From the very beginning, Madam Zhang never had the upper hand against Han. Madam Zhang's husband was the Minister of Dali Temple, so he naturally had a very high status in the Zhang family. Zhang Junliang was not taken seriously because he was a complete playboy, but because he was a legitimate son, he had a natural advantage. Moreover, seven or eight out of ten playboys were spoiled, so the Zhang family would not neglect Zhang Junliang's marriage. His original fiancée was also a lady from a famous family, but after the farce of Wenren Xiang, the Zhang family could not help but be angry, but because of their reputation, they could not do anything, so they just watched coldly and let Madam Zhang deal with it. As a result, they suffered losses everywhere, and the Zhang Chengen Mansion was labeled as "ungrateful", forcing the girl to become a nun. Some people were so angry that they even had a heart attack, and they dared not continue.
Therefore, those who were truly in power in the Zhang family did not dare to let Madam Zhang continue, so they cut the Gordian knot and proposed marriage the next day, with the wedding date set for July 6th. Although things were not so easy to settle completely, it was better than being accused of "forcing the benefactor to death", because as the empress dowager's mother's family, even if someone talked about it, no one dared to be presumptuous, and over time, the matter would naturally pass.
As for the fact that it was the Wenren family who had planned first and forced the Zhang Chengen Mansion to such a point, it was naturally impossible to let it go so easily. With the power of the Zhang Chengen Mansion, it wanted to deal with the Wenren family... When it really took action, it found that it was not as simple as expected. Now, in addition to the title of Chengen Duke, the highest power in the Zhang Chengen Mansion is the Dali Temple Minister. Although there are many complicated connections, the real power is definitely more than this, but Wenren Taibo is now valued by Emperor Xuanren.
The Queen Mother is concerned about her natal family and intends to protect it, but the premise is that it has nothing to do with the affairs of the previous dynasty. Between her natal family and her son, the latter is the most important.
Therefore, even if it was Duke Zhang Chengen's Mansion, if they wanted to touch Wenren Taibo, they had to think carefully to see if it would anger Emperor Xuanren. This realization forced Duke Zhang Chengen's Mansion to temporarily suppress certain thoughts and swallow their blood.
Of course, it was fortunate that Duke Zhang Chengen's Mansion did not take action, otherwise, they would probably find that they would be suppressed without Emperor Xuanren doing anything. The Wen family's current network of relationships is not as simple as they thought.
At this point, the matter has been settled. As for what will happen if Wen Renxiang "gets her wish" and marries into a wealthy family, that is a matter for the future.
After dealing with this troublesome matter, Han was finally able to properly handle Wen Renying's marriage.
Because they had already reached a tacit understanding with the Cheng family and had prepared everything they needed, after both sides agreed, they directly asked a matchmaker to come and formally propose the marriage. After that, the Cheng family got Wen Renying's engagement letter, asked about good and bad luck, compared their horoscopes, and found that they were a match made in heaven. After that, they signed the engagement letter and the marriage was settled. The whole process was smooth and there were no setbacks.
Of course, there were some minor incidents. The main one was that when the Pingjin Marquis’s family learned that the person Wen Renying was going to marry again was actually a student from a poor family, even though he was the third place winner in the imperial examination, the Pingjin Marquis’ wife was still shocked. Not to mention that Wen Renying was the legitimate daughter of a third-rank official, even if she was the legitimate daughter of another branch of the Wen family, it would be too high for him to marry her. Even if he was more optimistic about her and wanted to win her over, marrying her to a concubine would be the best he could do. Although Wen Renying had withdrawn from the engagement once, it was not like she couldn’t find a husband family that was of equal status. Why…
Because of this, Lady Pingjin Hou couldn't wait any longer and went to the Wen family to ask something.
Lady Pingjin Hou is now Wen Renying's adoptive mother. Although it is not her turn to interfere in the marriage because her biological parents are still around, but given this relationship, it is understandable that she asked a question.
The wife of Marquis Pingjin spoke even though she knew it was not nice to ask such questions. She still felt a little upset. After all, her son was the legitimate son of the Marquisate. The Marquisate of Pingjin was in good shape now, and her eldest son was also good enough. She did not have to worry about the lack of successors or the decline of the Marquisate of Pingjin. If she married her youngest son, she would have no worries about food and clothing for the rest of her life, no matter how bad he was. But Wen Ren decisively kicked her son away. If she had chosen a man with a good family background who was better than her son, there would be nothing to say. But now she chose a poor student with an uncertain future, which made her feel a little uncomfortable.
