Although the second lady Wei lowered her head and did not reply, she had a face full of unhappiness, and a hint of resentment flashed in her eyes.

A fourteen or fifteen-year-old girl sitting behind her also lowered her head and wrung her handkerchief, this is the child who hugged Xu Xi wrong, named Zhao Ruyu.

Seeing this, Old Madam Hou beckoned to her and shouted, "Sister Yu, come here for grandmother." ”

Zhao Ruyu glanced up at Old Madam Hou, stood up and walked over slowly.

Old Madam Hou said: "After all, your sister is the bloodline of our Hou Mansion, take her back, you can't think too much." For so many years at home, your grandfather and your parents have loved you a lot and treated you as their own child. Your biological parents are gone, and this is your home. In the future, you'll still be the same as before, you know? ”

Zhao Ruyu snorted coldly in her heart.

Why do you hurt her, but you don't fancy her use value?

When she was a child, she knew that her mother didn't love her; And because the father is a concubine, the mother's temperament is not pleasant, and all the children of the old lady and the lady in the second room are only face-saving.

Her mother has always looked down on her father, and with the promotion of her grandfather, she has become more and more domineering in the second room. But I don't know if Jiwei has suffered at the hands of the old lady and the eldest lady, but she doesn't dare to be presumptuous in front of the two.

Therefore, Zhao Ruyu felt that as long as she curried favor with the old lady and the eldest lady and won their favor, she would be able to live a good life, at least in the future, and the old lady and the eldest lady would be able to do their best. Mother can't count on it. And with the old lady and the eldest lady in charge, the mother didn't dare to say anything.

Therefore, since Zhao Ruyu wanted to understand this at the age of nine, she tried her best to please the old lady and the eldest lady, pretending to be well-behaved in front of them, learning everything desperately, and letting the teaching grandmother praise her in front of the old lady and the eldest lady. Because of this, the old lady and the eldest lady gradually valued her, and when she was thirteen years old, the eldest lady would always take her with her when she went out to socialize.

She also did not live up to the eldest lady's heart, and every time she was able to compare with other young ladies and get praise from all the ladies. At this year's lotus banquet, the second son of Pingnan Hou took a fancy to her appearance and her talents, and begged his mother to come to propose marriage to the Hou Mansion. Mrs. Pingnanhou asked someone to reveal the intention of marrying to the eldest lady.

The inheritance of ancient titles is divided into hereditary replacement and hereditary succession, the former is inherited according to the original title, and the latter is inherited according to the title of the inherited. Of course, in addition to hereditary titles, many titles are only lifelong titles, except for death titles.

However, the Great Jin Dynasty did not have examples of hereditary replacement, all of them were hereditary and lifelong. The Marquis of Suiping was demoted from the prince, the prince of the county, and the prince of the country to the current marquis. As soon as the current Marquis of Suiping dies, the prince will be demoted to the earl when he inherits.

Originally, from the grandfather of the country to the marquis, the Suiping Marquis Mansion was not a loss in the aristocratic circle, because this is very common. But when people are demoted, men are either high-ranking officials in the court or important positions in the army, and there are always one or two who are promising, who can support the family.

But the current Marquis of Suiping has been sick since he was a child, and he can't do anything, and the second and third masters are not promising-of course, on the one hand, because of their qualifications, and on the other hand, because they are concubines, the old lady suppresses them and doesn't want them to be too promising, more than their own sons. And in the younger generation, the performance of several young masters is also mediocre.

In addition, when Grandpa Zaiguo was alive, there were several unfortunate things in the house, and he spent a lot of money and spent all his family savings; Later, the grandfather of the country fell ill for a few years, the medical expenses were a big expense, and the precious medicinal materials were like flowing water every day, and the house really couldn't support it, so many houses, shops and fields were sold, and the decline of the Suiping Marquis Mansion was predictable in the eyes of everyone in the capital.

This kind of declining aristocracy is naturally not welcomed in the marriage market of the aristocratic circle. Therefore, whether it is Zhao Jingxuan, the son of the Hou of Suiping, or several other young masters and young ladies who are either concubines or concubines, they are not very happy when they get married.

And whether a family can prosper depends on the ability of its descendants; One is by marriage.

Now the descendants of the Hou Mansion can't do it, and the grade of the marriage object is getting lower and lower. If this continues, it can only be a vicious circle, which will become more and more decaying.

For this, Mrs. Hou's Tang was so worried that she couldn't sleep at night.

But if she wants her to cultivate the sons of the aunts who compete with her for husbands, instead of her own sons and grandsons, so as to exchange for the continuation of the glory and wealth of the Hou Mansion, she will never be willing.

Therefore, over the years, in addition to cultivating her own grandchildren, she just wants her granddaughters to marry better.

And the Lu family of Pingnan Houfu, who fell in love with Zhao Ruyu, was different. The Marquis of Pingnan himself was a first-class general, and later made great contributions to the enemy and was made a marquis. Several of his sons are brave and good at fighting in the army, and they are all familiar with military books, and they have a promising future, and the family is very valued by the current emperor. The Lu family can be described as an upstart in the aristocratic circle.

In this case, Zhao Ruyu can be taken by Mrs. Pingnan Hou and want to marry her own second son, which shows how happy Mrs. Hou is. This is an excellent family affair among many grandchildren.

And he became a family member with the Pingnan Hou Mansion, and the ladies of the Suiping Hou Mansion had the confidence to say that they were close. After all, becoming a brother-in-law with the upstart Pingnanhou Mansion is also a good choice for many people.

Therefore, Zhao Ruyu knows very well that there is such a marriage, even if she is not engaged, Mrs. Hou will not send her back to the Xu family. Not only will it not be sent, but it will be better for her than before.

In her previous life, Mrs. Hou also said the same thing to Zhao Ruyu. Zhao Ruyu, who was fourteen years old at the time, did not know the situation of the Hou Mansion and the significance of his marriage to the Hou Mansion, so he was immediately moved, and wanted to repay the Hou Mansion for his kindness to him. Later, when there was an accident in the Hou Mansion, she tried her best to mediate. But it was useless at all, and even her own life in the Pingnan Hou Mansion was not easy.

But now, Zhao Ruyu, who saw all this clearly, didn't have a trace of turmoil in his heart.

She is so calm in her heart that she is even indifferent, but the years of inner house life in her previous life have made her acting skills perfect, and tears will come when she says it.

She blinked, and two lines of tears slipped down her eyes, looking grateful.

She lowered her head and choked up, "Yes, Ruyu knows." ”

"That's good." Old Madam Hou patted her hand lovingly, and said, "You were originally ranked fifth, your sister is more than a month older than you, and now that she is back, you can move back and rank sixth." ”

As she spoke, she raised her head and glanced at the room, and said, "Pass it on, and call the fifth girl the sixth girl in the future." The newly returned Miss Xi is the fifth girl. ”

"Yes." The maids and women in the house all responded in unison.

"Old lady, lady, second lady, Mama Ruan, they are back." A maid ran in from outside the house and said in a loud voice.

Everyone lifted their spirits and looked out the door.