Xu Qingxue is Cheng Wanmiao's best friend, one of her friends she met in Beijing, so she often moves around.
Mrs. Fu also knew about Cheng Wanmiao's visit to the Xu family.
The old lady said: "The man who can walk around in the Xu family's inner house is undoubtedly the son of the Xu family. You kid, you are too confused. Why didn't you tell me when you came back?"
Cheng Wanmiao blushed and hesitated: "Aunt, Wanmiao knew she was wrong. Wanmiao didn't know at the time..."
The old lady sighed, knowing that this incident was just an accident and she couldn't be entirely blamed. It must have been the Xu family member who happened to see Cheng Wanmiao and fell in love with her.
Thinking of this, Mrs. Fu is still a little proud in her heart. Cheng Wanmiao was only six or seven years old when she received the Hou Mansion. It can be said that she was raised by the old lady herself. The appearance of the female workers was all trained according to the standards of a noble girl. That is, she can support her status as the mistress of the Hou Mansion in the future.
It can be said that except for Cheng Wanmiao's background, which is worse than that of the noble girls in Shengjing City, everything else is exactly the same.
Mr. Xu is quite discerning.
"You don't have to worry about this, I will talk to Mrs. Xu." Mrs. Fu lovingly stroked the top of Cheng Wanmiao's hair and said slowly, "Tingye, this child has been busy recently and has not been able to take care of you. It's him." No, it just so happens that he rarely returns to Beijing, and the house has not been lively for a long time. I plan to hold a flower banquet, so you can help me organize it."
The smile on Cheng Wanmiao's face froze, and she lowered her head and said hello.
She knew that the old lady couldn't wait any longer...
The old lady wanted to take advantage of Fu Tingye's time in the capital to finalize their identity. As long as they arrange for the two of them to appear together at the flower banquet, those ladies and ladies are all shrewd people, and they will know that she is in love after hearing the strings and will not come to propose marriage every two days.
If you refuse a lot of marriage proposals, you will easily offend others.
Cheng Wanmiao left the old lady's room, feeling that her steps were sometimes deep and sometimes shallow, and she was in a trance.
It seems that just asking someone to propose marriage is no longer useful. She has to make the old lady marry her off. Is there any way... Is there any way to make the old lady change her mind
…
Mrs. Xu immediately called her son over after returning.
"Let me ask you, are you really in love with that Cheng Wanmiao?"
The young master of the Xu family is named Xu Qingran. He is two years older than his sister Xu Qingxue and is of marriageable age. Therefore, Mrs. Xu has been secretly keeping an eye on suitable ladies these days, preparing to go out for the national mourning period next spring, so that she can be prepared.
When Xu Qingran heard his mother ask this question, he couldn't help but be stunned for a moment, "Why, Mrs. Fu doesn't agree?"
Mrs. Xu shook her head and sighed: "Mrs. Fu said that she wants to keep Cheng Wanmiao at home for a few more years."
This is obviously a pretext.
Mrs. Xu glanced at her son and said, "It seems that Cheng Wanmiao didn't mention anything about you two to the old lady."
"She is from a daughter's family, so she is probably too shy to speak." Xu Qingran frowned, showing displeasure because the marriage was rejected, "I will ask my sister to ask her out some other time, and I will ask her again."
Mrs. Xu is a conscientious person, and she is a little unhappy, "Qingran, I think... should we forget it? Although she looks pretty, she is on good terms with Qingxue while also giving and receiving to you privately, which shows that her moral standards are very poor." , Mother, can you look at other girls for you?"
People's hearts are biased, and the two of them had private exchanges. She only felt that the girl had seduced her son, but she didn't think that her son was also at fault.
Xu Qingran said: "Mother, do you really think I have a crush on Cheng Wanmiao?"
Mrs. Xu was confused by her son's rhetorical question, "If not, why did you rush me to go to the Marquis Mansion to propose marriage?"
"Who is Cheng Wanmiao? She is just a country girl who is fostered in the Hou Mansion. However, she is deeply loved by the old lady and is not much different from her biological daughter. Think about it, mother, if I can marry her, I have something to do, Mr. Fu Will people help each other? Will Fu Tingye help each other?"
Xu Qingran analyzed it carefully for Mrs. Xu, "Next year is the time for the scientific examination. I will definitely pass the exam. After that, should I stay as a capital official or be sent to a remote place to be an official?"
When Mrs. Xu heard this, her face immediately turned pale.
She remembered that there was a famine last year. The hungry villagers robbed the government granary and smashed the head of the county magistrate! She doesn't want her son to be an official in a place like that!
"My father is just a minister of the Ministry of Rites. Even if he wants to help his son, he has no way. But Fu Tingye is different..." Xu Qingran lowered his voice and said, "Who doesn't know now that Fu Tingye is half the emperor of Da Qi. As long as he says a word, we can The Xu family will be able to flourish!"
The Xu family... prospered
Mrs. Xu was inevitably moved.
Among the aristocratic families in Shengjing City, the Xu family is neither above nor below, occupying an awkward middle-class position. It's not that they don't want to squeeze into the upper class, but it's actually that Mr. Xu's official career has stagnated and he has not made progress.
Mrs. Xu murmured hesitantly: "But... Fu Tingye is not Mrs. Fu's biological son after all. He has rarely come back over the years. Will he be willing to help us..."
"Mother, don't you understand? As long as Mrs. Fu wants to help, Fu Tingye will definitely help." Xu Qingran's tone was determined and confident, "Unless he wants to be known as unfilial."
