After Zhao Xiu returned to the Jiannan Hou Mansion, Liu Lu came to report to her what she had heard.

According to the mother-in-law who was on an errand in the concierge of the Mi family, the letter received by Mi's aunt seemed to have been sent by her mother's relatives. It was a small official from a well-known background, surnamed Zou, which happened to be the surname of Uncle Mi's mother's family. This petty official surnamed Zou has now been worried for three years, went to Beijing to seek recovery, and rented a small courtyard outside Chongwen Gate to live, and has lived there for half a year. He came to the door two months ago, and he communicated with Uncle Mi once every ten days and eight days. According to the errand man on the carriage shed, when Uncle Mi once went out to buy, she also went to his rented house, met with him and his wife and children, and chatted for half an hour.

Zhao Xiu was a little surprised, she never expected that Aunt Mi would contact her mother's relatives. I don't know who the little official surnamed Zou is? She has been married to Uncle Mi for so many years and has children, except for the year she went to Chengdu, she doesn't seem to have returned to her parents' home. After Uncle Mi lost her official position, she lived a poor life in Beijing with her husband and mother-in-law, and she didn't see any contact with her mother's family. Zhao Xiu almost thought that she had cut off contact with the Zou family.

But Zhao Xiu still felt very strange. It's just a relative of my mother's family, whether it's correspondence or correspondence, it's a very normal thing, why does Aunt Mi have to be sneaky when she receives a letter? Could it be that there are some hidden secrets here?

Zhao Xiu said a few words in his heart, but he didn't continue to ask people to inquire. She is also very busy, since she thinks that Aunt Mi's actions are harmless to the Jiannan Hou Mansion, she is not interested in pursuing it further.

However, Zhao Xiu did not continue to investigate, which does not mean that she knows nothing about the follow-up. The next two days are the day of the newborn son of Mi Province. Zhao Xiu's family has passed. Zhao Wei took Mi Xiuming to greet guests in the front yard, and the ladies in the backyard laughed and laughed around the newborn. In addition to Mrs. Tao's mother and daughter and Aunt Mi, there were also several daughters of the same year or friends' families who were friends with Mi Province who came to attend the ceremony. Everyone gathered together, some talked and laughed, and the scene was very lively.

After the guests left one after another, Zhang stayed to talk to Mrs. Mi, and Zhao Xiu pulled Mi Yingzhi and Mrs. Tao happily talking about the cute appearance of the child when he washed the three, and said very happily. At this time, Aunt Mi came over hesitantly. He seemed to want to say something to Zhao Xiu, but he didn't dare to say it hesitantly.

Zhao Xiu was supposed to be up, but he didn't notice Uncle Mi's abnormality at all. Tao Zhuohua saw it, gently pulled her sleeve, and motioned her to look over, only to find that Aunt Mi was standing next to her. She wondered. I thought to myself, Aunt Mi, what is this going to do? But seeing that Mi Yingzhi and Tao Zhuohua were ready to stand up. She also got up: "Aunt is here?" Why don't you speak? You may be seated. ”

Aunt Mi hurriedly waved her hand and said with a smile: "No need, no need, I'm ...... I've got something to do, I'll be gone in a moment. After a pause, "I have something I want to ask the old lady and sister what they mean, but I don't know how to say it......"

Zhao Xiu raised his eyebrows and looked back at Mi Yingzhi and Tao Zhuohua. They were all at a loss.

Even the second daughter, who lives in the same house as Aunt Mi, doesn't know what she wants to say, and this thing seems to be really interesting.

Zhao Xiu soon smiled and confessed to Mi Yingzhi and Tao Zhuohua. Turned around and walked up to Aunt Mi: "What does Uncle have to ask?" Just tell me. ”

Aunt Mi hesitated for a moment before she asked Zhao Xiu to move and follow her to her room. Since she moved into the inner city, she has not rented another house to live in, and the place is narrower than the original, but it is much easier to get back and forth.

Aunt Mi lives in the west wing, one bright, two dark and three rooms, she lives in the north room, the south room is the residence of Mrs. Tao's mother and daughter, and a small hall in the middle, which is shared by the three of them. Although the place is not big, it is very clean and tidy, and it is pleasant to look at. Aunt Mi invited Zhao Xiu to sit down in the small hall, ordered the mother-in-law to pour tea, and asked the mother-in-law to go out. At this time, only she and Zhao Xiu were left in the room.

Zhao Xiu saw that she seemed to be quite solemn, so he also put away a little neglect and listened carefully to what she said.

Aunt Mi slurred and said what she wanted to say, but this story is quite long, and everything has to start a few months ago.

Once when she went out to buy medicine for Mrs. Mi, she accidentally met her cousin, only to learn that he had recently gone to Beijing to seek recovery, and the sister and brother recognized each other like this.

