Pauline was talking with Zhu'er under the porch outside, and when she heard the summons, she hurriedly entered the house.

Lu Jiashi threw the tea bowl in his hand towards the kang table, stared at Xia Chunchao with his eyes, and said fiercely: "Don't bring pen, ink, paper and inkstone, I'll give your grandma an IOU!" Baolian didn't know what had happened, and she didn't dare to ask, so she had to bow her head and walk away, find out the pen and ink that Lu Jia used to copy the scriptures daily, spread the paper and study the ink, and handed the pen to Lu Jia's hand.

Lu Jiashi held the pen, stood still, and looked at Xia Chunchao with both eyes. But seeing that she was so timely, she only lowered her head to eat tea, and didn't even look at this side. Lu Jiashi had no choice but to wave his pen, hurriedly write a pair of notes, handed it to Baolian, and said in a rough voice: "Take it to your grandmother, tell her to take it for a good life, fall it carefully, and then jump to the eye!" ”

Somehow, Baolian glanced down, slightly startled, and hurriedly walked to Xia Chunchao's side, handed the IOU with both hands, and said in a low voice: "Grandma, what do you see?" Xia Chunchao glanced at it, and saw that the note really had the words "borrow three hundred and fifty taels of silver from the granddaughter-in-law Xia's today", the smile on his face stretched, put the tea bowl down, smiled at Lu Jia's, and said: "Since the old lady has such sincerity, the granddaughter-in-law will definitely arrange the girl's dowry neatly." Then he asked, "Does the old lady have anything to say?" ”

Lu Jia's heart was angry, and he didn't dare to bring it out on his face, so he stopped for a long time before he said lightly: "The things next to me are gone, you can go over later, and talk to Sister Hong." Tell her to clean up and prepare someone to come and see each other in the afternoon. I have some things to talk to your wife about. When Xia Chunchao heard this, he tucked away the IOU, got up and said goodbye, and turned around to go out.

As soon as he stepped out of the room, he heard the sound of the vessel breaking behind him. Xia Chun smiled at the lips, his steps did not slow down at all, and as soon as he turned around, he entered Sister Lu Hong's residence.

Stepping into the house, I saw that there was no sound everywhere, and Chun Tao was sitting alone on a rattan chair under the hall and napping. Xia Chunchao stepped forward, gave a gentle push, and said with a low smile: "It's only early in the morning, why are you sleepy like this?" What about you girls? Na Chun Tao was startled, opened her eyes, quickly got up, and said with a sleepy smile: "It was grandma, the girl didn't sleep well all night last night, and it was late for me to accompany her." By this morning, I was sleepy, and I took a nap when I saw nothing at the moment. Then he replied, "The girl is sitting in the back room, and she doesn't tell us to go in and serve, but Grandma just goes in and does nothing." Hearing this, Xia Chunchao nodded, and turned around.

When I walked to the door, I opened the soft red pomegranate curtain, and saw Sister Lu Hong sitting on the edge of the kang with one hand on her cheeks.

Xia Chunchao walked in the door and said with a smile: "The girl has a happy event today, why is she so wooden?" When Sister Lu Hong saw her come in, she got up and said, "Sister-in-law is here, please take a seat." Xia Chunchao sat on the side according to the words, and saw that her face was gloomy, not like the high-spirited demeanor of the past, and he was strange in his heart, and asked with a smile: "What's wrong with my sister today?" Seems like something is bothering? Sister Lu Hong paused, but instead of answering, she asked, "Sister-in-law is coming over here, why is it coming?" As he spoke, he said later: "Look at my sister-in-law from the old lady, what did the old lady say to my sister-in-law?" ”

Xia Chunchao said: "It's nothing, it's just that the girl is older, and it is only a matter of two years to leave the cabinet, and the dowry must be handled urgently." Sister Lu Hong nodded, sullen. Xia Chunchao saw that she was depressed, and asked tentatively: "Did the girl know that someone came to see her today?" Sister Lu Hong Mumu nodded, and Xia Chunchao said: "When the girl is old, this kind of thing is reasonable." What's the girl's troubles? Or do you think that family is not good? Sister Lu Hong shook her head, Xia Chunchao asked a few more words, but she said no.

Xia Chunchao saw that it was not right or left, his mind turned, and he asked in a low voice: "Isn't the girl still thinking about the son of the Shen family?" Sister Lu Hong's face suddenly flew two red clouds, lowered her head silently, and twisted and twisted a silk handkerchief, looking like a shy daughter.

