Reborn in the last years of Kangxi

Chapter 132 Marriage Proposal
Weaving Mansion, Kaiyang Courtyard, west side room.

Taking advantage of Cao Yin's good spirits, Mrs. Li took a letter from Jueluo's family and discussed with him about Cao Yi's marriage.

When Cao Yuan returned this time, in addition to bringing back gifts from several families, he also brought back a letter from the old lady of the Jueluo family.Sitara mentioned in the letter that she was old and not in good health, and hoped that she would have a grandson as soon as possible so that she would have no regrets in this life. She euphemistically stated that she hoped that Seshtu and Cao Yi would get married before the end of the year.

Cao Yin nodded and said: "Since the wife of the in-laws said so, it's okay. It's just that the time is a bit rushed, but it's time to watch?"

Mrs. Li smiled and said: "After reading the letter, I asked someone to look through the almanac first. It will take some time to prepare the dowry and then go to Beijing. I didn't ask to look at the ones before September. In the future, the sixteenth of September, the fifth day of October, 24 and November 22 are good days for marriage. Just checking this way, if the master agrees to the marriage, I will ask Cao Yuan's family to use the horoscopes of the two children's birthdays and find someone to calculate in these few days."

Cao Yin said: "Yeah. September is too late. I think October 24th would be better. Let's do the calculation first. If September is a good time, then let Yi'er go to Beijing earlier. Let's hurry up and prepare the dowry. "

Mrs. Li nodded and said: "It's already in preparation. It's just that there is no example to follow. Yan'er married the county king, and Yi'er's dowry can't compare with hers, but her in-laws are yellow belts, so there is no way to compare with the second girl of the West Mansion." So well prepared. I think the top and bottom clothes are the same as Yan Er's, and the unperforated gold and silver are slightly thinner by [-]%, and the perforated lacquerware and the ruler head are each reduced by [-]%. This is thicker than the second girl's. Master, look... ..."

Cao Yindao: "It's quite appropriate. The only thing is, Yong'er once said that Luo's family is not very well-off, and the dowry should not be too ostentatious, so as not to embarrass the face of the in-laws. In addition, the old lady left all the dowry money for Yi'er and asked her to bring it with her. Go ahead, we will pay her dowry separately at the end of the house."

"I was just thinking about going with the master." Li Shi smiled, "I will explain to Yi'er about the money later, and ask her to go to Jueluo's house and just quietly supplement the family income. In fact, she has always known the general, and also It’s unworthy of what we’re worried about.”

Cao Yin smiled and nodded after hearing this, he was also quite satisfied with this daughter, knowing that she would not do anything to embarrass her husband's family.

Mrs. Li hesitated for a moment, and then asked: "There is one more thing I need to ask the master for advice. Should I also inform the West Mansion about Yi'er's marriage a few years ago?"

When mentioning his brother Cao Quan, Cao Yin was also quite annoyed.There is no need to mention the rift between Kari and his own family. At present, Kari and the governor Zhang Boxing are already in the same situation, but Cao Quan was put together by Lu Dao at this juncture, married a woman from the Lu family as the second wife, and almost automatically stood in line generally.If it wasn't for Cao Yin's face, Cao Quan would have been repaired countless times.Cao Yin mentioned his brother several times in the open and in the dark, but Cao Quan still didn't know whether he was dead or alive, he was always thinking of some kind of balance, thinking that if he could find a marriage partner from Zhang Boxing and show his loyalty, he would be able to stand in a neutral position.In the end, Cao Yin almost pierced the last layer of window paper, and Cao Quan woke up.

Things are messed up outside, and things at home are still messed up by Cao Quan.Cao Yi's matter, from the beginning to the end, Cao Quan was half-divided and could not do it. Once Zhao Jia's family made a fuss, he would have nothing to do.Cao Yin was really tired of talking about things with Cao Quan, but Cao Quan was Cao Yi's biological father after all, and this matter should be talked about both emotionally and rationally.

Cao Yin looked helplessly at Mrs. Li: "Please come over from the West Mansion and tell me."

Li Shi said: "Then let someone count the days first. If you have to go back to two days, let Xifu choose one, and it counts..." Seeing her husband only nodded, looking tired, she stopped For the latter words, help her husband to lie down, and tell others to go.

*
Cao's family, Xifu.

Since Lu Mei met Cao Yong in Dongfu that day, she has been uneasy, for fear of revealing her identity, she stayed in her small yard more honestly than ever before, and on the day of the Dragon Boat Festival family banquet, she even claimed to be sick and did not attend .

After pretending to be sick for several days, Zhao Jia sent her mother-in-law to lead the doctor to see her.The doctor naturally only said things like worrying a lot, spleen deficiency and liver fire, and prescribed medicine.But the old woman asked Lu Mei not very tactfully, Zhao Jia was pregnant and could not get sick, and Lu Mei was about to get sick, so she had to be moved out to live.If Lu Mei dared to pretend again, she would "cure without treatment".

