Bao was stunned for a while: "Do you want to change relatives?" How could they have such an idea? Thinking, his brows furrowed: "Although there have been marriages between families in the past, but that is to make the relationship between the two families closer." Although we have some friendship with the General's Mansion, we are not yet at this point. What's more, Duan'er and Zhenzhen are married by the saints, so why should they marry another daughter? Nowadays, only ordinary people will do this kind of family exchange, and there is no need for people like us to do this. ”

Shi sighed and said: "I thought the same way, but listening to Mrs. Wen's meaning, she thought that our Shu'er was smart and virtuous, and she was a good match, so she wanted to come over and ask." ”

Zhang Bao frowned and asked, "How did you reply to her?" ”

"What else can I say? Of course, it means that there is no draft yet, and I dare not make any promises, for fear that there will be changes in the future, and everything will not be discussed until after next year's draft. ”

Zhang Bao nodded and said, "That's fine." In fact, I look at the child in Chongli, his character and appearance are quite outstanding, but he is too straightforward and a little sour. Our Shu'er, although she has always known the rules and etiquette, has been assertive since she was a child, and we have never restrained her on weekdays, but I am afraid that she will not be able to stand Chongli's sourness. He paused, and then said, "You didn't reply too much, did you?" In the end, it is the sons and daughters' family, don't offend people. ”

Shi hurriedly said: "I don't know this? Don't worry, I just said that it's too early to say kiss now, and I praised Chongli a few times. ”

She pondered for a moment before she said, "Actually...... When Mrs. Wen brought it up, I felt that it was inappropriate, so I took the words and delayed them first. But think about it in hindsight. This family is not bad, don't talk first, listen to me. She reached out and held Zhang Bao down, handed him a cup of tea, and then said her opinion:

"The foundation of the General's Mansion is not deep, but the holy family is quite long, if Shu'er marries in the past, it depends on our local family lineage. Don't worry about your daughter being wronged. Chongli's future is also promising. Again. General Wu Dan remained as the general of Canton and spent very little time in Beijing every year; Mrs. Wen, as a second room, is not a serious mother-in-law, and she wants to go south with the general; Chongsi and his wife are both in Guangzhou. If our daughter really marries Chongli, she doesn't have to set rules in front of her in-laws, and she doesn't need to entertain her mother. It's still close to my mother's home, so life is naturally better.

"Besides, Chongli's child is too old-fashioned, in fact, he has a good character, and he is talented and learned, no matter who he marries, he will definitely treat him with courtesy. If he really marries our daughter, his own sister-in-law is our daughter-in-law. Naturally, he will not treat Shu'er badly. Think about it. Who are we? As long as others don't give her anger, she will definitely be able to live a comfortable life, don't you say? ”

Zhang Bao frowned. admits that his wife's words have some truth, but he still feels inappropriate in his heart: "Your idea is certainly reasonable, but I still think that we and the General's Mansion are already sons and daughters, and there is no need to marry again, and Chongli's temperament is not very suitable for Shu'er." Besides, no matter how good the family is, you have to ask your daughter what she thinks first, and the most important thing is that she is willing. If she doesn't like it herself, no matter how much we think about it, it's all in vain. ”

Thinking about it, he smiled: "It's really a little too worried, now that my daughter hasn't been drafted, when she really loses the election, it's not too late for us to choose a good son-in-law for her." Even if she wants to make her own decision, we have to pick a few good candidates first. ”

The husband and wife then put the matter aside for the time being, and even Duanning Shuning did not tell them, only concentrating on preparing for their son's marriage.

The next day, Shi Zheng counted the dowry to be sent to the general's mansion, and saw that one of the pairs of gold bracelets was not good enough, so he specially replaced his new pair a few days ago, and confirmed to the second sister-in-law that the 100 catties of wedding cakes ordered in the pastry shop had been sent over and loaded, and then he was relieved.

At this time, Su Yun lifted the curtain and came in and said, "Madam, the eldest lady is here." ”

The Nala clan came here to thank them for sending a set of gold jewelry to the Fang Ning House. Because of the gold jewelry for his new daughter-in-law, he remembered that he had said that he would give jewelry to Fang Ning a few days ago, so he hit it along the way, and he had sent it two days ago. Fang Ning came over to thank her that night, but the Nala clan only came today, but it was a little strange. He remained silent, just chatting with her to see if she had anything to say.

