After the whole family was swept away, I lay down flat

Chapter 720: New News from the Third Branch of the Zhou Family

Haitang has been worried ever since the day she heard her grandmother Ma talk about her future marriage, and she was not in a good mood for the next few days.

For some reason, Jin Jiashu, who used to come to Hai's house every day to chat with her, suddenly disappeared for two days in a row.

Haitang could have spoken a few words to him and vented a little, but now she had no one to vent to and her mood became even more depressed.

In fact, she also knew that she shouldn't worry too much. However, marriage was a matter of the future that she couldn't escape from in this life. She had been here for so many years, but she couldn't think of a way to deal with it. She just wanted to live a relaxing day at a time. She couldn't help but despise herself for being too decadent.

Even if you have had enough in your last life and just want to lie down in this life, you can't lie down so thoroughly, right? At least you have to make sure that you can live a relaxed and happy life in this life.

Thinking of this, she tried to straighten herself up again.

Although her family had not yet entered the capital, she did not know what kind of marriage partner she would meet in the future. Even if she wanted to make arrangements in advance, she would not know where to start. However, she could imagine the type of marriage partner she wanted early on, and then slowly reveal it to her grandmother Ma in her daily conversations, so as to leave a deep impression on her. When she heard about a young talent who met the requirements in the future, she would immediately think of her granddaughter.

Yes! That's right! Haitang thought she had to let her grandparents know that she didn't ask for a high position or a huge fortune from her future husband. Character and temperament were the most important. He had to share the same values ​​as hers and not have the common problems that men of this era often have. In fact, men like her grandfather Hai Xiya, her second uncle Hai Chang'an, and her brother Hai Jiao were pretty good. The three men in the Hai family were all capable of making a living. When her father Hai Dingcheng was alive, his temperament was impeccable. He had a very good relationship with his mother and they looked at each other with the same eyes. Even the youngest cousin Chang Baoyan, who was just over ten years old, could be seen as a warm and considerate man. At a young age, he knew how to care for his mother, grandmother, and sister, and would never act willfully just because his family spoiled him.

Haitang thought, since the Hai family members are all like this, then when the elders choose a husband for her in the future, they should also follow this requirement, right? Anyway, she doesn't want to be successful in this life, she just wants to live a clean and comfortable life whether she is at home or married.

Haitang began to talk about similar topics in front of her grandmother Ma. Of course, she would not discuss her own lifelong affairs, but she could eat other people's melons first to draw out her own ideas. Zhou Yijun, the cousin of the third branch of the Zhou family, returned to Chang'an a few years ago. Her aunt Zhou Ma began to look for a man for her, but she had not found a good candidate after several years of looking. Although there was also the factor of mourning, it was mainly because Zhou Ma and Zhou Jinlin were reluctant to marry her to the son of a frontier general, fearing that the family would be reunited after a lot of effort, and then send the child to the border town again, and they would not see each other for ten or eight years. But in Chang'an, if a girl from a general family did not want to marry a son of a frontier army, but wanted the other party to have a good family background, then there were not many choices. The third branch of the Zhou family had a much worse reputation because of the incident between Madam Ma and Zhou Shuyi. After the head of the family Zhou Shigong was in mourning, he once thought about returning to the throne, but he was delayed in his wish, so Zhou Yijun's marriage became much more difficult.

Now, her two younger brothers' marriages were about to be decided, and her marriage was finally in sight. Zhou Ma specially invited her younger sister Ma to help with the discussion, and when Ma returned home, she naturally couldn't help but say a few more words. Haitang also received letters from Zhou Yijun and Zhou Xuejun in private, and knew some of the inside stories that the elders didn't know, and she could also discuss with Ma.

