Seeing Zhou Shaojin asking her without pretense, Nanny Shang smiled happily from the bottom of her heart and said in a gentle voice, "The Fourth Master came back early this morning - today is my birthday! I didn't expect that the Second Miss had already gone to Chaoyang Gate when he came back, so the Fourth Master gave us the things. He also said that he might have a lot of social engagements these days, so he would come to see the Second Miss in a few days."
Zhou Shaojin nodded and said with a smile: "Are you going to Jining to take up your post?"
Nanny Shang smiled and said, "Originally, he should have left in the past few days, but because of the old lady's birthday, the fourth master asked for a few days off, and happened to take this opportunity to go to Baoding Prefecture."
In other words, everyone knew that she was going to be engaged to Cheng Chi.
Zhou Shaojin's face flushed.
Nanny Shang laughed and congratulated Zhou Shaojin.
Zhou Shaojin murmured in response and hid in the inner room embarrassedly.
In the house at Chaoyangmen, after seeing off the guests, Yuan was helping Madam Guo remove her makeup.
Old Madam Guo closed her eyes and let Madam Lu talk her through it. She asked Yuan, "How are the preparations for the Min family's wedding going? I noticed that Jiashan doesn't look very energetic."
When Yuan was mentioned, she hated him so much that she said, "It's all because of those two bastards Cheng Shi and Cheng Zheng. If it weren't for them, Jiashan wouldn't be like this!"
In other words, Jiashan has never recovered since Shaojin’s incident.
I'd better live in Chaoyangmen.
Mrs. Guo didn't want to say a word to Yuan.
She instructed Yuan: "Ask Jiashan to come over tomorrow. I haven't spoken to him for a while."
The mother-in-law really loves her grandson.
Yuan smiled and said "yes", and then she talked about Cheng Chi: "… Have you decided to go to Jining to take up the post? Do you want me to tell my cousin? River management is so hard! Go there to gild yourself and come back! Fourth uncle is not young anymore. In the past, he was in charge of the family affairs, so I could only help find a relative who knows Fourth uncle well, who knows his character and knowledge, so as not to wrong Fourth uncle. Now that Fourth uncle has an official position, he has a wider range of options."
Mrs. Guo knew that this was the main dish on the table.
He smiled and said, "He's already so old, if we rush to arrange a marriage for him, it would be really unfair to him. Just let him do what he wants, right?!"
Yuan listened and hesitated for a moment, then said, "Mother, what do you think of the Sixth Miss of the Fang Family, A Xuan?"
Madam Guo laughed and said, "Why did you think of Axuan? She is fifteen or sixteen this year? She is too young. Silang wants to find a wife, not raise a daughter."
Yuan smiled and said, "Mother, look at what you said. When it comes to marrying a wife, one's character comes first. Besides, he is only ten years older than her, and he is a first marriage. Fourth uncle is a handsome man, so how can he not be worthy of Axuan? In my opinion, it is Axuan who is not worthy of Fourth uncle - there are girls with the same appearance and family background as Axuan. But we know the details of the Fang family best. The second wife of the Fang family is famous for her virtue. The second master of the Fang family does not hold a high position, but he has a wide circle of friends. The girl raised by such a family must have a cheerful and lively temperament, which complements Fourth uncle. The more I think about it, the better it is!"
Mrs. Guo said "hmm" and began to think about this matter seriously.
There was a glimmer of joy in Yuan's eyes. She knew that the old lady was a person with a strong personality. No matter how much she said, it would not be as good as letting the old lady think clearly by herself. So she stopped talking, took the handkerchief from the little maid, and waited for Madam Guo to finish washing her hair so that she could help her wipe her hands.
Mrs. Qiu, the second wife of Wei, came over to give instructions to Mrs. Guo.
Today is Mrs. Guo’s birthday, and she is responsible for putting the cups, bowls, utensils and other items into the warehouse.
Mrs. Guo took the opportunity to ask Mrs. Qiu: "What kind of wife do you think would be best for Silang to marry?"
Mrs. Qiu has always known that her sister-in-law, Mrs. Yuan, is strong, but she is not a competitive person. Moreover, before she came, Mrs. Yuan had already been serving in her mother-in-law's room. She wondered if there was another conflict between her mother-in-law and sister-in-law
Fourth uncle was the apple of her mother-in-law's eye. She would rather offend her sister-in-law than offend this mother-in-law who treated her so well. She smiled without thinking and said, "Fourth uncle's marriage is naturally decided by you. We, as sisters-in-law, have no right to interfere."
Yuan sneered in her heart.
As the sister-in-law, she doesn't care about anything and doesn't say anything, but as long as the old lady opens her mouth, she is always right and always good, without any opinions of her own. She is often scolded by the old lady, but it seems that she has not learned her lesson.
The old lady asked her, but she was asking the wrong person.
But today, for some reason, Mrs. Guo smiled and said, "You are a docile person. I am not afraid that Silang's wife will not get along well with you after she enters the house."
Qiu asked curiously, "Have you already made any plans for Fourth Uncle's marriage?"
"Not yet!" Mrs. Guo laughed, "I just thought that he would get married sooner or later, and I'm afraid your brother and sister-in-law will be much younger than you."
Mrs. Qiu said politely, "Your judgment is correct. We will treat her as our daughter and will definitely treat her well."
Madam Guo smiled and nodded, saying, "It's getting late. You've been busy all day. Go and have a rest! I have to prepare things for Silang to take up his post these days, so I won't be in charge of you. You don't have to come and pay your respects to me every day."
Once the news gets out, they will still be busy.