Xia Chunchao was anxious when he saw her like this, and immediately said: "If this is the case, I have to persuade the girl, then Shen Gongzi is not a good match, and the girl should throw away her hand earlier." Sister Lu Hong then spoke: "How does my sister-in-law know that he is not a good match?" Blind marriage and dumb marriage, all faults are just fate. Since this is the case, I might as well pick one that I can look at. That Qiu family sounds good, but who knows whether the second son of Qiu is fat or thin, round or flat? What's more, I don't have him in my heart, how can this marriage be harmonious? Xia Chunchao said: "That's why we have to look at each other, today is their family coming to our house to see each other." Shall we send someone to their house another day? Not only that, but also to carefully explore the roots of their family. If others don't say it, even your sister-in-law will definitely not let you marry into the family of that indiscriminate. ”

Sister Lu Hong smiled lightly and said, "My sister-in-law must have inquired before she entered our house, but did you expect this to be the case inside?" If my sister-in-law knew about it early on, I was afraid that she might not be willing to marry her, right? Therefore, how can outsiders inquire about the situation in other people's homes? ”

Xia Chunchao was silent when he heard this, and then paused: "What are you going to do when you say this?" Sister Lu Hong smiled and said lazily: "What can I do?" In this world, how can I be the master? It's just that no matter what I plan, I still ask my sister-in-law not to come to be a lobbyist for others, and follow me to persuade me to force me. Xia Chunchao smiled slightly and said, "Sister-in-law just hopes that you will live well, but you have to make up your own mind." As he spoke, he paused and said, "The old lady asked me to come over and tell you about your dowry, do you want to open the hall of this Nanjing stepping bed, or do you want to have a luodian railing?" What kind of style should you want for a dresser? Having said that, I will find a carpenter to fight. ”

Sister Lu Hong smiled and said, "I didn't pay attention to this, just follow my sister-in-law." Xia Chunchao said: "These guys will be used in the future, so naturally they will be made according to your heart." Otherwise, when something comes, you don't want to use it, won't you be upset? Speaking of it in the future, I complained that my sister-in-law didn't care about you anymore. Sister Lu Hong also smiled when she heard this, and said: "Since sister-in-law said this, when I think about it, write a list and ask Chun Tao to send it." The two sisters-in-law sat down again, and Xia Chunchao was worried about housework and got up.

Zhu'er came out with her, and when she saw no one on the road, she asked: "Grandma asked the old lady to make an IOU, but the old lady's person who broke the copper in half was willing to fight?" Xia Chunchao smiled and sighed: "How can that be? She just took the words to me, I just didn't spit out, she was helpless, so she made an IOU with me. Originally, this was Sister Hong'er's business, and it was okay for me to make a dowry with her. But from now on, don't let this family think that taking money from me is a matter of course. If you want me to take the money out, it depends on whether I am willing or not. While he was talking, the master and servant had already returned to their rooms.

A kind of servant woman under the corridor was waiting for a reply, and when she saw that her grandmother had returned, she didn't dare to go in at will. After stopping for half a moment, Zhu'er came out of the house and said to everyone: "Grandma said that she was unhappy today, and if there is something urgent, go in and go back immediately." If it's not important, put it off for a while. And the daughters-in-law did not have anything of great importance, and when they heard this, they all dispersed.

Zhu'er let go of the daughter-in-law of the family, and when she returned to the house, she saw Xia Chunchao changing her clothes, sitting on the side of the kang with her cheeks in her hand, and she was stunned, so she stepped forward and smiled: "What is grandma thinking?" I'm too lazy to take care of my housework. Xia Chunchao shook his head and said with a smile: "No, it's just ...... It's just that in the world, there is always a way to live. Zhu'er couldn't figure it out, so she didn't ask any more questions.

At noon, Lu Chengyong came back from the yamen, and was very happy to learn that someone came to see him in the afternoon, and nodded and said: "Sister Hong is also the age of marriage, thinking that when you got married, you were only sixteen years old." Xia Chunchao smiled slightly, but never spoke. Lu Chengyong took off his armor and official clothes, stepped forward, hugged her, and said with a low smile: "I still remember the wedding night, when I entered the room and picked up your hijab with a wedding scale, you were ashamed and happy, with a red face, and you wanted to see me and were afraid to look at me. Although I had seen you in the morning, at that time, I still thought to myself, how could there be such a handsome girl in this world? Xia Chunchao smiled shyly and said in a low voice: "It's no good to coax me with these nice words." Lu Chengyong raised his eyebrows slightly, and said jokingly: "Why not?" The two of us haven't been intimate for a while, so how about we have another cave room tonight? Xia Chunchao was ashamed, laughing and angry, and reprimanded: "The blue sky and the white sun, just hang these words on your lips, and you don't get any positive shape!" After taking a sip, he broke free, and called out to the girl to set the meal, ignoring him.

