Zhu Lan thought for a moment and said, "The Zhang family has just arrived in Beijing and does not have a deep foundation. Concubine Zhang is only the Seventh Prince's adoptive mother, and the Seventh Prince's biological mother is still alive. The Zhang family is indeed weak. Your Ning family is the Queen Mother's maternal family. Although Ning Ming is from the Marquis' Mansion, he is also the Queen Mother's nephew and grandson. He is indeed a good marriage partner."
Ning Ming is still very valuable in the eyes of some aristocratic families.
Song was very unhappy when she heard this, "The Ning family will not have any marriage ties with the harem forces."
The reason why her son got engaged so early was to avoid being plotted against.
Zhulan, "The Zhang family has someone pass on a message to Lord Ning. They are really anxious. They just arrived in Beijing."
There was some sarcasm in Song's tone, "The Zhang family is too impatient. They held a big banquet right after they arrived in Beijing. Since Concubine Zhang had just been promoted, they basically gave her face and went through the motions. But the Zhang family became complacent. Ha, do they think they can arrange a marriage just because they want one?"
Zhulan gestured to drink some tea to calm down. Ning Zhiqi's wife was very angry, so she came to complain to her. The elders of the Ning family were basically gone. Zhulan got along well with Rongchuan and the Song family over the years, so this guy would come to see her from time to time and chat about gossip. Today they talked about Ning Ming.
Song's anger subsided a little, "Ning Ming did split it up, but that's not something anyone can calculate."
"Ning Ming knows what's going on. Besides, it's the mourning period again. The Zhang family only dares to pass on the message secretly. Don't be angry."
Song was indeed no longer angry, "Hey, I am also worried about Ning Ming's marriage."
At this point, Song felt a little embarrassed, because both Zhou Ning and his family knew what his brother and sister-in-law were thinking.
Zhu Lan was not embarrassed, "Ning Ming will meet someone who can help him."
At least Yu Wen is not like that. Yu Wen's ideal since she was young has been to be rich and live a carefree life. Her idea has not changed over the years, which shows how determined her mind is.
Zhulan knows her granddaughter too well. Yuwen will not give up enjoying life for love, so it is difficult for Yuwen to like someone. If it were not for the impact on Yujiao that Yuwen would not get married, Yuwen's ideal life would be to live on her own, with money and power, and servants serving her. How wonderful it would be to live her own life.
A few days later, Changzhong was waiting for the Fourth Prince in the mansion. In the main courtyard, Changzhong was eating dried shrimps and said, "Mom, my sister-in-law's cooking skills are so good."
Zhulan reached out her hand and silently pulled the plate in front of her, "This is a gift from your sister-in-law."
"Mom, I only ate three."
"Three is a lot."
Mrs. Li was too busy and seldom cooked. When she did, she made some dried shrimps. Shuren ate a lot of them last night and there weren't many left.
Changzhong still wanted to eat, "Ah, it's getting harder and harder to eat the food cooked by my sister-in-law."
"Your sister-in-law is a mother-in-law, and she has to take care of a large family. She is too busy."
Chang Zhong glanced again, and after confirming that his mother would not give him any, he wiped his hands and said, "The Fourth Prince said he would take his son to the Treasure House. Mother, please give him some silver."
"You just emptied your father's purse last night, isn't that enough?"
Chang Zhong glared, "My father said he would keep it a secret."
"Your father will keep it a secret from outside, but we have no secrets as husband and wife."
Chang Zhong had a wooden face. He was used to it. His parents had a good relationship. "Mom, you really don't give me money."
"No, I don't have the money."
When the Fourth Prince came, Chang Zhong didn't get any money, so he followed the Fourth Prince out in a depressed mood. The Fourth Prince was not in a good mood either, so Chang Zhong was puzzled, "Is the Fourth Prince unhappy?"
The fourth prince spread his hands and said, "I went to see my eldest brother, the crown prince, before leaving the palace."
"Um?"
"He didn't give me a penny, and he even said I should give him half of the money I got from the Treasure House!"
Changzhong, "... "
The image of the prince in his mind had somewhat collapsed.
In the palace, Zhou Shuren looked tired. The prince gestured for ginseng tea, "Lord Zhou, you have been working hard recently."
"I can take a day off tomorrow and have a good sleep."
Zhou Shuren envied his granddaughter Yuwen from the bottom of his heart, he also wanted to be lazy all year round!
He hated two seasons the most, spring and winter, as these were the busiest seasons for the Ministry of Revenue. He also didn't like summer because there were too many unexpected events. His favorite season was autumn.
The emperor saw Zhou Shuren drink the ginseng tea that was handed to him, "Now that you're done with your recent affairs, you can relax a little."
Zhou Shuren put down his teacup and said, "Oh, it would be nice if we could add more days off."
Prince, "..."
The emperor smiled and said, "After I ascended the throne, I added two more days of rest."
Zhou Shuren rolled his eyes in his heart. Every time he added one day, he added it twice, and there were only two extra days of rest in a year. The emperor was stingy with the positions of his concubines, and he was also stingy with the holidays for his officials.
The Emperor would never agree to add more days off. The last few years have been eventful, and it is impossible to have more days off.
The prince said, "I heard that Mingrui is going to take the examination for the scholar."
Zhou Shuren turned serious, his tone full of worry, "Yes, it's just that the weather is too cold. This year, not only the north, but also the south is unusually cold. The temperature in February is not expected to be high. I am worried whether the candidates' bodies can withstand the cold."
The emperor really didn't pay attention to these things. There were too many things to do in the court, and he didn't think about changing the date. "It's very cold this spring."
The prince said, "Yes, the snow stayed for a long time before melting."
The emperor thought of the snow in the south and frowned, "Then let's change the date so that the candidates' exams will not be affected."
Zhou Shuren felt a little dumbfounded. How could he say it? He really didn't expect to change the date so smoothly. All the words he wanted to say were kept in his stomach.
In the Treasure House, the Fourth Prince was excited as soon as he entered the hall. "This is my favorite place to come. I tell you, my luck is very good. Follow me and you will definitely win."
Why is Changzhong so unbelieving? However, he rarely comes here because it costs too much money and there are too many people and it is very noisy, so he will not come here easily.
The fourth prince was familiar with the process. He first made a blind bet and called out to Changzhong, "You also choose one. This is very fun. The only bad thing is that only one of the ten items is real. But it doesn't cost much money, so it's fun to play."
Changzhong silently looked at the rule of ten taels per handful. This wouldn’t cost that much silver, right
Changzhong did not bet on the same number as the Fourth Prince, so he just waited for the prize announcement.
There are not only men in the Treasure House, there are also many women. Some come here to broaden their horizons, and some just come here to have fun. I guess they all like it.
The Fourth Prince: "It's about to start. I'll let you see how lucky I am in a moment."
Changzhong didn't take the reward seriously. He just came out today to accompany the Fourth Prince.
Soon the ten boxes on the stage were opened one by one. The Fourth Prince bet on five, and Changzhong chose seven. There were some porcelain bowls in the first four boxes, and when it came to the fifth one, the Fourth Prince was extremely nervous.
Then the Fourth Prince was slapped in the face. What was inside was just an ordinary porcelain bowl from a folk kiln, which was everywhere on the street outside.
The Fourth Prince's face froze. He was not very old to begin with, and felt ashamed in front of his friends. For a moment, the atmosphere in the box became a little low.
Soon it was box number seven, and the Fourth Prince stared at it intently.