Yuan and Qiu agreed respectfully and left with their maids and servants.
Cheng Chi came to see his mother.
Madam Guo asked excitedly, "How did you get Lord Zhou to agree?"
Cheng Chi knew that his mother valued him, and he didn't want to offend his mother and his father-in-law in the future. He hid the fact that he had stood in front of the government office for several days in vain, and only said that Zhou Zhen and he discussed water control: "... He also wanted to take me to the village to take a look. I was thinking about my mother's birthday, so I politely declined. Lord Zhou asked me to leave the capital early and help him draft a charter when passing through Baoding Prefecture. He tried to promote it in the countryside to see if it could solve the problem of water shortage." When he said this, he couldn't help laughing, "Then before I mentioned the marriage proposal again, Lord Zhou took the initiative to tell me that I should just follow the ancient rituals. I have asked someone to prepare the betrothal gifts, and I want to settle the marriage before I go to Jining Prefecture to take up my post."
"Good, good, good." Old Madam Guo narrowed her eyes and smiled proudly. The more she looked at her son, the more she liked him and was pleased with him. Who else could marry a daughter like her son? She could get her father-in-law to nod his head with just a few words, and she didn't even ask about the betrothal gift or gift money.
She hurriedly reminded Cheng Chi: "Although Lord Zhou said so, the proper etiquette must not be neglected."
Cheng Chi smiled and said "yes", then hesitated and said, "My sister-in-law has some prejudice against Shaojin. I'm afraid that she will be unhappy and give Shaojin a bad look... Plus, I won't be back for three to five years. I'm worried about you living alone in Chaoyangmen, and I'm even more worried about you living in Xinglin Hutong. I want to let Shaojin come in as soon as possible, so that after I leave, you'll have someone to talk to and relieve your boredom. Shaojin has never had a mother to guide her since she was a child, and you can teach her how to manage the household."
Madam Guo was surprised and asked, "Aren't you going to take Shao Jin with you to take up your post?"
His mother was waiting to hold her grandson, how dare he say that he was not going to consummate the marriage with Zhou Shaojin
"She followed me to my new post, what will you do?" Cheng Chi said forcefully, "This matter is settled. Don't try to persuade me. I don't know how other families are, but in my family, the mother-in-law cannot stand aside just because the daughter-in-law enters the house."
Flattery never wears out no matter how many holes it takes.
Mrs. Guo was so happy that she asked, "Have you decided who to invite as a matchmaker?"
"We are going to invite Lord Song and Lord Zhang." Cheng Chi said, "One is the person who recommended me, and the other is my immediate superior. They are also teacher and student, which is perfect."
Mrs. Guo also agreed. The two discussed it for half the night, and Mrs. Guo went to the Song family early the next morning.
Mrs. Song was very surprised when she knew the purpose of the visit, but when she thought about the appearance of Zhou Shaojin and Cheng Chi, she felt that it was a match made in heaven. She said, "It's a pity that my mother-in-law is gone, and I only have one son. Otherwise, I would have volunteered to be your family's wife."
Madam Guo laughed and said, "I didn't want to bother you, but your Lord Song is a mentor to our Silang. Our Siye said that he would ask Lord Song to be the matchmaker when he gets married. You must help me when the time comes. After we split up, there are only three brothers." She added, "If it weren't for the split up, I wouldn't have thought of letting Shaojin be my daughter-in-law. Now it can be considered a blessing in disguise."
Mrs. Song comforted Mrs. Guo for a long time, invited Mrs. Guo to have lunch at her home, and then personally saw her off.
In the evening, when Song Jingran came back and heard Mrs. Song talk about it, he readily agreed.
Putting aside their current relationship, Cheng Chi's knowledge alone is worthy of his respect.
Song Jingran and Zhang Hui successfully took on the matchmaking job. Cheng Shao was also very happy and said to Cheng Chi, "You should have more children. Whether it's a boy or a girl, having more children at home will make it more lively!"
Thinking of the silence in the yard when he came, Cheng Chi smiled and said, "If we had two boys, we could adopt one to Brother Fen."
Cheng Shao shook his head and said sadly: "If you are interested, why not adopt a grandson for Xun Ge'er? I can't let him become a wandering ghost!"
Cheng Chi looked at his uncle with completely white hair on his temples and felt sad for the first time.
Or maybe it’s because I’m about to get married, so my heart has become softer
But by the time I have a grandson, my second uncle will probably no longer be alive. What’s the point
Cheng Chi thought for a moment and said, "Second Uncle, why don't you take a child from the charity and raise him?"
Cheng Shao was stunned.
Cheng Chi said in a deep voice: "That year when I went to Huai'an to get salt permits, I encountered the Yongding River bursting its banks. Outside Huai'an City, there were either children who lost their parents or parents who lost their children. I was thinking at the time, in the face of such suffering, the family heritage is so fragile, which is more important, the family heritage or life?"
This is like asking which is more important, the grace of giving birth or the grace of raising a child. It is an unanswerable question.
Cheng Shao smiled slightly and said, "Is the family property more important?"
Cheng Chi laughed out loud.
Cheng Shao said, "Why don't we talk about this after you get married? I'm old now, and even if I bring the child home, I don't have the energy to raise him."
But I was moved after all.
Cheng Chi smiled and took a sip of tea.
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Sisters and brothers, there is an extra update about Xiao Xixi’s spirit beast egg!
O(∩_∩)O~
PS: Please read the update tomorrow morning. My niece went back to her hometown with her parents these days, and I became like a mother of a four-year-old child and suddenly became busy.
※(To be continued)