When Zhuang was mentioned, Yuan and Mrs. Mian suddenly understood.
Old An also remembered it.
"I was wondering why this girl looked so familiar!" the old man said angrily, "You guys said I recognized the wrong person. I didn't recognize the wrong person at all. It was the girl from the Zhuang family. I remember it clearly! At that time, Mr. Zhuang wanted to marry the girl from the Zhuang family to our family! Unfortunately, the fifteenth and sixteenth boys were engaged, and the seventeenth and eighteenth boys were too young. Later, it was the twelfth boy who acted as the matchmaker... Whose family did she marry? It seems that she has the same surname as Emperor Ji..."
Aunt Miao reminded Old An in her ear: "The surname is Zhou!"
"Yes, the surname is Zhou, that's right." Old An said, "I also gave a pair of peace bottles to the girl from the Zhuang family as a gift... It's a pity for our Nineteenth Mother. She got along so well with the girl from the Zhuang family. The girl got married smoothly, but she got tuberculosis before her wedding. In the end, she ended up alone, without even anyone to flatter her..."
"That was a long time ago." Miao Ma Ma hurriedly said, "Why do you keep bringing this up? The old man will be sad again!"
"Ah!" Old An sighed and said, "I won't mention it anymore. I won't mention it anymore."
"That's it." Aunt Miao smiled and handed a piece of lotus seed cake to Old An, "You can have one too. It's a gift from Master Cheng Si! He knew you liked it, so he specially asked someone to bring it back from the capital."
"Okay, okay, okay." Old An was happy again.
"I'm sorry!" Aunt Miao whispered apologetically, "Old An is old and always likes to talk about the past."
"At seventy, she can follow her heart without breaking the rules." Yuan said hurriedly, "Mrs. An has a pure heart. We are so happy for her and your Gu family. How could we blame her?"
"I remember now," said Grandma Gu Qi, who had been silent all this time, "The old man of the Zhuang family is the old man who likes carpentry very much... When I first got married, he gave our Dalang a kite he made himself. It's still hanging in our Dalang's room. No other kite can fly as high or as far as it does. Our Dalang is treated like a treasure and no one is allowed to touch him." As she spoke, she showed the excitement of meeting an old friend in a foreign land and grabbed Zhou Shaojin's hand, "So you are the granddaughter of the old man of the Zhuang family... You are not someone else!"
My grandfather actually has such a hobby... Zhou Shaojin didn't know.
She wanted to see the kite made by her grandfather.
But today is not the right opportunity.
"Who said it wasn't true?" Mrs. Miao had never thought that the Zhuang family and the Gu family were close friends. She smiled and said, "It can be seen that our Shao Jin is also destined to be with your family!"
"That's right, that's right." Grandma Gu Qi said with a smile.
Lao An asked Zhou Shaojin: "Your maiden name is Shaojin, so is your sister called Yuanjin or Chujin?"
"Mr. An, you are really amazing." Zhou Shaojin coaxed the old man, "My sister's name is Chu Jin."
Old An smiled proudly and said to Zhou Chujin, "Come over here, let me take a look!"
Zhou Chujin walked over.
Old An looked at her carefully for a while, then smiled and said to Yuan, Gu Qi and the others, "This girl is also very pretty, she should be eighteen years old, right? Did you tell her about her in-laws? Our 21st son is about the same age as her..."
This old lady!
Mrs. Miao said, "I'm talking about my husband's family. I'm talking about my husband's family. It's the Liao family from Zhenjiang. The old An of the Liao family passed away, and she's going to get married after the mourning period."
Old An nodded and said, "It was said that she was given to Liao from Zhenjiang. It seems that someone from our family married into their family..."
Miao Ma said, "It's Shiwu Niang."
"Yes, it's Shiwu Niang..."
But in the blink of an eye, Old An found a sister-in-law for Zhou Chujin.
Zhou Shaojin felt that the trip was worthwhile for him and his sister.
In her previous life, the Fourth House had no contact with the Gu family, so she had no way to get information about her biological mother, and her elder sister married into the Liao family without knowing anyone. Now with the Fifteenth Lady from the Gu family, her elder sister has a "fellow villager" before she even gets married, and her life in the Liao family will definitely be easier than in her previous life.
Several people walked and sat in Old An's house for a while, and then the seventeenth young lady of the Gu family came over.
She was about fifteen or sixteen years old, of medium height, wearing a plain aqua silk jacket. She had fair and delicate skin, a rosy face and almond eyes, and a bit of baby fat. Although she was not very pretty, she was amiable and made people like her at first sight.
Grandma Gu Qi took the opportunity to take them to say goodbye: "... The guests in the flower hall should have almost arrived. After we have lunch, we will come back to chat with you!"
"No need." Old An said, "I know you guys will play cards after drinking, and I'm going to take a nap, so you don't need to come. Silang said he will come to see me when he is free."
Everyone was embarrassed.
Nanny Miao apologized quietly.
Yuan made a few polite remarks, and they all left the main room and went to the flower hall.
On the way, Yuan and Mian were accompanied by Grandma Gu Qi, walking in front, while Miss Gu's Seventeen was accompanied by Zhou Shaojin and Zhou Chujin behind, whispering to them: "Is this your first time to visit the Gu family? In the past, when guests came to our house, it was the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Sisters who helped entertain them. This is the first time I help my sisters-in-law entertain guests. If there is anything inconsiderate, please forgive me!"