Han could more or less guess what the wife of Marquis Pingjin was thinking, and because of that, she felt somewhat embarrassed and didn't know what to say. She could have avoided explaining, but now they were in-laws after all.
Han considered it for a moment, sighed, and decided to "tell the truth."
"Madam, let me tell you this. As for my children, I don't ask them to be rich. It is enough for them to have enough food and clothing and live a stable life. Considering Ying'er's personality, I chose your son.
Xuan'er was born and raised outside. She suffered a lot and saw a lot of things. She attaches great importance to family affection. To be honest, when Pingjin Hou celebrated his 50th birthday and found out that Mr. Ling had someone in his heart, she was very opposed to Ying'er and Mr. Ling's marriage. It was only after we tried to persuade her and told her that there is no perfect thing in the world that she stopped mentioning it.
But later, what Master Ling did was really disappointing, especially he did that in front of Xuan'er, which made her very angry. Especially after Ying'er came back, her eyes were swollen from crying, and our whole family was heartbroken.
After the marriage was settled, we thought about it and decided that a wealthy family might not be suitable for Ying'er. Even for those young masters who did not have to inherit the family business, it was common for them to take concubines. Ying'er was spoiled by me and had a simple temperament. If she came up against someone who was impatient, she would definitely be the one who suffered the loss and was wronged. Our family might not be able to support her.
Based on these, it is better to choose a man from a humble family with good character for her. Even if things may change in the future, at least she can still live a happy life in the first ten or twenty years. By then, her children will have grown up and experienced more, and will not take many things too seriously. Even if they encounter something, it should not be a big problem.
Because I still have some family assets, I can give more dowry when I get married. Even if my son-in-law has no future, it should be no problem to ensure that they have enough food and clothing.
Since we are all parents, Madam should understand my thoughts."
After Han finished speaking slowly and gently, Lady Pingyang Marquis had nothing to say. Only someone who cared about the child would make such a choice. Otherwise, she felt a little embarrassed. It was all because of that evildoer in the family!
Han picked up the teacup, took a sip, and lowered her eyes slightly. Since we are going to "raise a military force to hold you accountable", it would be embarrassing to drag your son out as the "culprit", especially since my second daughter is quite disgusted with your son, you should think about it again.
It was not certain whether the wife of Marquis Pingjin had calmed down, but even if she hadn't, it had probably been transferred to her son. Han had no interest in what Hua Bochen would face.
When the wife of Marquis Pingjin left, she was not as imposing as when she came.
Han sent the person away and didn't take the matter to heart.
Then it was time to prepare for Wenren Xiang's marriage. After all, she was the Wen family's daughter, so she had to do everything she could to show her respect. As for what the Zhang family would do, and whether they would deliberately step on Wenren's face, it didn't matter. They were marrying their "savior", and if they really intended to step on Wenren's face, it was hard to say who would be embarrassed.
As for matters like saving face, one just needs to make normal preparations according to one's status. Han is also very familiar with the matter. When the time comes, all she needs to be busy with is the wedding banquet, which is nothing special.
However, after returning home, Lady Pingjin also figured out that Han's words were mostly true, but when it came to her son, there was also a deliberate element in it. To a certain extent, it was just short of pointing fingers at her and saying that she didn't teach her son well, which made Lady Pingjin unhappy, "Where is that evil creature? Call him to me."
Although no names were mentioned, this was not the first time that Hua Bochen had angered the wife of Marquis Pingjin in the past few months, and the servants were aware of it.
Recently, Hua Bochen has been basically confined at home to study. When the Marquis's wife came back from the Wenren family, she was so angry. It was obvious that it was related to the Seventh Miss of the Wenren family. Now that she was angry about Hua Bochen, the servants felt a little sorry for him.
However, this pity did not last long, because the person who went to call Hua Bochen came back and said that he had gone out, and sneaked out through the back door while the Marquis's wife went to smell people's houses. Well, why pity him? He deserves to be punished.
The wife of Marquis Pingjin had not fully recovered from her illness to begin with, and this anger almost caused her to have a relapse. The people around her were frightened and they hurriedly took two pills and fed them to her.
