"No!" Madam Guo looked at Cheng Xu deeply and said calmly, "I'm not asking you to beg Lord Zhou. I'm asking you to live a good life with Miss Min in the future!"
"Grandma!" Cheng Xu shouted.
Madam Guo said, "If the Cheng and Xu families had not yet made up their minds, I might support you in going to Master Zhou, but now your marriage to Miss Min has been decided. If you regret the marriage, have you ever thought about the consequences?"
Cheng Xu couldn't help but muttered, "Hasn't the engagement been made yet?"
Madam Guo laughed and said, "It's true that we haven't made a small engagement. But you have already matched your horoscopes and given the betrothal gifts. According to etiquette, if you were beaten to death at this time, Miss Min would either marry your tablet and live as a widow in the Cheng family, or her father and brother would come forward to discuss with our Cheng family and issue a marriage certificate to Miss Min so that she can find another marriage. If our Cheng family disagrees, then Miss Min can't get married. Now that you know this, do you still want to go to Master Zhou?"
Cheng Xu's eyes showed shame, and although he didn't say anything, he then showed a bit of stubbornness.
Mrs. Guo knew that he had not given up yet, so she sighed in her heart and said, "If you must break off the engagement, that's fine..."
Cheng Xu's eyes lit up again.
Old Madam Guo said, "The fourth master of the Min family has been the chief clerk of the Imperial Household Department for six years and wants to be promoted to the position of the Imperial Household Department Secretary. Among the few people in our family who are officials in the court, your second uncle even resigned from the position of chief priest, and he must be unwilling to move. Because of your father, your second uncle may be sent out. If he is sent out, he must at least seek a post as a governor of a fortress. Your second uncle Yuan from the fourth room is also a promising man. He was also a Jinshi, and now he is a county magistrate. According to your second uncle's opinion, the best thing is to be promoted to the position of the governor. It would be best if your second uncle could be appointed as the governor of Zhejiang or Fujian. The former governs the richest place in the world, while the latter is far away and convenient for doing things. If your second uncle goes to Zhejiang, then find a way to transfer your second uncle Yuan to Huating or Songjiang; if your second uncle goes to Fujian, then transfer your second uncle Yuan to Zhoushan or Ningbo. In this way, your father will have your second uncle as his arm, and your second uncle will have your second uncle Yuan to support each other, so it will be easier for them to do things.
"In a few years, when you pass the imperial examination and your uncle has the qualifications to be sent out, the Ministry of Personnel will not be able to use your father's appointment to the cabinet as an excuse, and you will be able to become a junior minister.
"Then transfer your second uncle Yuan to a place like Huguang or Dezhou to be the prefect, and you to the six ministries as a clerk, and this situation will slowly unfold.
“We understand this principle, and so do other families.
"The fifth master of the Min family has been in the Hanlin Academy for more than ten years. He was a scholar in the imperial examinations back then, and his seniority is higher than your second uncle. The Min family now has a top scholar, Min Jianxing, who is working as an editor in the Hanlin Academy. There is no point for the fifth master of the Min family to stay in the Hanlin Academy. He is now eyeing the position of the governor of Zhejiang.
"If you break off the engagement with the Min family without reason, the Min family will agree, but they will definitely ask us to help the fifth master of the Min family obtain the post of governor of Zhejiang.
"If your second uncle fails to get the post of governor of Fujian, your father will become very lonely in the court.
"With the support of the Cheng and Yuan families, the Min family will be able to take the post of Zhejiang Provincial Governor as easily as taking candy from a sack, without any suspense.
"In a few years, when Min Jianxing is released, he will at least be a secretary of the Six Ministries. And the fifth master of the Min family has the qualifications to be sent out, so he can return to the capital to fight for the position of Junior Nine Ministers.
"As one gains, the other loses. I'm afraid that our Cheng family will be suppressed by the Min family.
"Jiashan, do you still want to break off the engagement with the Min family?"
There was a struggle in Cheng Xu's eyes.
Madam Guo continued, "You might say that the Prime Minister Song Jingran, who was born in a humble family, became the Grand Secretary of the Dongge and the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, didn't he? That's true. You might also become a prime minister, but along the way, did Lord Song ever let his father and brothers sacrifice for him? Make concessions for him? Why should your father and uncle sacrifice and make concessions for you just for your personal feelings? In this way, can you live up to your father who gave birth to you and raised you in Jiuru Lane? Even if you become the Prime Minister one day, when you worship your ancestors, can you face those ancestors enshrined in the ancestral hall with ease? When you return home in glory, can you face those uncles and brothers who have placed infinite hopes on you with ease?"
A tear fell from the corner of Cheng Xu's eye.
After a long while, he whispered, "Grandma, is there no other way
"Yes!" Mrs. Guo said, "You leave Jiuru Lane, you leave the Cheng family, and from now on you are no longer a member of the Cheng family. You can go to Baoding Prefecture to ask to see Lord Zhou..."
"Grandma!" Cheng Xu's eyes lit up again, and he asked uncertainly, "But will Lord Zhou agree to my request?"
"I don't know!" Madam Guo felt a chill in her heart, but her voice became gentler. "If you leave the Cheng family, it's possible that Lord Zhou will think that you can abandon the interests of the family and abandon Shao Jin after marrying her..."
"No, I won't!" Cheng Xu shouted with a stiff neck.
Mrs. Guo was unmoved and said directly, "I don't want to marry my daughter to you. Maybe I think you gave up everything to marry Shaojin, and you are a sentimental person. I married Shaojin to you. But no matter what, this is your own decision, and you have to bear the consequences of your own decision. So when you decide to cancel the engagement with the Min family, you have to think clearly. Do you regret leaving the Cheng family and not being able to marry Shaojin? If you don't leave the Cheng family, you will definitely not be able to marry Shaojin. Are you willing to..."