Her cousin, due to the early death of his biological mother, was fostered under her mother's knees for several years when he was a child, and the two sisters and brothers grew up together and had a close relationship. It was only later that the cousin's father continued the strings and moved to live elsewhere with the family, and the sister and brother became much more estranged. This cousin also took the scientific examination a few years ago, starting from the county, and now it is the general judgment of the six products, three years ago because of the death of his father's illness, Ding was worried, and returned to his hometown Changshu for three years, and now he is going to Beijing to seek shortage. It's just that although he has some family wealth, he has no way, and he is not very embarrassed by the teacher, and he has entrusted several peers, relatives and friends, and he has not yet been satisfied, so he can only stay in Beijing. Fortunately, he has a loose hand, and he is accompanied by his wife and children, so his life in the capital is not sad, and it is not the same as Mi Duzhi's beginning.

After many years of separation, he met his dear cousin again, and this Lord Zou was also very surprised. It's just that after knowing what happened to Uncle Mi in her husband's house over the years, he was very unhappy, if it weren't for Mi Duzhi's absence, he might have to give the other party a little color.

He learned that Uncle Mi was now living in the house of his cousin, who served as the prefect of Hangzhou, and was accompanied by his wife and daughter, taking care of Mrs. Mi's childbirth, and he was also a little aggrieved for his cousin, so he persuaded her to move to him. Although he only rented a small courtyard in the capital to live, his family did not have a large population, and one or two empty rooms could be squeezed out, which could completely entertain his cousin and nephew. He can also help with his nephew's schoolwork. Anyway, he is also from the two lists, although the ranking is a little ugly, but he also stands out from thousands of candidates, and he will definitely not be able to do it without a certain talent. Now he has to take turns, except for occasionally going out to visit friends, taking care of the relationship between the yamen, and he is very idle on weekdays, and it is not impossible to be a teacher for his nephew.

Aunt Mi has been hesitant ever since. can find a reliable mother's family to rely on. Naturally, it was a good thing, but she had been separated from her cousin for many years, and she didn't know his current situation. Is it really feasible to leave Mrs. Mi's mother and daughter to move over like this?

In fact, Mrs. Mi's mother and daughter are not thin to her, she is thoughtful in food, clothing, housing and transportation, she only needs to instruct her subordinates on how to arrange Mrs. Mi's daily life, and she does not need her to serve in person. Mi Xingzhi also arranged a place for her son to go to school, and her husband is a Master, and he teaches his son very carefully, and her son is very progressive. Arguably. The life in the Mi family for more than half a year is the most comfortable day after her marriage. If you move to your cousin's place, you will also be under the fence. The cousin is kind, but the brother-in-law is a stranger, and she really has no bottom in her heart.

She politely declined her cousin's invitation at that time, and only said that she should be trustworthy. Promised to take care of Mrs. Mi to give birth. You can't leave halfway. Her cousin didn't force it, but from time to time he sent some fruit and snacks over, and gave her some pocket money, and kept in touch with her. After a long time, she saw that her cousin's family was indeed kind and kind, so she tried to ask them for help and find someone to send a letter to Guangdezhou. She didn't want the letter to go through the hands of her husband and mother-in-law, so she asked someone else. Because Mrs. Mi and the Hou Mansion of Jiannan sent someone to deliver the letter. will definitely not skip Midu's mother and son, and directly hand over the letter to her daughter Mi Yulian.

Aunt Mi was really anxious. Mi Yulian took the initiative to give up a good marriage, although she also knew that even if Mi Yulian agreed at that time, the Yi family Erlang might not agree to this family business, and it was impossible for the Zhang family and Mrs. Mi to say something for Mi Yulian. It's just that Aunt Mi always has a little fantasy in her heart, hoping that her daughter can also be like Tao Zhuohua and set a husband with a bright future.

It's a pity that Mi Yulian doesn't quite understand her hard work. That time, she replied that Yi Erlang had hired someone else first, but knowing that there were still many young talents in the library, she asked her husband and mother-in-law to allow her to make ideas for her daughter, but her mother-in-law replied and rejected her application. Not only that, Mi Yulian also complained about her in the letter, saying that no one knows if the young man who failed to pass the examination and made a name for himself or above is really talented, what if he can only be a poor talent for the rest of his life? If the family is wealthy and the father and ancestors have official positions, they will always have a good future in the future, but how can a poor poor student say that he will definitely be able to get ahead in the future?

Mi Yulian felt that her mother was cheating on herself, and she was absolutely unwilling to be poor. How difficult the life is after the family is poor, she has long been afraid. If she doesn't marry, she must marry well, if she is not rich, she would rather be a sister-in-law.

