Three days later, Tao Shan returned to Yunxiang County. It must be said that Yang Haiyan was shocked by the large and small bags he brought back.
Tao Shan arrived at night. If he had followed the usual route, he would have arrived late at night. However, this time Tao Shan was particularly energetic and motivated, so he arrived half a day early. Not only was Tao Shan excited and motivated, but the guards who went to the capital with him were also very happy. Although they did not meet the emperor like Tao Shan, they had been to the capital, stood at the gate of the palace, and lived in the Du Mansion. This feeling was very euphoric.
Qin Fang has returned and is having dinner with Yang Haiyan. Because Wei Ting has returned to Beijing, the research on fire medicine in Shoushan Taoist Temple has ended. Now the people from the Ministry of Works are still in Shoushan Taoist Temple, but the fire medicine is no longer needed for research, so Qin Fang will not go to Shoushan Taoist Temple, but he still sent people to surround it. And the people from the Ministry of Works cannot leave Shoushan Taoist Temple. In the name of soldiers protecting them in Shoushan Taoist Temple, they are actually under surveillance and imprisonment. The people from the Ministry of Works also know the emperor's intention, so they cooperate very well.
As I said, there is no need to be on duty at the Beast Mountain Taoist Temple, meals are prepared all day long, and I can eat watermelon from time to time. Life here is more comfortable than in the capital.
Tao Shan came to the inner courtyard with a dusty look on his face: "My subordinate greets the general." Although he was exhausted, there was a look of joy on his face.
Qin Fang put down his bowl and chopsticks: "I came back quite early this time."
Tao Shan said excitedly: "I brought back the emperor's superstition, so I dare not delay. In addition, there are gifts from the Du family and things bestowed by the emperor." The gifts from the Du family are called "sends", and the gifts from the emperor are called "grants". If it were the previous Tao Shan, he would not make such a distinction. After a trip to the palace, his character suddenly became cautious, especially when he spoke, he was particularly careful. These words lingered in his mind many times on the way back, so when he spoke to Qin Fang, he was not excited. After saying that, he handed over the emperor's superstition.
Qin Fang's expression became serious when he heard it. He took the secret letter and read it quickly.
Yang Haiyan was actually quite curious about the gifts, as women all liked gifts. She asked, "Where are the gifts from the Du family and the emperor? Take me to see them."
Tao Shan said: "It's outside the courtyard. Follow my subordinates to carry it into the courtyard. Please come in."
Yang Haiyan walked out of the hall and saw the gift of a luxury car from her outsider. She was slightly stunned: "So many?"
Tao Shan said, "Most gifts came from the Du family, including those from Madam Du, Madam Du, Mr. Du, Miss Du, Miss Du, and Madam Du's family. Apart from that, there were gifts from the Emperor."
Yang Haiyan was stunned when she heard a series of gifts from Du xxx. After a while, she came to her senses: "Why are there so many people in the Du family giving gifts? Even Mr. Du and the married Miss Du and Miss Du gave gifts? Not to mention Mrs. Du's family? Because Mrs. Du shared the things we gave to everyone?" So they gave gifts in return? But, isn't this too polite
Speaking of this, Tao Shan explained: "Because the Du family knows that you are pregnant."
Huh? "You told them?" Yang Haiyan thought about it and felt it was unlikely.
Tao Shan explained again: "No, the day after I arrived in the capital, the family members sent by Lord Du to the capital arrived, and Lord Du mentioned your pregnancy in the letter."
Since Yang Haiyan is Mrs. Du's adopted daughter, when she is pregnant, Mrs. Du will naturally express that this is etiquette. In some cases, Yang Haiyan becomes Mrs. Du's adopted daughter, and she may not be related to other people in the Du family. Because things like godparents are sometimes very complicated. Women are recognized as godparents by women, and men are recognized as godparents by men. There are many such cases. Compared with the goddaughters recognized by the queen, the emperor basically will not recognize them.
However, this is different from Yang Haiyan's situation.
Yang Haiyan is Mrs. Du's goddaughter, and her husband Qin Fang is Mr. Du's student. In addition, Yang Haiyan herself has a third-rank title, and the emperor has granted her the title of Bingyun, which is different from the general third-rank imperial edict. Therefore, in addition to Mrs. Du, others also treat her very well.
So, there are many gifts.
Yang Haiyan asked people to unpack all the gifts, and said to Tao Shan, "Tell me what happened after you returned to the capital."
Tao Shan: "He..." He told her everything about how he met Captain Du again after he came to the capital. When he talked about the last time he met the emperor, he was quite excited.
"Have you seen the emperor?" Qin Fang's voice sounded from behind him.
Tao Shan said hurriedly, "Yes, I have seen the emperor." Then he took out ten taels of silver and said, "This is the reward from the emperor." It was given to him, but he couldn't take it all. He originally wanted to share some with the guards who accompanied him, but he didn't dare to do it, so he gave it to Qin Fang.
Qin Fang didn't take the silver: "You take it, this is a reward from the emperor." Qin Fang didn't care about the silver at all, what he cared about was, "What does the emperor think?"
