Mrs. Tai celebrates her fifty-fifth birthday, and all the descendants and grandchildren have to prepare birthday gifts.
Mrs. Tai is the kindest old lady Song Jianing has ever met in her two lifetimes. She is very kind to both of them. In Song Jianing's heart, Mrs. Tai is like a bodhisattva in the sky, so she started to prepare birthday gifts early. It doesn't matter how perfunctory the gift to Guo Xiao is, Song Jianing changed three or four pieces of the embroidered crane and peach veil for Mrs.
After the sixth birthday, Song Jianing finished embroidering the veil on the fourth day, and happily went to Huanyueju to find his mother.
Qiuyue and Caiwei were standing under the eaves of the porch. When they saw Song Jianing, the two girls looked at each other and greeted them in unison, "The four girls are here!"
Song Jianing put his whole heart on his veil, didn't look at them carefully, smiled, and went straight in. Qiuyue thought about the time when the grandfather went in for a cup of tea, and there was no movement inside, so he did not stop him, and only explained naturally: "The grandfather returned to the mansion early today, and is talking to his wife."
Song Jianing slowed down when he heard the words.
On the warm couch in the Dongci room, Lin Shi just broke free from Guo Boyan's arms, quickly tidied up his clothes, picked up the man who covered Brother Mao'er on his lap, and called out loudly, "An An, come in. , just now my mother was talking about you."
Song Jianing breathed a sigh of relief, really afraid that his mother and stepfather were loving each other.
When I entered the house, I saw my mother sitting on the couch, my stepfather sitting inside with my brother in my arms, a man in his late 40s, wearing a homely amethyst robe, looking at her with a smile on his lips, but still exuding a kind of high-ranking man. Majesty, but he was holding a four-month-old boy at this time, no matter how he looked at it, he looked more like a loving father.
"Father." Song Jianing called out with a smile.
Guo Boyan nodded and asked curiously, "Why did you come here?" This daughter sticks to her younger brother. Every time he came back, the little girl almost always coaxed her younger brother to play with her mother.
Song Jianing took out the handkerchief she had embroidered for a long time, and said shyly, "I just finished embroidering the birthday present for my grandmother, and I want to invite my mother to take a look."
Guo Boyan didn't understand needlework, so he hummed and lowered his head to coax his son.
Lin took the handkerchief embroidered by her daughter, looked at both sides carefully, smiled and encouraged: "An'an needlework is getting better and better, your grandmother must like it, put it away, don't get it dirty."
Song Jianing was very happy when she was praised. She heard her brother's babbling. She had not played with him for a long time, so she couldn't help staring at him. Guo Boyan hadn't had enough of his son, but seeing the longing in his daughter Xing's eyes, he smiled, motioned Song Jianing to sit on the couch, and then handed Brother Mao to his daughter.
Four-month-old brother Mao, who is white and chubby, has big black eyes, and can already recognize the common relatives around him. Seeing his elder sister, his small mouth twitched, revealing his small pink gums. Song Jianing was very unusual. He held his brother with one hand and lifted it with the other, teasing his younger brother with the jade bracelet on his wrist.
Lin Shi looked at the two children, remembered one thing, and said to Guo Boyan: "Today, the wife of Mrs. Liu, the minister of household affairs, came to visit her mother, and took Tingfang's hand and praised for a long time. I heard her words, it seems that there is a matchmaking court. The meaning of Fang and his second son."
Regarding her sister's marriage, Song Jianing secretly pricked up her ears.
Guo Boyan didn't think about it and said, "Don't worry about anyone who asks. Zhengchang is a good man I've seen with my own eyes. As long as the first six courtesies meet, the two of us can formally discuss marriage." He and Zhenbei General Handa is a life-threatening friendship. The Han family has only Handa in one room, and her daughter is the only young lady who married her. She has no troubles with the concubine. The mother-in-law above likes her since childhood, which is perfect.
Naturally, Mrs. Lin knew that the Han family was good, so she sighed softly, "It's too far. I'm afraid that Tingfang lives there alone and feels homesick."
Guo Boyan did not speak, and he was reluctant to marry his daughter, but the Han family was the best destination for her daughter in the second half of her life.
Song Jianing lowered her head to look at her younger brother, but her ears picked up what her parents were talking about. She couldn't tell what it was like in her heart. She felt reluctant to part with sister Tingfang, happy to know that the Han family was her sister's good match, and a little sour. Sour bitterness. If her father and mother were all good in the last life, they would definitely discuss her marriage in such a soft voice, choose the best husband for her, marry her in a beautiful and beautiful way, and have the support of her parents, her husband would not dare to follow suit. Just give her to someone else...
Immersed in the loneliness of a previous life, her wrist suddenly became heavy, and Song Jianing recovered to see that Brother Mao's two little fat hands actually hugged her arms that had been lowered unconsciously, and pushed them into his mouth with all his strength. Seeing his brother's open mouth, Song Jianing suddenly forgot all his unhappiness, and lowered his head to stick his forehead with his brother.
In this life, her mother was still alive, her stepfather was also very kind to her, and she also had a younger brother. With so many family members who cared about her, Song Jianing believed that she would be like Sister Tingfang in this life, marrying someone who could marry her. A good man who gave her a peaceful life.
On the sixth day of the first lunar month, when Mrs. Han and her son came to Changxinyuan to pay their respects to Mrs. Tai, Song Jianing and Sanfang had already hid in the side room in advance. Tingfang was shy and hid away by herself. Song Jianing, Lanfang and Yunfang hid behind the door curtain. Then, looking out expectantly. Song Jianing occupied one side, Han Zhengchang and his mother walked in side by side. Fortunately, Han Zhengchang was very tall and stalwart, so the three sisters could see it clearly.