Filial piety is the most important thing in Daqi. If a person is unfilial, his reputation will be ruined! If an official is unfilial, he can even be dismissed directly!
Mrs. Xu understood.
As long as Mrs. Fu truly feels sorry for Cheng Wanmiao, she will definitely not want to see her newlywed husband sent to the capital. It is the best choice to stay as a Beijing official, so that the old lady can still see Cheng Wanmiao from time to time.
This matter is easy for Fu Tingye. As long as Mrs. Fu goes to cry and complain, Fu Tingye has no reason to disagree!
"Okay." Mrs. Xu nodded firmly, "ask your sister to ask Cheng Wanmiao out some other time."
The mother and son of the Xu family had sweet dreams of fulfilling their wishes, just waiting for a suitable opportunity to mention the marriage again. They had no idea that although Mrs. Fu loved Cheng Wanmiao, she loved her as the wife of the Hou Mansion.
If Cheng Wanmiao gets married and becomes someone else's daughter-in-law, she will be like a white-eyed wolf in Mrs. Fu's eyes, worthless...
…
The opportunity that the Xu family's mother and son had been waiting for came soon.
The silent Weiyuan Marquis Mansion is about to hold a flower banquet.
During the autumnal equinox, it seems a little impatient to hold a flower feast at this time.
The flowers in summer will fade, the flowers in autumn will not have time to bloom, and the precious flowers in the courtyard will have their buds exposed and will not bloom.
However, in order to cope with these prominent families, gardeners have their own way of urging flowers to bloom in various autumn chrysanthemums.
…
Hua Qingxue looked at the box of splendid clothes and jewelry sent by Fu Tingye and was confused.
It turns out that the clothes in that box can’t be worn, so why did you send another box
Women only find it hard to wear enough clothes when they go out, and Hua Qingxue rarely goes out. She always dresses in a daily style at home, and she can be as light and comfortable as possible. As a result, most of the clothes are in the bottom of the box.
She looked at the man in front of her inquiringly, but hesitated to speak.
Accept it happily, lest he be encouraged and keep sending it away.
So, a polite rejection? Letting down other people's good intentions is a bit of a dampener on enthusiasm...
Fu Tingye was completely unaware of Hua Qingxue's entanglement and strode to the table. He didn't need Huan'er to wait on him. He picked up the teapot and poured water. He took two sips and said, "There will be a flower banquet in two days. You and I will be there together." go."
When Hua Qingxue heard that it was a banquet, her eyebrows were about to get knotted.
These activities of the ancients were too elegant for her... She really couldn't do it while admiring the beautiful natural scenery and reciting poems.
Fu Tingye added: "My mother organized it. I will take you to meet her. Relatives and friends at home will also come, just in time to recognize their faces."
He paused for a moment as he spoke, with a rare trace of embarrassment on his face, as if he was a little embarrassed, and said, "Don't be afraid, I'll just meet you and I'll be with you."
Hua Qingxue thought to herself, it turns out that this flower banquet has a different purpose, it is a marriage recognition banquet...
"I don't understand the rules here. You have to teach me what needs to be done when the time comes." She said in a soft voice, which seemed to be her agreement.
Fu Tingye coughed uncomfortably, and replied manly: "That's natural."
In fact, he made this decision after much hesitation.
Mrs. Si Bing came from the Qingzhou Camp, and outsiders regarded Hua Qingxue as his capable subordinate. Even Mrs. Fu believed so.
It was actually because of the rumored Hua Qingxue, the reincarnation of a evil star, with three heads and six arms, and an ugly appearance, so no one regarded this so-called Lady of the Soldiers as a woman.
Fu Tingye actually wanted to say a few words in front of Mrs. Fu, and then prepared to find a suitable opportunity to take Hua Qingxue there to meet Mrs. Fu.
It is no longer right to make the decision on your own marriage. If you don't even see each other, it is really unfilial and disloyal.
But for some reason, every time when he returned home, before he could open his mouth to mention this matter, Mrs. Fu kept talking about his cousin, lamenting and lamenting, saying that she was afraid that no one would take care of Cheng Wan in a hundred years. wonderful.
Fu Tingye was confused when he heard this, thinking that Cheng Wanmiao had parents and brothers, how could there be no one to take care of her
Seeing that he was not understanding, Madam Fu even directly stated on several occasions that she asked him to take care of Cheng Wanmiao.
Fu Tingye didn't understand even more! He is only temporarily staying in Shengjing and will return to the camp in the future. How to take care of him? !
He just thought that Mrs. Fu was old and confused, and listened silently without saying anything.
Mrs. Fu didn't see him express his position, thinking that he was resentful for seizing the title in his early years, so she didn't dare to persuade him, thinking that Cheng Wanmiao was pure and beautiful, and as long as the two of them were together, Fu Tingye would agree sooner or later.
What Fu Tingye wanted to do was to let Hua Qingxue show up and leave an impression on the Fu family's relatives and friends. Although he couldn't get engaged during the national mourning period, he still wanted to let everyone know that Hua Qingxue was his. Wait until next year. Go to the little emperor and ask for the marriage decree - no matter who agrees or disagrees, cut the mess quickly and get married quickly and crudely.
Just like this, the two sides misunderstood each other, and the posts about the flower banquet of Weiyuan Hou Mansion were sent out one after another.
Mrs. Fu wanted to use the flower banquet to get Fu Tingye and Cheng Wanmiao closer. Fu Tingye wanted to use the flower banquet to let Hua Qingxue meet her future mother-in-law, but Cheng Wanmiao... She had other plans for this flower banquet.