Sure enough, after drinking a cup of tea, the clan showed that he was going to get busy with business, and Nala couldn't sit still, saying things like "rest for a while, you've been busy all day" and so on, while intentionally or unintentionally inquiring about Mrs. Wen's visit yesterday. He only said something about preparing for the marriage, and did not mention anything else, but he heard Nala inquire about the affairs of Chongli.

She not only inquired about Chonglidi's age, knowledge, conduct, and hobbies, but also asked whether he had a fixed marriage or a favorite girl, and whether the emperor had any plans to marry, etc. Shi only made a brief introduction, and deduced that he didn't see much on weekdays, and he didn't know much about it, if the eldest sister-in-law was interested, let him come to see Yunyun in person next time. Nala laughed and said that it was just small talk, but listening to her tone, it seemed that she really had such a plan.

The family was very suspicious in his heart, but he didn't show it on his face, thinking that he had been busy preparing for his son's marriage recently, and he was a little negligent about the affairs of the house, and he didn't know what the wind direction of the big house was now. finally waited for the Nala clan to leave, and she immediately summoned her second sister-in-law and asked her if there was anything unusual in the house recently, especially if there was any change in the big house.

The second sister-in-law replied: "Everything in the house is ordinary, and there is nothing wrong with it, but I heard about a few."

Bian said a few sour words about Brother Duan'er's good family. If there is a special thing, it is that she often takes the second girl to other people's homes as guests recently. I heard a few mothers-in-law in the big house gossip in private, and it seemed that the eldest lady was looking for relatives for the second girl. ”

Shi was stunned, thinking back to the strange words and deeds of Fang Cai Nala, and he knew it in his heart. She called a mother-in-law to invite Zhang Bao to come, and the mother-in-law came back after a while and said, "The third master is meeting guests in the outer study." "I had to wait in the room first.

Half a day later, Zhang Bao came back. He asked, "What kind of guest is here?" How did you sit for so long? Zhang Baodao: "It's a master that the eldest brother is looking for me, surnamed Fei, Mr. Fei Chengwang." I saw that he was good, and I had asked him to go to Baoding with me to take up his post. ”

He paused. He asked with some anxiety: "Is this Mr. Fei trustworthy?" In fact, if you can't find someone, I'll go back to my parents' house and say it. ”

Zhang Bao shook his head and said, "I can't ask your mother's family for help in everything." As for this Mr. Fei, although he is not as clever as Mr. Su, he is older, old-fashioned, and has a long history of political affairs, and he is very familiar with the officialdom in the area of Jingshi Zhili, and he is a powerful place. Besides, my eldest brother and I are a family. I help him a lot on weekdays. He's not going to lose measure. ”

Think about it, too. So he was relieved, and then told him about today's events: "My sister-in-law came to talk to me in the morning, and she seemed to be very interested in Chongli. I heard from the second sister-in-law that she has been taking the second girl out as a guest recently, and it seems that she has the intention of looking for her daughter's relatives. I think she probably fell in love with Chongli. ”

Zhang Bao was stunned: "Won't it?" The people of our whole house have been counting on her to be selected in the draft since Wan'er was a child, even if she can't enter the palace. At least it has to be matched with a prince's clan. Now that there is still half a year before the draft, why does the sister-in-law want to find a family for Wan Yatou? Isn't Wan Yatou going to be drafted? ”

Shi said: "I'm also wondering, just waiting for your season, I asked the second sister-in-law to inquire, just heard such a statement, saying that the eldest sister-in-law gave a gift to our subordinate leader a few days ago, and wanted to report the second girl's overage." If the boss really approves it, the two girls can marry independently. ”

Zhang Bao frowned: "How can it be so easy?" Although seventeen years old is over the age of one. But Wan Ya won't be seventeen until next year. Besides, she is too famous in Beijing, and she is also known in the palace. It's hard to get past it. Even if it can really succeed, it shouldn't be so quick to find relatives, and it must wait for the results to be clearly issued by the Ministry of Households. ”

