Ordinary clear day

Chapter 168 Reminder
Shuning squinted at Zhenzhen who was sitting quietly in the corner of the carriage, and said with a smile, "When did you come back? Our family is busy, and you probably won't have much time to spend at home. I didn't expect you to be so leisurely. He came out for shopping, so he doesn't look like someone who has just been engaged."

Zhenzhen blushed slightly, and said, "It's been a few days since I came back, and I'm so bored at home, I don't need to do those things anyway, I just take the car out to get some air, and I didn't yell so that everyone knows, what's the point?"

"It doesn't matter if everyone knows it, my brother won't change his mind." Shu Ning said with a smile.

Zhenzhen shot her a look, "Look at what you said, I just hid in the car to watch the excitement, and didn't intend to get out of the car, so what you said is meaningless."

Shuning smiled, and asked again: "Where have you been shopping today? You can't just go to the pastry shop to buy some pastries, right?"

Zhenzhen's face turned even redder: "It's nothing, I just met you, I have something...to give to your brother, so you can help carry it over."

"What is it?" Shuning teased her, "Could it be a token of love?"

Zhenzhen gritted her teeth and said: "I really should tell those who praise you for your chastity and dignity to listen to this. How can you look like a girl from a rich family?" Seeing Shuning's smile, she was helpless, so she took the girl just now. He took out a one-foot-square box in his hand, handed it to her, and said, "This... I made it to order at Songzhuzhai. Your brother may need it, you...you take it."

Shu Ning took it over and took a look, but it was a set of the Four Treasures of the Study, the specifications were smaller than normal, the styles and materials were also somewhat different, and there were fixed devices in the box, which were specially used when going out for a march.Duanning is now a pen sticker, so he has to go out with Shangguan, this set of four treasures of the study is perfect for him.

Shuning was a little moved, and hurriedly said to Zhenzhen: "My brother needs this right now. Thank you sister Zhenzhen for thinking about it. He must be very happy to see you."

Zhenzhen lowered her head in embarrassment, but her face was filled with joy.

Shu Ning talked to her about recent events, and heard her talking about Wudan and Chongli's recent busy receiving guests who came to congratulate them, and at the same time packing gifts for others, they were very busy.

She said: "I don't know who leaked the rumor, saying that Ama specially asked the emperor for my marriage, in order to avoid the crown prince and the third elder brother. As a result, those two were a little displeased, and gave it to the emperor intentionally or unintentionally. My second brother made trouble. Therefore, the second brother persuaded Ama and prepared some gifts, intending to appease the two princes."

Shuning paused for a moment: "Get some gifts? Are you going to give them to the crown prince and the third elder brother?"

Zhenzhen was a little suspicious: "What's wrong? What's wrong?"

Shuning was silent.She doesn't quite remember the history behind it, but she vaguely remembers that someone was punished badly by Lao Kang or Yongzheng for giving gifts to the prince in private, and it seems to be Kangxi's cronies.She has always ignored such things, but since Zhenzhen has become her own sister-in-law, General Wu Dan and his son are in-laws, it's better to remind her.

She raised her eyes to look at Zhenzhen, and said with some hesitation: "Sister Zhenzhen, don't think I'm troublesome, I think... your family had better not give gifts to the crown prince...or other elder brothers, if you really want to, you can It would be better to tell the emperor. The situation of your family...is different from others..."

Zhenzhen looked at her and sat up straight: "Why... is there anything wrong?"

Shu Ning shook her head: "It's just in case. If the emperor cares, there is a general around, and your family is being favored and trusted, you will not suffer any loss; if the emperor doesn't care, it's nothing to say." She looked Seeing Zhenzhen's thoughtful expression, she added: "That's what I said, maybe I thought too much."

"No, your idea is very good." Zhenzhen said seriously, "Thank you for reminding me, I will definitely tell Ama and my second brother."

Shu Ning smiled, and talked about other light topics, and Yin Xin urged outside that Brother Xian was back, so she bid farewell to Zhen Zhen and got off the carriage.Liangzhu handed over a dim sum and said: "This is the Jingba piece from Zhengmingzhai. I just bought it from the store. Miss Shu, take it back and taste it. It's a thank you for your words just now."

Liangzhu had been guarding outside the carriage, so it was not surprising to hear what she said in the carriage, but Zhenzhen didn't seem to order this out loud, so Liangzhu's move was somewhat surprising.

Zhenzhen laughed in the car and said: "I was negligent, as it should be, or Liangzhu was thoughtful, but this gift is a little too thin, let my second brother thank you in person some other day."

