Chapter 144 Matchmaking "It doesn't matter if it's not gentle."...
Since ancient times, there have been etiquettes for marriages between two families. Although the Ming Dynasty changed from six etiquettes to five, the etiquette should still be followed.
Chai Heng was an exception. The young lady of the Rong family expressed her love to him and forced him to marry her. The subsequent etiquette was just a formality, a very luxurious one.
This is how he taught Ji Shubai.
Express your feelings first. Her heart is with you and she can't run away no matter what. But a single sentence can push her further away.
Ji Shubai was immersed in the grief of Song Jin's upcoming marriage and did not react for a long time until Mrs. Chai came over and scolded Chai Heng.
Chai Heng felt wronged because that was how he was captured by Mrs. Chai.
Imagine that in that house where the ladies rarely see outsiders, a girl with a delicate figure suddenly appears, dressed in brocade, stretches out her round hands to block his way, and raises her chin to ask him: "Do you have a wife?"
"No."
"Then I command you to marry me!"
Chai Heng, who was still young at that time, had never seen such a hot girl. When he returned home, the more he thought about her, the more intrigued he found her. So he instigated his family to propose marriage, but of course he never told anyone that it was the girl who took the initiative.
He changed the gender of his original experience and taught it to Ji Shubai, asking Ji Shubai to express his feelings and directly ordered them to get married, thinking that the girl would never forget it. However, Ji Shubai got nervous for a moment and said the wrong thing, causing a huge misunderstanding.
Ji Shubai had a misunderstanding, but the girl might not have. Song Jin said it herself that she was going to get married and they should not have any contact in the future. Ji Shubai had no place to cry, she just felt that her heart was blocked and she couldn't breathe. She wished that the man would fall to death tonight so that Song Jin would not marry him and she would have an opportunity to take advantage of it.
Mrs. Chai was very annoyed by what the two men did, but then she thought, Song Jin had been home for several days and she had never heard of him getting married, could it be that...
"Don't worry yet. When Miss Lu calms down a little tomorrow, I'll go and ask her which young man she married."
"Yes, let's ask him to retreat——"
"What are you talking about?" Madam Chai pinched the soft flesh on Chai Heng's arm and said, "What kind of bad idea did you come up with? You ruined a good marriage."
Chai Heng was about to open his mouth to explain himself, but Mrs. Chai glared at him and he fell silent again.
"Well, thank you, sister-in-law."
"Don't be so polite. If it's your turn, don't be sad. Go back today. When I have news, I'll send someone to deliver the letter."
Mrs. Chai had wanted to ask Song Jin about it the next day, but she didn't expect that Song Jin went back to the shop early the next morning and hired a matchmaker that day to talk about a marriage that would never take place.
After Mrs. Wang left, Mrs. Chen went into the kitchen without saying a word. Song Jin was wearing a satin dress with wide sleeves and it was inconvenient for her to go into the kitchen, so she stood at the door and greeted her mother.
"Mom, I'm leaving."
Granny Chen stopped cutting vegetables and said, "I'll take you there."
When she said she was sending her off, she was actually sending her to the door. Mrs. Chen stood beside the sedan chair with her and did not go back for a long time.
"Mom, do you have something to tell me?"
"Tell me the truth, did you have a quarrel with Master Ji?"
Song Jin lowered his head and said nothing.
"I can see that you don't really want to find a husband. If you don't really want to, then talk to Master Ji. What if you can still get him back? If he hurts your heart, then come home and we can talk about marriage in a serious way, okay?"
A tear fell on the back of Song Jin's hand without warning. She turned her hand over and covered it silently.
"good."
After Song Jin came back, she started teaching Bao Bao. Mrs. Chai had to wait until dinner time before she found a chance to talk to her.
Today's dinner was more sumptuous than usual. Just when Song Jin was curious and wanted to ask, Mrs. Chai walked in from outside.
"I'll have dinner with you tonight."
She walked in with a smile, and Song Jin quickly stood up and saluted.
