The next day, the Zhao family arrived at Zhou's mansion not early. Zhao Bo's wife, He, knew the Zhou family's fortune very well. He brought her children and followed the housekeeper to the main courtyard. She did not dare to look around and could only estimate the distance to the main courtyard in her mind.
The more He walked, the more she felt emotional. Who could have thought that Zhou Shuren would become Marquis Zhou today? This house was so huge. Now was the season when flowers were in full bloom. Flowers were blooming everywhere along the way, and there were many treasures. He couldn't help but glance at the girl beside her, calmed herself down, and stopped thinking about it.
In the main courtyard, Zhulan and Li were chatting when Butler Ding came in to report. Zhulan sat down and motioned for someone to come in.
He took a deep breath before entering the house, "Meet the old lady, I hope she is well."
The two children, the girl also greeted them in a crisp voice, but the boy was indeed a little weak and his voice was hoarse.
Zhu Lan smiled faintly, "You have worked hard all the way to Beijing, please take a seat."
He also signaled Qingxue to deliver the gift prepared for the child. The gift was expensive, but had no special meaning.
He took her children to thank the old lady again before taking them to sit down. She was disappointed. The old lady was too indifferent to her, and the good relationship between the two families was gone.
Li's eyes fell on the little girl and she said with a smile, "You are blessed to see your children grow up well."
He was in a good mood. Her greatest pride was that she had given birth to several good-looking children, especially her daughters. They were all beauties of different sizes and many people were interested in them. If it weren't for the Zhou Marquis Mansion, her husband would not have been able to keep her daughters and would have engaged them early on.
He said: "They are just more regular-looking."
Li's smile faded. She didn't like people who were overly modest. She thought such people were not genuine. She had seen many young ladies in the capital, including many beauties. The appearance of the Zhao family girl could also be ranked. Although she could not compare with some young ladies in the capital, the Zhao family girl was very good-looking and this kind of person was easy to give people a good impression.
He said again, "Madam, my husband has been thinking about the Marquis at home, so he asked me to come and say hello in person."
"Everything is fine. Thank you, Lord Zhao, for your concern."
He moved the corners of her mouth. The word "Sir Zhao" pulled away all the distance. She felt as if her thoughts were seen through. She had heard her husband regret it many times, and he often said that Marquis Zhou was a sentimental person. They had proposed marriage in the past, but unfortunately everything was ruined. She had brought her daughter to the capital on purpose, and she would not be willing to give up without giving it a try.
Her daughter was beautiful, so naturally she wanted to marry into a good family, and one that would also be good to the Zhao family. Fortunately, she had a backup plan. If the Zhou family failed the exam, she could find another family after entering Beijing.
The subsequent conversation was more normal. Zhulan asked about the boy's condition and knew it was a disease that he had been carrying forward from his mother's womb, so she had an idea.
The Zhao family used the pretext of medical treatment to mainly find a husband for Zhao Tian. The Zhao family did not want to find relatives in the place where they worked. To put it bluntly, they still wanted to climb up the social ladder.
Li waited for He to leave and said, "There is no shortage of beauties in the capital, and it is not easy to climb high branches."
Zhulan smiled, "You see things very clearly."
"I have been by your side for so many years, and I know everything I should know. I saw He's plan at a glance at my daughter-in-law. Alas, my daughter's marriage has become a calculation. The one who will suffer in the future is Zhao Tian."
Zhulan, "Don't make a conclusion about whether you will suffer in the future. Some people have good luck."
Zhao Tian is a pretty girl, but she is not the type of girl that can attack others. If she were smarter, she would be able to plan for herself.
Zhulan thought about it and decided to send someone to keep an eye on the He family.
A few days later, Qingxue reported, "Ms. He and Concubine Wang Hui's family have verbally agreed on the marriage."
"Is the information accurate?"
"We have been sending people to follow them. The Wang family showed their goodwill first, and He wanted to climb up the social ladder, so they accepted it. We are just waiting for an expedited letter to be sent to Lord Zhao, and for Lord Zhao's reply."
Zhulan snorted, "The Wang family has been keeping an eye on our mansion!"
The Wang family was in charge of the Zhao family because they knew that He had come to the Marquis' Mansion. After checking the past, they found that Zhao Bo was indeed a capable person, so they became interested.
Su Xuan said: "Mom, don't be angry. It's not worth getting angry over these things."
"I'm not angry. The Wang family has two princes. This gives them confidence!"
Su Xuan motioned for the maids to go down, "The Wang family has suffered a lot these days, and the Qi family is blaming the Wang family for their anger."
Zhulan smiled. Shuren had a good plan. "Forget it. You don't have to see He Shi when he comes to visit in the future."
Su Xuan, "I'll go out and tell Steward Ding later."
"Um."
Zhulan stopped paying attention to her, but Su Xuan paid attention to her for a few days. She came back and said that the young master of the Wang family fell in love with Zhao Tian at first sight. Zhulan thought it would be strange if he didn't like her.
The Zhou family did not stop the Zhao family from climbing up the social ladder. Zhou Shuren knew it and did not say a word. The Zhao family married the Wang family.
After Zhou Shuren knew that the engagement was official, he said, "I will write a letter to Zhao Bo, and we will sever our ties from now on."
If he hesitates to make a decision, he will suffer the consequences. Zhao Bo is marrying into the Wang family, and he doesn't want to be involved.
Zhulan, "Today, He came to visit me, but I didn't let them in. I asked the housekeeper to reply, which meant that they didn't need to come in the future."
"Oh, that's alright."
He turned around and talked with Wang Yi again. They were both smart people. As long as the Wang family was not stupid, they would not cling to the Zhou family.
Zhou Shuren asked again: "Boss bought a house in the capital?"
This is the benefit brought by status. The eldest son is the future Marquis of Zhou, so there is no need to mention him. His brothers are not easy to mess with either. When the eldest son wants to buy a house, the title deed will be handed to him for him to choose.
Zhu Lan nodded, "Didn't he take some children from the clan to the capital? The clan raised some money for the eldest brother so that he could buy a house in the capital. This will be the foundation of the Zhou family in the capital in the future."
Zhou Shuren: "Very good."
He had never thought of giving houses to his clan members. He gave what he should give and had no intention of nurturing the clan members. Now that the clan members have pooled their own money to buy houses, he is very pleased.
Zhulan smiled and said, "Mingqing is doing a good job as the clan leader."
"Um."
The head of a clan must shoulder the burden of the family, which was indeed true in the Ming and Qing dynasties.
The next day, Zhulan received an expedited letter from Zhangzhou. After seeing the letter, she immediately went to find Li. Li came over in a hurry and asked, "Mom, what happened to you?"
Zhu Lan smiled and said, "Liu Jia may be pregnant, but it's too early to be confirmed. She said we need to wait another half a month to confirm."
Li counted the days and said, "You are in such a hurry to write back without confirmation. I don't know what this brat is thinking. I am afraid that he will make the family happy for nothing."
Zhulan, "They have many experienced maids around them, so they should be right."
Mrs. Li had just calculated Liu Jia's menstrual period and said with a smile, "Liu Jia's menstrual period has always been very accurate. Now it is seven days late. We will know after waiting for another half a month."
"You still keep track of your daughter-in-law's menstrual cycle?"
This really doesn't seem like something careless Li would do!