"I won't accept this, I won't accept this!" Cheng Xu whispered.
Madam Guo stared at Cheng Xu for a moment and said softly, "Look at you, you are not good at left or right. You want to be the master of the Cheng family in Jiuru Lane, and you also want to marry your ideal wife Zhou Shaojin, but there is no perfect thing in this world? You didn't fight for yourself before, and now you are unwilling to accept the situation you have put yourself in.
"Jiashan, this is actually what we often call cowardice! You don't dare to fight for what you want, and when you feel regretful, you are unwilling to bear the consequences. For someone like you, even if your family paves a golden road for you, you will walk on it reluctantly, and in the end you will be squeezed out by those who beg for it desperately."
Cheng Xu looked at Mrs. Guo in astonishment.
Madam Guo said calmly, "Jiashan, you should take good care of your injuries and prepare to marry the eldest daughter of the Min family! Some opportunities are lost forever. Just remember one thing, your father and uncle don't owe you anything, and they have no obligation to bear the consequences of your willfulness. You are responsible for what you do, don't drag others into it."
Cheng Xu's eyes gradually dimmed.
Madam Guo turned away from the bed and called Biyu and Feicui to come in: "You don't have to do anything these two days, just serve me well. When my injury is almost healed, you should get married. I will reward you handsomely then."
The two knelt together and saluted, saying, "We don't deserve the old lady's generous reward. This is what we servants should do."
Mrs. Guo nodded and went to the study next door.
“Some opportunities are lost, and they are lost forever!”
"Your father and uncle don't owe you anything, and they have no obligation to bear the consequences of your willfulness!"
"It's possible that Lord Zhou thinks that you can disregard the interests of the family and may abandon Shao Jin after marrying her, so he is unwilling to marry his daughter to you!"
"Maybe they will think that you gave up everything to marry Shao Jin, and that you are a person of character, so they will marry Shao Jin to you!"
…
Cheng Xu's mind was in a mess, and Mrs. Guo's words kept echoing in his mind.
In the flower hall, Wu Baozhang stood in the middle of the hall and answered Cheng Chi's words: "I thought that Gao Congsao had just come in, and it happened that there was nothing to do in the afternoon. There were only two young ladies in the mansion, Jia Congmei and the second cousin of the Zhou family. I was also good friends with them when I was a girl. So I thought of inviting the two of them to go to Gao Congsao's place to sit together, as a way to welcome Gao Congsao to marry into Jiuru Lane. Who knew that when I entered the cave, I found..." Her face flushed, and she looked so embarrassed that she couldn't continue.
Cheng Chi seemed to have no idea what she was worried about, and said gently: "What did you see? We are all family members here, so you might as well tell us directly!"
An attitude of getting to the bottom of things no matter how hard you try.
Wu Baozhang couldn't help but complain in his heart.
Aren’t you afraid that I might say something unfavorable to Cheng Xu
But when she saw Cheng Chi's calm face, as if he was confident of what he had done, her heart began to beat again.
Cheng Lu thought that everything would be a sure thing, as the timing, location and people were all right, but the result was far beyond their expectations... Who knows what went wrong
It can be seen that although the second and third rooms spoke nicely, they actually had no ability to control the situation at this time!
Although she wanted to laugh at Zhou Shaojin's joke, she had no intention of involving herself.
"I saw Ji Ying beating Uncle Xu!" After just a few breaths, Wu Baozhang decided on his position and said honestly and properly, "Uncle Xu barely fought back a few times before Ji Ying knocked him to the ground, moaning and groaning. Ji Jian seemed to be still not satisfied and kicked Uncle Xu a few more times before he stopped."
Cheng Shi and others were shocked.
Cheng Chi pretended not to hear and asked Wu Baozhang, "What are the second young lady of the Zhou family and her servant girl doing?"
Wu Baozhang said reluctantly: "The Spring Festival Gala stood in front of the second young lady of the Zhou family and stood aside to watch Jiying beat Mr. Xu."
Cheng Chi said: "When Chun Wan stood in front of the Second Miss Zhou, did he open his arms to protect her? Or did he hold her shoulders?"
If Zhou Shaojin was molested by Cheng Xu, Chunwan should have opened his arms to protect the second young lady of the Zhou family, right
Wu Baozhang said: "He opened his arms to protect the second young lady of the Zhou family."
Cheng Chi said: "You should go to the side room for shelter for the time being."
Wu Baozhang bowed and retreated.
Cheng Shi thought Cheng Chi would interrogate Huanxi and Dasu who were beside Cheng Xu, but Cheng Xu called Chunwan in, and then told Chunwan what Wu Baozhang had said, and finally asked: "Why did you open your arms to protect the second daughter of the Zhou family?"
She was trembling as she hugged the Second Miss, and did not open her arms to protect the Second Miss Zhou!
The Spring Festival Gala is a bit confused.
But she thought of what Nanny Shang had said to her on the way over from Hanbi Mountain House, and she immediately said, "Fists and feet have no eyes. I was afraid that Miss Jiying and Master Xu would fight and accidentally hurt our Second Young Miss!"
※
An extra chapter for the immortals from outer space!
PS: My brothers and sisters who are reading this book, the current situation is this: Although I have finished the work at hand, I still have to help colleagues from other groups complete the tasks within the specified time. However, I don’t have to work overtime on weekends, and I can update twice a week starting from this week.
O(∩_∩)O~
If there are special circumstances, they will be explained in advance.
The update time is set at around 5pm and 12pm.
※(To be continued)