The concubine of Yanbei Palace is also the old princess. The concubine does not like others to call her a concubine, because if she is called a concubine Li, her opponent who is only half a rank lower than her will also become a concubine Yun, and you can't tell from the name. The difference between the two. Therefore, the concubine, the concubine, let people call her the old princess, while the concubine Yun was the old lady of Yun, who stood tall.
There are birthdays every year, and birthdays are held every year, so there is nothing unusual. It's just that this year seems to be a little different, because King Yanbei wrote an edict early in the morning, asking the Prince of Yanbei, who was in Kyoto as a pledge, to come back to congratulate the concubine.
Xiao Jingkang, the heir of the Yanbei palace, was recruited by the imperial court to the capital as a hostage since he was a child. Since then, he has hardly ever returned to Yanbei, and even the marriage was handled by the imperial court. This time, relying on Concubine Li to survive, the prince requested an order to return to Yanbei, which is really a joy for the people of Yanbei.
Ren Yaoqi was a little surprised when she heard the words, because she didn't remember Xiao Shizi coming back to Yanbei at this time in the last life. And now, because of the incident in Ningxia, the situation between the imperial court and Yanbei is already very dangerous. Coupled with the entry of the Xianwangfu, the imperial court will not be afraid to let the tiger return to the mountain when it releases the prince back? It is not easy for the prince to return to Yanbei, right
Lei Ting over there just mentioned it casually, and then chatted with the third master Ren about this book repair, and Ren Yaoqi didn't think about it any further.
After the meal, Ren Yaohua and sisters Ren Yaoqi came to the side to talk about themselves. Ren Yaohua told Ren Yaoqi about the little Qiao family. Ren Yaoqi just reminded Ren Yaohua to pay attention to the little Qiao family's movements to see if she had any. There is contact with people outside, and the rest are not much to say.
Ren Yaohua and Lei Ting and his wife stayed until they finished their dinner before returning to the house. When they left, the most reluctant person was Lei Pan'er. There was a pomegranate tree in the backyard of Ren's house, and Lei Pan'er was in command today. The maid plucked all the pomegranates from that tree. Although the fruit was not very sweet, the little maid had a lot of fun, and explained that next year's pomegranates must be kept for her to pick. Lei Pan'er is smart and lively, and there is no one in the Ren family who dislikes her, even the third master Ren gave her the Tian Huangshi flower and bird seal that she had carved by herself.
Li Shi and Ren Yaoqi personally sent Ren Yaohua out of the second door, and only turned around and returned to the inner courtyard after their carriage drove away. Just as he walked to the Chuihuamen, he saw Ren Yihong walking over with a strange young man.
Seeing Li Shi and Ren Yaoqi, Ren Yihong hurriedly came to greet him. Ren Yihong had also come to see Lei Ting, brother-in-law, before, but was sent to Wen Shu in the outer courtyard by Mr. Ren San.
"Mother, this is Meng Shilin, my father's student. My father asked his son to bring him here, saying that he has something to give to Brother Shilin." Ren Yihong quickly explained when Li looked at the young man beside him.
Meng Shilin hurriedly bowed to Mrs. Li and called Mrs. Li his wife.
Ren Yaoqi also looked at the young man, and saw that although his appearance was ordinary, he was very gentle, and there was a scholarly air in his gestures. Seeing that Li Shi and Ren Yaoqi were very calm, they were very polite and did not look away. When it comes to Ren Yaoqi's face, he looks neither humble nor arrogant, which means that he has received a good education. It's just that although the material on his clothes is not too bad, it seems to have been starched and washed many times, and it is very old.
"Your surname is Meng?" Mrs. Li smiled kindly at Meng Shilin and asked casually.
The Meng family is also a big family in Yanbei. The aunt of the eldest Guo family, Guo Yujiao, is the current head mistress of the Meng family. When Li heard that his surname was Meng, he thought he was a disciple of the Meng family.
Meng Shilin bowed his head and replied respectfully, "If I go back to my wife, the students are children of the Meng family."
Hearing that he was just a side member of the Meng family, Mrs. Li did not despise him, and still said kindly: "I heard the master mentioned that he has a proud disciple named Meng, so it must be you. Stop standing outside, come in and wait, I will let him go. People go and invite the lord."
Meng Shilin quickly thanked him, and it happened that Mr. Ren San came out with a few books at this time. Several people hurriedly greeted Mr. Ren San again.
It's not good for Mrs. Li to stay here longer, so he took Ren Yaoqi back first.
In the evening, Ren Yaoqi went to say good night to his parents. When he walked to the main room, he happened to hear Mr. Ren San and Mrs. Li chatting about Meng Shilin and Mrs. Li in the second room.
Mr. Ren San asked Li, "You have just met Meng Shilin, what do you think of him?"
Li shi was stunned when he heard the words, and replied, "He's a polite child."
Ren Shimin nodded with satisfaction: "Not only is he respectful of etiquette, he is also good in knowledge, and his handwriting is excellent. I have a lot of students, and his aptitude is the best, but unfortunately he missed Qiu Wei this time, and he has to do it again. Wait three years." Ren Shimin sighed regretfully when he said this.