As always, Zhou Chujin spoke on behalf of the two sisters: "My sister and I are both here for the first time. Your house is so beautiful! I heard that Miss Sixteen's wedding is scheduled for September 16th?"
This is what Mrs. Miao told them last night.
The seventeenth Miss Gu nodded and said with a smile, "Sixteenth Miss's father-in-law passed the imperial examination three years ago and was appointed as a scholar. He left the imperial examination in June this year and became the chief clerk of the Dali Temple. He wrote a letter and asked her mother-in-law to take them to live in the capital, so the wedding date was set so urgently."
The three of them chatted and laughed, and soon arrived at the flower hall.
A maid came up to greet her with a smile: "Seventh Madam, the wife of Lord Wu, the prefect of Jinling, is here."
Zhou Shaojin saw Grandma Gu Qi frowned slightly, then smiled and nodded, and continued to accompany them to the flower hall at a leisurely pace.
Miss Gu Shiqi whispered to Zhou Chujin: "We have many brothers and sisters in our family. Apart from relatives, friends, and neighbors, we usually don't give gifts..."
The implication is that no invitation was sent to the Wu family.
Zhou Chujin smiled and said, "Lord Wu is the father and mother of Jinling after all. How can he not come when there is a happy event in the family of the famous and prominent family under his jurisdiction!"
Miss Gu Shiqi didn't say a word.
Everyone went into the flower hall together.
Madam Wu was talking to someone. When she heard the noise, she turned around and immediately stopped talking and walked over: "Madam Yuan, I didn't expect to see you here. Madam Mian, we met last time at the birthday of the second house ancestor. Are you okay? Is my aunt okay?"
She talked to them as if she knew them well, and standing next to her was still her biological daughter Wu Baohua.
But when Zhou Shaojin looked up, he saw Wu Baozhang standing in front of a flower table in the middle of the flower hall.
She wore double spiral buns, a pearl headband, and a bright red burnt cloth vest, which made her skin look as white as snow, and she looked dignified and beautiful.
How could Wu Baozhang appear at the engagement party of Miss Gu's sixteenth daughter
Zhou Shaojin was very surprised, but he tried not to show it. Instead, he smiled and looked away, as if he didn't see Wu Baozhang.
Wu Baozhang was a little surprised.
She bit her lip, but finally didn't come over.
After exchanging pleasantries with Madam Wu for a moment, Yuan took Zhou Shaojin and the others to the small hall in the east, using the excuse that she had seen an acquaintance.
Unexpectedly, Mrs. Wu followed them all the way until they entered the small hall. When Yuan saw a beautiful woman in her forties and introduced her to Mrs. Mian as Mrs. Liu from the Mei Mansion in Guanjie, Mrs. Wu shamelessly stepped forward and introduced herself.
Mrs. Liu seemed to be a good-tempered person. She kept smiling and said nothing. When the meal started, she quietly sat down next to Yuan. Mrs. Wu saw that there was no empty seat at the table, so she went to the next table with embarrassment.
Zhou Shaojin saw a flash of coldness in Wu Baohua's eyes.
Her heart skipped a beat.
I feel that the people in the Wu family are not easy to deal with, so it’s best to stay away from them.
But after lunch, Miss Gu's in-laws put a hairpin in her hair, and elders such as Yuan were invited to Miss Gu's boudoir, while young girls such as Zhou Shaojin were left in the yard.
These little girls were inevitably crowded together.
When Zhou Shaojin married Lin Shisheng, she also went through the three letters and six ceremonies. She was not as interested in the engagement ceremony as other girls. She just stood under the pomegranate tree in the yard waiting for Mrs. Mian.
There were two little girls whispering nearby: "Did you see that? That's the eldest daughter of the Wu family. I heard that she made a fool of herself at the Cheng family last time. How come she's out again after just a few days? Is that okay?"
"What's wrong with that?" another person said sarcastically, "The Wu family is not a family that follows rules. You may not know this, right? She is the only one in the Wu family who is pretty. Lord Wu has announced that he will find her a husband in Jinling, and he will not ask about age or family background, as long as he has talent. Think about it, if he does not ask about age or family background, that means he will choose an official. As long as he is an official, it doesn't matter if his wife died or he has bad behavior. This is not choosing a son-in-law, this is choosing a colleague?"
Zhou Shaojin was very surprised.
Did Wu Baozhang end up like this because of the Cheng family's affairs? Or did Lord Wu have already made up his mind to use Wu Baozhang to arrange a marriage
No wonder Mrs. Wu brought Wu Baozhang out for social events again. She must want to find a husband for her as soon as possible, right
Someone also heard what the two little girls said and said, "I can't believe she is so pitiful!"
Some people also retorted: "Why pity her? This is her fate. Who made her have such a father?"
Someone gently pulled Zhou Shaojin's sleeve.
Zhou Shaojin turned around and saw Zhang's fair face.
She was a little confused.
The man said, "Second Miss Zhou, don't you know me?"
Her voice was thin and a little timid. Zhou Shaojin felt that the way she spoke was a bit like herself in her previous life, but she really couldn't remember who this girl was.
The little girl was very disappointed and said, "I, I am from Minister Sun's family..."
Zhou Shaojin remembered.
She was the little girl who was talking to Wu Baozhang in the Cheng family's side room.
Later, when he and Wu Baozhang had a dispute, the girl ran away.
※
Today's update and tomorrow's additional update are still scheduled at the old time, around 3 pm. I will try my best to be earlier.
O(∩_∩)o
※(To be continued)