no time.
The people below were stunned, and they admired Li Xiangjian greatly.
Soon, flames soared into the enemy camp. Li Xiangjian led his men to hide in the forest and watched as the enemy's supplies were burned to ashes before retreating.
Li Xiangjian has made a contribution this time, and he will definitely be promoted to centurion when he returns.
Those who came with him this time, having witnessed his abilities, were naturally willing to follow him.
This laid the foundation for Li Xiangjian's team in the military.
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