After hearing the news, the wife of the Marquis of Pingjin hurried over. Seeing that the wife of the Marquis of Pingjin looked listless, she had been well-fed during this period of time, and her complexion, spirit, and energy were all good. Now... "Mom, are you okay?"
The wife of Marquis Pingjin waved her hands weakly.
"Mother, do you want to go and find my uncle?" The wife of the Marquis of Pingjin asked hesitantly.
"Why are you looking for him? If he dares to run away, it would be better for him to die outside and never come back!"
The wife of the Marquis of Pingjin didn't take it seriously. After her mother-in-law gave birth to her beloved eldest son, she got pregnant again after many years. And because the eldest son was obedient, sensible and excellent, the Marquis's family had a successor, so she was inevitably more doting on the younger son. The younger uncle didn't have any major problems. He was much better than many dandy boys who were good at eating, drinking, whoring and gambling. The whole family was quite satisfied with this. It was just that when she met the fickle Li Ruoshui, she became stubborn and her brain was fed to dogs. But even so, the mother-in-law only said harsh words.
But he was his younger uncle, and his parents and brothers were all there, so it was naturally not her turn as a sister-in-law to take care of him. Since her mother-in-law said she didn't want to find one, she naturally wouldn't meddle in other people's business. However, the wife of the Prince of Pingjin thought about it and still asked someone to find her husband and inform him.
However, neither the wife of Marquis Pingjin nor the wife of the prince of Pingjin could have imagined that Hua Bochen was trapped on the bed at this moment.
Today, the young masters and young ladies of Duke Xu's mansion are holding a flower-viewing banquet. Seriously speaking, it is also a blind date banquet.
Duke Xu was also a promising young man when he was young. During the previous emperor's time, he was full of vigor and ambition, and was very proud of himself. However, in the last battle for the throne, he was on the wrong side and was naturally the one who was suppressed. Since he was not deeply involved, he was still the crown prince at the time and was not affected too much on the surface. However, his father was hit hard and died before Emperor Xuanren ascended the throne. The current Duke Xu has inherited the title, but nothing happened to him after that, and he has been depressed and frustrated ever since.
When a man is unsuccessful in his career, he tends to indulge in alcohol and sex. In the beginning, he already had quite a few sons, some of whom were married, and they were living a life of debauchery and becoming more and more outrageous, bringing all kinds of things, both good and bad, into the mansion, turning the originally prosperous Duke's Mansion into a mess.
His first wife, with whom he had a good relationship, became alienated from him, and his children no longer grew close to him.
If it were just that, it would be fine, but a few years later he ended up favoring his concubine and killing his wife, which was really a joke. Fortunately, when the title of the dukedom was almost affected, Duke Xu at least came to his senses and dealt with the concubine in time. Even so, his wife was completely disappointed and simply packed up her things and returned to her ancestral home.
As the eldest son, he could not accompany his grandmother to serve, and the other two were unwilling to give up the wealth and glory in the imperial city and the power of the mansion. So the eldest son sent his own daughter to accompany him. The little girl, who was only a tiny child, served her grandmother in place of her parents.
The wife of Duke Xu passed away several years ago. As the granddaughter who had grown up by his side, she observed mourning for three years and lived in her ancestral home for two years. Now that she has reached the age of marriage, it is time for her to talk about marriage, so she has to come to the imperial city to look for her match.
Therefore, having served her grandmother for so many years, her status was naturally extraordinary. Even though Duke Xu was extremely absurd, he still valued this granddaughter a little. She had been in the imperial city for quite some time, but perhaps because she was lacking in etiquette, she was not in a hurry to come out and walk around. Therefore, few people knew about it.
Even so, as a mother, even if her daughter was not raised by her, and there may be some lack of emotion, the blood relationship cannot be severed. Besides, she is the legitimate daughter, and those of similar age are all illegitimate daughters, or girls of the previous generation. Naturally, this marriage will not be sloppy. For some time, she has been collecting information about young men from various families in the imperial city. Now she has officially held a flower-viewing banquet, saying that it is to let her daughter make some friends of the same age.
If it is just to make friends, there is naturally no need to invite the young masters of various families, but some younger uncles posted a circle of messages to appreciate the flowers.
This kind of thing is actually tacitly understood by everyone. If other families are interested, perhaps their elders will come along and follow suit.
However, this is a bit too much. The people invited will definitely not just be unmarried people, they will definitely be young people after all.
Speaking of which, Prince Hua was also invited, but if possible, he didn't want to be there.