For some people, two years pass very quickly, but for others, every day is difficult.
Typical examples are the diplomatic officials Chang Yi and Gu Zhuomin, who were on diplomatic missions for four years and returned to Beijing one year later than expected. Chang Yi also missed his daughter's wedding.
On the returning ship, Chang Yi leaned on the railing and looked towards home. He did not look away until his eyes were dry from the sea breeze.
Chang Yi heard footsteps, lowered his head and rubbed his eyes, his gaze fell on the back of his hand, where there was a long scar, and the scene from two years ago came to his mind again.
He followed Prince Joey's men that day. How could there be no casualties and murders in a long-planned coup? He killed quite a few people at that time. He trained himself every day abroad, but he was still careless. If he had not blocked it with his hand, he would have been injured in the face. That was another time he was so close to death.
The white hair on Gu Zhuomin's head became more obvious. After a few thrilling years abroad, he aged quickly. "You are looking at the capital again."
Chang Yi withdrew his thoughts and said, "Yes, after four years away from home, we are finally back home."
Gu Zhuomin felt a little cold and coughed lightly, "It's a pity that we didn't catch up with Liu Feng's wedding."
At this point, Gu Zhuomin glanced at Zhou Changyi. If it weren't for the Shangshu's kindness, Zhou Changyi meant to wait for him to return to the capital. Tsk tsk, if they really waited until they returned to the capital to get married, Liu Feng would be over twenty years old.
Chang Yi's body pressure dropped. His eldest daughter was getting married and he, as a father, was not around. The thought of that made him depressed, and he also disliked Gu Zhuomin.
Gu Zhuomin laughed, "Liu Feng is already a juren, and next year will be another spring exam, and I don't know if Liu Feng can pass it."
Chang Yi paused as he was about to leave, "He has been preparing for so many years and still can't succeed, huh."
Gu Zhuomin thought to himself that in the eyes of his father-in-law Zhou Changyi, Liu Feng was now an enemy who had snatched his daughter away, and he was not going to help Liu Feng. It was such a blessing to marry Zhou's daughter, and he deserved to be bullied.
In the capital city, Zhulan is holding Wenyue in her arms. Her full name is Zhou Wenyue, Mingyun’s eldest daughter. She was born in April of the third year of Shenghui. This is the summer of the fifth year of Shenghui, and the little one is already two years old.
The little girl looks 60% like Ran Wan and 40% like Mingyun. She is the youngest and a gentle girl, and the whole family dotes on her.
Zhulan also likes to hold the chubby little girl in her arms. The little girl has become plump thanks to her grandmother’s good cooking skills.
Wen Yue has a large family and everyone likes to tease her. The child started speaking very early and now her mouth is very fluent. With more conversations, the little one's understanding is also very clear.
Wen Yue finished the cake in her hand and asked, "Grandma, what is grandma doing?"
Zhulan wiped the little one's hands and said, "Your grandma will check the dowry list with your aunt Yulu."
Wen Yue was puzzled, "Dowry?"
Li looked away from the dowry list with a dizzy head. Seeing her granddaughter, her mind instantly relaxed and she said lovingly, "Wen Yue also has a dowry. Your parents have saved it for you since you were born."
Wen Yue, "Is it also a long list?"
The table in front of me is so long, and there is a very long list on it.
Zhulan curled her lips and said, "Yes."
Li looked at her granddaughter and felt a pang in her heart. Ah, it was not enough for her to just marry off her daughter. There were also granddaughters. There would be no shortage of granddaughters in the future. She would give each granddaughter a dowry like her mother-in-law did. Li did not even dare to calculate it because the eldest wife had so many sons!
Li stared at the dowry list on the table, and her eyes went dark. "Mom, I still have to save money desperately."
Zhu Lan said faintly: "You have only just come so far, I have brought out more."
She also prepared one for Wen Yue, and she would give her one as long as she was alive and a great-granddaughter was born.
Li smacked her lips, "Mom, no need, Wen Yue's generation should be ours."
Zhulan raised her hand, "I know what's going on."
Li thought of Yu Shuang's marriage. Her mother-in-law was really generous to her granddaughter. Yu Shuang was the first to get married, and the portion her mother-in-law gave her was the standard. This standard would apply to Yu Lu and other granddaughters who would get married in the future.
At that time, my mother-in-law gave me 10,000 taels of silver from her bottom of the box, six sets of head ornaments, a box of various jewelry, a small box of gems, and a lot of antique calligraphy and paintings, all of which were given in pairs.
It was a considerable dowry. Besides, the second branch was already wealthy and powerful, and Changyi was not idle while abroad. He would send back a lot of good things every year to add to Yushuang's dowry.
When Yu Shuang got married, although her dowry was not as large as that of her younger sister-in-law, people still talked about it.
Some people even said that Liu Feng married a rich man and brought him home. Of course, there were also vicious words, such as "living off her".
Liu Feng is a good person who never cares about rumors. After getting married, he is very good to his baby Yu Shuang.
Zhulan talked to Li for a while. The little girl in her arms nodded her head. Zhulan laughed and said, "Children get sleepy after eating. Okay, don't be busy. I'll leave the child to you. I'll go back first."
Li took her granddaughter and said, "Mom, I'll take you there."
Zhulan waved her hand, "No need."
With that, Zhulan walked out of the house. The temperature was not too high this summer. There was plenty of rain and the temperature was not high. Zhulan really liked to go out for a walk.
After leaving the courtyard of the main house, Zhu Lan saw Ran Wan, "You're back."
Ran Wan went back to her parents' home. Qi had been feeling unwell recently.
Ran Wan, "Well, grandma is going back to the main courtyard?"
"Yeah, Wen Yue just fell asleep, you're tired too, go back and rest."
Ran Wan reached out her hand to support her grandmother, “I’ll take her back and let her rest.”
Zhulan patted Ran Wan's hand, "Why are your hands so cold?"
Ran Wan didn't care much about it, "Maybe I didn't get enough rest recently, it will be fine after a while."
Zhulan knew why Qi was sick. Qi was angry with her eldest daughter-in-law. Ran Wan's cousin Shui finally got pregnant, but she gave birth prematurely because of anger. The child was born very weak. After the quarrel, Qi became sick with anger.
Zhulan asked, "Is your grandma feeling better?"
Ran Wan smiled bitterly, "It's much better now."
But she was still angry. Her aunt wanted a legitimate grandson, and said that her sister-in-law was able to get pregnant thanks to the prescription for giving birth to a son. She wanted to give her the prescription for giving birth to a son. Her sister-in-law was tough, but her aunt was also very powerful. When the baby was more than eight months and almost nine months old, she bribed the maidservant around her sister-in-law to deliver the medicine. The old woman around her sister-in-law found out and got angry, causing her to give birth prematurely.
In the Ministry of Revenue, Zhou Shuren was drinking tea with Lord Wang. "You and I have worked together for several years. I really don't want you to leave."
Wang Yi held the teacup and said, "I came to the Ministry of Revenue. Your Excellency knows that I will not stay long. Now that I have found the right person, it is time for me to leave."
Zhou Shuren was really reluctant to let go. Wang Yi didn't have much to do and was very efficient. Qiu Yan was not capable of many things, so he threw them all to Wang Yi. He had been able to have such an easy time in the past two years. Wang Yi was really a good subordinate.
Zhou Shuren, "I'll treat you to tea during your rest time."
Wang Yi, "Okay."
He is leaving Beijing for the south this time. His promotion from the third rank to the second rank is a good thing. When he returns to Beijing, he will be the second rank. This is his chance.