Chapter 57 She is nothing
"Today, my mother took me out to meet Miss Zheng from Minister Zheng's mansion. My cousin Li was with me. My mother said she was like a matchmaker, so she asked me to thank my cousin Li. And since my third brother said he liked mint cake, I went to buy some."
Mingzhao listened, and the smile on his face became more natural. "So you are getting engaged soon?"
"Well, big brother, please don't ask anymore." Ming Zhouqing was really embarrassed by his question, so he slipped away and instructed Dihui to deliver the pastries to Tangliyuan in Xifu.
Mingzhao felt relieved, but at the same time, he felt a little worried.
Second Aunt has been busy with the wedding of my third brother and his family recently. Cousin Li is also among them and they were even engaged last year.
If he confesses his feelings to her after a while, what are the chances that she will agree to his proposal?
He did not meet her criteria for a son-in-law, so he chose to take it slow.
Thinking of this, Mingzhao also went to the Fuguo Mansion to understand the progress of the imperial examination cheating case.
On the second day of the monthly holiday, Shi Jianli was called to Qionghua Courtyard by Qiao Ruoying again.
After entering the yard, Qiao Ruoying simply handed her a stack of portraits and said, "Come, let's see if there is anyone who suits your taste this time among the candidates for your new husband."
Shi Jianli subconsciously reached out to catch it, her fingertips pressing on a corner of the rice paper, flipping through it with little interest, but her mind was filled with Ming Zhaohuan's appearance and his eyes that seemed indulgent and gentle.
"A few days ago, I went to deliver clothes to Zhao Huan and saw that he had a pair of cuffs. The pattern on them looked very similar to your needlework habits, so I asked him about it. He said you gave them to him."
Shi Jianli unconsciously flipped through the portraits a little faster and replied, "Well, my cousin helped me a lot. I didn't know what he needed, so I gave him a pair of armbands."
Qiao Ruoying didn't ask any more questions after hearing this, and told her something else, "The day before yesterday, Aunt Shi came over. She asked me to find a matchmaker and go to the Young Master's Mansion to ask for a marriage for the Fourth Prince."
"That's good." Ming Zhoushi was able to figure it out, which was the best thing for her.
Shi Jianli was afraid that he would become paranoid and cause trouble, which would not be good for both her and her aunt.
Shi Jianli looked through the portraits one by one, and finally gave Qiao Ruoying a shake of her head.
Qiao Ruoying was not disappointed. "I'll take a break for a while and find it for you later."
Shi Jianli sat over and massaged her shoulders. "Aunt, you've worked so hard. Take a month or two of rest. By then, maybe I'll have found someone I like and take the initiative to tell you I want to get engaged."
"It would be great if it were this way. If you could find someone who is devoted to you, like your father was to your mother, then I think I can truly give your mother an explanation." Qiao Ruoying sighed, "That way, you won't have to spend extra energy arranging marriages for your illegitimate children in the future."
But it's hard to find a man like this in a million miles.
"My aunt treats me so well, which is already the best explanation I can give to my mother." Shi Jianli said gently.
Qiao Ruoying held her hand and said, "Sister and I have been close since childhood. If your mother were still alive, she would definitely treat your cousin as her own son."
"That's why I hope to find you a husband who will care about you and respect you. Your mother also hopes that you will live a happy life."
"I have long regarded my aunt as my second mother." Shi Jianli took her arm and leaned on her shoulder.
Ming Zhouhe, who had just stepped into the courtyard, saw this and said with a smile, "Oh, I've come at a bad time. Will I disturb the two of you from cultivating your relationship?"
"Go away, you're the one who's being mean." Qiao Ruoying glared at him, "Where did you come from?"
"Langganyuan, I'm discussing military books with my elder and second brothers. I haven't eaten with you in the past ten days. It's almost lunchtime, so I'm here to have lunch with you." Ming Zhouhe sat on a chair nearby. "Where is my father?"
"He and your uncle are out. Don't worry about him. Let's eat our food." Qiao Ruoying ordered several maids to go to the kitchen to get the dishes that her son and niece liked.
While waiting for the food to be served, Qiao Ruoying looked at her son, then at her niece, and with a roll of her eyes, she asked, "He'er, is your cousin excellent in everything and good at everything?"
Ming Zhouhe saw a March Red on the table and was peeling one. He nodded after hearing her words, "Yeah."
After answering, he waited for his mother's next words.
"Then I asked you to marry Li'er, why didn't you agree?" Qiao Ruoying also looked at Shi Jianli, "Li'er, you too, since you think your cousin is good in every way, why do you look down on each other?"
"My cousin is my younger sister." Ming Zhouhe swallowed the lychee flesh and looked at Shi Jianli again. "Also, didn't my cousin tell you about that?"
"What?" Qiao Ruoying was puzzled.
Shi Jianli blinked and said, "I thought you told my aunt, cousin."
So everyone thought the other person said it, but it turns out no one said it?
"What are you two doing?"
Shi Jianli looked at Ming Zhouhe and gestured to him.
Ming Zhou and Wu Nai repeated his remarks again.
"Okay." Seeing that he was serious, Qiao Ruoying could only believe him. "He'er, your second brother is getting engaged soon. If you have nothing to do, you should attend some lotus and flower viewing banquets or something like that."
"Why are you in such a hurry? We still have our eldest brother. He hasn't even married yet, so how can the younger brother get married first?"
Qiao Ruoying took a sip of tea and snorted, "Your eldest brother is always worry-free. Your eldest aunt just picks it out, and he's just responsible for nodding."
"That's the girl from the Yang family. He wrote back while he was at the border, saying that it would be fine if your aunt liked her. And so the marriage with the Yang family was settled smoothly."
"Yesterday, your aunt said that she already has candidates in mind. They are a few noble ladies with similar family backgrounds. After consulting your eldest brother, the marriage will be almost settled."
"She said she had already asked your eldest brother before, and she felt that if he was good, there wouldn't be any problems. Unlike you, who is so picky."
Ming Zhouhe smiled at her.
Seeing this, Qiao Ruoying stopped talking, saying that if she talked too much, her son would not like to be with her.
Shi Jianli's hand paused while peeling the lychee, then returned to normal. After peeling the lychee, he put the flesh into his mouth.
Then what is she?
Oh, she was nothing, there was no relationship between her and him.
There was no engagement, no promise, no confession, no clear statement.
It was her delusion.
March red tastes sour.
After lunch, Shi Jianli returned to her own yard.
Xianyue saw that she was not in a very good mood, so she asked with concern: "Miss, is there anything on your mind?"
"It's okay, I'm just a little sleepy. I'll be fine after a good sleep."
"I'll untie your hair for you." Xianyue gently untied her hair with her skillful hands and took off her coat.
Shi Jianli was lying on the bed, staring at the ceiling in a daze, and it took a long time before she closed her eyes.
When she woke up, Xianyue opened the curtain and said, "You woke up a little later this time than before. The prince sent Tianyu to deliver a message."
"What news?" Shi Jianli half-closed her eyes, her long eyelashes covering her thoughts. When she just woke up, her voice was still a little hoarse.
"The matter between Xie Xuezhi and Xie Weisong has been reported to the Left Censor-in-Chief and Madam Xie. You guessed correctly, the Left Censor-in-Chief is indeed on Xie Weisong's side, blaming Xie Xuezhi for seducing his son."
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