Zhao Xiu was bent on letting Mi Zhifu suppress Uncle Mi, but he didn't know that Mi Zhifu had already gotten the news, so he wrote a letter to Pingdu Prefecture early to scold people. She had just received a letter from her brother Zhao Wei from Nanhui and knew what he had heard.

She told her grandmother Zhang all these things, and Zhang said, "It sounds like a decent person, and it would be good if I could move around in the future." You brothers and sisters are weak, except for the clansmen, and my two brothers, there are no reliable relatives, and your uncle is like that......"

Zhao Xiu said with a smile: "If there are relatives to come and go, it is a good thing, but fewer relatives also have the advantage of fewer relatives." My brother and I don't care, and my grandmother doesn't have to worry. ”

Zhang sighed: "Having said that, there are some deficiencies. Anyway, your brother said in the letter that he planned to take the opportunity to meet the Mi Governor when he accompanied the King of Guangping to Hangzhou, and see if he could invite their family to our house for the New Year. Then it's time for us to get ready. The old mansion is so big, many yards are idle, there have been no people for many years, and it is so deserted that you have to quickly pick a good one to pack it out and prepare to entertain guests. And what are the preferences of your cousin, cousin, and cousin, you should also ask Mrs. Tao about them, so as not to be unaware of them and violate other people's taboos. ”

Zhao Xiu agreed, turned around and posted a post, inviting Mrs. Tao and Tao Zhuohua to be guests at home.

The mother and daughter of the Tao family arrived soon, and both of them were full of smiles. Mrs. Tao probably had received a letter from her sister, confirming the kinship between the Mi and Zhao families, and hurriedly said hello to the Zhang family and Zhao Xiu, and said with a smile: "I heard my sister say that my brother-in-law plans to come to Fengxian to meet the old lady during the New Year, and by the way, I will also sacrifice the parents of the little marquis." ”

Zhang hurriedly said: "That's great, it just so happens that we also want to invite their family to be guests." The two families are so close, and Mrs. Tao has been neighbors with us for a few years, but we never expected to be relatives, and we really don't know each other. Now that I know the truth, I naturally want to get together. ”

Mrs. Tao smiled and nodded. Then Zhao Xiu asked about the preferences and taboos of the Mi Zhifu family, and Tao Zhuohua said: "I have never heard of any taboos in my aunt's family. The people in their family are not picky about anything, and they are the most kind. ”

Zhao Xiu said with a smile: "People have preferences and preferences, and not being picky can only mean that he is easy to speak." But if you can know his preferences in advance and welcome him to the door with the greatest sincerity, wouldn't it be more enjoyable for the guests and hosts? ”

Tao Zhuohua smiled and turned his head to look at his mother. Mrs. Tao nodded: "That's right." My sister and I grew up together, and I know her preferences very well. Niece's there. Just ask Zhuohua. It's my brother-in-law's preferences, I don't know, I only know that he has a temperament, and I didn't ask much about it. ”

Zhang said: "That's enough, thank you Mrs. Tao for being willing to tell me." ”

Mrs. Tao said everything she knew, in fact, the preferences of Mi Zhifu and Mrs. Mi are also very simple, that is, the style of ordinary scholarly people, preferring elegant, chic, and bookish things, not glamorous, not like gold and jade. In terms of diet, I also prefer light and sweet. Tao Zhuohua introduced the cousin named Mi Yingzhi to Zhao Xiu: "Cousin Mi is the only daughter in the family, she has been raised as a boy since she was a child, her knowledge is excellent, she is proficient in all the four books and five classics, and she is more familiar with the law. She can also ride horses, drive, and has accompanied her parents to many places, so she has seen a lot. No matter what questions I asked her, she was able to answer them. The most surprising thing is that I went to Hangzhou to visit her last year. She went out in a carriage with her, and she knew exactly what kind of grain was grown in the farmland she saw along the way, and pointed out to me a few places that needed to be built for water conservancy. Isn't that what boys should learn? Cousins, cousins I know. None of them can compare to her! ”

Zhao Xiu listened with great interest, she has seen a lot of beautiful women, such as Fang Renzhu who is tall and talented, like Jiang Wen who is smart and atmospheric and transparent, who is obsessed with power and status but has no matching wisdom such as Fang Huizhu, and who is unlearned but pretentious like Qiu Yuan. In addition, there are vulgar but self-proclaimed famous daughters, full of clothes and jewelry can no longer fit anything other than eating, drinking, and playing, clothes and jewelry, like dancing knives and guns but look down on poetry and etiquette, pampered and self-centered......

But among all kinds of girlfriends, she doesn't seem to have met someone like Mi Yingzhi. Obviously, the latter is proficient in poetry and books, also understands the economy and people's livelihood, and is also proficient in the law, and is indeed more knowledgeable than ordinary official ladies. Zhao Xiu couldn't wait to see each other. Can she get along with this cousin?

Zhang also seemed to be stunned by Tao Zhuohua's introduction: "This ...... Mi Zhifu's husband and wife's method of teaching their daughters is really ...... It's really ......," she paused, and finally could only choose to describe it in two bland words, "...... Rare. ”

Mrs. Tao also felt that her sister and brother-in-law were a little unreliable in teaching her daughter like this, but she still liked her niece: "Actually, Yingzhi's child is very smart and cute." Don't look at her, she seems to have learned a lot of things that only boys learn, but in fact, girls are not left behind in what they should learn. Her female popularity is still good, and she also learns to be a housekeeper with her mother. I like her generosity the most, and if our family can learn one-tenth of her, I will be satisfied. ”

Tao Zhuohua blushed shyly. Zhao Xiu smiled and pulled her hand.

