The people from the Imperial Observatory were very efficient. After getting the eight characters, they calculated several auspicious days in less than five days. Emperor Liang Ping looked at the calculation results presented by Li Dian, was silent for a while, and suddenly laughed.
Seeing this, Xu Hai also laughed.
Emperor Liang Ping looked up at him and said, "Xu Hai, what are you laughing at?"
Xu Hai said: "Your Majesty, when I saw you were happy, I felt happy too and laughed unconsciously. Please forgive me, Your Majesty."
"You, you only know how to flatter!" Emperor Liang Ping scolded with a smile, and then said, "However, I originally thought that Li Dian was a serious person and would not flatter. After seeing him today, I found that it was not the case."
Xu Hai pretended to be threatened: "How could Lord Li make Your Majesty so happy? I dare to know what Lord Li said, so that I can learn from him."
Emperor Liang Ping handed him the result of the calculation. Xu Hai had been with him for many years and could recognize characters. Xu Hai took it carefully and found that on the top sheet of paper, in addition to the auspicious dates, there were also the results of the two people's horoscopes. The four big characters "Heaven's Match" in the middle were particularly eye-catching.
"These... two men can actually be judged to be a match made in heaven?" Xu Hai asked hesitantly.
"Yes, but Li Dian's intention this time should be that he has heard the rumors in the court and the country in recent days. Some people even said that I randomly matched the prince of the Duke with the common people. It is obvious that I did it deliberately to treat the children of the aristocratic family harshly." Emperor Liang Ping looked displeased.
Xu Hai was even more excited than he was, and he shouted, "How dare you! Who is it that is ruining your reputation outside? I heard it clearly that day, it was clearly Prince Pei who asked for it himself, and Your Majesty only issued the imperial decree to grant the marriage because you wanted to help a pair of lovers!" He did not mention at all that the other option was for Pei Che to give up his title and marry a princess.
After hearing what he said, Emperor Liang Ping chose to forget that he was here to laugh at the joke. He said, "That's why the Imperial Astronomical Observatory predicted a match made in heaven, to tell those ignorant people that their marriage was destined by heaven and has nothing to do with me!"
Xu Hai praised: "Great! In this way, let's see what those people have to say! Lord Li is indeed loyal to the emperor and patriotic. Today, I am convinced."
"Pass the order down and reward Li Dian with 100 taels of gold." Emperor Liang Ping was very satisfied with his behavior.
When Li Dian received the reward, he was completely confused. He didn't know what Emperor Liang Ping and Master Xu Hai had imagined, he just followed his usual practice and presented the results of his calculations.
"Grandmother, someone came from the palace and delivered the results calculated by the imperial astronomical observation a few days ago. The emperor asked us to choose a date in the next few days so that we can make preparations early." Pei Che came to Grandmother Pei's yard and showed her the date written on red paper.
Grandmother Pei has been confined to the small Buddhist temple these days, concentrating on worshipping Buddha. She looked at the date on the clock and said with all her might, "You two can choose the date. After all, you will live your life from now on. Whether it is good or bad, you will bear the consequences. Grandmother is old, so it is not appropriate for her to interfere."
Pei Che knew that his grandmother was dissatisfied with his marriage partner, so she said this. If the person he was going to marry was a lady from a noble family, his grandmother would probably be more energetic than anyone else.
However, this matter does need to be discussed with Jiang Miao. His original plan was to let both of them choose. If they were the same, everyone would be happy. If they were different, they would each choose one. Now that the grandmother had given in, he only needed to ask Jiang Miao for his opinion.
Seeing Pei Che walk out the door without hesitation after taking his leave, Grandmother Pei felt a little bitter: "People say that after marrying a wife, one forgets his mother. He hasn't even married her yet, and I, your grandmother, am no longer important!"
Grandma Gao just listened to her complaints quietly. It was obvious that her young lady did not want to choose, but if the prince really did not let her choose, she would be angry again.
Pei Che had no idea what his grandmother was thinking. He took his things and went out, preparing to head straight for Yifeng Street, but when he passed Pei Mu's yard, he was almost bumped by Xing'er who suddenly rushed out.
He was a little unhappy, but considering that she had always taken care of Mu'er, he still said gently: "Xing'er, what do you want to see me for? Don't be so reckless next time."
Xing'er looked at Pei Che with red eyes, her voice a little tearful, very pitiful: "My Lord, but what did Xing'er do wrong? Tell me, Xing'er will change."
Pei Che recalled what he had just said and felt that it was not harsh. He didn't know why she said that, so he asked, "Why do you say that?"
"These past few days, you have taken the young master out at dawn every day and did not come back until night. Xing'er should have taken personal care of the young master, but these days she didn't even know where he had gone. People in the mansion say that Xing'er has not fulfilled her duty. I beg the prince to let Xing'er stay with the young master and take care of him. If that doesn't work, then report to the old lady and kick me out." After saying this, she lowered her head and sobbed softly.
Pei Che felt that the word Jiang Miao occasionally mentioned was particularly appropriate at this time, that is, speechless. If so, Chan Yi Wen Jing obviously did not fulfill her duty. His master was also outside every day, why didn't they insist on following him
"You mean that if I don't let you follow Mu'er, you will leave the Duke's Mansion?"