Tao Shan thought about it and said, "I didn't dare to look at him for too long. I just took a few glances. The emperor looked very young, very... very good, and he was still smiling." The emperor saw so many things at that time, so he naturally smiled. "He is just a very good person, not as scary as Lord Du."
Yang Haiyan: “…” Fortunately, Lord Du was not here, otherwise it would have been even more terrifying to hear.
Qin Fang didn't want to say anything anymore.
Tao Shan realized that his description was wrong, and hurriedly added: "Not as serious as Lord Du."
Qin Fang nodded: "You can go down..."
Yang Haiyan called him: "Wait a moment." She had never told Tao Shan about Qin Qiuya's affairs. She saw that Tao Shan had become more mature and grown up than before, and she was optimistic about Tao Shan.
Tao Shan looked at Yang Haiyan: "County Master?"
Yang Haiyan asked: "Tao Shan, how old are you this year?"
Tao Shan's heart was moved when he heard this: "I'm 22 this year." Would the lady introduce a date to her? Yes? He was looking forward to it. As a 22-year-old bachelor, he also wanted to get married and have children. But no one introduced him.
At the age of 22, he would be considered an "old bachelor" in ancient times. However, Tao Shan was on duty with Qin Fang, so if he was in his hometown, he would probably be a "hot commodity", but no one here would introduce him. Thinking of this, Yang Haiyan asked, "Has your family arranged a marriage for you?"
Tao Shan said hurriedly, "No, no, when I was out serving in the military, I was just at the right age to get married, but because I was serving in the military, my family didn't dare to find a wife for me because they were afraid of delaying the girl. Later, after I finished my military service, I served under the general. When I went home to see my parents, they wanted to find a wife for me, but... but I hurried back to the general's place, and there was no girl I liked." Tao Shan was looking forward to it. Will the county lord introduce a girl to him now? Yes, yes? I don't know what kind of girl he will introduce to him. He looked at Yang Haiyan expectantly. Compared with his usual head-down and silence, he was more lively today.
When Yang Haiyan heard this, she asked, "What are your requirements for the girl?" She used modern methods to introduce people. After understanding the woman's requirements, she asked the man about his requirements, which made it easier to make an introduction.
Tao Shan said: "Just be a little more virtuous."
When Yang Haiyan heard this, it seemed that she didn't have any other requests. In ancient times, men all liked virtuous girls. However, "Taoshan, come with me to the study."
Tao Shan: “Hey.”
Qin Fang saw Tao Shan following him, so he followed him too.
Yang Haiyan said: "Please sit down. I have a question for you."
Tao Shan glanced at Qin Fang. He was Qin Fang's subordinate. Qin Fang didn't let him sit, so he naturally didn't dare to sit.
Qin Fang said: "Please sit down."
Tao Shan then sat down and said, "Please ask, Mr. Xiang."
Yang Haiyan: "What do you think about marrying into a family?"
Marry into the wife's family? Tao Shan was stunned, and then said decisively: "County lord, I don't want to marry into the wife's family." Tao Shan thought about it, and then added, "Generally, the families who would recruit sons-in-law are all well-off. I don't want to marry someone's girl for money, and then be looked down upon by others as a son-in-law."
Yang Haiyan didn't think much about it: "If the girl is very good and her parents are also very good, wouldn't you be unwilling to marry into her family?"
Tao Shan shook his head and asked boldly: "The girl wants to find a husband, but she also wants a child, right?"
Yang Haiyan said: "Yes, the other party's family only has one daughter, so they want to recruit a son-in-law and let the child take the maiden's surname."
Tao Shan said: "Then I still don't want to marry into the family."
Yang Haiyan did not dwell on the issue of marrying into the wife's family. She asked another question: "If you don't marry into the wife's family, will the first child take the woman's surname?"
Tao Shan was puzzled: "What?"
Yang Haiyan said: "You don't have to marry into the bride's family, but the first child born will take the woman's surname. Are you willing?"
Tao Shan hesitated for a moment. He was not stupid. If Xiangjun could introduce a girl to him, he must be very familiar with her, or even have a good relationship with her. This was the first reason. Secondly, if she had a relationship with Xiangjun, it would be a good thing for him. Xiangjun would not introduce a girl with bad character to him. Thinking of the above two points, Tao Shan said, "Can I meet the girl?"
Ancient people didn't care about love, so Tao Shan didn't think about whether he liked her or not. If the other person had good character and a good family background, and if he didn't look good, he would accept her. It didn't matter if the first child had the other person's surname, because it was his child after all, and they couldn't have only one child.
Yang Haiyan said, "There is another question. If you value the other party, you can't get married until three years later. Can you agree?" Qiuya is thirteen years old now. She can't ask the other party to get married at the age of eighteen and then have children. However, it is okay to let Qiuya wait until she is sixteen to get married. After all, Qin Qiuya is not her daughter. For Uncle Qin and Aunt Qin, sixteen is the most suitable age for marriage.
If it were her own daughter, she would let her get married at the age of eighteen or twenty.
When Tao Shan heard that he had to wait for three years, he had only one thought: "Will the other party observe mourning?"