Chapter 144 Why not wait for the two gentlemen to come to Yueqing and discuss it later?
When Su Jianrong heard this, he was stunned.
This is not right!
It was the Yuan family who had gone to Yandang to meet their father-in-law first, and after receiving his approval, they returned to inform him that they wanted to see Ying'er. That was why he sent someone to the capital to bring her back.
But now, why did the Rong family allow the Du family to propose marriage? Could it be that the Rong family did this on their own initiative?
It was clearly agreed before that Ying'er's marriage had to be approved by the Rong family, but isn't this "approval" a bit too frequent?
His mind was in a mess for a moment. But no matter what, whether it was Rong or Madam Yuan, he could not neglect them.
He immediately ordered, "Go and tell the two ladies to wait in the front hall. I will greet them right away."
After hearing what the servant had said, Rong was finally helped down the carriage by Qingyun. She had originally thought that no matter when the Yuan family would meet Ying'er, she would definitely make the proposal public before then. But she was still a step too late. The Du and Yuan families bumped into each other right in front of the Su residence.
Mrs. Yuan, who was sitting in the carriage, was slightly taken aback when she heard the matchmaker say, "I've been ordered to propose marriage on behalf of the Du family in Beijing." She was a little confused. Today was the day she and the Su family had agreed to meet, so why would someone else come to propose marriage at the same time?
The Du family in the capital?
Madam Yuan thought, isn't this Ruolan's in-laws? Yesterday, at the coming-of-age ceremony, it was Ruolan, Ying'er's aunt, who presided over the hairpin ceremony. Because the coming-of-age ceremony was so important, she and Ruolan were reunited after a long separation, but couldn't discuss the details. She had planned to meet at Su's house after their visit, but unexpectedly, they met at Su's house the next day.
After pondering for a moment, Mrs. Yuan felt a little uneasy.
The Du family was where Ying'er lived in the capital. So, did Ying'er come to the capital specifically to marry into the Du family? If so, why did Mr. Rong never mention this? And why did the Su family agree to let the Yuan family come to see her?
She knew Mr. Rong's character, but what about the Su family? Thinking of Ying'er having lived in Yandang for ten years, Mrs. Yuan thought to herself that there must be many complicated family affairs between the Su and Rong families.
Thinking of this, Madam Yuan couldn't help but sigh. No wonder Song'er had written so hastily on the eve of the Spring Examination. He must have known someone was vying for him, so he wanted to strike first. Her child had always been willful, but this time, he'd almost tricked her, his mother, into it. Fortunately, she'd only said "see each other" from beginning to end, never mentioning "proposing marriage." That way, if anything went wrong, she'd have some wiggle room.
She had always liked the little girl Ying'er, but her Yuan family was not yet at the point of competing with others for a daughter-in-law.
After she made up her mind, she asked the maid in the carriage to lift the curtain and help her get out.
"Mrs. Yuan."
When Rong saw Madam Yuan get out of the carriage, she stepped forward to greet her. She had not wanted to meet Madam Yuan, but now that she had met her by chance, she had no scruples and calmly stepped forward to greet her.
"It's Ruolan!" Madam Yuan smiled, as if she had just spotted Rong. "Look at me. I said yesterday I'd change my name to Madam Du, and now I've forgotten it in just one day."
Rong naturally understood what Madam Yuan meant. When they met again at the coming-of-age ceremony yesterday, no one mentioned coming to the Su residence again today.
As Su Ying's aunt, Mrs. Yuan's love for Ying'er was beyond words, and she was naturally grateful and pleased. But as Mrs. Du, she wanted to find her nephew the man of his dreams.
Because of different identities, the things you do must be different.
So, she nodded slightly and said calmly, "Madam Yuan, it doesn't matter if you can't change this for the time being. But today, I am here as a member of the Du family, to formally propose marriage to the Su Mansion on behalf of my nephew."
Although the words are light, the attitude is clear.
