In fact, in addition to money, there is also an important face problem. Those high-ranking scholars felt that their own reputation was high, and let them intermarry with families with low reputation, which was a very face-saving thing.

Of course, a family like the Cui family in Xuzhou is actually relatively easy to marry. The Fangzhou Cui family not only has a high reputation, but also their family is also better mixed in the new dynasty, as the saying goes, the better the conditions, the easier it is to find a partner.

What is really difficult is that those who are not very prestigious, or are just branches of some famous families, and they are branches that have long been weakened, and they have nothing left but a reputation, so they privately ask for money from the family, in fact, they sell their daughters.

The Cui family does not sell their daughters, they don't need to.

But if a daughter born to a maid of the Cui family is allowed to Li Xiao as a concubine, the Wang family feels that this is an opportunity to raise the Li family in Lanxi. After all, the Lanxi Li family used to be just a small landowner in the countryside.

Where does it come from any fame, but if it is a marriage with the Cui family, even if it is just a maid daughter of the Cui family, it will also make the Li family shine.

The Li family touched the light of their Cui family, gave thousands of dollars, and then sent a printing technology, what's wrong?

"The slaves and maids of our Cui family are not ordinary people who can be accepted as concubines." Wang's sense of superiority is a five-surnamed woman.

A maidservant gives birth to a daughter, it really can't be regarded as a marriage, it can only be regarded as a transaction.

"Is there a suitable one at home?" Cui Zhiyi asked.

Cui Zhiyi has never remembered the slaves and maids who were born after a moment of entertainment, and even in his heart, these are not his daughters at all.

"Yes, there is a twenty-eight year old, just right, and the slave and maid are also good-looking."

There are many slaves and maidservants in Cui's Mansion, but when they reach their age, they will be sold by the Wang family. Sold to merchants as concubines, with the name of Cui's family, each of them can be sold for a large sum of money.

From birth to growth, she has lived a life like a cow and a horse in Cui's Mansion for more than ten years, once she finds a suitable person and sells it at a good price, the Wang family will get two new clothes for this girl, dress them up, and then send them out.

The two husbands and wives discussed it and felt that this was to promote Li Xiao.

The next day, the Wang family arranged for a steward to go to the Li Mansion of Shengyefang to inform him.

It's not a discussion at all, but a notice, in Wang's opinion, Li Xiao has no reason to refuse, he should be excited as soon as he hears the news, this is a great opportunity to climb the Cui family.

Shengye Fang, Lantian County.

It was Wanniang who received the person from Cui's house, and Steward Qian explained the identity of the other party to her.

A woman in a silk skirt, the housekeeper of the Cui Mansion, came to the Li Mansion and faced the hostess of the Li family, but she still had a bit of arrogance and no one in her eyes.

Maybe she thinks that Zhao Wan, the county gentleman, is just the wife of an upstart and a country woman.

Zhao Wan was very polite to this woman who claimed to be the manager of the inner courtyard of the Xuzhou Cui family's long house, and the name of the Xuzhou Cui family was indeed not small.

"I wonder what happened to this steward?"

"There's a good thing." The woman spoke unceremoniously, babbling a lot, as if she were a reward for the Li family.

However, this woman was also cunning and vicious, and did not first tell the identity of the girl as the daughter of the servant, only that it was the daughter of Cui Duzhi of the household, not from his wife.

Wan Niang thought it meant a daughter.

"Cui Duzhi intends to give his daughter to my family Saburo as a concubine?" Wan Niang was very happy to hear the news. The husband is now knighted and an official, and his status is not as good as before, but the Li family is thin, especially without any basic assistance.

She has also been looking for a concubine for her husband during this time, but it is not easy to find a suitable one.

It's just that it's not enough to be young and good, you have to be pretty, these alone are not enough, at least you have to have some identity, the daughter of an ordinary family is a concubine, Wanniang feels that it is not enough.

Later, I asked someone to find a few good, official eunuch girls, although they are not said to be concubines, but they are young, healthy and beautiful, knowledgeable and courteous, very good, she has seen it in person.

It's a pity that every time I tell my husband, Li Xiao always finds a reason to say no in the end.

Wan Niang felt that it was not good enough to find it.

Today, when the Cui family's internal manager said it, she thought it was pretty good.

The Xuzhou Cui clan is a branch of the Qinghe Cui clan, a famous family of Shandong scholars with five surnames and seven sects. Even the emperor wanted to marry the family, and the people of the time said that to marry a wife, he should marry a woman with five surnames.

Even if this Cui lady's little lady is just a concubine, it doesn't matter, if it is really a concubine, San Lang will not be able to marry someone else.

Wan Niang asked the woman what the Cui family wanted.

The woman looked like this, and she already knew that you would definitely climb our Cui family.

At the moment, she stacked up the conditions and paid millions of dollars for the door, not including other expenses, and even the dowry for the woman's marriage, she had to pay for the Li family.

In addition, she also proposed that the Li family also teach the Cui family printing techniques.

Wan Niang listened carefully.

The conditions are very harsh, and if you want to accept this little lady Cui as a concubine, you will have to pay at least more than one million or even two million. This is a large amount of money, and the husband has just raised 3,000 guan of the family's money to subscribe to the bonds of the imperial court. And the most prosperous medicine and liquor business in the family has now stopped, and there is a lot less income.

