Since it was an imperial decree granting marriage, Jiang Miao, as another protagonist, naturally had to accept such an order. Fortunately, he did not go out because his cart broke down, otherwise, these people would probably have to look for him all over the street.
Jiang Miao was actually very curious when he saw the eunuch frowning and looking at the courtyard with disdain. But after a closer look, he found that the eunuchs were no different from ordinary people, except that they didn't have beards and their voices were shrill compared to others.
Speaking of beards, Jiang Miao couldn't help but feel sympathetic. He didn't have much beard on his body, but occasionally a few would pop up. Nowadays, few people grow beards, and Jiang Miao didn't have this habit. It's just that there were no razors in ancient times, and scissors couldn't cut cleanly, so he didn't know which tool to use.
He had no choice but to ask others. The answer he got was to use twisted wire. Putting that thing on the face was like pulling the wires down one by one. Who could stand that? So he ran to the blacksmith shop and planned to ask the blacksmith to make a blade. Unexpectedly, the blacksmith told him that there were ready-made razors in the shop and asked him if he wanted to buy them, but the price was a bit expensive. Jiang Miao bought one and scratched it twice a day. Only then did he get rid of the sloppy image that he might have.
After the eunuch finished reading the decree, he saw Jiang Miao kneeling on the ground motionless, so he had to cough twice to attract his attention.
Jiang Miao raised his head and saw him staring at him. He immediately realized that he had finished speaking, so he imitated the way he saw in TV dramas and said, "I accept the order and thank the emperor for his grace." Then he stood up and took the imperial edict from the eunuch with both hands.
The eunuch didn't want to stay here either, so after handing over the imperial edict, he immediately left with a group of people. Only after they were gone did the others in the yard dare to come out.
Aunt Liu and Aunt Bai walked up to Jiang Miao and said in a tone full of surprise and envy: "Is this the imperial edict? The one who came just now was a eunuch! Wow, I didn't expect that we could see an imperial edict!"
"Well, this is the imperial edict." Jiang Miao spread out the imperial edict for the two to take a closer look. The gold thread on it sparkled under the sunlight, the words inside were written beautifully, and there was a big red seal printed in the middle. This should be the one stamped with the imperial seal, right
Others also gathered around, but no one dared to touch it, for fear that someone would chop off their hands.
After watching for a long time, everyone's curiosity was finally satisfied. Someone asked: "Brother Jiang, what exactly does this imperial edict say? Does it mean that you should go to the palace to make buns for the emperor?"
No one in the yard understood the long string of flowery words just spoken. They only knew that the best thing about this young man, Jiang, was his skill in making steamed buns.
Jiang Miao was a little embarrassed. How should he explain this? He said that the emperor had granted him a marriage with a man, and he was the one he was going to marry
"Well, that's not it." Jiang Miao was just speaking vaguely when a few more people suddenly came outside the yard. When Jiang Miao saw them, he said, "Dear ladies and sisters-in-law, there are guests coming. I'll go and greet them first." When the others saw so many men standing outside, they also went back into the house.
Pei Che led his men to carry the altar, wooden box, and shelf, and walked into the yard. Jiang Miao seemed to have seen a savior, and took a few quick steps towards him and asked, "You are here, how should I put this thing?" I can't just stuff it into the cabinet, right? What if it is eaten by insects? Rats are no longer seen. Dahua gave birth to a litter of babies before the New Year, and now they are more than two months old. In order to train them, Dahua would catch a mouse for them to play with from time to time, so that they could learn to catch mice.
"Clean up an empty room, hide it in a box, put it on a shelf, place an altar table underneath, and sweep the dust from time to time." Pei Che took into account that he had no experience in receiving imperial edicts, so he rushed over as soon as the meeting was over.
Jiang Miao breathed a sigh of relief: "Fortunately, I thought I would have to light three incense sticks in the morning and offer fruits, snacks and other things to it as a sacrifice!"
Pei Che laughed: "That's not necessary, just keep it in a safe place. If it gets stained or moth-eaten, you'll probably suffer some physical pain. If you're an official, you might even be dismissed and investigated."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Miao immediately looked at the imperial edict in his hand with caution, and stuffed it into Pei Che's hand, saying, "I'd better give this thing to you for safekeeping. My place is small, and it would be bad if it gets damaged."
"It's okay. This box is made of camphor wood and coated with tung oil. As long as you don't take it out to play with it often, it won't be damaged." Pei Che raised his hand, and the servants behind him immediately opened the box. There was a layer of silk cloth inside, which was just enough for the imperial edict to fit in.
Jiang Miao led them into the house, to Xiao Shitou's study, where there was just enough space for an altar table. After arranging everything, Jiang Miao carefully closed the door, thinking that he had to tell Xiao Shitou tonight not to touch this thing, lest he be dragged away and beaten.
Pei Che asked the servants to leave, and now only he and Jiang Miao were left in the room.
"Mr. Pei, what should we do after receiving the imperial decree?" Jiang Miao was a little unsure. He didn't know the emperor would be so formal. He thought the marriage was just a verbal statement. With the imperial decree, how should the engagement be cancelled
"During this period of time, the emperor will probably send people to monitor our every move, so I will come to see you often and take you to crowded occasions." Pei Che said. It would probably take less than a day for the news that the emperor had granted him and Jiang Miao a marriage to spread throughout the entire Liangjing City. By then, there would definitely be a lot of social events, and they would need to deal with them first before slowly making plans.
Jiang Miao sighed sadly, regretting the sudden idea he had yesterday: "It seems that people still have to make money in a down-to-earth manner. These crooked methods will never work." Retribution has come.
Pei Che smiled: "You and I are now on the same page, it's too late to regret. You should sit down and listen to me talk about the situation in the Duke's Mansion."