Shi said a little unhappily: "If the second girl really doesn't go to the draft because of the omnipotence of the other world, I wonder if it will have an impact on our Shu'er?" Moreover, that Chongli originally wanted to ask our Shu'er for marriage, what is the matter with the sister-in-law who came in like this? ”

Zhang Bao listened to her words and smiled: "We didn't say that we were going to marry our daughter to Chongli, what kind of sour do you have in your heart?" Besides, if the sister-in-law really wants to ask for a good family affair for the girl, Chongli is indeed a good match. He was originally a first-class son-in-law candidate in the eyes of various magnates in Beijing, young and handsome, both civil and military, and had a bright future. You also said that he is good, and others will naturally see the benefits of him. ”

Shi thought about it and smiled a little embarrassedly: "What you said is reasonable, I'm just a little uncomfortable in my heart." In fact, she also knew very well in her heart that the Nala clan had taken great pains to take a fancy to this family affair for Wanning. As she said before, Chongli stayed in Beijing alone, his parents, brothers and sisters-in-law were in other places, his wife had no in-laws to control, no lord below, her husband's family had few relatives, the population was simple, and Chongli himself was polite, so he was the most suitable husband for Wanning.

It's just that in her heart, she is reluctant to let Wanning ask for this good kiss, not because she dislikes Wanning, but because she feels that Wanning is there during the draft, and her daughter has a greater chance of losing the election.

But when she thinks about it, she feels that she is unfounded, as long as her daughter loses in the first two rounds, she will naturally not appear in front of the ladies in the palace, Wanning is not there, what does it matter? According to the report from her mother's side, her mother had already mentioned it to the mother of Yanxi Palace, although the mother did not say it explicitly, but most of it could be done. Once his daughter was successfully defeated, the Nala clan planned to marry Wanning to Chongli, which made people feel even more uncomfortable......

Zhang Bao saw the change in his wife's face, and knew that she was still thinking about it, so he said: "Don't you think nonsense, now the sister-in-law is just asking you about Chongli, and she didn't say that she must come to the door to ask for marriage, besides, Mrs. Wen just said that she wanted Shu'er to marry in the past, and she would not suddenly change her mind, we are still the in-laws of our children, and they still have to take care of our faces, right?" If we don't marry Shu'er in the future, it has nothing to do with us who they choose as their wife for Chongli. Don't talk about this, I'm going to be hired tomorrow, everything is ready? ”

Only then did he come to his senses and hurriedly said: "It's all ready, a total of thirty-two dowry, as well as wine and pairs of pigs and sheep." I specially explained that the silk jewelry is good, but the box must be plain, and it must be decent enough, but it does not show its wealth. It's just that there is no fresh tea now, so I have to replace it with tea from this spring. ”

Zhang Bao nodded: "That's good, we've been in the limelight lately, so we should try to be low-key." General Wu Dan sent someone to deliver a letter, which also meant this. ”

Next. The Earl's Court sent someone to hire it

The General's Mansion went. The number of gifts is complete, and the dowry is also the same as the old ceremony, but it is mediocre, but after the women see the gifts, they are very satisfied.

After the dowry, Zhenzhen's side began to prepare the dowry and furniture, and on the Earl's Court, the renovation of the new courtyard was half completed. It can be completed before the 10th day of the lunar month. Inside one should be covered with utensils. It's all in the works. Duan Ning has gradually started to get started with business recently, although occasionally some sons and brothers will come to him to find trouble, but he is kind and can be a man, and he will soon be recognized by his boss and colleagues, and his life is not sad.

It has been more than half a month since Zhang Bao received the letter of appointment from Zhili to participate in politics, and he can't delay it any longer. He saw that his son's marriage was decided. Just waiting for the first month to get married, I thought about going to the post first, so I asked my wife to pack her luggage and make gifts of favor after taking office, planning to let my wife and daughter take office together, and wait until the wax moon, and then let my wife come back to prepare for her son's wedding.

After Shuning knew her father's plan, she also began to pack her luggage with the maids. She suddenly remembered Zhou Yinlan, who had not seen her since she got married in the spring. Her father is still a student in Baoding. Maybe there's something she wants to take with her? So Shuning went back to her parents. I thought of Fan's family to visit my friends.

