"What a big tone!"
This was the common thought in the minds of the matchmaker and the two men. At the same time, they couldn't help but look at Ji Yuan again. Although he was dressed relatively simply, his temperament was truly extraordinary.
The man with a short beard couldn't help but speak.
"Miss Sun is indeed a rare talented woman, but your words are a bit too much. We naturally don't take them seriously, but if someone hears them, your words will also affect the reputation of the Sun family."
The man's words were quite polite while expressing his dissatisfaction. Although the matchmaker on the side was smiling, her words were a little more explicit.
"Oh, what are you talking about, sir? It seems like you have a close relationship with the Sun family, but I'm a matchmaker, and I have to understand both sides' family backgrounds clearly. What you just said was indeed a bit exaggerated. Of course, you must be Miss Sun's elder, so it's understandable that you said that, hehe."
Ji Yuan smiled and nodded. This matchmaker was indeed a matchmaker for many years. She must be an expert among matchmakers. Her speaking skills were indeed quite good. She didn't even use any dirty words when she was satirizing people. To put it bluntly, she was saying that the Sun family was not innocent. Don't tell lies. The "not innocent" here does not mean that someone in the Sun family committed a crime, but that they were engaged in a lowly occupation. The Sun family had been making braised noodles for generations, and it was a small roadside stall, which was an obscene occupation.
The matchmaker had just finished speaking when she really looked into Ji Yuan's eyes for the first time. She also saw the pair of pale eyes without any illusions, and was obviously stunned for a moment.
"snort!"
Sun Yaya also snorted coldly at the side, but did not say anything. In essence, she knew that this was the truth. The other people in the Sun family could not hear anything, but they could feel that the atmosphere seemed a little tense as soon as Ji Yuan said this.
"Well, Mr. Ji, after all, they are all guests..."
Sun Fu said this to Ji Yuan with a stiff head, and the latter turned his gaze away from the matchmaker and smiled at Sun Fu.
"Haha, I was talking too much, but what I just said was not false."
When Sun Fu's eyes met Ji Yuan's, he suddenly understood something.
"Oh, everyone, have some tea, everyone, have some tea! Yaya, refill the tea for everyone."
"Why!"
As Sun Yaya carried the teapot and poured tea for everyone, the slightly tense atmosphere eased. However, with Ji Yuan's arrival, whether the matchmaker was willing or not, the main topic would inevitably shift away from matchmaking. The Sun family would talk about what had happened in Ning'an County in recent years, and they were also very curious about Ji Yuan's experiences. Ji Yuan would also talk about what he could say, in order to satisfy everyone's curiosity.
The two men also listened carefully to what both sides said, and they also wanted to know more about Ji Yuan. Only the matchmaker still did not forget her mission and her reward, and she insisted on pulling Sun Yaya's mother to the side and kept talking about this marriage.
About a quarter of an hour later, people from the old Sun family arrived one after another. The ones who paid more attention to Ji Yuan were Sun Fu's brothers and Sun Fu's direct descendants. But as they wanted to join in the fun, quite a few members of the Sun family came, and the first ones were two very old people.
As if they had made an appointment, so many people from the Sun family arrived at Sun Yaya's house at about the same time, and then entered the yard one after another.
This group of people came to see him in a bustling crowd, so Ji Yuan certainly couldn't sit still. He walked out of the living room and into the courtyard. All the young and old members of the Sun family, led by a few elders, bowed to Ji Yuan together.
"I, the eldest son of the Sun family, would like to greet Mr. Ji!"
"No need to be so polite."
Ji Yuan helped the two old men to sit up straight, and as for the others, most of them were just there to join in the fun and just nodded.
Sun Fu's second brother grabbed Ji Yuan's hand with a trembling arm and exclaimed with a little excitement.
"Sir, I haven't seen you for many years! I should have gone to visit you with my father back then!"
Sun Fu's third brother was feeling a little better, but still looked very old, and he did not forget to talk to Ji Yuan.
