Zhang Zhaoci wasn't very interested in building a house for Xu Di. After the two got married, they would travel and study together, and rarely stayed at the mansion. Besides, after Xu Di passed the imperial examination, he would most likely be sent to a post outside the capital, taking his wife and children all over the country. How could he come back to stay for a few days?
Seeing that Zhang Zhaoci wasn't particularly enthusiastic about the matter of building a house for her son, Ning Shi was quite pleased. This third sister-in-law was never one to meddle; unless someone bullied her, she would never get involved in anything. Ning Shi felt it was good to have such a sister-in-law, as she saved herself a lot of trouble.
Seeing that the matter was settled, the old lady said to Xu Di, "Have the steward of the manor take you outside to find a house builder. First, draw up the blueprints of the courtyard so we can take a look. If anything is not suitable, take advantage of the fact that you don't have much to do right now and make changes as soon as possible. Start construction quickly and hurry up, otherwise it will be difficult to build the house when it gets cold."
Xu Di readily agreed and asked the head steward of the manor to take him to find a famous house builder outside. The builder came to the manor to inspect the site and take measurements. Within a few days, he had drawn up the blueprints. Xu Di took the blueprints and discussed them with the old lady. After making a few changes, he chose an auspicious day to start construction.
After Xu Rao returned to Ganzhou, he went to Hexi to discuss the marriage of the two children with the Li family. Li Yuexi had already come of age, and the Xu family had not come to discuss the marriage. The Li family did not want to ask the Xu family. Xu Rao's visit finally put the Li family's minds at ease.
The Li family has been doing quite well these past few years, but buying a courtyard house in the capital is still a bit difficult. After discussing it, the elderly couple decided to set off from Hexi in advance and wait at a post station in the suburbs of Beijing. On the wedding day, they would depart directly from the post station.
Li Yuexi was a very open-minded person, so she naturally understood her parents' thoughts. She thought the same way as her parents. After the Li family was settled, Li Yuexi wrote a letter to Xu Di, explaining her parents' intentions in detail.
Since the bride is to be sent from Xihe, Xu Di will have to figure out the furniture for the new house himself.
In many families in Beijing, after the new house is ready, the bride's family will take the measurements and then hire a carpenter to make furniture. Some particular families even start collecting wood when their daughters are very young, so that they can use some precious materials to make a few pieces of furniture as part of their dowry when they get married.
When a girl from an ordinary family gets married, she will also buy a few pieces of furniture from a furniture store as part of her dowry. However, this must be discussed with her husband's family in advance, and the dimensions must be measured. When laying out the dowry, the furniture will be delivered and placed, and it will also be displayed together with the dowry she brought with her when she got married.
After carefully reading Li Yuexi's letter twice, Xu Di asked the head steward of the mansion to introduce him to two of the most famous carpentry shops in the capital.
The shop had experienced craftsmen, and therefore had access to valuable timber. Xu Di spent a lot of money to buy several pieces of good timber. After the main structure of the house was completed, he invited the craftsmen to take measurements and then had them make a canopy bed.
Xu Di was quite interested in the canopy bed. It was clearly a bed, but it could be used as a small room. Just thinking about it made him feel quite interesting. He figured this was probably a once-in-a-lifetime event for him, so he figured he might as well spend a little more money. The most important thing was that he was happy, right?
The Xu family was undertaking a major construction project, which pleased Ning Shi quite a bit, but Yao Shi, the wife of Xu Quan, the fourth master of the Xu family, was somewhat unhappy.
After the New Year, Yao's eldest daughter, Xu Tao, was to get married. Yao went back to her parents' home to ask her father for help with Xu Tao's marriage. The Imperial Academy Chancellor Yao helped her by saying that Xu Tao was the eldest son of the former Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, Lord Feng. However, Lord Feng had recently been promoted to Minister of Rites. Although the Ministry of Rites was not as good as the Ministry of Personnel, the Minister was a big leap from the Vice Minister. Because of this, Yao was very proud.
Minister Feng was a student of Chancellor Yao. Back then, Chancellor Yao was not yet the Chancellor of the Imperial Academy, but a minor scholar from a small place. To make a living, he worked as a tutor in wealthy families and was Minister Feng's teacher. Later, the two of them gradually developed their careers and came to the capital through the imperial examinations. Because of their teacher-student relationship, their relationship became even closer.
Yao Jijiu had a high opinion of the eldest son of Minister Feng, but unfortunately his own family did not have a suitable girl. Just then, his daughter asked him to find a suitable marriage for his granddaughter, so Yao Jijiu readily agreed to act as a matchmaker for the two families.
After the marriage was arranged, Lord Feng was promoted. Madam Yao was happy, but she also felt that the dowry should not be different between a marriage with the Vice Minister's family and a marriage with the Minister's family. So she made Xu Quan go to the Marquis to discuss the matter.
Xu Quan dared not. As the youngest son of the concubine, he had been pampered by the Lady of the Marquis since childhood. He was neither good at literature nor martial arts. Now that his own child was about to get married, he was still a failure. The Marquis looked down on him and simply gave him two shops to manage. In reality, he wanted the shopkeeper to teach him some skills. The Marquis had a clear idea that when he and his wife passed away, Xu Quan would have to separate from the Marquis's mansion. At that time, if he did not have a skill to make a living, he did not know how long he could survive on the inheritance he was given.
The Marquis looked down on Xu Quan and his attitude towards her was not very good. Xu Quan's biggest fear since childhood was being called over by her father to check her homework. Fortunately, after she got married, the Marquis stopped bothering her, and Xu Quan breathed a sigh of relief. Now, however, she was asked to go to the Marquis's house herself, which she was naturally unwilling to do.
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