Since Zhou Yinlan married into the Fan family, she only communicated with Shuning twice. It was recently reported that after the news of Duanning's marriage, she sent someone to send a congratulatory gift. Looking at what she said in her letter, life is going well, and the husband and wife get along very well, but Shuning asked her out twice without success, so I guessed in my heart, I don't know if the Fan family's family rules are very strict?

The Fan family is located in the outer city, near Liulichang, where many Han officials lived. Shuning sat in a carriage and walked around the alley a few times before stopping in front of a gate. She asked the servant to deliver the post, and then waited in the car, just looking at Fan's house through the window.

The blue brick house, the dark brown wooden door, the lantern in front of the door, and the façade of Fan's house show the scholarly temperament everywhere, but it is extremely low-key, and it doesn't seem to be annoying.

The Fan family soon sent someone out to greet him, but the side door of his house for carriages and horses to enter and exit was a little small, and Shuning's carriage couldn't get in, so she had to get off in front of the door, and she caught a glimpse of the Fan family's housekeeper out of the corner of her eye, as if she felt that this was too rude, so she didn't speak, and followed him along the path into the inner courtyard.

Shuning first met Mrs. Fan, who was kind and smiling all the time, but intentionally or unintentionally, glanced at her big feet. She was silent, she did everything according to the etiquette, and wanted to talk to Zhou Yinlan alone, but listening to Mrs. Fan's tone, she didn't seem to have this intention.

Zhou Yinlan's face was still ruddy, and her spirit was good, but she had to stand all the time, replying to her mother-in-law, and she was respectful and respectful in every word, which made Shuning on the side feel a little sad to hear it. Zhou Yinlan handed over the things she wanted to give to her parents in front of her mother-in-law, and opened the bag to show that there were several clothes, shoes and socks, as well as two bags of medicinal herbs. Mrs. Fan felt that it was not enough, so she instructed Yahuan to bring a few more medicinal materials, and attached a set of four treasures of the study and a few new books, so that she was satisfied.

During this period, Zhou Yinlan's husband Fan Anzhi also came once, but only saluted his mother outside the room, and heard that his wife's friend came to visit, so he came to say hello, but there was a difference between men and women, and he disappeared. He said a few words and exited the backyard. Shuning glanced at Zhou Yinlan, and the other party looked at her with some guilt.

In the end, Shuning asked Zhou Yinlan to give her a ride, and only then did she get the opportunity to be alone with her, and quietly asked her how she was doing. Zhou Yinlan was silent for a while, and then said: "I think it's okay, in fact, married people are like this, just open it if you want to, my husband and in-laws treat me well, and after the New Year, I will have a better time." ”

Shuning knows the rules in Beijing, the new daughter-in-law has a hard time in the first year, but she sees that the Fan family is acting like a scholarly family that emphasizes etiquette and great defense, Zhou Yinlan grew up in Fengtian, where the atmosphere is more free, and she is also very favored at home, and now she is so restrained, she feels uncomfortable when she sees it.

It's just that she had no other way but to comfort Zhou Yinlan a few more words, but she didn't expect Zhou Yinlan to comfort her instead: "My life is not as sad as you think, just act more restrained, and I don't suffer anything." My mother-in-law is actually a very good person, but she pays more attention to the rules, and she doesn't have anything to get used to. Don't worry about me. ”

When Shuning heard this, she smiled reluctantly, and then went out to get into the carriage and left. She looked back by chance, but saw a young man put on a cloak for Zhou Yinlan, said a few words, and then carried her into the door. Shuning guessed that the person was Fan Anzhi, and it seemed that her friend's husband treated her quite well, and she was a little relieved.

As soon as the luggage was almost ready, Zhang Baoding set off the next day, first went to Fangshan for a rest, and then went to Baoding the next day. Shuning had lived in the Earl's Court for two months, and her heart was also bored, and the thought of going to a new place again began to loosen her mood.

Unexpectedly, that night, the Dafang Nala clan urgently sent Lu Yun to inform the clan and Shuning: "There is someone in the palace, please ask the third wife to bring the third girl over to meet." ”