Xiao Zhuo woke up, the time had already passed, she looked at Jin Ruo who was asleep on the table in the outhouse, and couldn't help but smile bitterly in her heart, it was obviously Jin Ruo who slept on the bed in the inner room last night, but now the two of them have been replaced. Fortunately, Jinruo has the innate advantage of not being afraid of cold in the water tribe, but she doesn't have to worry about catching a cold.

After packing up his clothes, Xiao Zhuo gently pushed open the door, and someone outside the house had already prepared clean water for washing, presumably because he was afraid of disturbing his rest, so he didn't knock on the door. When everything was cleaned up, Xiao Zhuo looked at Jin Ruo, who was still asleep, and resolutely walked towards the outside of the courtyard, he returned to the Yan family last night, and the servants and housekeepers all knew, so he naturally had to go to the front hall today to say hello to Yan Qingyuan and his wife. And more importantly, he must settle the marriage with Yan Ying!

Xiao Zhuo had just left on his front foot, and Jin Ruo also opened his eyes, she could probably guess what Xiao Zhuo was going to do. When Xiao Zhuo left a month ago, although he made up a certain determination, judging from the fact that Xiao Zhuo deliberately avoided her after he came back, this determination would definitely not be with her before last night! Since he is not staying with her, when Xiao Zhuo is in Chang'an, it is very likely that his marriage with Yan Ying has already been decided! But fortunately, it is only a marriage, and it has not reached the point of irretrievability. And this matter is best handled by Xiao Zhuo herself, if she intervenes, it will only be more difficult to explain.

"Auntie, where is my uncle?"

Xiao Zhuo came to the front hall, but he didn't see Yan Qingyuan's figure, only Mrs. Yan and Yan Ying were waiting for him. It stands to reason that Yan Qingyuan must know that he is back, what is the matter with the Yan family now, which can be bigger than his marriage with Yan Ying? He was able to let Yan Qingyuan leave the house early in the morning.

"Your uncle! This morning, the county magistrate sent someone to invite, it seems that there is a case of a dispute between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law in the yamen, after all, this kind of thing is a family, and the county magistrate does not want to be too decisive, so please ask your uncle to mediate and mediate. Come, Zhuo'er, eat first. Yan Qingyuan was far away, and Mrs. Yan didn't care about those cumbersome etiquette, beckoned, pulled Yan Ying and sat down.

"Yes, aunt!" Xiao Zhuo sat down as he said, and couldn't help but have some doubts in his heart. The problems caused by the dispute between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law are nothing more than the unfilial piety of the son, as long as the county government forcibly intervenes, it can basically be solved, so why bother Yan Qingyuan to mediate?

"Cousin, when you go back this time, does your uncle agree to our marriage?" As soon as Xiao Zhuo sat down, Yan Ying couldn't wait to ask what she was most concerned about.

"Yingying, girl's family, what do you do when you ask this kind of thing? I'll talk about it when your dad comes back. Madame Yan reproached, but her voice was not harsh at all.

Mrs. Yan was not in a hurry, but Xiao Zhuo was unwilling to wait any longer, and came to the front hall to say goodbye, this is what he should do as a junior, if it weren't for this, he would have sent Jinruo back to Dongshan Lake early in the morning. Originally, he also wanted to wait for Yan Qingyuan to come back, but now that Yan Ying asked first, he decided to say it first, anyway, it was the same to tell his aunt.

"Auntie, this matter is going to be talked about sooner or later, and I have to go out later, so I'll tell you first!" When Xiao Zhuo said this, he hurriedly got up and left his seat and knelt down and said, "Auntie, please forgive Zhuo'er for being unfilial, my marriage with my cousin is going to disappoint my uncle and aunt!" ”

"Get up! You kid! You can't hide things in your eyes. Mrs. Yan slowly put down the rice bowl she had just picked up.

From the moment Xiao Zhuo walked into the front hall, she sensed that something was wrong. Although Xiao Zhuo was born in the Xiao family, she will come to the Yan family to live for a period of time every year, and it is not an exaggeration to say that she watched Xiao Zhuo grow up. Xiao Zhuo is alert and rarely acts in front of others, although he can do it left and right among people of the same age, but in front of his close elders, he rarely hides his mood. And when Xiao Zhuo stepped into the front hall, although her expression was no different from usual, she could still see the solemnity in her eyes. It's just that the marriage between Xiao Zhuo and Yan Ying is also a major event of the Yan family after all, Yan Qingyuan is far away, and she doesn't want to make decisions on her own. Now I can't put it off, so I have to let Xiao Zhuo say it.