Furious, Lu Mei went to the main room to pay her respects to Mrs. Zhao Jia. As soon as she passed through the hall, she saw Fei Cui and Bao Die walking over together.After she asked, she found out that both Cao Quan and his wife had been invited to Dongfu.

Lu Meile had to see Mrs. Zhao Jia, because it was rare to come out, and she had some inquisitive intentions at first——she had asked Fu Yun, the maid, and knew that Fei Cui was originally serving the old lady and was from the East Mansion, so she immediately To pull Fei Cui and Bao Die to drink tea with her.

Bao Die was originally Zhao Jia's dowry maid, and she had another son. Originally, no one in the family flattered her except Zhao Jia's.Now Lu Mei got the second room's real name and overwhelmed her, how could she feel happy?She also knew that Zhao Jia's family could not tolerate the second wife, so she didn't bother to be polite to Lu Mei, and she wanted to take Fei Cui away after a few words of resignation.

Seeing her attitude, Lu Mei immediately transferred her resentment towards Zhao Jia to Bao Die, with a smile on her face, but she tightly held Fei Cui's hand, and invited her to drink tea again.

Fei Cui was originally a quiet person, and she was repaired by Zhao Jiashi, who had no temper. She only watched the situation at home with cold eyes, but she refused to offend anyone there.So she was dragged by Bao Die and Lu Mei respectively, she was very embarrassed and couldn't talk, so she could only smile awkwardly.

Baodie knew Fei Cui's nature, and it was impossible for her to tear her face up today, so she snorted softly, let go, turned her head and left.

Lu Mei triumphantly dragged Fei Cui to her yard.

When the tea was brewed, Lu Mei struggled to speak while brushing away the foam from the tea leaves, starting with Tieguanyin's tea, and gradually moved to Dongfu.However, Fei Cui drank more tea and less talked. She would flatter Lu Mei whoever praised him; say a word.

Lu Mei circled around, feeling bored, and finally gave up those tricks, and asked with a smile: "I heard that our second master is studying in Beijing? Will he come back from the township examination in the next year? The master of Dongfu is also sixteen or seventeen, right now? Is it a Juren or Jinshi?"

Fei Cui said with a smile: "Uncle is now working in front of the imperial court."

Lu Mei's eyes lit up, and he pretended to be surprised and said: "Master is so amazing! It's just...is it released to Jiangning now? It is said that it refers to the marriage, this..."

Fei Cui shook her head and said, "I haven't let it out. I'll go back to Beijing to get married in a few days."

Hearing that Cao Yong would return to Beijing, Lu Mei's heart that had been hanging for many days finally returned to its original position, and immediately felt a lot brighter, and secretly heaved a sigh of relief.Then he began to calculate how long Cao Yong would be able to return to Beijing, and how long she would hide.

*
On Zhizao Mansion's side, Cao Yi tried two new snacks under the kitchen, and they tasted good, so he asked the servant girl to put two plates in a food box, and personally served them to his parents.

As soon as he entered Kaiyang courtyard, he met Jinlu, a maid in Li's room.Jin Lu came over to pay respects, and said, "Miss looking for the master and wife? They are in the main room."

Cao Yi was taken aback: "What's the matter, is there a visitor?" He felt that something was wrong, the visitor was also in the main hall of the outer courtyard, so there was no reason to let them go to the inner courtyard.Then it should be...

Sure enough, Jin Lu said: "It's the second master and second wife from the West Mansion who came over."

Cao Yi hummed and said, "Then I'll come back later." Then he turned and walked out.

Jin Lu escorted her out, and seeing no one around in the hall, she smiled and whispered, "Miss is overjoyed, my servant congratulated her."

Cao Yi wondered, "What joy?"

Jinlu smiled and said: "The maidservant just delivered the tea, it sounds like the master and wife are discussing the girl's marriage, and they said it was done a few years ago. Isn't it the girl's great joy."

Cao Yi blushed and spat at her: "You hoof, you actually made fun of me."

Knowing that she was ashamed, Jin Lu pursed her lips into a smile, apologized and stepped back to do her own thing.

Putting down Cao Yi, covering his feverish face, he went back to his own yard without mentioning it, but said that the main house of Kaiyang Courtyard, Cao Yin and his wife told Cao Quan and his wife that they planned to let Cao Yi get married years ago, and then asked Cao Quan to choose the date calculated by others. One is the fifth day of October, and the other is the 22nd of November.

Cao Quan had mixed feelings in his heart. In fact, he had always been guilty of Cao Yi's daughter, and he wanted to do something for her, but he didn't realize that in the end, he could only choose a wedding date for her.The more he thought about it, the more unpleasant it became, so he couldn't help but said, "Yi'er's dowry..."

