Mingyu stayed in the shop until the afternoon. Mrs. Xu came out of Xuji Restaurant and went to the cloth shop to pick up her daughter. Mrs. Xu had been worried about something these days. On the way, she couldn't help but nagging Mingyu, "How many days have passed since the last time the Zhou family came? Why haven't you heard from them? What does it mean? You have to tell me."
Judging from Mrs. Zhou's reaction at the time, she seemed to be very satisfied with Xu Mingye. It would be impossible for her to disappear without any news after a while.
"Mother, why don't you ask someone?" Mingyu smiled. In matters like marriage, it should usually be the man who takes the initiative. Seeing Madam Xu looking like a mother-in-law eager for a daughter-in-law, Mingyu couldn't help but laugh.
Mrs. Xu thought about it and decided that instead of sitting at home and wondering about it, she might as well ask someone to find out clearly. If the Zhou family had no intention of forming a marriage, even if Zhou Qi pleased her, she would have to give up the idea and quickly find another wife for Xu Mingye.
After arriving home, Mrs. Xu went directly to the courtyard of the second house and talked with Mrs. Hu for a quarter of an hour before returning home, waiting for Mrs. Hu, the middleman, to ask her everything clearly.
The next day, Fu Lemei picked up Mingyu to play with her until the afternoon, after lunch, Mingyu returned home. As soon as she reached the entrance of the alley, Mingyu saw a carriage parked at the entrance of the alley, and several maids surrounded a middle-aged lady walking into the alley.
The newly opened front door of the Xu family's main house was the first one in the alley. The maid and the lady stopped at the door of Mingyu's house and did not move. Looking at the not-so-impressive door, they were a little hesitant. When the maid was about to reach out to knock on the door, she saw Mingyu and Lixiang walking towards them, so she put down her hand.
Mingyu saw that they were unfamiliar, so she didn't say anything. When Mingyu came up to them, a maid beside the noble lady asked Mingyu, "Young lady, is this Lord Xu's house?"
"Which Lord Xu are you looking for?" Mingyu asked with a smile. There are three Lord Xus in the Xu family now: Xu Changqian, Xu Changgong and Xu Mingye.
The noblewoman surrounded by the maids was in her thirties, with a high bun that was popular among the nobility. She wore a gold and silver hairpin, a six-piece pleated skirt with flowers, and a colorful silk draped over her shoulders. Perhaps it was a long time since she had been out of the carriage, and the weather was hot, so her clothes became a burden, and beads of sweat oozed out of her face, and her delicate makeup was a little smudged.
After carefully examining Mingyu, the noble lady spoke up, "Master Xu Changqian, is this your home?"
Mingyu nodded and said, "This is it." Then she went forward and knocked on the door.
Mother Liu came to open the door. She saw Mingyu first and said with a smile, "Miss, you are back!"
The noble lady next to her was shocked and looked at Mingyu again. She never expected that this clean, simple and beautiful girl was the one who had divorced Marquis Anxi.
"Who are you?" After the door was fully opened, Mama Liu saw the people standing at the door and asked, looking unfamiliar.
The maid beside the noble lady said quickly, "We are the family of Grand Secretary Zhou, and we have come to visit Madam Xu."
Mingyu was stunned. She remembered that Zhou Qi's second uncle Zhou Ren seemed to be the Grand Secretary of Baohe Hall. She asked quickly, "Are you the aunt of Zhou Qi's sister?"
The lady smiled and nodded.
When Madam Liu heard this, she hurried back and shouted, "Madam, someone from the Zhou family is here!"
The family of her future daughter-in-law came, so Mrs. Xu naturally did not dare to neglect them. She came out in person and politely welcomed Mrs. Zhou Er into the yard. It was hot in the house in summer, and there were big trees in the yard to provide shade, so Mrs. Xu asked Mrs. Zhou Er to sit on the stone bench in the yard and asked Liu Mama and Lixiang to serve tea. Mingyu was not convenient to follow, so she returned to her own room.
The Xu family's yard was not big. The seven or eight maids who came with Mrs. Zhou Er all stood in at once, and for a moment the yard seemed crowded.
Mother Liu served the tea and secretly glanced at the maids who were standing beside Madam Zhou Er like door gods, muttering to herself that the style of this high-ranking official's family was different. He had to bring so many people with him whenever he went out.
Mrs. Zhou Er did not expect that the Xu family's courtyard was so small. It was naturally difficult to talk when it was full of people. After pondering for a moment, she waved her hand and left a trusted maid behind, and sent the rest back to the carriage to wait.
"I'm so sorry." Madam Xu smiled, "Our house is small, and I'm sorry to have troubled you, Madam."
Mrs. Zhou Er looked around the Xu family's courtyard calmly and said with a smile, "No, no, I came in a hurry and didn't greet you in advance. I was rude."
After some politeness, Mrs. Zhou Er smiled and said, "I came here uninvited today because the old lady at home heard about Sister Qi's situation and kept urging me to come and see her and ask about her. Sister Qi was raised by the old lady. She has been treating her more intimately than other grandchildren since she was a child. The old lady is afraid that the eldest sister-in-law is not considerate enough and is worried."
Madam Xu nodded and smiled, "That's as it should be. Your old lady loves Miss Zhou, and it's her blessing."