After listening to Mrs. Tao's introduction, Zhang was very surprised at first, but when he calmed down and thought about it, isn't this similar to his granddaughter? Zhao Xiu is also familiar with the Four Books and Five Classics, can compose poems, is good at calligraphy and painting, and the female celebrity is also doing well, her embroidery skills are poor, but she is very good at making clothes. Zhao Xiu can also ride a horse and shoot arrows, and he has practiced boxing since he was a child, but he doesn't know how to drive. She has also learned to be a housekeeper since she was a child, and she is a good hand at being a director of the house, and she knows everything about the economy and people's livelihood, farming and water conservancy. As for the law, that's not what girls should learn. The daughter of the Mi family is probably exposed to these because of her father's official position, right?

Don't look at Zhang's always dislike her granddaughter, in fact, she is still very satisfied with Zhao Xiu, I heard that there is another girl like Zhao Xiu, she has not seen anyone yet, so she first has a good impression: "Such a good girl, I can't wait to see it as soon as possible." But soon she noticed that something was wrong, and hurriedly asked Mrs. Tao: "Is there only this one son-in-law in the Mi Zhifu family?" ”

Mrs. Tao naturally understood what she meant, Mi Zhifu only had one daughter and no son. How similar is this situation to her husband and wife? Although she and Mrs. Mi are close cousins, their relationship in the boudoir is actually mediocre and not very close. But after getting married, both of them only gave birth to a daughter, failed to add a child to their husbands, and listened to the gossip of others. Under the sympathy of the same disease, the husband's place is close, and the relationship between the sisters is much closer than before.

However, Mrs. Tao felt that compared with herself, Mrs. Mi's situation was actually much better. There is a powerful mother-in-law in the Tao family, who raised her daughter to be the restrained and stingy she was two years ago, and is still thinking about taking a concubine for her husband and giving birth to a child. And what about Mrs. Mi? The in-laws are kind and open-minded, and never cause trouble to their husband and wife, and the husband is also single-minded, and there is no one else in the room. Although there is only one daughter, the husband's family has many heirs, and the relationship between the people in each room is good. What about a dozen nephews, almost all of them are grandchildren, all of them are smart and clever, are you afraid that you won't be able to pick a good one? It's just that at the moment, their family really has no son, only a daughter, and in the eyes of outsiders, it seems to be a dead family.

Mrs. Tao slowly told her sister and brother-in-law's family about the matter, and said: "Although others feel sorry for their husband and wife, they don't feel anything, and they are dedicated to raising their daughter." There are also many horizontal and vertical nephews, and one will be succeeded in the future. ”

Zhang sighed when he heard this: "Although they are open-minded, they are afraid that the world will be dull, and when they see that his girl has no brother to support them, they look down on her." When the girl got married, only the two of them were left in the family, and they were also lonely. No matter how filial the nephew is, he can't compare to his parents after all. "I feel a little pity for Mi Yingzhi.

After learning about the Mi family's situation from Mrs. Tao and Tao Zhuohua, Zhao Xiu prepared more carefully for the upcoming guests. There is a yard on the west road of the old house, because it is old, it was renovated only once last year, and now the house is still brand new and clean, so it is cleaned up for guest rooms. There are three main rooms in the courtyard, two side rooms, and an ear room, an upside-down seat, and the Mi Zhifu family comes, although I don't know how many entourages they will bring, but they must be enough to live. Zhao Xiu also equipped two deacons and two rough maids in the courtyard, and prepared the cousin's family to summon them.

Just as Zhao Xiu was about to give a gift to his cousin's family, Zhao Wei received another letter. He was sent from Haining. The Qincha boat had already passed by Fengxian, inspected the seaside dam in this area, and then headed for Hangzhou. Seeing that it is already a small year, when Qin Cha has inspected the dam opposite Hangzhou, there is no time to turn back to Jiading for the New Year. The king of Guangping did not want to work and mobilize the people, so he planned to stay in Hangzhou for the New Year. Hangzhou was the last stop of his inspection, and after inspecting the dam, it was equivalent to finishing an errand and staying there for the New Year, and it would not hinder anything.

Zhao Wei wrote the letter because he, as a deputy envoy, should accompany the envoy King Guangping to complete this mission. It's just that when Hangzhou is finished, it will be Chinese New Year's Eve. He had already taken his leave from the king of Quang Binh and would hurry back to Fengxian's hometown to attend the ancestor worship ceremony, but he could only stay at home for three days at most. When the ceremony was over, he had to return to Hangzhou, and when the king of Guangping drove back to Jiading, he would return with him. However, he inquired with Gao Zhen, and King Guangping seemed interested in spending the Lantern Festival in Hangzhou, but for such a long time, he could only be separated from his grandmother and sister, which was a pity.

It just so happened that he intended to meet with his family with his uncle's family, so Gao Zhen mentioned to him that it would be better to bring his grandmother and sister to Hangzhou to celebrate the Lantern Festival. The lantern festival in Hangzhou is also very famous, which makes his grandmother relax and make his sister happy. Zhao Wei felt that Gao Zhen's mention was very good, so he wrote to ask his grandmother and sister what he meant. If they also wanted to come, he would rent a house in Hangzhou City in advance, so that they would not have to suffer on a boat again.

After reading Zhao Wei's letter, Zhao Xiu suddenly lifted her spirits, and she looked at Zhang with pleading eyes: "Grandmother, let's just agree to my brother, right?" I've never been to Hangzhou, and the prince and the prince are also ...... there." )