Chapter 215: Proposal
Shen Yu stepped through the gate and walked a few steps inside before she felt something was wrong. She suddenly stopped and looked back.
Chen Zhao crossed his arms, "Whose wild girl who was reluctant to go home is this?"
Shen Yu thought about it and walked over, "Did you see it?"
"I didn't see it." Shen Zhao said unnaturally, "Looking back every few steps, what's so good about it?"
Chen Yu was silent for a moment, "Don't you know not to look at anything indecent?"
"That's on the street, my lady, you better be careful."
Seeing that Chen Yu was late in coming back, Chen Zhao was originally planning to go out to look for her, but when he went out, he ran into the two of them inseparable in the alley.
He ran back almost as if he was running for his life, but he was not the one who ran back to embarrass himself, so why was he hiding?
"Why is he here?" Shen Zhao asked.
Chen Yu followed him inside and said, "He came to propose marriage."
"Propose marriage!" Shen Zhao raised his voice, "You are only seventeen, there is no need to be so anxious to get married, your family can afford to support you."
Chen Yu knew that Chen Zhao was reluctant to let her go, so she rarely argued with him. She just said, "Many girls get married at the age of fourteen. Seventeen is not too early for me."
Chen Zhao glared at her, "That's a poor family. If a poor family marries off early, they will have one less person to feed. Rich families love their daughters and would like to keep them for a few more years. Take your sister-in-law for example. She is more than a year older than you, and she also got married at 18."
"You delayed them."
Chen Zhao: “…”
Chen Zhao took a breath and pointed at her, "I can see why you are so anxious to marry Xie Tingzhou."
"Brother." Chen Yu called out in a long tone, "The Book of Han says that if a girl is over 15 and doesn't get married, she has to pay five times the tax. The Guoyu also says that 'if a girl is 17 and doesn't get married, her parents will be guilty. This is to prevent the people from prospering.'"
"It's useless to act like a spoiled child." Chen Zhao tilted his head and looked at her for a while, "You even went to look up a reason to get married in a book?"
Shen Yu quickly shook her head, "No, no, I didn't."
"Why is that?"
Chen Yu pursed her lips and said, "It was in a dream, in a dream."
Chen Zhao understood. She had married someone in that dream. Who said such words to her and forced her to marry someone with such great principles? The answer was obvious.
Seeing that his face was gloomy, Chen Yu pulled him
's sleeves, "Brother."
"It's okay." Chen Zhao looked at her and smiled, "Brother doesn't mean you can't get married, but I just can't bear to let you go."
"I know."
Shen Zhao reached out to touch her hair, but ended up just bending his knuckles and tapping her forehead lightly.
"I recognized him long before he ignored his own safety and turned around to go to Shengjing to find you. I think he wouldn't be able to bear the grievance if I handed you over to him, but he has to go through the old lady's test himself."
"My grandmother has exchanged letters with the King of Beilin, and they have even exchanged gifts."
"What?! How come I didn't know that?"
"Keep your voice down." Chen Yu reminded, "I only found out about it later."
Shen Zhao was speechless.
…
Yesterday, Xie Tingzhou sent someone to deliver a visiting card, and Chen Yu was the last one to know about it.
Old Madam Lu gave enough face and personally greeted this young man at the door.
The post said that the arrival time would be 9:00 pm, so Mrs. Lu was waiting at the door at the end of 7:00 pm.
Zhang was standing at the back. After Lu Jiaheng came back and told her about it last night, she pulled Lu Shi aside and cried for a while, saying nothing more than that the old lady was partial to her. Lu Shi got fed up and went to rest in the concubine's room.
Zhang looked at Lu Shi sadly for a long time but got no response. She was so angry that she turned her head to the side and whispered to Lu Jiaheng.
Zhang said indignantly: "She thinks she can find someone better than you? Marrying into a rich family may not necessarily be a good thing."
"Mother." Lu Jiaheng reminded.
Zhang pretended not to hear anything. "I asked the servants, and they said the invitation was not gold-plated. How could the old lady come to greet him in person despite the indifference?"
Lu Jiaheng: "Mother, please be careful with your words."
Zhang felt embarrassed and stood aside without saying anything.
After waiting for a while, a large group of people came from the street corner, and the two rows of Qingyun Guards stretched as far as the eye could see.
"Here it comes." said the concierge excitedly.
Madam Lu was extremely curious, but she still kept her composure and didn't look around.
Zhang quietly moved forward and took a deep breath when she saw the scene outside. "This scene..."
She saw the leader riding a tall horse. He looked young and handsome, but he looked like a warrior. She felt that he was not as good as her own son. Let Shen Yu regret it.
The man rode past on his horse, dismounted at the door, nodded to the crowd and stood aside.
Then a carriage stopped at the door and the young man on the shaft opened the curtain.
"Prince, we're here." Changliu said.
The man came out of the carriage with his body slightly bent. The moment he raised his head, everyone was stunned.
Madam Lu was stunned for a moment, and asked Chen Zhao beside her, "This, is this the Prince of Beilin?"
"That's right." Shen Zhao said.
Madam Lu clenched her hands and asked, "Why is it different from the portrait I saw?"
Shen Zhao asked, "Have you seen the portrait?"
"Yes." Madam Lu said, "The King of Beilin sent it here. I saw that the man in the portrait was tall and strong, and had a beautiful beard."
Shen Zhao almost laughed out loud, "I'm afraid it was sent to the wrong person."
"If you don't believe me, I'll show you later." After saying that, Xie Tingzhou walked forward.
He bowed and said, "Madam, I am grateful to Tingzhou. This is our first meeting. I am sorry to bother you."
"He is a polite person." Old Madam Lu whispered.
He pinched Shen Zhao's arm again, cleared his throat, and said, "Your Highness, I'm sorry for not welcoming you from afar."
Xie Tingzhou raised his head and looked around, but did not see Chen Yu.
"He must be looking for Ayu." Madam Lu pinched Chen Zhao again and said quietly with her lips moving slightly.
Shen Zhao supported the old lady and was pinched twice in succession. He hurriedly said, “Let’s talk inside. We are all family.”
The group passed Zhang, who had not yet recovered from her shock. She murmured, "You didn't say he was born like this."
Lu Jiaheng glanced at her, seemed to want to say something but stopped himself, and finally said nothing.
It stands to reason that it is against etiquette to go in person to propose marriage, but the two of them are already in love, so the procedures of offering betrothal gifts, asking for the name, and confirming the marriage can be omitted. There are also two ceremonial officers accompanying him this time to take care of the rest of the matters.
The betrothal gifts were carried in one by one. The entrance of Lu's mansion was surrounded by three layers of people, and the people who came to watch the fun were stopped outside by the Qingyun Guards.
The boxes and cages were carried from morning to noon, and only half of them were finished after lunch.
① "Han Shu Huidi Ji" states: "If a woman is aged 15 or above and does not marry until she is 30, she will be sentenced to five years' imprisonment."
"Guoyu" records that King Gou Jian of Yue ordered that if a girl in the kingdom did not marry at the age of seventeen, her parents would be guilty, in order to make the people prosper.
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