After hearing this, Mrs. Yuan raised her eyebrows slightly, then smiled and nodded, as if she had just heard something very ordinary, without responding at all.
......
When Su Jianrong entered, he saw Rong and Madam Yuan sitting in the hall, one on each side. He suddenly realized a huge oversight. One of the two families was formally proposing marriage, while the other was having a pre-arranged visit. Logically, they should have their own reception halls, so how could they sit together?
Just now, he was so focused on not neglecting the guests that he had forgotten about this. Now that both of them were seated, he, as the host, was at a loss as to where to start.
But now that things had come to this, there was no point in regretting it. Fortunately, he was used to socializing, so he just followed the situation and agreed from left to right.
Rong had just asked Madam Yuan to sit on the left as a sign of respect, and Madam Yuan had not refused. Therefore, Su Jianrong bowed to Madam Yuan first.
Mrs. Yuan smiled and returned the greeting, but said nothing, as if waiting to see how Su Jianrong would handle this situation.
After Su Jianrong bowed, he turned to Rong. Rong didn't hide her feelings and said frankly, "I'm here today in the name of the Second Madam of the Du family in the capital, proposing marriage on behalf of my nephew."
As she spoke, she winked at the matchmaker beside her.
The matchmaker understood and stepped forward, smiling brightly as she took out the gift list and a piece of paper, presented them with both hands, and said, "Mr. Du is currently in Beijing, awaiting the results of the Spring Examination. If he receives good news, he will choose a day to come and pay his respects in person."
The matchmaker did not directly praise Du Heng, nor did she mention his status and achievements, nor did she talk about other things, but she was also not secretive. This is the proper manner when proposing a marriage, and being a little reserved is the only way to appear decent.
Su Jianrong took the gift list and had already made up his mind. He was just going to say a few polite words to get it over with, but after a quick glance, he suddenly had another idea.
Although it was a marriage proposal, the ceremony was almost a lavish gift. Other families would only offer colorful silks and perfumes, but the Du family not only gave silks and satins, the four treasures of the study, but also two boxes of gold, silver and jade ornaments.
After all, he has been making a living for many years, so Su Jianrong couldn't help but start calculating in his mind.
If the Du family had not done this, he would have been willing to climb the big tree of the Yuan family. Relying on the Yuan family's reputation, his future livelihood would have been much smoother.
But there are disadvantages, too, such as dowry.
The Yuan and Su families were both in Yueqing. He, a little-known Su, was marrying the second-brother of the Yuan family, a top scholar. How much dowry would he need to prepare to maintain his dignity and avoid being gossiped about behind his back? Even if he took out all his Su family fortune, it would still be barely acceptable in the eyes of others.
As for the Du family, when Rong married and moved to the capital, Ying'er had already been taken to Yandang. He knew of the Du family, but that was all he knew. He simply felt that any family in the capital couldn't be a nameless one, especially since it was said that the marriage had been arranged when his father-in-law was an official there. This showed that the Du family was no ordinary family, just not as wealthy as the Yuan family.
Su Jianrong has been using Ying'er to get benefits from the Rong family over the years. If Ying'er really marries into the Yuan family, she will probably only get the glory of the Yuan family, but what about the Du family?
Su Jianrong's eyes fell on the long list of gifts again. What's more, the Du family also has the Rong family. Maybe he can get some benefits as before, and he doesn't have to worry about the dowry. Anyway, whether it is a lot or a little on the boat to Beijing has nothing to do with him.
He unconsciously looked at the document again, which contained Du Heng's birth date and achievements. The word "Jieyuan" made Su Jianrong's eyelids twitch slightly. He was actually on par with the young master of the Yuan family.
When he thought of this, his original resolute determination softened a little.
After some deliberation, he finally made up his mind: "Ying'er is the apple of my eye. As a father, how can I be careless about such an important matter?"
At this point, Su Jianrong paused, his eyes wandering over the two ladies' faces, and he said with a smile, "Why not wait for the two gentlemen to come to Yueqing in person, and then we can discuss it later."
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