"Sit down, let's have a meal together, no need for all the etiquette. You taught Baobao so well, and I haven't thanked you properly yet."
Song Jin sat with Madam Chai and they had dinner together. She guessed why Madam Chai came, but she didn't say what it was, so she didn't ask.
"I heard that you are getting married?" Mrs. Chai spoke.
Song Jin nodded slightly: "Yes, I am not young anymore, and my father intends to marry me off to someone else."
"Whose family?"
Song Jin bit his chopsticks and said, "Daddy hasn't decided yet, but it should be soon."
"So the marriage certificate and the dowry haven't arrived yet?"
Song Jin bit his lip and nodded.
Mrs. Chai breathed a sigh of relief. There was no need to cancel the engagement since it had never happened. Things became much easier now.
"Then your father, what kind of family does he want to marry you to? When a woman is seeking marriage, she is reincarnated in the world, so she must be careful. Talk to me, maybe I can help you with some advice."
"Dad, I want to find someone with a good reputation."
"It's good to have a good reputation. Let me tell you, this reputation starts with being a juren. A poor scholar is not good enough. You have nothing good to offer except your tough talk. You'd better marry a merchant."
After Madam Chai finished speaking, she did not hear Song Jin say anything, so she continued, "There are not many unmarried scholars in Suzhou. Does your father want to give you to someone as a concubine or a wife?"
Song Jin was unable to answer Mrs. Chai's question. There were only so many successful candidates, so who would drag their feet like Ji Shubai? If you want to marry a successful successful candidate, you must be old, so taking a concubine is the only feasible option.
And marrying into the family......
"My family wants to find a son-in-law."
"Son-in-law?"
A son-in-law with achievements?
Mrs. Chai couldn't help but think: This old man is very ambitious. He wouldn't consider marrying into the family unless he was so poor that he had no food to eat. Which scholar could be that poor?
"Then, is there anyone who can choose?"
Song Jin shook his head: "I asked a matchmaker, and I'm still looking for it."
Madam Chai gave Song Jin a piece of meat with a half-smile on her face: "A good son-in-law, take your time to find one."
It's a pity for Ji Shubai, he will never be able to marry into the family of another woman in this life. Let's see how he will handle it.
Mrs. Chai asked a few more questions and understood the situation clearly before finishing her meal and leaving. After returning to her own courtyard, she told Chai Heng what Song Jin had said. Chai Heng said, "So the marriage has not been decided yet. Why did you say you were going to get married that day?"
"Why else? It's all your stupid idea. You're the wrong person, right?"
"What should we do now? I see that Shu Bai is not in good condition. If he continues like this, he will fall down again just after he stood up."
"If you ask me, now is the easiest time to deal with it."
Song Jin wants to get married, and has asked the matchmaker Mrs. Wang to propose marriage, but has not yet decided on a family. As long as Ji Shubai also asks someone to propose marriage, Mrs. Wang will naturally send the engagement letter, and then she can be picked out. Will Old Lu still refuse?
When Chai Heng heard this, he realized that this made sense and it was logical. There was no need for them to meet face to face, lest Ji Shubai get nervous and say something wrong.
When Chai Heng thought of what happened to Ji Shubai that day, he felt like laughing.
"Madam, how can Shu Bai be speechless in front of a young lady?"
"Well, this guy, when he gets emotional, he can do anything stupid. It's just that your brother is inexperienced. If you replace him with someone who has been through a lot of battles, you can see whether he will still be nervous or not."
"So I said, what an experience this is, ah - ah - ah -"
"What kind of experience?"
Mrs. Chai grabbed Chai Heng's ear and scolded him harshly.
On the second day, Chai Heng went to the yamen in person to find Ji Shubai. After telling him about Song Jin's situation, Ji Shubai immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
"That means I still have a chance."
Lu Junnian, who was sitting on the side watching the show, couldn't stand it anymore: "Look at you, a Jinshi, a disciple of the emperor, how come you are frightened by a young lady? If it were me, you should just send a matchmaker to the Lu family and say you want to marry Old Lu's daughter. I think Old Lu would kneel down for you on the spot. It would be much easier."