Jiang Miao sat down on the stool helplessly, propped up his chin and said, "Mr. Pei, go ahead."
"Wait a minute," Pei Che said, "First of all, we need to change the name. This is too unfamiliar and might arouse suspicion."
"That's right, then what should I call you?" Jiang Miao thought for a moment and frowned, "You won't let me call you husband, will you?"
"Eh!" He said, and couldn't help shuddering.
"We haven't gotten married yet, so it's too early to call me husband." Pei Che laughed again. He thought Jiang Miao was really interesting.
"What's that called? Oh, by the way, what do your friends call you?" Jiang Miao was too lazy to think and decided to copy the homework.
"They all call me A-Che." Thinking about having to explain to those friends later, Pei Che couldn't help but feel a little tired. However, everyone else was fine, except Han Qin, who was a little more difficult to deal with.
"Ache?" Jiang Miao called out tentatively, and when he found it was OK, he cleared his throat and called out again seriously.
"Ache, what do you call me then?" Jiang Miao asked. He used to call me Jiang Xiaoge and Jiang Miao, but these two names didn't sound very suitable.
"How do your family members call you?" Pei Che followed suit.
"Think of one for yourself." Jiang Miao looked at him.
Pei Che pondered for a while, then asked tentatively: "A Miao? Miao'er? Miaomiao?"
Jiang Miao had never been called like that before, and he couldn't help but get goose bumps: "Call me A Miao, that sounds the most normal!" He never expected that one day he would feel that his own name sounded awkward.
Pei Che raised his lips: "Okay, then A Miao, listen to me, the Duke Zhong's Mansion..."
Jiang Miao listened to his introduction and couldn't help but feel a sense of sympathy. It turned out that the man in front of him also lost his parents when he was young, and raised his younger brother alone. Although his family conditions were better, the loneliness and grief in his heart should be the same as his.
After Pei Che finished his introduction, Jiang Miao followed suit and told him about his family situation. Pei Che admired Jiang Miao in his heart. It was really amazing that he could support a family on his own at such a young age.
The two sat face to face and exchanged information like a blind date. They had a new understanding of each other, and the two doors of their hearts, which were originally unfamiliar, also opened a tiny gap to each other.
"Where are you taking me?" Jiang Miao sat in the carriage and looked at Pei Che on the other side. The two sat and chatted for a while. Suddenly, this guy said he wanted to take him out, but after sitting for a long time, he didn't tell him where to go.
"You'll know when you get there." Pei Che kept it a secret.
Seeing that he didn't say anything, Jiang Miao focused his attention on the carriage. This carriage was the one Pei Che often took when he went out, and it was different from the one he had taken before.
Every part of the carriage is designed perfectly, and all the objects are hidden in secret compartments that can be reached with just a hand.
"Ah Che, how much does your carriage cost?" It is a man's nature to love cars. In modern times, Jiang Miao only needs to take a look at the car logo to tell the approximate price. Unfortunately, he only uses a small electric donkey on a daily basis. If he had known that he would travel through time, he should have bought a car to satisfy his desire. I wonder if all his savings have been saved by the bank.
Pei Che knew everything about astronomy and geography, and was proficient in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, but he was stumped by Jiang Miao's casual question. He shook his head and said, "I don't know that. Why are you asking this?"
"My original dream was to buy a carriage of my own, but compared to a carriage, a horse is more expensive, right?"
Pei Che knew this: "Good horses are hard to come by. If they are of good quality, they are often worth thousands of gold. Even if they are of inferior quality, they still cost a lot of money."
Jiang Miao pointed outside and said, "What about the horses that pull the carts?"
Pei Che frowned and thought for a while: "This is the most common horse, it should only cost fifty or sixty taels of silver, right?"
Jiang Miao dug out his own little treasury and did the math, and discovered that with all the money he had earned, he could probably only buy an ordinary, slow horse like Xiaobanla. He couldn't help but feel discouraged, the gap between the rich and the poor was too big.
Pei Che didn't know why he suddenly looked depressed, so he comforted him, "If you like horses, I can give you one. Although it's not a Ferghana horse, it's still good quality."
"No need," Jiang Miao shook his head quickly, "I'll just buy a donkey or a cow to pull the cart in the future. Horses need to be taken out for a walk from time to time, and I don't have that much time." Don't bring it back because the place is too small and make people depressed with their BMW.
Pei Che was about to say that he had his own groom to take care of the cat, but then he remembered Jiang Miao's conditions and silently added a villa and a few servants to the estimated remuneration for him.
The two chatted for a few more words, and suddenly the carriage stopped in front of a shop. Pei Che opened the door curtain and got off the carriage, preparing to pull Jiang Miao, but Jiang Miao pushed himself and jumped down.
"Silk shop? Why did you bring me here?" Jiang Miao poked his head in and saw that the shop was filled with all kinds of cloth.
"It's tailor-made."
Jiang Miao looked at what he was wearing and raised his eyebrows: "Why, do you dislike me?"
"That's not the case. It's just that in the places we go in the future, there will be people who respect the clothes first and then the people. This can avoid some gossips, so why should we let them talk?" Pei Che said. He only needs to dress himself cleanly and tidy, but the embroiderer in the needlework room of the mansion will do her best to make it perfect.
"That's right!" Jiang Miao thought. He had bought a few suits before, although he didn't wear them often. "You pay for it. This is my work clothes." It's not that he wants to cheat people. Even if he wants to pay, he probably can't afford a whole set.
"Work clothes?" Pei Che muttered to himself, thinking it was appropriate. "Of course, from now on, all the accessories you wear will be paid for by me."
His mother's dowry and his father's private property combined were enough to last for several lifetimes, and with the usual allowance from his grandmother and the regular silver from the Duke's Mansion, he had never worried about money.
(End of this chapter)