Yingbao glanced at Wen Hengyin who was standing not far away, then turned to her brother and said, "This matter is not up to you or me."
The master would not agree to the marriage between himself and Wen Hengyin, because Wen Hengyin's grandfather was an imperial physician, and the master did not want his magic pills to be used by the Wen family.
Besides, the master is no longer the same master as before. He is now the emperor, and he also knows something about his magical powers.
So she could marry the Wei family, a merchant family with no background, or marry an official from a humble family, but she could not have anything to do with those aristocratic families, including Zhong Chuyan, Zhou Hao, Zhang Min, etc.
The big families in the capital are even worse off, including the families of the four concubines. They were all founding heroes with deep family heritage. As a county lord with magical powers, she is not the emperor's biological daughter. If she marries into any of these families, the emperor may be wary of her.
For example, Zhong Chuyan is the descendant of General Zhong, who commands hundreds of thousands of troops in the northwest and has a large number of military generals following him. If she marries into the Zhong family, it will inevitably arouse the emperor's vigilance.
Zhang Min's father was a great scholar and had served as the prefect of Jingzhou. Now he had returned to the capital, but he had never contacted his family. It seemed that Prefect Zhang was a cautious man and did not want to attract the emperor's attention before his son got married.
Zhou Hao was even less likely. Since she was conferred the title of county princess, she became half his daughter. Zhou Hao was Zhou Wuchang's only nephew and was recently conferred the title of Prince of Hanshan. It was impossible for him to have any connection with her.
So, after much thought, Yingbao decided that Wei Zhan was the most suitable person.
She is in this position now. Marriage is no longer her own business. If she is not careful, the entire Jiang family will suffer.
Jiang Jie was silent for a while, and seemed to have figured it out. He whispered, "Wei Zhan is not bad either. You can finally get married, sister."
Yingbao: ... ... .
What are you talking about
She glared at her brother and said to him, "If you have nothing to do on the third day of the New Year, please invite Zhang Min's family and Zhou Hao's family to our house. On the fourth day, please invite the Luo family and the Wu family. On the fifth day, please invite your colleagues."
"I know." Jiang Jie already knew the ways of the world. He personally drew up the list of New Year gifts prepared before the New Year, so he didn't need his sister's guidance at all.
Yingbao just reminded him and then took a few palace maids home.
The next day, the imperial edict granting the marriage did not arrive. I don’t know if it was because the emperor was too busy and postponed the matter.
Chunniang looked around excitedly under the eaves for a long time, but did not see anyone from the palace. Instead, she waited for the housekeeper of Changshou Marquis's Mansion.
Mrs. Wang, the wife of the Marquis of Changshou, personally wrote the invitation, inviting Yingbao and her daughter to attend a banquet at the Marquis's residence on the fifth day of the first lunar month, saying that it was her 40th birthday.
Chunniang couldn't make up her mind, so she came to her daughter and said, "Bao'er, the Marquis of Changshou is inviting us to a banquet, shall we go?"
"The Xiao family of the Marquis of Changshou?" Yingbao pondered for a moment and said, "Go."
Why not? I can get to know the story of the hero and heroine up close.
She always felt that the calmness of recent years was a sign of the coming storm.
Chunniang actually didn't really want to go, but if she didn't go, she would be worried about her daughter attending the banquet alone.
"Our family has no dealings with the Changshou Marquis' family, and we don't have a gift list to refer to. What should we send over?" Chunniang asked.
Yingbao: "Let's ask Meixiang about this." She didn't know what the most appropriate gift would be.
Then she called Meixiang and, under the guidance of this senior palace maid, she picked out a brocade picture of the God of Longevity.
Now Yingbao is a county lady, one level higher than a marquis, so the gift doesn’t have to be expensive, just a token of her appreciation will do.
On the morning of the fifth day, the steward of Changshou Marquis's Mansion came to invite him again.
This is a courtesy, so Yingbao didn't notice anything.
