He couldn't act like a father in front of his son at all.
It wasn't that he didn't want to. When they first recognized each other as relatives, he tried several times to act like a father in front of Su Yuanzhou. But Su Yuanzhou sometimes used soft tactics and sometimes used hard tactics, and he never succeeded once.
He also realized that filial piety and reputation meant nothing to this son. Once Su Yuanzhou made up his mind, no matter what others said, he would not change it.
He hadn't been to Prince Ning's mansion once since Su Yuanzhou recognized him as his relative. He felt it was embarrassing to leave like this today, and he also wanted to discuss the wedding ceremony with his son.
Su Yuanzhou heard him say this and nodded, "Father, please come in."
He did not take Su Chengye around the palace, but directly took him to the flower hall in the outer courtyard.
After entering, he asked someone to serve tea.
The father and son lowered their heads to sip their tea, looking at each other in silence.
After pondering for a moment, Su Chengye said, "Yuanzhou, you can go back to the Marquis' Mansion on the fifth day of June. It will be more convenient to welcome the bride on the sixth day."
Su Yuanzhou agreed to let Su Chengye in today, and he really wanted to talk about this matter.
Then he said to Su Chengye, "Father, wait a moment. When my uncle comes back with the betrothal gift, we can discuss this matter together."
His uncle came this time to help him prepare for the wedding. Doing so is also a respect for his uncle.
Su Chengye felt uncomfortable, as he always felt that his son was closer to his uncle than to him, his father.
But looking at Su Yuanzhou's expression, he didn't say anything in the end.
*
When Su Qingyu heard that Prince Ning's Mansion was coming to propose marriage, she changed her clothes and went to the front yard.
Seeing that it was Lin Wanli, she quickly stepped forward and asked in surprise, "When did my uncle come to Beijing? I didn't even know about it."
Lin Wanli has always liked this niece. He took out a small jewelry box from his arms and handed it to Su Qingyu.
"I arrived last night. Your mother sent me a letter, and I came right away. Take this box of Dongzhu pearls. Wear them yourself or give them to others. It's up to you."
Su Qingyu had received many things from her two uncles since she was a child. She took the jewelry box and opened it to take a look.
Inside was a box filled with pearls the size of rice grains. Though small, they were in excellent condition. They would be exquisite and beautiful if made into hairpins or earrings.
Su Qingyu happily accepted it, and then sent someone to invite Shen Zhixiu and the second master of the Shen family.
Lin Wanli said, "I'll go pay my respects to the old lady first."
He is the younger generation, and it is reasonable for him to pay a visit to the old lady.
The servants were not allowed to enter the inner courtyard, so they all stayed in the outer courtyard to drink tea.
Su Qingyu led him to Qingyuanju.
Lin Wanli was holding a two-foot square sandalwood box. Su Qingyu took a curious look and asked, "What is this uncle holding?"
"This is a gift for the old lady. Uncle can't come empty-handed." Lin Wanli said generously.
Su Qingyu sent someone to Qingyuanju to report the news in advance, so when she brought Lin Wanli to Qingyuanju, the old lady was already waiting in the hall.
From Su Qingyu's perspective, Lin Wanli and the old lady were of the same generation. But from Shen Yue's perspective, Lin Wanli was a generation younger.
He came today to propose to Su Yuanzhou, so he performed the junior's etiquette to the old lady as soon as he entered the room.
The old lady hurriedly said, "No need to be so polite, please take a seat, nephew."
The two families were close relatives, and Shen Zhixiu had always been close to the Lin family, so the old lady did not treat Lin Wanli as an outsider.
Lin Wanli didn't sit down, but put the sandalwood box in his hand on the table next to the old lady.
He said, "I came here in a hurry and didn't prepare anything. Please accept this small gift, old lady. It's not a token of respect."
"You are too polite. We are all family. There is no need for such false formalities," said the old lady.
At this time, Lin Wanli had already opened the box and took out an exquisite statue of Guanyin from it.
"This is what I obtained on Mount Putuo. Knowing that the old lady is devoted to Buddhism, I brought it to you specially. Please don't despise it."
If Lin Wanli had given the old lady gold, silver, antiques, or other vulgar things, she might not have even glanced at it. But this small Guanyin statue was so lifelike that she fell in love with it at first sight.
"My dear nephew, you are so thoughtful. Come sit down and have a cup of tea."
Su Qingyu knew Lin Wanli well; the gifts he gave to others always touched their hearts. Lin Wanli was largely responsible for the Lin family's current success.
Lin Wanli handed over the betrothal gift list from Prince Ning's Mansion to the old lady for her to review.
Of course, the old lady would not covet the betrothal gift for Shen Yue, but the betrothal gift can also show how much the other party values her granddaughter.
So she took it and read it carefully.
The betrothal gift was 12,000 taels of gold, and the rest of the items were obviously carefully selected.
The old lady closed the betrothal gift list with satisfaction, "Prince Ning's Mansion is very thoughtful."
Lin Wanli said sincerely: "These are nothing. What the Shen family values is Yuanzhou, not these mundane things."
"These are just to add some luck to the marriage. If the Shen family is after wealth, they have plenty of candidates. I'm afraid the door will be broken down by everyone."
Lin Wanli's words made the old lady feel happy and the conversation became more cordial.
Soon, Shen Zhishu and Shen Zhixiu also arrived. Shen Zhixiu bowed to Lin Wanli as a junior and called him uncle.
The generational order of the two families is completely messed up.
Afterwards, Lin Wanli said goodbye to Qingyuanju and went to the outer courtyard to hand over the betrothal gifts.
When seeing Lin Wanli off, Su Qingyu asked, "How long can my uncle stay in the capital?"
"I will leave Beijing after your brother gets married." Lin Wanli said, and then he whispered mysteriously, "I came here this time for something important."
Su Qingyu was confused. "What's this big thing Uncle is talking about?"
Lin Wanli's face was filled with joy. "It's about Ziyu and Ah Ci. I think that girl is suitable to be the daughter-in-law of the Lin family."
"I'll ask your mother and Aunt Lian about their opinions. When your brother gets married, I'll have Ziyu come."
In fact, he didn't express his thoughts explicitly. He wanted to spend some time in Beijing to see Su Shunci's business ability. If she was as good as Lin Wuchen said, the Lin family would definitely decide on her as a daughter-in-law.
Su Qingyu's face twisted instantly, but she didn't know what to say directly.
He could only answer vaguely, "Uncle, why don't you ask your third cousin what he means? He has more contact with Ah Ci and understands better."
Fortunately, there was still some time before her brother's wedding, so she planned to find a chance to ask Ah Ci's opinion. No matter what, Fourth Sister's marriage had to be her own decision.
Lin Wanli did not understand the deeper meaning of Su Qingyu's words. He said a few simple words, said goodbye to everyone in the Shen family, and took his people back to Prince Ning's Mansion.
As soon as he entered the mansion, he was invited to the hall by the housekeeper.
Seeing his uncle coming back, Su Yuanzhou stood up to greet him, "Uncle, you've worked hard. Is everything going well?"
Lin Wanli patted Su Yuanzhou's shoulder and said, "Don't worry about your uncle's work."
The intimacy between the uncle and nephew once again hurt Su Chengye's heart.
Su Chengye spoke up, interrupting their conversation. "Now that Master Lin is back, let's discuss what to do on the sixth day of the sixth lunar month. Let's set the wedding ceremony in the Su family's main hall."
Lin Wanli threw his robe and sat down.
"That's impossible. Yuanzhou is getting married at Prince Ning's mansion."
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