Shuning didn't care about this, she just smiled and let it go.

After she watched Zhenzhen's carriage go away, she turned around and joined her younger brother and his party.Zhenzhen felt ashamed because Xianning called her sister-in-law carelessly before, so Shuning showed kindness, got in the car to talk to Zhenzhen, and handed Xianning to He Yuge of Wang Er's family and two male servants to protect her , stroll around.Now the group of them has visited all the nearby shops, Xianning is holding candied haws in one hand and hot buns in the other, eating so much that his mouth is in a mess.

Shu Ning was angry and funny, quickly took out a handkerchief to help him wipe, and carefully looked at the food in his hand, it seemed to be clean, so she was relieved and ordered everyone to go back.

Back near the door frame alley, Wang Er had been waiting by the carriage for a long time, he was relieved when he saw them, and hurriedly greeted the young masters into the carriage, and was about to turn around and return to the inner city.But Shuning said: "Go on to the east. I heard that there are many good silk flowers for sale in Chongwenmen. Go and have a look, so as not to return empty-handed." Wang Er had no choice but to agree.

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The guests who came to congratulate her finally gradually stopped, and Tong's energy had to be put back on the business of preparing for the wedding and packing her husband's luggage for taking office.Originally, she had already made an appointment, so she planned to resign as soon as possible, so that her husband could settle down and take up the post as soon as possible.But the general's mansion thought it was too hasty, and hoped to find another auspicious day to do this.Although Tong felt that the other party was reasonable, she was still a little anxious.

After Zhang Bao learned about it, he comforted her and said, "It's still early, don't be in a hurry, I'll wait until I get the job and then leave."

Tong sighed and said: "Although it is not unusual for an official to take office for a month or two, but it is only a short distance from Beijing to Baoding, but it takes more than half a month. It is always unreasonable. I am afraid that you will suffer in the future. .”

Zhang Bao smiled slightly: "Don't be afraid, someone from the official department has already greeted me, saying that our son was married by the Holy Majesty, and the family will inevitably take it seriously, so even if I'm a month late, it doesn't matter."

Tong was a little surprised: "Why would the officials say that?" She wondered if it was Chen Liangben's intention.But Chen Liangben hadn't contacted them for quite a long time, and it didn't seem to be the case.

Zhang Bao said with a smile: "It's nothing unusual. Now that my official position has been fixed, I have been promoted two ranks in a row, and my son has formed a good relationship. Naturally, those people will not lose face. Anyway, I will no longer be with Mr. Chen Liangben now. Naturally, it will no longer be a thorn in some people's eyes."

Tong pondered for a moment and asked, "What news did you hear? I think your words are a bit strange."

Zhang Bao smiled and said: "You are busy all day, so I don't know. I also heard about it from others. It was quite a big disturbance. It was the nephew of the man who was appointed the prefect of Jinan, the servant of the Ministry of Officials, Mr. Huang, who was accused. It is said that one of his poems, which was appreciated by the emperor, was actually plagiarized from someone else's work. In order to find out the truth, the emperor sent someone to investigate his literary talent, and found that he was mediocre in intelligence, and he was only a low-level student in the Imperial Academy. However, the inspectors are all first-class, so it is believed that he is cheating, not only depriving him of his official position, but also revoking his background as a fellow Jinshi because he is suspected of deceiving the emperor."

Tong was surprised and said: "Ah, the punishment is really heavy. That person won't be able to be an official anymore, right?"

Zhang Baodao: "This is already showing mercy, or it was because many courtiers pleaded for him. But Mr. Chen Liangben didn't say anything. The emperor asked him, that man was his nephew and nephew of his friend, why didn't he help him plead for mercy?" As a result, Mr. Chen Liangben said that that person was just married to his concubine's niece, and she was also a concubine. According to etiquette, he could not be regarded as the nephew's son-in-law; moreover, although the two were related, he was a courtier of the emperor. He did not dare to forget his duty because of his personal interests. He even apologized to Mr. Huang on the spot, saying that he did not intercede for his nephew, please forgive Mr. Huang."

Tong was stunned for a while: "I heard that the two of them have been good friends for more than ten years, but why do I feel a little cold when I hear this?"