Aunt Mi was discouraged after that, and only felt that her husband and mother-in-law were short-sighted, and her daughter was not sensible. Isn't she for her daughter's good? As a result, no one understood her heart at all. Aunt Mi was sad for a while, but she was just better, and she thought that maybe her mother-in-law and husband had a high vision, and they should not arrange a bad marriage for their daughter, so a letter came from her hometown.

Mrs. Mi allowed her granddaughter out, and the other party's family background is extraordinary, but she is the imperial businessman of the Internal Affairs Office, but the object of the marriage is the concubine, although it is the eldest son of the concubine, but it is also the only seedling of the family. Don't look at his biological mother as just a girl, but this Wanguan furniture will be his. This family business is not a loss at all!

I don't know how Mrs. Mi climbed to those people's homes, in short, Mi Yulian really made a family affair with someone, Geng post was changed, the eight characters were also given, and the dowry was also received, everything was according to the rules. Although this family only accounts for the word rich in the word wealth, the imperial merchant is always nobler than ordinary businessmen, and after Mi Yulian marries, there is no need to worry about a good life. She herself was so satisfied with this family affair that she was overjoyed, and when she wrote to her mother, she bluntly asked her to stop worrying about her marriage.

How could Aunt Mi not worry? How could she not know about that imperial merchant? Although I don't know how his family went to Guangdezhou to order a family affair for the eldest son, but she has long heard gossip rumors in Beijing, that the family is a concubine, but it is not a single seedling, the main room gave birth to a white and chubby son in the spring of this year, this is the true heir of the imperial businessman! Moreover, his family's imperial merchant qualification was obtained from the main family's mother's family. As for the eldest son, I heard that because he and his biological mother were too domineering in the past, they offended the main family, and they had already decided to divide the family, and the property they could share was very limited. When his father had a son-in-law, he no longer regarded the eldest son as a treasure, and he didn't say anything good for him. Now he has also set up a famous criminal official's daughter as his wife, and eighty percent of his mother-in-law is doing ghosts!

How is such a person a good match? The matchmaker clearly relied on the fact that the people in Guangdezhou did not know the news in Beijing, so he deceived the Mi family. Aunt Mi immediately went to the letter house and told them the truth. Just when a cousin's friend was going south and wanted to pass by Guangde, Uncle Mi asked this person to deliver a letter, which also saved the hand of Mrs. Mi or the Zhao family, which alarmed them.

After Mrs. Mi and Mi Duzhi learned the truth after receiving the letter, they naturally regretted it. They replied to the letter, asking Aunt Mi to find a way to get rid of this marriage, and when necessary, whether it was Mi Xingzhi, who served as the prefect of Hangzhou, or the family of Zhao Wei, the Marquis of Jiannan, she could beg and cry. Anyway, she has been waiting for Mrs. Mi for a few months, so she is always a little decent, right?

Aunt Mi is really sad this time, they are not her, how do you know her situation? Even if the Mi Zhao family treats her well, she can't say such words. If it weren't for Mi Duzhi and Mrs. Mi coveting the wealth of the imperial merchant, how could they hastily make a marriage contract without verification? The main room of that family gave birth to a son in the spring, but when the marriage was decided, it was already autumn! If only they had been careful, it wouldn't have led to today's results!

Zhao Xiu listened to Aunt Mi's words, saw her sad and lowered her head and wept, and asked her calmly: "What does Uncle Mi want to do?" ”

Aunt Mi sighed tiredly and choked up, "I don't want to do anything." After waiting for my sister-in-law's confinement, I took Xiuming and moved to my brother's place. He found out the letter today, and there was finally news about the shortage of the wheel. If there is no accident, you will probably go to Baoding, right? I plan to go with Xiu Ming, and live according to my brother in the future. On Guangde's side, I don't want to care anymore. ”

She is not afraid that her husband and mother-in-law will trouble her, her cousin is an official, which is enough to deter Midozhi, who is only white. And Mi Duzhi doesn't have much money, so it's still unknown whether he can raise enough money to find her. And the cousin is only six grades, and in the eyes of Midu, he can't meet the standard of climbing.

She could feel that both of her cousins really wanted to help her, and maybe they could live a quiet life for a few years in the future. When Mi Xiuming succeeds in the imperial examination, she can be regarded as having survived.

Her request to Zhao Xiu was just that she hoped that the Jiannan Marquis Mansion would allow her to leave halfway. She had already seen very clearly that when their mother and son were here, Mido's mother and son would not give up their attachment. If it was for the sake of her children, it would be okay for her to be cheeky and stay. But the husband and mother-in-law are heartless and ruthless, and the daughter is also an ignorant person, she only has a son to rely on, how can she offend one of the families of Jiannan Houfu and Mi Province to death? Leaving is the most appropriate arrangement.

Zhao Xiu listened to her request and didn't speak for a long time. (To be continued......)