But Wan Niang thought about it and decided to agree, and there would not be many women with five surnames who were willing to marry San Lang as a concubine.

Although more than one million is a lot of money, it should still be possible to find a way.

As for teaching printing to the Cui family, Wan Niang shouldn't be a big deal when she thinks about it.

She didn't understand that what the woman said just now was to give it to the Cui family instead of teaching it to the Cui family.

Gate.

Li Xiao had just arrived home on horseback, and had just returned from the yamen of the household department, and officially handed over 3,000 yuan of money and silk to the household department, and got the list issued by the household department, and the official bonds would not be sent to everyone until the Li family was printed.

As for the fields and slaves mortgaged by the imperial court, they are only a strip for the time being. Specifically, we have to wait for the edict to be sent to Baekje's Eastern Expeditionary Sailor Xue Renguina, asking them to measure the fields, make a book and send it back to Beijing, and then divide it.

As soon as he entered the house, Li Xiao saw a carriage parked at the door.

"Got guests?"

"Hui Langjun, it's someone from Xuzhou Cui's Mansion, saying that there is something good to tell you, and now in the flower hall, the hostess is entertaining."

Xuzhou Cui's? Lao Cui, a member of the household department?

Li Xiao is a little strange, Lao Cui can't be crazy because he wants to buy printing, and sends someone to chase him here, right?

He was a little unhappy, he wouldn't sell the printing machine, and Lao Cui still wanted to buy and sell it?

He walked towards the flower hall, but as soon as he arrived at the door, he heard a woman's somewhat arrogant voice, "Whether this thing can be done or not, if your Li family is willing, then show some sincerity now, and the money for accompanying the door can be given later, but I have to bring that printing method back to Cui Mansion first to restore my life." ”

Then Wan Niang's voice came, "Regarding the matter of printing, you have to wait until San Lang comes back, or do you wait?" ”

"How can I have so much time to delay here········"

Li Xiao was furious when he heard it, where did the old man come from, he was so presumptuous.

He walked quickly into the flower hall with a dark face, his eyes swept coldly, and he saw that an old woman in the hall was very rude to Wan Niang.

"Who are you?" Li Xiao asked?

The woman was shocked when she saw Li Xiao's black face, but she coughed again and put on her posture of a wealthy family with five surnames.

"It turned out that Li Langjun was back, just right, I just said that you were not in the house."

Li Xiao saw that she didn't even have the basic politeness of getting up and saluting, and his heart became more and more unhappy.

"Who are you?"

The words are colder and the tone is heavier.

At this time, the woman didn't dare to take it any longer, so she got up and bowed to Li Xiao, "The servant woman is the head of the Outer Mansion of the Household Department, and she came to tell Mrs. Zhao about something on the order of my housewife." ”

Li Xiao snorted.

"You said you were a slave in Cui Yuan's outer house? Isn't Cui Yuanwai's mother? ”

"Don't dare to talk nonsense." The old woman hurriedly said.

"Since you are not Cui Yuanwai's mother, but just a slave in Cui Mansion, who taught you the rules and dared to sit in my house and talk to my wife like this? You are just a lowly slave, and in front of you is the county monarch of His Majesty's entitlement! Could it be that Cui Yuanwai taught the slaves like this, and your Cui family is so unruly? ”

As she spoke, the woman's face changed dramatically.

His eyes rolled, but he didn't dare to go crazy under Li Xiao's anger, and hurriedly pretended to apologize.

"Supervisor Li is misunderstood, I'm also here to report good news, a great thing."

Wan Niang also hurriedly got up and grabbed her husband at this time, saying that the husband should not misunderstand, this person is really here to report good things. It was also said that Cui Yuanwai and his wife intended to give the concubine in the house to San Lang as a concubine, and the intention of marrying the two families was good, etc.

Li Xiao snorted coldly.

"Madam, don't you have to be sold by someone else and count the money, that's not what I heard at the door just now. What is the good communication between the two families, what is the matter with the thousand-yuan companion wealth? And what about the printing technology of my Li family? ”

The woman was hesitant, so she had to tell the truth.

But how could Li Xiao believe it.

"Cui Yuanwai's daughter?"

"Indeed."

"Impossible, isn't it?"

Now the woman didn't dare to hide it anymore, so she had to say that she was born to a concubine.

"Concubine? Haha, it turned out that after a long time, you want to make a slave maid in Cui Mansion as a concubine for me, and just like that, you want me to spend one million money with the door, and you also want my Li family's printing technology? ”

Concubine, it sounds like a concubine, in fact, who doesn't know that a concubine is a concubine. The daughter of a concubine is naturally also a maid.

The Cui family gave their maidservants to others as concubines, and they also had to accompany the family, this kind of thing, maybe ordinary businessmen, or ordinary petty officials and officials are very willing to accept it, after all, they can use this to climb the Cui family.

But Li Xiao cares about a Xuzhou Cui?

Qinghe Cui and Boling Cui dare to treat him like this, and he will turn his face.

A slave and maid also dared to ask him for a thousand yuan and printing, he was really shrewd and calculating, and he was calculated on his head Li Xiao.

"I'll give Cui Zhiyi a face, today's incident will be treated as if it never happened, get out, hurry up and let me get out." Li Xiao pointed to the door and shouted at the.

Cui Zhiyi of this dog day is really getting more and more excessive, what a thing.