Seeing Ping's troubled expression, Feng Shaoli comforted her, "Don't be too anxious. Let's look slowly and we'll eventually find the right one."
"But He'er is already ten years old and will be getting married soon. There are some rules that need to be taught. Sigh, look at our time, we didn't know any of these things. My family was relatively well off. My father could at least read a couple of words, and I read a few pages of books with him, so I wasn't completely illiterate. When it came time to arrange a marriage for you, we didn't have any of these rules. But now, I see that the mothers of the girls around us who are getting married are always planning for them in every way."
Feng Shaoli nodded and said, "Back then, our family wasn't well-off. I just wanted to find a wife quickly so she could help me manage the household. I could study hard for a few days and try to pass the imperial examinations. As long as she was a good person, that was enough. We didn't need to care whether she was good at etiquette, good at managing the household, or good at embroidery. Things are different now, my wife. Let me tell you something: after working for a few more years, I'm thinking of going to the capital to try my luck again. I'm not even forty yet. Although I'm a bit older, I still want to give it a try. Even if I don't succeed, I'll have no regrets."
Ping Shi naturally hoped that her husband would be ambitious, so she quickly nodded and said, "Husband, whatever you want to do, just do it with confidence. I'll take care of everything at home. We're much more relaxed now than we were back then. Our younger siblings have all started their own families and have the ability to establish themselves. In the past few years, we've also acquired some land and two shops. We don't have to worry about money. If you want to try something, just go for it with confidence."
In the front yard of the Feng family, the couple were pouring out their hearts to each other. In the back yard, in the room of their three little girls, a seven or eight-year-old girl was lying on her desk, looking at the little girl sitting under the lamp holding an embroidery hoop, and whispered, "Big sister, do you think that lady next door will really grow up to be as beautiful as a fairy?"
The young girl, already showing signs of womanhood, stopped her needlework, nodded, and said, "Cuihong went with her mother. She said that Madam Zheng is as beautiful as a fairy, and that they came from the capital. They look different from us."
The slightly younger girl nodded and said, "I wonder when we'll be able to meet this lady. I really want to see if this Madam Zheng is prettier or if the lady from the Wan family is prettier."
Seeing her older sister continue her needlework with her head down, the little girl leaned closer and said in a lower voice, "Big sister, let me tell you, I heard from the servants of the Wan family that the lady of the Wan family is not Lord Wan's wife, and that the lady of the Wan family is Lord Wan's favorite."
The little girl's older sister slammed the embroidery hoop she was holding onto the table beside her and scolded in a low voice, "Are you trying to kill me? Why are you asking about such sordid things? Sister Miao, a daughter from a good family like us shouldn't be like those country women, gossiping about other people's affairs all day long. Besides, we're neighbors with the Wan family, living in the same alley. If you ask about their family affairs and they find out, they'll resent our family."
The slightly older one is the eldest daughter of the family, He Jie'er. She looks like her father and is very pretty. Right now, she is disciplining her younger sister with a serious expression, which also carries a bit of authority.
Miao Jie stuck out her tongue and said, "Big sister, I was wrong. If I don't do it again, I'll plug my ears if they talk about it again, okay?"
He Jie'er was a little older. She was born when Feng Shaoli and Ping Shi were in the county. At that time, the family was not well-off, and He Jie'er suffered a lot for several years. She also knew that although her father had become the registrar of the prefectural city, his family's foundation was shallow and could not be compared with Master Wan, who came from the Wan family in the capital, let alone Master Chu, who was a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examination).
Lord Wan's wife stayed in the capital to serve her mother-in-law, and one of Lord Wan's concubines came with her. Unfortunately, this concubine was a rather arrogant person and looked down on Feng Shaoli's wife, Madam Ping. She felt that Madam Ping came from the countryside and still hadn't shaken off the mud on her feet. In the past, at some gatherings, she always tried to find ways to embarrass Madam Ping.
He Jie'er understood the reason perfectly well. As for the second daughter, Miao Jie'er, she was a lively girl who learned the best of both Feng Shaoli and Ping Shi. She was a small girl, as white as jade, and had a sweet tongue. She could talk to anyone and was considered the social elite of the Feng family. Because of this, He Jie'er often reminded Miao Jie'er not to offend anyone outside and not to listen to other people's private affairs without knowing the implications.
He Jie'er patiently instructed: "Miao Jie'er, you are still young. Sometimes people speak without thinking, thinking you are just a child who doesn't understand anything. But what if something that can't be told to outsiders is leaked in the future? Do you think people will abandon you? At that time, it will be a matter of a word from them. You will bring trouble to our father and our family."
Miao Jie'er turned pale with fright upon hearing this. He Jie'er felt a little sorry for her, but she still had to explain the reasoning to her. Otherwise, if such a small matter really caused trouble for the family, they would have nowhere to cry when they wanted to.
He Jie'er held Miao Jie'er's hand and said, "Good sister, I know you are innocent and carefree. In the future, when you talk to other people, don't say everything, and don't just listen to what they say. When you should avoid them, you must avoid them. Also, don't be curious about other people's family affairs."
Miao Jie'er listened attentively to her older sister's story with her big, watery eyes until the second watch of the night. Seeing Miao Jie'er nodding sleepily, He Jie'er finally put down her needlework, made the bed, and went to sleep with her younger sister.
Besides the five members of the Feng family, there was an elderly couple working at the gatehouse, Feng Shaoli had a servant and a maid, a cook in the kitchen, and two maids in the backyard.
Ping Shi came from a poor background and did all the housework herself. She only bought two maids because she needed to take them with her when she went out. She had been raising them for several years, and the two maids were now fifteen or sixteen years old. Recently, Ping Shi was thinking of buying a few more slightly younger maids to have the two older maids take care of them. Whether they were kept by her side or given as part of her dowry when her daughter got married, they would all be someone she knew well.
There were three girls in the family. The eldest girl slept in the backyard with the second girl, while the youngest girl, being still young, slept in the front yard with her parents. Ping Shi placed a small bed in her bedroom. Looking at the little girl who was already sleeping soundly and snoring, Ping Shi quietly washed up, lay on the bed, and whispered her plans to Feng Shaoli.
Feng Shaoli thought of the matchmaker Zhou Pozi he had seen enter the Zheng family's gate during the day, and whispered, "I saw Zhou Pozi go to Lord Zheng's residence during the day. Why don't you ask Zhou Pozi to help you ask her? I heard that among the matchmakers in the city, Zhou Pozi is the most benevolent."
Ping gave a soft "hmm," and thinking of the maids, servants, and guards she had seen at the Zheng family's residence, she asked with some doubt, "Husband, what do you think Lord Zheng's family does? The guards he brought with him seem quite different from ordinary people."
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