"Mr. Ji, I'm Xiao Mao. Do you remember me? Back then, you spent money to rescue Red Fox from a few ruffians, and I was carrying rice and flour beside you."
Ji Yuan smiled and nodded at them, but didn't say much. He had occasionally seen the Sun brothers on the street before. In fact, except for Sun Fu, these brothers did respect Ji Yuan at the beginning, but it was only respect for a scholar, which was not something special. But obviously their thoughts have changed now that they are old.
The matchmaker, the two men, and the four sedan bearers in the yard were watching in surprise. There were actually more than thirty people from the Sun family, big and small, who came with their families. Not only did they bow to Ji Yuan together, but the tone of the two trembling old men when talking to Ji Yuan was as if they were younger generations talking to their elders. It was a very strange feeling.
After the Sun family members had paid their respects together, they were still talking loudly and noisily. Sun Fu then walked aside and tactfully expressed his intention to send the matchmakers away. After all, it was not appropriate to discuss marriage at home today.
Of course the matchmaker was quite dissatisfied.
"Old man Sun, this marriage is impossible to find even with a lantern, your Sun family must not ruin Sun Yaya's life!"
"Yes, yes, old man, I understand."
"I think you don't quite understand. Mr. Feng not only has a good family background, but also has high knowledge. He will soon take part in the autumn examination, and he will definitely pass the exam. Moreover, he also studied at Huiyuan Academy before. If we use our connections, he and Prince Consort Yin are from the same academy. When he goes to the capital in the future, he may even be able to establish a relationship with Prime Minister Yin..."
The matchmaker was still talking, but Sun Fu suddenly felt impatient. He remembered what Yaya had said, that Prince Consort Yin had brought the princess to Ju'an Pavilion to meet Mr. Ji. The matchmaker's chattering suddenly seemed ridiculous.
"Alright, alright, I understand. Please go back!"
The matchmaker was very good at observing people's words and expressions. She vaguely sensed the change in Sun Fu's attitude, and after a moment's pause she said no more.
"Then think about it carefully. I'll come back another day."
"Okay, everyone, take care. I have guests at home, so I won't see you off!"
The matchmaker and the two men left together, the former got on the sedan chair and the latter got on the horse. When leaving, the two men still looked back at the Sun family courtyard several times.
Walking on the road, the short-bearded man said to his companion beside him.
"Is there a person named Ji Yuan in Ning'an County?"
"never heard of that."
The matchmaker in the sedan also peeked out from behind the side curtain.
"I haven't heard of it either. I've asked around the families that have a good relationship with the Sun family. How could there be someone with the last name Ji?"
However, among the bearers of the sedan chair, a sturdy man hesitated for a moment and then spoke.
"As for the people with the surname Ji in Ning'an County, I do have some memories of them..."
The sedan chair was ordered from the county, so the bearers were all locals of Ning'an County. The short-bearded man riding the horse immediately showed an interested expression.
"Oh? Tell me about it!"
The bearer lifted the sedan chair steadily while speaking with a hint of hesitation.
"Although I have some memories, but, uh..."
"Hey, why don't you say something!"
The matchmaker was not so polite to these sedan bearers.
"Yes, yes! In the early years, um, when I was very young, I heard about Mr. Ji. He seemed to be a strange man in my county. He lived in a haunted house and spent money to treat injured foxes..."
When the sedan bearer said this, one of his three companions spoke up immediately.
"Oh, so it's the 'fox paying homage to the master' thing, right? So the master's last name is Ji?"
"Yes, yes, that's the incident. According to the rumors, the fox was almost beaten to death by a local thug and nearly bitten to death by a dog. When it saw Mr. Ji passing by, it desperately ran out to the road and knelt down to beg for help. Then Mr. Ji spent money to buy the fox from the local thug and took it to be treated."
