In front of the Tobe Shangshu Mansion, it is very lively.

Standing at the front are two young talents with lofty instruments, one handsome and elegant, and the other burly Qiwei. Behind the two of them were four soldiers in iron armor riding tall horses, and behind them were four large boxes with beautiful appearances.

These two were naturally Qi Dan and Jiang Wenbing, who were discussing at noon to visit Lord Hubu Shangshu.

"Please also report that Qi Dan and Jiang Wenbing are visiting. Qi Dan arched his hand to the guard in front of the mansion, the guard had been in the Hubu Shangshu Mansion for a long time, and he also knew that these two were great people, so he hurriedly entered the mansion to report.

After a while, a middle-aged man with an honest face came out of the door and greeted the two of them. "I heard that His Royal Highness the Fifth Prince and Zuo Fengyi are visiting, and I have lost my welcome from afar, please forgive me. ”

"Uncle Zhu is talking about this," Qi Dan smiled slightly, making people feel like a spring breeze. "We've been watched by you since we were children, why are you getting into an official relationship with us now? ”

This middle-aged man's name is Zhu Yong, and he is the eldest son of Zhu Gong, the head of the household department, and Zhu Zhao'er's father. He is currently serving as the right waiter of the Ministry of Rites, mainly in charge of the host and guest department and the fine food department. Zhu Yong's reason for taking charge of the fine catering department is also very strange - he has no other hobbies, but he likes cooking, and he cooks good dishes, even the skills of the chef of the imperial dining room in the palace and he is only between the two of them, after being the waiter of the Ministry of Rites, he took the initiative to ask Ying to manage the fine catering department, and he had to personally handle the spoon every time he feasted, and the host and guest department who were also within his authority slowly came under the jurisdiction of the left waiter of the Ministry of Rites.

Zhu Yonghan laughed twice and said: "Although I don't know much about people and the world, I have been an official for so many years, and I am more or less familiar with it, and it is a lie to say that I don't understand it at all." There is an old saying that nothing is to go to the Three Treasures Palace, and the two nephews came to visit today and brought so many boxes of gifts, it doesn't look like a private matter...... If it's a business matter, it's better to call it formally. Avoid suspicion...... Hahaha......"

"That uncle, you really guessed wrong," Qi Dan still smiled as before, but at this time there was a little mystery. "Come today...... It's really for personal reasons. Besides, shouldn't the younger generation come to visit the elders and bring some gifts?"

"Oh?" Zhu Yong was a little puzzled, he really didn't know what private matter could be worth making such a big deal about. "Hahahahaha...... Looks like I'm thinking too much. ”

As he spoke, Zhu Yong made a "please" gesture and motioned for the two to follow him into the house. The guards of Shangshu Mansion were also very discerning, and hurriedly led the four soldiers to lead the horse-drawn carriage to the direction of the back door and unload the goods from the backyard.

Along the way, the three of them talked and laughed, talking about the childhood anecdotes of Qi Dan secretly leaving the palace when he was a child and Jiang Wenbing leading Zhu Zhaoer and others to have fun, and often secretly asking Zhu Yong to cook food for them.

After a while, I arrived at the main hall of the house, and saw an old man already sitting in the hall waiting. And this old man is Zhu Yong's father, Zhu Zhaoer's grandfather, and Zhu Gong, the main secretary of the household department of the current Shengguo. Zhu Gong is almost old, but he is still childish and energetic.

"Grandpa Zhu. Qi Dan and Jiang Wenbing both stood in front of the hall and bowed to Zhu Gong a few times. Zhu Gong saw the two juniors at this time, and there was a lot of joy in his heart, and he said with a smile: "No need to be polite. ”

After a few people sat down, Zhu Yong asked first - although Qi Dangui is the prince, Zhu Gong is also one of the only second-grade members in the court, and he is an elder who is more familiar with Qi Dan. It just so happened that Qi Dan had just revealed the purpose of his visit to Zhu Yong, so Zhu Yong spoke: "Virtuous nephew, what you and I said in front of the mansion just now is a private matter...... What exactly?"

Qi Dan kept a smile all the time, still with that unfathomable look: "Uncle, grandpa, you might as well guess first." He raised his hand to the servants waiting in front of the hall and said, "You can also guess, I will be rewarded for guessing correctly." ”

The subordinates, who were still hesitant, exploded all at once, and they were all whispering quietly. Some say that it coincided with the Dragon Boat Festival recently, and some said that it was to congratulate Lord Shangshu on his birthday in advance...... Anyway, I didn't say why I came after discussing it for a long time.

Of course, Jiang Wenbing didn't know, when he was pulled over by Qi Dan, he only knew that he wanted to give gifts, but he didn't know the underlying reason. But with his understanding of Qi Dan, he naturally had a guess in his heart - but he didn't think it would happen so early.

Of course, Zhu Yong and Zhu Gong, the two fathers and sons, will not discuss like their subordinates - what kind of system will the dignified court officials be like the maidservants?

Zhu Yong, as a son, of course has to probe for his father, otherwise it will not be good to break his father's face, and as soon as he opened his mouth, he saw that the four boxes of gifts had been carried into the hall. And a simple and stout man at the door said loudly: "If my guess is right...... These should be dowry gifts. ”

For a while, many people in the hall were stunned. The meaning of the word "dowry" is self-evident, and many people have secretly thought about it in their hearts, but they just dare not say it.

And this bold person is naturally a member of the Zhu family - it is Zhu Yong's eldest son, Zhu Zhaoer's biological brother, Zhu Xieyang.

Since someone broke his intention, Qi Dan immediately echoed with a smile: "What Brother Xieyang said is extremely true, Qi Dan's trip today is for the purpose of proposing. With a wave of his hand, he motioned for the guards who had come with him to open the four rosewood chests with fuchsia and gold trim.

