Just as Yang Jiyan was about to speak, Madam Shen beside her asked with a smile, "What are you sisters whispering about?"
Yang Jiyan stopped talking and replied, "I asked Sister Wan what fun things there are in Beijing."
She looked at Madam Yang and said coquettishly, "Mother, please talk to my aunt. I want to go for a walk in the garden with Sister Wan."
Madam Yang nodded and said, "Go ahead."
Yang Jiyan couldn't wait to take Shen Wan's hand and drag her outside.
Mrs. Shen smiled as she watched the two of them leave and said, "They haven't been together for so many years, but they are still so close."
"Yes, he is just as good as we were back then." Madam Yang took over the conversation and said with a smile, "I think the only son of the Zhou family, the Shaoqing of the Imperial Household Department, mentioned in your letter a few days ago, is very good. He has just reached the age of twenty and is three years older than Sister Yan. They are a perfect match in age. I only have one daughter, Sister Yan, and I love her too much. She has developed a proud character. I dare not expect her to be from a family that is too good. I am afraid that she will be bullied."
Madam Shen smiled and said, "We old sisters are thinking alike. I also like the Zhou family. Although the family is not high, it is still a fourth-rank official. The Imperial Household Department is in charge of the government orders for herding horses. It does not interfere with the complicated affairs of the court, and there will not be any big chaos. If Yan Jieer marries into the Zhou family, she will not have the troubles of dirty sisters-in-law. When Brother Yang is appointed, it is possible that his official position will be higher than that of the Zhou family. In this way, the Zhou family will not dare to treat Yan Jieer badly."
"Your words really hit the nail on the head." Madam Yang took a sip of tea and sighed, "There aren't many outstanding families in Qingzhou. Getting married is a lifelong event for this girl. I'm afraid that I might accidentally wrong Sister Yan. Seeing that she's getting older, I can't help but feel a little anxious."
She lowered her voice and said to Madam Shen, "You don't know, a few days ago a female doctor came to my house to see me. Her brother happened to be taking the Qingzhou provincial examination. I don't know how Sister Yan ran into him. She seemed to be possessed by a ghost and insisted on marrying that scholar."
"Is there such a thing?" Madam Shen suddenly remembered that a few days ago, Shen Wan asked her father to accept a scholar from Qingzhou as a student. Thinking of Madam Yang's words, she suddenly understood something. It seemed that it was also related to Sister Yan.
"The scholar was quite capable and won the first place in the Qingzhou provincial examination. Yan Jie'er's father thought that the scholar was a promising talent and agreed to the marriage after being pestered by Yan Jie'er," said Mrs. Yang.
Mrs. Shen was a little surprised. She thought that the marriage must not have been successful, otherwise Sister Hui would not have mentioned the Zhou family just now. She asked, "What happened later?"
"That scholar is so ungrateful. My master proposed marriage to him, but he refused." Mrs. Yang couldn't help feeling a little indignant when she said this. Although she didn't mean to look down on the poor scholar, Yan Jie'er was her daughter who had been raised by her since she was a child. In her eyes, she was perfect in every way. There was no reason for her to be criticized and looked down upon, not to mention that the scholar came from a poor family.
Fearing that Madam Shen might have misunderstood that others did not like Yan Jie'er, Madam Yang explained, "The scholar said that his family had already arranged a marriage. He is quite sentimental. After passing the imperial examination, he is still willing to marry a country girl who has never seen the world. From this point of view, Yan Jie'er's vision is not bad."
Madam Shen was very good at talking. She smiled and said, "The girl has reached the age of falling in love. She likes to read books about scholars. It is inevitable that she has some feelings for him. It's nothing."
"That's right." Madam Yang smiled. "Originally, my master said that he would wait until he returned to Beijing to report on his work and settled down before moving the whole family here. I brought Sister Yan here so early because I wanted to quickly find a good family for her in the capital to avoid any further problems."
Madam Shen said, "Isn't this easy? I'll find a reason to ask Madam Zhou to bring her son to my house to listen to music someday. Then you can bring Sister Yan with you. This way, even if we don't like each other, it won't be awkward for both of us."
This was exactly what Madam Yang wanted. She smiled and nodded, "That couldn't be better."
Madam Yang looked at the sun outside and saw that it was almost noon, so she asked the maid to tell the kitchen to prepare more food. She said, "You and Wanwan should stay and have dinner before leaving. We haven't seen each other for many years, and I have a lot of things to say to you."
Mrs. Shen smiled and agreed, "I didn't plan to leave today." She looked outside and said, "I don't know what the two sisters are whispering about behind our backs. When girls grow up, they don't tell us many private things to their mothers."
Madam Yang nodded and said, "That's right, Sister Yan didn't even tell me that she was coming to Kuishui, it was the maid who told me."
"Inexperienced girls are always shy, unlike us mothers." Mrs. Shen said with a smile.
Yang Jiyan, who took Chen Guan to the garden, was very familiar with every tree and blade of grass in the mansion. She had spent the few happy moments of her previous life in this house.
Unfortunately, when her father was promoted and moved to Beijing, she only lived in this mansion for a year and later married into the Zhou family.
Taking Shen Wan to sit down next to the swing in the garden, Yang Jiyan hurriedly asked, "Sister Wan, do you know where Yu Qizhe lives?"
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