The man is not very handsome, but he is definitely handsome. What impressed Song Jianing the most was Han Zhengchang's straight nose, which looked particularly decent. When she had seen enough, Song Jianing ran over and pulled her shy sister over. She opened a curtain of the door for her to see. How could Tingfang not be curious about the man her father and grandmother chose for her, she glanced out half-push, and noticed at first that the man was tall, taller than her brother, and at the second she thought that the man was darker and not as good-looking as her brother, In the end, she held back her restraint and looked at it again, and felt that it was okay. She looked like Zhou Zheng, and her character was checked by her father. What else could she worry about
After reading it, Tingfang blushed and walked away. The birthday banquet was over that day. Mrs. Tai asked her most beloved granddaughter. Tingfang blushed and nodded, and agreed. After finally conveying her granddaughter's wishes to Guo Boyan, Mrs. Tai had a mind on her mind, and she was very reluctant to give up. She handed over the marriage to Lin to arrange the marriage.
Zhenbei general Han Da and his son will return to the frontier at the end of February. It happens that there is an auspicious day in the latter half of the year. The marriage between the two families is officially set.
The important matter was resolved, and Han Da and his son left the capital with their horses, leaving only Mrs. Han to sit in the general's mansion and handle matters such as the betrothal gifts. On the same day, the Chu Prince's Mansion sent a wedding invitation to the Duke of Wei's Mansion and invited the Guo family to come to the Chu Prince's Mansion for a wedding drink on March 18th. Guo Boyan acted cautiously, inquired secretly, and was relieved to learn that the king of Chu invited his ministers to be instructed by Emperor Xuande.
The King of Chu was the eldest son of Emperor Xuande, and the first son was married. Emperor Xuande naturally hoped that it would be a lively affair to show the majesty of the heavenly family.
On the side of Duke Wei's mansion, the only male guests at the banquet were Guo Boyan and his son, and the female dependents were led by Mrs. Tai with Song Jianing and Yunfang, the two little girls. The royal mansion was very important. Too many people went to it, and it was easy to cause trouble.
Song Jianing went to bed early the night before to go to the palace for wedding wine, and slept in a daze the next morning, when he vaguely heard movement on the street. Song Jianing opened his eyes, it was still dark outside the window, everything was silent, and there was the sound of wheels rolling away. Song Jianing yawned and understood, it should be the next door King Shou who set off and went to help his brother early.
Song Jianing was very sleepy and continued to sleep. When the group arrived at the Chu palace, a long queue of carriages had already stopped outside the Chu palace. Guo Boyan and Guo Xiao's father and son dismounted first, and Mrs. Tai also got out of the car with her two granddaughters, and the three generations walked for a while. After entering the palace, the female relatives went directly to the backyard.
"That is Princess Qin." Mrs. Tai walked forward slowly with a smile on her face, her lips moved, and she reminded her two granddaughters softly.
Song Jianing was no longer the little girl in the south of the Yangtze River who had just entered the imperial manor and knew nothing. She had long heard of these royal relatives in the capital from other people.
Emperor Xuande had two brothers with the same father and mother. The elder brother was the founding emperor, Gaozu, who conquered the Great Zhou Dynasty. Emperor Gaozu died of illness, and Emperor Xuande ascended the throne. The third younger brother, who was younger than him, was the King of Qin. King Qin is thirty-four years old this year. Although he has an official position that sounds majestic, he is actually a free-spirited prince. He usually lives in a secluded place. , Only the young King of Qin stayed in his hometown, and the King of Chu followed the third uncle all day long.
Princess Qin is about the same age as the Lin family, but the Lin family is beautiful. Compared with other beauties in the capital, Princess Qin looks a little inconspicuous, and she doesn't have the air of a princess. The lady of the official family was no different. When she saw Mrs. Tai, she took a few steps outside to greet her.
"Princess is very polite." Mrs. Tai was flattered.
Princess Qin said softly, "You are an elder, you should." After speaking, she looked at Sister Song Jianing.
The sisters saluted obediently, and Princess Qin complimented one by one.
After the ceremony, Mrs. Tai went to sit in the flower hall. Song Jianing stayed by her grandmother's side and pursed her lips when she heard Princess Duanhui's voice coming from outside. As if Mrs. Tai knew what she was thinking, she gently patted her granddaughter's little hand. There, Princess Duanhui and Princess Qin finished their politeness, and immediately came over to find her grandmother. When she saw Song Jianing, Princess Duanhui's face sank, and she acted like a coquettish girl and wanted to grab Song Jianing's position.
Song Jianing was about to step aside, when Mrs. Tai pointed to a main seat next to her and said, "Don't rush, don't rush, I'll reserve a seat for you."
His tone was friendly, with a hint of warning in his eyes.
Princess Duanhui didn't dare to be presumptuous in front of her grandmother, glared at Song Jianing, and passed over reluctantly.
The guests chatted with laughter and laughter. After the madam finished tasting the third bowl of tea, the sound of crackling firecrackers suddenly came from the front yard of the palace. Princess Yunfang and Princess Duanhui jumped up almost at the same time, and went to the front to watch the newcomers enter the door. Mrs. Tai smiled and tilted her head to persuade her little granddaughter: "An'an also go have a look, next year will be a big girl, I won't let you go if you want to see it."
And how many times can ordinary people experience marriage in a lifetime
Song Jianing wanted to see it at first, but since Mrs. Tai allowed it, Song Jianing was accompanied by Mrs. Tai's maid, Jin Gui, and went happily.