In the first box there are four jars of wine, and the names of these four jars of wine have some stories, called "Hair is like snow". The color of the wine is milky white, with the meaning of "growing old together", which is naturally the best choice for marriage. Inside the second box is a jade tree more than a foot high carved by two pomegranate-colored jade, this garnet-colored jade is dazzling and dazzling, it has a name called candle jade, which is five of the top ten famous jade in the world, and it should be in the forefront of smoked jade. The third box contains some small items, namely a pair of brand-new dragon and phoenix red candles, a pair of brilliant bronze mirrors, a pair of jade combs, a pair of brand-new celadon sea-patterned incense burners, a pair of gold dragon and gold phoenix bracelets, and another pair of jade dragon and jade phoenix bracelets. The fourth chest contains dozens of fine silk and jewelry, adorned with gold dots and beads.

The number of these gifts is all even, which means "good things come in pairs".

According to common sense, it is also a big deal to propose marriage, and you must first ask the matchmaker to bring gifts to propose marriage, why did the five princes come in person today? It's not that the five princes broke any rules, but after all, it was a bit rash.

Zhu Yong smiled at this time: "I said that you are mysterious today, nephew, it turned out that you were planning to be my son-in-law." ”

Qi Dan joked along with Zhu Yong's words: "What's the matter? Uncle Zhu thinks that my son-in-law is talentless, virtuous, and unattractive and unworthy of taking a photo?"

As soon as Zhu Yong heard this, he immediately waved his hand: "How come, nephew, you are interested in the little girl, it's too late for me to be happy." Who in this world doesn't know that the five princes are the best among people, and they are both talented and beautiful. Nephew, don't make fun of yourself, it's just ......"

Zhu Yong's words undoubtedly complimented Qi Dan, but in the end, the word "just" that did not fall in his voice made Qi Dan's heart skip a beat. Is it just what? Is Zhao'er unwilling, or is the Zhu family unwilling? Or is it both? Qi Shan was determined to succeed before he visited Shangshu's Mansion, and seeing that Shangshu's family was also very welcoming to him, how could he ...... at this critical moment? Qi Dan's mind couldn't help but be confused, he never thought that he would lose this trip.

Seeing that Qi Shan was a little silent, Zhu Yong couldn't say the following, and the eldest son Zhu Xieyang spoke for his father: "It's inconvenient for my father to say that he has concerns, but I don't have anything to worry about......

"Qi Dan, let me ask you - from the point of origin, you are the prince of His Majesty, a noble man, with golden branches and jade leaves. Personally, it is also both civil and military, and the achievements are remarkable. It's just that...... Our Zhu family is also a famous family, and Zhao'er is also a beautiful girl...... Do you want to be the princess and wife you are marrying according to your Ming media, or do you want to ...... It's just a concubine?"

After listening to Zhu Xieyang's words, Qi Dan understood in his heart. He smiled: "Zhao'er and I are childhood sweethearts, since I was a child, I have been close to her, this time I came to propose marriage is also in person, how can there be a reason to let her be wronged as a concubine? Of course, I want to marry her as Princess Zhao." ”

Emperor Sheng had seven sons and three daughters under his knees, and the eldest prince was naturally the prince and the prince, and the remaining six sons were named princes according to the seven noble surnames of "Qi, Chu, Qinyan, Zhao, Wei, Han" recorded in ancient classics. The royal family of Shengguo is surnamed Qi, of course, the word "Qi" should be avoided, so they went to the beginning of the Qi "word" not sealed, from the second prince began to be the king of Chu, and the rank to Qi Dan is of course the king of Zhao, but the princes of Shengguo have always only been crowned with the title of the king and not added a fief, so usually people only use the title of the prince to show respect.

Qi Dan's statement of marrying Zhu Zhao'er as Princess Zhao is, of course, a refined and formal statement that he wants to marry Zhu Zhao'er as his wife.

Zhu Xieyang listened to Qi Dan's answer, his face softened, and he apologized a little: "As the saying goes, the eldest brother is like a father, and Zhao'er has relied on me since he was a child - what my father is inconvenient to say will be said by my brother, and my attitude just now is rude to His Royal Highness the Fifth Prince, please forgive me." ”

The fifth prince nodded, he could understand Zhu Xieyang's mentality very well - after all, Zhao'er is the only daughter of the Zhu family, the pearl of the whole house, if he only made himself a concubine, wouldn't it be ridiculous and generous?

The more people talked, the more embarrassed Fang Cai had already been eliminated, but at this time, the old man Zhu Gong, who had been smiling, suddenly spoke, breaking this happy atmosphere: "Your Royal Highness the Fifth Prince, please allow the old minister to say more-I don't know if the matter of marrying Zhao'er is your own intention or Your Majesty's intention?"

Zhu Gong, as the head of the household, is of course extremely thoughtful. What's more, this matter is related to Zhao'er's marriage, and even the fate of the whole clan, we must be extremely careful and careful, and we can't be sloppy at all. And his question was to test His Majesty's tone, which can be described as hitting the nail on the head—if His Majesty agrees, it will be the best, and the two families are very happy. But if His Majesty does not agree to this marriage, he will urgently stop it when he starts to prepare for the wedding-first, it will hurt the heart of the little granddaughter Zhao'er, second, it will blow the faces of the whole Zhu family, and third, it can also be known from His Majesty's attitude that the Zhu family is not favored by the emperor, and I am afraid that the general trend will go.

With Qi Dan's cleverness, how could he not know Zhu Gong's intention to ask this? He calmly looked at Zhu Gong's old face and replied, "This is my wish, and I have not yet reported it to my father. But presumably, my father will not brush off this beautiful matter, and I hope that Lord Shangshu will not have to worry too much. ”