Chapter 436: Seeking a Job

Xie Wan and Miao Anping were stunned.

Miao Anping even lost his voice and said, "Then, what should we do?"

The guard sighed, "If the king wants his subject to die, the subject must die. If the father wants his son to die, the son must die. No matter how powerful our prince is outside, he must abide by his duties as a child in front of the Duke. At most, he can just lose his temper like this, what else can he do?"

Miao Anping was overjoyed and pulled Jie Wan home.

Xie Wan was a little hesitant.

The reason why he was willing to officiate the Miao family's wedding was that he hoped to have a say with Song Mo, the son-in-law of Dou's family in Beilou. What did the second master of the Duke of Ying have to do with him? Now the Xiao Ding hadn't even started, but Song Mo was angry and ran away. Was there any need for him to go to the Miao family?

But Wanping County is only this big, and Miao Anping is in a hurry. The coachman thought that the Miao family was now connected to the Duke of Ying's Mansion, so he did not dare to neglect him. When Jie Wan came to his senses, the sedan chair had stopped at the gate of the Miao Mansion.

He had no choice but to get off the carriage.

Miao Ansu's uncle, father and uncle all came out to greet him.

Xie Wan walked into the gate with a proud look on his face.

Miao Anping pulled his father behind a pomegranate tree.

"Dad, let me tell you, I just met the prince of the Duke of Yingguo." He hurriedly told Miao's father what happened. "It can be seen that Song Yantang is a softie, and he is not here today. What do you think, can we discuss the amount of the betrothal gift?"

Miao's father's heart was pounding, and he thought his son's suggestion was very feasible.

He immediately went to discuss the matter with Miao Ansu's uncle.

Miao Ansu's uncle pondered for a long time and said, "A horse cannot grow fat without night grass, and a man cannot become rich without sudden wealth. Let's give it a try first, and we'll talk about it later if it doesn't work."

Miao's father and Miao Anping nodded continuously.

The three of them went to the hall.

After drinking a cup of tea with Jie Wan, the person appointed by the Duke of Ying's Mansion arrived.

The matchmaker for the Song family was a chief clerk named Qiao Lu from the Five Military Commandery and a classmate of Song Yichun named Li Wen when he was taking the imperial examination.

When talking about this incident, Song Yichun was filled with resentment.

He originally wanted to ask the third prince-in-law to be the officiant, but unexpectedly, the third prince-in-law was unwilling to take over because he had never been the officiant before. He had no choice but to do the next best thing and ask Anlu Hou to come forward. He never thought that Anlu Hou still resented Song Mo for wearing small shoes for him. Not only did he not invite the person, he also listened to Anlu Hou's sarcastic remarks at the Anlu Hou Mansion. . He was so angry that he jumped around the house and scolded Song Mo fiercely. He then thought of his uncle Lu Fuli, but Lu Fuli argued that he was old, lacked energy and couldn't stand the hustle and bustle, so he asked him to hire someone younger.

This went on for a long time and they wasted time, so they had to hastily find one of their subordinates and a colleague with whom they had some contact to be the master of ceremonies.

Xie Wan looked at the two men with his eyes twitching.

After all, I am a Jinshi who has passed the imperial examinations twice. Do I have to drink at the same table with clerks and scholars?

He held his forehead and said it was all wind blowing, pushed the matter onto the county magistrate Ma Hao, then got into his sedan and drove away.

Wanping County was a county in the capital, and the county magistrate was also a Jinshi who passed the imperial examinations twice.

Ma Hao was secretly thankful that he was just accompanying a guest today, but he didn't expect that he would become the main guest in the blink of an eye. His expression suddenly changed, and he sat in the east guest room drinking tea and chatting, refusing to go out for social events.

The Miao family had no choice but to invite the two matchmakers from the Song family to sit in the west chamber, where the two well-off people from both sides exchanged greetings and presented the engagement gifts.

A red gold necklace inlaid with many gems, ruby ​​earrings the size of lotus seeds, a heavy red gold bracelet with silk patterns, and a yellow horseshoe ring.

When Miao's mother saw these jewellery, her eyes narrowed into slits with smile.

The Song family's most blessed person invited Mrs. Song San.

She put the necklace, earrings, bracelet and ring on Miao Ansu.

There was a hint of smile in Miao Ansu's eyes. With the help of the maid, he stood up and kowtowed to Mrs. Song San.

Mrs. Song San took two gold-plated handkerchiefs as a gift, and then the accompanying servants carried gifts for each branch of the Miao family.

The engagement ceremony is complete.

The eldest aunt of the Miao family and Mrs. Song went to the main hall to discuss the betrothal money, dowry and wedding date.

Miao Ansu's personal maid rushed in and said with a smile: "Madam, Miss, I have seen clearly that the Song family sent tea and wine. The fourth master said that the tea is the top-grade West Lake Longjing and the wine is the authentic Shaanxi Chou wine."

Miao Ansu smiled.

Miao's mother glanced at her daughter and said angrily, "Are you satisfied now?"

Miao Ansu pulled her mother's sleeve and acted coquettishly.

In the main room, Mrs. Song San's face turned as cold as ice.

She lowered her head and drank a sip of tea, then slowly put down the teacup. Then she said, "As the saying goes, a man picks a woman. A betrothal gift of thirty-six taels and a betrothal gift of ten thousand taels of silver are not too much for our Duke of Ying. When the prince got married, the betrothal gift of one hundred and twenty-four taels cost twenty thousand taels of silver. However, the prince's wife's family sent back a betrothal gift of one hundred and twenty-six taels, of which two taels were all silver notes of ten taels each, a total of forty thousand taels, and the total price exceeded one hundred thousand taels. According to this amount, your mansion should at least prepare... a dowry of thirty thousand taels of silver."