Mrs. Zhou Er smiled more easily, "Mrs. Xu is a reasonable person." She looked around the yard again. Although the house was not old, she could not find any that she liked. After enduring for a long time, Mrs. Zhou Er could not help but ask, "This yard is not big. If the young master gets married, where will the new house be set up?"
"These are Mingye's rooms. When we get married, we'll renovate these rooms, repaint the walls, and buy new furniture. This won't let the new daughter-in-law down." Mrs. Xu said with a smile, pointing at Xu Mingye's room.
These are all practical questions. If the Zhou family really wants to marry their daughter to him, it would not be rude to ask these questions.
Mrs. Zhou Er heard Mrs. Xu's answer, smiled, and did not speak. From what Mrs. Xu said, the Xu family had no intention of buying a new house for the young couple.
Mrs. Xu felt uncomfortable when she saw that smile. Xu Mingye was her flesh and blood, her first child, and her only son. She had thought about buying a new house for her son when he got married, but she couldn't bear to let her son leave her after he got married after raising him to this age. Secondly, land in the capital was very expensive, and houses in good locations were very expensive. She wanted to leave the family's money to Mingyu now, so that if something unexpected happened, Mingyu would have money to rely on. Xu Mingye was an official, so he would never starve, but Mingyu made her and Xu Changqian worried. She could only let her son down temporarily and save money for a few more years. When she had enough money, she would buy a new house for her son.
Mrs. Zhou Er smiled politely and used the lid of the teacup to gently stir the tea leaves floating on the water. The maids and servants that the old lady planned to give to Zhou Qi as a dowry alone were five or six people. This courtyard might not be able to accommodate them. Could it be that all the people who came with the Zhou family's dowry would sleep in the courtyard? No wonder the old lady was furious when she knew that her eldest sister-in-law was going to arrange such a marriage for Zhou Qi. She said that her eldest sister-in-law's brain was gnawed by rats and pushed her daughter into the fire pit. No matter how good Xu Mingye was, could he turn out mountains of gold and silver for her granddaughter to enjoy? Could he let her granddaughter marry here and become a rich and noble wife
What's more, Mrs. Zhou Er's smile deepened, thinking of the girl from the Xu family whom she saw when she first arrived at the Xu family, Xu Mingye's biological sister, the divorced woman. She looked very shrewd. It was said that she was the one who calculated all the accounts in the Xu family's store, and she was better than the experienced accountant.
Zhou Qi, that stupid girl, who had to help others count money even after being sold, can't beat this girl from the Xu family.
Mrs. Zhou was silent, and Mrs. Xu had nothing to say. If the Zhou family disliked the Xu family for this reason and did not want to marry into the family, she would have nothing to say. The Xu family was not a wealthy family, and they would not pretend to be rich.
After a long while, Madam Zhou Er put down her teacup and slowly spoke, smiling, "The old lady asked me to ask you a question... Actually, these words are inappropriate and should not be said, but for the sake of the children, I will swallow my pride and ask you a question. I heard that you have a daughter who is divorced. I wonder when you and Master Xu plan to find a husband for her?"
Madam Xu's expression suddenly changed, and she looked at Madam Zhou solemnly, "What does this have to do with you?" Could it be that the daughters of the Zhou family are not allowed to have sisters-in-law in their husband's family when they get married? Even the daughters of the emperor don't have such a big rule. What's more, Mingyu was divorced, which touched Madam Xu's sensitive nerves. She was not afraid of anything, but she was afraid that her children would be wronged.
Even if the Xu family wanted to marry the Zhou family's daughter, Mrs. Xu would never allow the Zhou family to talk about Mingyu behind her back.
Mrs. Zhou Er smiled and said, "Don't be angry, Madam. I'm just asking. I don't mean anything else. We have to make things clear before the old lady can marry Sister Qi." It's hard for a divorced woman to marry. Does the Xu family intend to support the girl for the rest of her life? When Xu Changqian and Madam Xu are gone, will she live with her brother and sister-in-law
Madam Xu had a hot temper. After hearing Madam Zhou Er's words, she suppressed her anger a little and forced a smile, saying, "She is still young, and her father and I are reluctant to let her get married. We want to keep her for two more years. Besides, we have two shops at home, and she has been managing them all the time. Her father and I are going to leave them to her."
After looking at Mrs. Zhou Er's expression, Mrs. Xu emphasized, "The shops are well managed. With these two shops, she will have no worries about food and clothing. She definitely doesn't need to rely on her brother and sister-in-law for support."
How could she not know the little tricks of the Zhou family? They were afraid that Mingyu would not be able to get married and would stay with her brother and sister-in-law and become a freeloader. They were also afraid that her sister-in-law would be difficult to get along with and bully the daughter of the Zhou family. But her daughter, Madam Xu, knew it well. She had a strong self-esteem and was soft-hearted and kind. Even if she didn't have these two shops and went out to do odd jobs, Mingyu would not wait for her brother and sister-in-law to support her, let alone bully others. It was simply throwing dirty water on her daughter. How could she not be angry
After hearing what Mrs. Xu said, Mrs. Zhou Er was not relieved, but frowned even more. She knew that the Xu family did not have much property. She was not clear about the hidden things, but the open things were probably only these two shops. How could it be reasonable to give the property to the daughter instead of the son