It was almost noon when she dressed neatly and got into the carriage with A Niang.
Four palace maids stood on both sides of the carriage and accompanied them to the Changshou Marquis' Mansion.
Many noble ladies had already come to the Marquis' Mansion at this time.
Their ranks were not high, and some had not even been promoted. When they saw Yingbao coming, they all stood up and saluted.
The Marquis' wife, Wang, came forward, took Chunniang and Yingbao's hands, and seated them in the main seats.
Ying Bao glanced at everyone. Among these ladies, none of them were from the emperor's concubines' family. It was estimated that those who were willing to come to the Xiao family were all former relatives and friends of the Xiao family.
After a while of greeting, everyone started talking about their own things. Xiao Wangshi said to Yingbao, "I have wanted to visit the county lady and Jiang Anren for a long time, but due to my special circumstances, I didn't dare to disturb them."
"Alas, the last time Chengyu came back, he insisted on going to your house, and was punished by his second brother, not allowed to go out for a month. Today, when he heard that the county lady was invited to come over, he was so happy."
Chun Niang smiled and said, "I was wondering what happened. They said they were going to play, but they didn't show up. I even prepared their favorite juice that day."
"Thank you for your concern." Madam Xiao sighed, "Now that the Marquis is unable to move, Erlang has the final say on all matters in the mansion. Chengyu is naughty and often annoys his second brother, so it is common for him to be punished."
Chun Niang: "Children are all naughty. My two children are still naughty now."
The two chatted for a while, and Xiao Wangshi suddenly whispered, "The emperor granted marriage to Dalang and Erlang the other day. The wedding date is set for the 20th of the first lunar month, and Dalang and Erlang are allowed to marry the new bride together."
Yingbao blinked, looked at Xiao Wangshi, and listened quietly to what followed.
Madam Xiao Wang: "Although the wedding is being arranged by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the mansion also needs to prepare. Erlang actually asked Han Yueniang and her daughter who are staying in the mansion to prepare his wedding room. Sigh, I don't know what he was thinking."
Chunniang frowned: "What about Han Yueniang's husband? Why didn't he take her back?"
"He was taken to the Kingdom of Jin by the barbarians." Xiao Wangshi said, "We still don't know whether he is alive or dead."
The barbarians abducted the late emperor and his wife, as well as a group of royal ministers, to the Kingdom of Jin, and they are unlikely to return.
So Han Yue Niang is no different from a widow. Erlang Xiao Chengjun would rather let a widow clean up his new house than let his stepmother, the marquis's wife, interfere. It's unbelievable to think about it.
While Xiao Wang was upset, she was also very upset.
Just ignore it. Do you think she wants to meddle in the mess in this mansion
The Changshou Marquis Mansion sounds very majestic, but it is actually a cage. Not only are there people sent by the emperor monitoring every move inside and outside, but even if I want to send a letter to my mother's family, I can't.
Fortunately, she knew the mother and daughter of the Jiang family, who had just become the new rich in the capital, and she could still talk to them, so when she saw the mother and daughter, she couldn't help but express the depression that had been in her heart for a long time.
Ying Bao asked curiously, "Whose daughter did Xiao Mo and Xiao Chengjun marry?"
Xiao Wangshi: "One is the daughter of Zhang Fusi, whose father is an earl, and the other is a girl from the Song Sima family."
Although Zhang Fusi's official position was not high, his family was an earl, and the title was hereditary. It would not be considered an insult to him if his daughter was promised to Xiao Mo.
Although Sima Song had some real power, none of his sons were promising. However, his only daughter was extremely beautiful and was more than enough to match Xiao Chengjun.
Yingbao was thoughtful.
Xiao Chengjun is getting married, so what should be done with Chen Tiantian
She thought about it, and finally couldn't help but ask out of curiosity: "Madam Hou, excuse me, is Chen Tiantian Xiao Chengjuan's concubine?"