Chapter 97: Didn’t they hook up?
Shi Jianli agreed naturally: "Okay."
After a while, Ming Weishen and Ming Zhouhe came back together, and Ming Weishen looked particularly happy.
"Li'er is here too, and it's time for dinner. Come stay and have dinner together before going back." Ming Weishen said with a smile.
"Okay." Shi Jianli nodded with a smile, "Uncle seems to be in a particularly good mood."
Ming Weishen pointed at Ming Zhouhe and said, "I'm so happy that your cousins, especially Zhouhe, have been promoted."
Qiao Ruoying ordered a big maid and said, "Since you are so happy, have someone open a jar of wine and call Zhou Shi, Zhou Lu, Si Er, and Liu Er over. You and the others can have a drink while we in the second house celebrate first."
It's okay to pretend to be magnanimous and virtuous occasionally. She doesn't have to call those children to her side every day. Once they get married, she will feel relieved.
"Sister-in-law will also be hosting a family dinner tomorrow. You can have a great time with your brother and nephews."
As she spoke, Qiao Ruoying instructed the maid to order dishes that her husband and children liked.
Ming Weishen took her hand and said, "Thank you, Madam, for arranging this."
Qiao Ruoying slapped his hand away and scolded him, "What are you doing? The children are still here."
Ming Zhouhe, who had been silent the whole time, spoke up at this moment: "I can leave right away."
Qiao Ruoying patted his shoulder angrily, "Stinky boy."
"My cousin and I are going out to the yard to get some fresh air." Ming Zhouhe stepped back with a smile, "Let's go, cousin."
Shi Jianli followed him out with a smile, "Cousin, congratulations on your promotion. You won't have to live in the barracks anymore."
"But you have to go to court." Ming Zhouhe continued, waving to Xuan Yuan and the other two. Xuan Yuan and Xuan Yun handed the oil paper bags and other things in their hands to Lan Xing and Xian Yue, "Big Brother asked me to give them to you."
After the eldest brother and his cousin got engaged, the atmosphere became sticky. Even if everyone sat together and just said a few words, it felt like no one could break into that atmosphere. He, the cousin, felt less and less visible, and now he has been "reduced" to helping his eldest brother pass things.
"Thank you, cousin."
"I just saw my aunt go out. She seemed to be in a very good mood. What did she say to mother?"
Shi Jianli replied: "The wedding date for my cousin and I has been agreed upon."
"when?"
"March 15th of next year."
Ming Zhouhe nodded, "The weather was warmer then, but not too hot, which was nice."
…
After returning home from Chaozhou, I still had to go to the private school every day.
After getting up early in the morning, washing and having breakfast, Shi Jianli walked to the old place. As expected, she saw Ming Zhao still waiting there. She walked towards him with a smile on her face.
"Cousin Jingyao, congratulations on your promotion." She took a look and saw that the patch on his court robe had changed from a tiger to a lion.
Mingzhao smiled and nodded. He took her hand, gently pressing her knuckles as he slipped a translucent, icy jade bracelet onto her wrist. "I had some free time yesterday and chose one from the gifts the Emperor gave me. I thought it would complement your skin tone. Does it hurt when I press on your hand like this?"
"It doesn't hurt."
"Does it look good?"
"It looks good." She nodded. "I haven't even given you a birthday gift yet, and you've given me a bracelet."
Mingzhao withdrew his hand and tapped the bracelet with his fingertips. "There's no rush for the birthday gift. I heard that Yaoyao personally agreed to our wedding date."
If all the clothes she wore were given by him, she would feel good just thinking about it, and it should be possible after marriage.
Shi Jianli retracted her hand, pressed her fingertips on the jade bracelet, looked at him, and said deliberately: "My aunt and my uncle both said it was good, how could I say it was not good?"
Mingzhao chuckled, "Yaoyao, are you saying you don't want to set a wedding date?"
"Don't ask me when you already know the answer." Shi Jianli snorted, "I'm going to the private school."
"Okay." Mingzhao nodded and let the people go. When he looked up, he saw several of his younger brothers, especially his good third brother, looking at him from afar with their hands folded.
He waited there for a while, and Ming Zhouhe, Ming Zhouqing, Ming Zhouwu and Ming Zhoulu came to him.
Mingzhao remained calm and asked, "Did you make an appointment to go out together?"
This dynasty stipulated that only officials of the sixth rank and above could attend court.
The four of them all wore the same blue court robes with small floral patterns and black horn belts. Ming Zhouhe and Ming Zhouqing had bear patches on their chests and three-beam crowns on their heads, while the other two wore leopard patches and two-beam crowns.
Ming Zhouhe nodded and said, "The first time I went back to court, I wanted to ask you to show me the way. When I arrived at your courtyard, the people there said you had left early in the morning."
The first time he met his elder brother and cousin talking here might have been a coincidence, but the second time he met them, Ming Zhouhe came to his senses and all the doubts in his heart were resolved.
Every day when my cousin goes to private school, she always runs into my eldest brother. Doesn't that give my eldest brother a chance to hook up with my cousin? He then asks why my eldest brother always likes to go in and out through the west gate. It turns out that he has other intentions.
"Let's go." Mingzhao took big strides, his posture steady and upright as he walked.
There were clerks responsible for reminding people when they entered the palace, so Mingzhao was not worried at all that they would not know how to attend court or how to line up.
The four followed him, and Ming Zhouqing asked, "Brother, is court attendance particularly solemn?"
Mingzhao glanced at him sideways and smiled, "You knew it last time."
When it is serious, it is indeed very serious. When it is not serious, it is like a gathering of people. The civil servants are arguing and arguing with each other. When the emperor is in a good mood, he seems to treat it as fun and watch it with great interest.
After attending math and chess classes, Shi Jianli declined Mingyuelin's invitation to go out and returned to Tangliyuan.
She put the sachets with the "Three Friends of Winter" pattern embroidered in three colors: sky blue, snow blue, and light cloud, into the grooves of the wooden box. The three sachets were respectively equipped with the sweet pine fragrance, agarwood, and duheng fragrance that Ming Zhaohuan was accustomed to.
Agarwood has a rich aroma, smelling like a gentle and elegant gentleman; Duheng is a herbal medicine with a unique and long-lasting aroma, which smells elegant and comfortable and can soothe the nerves.
Shi Jianli covered the sachet with a layer of soft cloth, and then took out the bamboo-patterned tassel jade set she had prepared last night from the drawer and put it in as the second layer.
After tucking in the corner of the cloth, she held her chin and thought about what else she could add, so she went to the side room to look through the books she had collected over the past few years.
Lan Xing came in with a bowl of deer antler soup but didn't see anyone. After searching for a while, he finally found his girl. "Girl, what are you looking for? I'm here."
Shi Jianli found a wrinkled, yellowed, leatherless book at the bottom of the box. "No need, I found it."
"I made you a bowl of deer antler soup. Drink it while it's hot."
"Okay." Shi Jianli flipped through a few pages of the book. The handwriting was all cursive. She had read most of it before. It was a military book about deploying troops and battle formations.
Shi Jianli cut a piece of brocade to wrap the box, tied two beautiful knots with satin strips, put the book on the top layer, and put a pair of dark blue cuffs on it before closing the box.
Putting the rosewood box on the dressing table, Shi Jianli raised her eyes and saw her smiling face in the mirror.
She went out, picked up the bowl of deer antler soup, and shouted, "Grab the stars."
"exist."
"Go to the Langgan Courtyard in the East Palace and tell them that I have an appointment with the Crown Prince Shen Shizhong to meet at the pavilion."
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