"Hey, I remembered something. It is rumored that Yin Wenqu and Mr. Ji were good friends and had a very good relationship before they entered the government. I don't know if it is true or not..."
The matchmaker and the two men were stunned by these words.
"But if it is as you said, how old is Mr. Ji?"
"Yeah, so I'm not sure about these things. Oh, by the way, the one who came should be Mr. Ji's son."
"Yes, that's right! That should be it!" "I think so too. That master doesn't look much older than me, but when the story of 'The Fox Pays Homage to the Master' happened, I hadn't even spoken yet."
"Ha ha ha ha… "
The bearers all laughed.
The man on horseback didn't believe much in other words, but he was still concerned about matters related to Yin Zhaoxian. Perhaps the man named Ji Yuan just now, his elder was really a friend of Yin Gong.
Thinking of this, the short-bearded man and his companions decided to find out more about this matter. If it was true, it was no wonder that Mr. Ji dared to make such a big statement. Although it was still exaggerated, at least he had some confidence. Then the Feng family should pay more attention to this marriage with the Sun family!
The marriage proposal team went away. In the Sun family's courtyard, Ji Yuan finally dealt with all the Sun family members, young and old. In the end, the only ones who stayed at Sun Yaya's house to have dinner together were Sun Fu and his two brothers. Everyone else had already gone back. Even Sun Fu's other two sons had left long ago, which made Sun Fu secretly regret not having time to call them.
Sun Fu personally prepared dinner. Sun Yaya's parents could only help out on the side. Ji Yuan stood at the door of the living room and looked at the kitchen. Although he couldn't see clearly what was going on inside, the sight of Yaya's father busying around and being frequently criticized by Sun Fu made Ji Yuan think that Sun's braised noodles might be lost.
"Sir, what are you looking at? Come and take a seat. The food will be served soon!"
Sun Yaya called out in the hall, and a small round table had already been set up with chairs ready for people to take their seats.
A moment later, the Sun family sat around the table. There were fish, meat, chicken soup, and a large bowl of braised noodles and mutton offal from Sun. The Sun family members toasted enthusiastically to Ji Yuan, who was sitting at the top. Ji Yuan accepted all the toasts and drank as many cups as he could without changing his expression.
The topic of reminiscing about the past was almost over and finally turned to Sun Yaya's marriage. After Sun Fu toasted Ji Yuan again, he spoke carefully.
"Mr. Ji, Yaya is where she is today because you taught her to write. Now she is of marriageable age, it's time for her to find a good match. Do you think the Feng family is not suitable?"
Sun Yaya became annoyed when she heard this.
"Grandpa, I have seen that Feng guy in Chunhui Mansion before, and I don't like him!"
"Marriage is a matter of parents' orders and matchmaker's words, don't mess around!"
Sun's father scolded Sun Yaya, who held her breath and left the table and went back to her room.
Ji Yuan swallowed the food and wine in his mouth, put down his chopsticks, and looked at Sun Fudao seriously.
"Back then, when I was outside Tianniufang, I said that the Sun family could come to me if they had any problems. So now it's just for this marriage?"
Ji Yuan smiled and glanced at all the people in the Sun family. Sun Fu was slightly stunned and opened his mouth, but he bit the word "yes" and didn't say it.
"Look, sir!"
Sun Yaya returned to the living room and unfolded a copybook in her hand. Ji Yuan turned around and looked at it, his eyes lit up. The calligraphy in Sun Yaya's hand was in her handwriting, but the words were lively and graceful, like a pool of beautiful water. Ji Yuan glanced at it and found that every word was like waves, but if you look closely, you can find that there are icy edges in it!
“Good handwriting!”
“Sir, the Sun family can come to you if they have any questions, but other people in the Sun family cannot represent Yaya!”
Sun Yaya's words were powerful and Ji Yuan smiled and nodded.
"rational!"
... ...
PS: Double the monthly tickets, please give me monthly tickets, please give me monthly tickets! Please favor me, big guys!