The other party remained silent.

Is he really angry?

Mrs. Song San looked up, but saw the lucky person of the Miao family - the eldest aunt of the Miao family, looking at her with her mouth wide open as if it could swallow a toad.

She couldn't help but sneer in her heart.

The dowry is less than three thousand taels of silver, but you want a betrothal gift of ten thousand taels of silver. How can it be such a good thing?

When she married into the Song family, the betrothal gift was no more than two thousand taels of silver.

If it weren't for the intervention of the nobles in the palace, the Miao family wouldn't even be qualified to be the carrier of the Song family's shoes, and they still wanted to be her nephew's wife? Dream on!

Thinking of this, she suddenly felt that Dou Zhao had become very close to her.

When Dou Zhao first came, the reward for the maids was eight cents of silver each. Her daughter alone received eight of them. Moreover, because her daughter was Song Mo's cousin, the Dou family also gave her another one thousand two taels of silver as a reward.

Can the Miao family afford it?

No wonder my sister-in-law refused to come. It turned out that she had known for a long time that the Miao family was a shameless and poor family.

Mrs. Song San sighed in her heart.

The Duke of Yingguo's family is wealthy and powerful, and it's not that they can't come up with the 12,000 taels of silver. But if the Song family pays a betrothal gift of 12,000 taels of silver, but the bride only comes with a dowry of 3,000 taels of silver, the Song family can't afford to lose face!

My sister-in-law is really smart!

I have nothing to do with this matter.

I have to be more careful in the future.

The Miao family's eldest aunt really didn't know what to say.

Things had completely developed to the point where she was at a loss as to what to do.

Would anyone spend 100,000 taels of silver to marry off their daughter?

One hundred thousand taels, how much land can you buy?

Why don't you leave this money for your sons and grandchildren, but let your daughter take it to someone else's family?

Is the Song family trying to trick her?

The thought flashed through her mind, and she calmed down and said with a smile: "We have no right to interfere with what other families do. Madam said it well, one man chooses the other, and the other woman chooses the other. If the Song family pays 10,000 taels of silver as a betrothal gift, we will give the girl 5,000 taels of silver as a dowry. This is all based on considerations, and it is not up to you or me to decide."

"That's right." Mrs. Song San stroked her temples and said, "I understand your intention. I will tell the Duke when I return. What about the wedding date?"

The eldest aunt of the Miao family laughed and said, "We haven't even decided on the betrothal gift, so how can we set a wedding date?"

Mrs. Song San snorted in her heart.

It looks like there's no way this marriage can be discussed today.

I'm afraid I'll have to work hard on this in the future.

She was not one to settle things peacefully. She thought that this marriage was a gift, so did the Miao family dare to break off the engagement?

Since they have taken Joe, let them take it.

When the emperor asks about it, will he still side with the Miao family?

Even if no one asked about it, Song Han is a boy, even if it takes three to five years, he will still have someone to warm his bed, maybe even a son or a daughter. If there is any hurry, it will be the Miao family, who will even beg the Song family to marry him as soon as possible.

It depends on whose look you choose when the time comes!

Mrs. Song San simply stood up and said goodbye: "In that case, I will go back home first. I will come to visit my mother-in-law again after your family makes a decision."

The implication is that the Song family will only offer a betrothal gift of five thousand taels of silver, and it is up to you to agree or not.

The eldest aunt of the Miao family just stood there in a daze.

What does the Song family mean by this?

Do you still want to disobey my order?

Aren’t they afraid of the emperor’s blame?

She couldn't help but say, "This marriage was arranged by a noble in the palace."

Mrs. Song San chuckled, with undisguised sarcasm in her eyes and eyebrows: "Our Duke went to the palace to see the Emperor yesterday. The marriage didn't go through, so he just needs to explain it to the Emperor. Aunt Miao doesn't have to worry." After saying that, she turned around and walked out.

Mrs. Miao, who was hiding behind the door and eavesdropping in the corner, became anxious.

The Song family can enter the palace at any time and see the emperor at any time; the Miao family has never seen the emperor, let alone the crown prince. If the Song family accuses the Miao family of something inappropriate in front of the emperor, the Miao family will not even have a chance to defend themselves. Wouldn't they be wronged?

She hurriedly came out from behind the door with a smile, calling out to Mrs. Song San: "The banquet outside is already set, waiting for you to take a seat so that the feast can begin." As she spoke, she took two steps forward and took Mrs. Song San's arm, saying softly, "Several of our family's elders have already accompanied the two matchmakers from your mansion to the table, and it's time for us to go over too."

There are still people from the Song family who came with Third Madam Song to make a small engagement. Third Madam Song can't just ignore these people and leave on her own, right?

Mrs. Miao looked at Mrs. Song with a smile.

Mrs. Song raised her eyebrows without comment, and went to the female seat accompanied by Mrs. Miao.

Miao's mother couldn't wait to pull the eldest aunt of the Miao family and whispered, "What's wrong?"

The eldest aunt of the Miao family had a gloomy face and said, "The Song family is only willing to pay a betrothal gift of 5,000 taels of silver." Then she told Miao's mother what Mrs. Song San said about the wedding of Song Mo and Dou Zhao, and said, "Tell me, is this true or false? If it is true, then it is troublesome. How can our family afford such a large dowry? If An Su marries, won't she be suppressed by the Crown Prince's wife and unable to move!"

Miao's mother was speechless.

"Is it true?" She hurriedly went to find Miao's father, "I need to discuss this with her father."

The eldest aunt of the Miao family shook her head and went to sit at the table.

After hearing what Miao's mother said, Miao's father couldn't help but feel worried.

Miao Anping, who had come to find Miao's father to accompany the guests, couldn't help but chuckle and said, "Look how worried you are. How difficult is this?"