Xing'er looked up with resentment: "Although Xing'er's parents are gone, Xing'er is not a freeloader. Xing'er has been taking care of the young master. Now that you don't let Xing'er work, Xing'er has no face to stay here." She deliberately mentioned her parents who died together in the accident, with the purpose of reminding Pei Che of her family's contribution.
"During this period, I applied for leave from the Imperial College. Since I had time, I thought about spending more time with Mu'er, but I forgot that you had nothing to do in the mansion."
"In that case, I will tell Chan Yi to find you a job in the mansion. When Mu'er doesn't go out often, you can take care of him." After saying that, Pei Che turned and left.
In the carriage, Pei Mu had been waiting for a while, his face was a little anxious. Just when they were about to leave, someone from the palace happened to come. Pei Che wanted to take him out of the carriage, but he was unwilling, so Pei Che had to let him sit in the carriage.
"Mu'er, have you been waiting for a long time? Let's go there now." Pei Che had been taking Pei Mu to Jiang Miao's place without fail these past few days, so Pei Mu had gotten used to it.
On the other side, Jiang Miao was carrying a bucket of stuffing and walking towards Daniu's house. After the dividends came out in the past few days, Jiang Miao found that the money he earned was actually not much different from before. The reason was that Daniu's family also worked together because they had paid money and got dividends. With more people working, more was sold. Sometimes Jiang Miao couldn't chop the stuffing, so they would take the ingredients back, chop them up, and send them back for him to season.
When we arrived at Daniu's yard, Daniu was standing there with a distressed look on his face, talking to his grandmother.
"Auntie Zhang, Brother Daniu, what are you talking about? Why do you look so unhappy?" Jiang Miao asked. He put the stuffing on the edge of the chopping board, ready to wash his hands and start wrapping some more.
"Brother Jiang, you came at the right time. I was just about to ask Daniu to come find you!" said Aunt Zhang.
"What's the matter?" Jiang Miao was confused.
Daniu looked like he had seen a savior, and said aggrievedly: "Brother Jiang, this is what happened. When I was setting up my stall yesterday, a man came to buy buns and recognized me. He was a waiter at Yingkelai, and I used to work with him. After he bought the buns, I don't know what he told the shopkeeper at Yingkelai, but just now, the shopkeeper found me here and asked me to sell him the recipe for making fried buns, otherwise he would go to the government to sue me, saying that I stole the recipe from Yingkelai!"
"What? It's been more than four months since you left Yingkelai, and he still has the nerve to use this to frame you?" Jiang Miao was very angry. It seemed that the shopkeeper wanted to continue bullying honest people. Not only did he kick people out when they hadn't done anything wrong, but now he wanted to force people to buy or sell. He was simply morally corrupt!
"That's right! Not to mention that he was just doing the work of a waiter. Even if he stole the recipe, he wouldn't know how to use it. He can't even read a single word, so how would he know what a recipe is?" Aunt Zhang had a face full of resentment and hated the shopkeeper in her heart.
"I didn't do anything sneaky, and I'm not afraid of going to the government office with him. But if I go to the government office, my business will probably be delayed for a few days." This is what Daniu was worried about.
"Brother Daniu, don't worry about the business, and we don't have to go to the government with them. Next time he comes, just tell him that the trick to making the stuffing lies in a secret recipe I have. Without it, the buns will lose their flavor and customers will naturally not buy them." Jiang Miao said. If Daniu really sued him, he might not be treated fairly.
"No!" Da Niu refused flatly, "I am the one who caused this matter, I can't cause you trouble!" The shopkeeper is not a good person, what if Brother Jiang suffers a loss
"It's okay, just tell him, I will naturally find a way to deal with him." Jiang Miao looked confident, as if he had already thought of a way to reject the shopkeeper.
"But… "
"Don't worry, I will never suffer any loss!" Jiang Miao said firmly. Daniu couldn't persuade him, so he had to wait until the next time the shopkeeper came and do what Jiang Miao said.
When Jiang Miao was going back, he passed by Wang's grain and oil shop and Wu's southern goods shop. He thought for a moment, went in and chatted with the two shopkeepers, then returned to his residence with a sly smile and humming a little tune.
When he got home, the door was opened. Jiang Miao was startled at first, but then he felt relieved, remembering that he had given Pei Che a spare key the day before, allowing him to enter and leave his residence freely.
"Why are you so happy?" Pei Che sat on a chair in the main room, while Pei Mu sat on a small stool, bending down and stroking Little White Dot. The kitten was eating the dried fish Pei Mu brought with all his might, not caring at all whether his fur had been rubbed bald or not.
"Hey, if I don't tell you, what are you doing here today?" Jiang Miao kept it a secret, because he was afraid that if he told Pei Che, he would intervene in the matter. Although he did need to use him, it was not now.
Seeing his cunning look, Pei Che did not ask any further questions. Jiang Miao could not hide the truth and might tell it himself later.
"The Imperial Observatory gave a date, and I showed it to my grandmother. She told us to choose two dates ourselves." Pei Che took out a few pieces of red paper and handed them to Jiang Miao.
Jiang Miao took it and looked at it, then sighed: "Why are the dates so close? Forget it, I'll just close my eyes and smoke. I'll see when I get the last chance." Jiang Miao irresponsibly blamed the matter on God.
He asked Pei Che to shuffle the papers, then closed his eyes and drew two.
One piece of paper said March 5th, and the other said June 20th, and under both dates it was written "Everything goes well."
(End of this chapter)