Zhang Bao smiled and said: "What's cold? The emperor still praised him, so Mr. Huang had no choice but to say that he didn't care in front of him. No one knew what he would think in his heart. It was said that Mr. Huang was going to be promoted to Minister of the Ministry of Officials, but because of Mr. Chen's It’s a delay. If it’s a real close friend, it’s not a big deal. It’s just that people’s hearts are unpredictable. Who knows what Mr. Huang will think? I heard that the officials who have made good friends with him are all very short. Young people who are good friends with adults, but there are always no shortages, even if they are in poor places. It seems that the rift between the two of them has long existed."

Tong Shi sighed, and said: "These intrigues in the court are really annoying. The friendship of more than ten years is also gone. Fortunately, you have already got a job outside, so you won't be involved." She After a pause, another thing suddenly occurred to me: "A lady who came yesterday told me that Mrs. Chen Liangben's wife originally went to Xishan to recuperate due to illness, but Mrs. Chen took care of her in person a few days ago. I don't know if it has something to do with the decent appearance of people welcoming them home?"

Zhang Bao thought for a while, and said with a smile: "The second wife of his family is also a bit out of place. It's time to invite the main room to preside over the overall situation, but this is someone else's business, let's not worry about it too much. I Now I can see it, as long as I do my job well, I will live with my wife and children, and nothing else has anything to do with me."

Zhang Bao and Tong Shi knew what they were doing, and they were no longer in a hurry as usual, and they strived for perfection in everything.However, the General's Mansion didn't want to delay any longer, so Mrs. Wen, as the representative, brought Chongli to the Earl's Mansion to discuss the appointment and the time and arrangements for the wedding.

Because the representative of the other party was a female family member, Zhang Bao handed over the matter to his wife.When Mrs. Tong was discussing with Mrs. Wen, the latter asked Duan Ning Shuning to accompany Chongli to talk elsewhere, so as not to bore him.

Duan Ning had some official business to do, but it was not easy for his sister to accompany the guests alone, so he had to lead them to the small study to talk about the yamen affairs with Chongli.Chongli was a little absent-minded, looking at Shuning from time to time.Shu Ning noticed it and asked him what happened.

Chongli cleared his throat, and stammered: "I heard that my little sister went out a few days ago and ran into sister Shu." Shuning smiled and said, "Yes, it's on Qianmen Street." She glanced at Duanning, and the other's eyes With a smile on his face, he lowered his head and coughed lightly, his face flushed slightly.

Shuning was just thinking it was funny, but she heard Chongli say: "Little sister is too outrageous, she ran around just after getting married, brother Duanning, please don't be offended." Duanning hurriedly said: "How could that be? ? She came out to give me a gift, and it's too late for me to be grateful."

Chongli frowned slightly: "I know it's the Four Treasures of the Study, but let the maids pick up the custom-made items, why bother to go there in person, and even go to a place like the front door, if someone sees it, what will happen?" it is good?"

Shu Ning was listening, but felt a little uncomfortable.Zhenzhen never got out of the carriage that day, she was still very measured, and she once said that she could go back home after getting the Four Treasures of the Study at Liulichang, because she remembered that her second brother Chongli liked to eat Zhengmingzhai's dim sum. I made a detour to Qianmen Street.Zhen Zhenben cared about his elder brother, but he didn't expect the person being cared to say that.

Duanning was also a little displeased, but the other party was his second brother-in-law, so he couldn't say anything, but slowly brought the topic back to official business, and talked about some interesting things he saw in the officialdom.Chongli is not very interested in those interesting things, but rather in the way officials get along, which he is not very good at.

Shuning was very bored listening to it, and she still didn't calm down, so she didn't say a word, and only answered a few words when Chongli occasionally asked her something.

When seeing off Mrs. Wen and Chongli, Shu Ning felt that Mrs. Wen's behavior was a little strange, as if she smiled brightly at her, but she didn't know why.

Mrs. Tong saw off the guests and said that she was tired, so she asked her daughter to take care of the housework in the courtyard, and went back to the main room to sit blankly.Zhang Bao walked in and asked, "How's the discussion going?"

Tong's said: "The appointment will be made in the future, and the wedding date is set on the fourteenth day of the first lunar month, which is just the day before the Shangyuan Festival. Firstly, it is a celebration, and secondly, it is more convenient for you to ask for leave."

Zhang Bao felt that the days were good, and it would not be impossible if he took the New Year's holiday together.

It's just that there is one other thing that Tong Shi felt a little bit hard to say. After hesitating for a while, he said it: "Just now Mrs. Wen asked, if Shu'er fails in the draft next year, can Shu'er be betrothed to their family Chongli. Husband, what do you think? "

(I'm so sleepy, I'll see the post tomorrow...)
(End of this chapter)