"I heard him say that he is a side child of the Meng family?" Mrs. Li asked.
Ren Shimin nodded: "His relationship with the Meng family's first-line branch is a little far off. Both his father and first-mother have passed away, and he lives with his concubine. There is no permanent family chores. Fortunately, he is a child of the Meng family and can still accept it. The care of the clan, otherwise it is impossible to be admitted to Yunyang Academy."
For example, large families usually have clan schools, in order to facilitate the children of the clan to receive education. In Meng Shilin's situation, he can still receive help from the clan every month.
Li rarely sees Ren Shimin mentioning his student's family background in such a detailed manner, so he can't help but tentatively say: "Listen to the master, seems to appreciate him?"
Ren Shimin readily admitted: "Well, although Meng Shilin's family background is a little worse, I'm not that powerful. So I want him to be my half son."
Half son means son-in-law. Master Ren San wants to make Meng Shilin his son-in-law
Li Shi was stunned again, and could not help but ask carefully, "Which daughter do you want to marry Meng Shilin?"
Master Ren said as a matter of course: "Which other daughter is there? Of course it's Yaoying, they are all a good match in terms of birth status. Yaoyao is still young, so don't be in a hurry!"
Li: "…"
Master Ren seems to have forgotten that Ren Yaoying is younger than Ren Yaoqi.
However, Li Shi was still relieved, he let Third Master Ren admire Meng Shilin so much and thought he wanted to marry Ren Yaoqi. Although Li did not mean to look down on Meng Shilin, it did not mean that she was willing to marry her daughter to a concubine. Fortunately, Mr. Ren San has not been carried away by his love for talents.
"Yaoying is still in Baihe Town, and her marriage is afraid to ask her mother's intentions." Li shi thought for a while, and reminded Mr. Ren San gently. Mr. Ren San is a person who loves talents, but the rest of the Ren family are not necessarily so. Although Meng Shilin wasn't considered a child of the poor family, he was not much better than the child of the poor family, and the old lady Ren might not be able to pass the test.
However, Mr. Ren San had such a good impression of Meng Shilin that he didn't care when he heard the words: "I can still decide the marriage of a concubine. You don't have to worry about your mother, I will take care of it yourself."
Seeing that Mr. Ren San had made up his mind, Mrs. Li didn't say anything more, except for the son of Meng who came from his family background, there was nothing wrong with him.
Ren Yaoqi shook his head after listening to this conversation. It might not be easy for Mr. Ren to marry Ren Yaoying to Meng Shilin. Even if it's just a prostitute, it can be a bargaining chip in the Ren family's second old man. How can he let the third old man toss casually
However, Ren Shimin was really interested in this matter, and within a few days after discussing it with the Li family, he personally went to Baihe Town to discuss with Mrs. Ren that he wanted to marry Ren Yaoying to Meng Shilin.
It's just a pity that Mrs. Ren was very dissatisfied with Ren Shimin's arrangement, so she rejected it at once.
Ren Yaoying became a laughing stock because of her concubine, so at this time the big family in Yanzhou naturally looked down on her, but the old lady Ren had other plans in her heart.
The Ren family is now seeing that the day is not as good as the day. The Zhuozhou He family, who had been in business with the Ren family all the time, seems to want to find another person to cooperate with. The He family is a porcelain maker. Over the years, it has been regarded as a relatively large cooperative merchant of the Ren family. After several generations of operation, the He family's status in the business circle of Zhuozhou is not low. If the He family gave up business dealings with the Ren family at this time, the Ren family would lose more than just the He family as a business partner.
So the old lady Ren wanted to marry the He family and marry Ren Yaoying to the eldest master of the He family to fill the house. The eldest man of the He family is the eldest son of the head of the He family. His first wife died the year before, and he has two daughters, three concubine daughters and two concubine sons. It is just that the eldest master of the He family is almost fifty years old, and he is older than any old lady. Not even a few years younger.
The reason why Mrs. Ren took a fancy to the eldest master of the He family is that he is the eldest son of the He family. When the head of the He family dies, the eldest master of the He family is in charge. Moreover, the eldest Mrs. He has only two concubines and no direct sons. The old lady Ren thought about letting Ren Yaoying pass. Work hard, if you can have a son, it will be the best.
Mrs. Ren told her plan to Mr. Ren San, and Mr. Ren San was naturally unhappy. It's nothing to be a concubine to fill in a house, but the son-in-law is older than him, and Mr. Ren San feels that he can't afford to lose this person. If this marriage is done, he will not even think about raising his head in front of his friends in the future.
In the end, neither Mrs. Ren and Mr. Ren San could convince the other, and they broke up in an unhappy manner.
The old lady Ren has a lot of heart, and she was afraid that the third master Ren would be difficult to deal with, and finally secretly married Ren Yaoying to his impoverished poor student, and started to discuss marriage with the He family without telling the third master Ren. In this respect, the third master Ren is inferior to the old lady Ren, so he is one step behind her.
Ren Yaoqi watched coldly from the side, neither intervening nor asking.
But no one expected that a major event happened in Kyoto not long after, Xiao Shizi was assassinated and seriously injured.
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Update March 6th
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