"But if Miss Lu is not happy, wouldn't that be embarrassing for her?"
"To embarrass her? How can marrying you be considered an embarrassment? It's clearly a embarrassment for the ancestors of the Lu family."
Ji Shubai lowered his head and thought about it. It seemed to be true, but why did he still feel nervous when facing her?
He couldn't figure it out, and didn't have time to think about it, so he immediately asked Qingshan to invite Mrs. Wang to come and ask her to find a marriage for him.
Ji Tongzhi, who had been a widow for thirty years, was going to get married. Such a good thing happened to Mrs. Wang, and she almost smiled from ear to ear.
"Master Ji, this is easy to do. You can choose any girl from Suzhou Prefecture."
Mrs. Wang looked at Ji Shubai in front of her. She was a Jinshi graduate, a fifth-rank official in Suzhou Prefecture, only thirty years old, with a dignified appearance, dignified manners, a face as handsome as a jade, and a spirit as beautiful as autumn water. If those families in Suzhou Prefecture who have young girls waiting to get married knew about this, wouldn't they all want her to put money in their arms, hoping to hand in their engagement letters and be chosen?
When she thought of the huge sum of money, Mrs. Wang's mouth almost curled up to the sky. As for Song Jin, she didn't even think about it because he was not qualified at all.
"Sister-in-law, I'll leave this matter to you."
"Don't worry, don't worry. My sister Wang has been marrying for so many years and has never made a mistake. She naturally knows what kind of girl is most suitable for you, my Lord."
This was also the first time that Ji Shubai asked someone to propose marriage to him. Just like any scam, one has to be fooled once before realizing that the matchmaker’s words are unreliable.
On the third day, he received several engagement letters that Wang's wife had "carefully selected". He completely ignored the "skin of ice and jade, unparalleled appearance" and "talented, dignified and beautiful" that Wang's wife had described. He only looked for women born in the year of Renxu. When he found one, he asked, "What's this girl's surname?"
"Your Excellency has good taste. This girl is from the Lin family, a Suzhou merchant family. The Lin family has a big business, and this girl is also good at playing the piano, chess, and books..."
Before Mrs. Wang finished her words, she saw Ji Shubai stuff the engagement letter back into his pocket and started digging for it with his hands like a dog digging for a corner of a wall.
"Master Ji, are you dissatisfied?"
Ji Shubai flipped through the Geng Tie with a huff, and didn't see the second one from the Renxu year. He thought: It's over, has someone got there first?
Mr. Lu Jun had come a long time ago to watch his show. At this moment, he was sitting aside with a teacup in his hand. When he saw him raise his head after eating a lot and unable to close his mouth, he knew that it was not right.
"Mrs. Wang, don't worry, let's take our time. Are there any other girls from other families?"
"Yes, yes, yes, yes. Sir Ji, whatever kind of woman you want, I have picked some today. If you don't like them, I will pick some more tomorrow."
Lu Junnian smiled and said, "Sister-in-law, you didn't hit the mark of our Master Ji."
Mrs. Wang slapped her thigh and said, "It's my negligence. May I ask, Master Ji, what kind do you like?"
"I want a woman." Ji Shubai blurted out.
He noticed that the engagement letters sent by Wang Sao today were either about the beauty of the woman, or her talent, or the daughter of a wealthy businessman, and it would be difficult for Song Jin to meet them. Therefore, he mentioned "a woman", a condition that Song Jin could definitely meet.
Who would have thought that as soon as the words fell, Mrs. Wang laughed: "My Lord, you are so funny. If you don't want a girl, do you want to marry a boy?"
"I mean, it would be fine if she was a woman."
"Don't worry, my lord. My sister Wang has been a matchmaker for so many years, and she knows exactly what kind of woman is suitable to be a wife. First, she must be gentle, second, she must be virtuous, and third, she must..."
"No," Ji Shubai interrupted Mrs. Wang before she finished her words: "It doesn't matter if it's not gentle."
"ah?"
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