As soon as he uttered these five words, Zhao Jia answered the words quickly: "Didn't the old lady keep 5000 taels for the third girl's dowry? It's more than enough to think about it. Our second girl's dowry is nothing more than a deaf ear. "

Cao Yin's face was gloomy, but he didn't speak. He just lowered his eyelids and sipped his tea.Mrs. Li looked at her husband's face, thinking that he was annoyed by his brother and daughter-in-law's rudeness, then looked at Cao Quan's livid face and Zhao Jia's fiery eyes, and said to Cao Quan with a smile: "Don't worry about the dowry, uncle, everything is fine. It's ready. Uncle, let's see what day it is, so we can send a message to our in-laws and let them make preparations."

Cao Quan gave Zhao Jia a bitter look, looked at the two days written on the red paper in front of him, picked up November 22, and said, "I think this day is good."

Cao Yin looked at it and nodded. This day not only leaves time for Cao Yi to go to Beijing, but also staggers the busy time of the twelfth lunar month, which is really good.Mrs. Li also praised a few words.

Zhao Jia felt bored, so he just lowered his head and supported his stomach without interrupting.When Mrs. Li saw her, she said with a smile, "There's nothing else to do. Auntie is heavy, so let's go back and rest earlier."

Mrs. Zhao Jia did not refuse, she stood up steadily, and said goodbye to Cao Yin and Mrs. Li with a smile.Cao Quan wanted to ask a few questions about Cao Yi, but seeing that the two balls of true samadhi were about to burn in Zhao Jia's eyes, and he was afraid that he would be burned to ashes if he sat still, he had to get up and leave.

After the two of them left, Cao Yin put the teacup on the table, with a displeased expression on his face, and walked back to the inner room.Mrs. Li sighed, although she didn't expect anything from them, but it was always chilling, she shook her head secretly, and followed her husband in.

Cao Quan and Zhao Jia's both went back to the West Mansion holding back their anger and closed the door, but it was a change of routine, it wasn't Zhao Jia's first show of power, but Cao Quan dropped a teacup on the ground.

Mrs. Zhao Jia said coldly: "Master really knows how to pick expensive ones to fall. If you fall like this, the family will drink the northwest wind."

Cao Quan said angrily: "I have been married to the Cao family for many years, but have you ever lost money to spend? Why are you holding on so tightly?!"

Zhao Jia pointed to her belly and said, "Why? Isn't it because of our children?! These older ones, the old lady each left 5000 taels of marriage silver, but our young ones have none! ! If you don’t save yourself some time, what can you get him to marry?”

Cao Quan said: "Can the Cao family be short of his money for marrying a wife?"

Mrs. Zhao Jia sneered and said: "If you marry a wife, you still have to take a concubine? How can you support the second room without money? You might as well go to the Xiaonan courtyard to see what your second room grandmother spends on food and clothing. Which one is common? Is it free?"

As soon as Lu Mei was mentioned, Cao Quan felt guilty and lost his words.

Zhao Jia saw that Cao Quan's face softened, so he took out his handkerchief, wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes, and said sadly: "You only care about your own happiness, how do you know that the family is in trouble? We are rich in officials, but How can there be a big brother and sister-in-law who are able to make money every day? Yi'er, I want to do my best, but I also need money to do my best, right? The old lady's 5000 taels of dowry silver is enough for her, so where can I use it? What are we? What are you worried about?"

Cao Quan snorted, glared at Zhao Jia, stood up without saying a word, and went to the eyebrow room on the backyard road.

When he went out, Zhao Jia took off the handkerchief and was angry for a while, helped his stomach and said to himself: "I don't know when you will get the 5000 taels of betrothal silver."

*
At the gate of the weaving mansion, a group of people came galloping, it was Cao Yong and others who came back from Yangzhou.Cao Yong was very tired, not only tired of working back and forth, but also heart tired.

Last night, he did not decline Zhao Hongyu's kindness, and brought Wei Xin, Wei Bai and others to settle in the Zhao residence.

The matter can be regarded as a successful conclusion, and Zhao Hongyu's mood is also very good.He asked his son to go in to deliver the message, and made various suggestions to Li Ding. Naturally, the Li family would also remember his kindness.On the Cao family's side, he is a majestic fourth-rank magistrate, and he has done enough to save face.Except for the Wang parents who died in vain and Li Ding's two concubines, the others are all "bandits", with a total of forty corpses. On the son's side, there is also the Cao family to help with good words.

Although Li Ding had a good relationship with the fourth son of Zhao, he didn't rest at Zhao's house, but stayed at Wangfengzhuang.Fourth Young Master Zhao clicked his tongue very much, of course he couldn't help admiring this brother's courage.
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(End of this chapter)