Lu Chengyong saw that she was ashamed, and he was afraid that he would dislike her if he continued to talk about it, so he didn't dare to pestering her anymore, so he had to throw this section away. The couple sat down for dinner, and during the banquet, Lu Chengyong said: "Brother He is still the east in the evening, I won't come back to eat, you remember not to wait for me." When Xia Chunchao heard this, he frowned and said unhappily: "It's not enough to make trouble all night yesterday, do you want to make trouble today?" He begged for a foreign house, and his own house guarded it, so what kind of reason did he hook other people's men to stay overnight and not go home? Lu Chengyong smiled: "It's also that we haven't seen each other for many years, so we want to get together and have a few other friends." Xia Chunchao paused and said, "Okay, I won't stop you when you go to eat and drink." But if you come back drunk like last night, I'll close the door and let you sleep under the porch! Lu Chengyong said: "It's all up to you, I have a sense of proportion." "That's it.

After lunch and a short rest, Lu Chengyong put on his clothes and went to the yamen as usual. Xia Chunchao took a nap on the kang for a while, and then heard a report from someone outside: "The old lady invited her to the hall, saying that the enemy family is coming." ”

When Xia Chunchao heard the sound, his heart was shocked, and his mouth was full of response, so he got up and told the girl to clean up. He put on his clothes and walked towards the main hall.

When I walked to the hall, I saw that Lu Jia and Liu were already there. Lu Jiashi was wearing a silk shirt with a duck yellow tuan, a grass-blue skirt covered with longevity patterns, a cane in his hand as usual, a silver thread on his head, a beaded crown, and a kind face. Liu's body is wearing a vermilion trimmed swastika armor, which is full of gold sleeves, and a Hangzhou crepe skirt underneath, full of pearls and emeralds, and the fat powder is evenly clean, and the dress is very bright. On the chair on the ground sat a woman forty miles away, dressed in silk clothes and trousers, with a big face in a silver basin, a big mole on her lips, greased and powdered, just dressed as a matchmaker.

Xia Chunchao walked to the hall and said Wanfu to Lu Jia and Liu's before sitting on the side. Lu Jiashi smiled at her and said a few words, but Liu only glanced at her.

The matchmaker had heard the name of the young lady of the Lu family early in the morning, and knew that the money in this family was on her, so she got up and smiled and said, "Presumably this is the eldest grandmother?" The old man was clumsy, and he didn't recognize it for a while. Just saw a delicate beauty come out of it, and I was in a trance, and said which immortal came down to earth. It turns out that there are such handsome women in the world, but they married into the mansion again, it can be seen that the old lady and the wife are all blessed people! She laughed a few times, but seeing that there was no one in the room, Liu actually snorted lightly.

Xia Chunchao saw that she was boasting, and knew that the matchmaker's mouth was the most unstoppable, so he only smiled and lowered his eyes without saying a word.

In order to avoid the embarrassment of this matchmaker, Lu Jiashi said: "Spring Dynasty, this is the sister-in-law Wang who lives on the West Street, and she is here to see Sister Hong for the enemy's family." When the Wang family saw that someone was tugging, he hurriedly smiled and said: "What kind of sister-in-law is not a sister-in-law, it is all shouted by the rotten mouth." Ladies and gentlemen, how dare I bear this title? The eldest grandmother didn't give up, and called me Wang Sanjia. ”

Xia Chunchao smiled slightly, opened his lips and said, "Sister-in-law Wang's age is here, how dare I be presumptuous?" In one sentence, the Wang family was full of joy and said with a smile: "In the end, it is the grandmother of a big family, and she knows the number of etiquette." This remark caused Liu's frequent sideways, but she didn't know it, and said to herself: "Since this is the case, the old body is bold, so please ask the young lady to come out and see you?" ”

Lu Jiashi nodded, and instructed Baolian beside him: "Go to the back and take a look, if the girl has cleaned up, please come quickly, the guests here are waiting." Pauline agreed, and walked away.

When I walked to the door, I saw Sister Lu Hong coming in, and hurriedly smiled: "The girl is here, everyone is waiting." Sister Lu Hong nodded, kept silent, and only stepped into the hall.

When she walked to the hall, everyone was stunned, only to see that she was wearing a jade plain face plate flower button cardigan today, a clear water color Ling ripple skirt underneath, no fat powder on her face, plain face to the sky, white face and yellow lips, no half of spirit, a black silk hair in a bun, like hay, there is a hairpin with a hanging head of begonia flowers on the bun.