Ma felt sorry for Zhou Yijun: "I heard that he is the son of a scholar. His grandfather was a fourth-rank official in the capital, but unfortunately he died early. The orphan and widow returned to their hometown in Chang'an to mourn, and never left. His father was a juren, and his knowledge was not bad, and his reputation was good, but his son is only a scholar now. This year's provincial examination, he didn't even make the deputy list. I don't know how many years it will take to pass the exam! Your aunt and grandmother wanted him to have some property in Chang'an, and live a good life. His home is close, just two streets away from Zhoujia Street. When Yijun marries there in the future, it will be convenient for her to visit her parents. If she is wronged in her husband's family, she doesn't need to say anything, the neighbors will pass the news back. But this family background is far worse. Although the reputation of the third branch of the Zhou family has been ruined, Yijun's father is at least a fourth-rank military officer, and her grandfather is a general! Yijun is marrying such a person, aren't they afraid of wronging the child?!"

Haitang asked: "If grandma feels it is inappropriate, did you ask aunt grandma why she chose such a person in the Zhou family's third room?"

Ma became even more angry when she talked about this: "Of course I asked! She said that your great aunt thought that the boy was good at studying and would have a bright future! What a joke! He didn't even make the second place in the provincial examination this year, how can he have a bright future?! If he is considered promising, then what about the Jin family's brother? What about the Wu family's brother?! Why don't they propose marriage to the Wu and Jin families?!"

Haitang raised her eyebrows: "Yes, why didn't my aunt and grandma consider Jin Jiashu and Wu Ke? Forget about Jin Jiashu, his family background may not be as good as the current candidate, after all, Jin's grandfather never served as an official; but Wu Ke's family background is pretty good, isn't it? And he has always been close to the Zhou family. It doesn't matter if other families are unhappy, but my aunt and grandpa likes scholars so much, why would he look down on Wu Ke?"

"It's not that he doesn't like her." Madam Ma lowered her voice. "He considered it in his early years. At that time, Madam Gui was still alive. She disliked Yijun and talked about what Madam Ma and Zhou Shuyi had done. The two sides were not happy. Since then, the third branch of the Zhou family has never considered marrying into the Wu family again, and even the people in the Zhou family were not happy. In fact, it's a pity for the Wu family's brother. Even if the Zhenguo Mansion and the Cheng'en Marquis Mansion don't want him to be a son-in-law, there are still many good girls in the Zhou family who are worthy of him. His aunt was a bitch and ruined them all. But now if he can marry the daughter of Governor Xin, it won't be too bad. Now that his aunt is dead, maybe his blessing is still to come."

After saying this, Ma lowered her voice and returned to the main topic: "Your aunt didn't dislike that family. She said that although the family was in decline, the family tradition was still upright. They treated their daughters and daughters-in-law very kindly and would not waste people. I also knew the reputation of his family. Before I got married, I heard at home that the old man in their family was an upright person. In this generation, the descendants are also quite dignified. For the sake of his precious nephew Zeng Boqing, your great-uncle went to the family's house and begged the master of the Juren family to accept Zeng Boqing as a student. The master didn't ask about Zeng Boqing's family background at all, but only tested his knowledge. He found that he was unwilling to study hard and only wanted to return to the capital to be the eldest son of his marquis's mansion, so he refused. Your great-uncle couldn't blame them, but could only blame Zeng Boqing for not living up to his expectations."

As long as she could make the Zeng brothers and sisters lose face without giving them a chance to be criticized, Zhou Ma would be very fond of them. This time, it was Zhou Shigong who took the initiative to propose marriage. Zhou Ma heard that the other party's son was indeed a decent and gentle person, and his family was also quite well-off, so she was halfway willing. What's the big deal about being down and out? When Zhou Yijun marries with a generous dowry, and her husband passes the imperial examination in a few years, won't they be able to live a good life?
More importantly, if Madam Zhou despised this family because of their low social status, Zhou Shigong would have to matchmake his eldest niece with a man. How could Madam Zhou let the Zeng brothers and sisters take advantage of this? !
(End of this chapter)