"Tell me about it! There is no need to have any burden, the Xiao family is filial piety, although you and Yingying can't get married, but you can't talk about unfilial piety. Mrs. Yan's right hand stretched out slightly, signaling Xiao Zhuo to get up.

"Auntie, it's not that my father disagrees with my cousin, it's just that when Zhuo'er went back, my father had already made an appointment with Uncle Han Shi a few days ago. It happened suddenly, and my father didn't want to wronged my cousin, so he asked me to come back and tell him. Although Xiao Zhuo got up as he said, he still didn't dare to sit down.

"Uncle Han Shi? Han Shige of the Shangzhu Kingdom? Although Mrs. Yan asked this on her lips, she already knew it in her heart. The Han family, who can make her brother Xiao Yu marry her, is probably the only one in the capital.

"Yes!" Xiao Zhuo replied.

"Sure enough, it's him! The order of the parents, the words of the matchmaker, how can I blame you for this matter! Back then, your grandfather and the old general Han Baohu were ministers in the same palace, and the two had similar temperaments, so they almost got married. It's a pity that the old general Han Baohu died prematurely, and the matter of getting married is over. This time I made up for your grandfather's wish! Mrs. Yan thought back to the past, and her tone became a little sad, "Forget it, don't talk about it, come!" Eat first! ”

"Cousin, since you haven't been able to get married, what about our family's tokens?" Yan Ying suddenly asked at this time. Xiao Zhuo went back with Yan Zhang, the eldest brother is like a father, and this matter was also taken by Yan Zhang to the Xiao family with the token. Now that it can't be done, the token should also be brought back by Xiao Zhuo.

"Auntie, the token was originally brought back by Zhuo'er, but my father felt that this matter was the fault of the Xiao family after all, so he planned to find another family for his cousin in the capital." Xiao Zhuo looked at Yan Ying and always felt that she was not in the right state today. In the past, Yan Ying always had a smiling face, which made people see it like a spring breeze, and every time he came to the front hall, it must be Yan Ying who came up to pull him first. But today, since entering the front hall, Yan Ying has been standing coldly to the side, and she didn't see much smile on her face, and her tone of voice seemed to be deliberately making things difficult for him.

"That's fine! Come, eat! After Mrs. Yan finished speaking, she picked up the dishes and chopsticks again, and Yan Ying was not good at entangled in this matter anymore. Although the Yan family has always stayed away from the court, after all, Yan Zhang has entered the officialdom and is the champion of this dynasty, so it is inevitable that he will be favored by others, and it is good to have more contacts.

After the meal, Xiao Zhuo was in a hurry to send Jinruo back, so he took the lead in getting up and saying goodbye, Yan Ying didn't eat much, and when she saw Xiao Zhuo leaving, she followed out.

"Cousin, are you really engaged to Miss Han?" Yan Ying, who was walking behind, caught up with Xiao Zhuo and asked.

Xiao Zhuo was slightly stunned in his heart, he always felt that Yan Ying knew something, he naturally didn't marry Miss Han, and the words in the front hall were just words. The elders think a lot about doing things, and his words are reasonable, even Yan Qingyuan, I'm afraid he won't say anything, why did Yan Ying suspect it first?

"Yes! Cousin, it's that I don't have the blessing to tie the knot with my cousin. I still have some things to take care of, so I'll go back first! ”

Xiao Zhuo quickly retreated and hurried back to the courtyard, and when he reached the halfway point, he saw Chang Bo and Yan Qingyuan's attendant Ah Fu hurrying over from a distance, and he didn't know if he was in a hurry.

"Uncle Chang, what's wrong? So in a hurry? Xiao Zhuo asked.

"Young Master! You don't know, just now the old man sent Ah Fu back, saying that he would take some silver taels and give them to several families in the north of the town. I asked, and it turned out that three children died in the north of the town last night! Chang Bo himself stopped, but urged Ah Fu to hurry up.

"Died?" Xiao Zhuo remembered what Jin Ruo said about the method of devouring souls, and felt guilty in his heart. If he guessed correctly, the death of these three children must have been done by the old cat, but at that time, he and Jinruo knew it, but they couldn't stop it.

"Yes! One is that the child's mother fell asleep and suffocated when she was nursing the child; One is that the child woke up first in the middle of the night and fell from the head of the bed; There is also one that seems to have some hidden disease, hey! Poor thing! The child's grandmother refuses to forgive the child's mother, and the good family has made trouble to this point! Fortunately, these three couples are still young, and with the help of the old man to mediate, they finally didn't get out of control. Ay! Master Cousin, if you're okay, I'll get busy first! ”

Looking at the back of Chang Bo leaving, Xiao Zhuo's hands were clenched tightly, and he was more sure about getting rid of the old cat in his heart, and then walked quickly towards his yard.