Concubine's three acres of pastoral garden

Chapter 34 The Lion's Big Opening (1)
Xianglai Niang said with a smile: "What can I say, of course I want to marry you wholeheartedly. When I came back, Shunzi's father was busy looking for a matchmaker to come to propose marriage."

Guifang was overjoyed at first, but then she felt sad, saying: "Even if there is a matchmaker, what can I do, maybe I will be scolded by my mother, she is determined to want me to marry Li Wangcai."

Xiang Lai Niang said: "It's okay, Father Shun Zi is going to invite Jiang Er Gong, he is quite old, even if your mother disagrees, she dare not scold him."

Gui Fang was still not happy, and said: "Even if you don't scold him, you won't agree to our marriage just because he is old."

Xiang Lai said: "It's up to you whether you and Shunzi's business can be done. If you are persistent enough, your mother can't force you, and you can only agree in the end. Let me tell you, you have to play hard and soft..."

As he spoke, he lowered his voice and muttered to Guifang.

Seeing that Wu Zhaodi failed to call Guifang back, Mrs. Zhang from the East Court went out of the house to the fence and shouted: "Guifang, you're such a big girl, why are you hiding in your second aunt's house, come back and feed the pigs! "

Last year's old sow gave birth to ten piglets, and now they are all half grown. This group of pigs alone has to be fed by one person. Wu Zhaodi didn't want to do such a job, so she pushed them all to Guifang.

Gui Fang just finished listening to Xiang Lai's words, she nodded and said, "Well, I made a note, but at Shunzi's house, you guys need to help me pass the message!"

Xianglai said: "Don't worry, as long as his family is sincere in marrying you, it will definitely be the same."

"Well, then I'm relieved, Xianglai, you're so kind..." Guifang hurried out of the room and replied to Zhang while talking: "Here, come out and stay here for a while and keep calling."

After talking about the fence gate, I went to cut the grass and feed the pigs.

After she went out, Xiang Lai Niang looked back at her daughter and said, "Xiang'er, why are you so thoughtful and taught Gui Fang to fight against your aunt? Is it possible that you will also treat your mother like that in the future?"

Xianglai hugged her arm and said coquettishly: "Mother, what you said, it seems that you are going to sell me like your aunt."

Xiang Lai Niang stroked her hair and said: "That's not true, why is my mother willing to let my Xiang'er go to be a concubine? In my mother's eyes, even if my Xiang'er is a noble concubine, I will be wronged. After all, I have to suffer. The queen cares, mother only wants you to find someone who loves you wholeheartedly, who will only be good to you for the rest of her life!"

Xianglai hugged her arm and smiled warmly. After coming here for a year, she has really regarded this woman as her own mother. She is so gentle and kind but also so fragile. She always wants to protect herself with her thin arms, but I don't know that the more I do this, the more I feel distressed, and I want to protect her and take care of her.

She leaned lightly beside her mother and said: "Mother, I did this for the good of Guifang. We are cousins ​​anyway, and I can't watch her go to Li's house to fight and be jealous for the rest of my life. Xu Zongde, who beat father to death, is doing something, if we avenge father in the future, Guifang will also be implicated!"

Speaking of Shen Wanlu's death, Xianglai Niang was silent, and after a while she said leisurely: "Xiang'er, no matter whether you can avenge your father's revenge in the future, you must remember to treat your second aunt and Tianlai well for the rest of your life. , we must put them first in everything!"

Xianglai looked at her mother strangely, but nodded obediently and said, "Well, I know, mother."

The matchmaker hired by Shunzi's father really helped, and Jiang Ergong came that night.

Jiang Ergong is almost seventy years old. He is neither deaf nor blind. He is the healthiest among the old people in the village.

After he came, he didn't hear the voices of disputes in the east room. The members of Xianglai's family couldn't listen to them, so they could only quietly pay attention to the movement in the courtyard.

Less than half an hour later, Jiang Ergong left, and Xianglai guessed that this time there was basically no possibility of success.

In the morning of the next day, Guifang saw Lengzi sneaking in again, and hurriedly said a few words about what happened that night, saying that although her mother was not angry, she rejected Jiang Ergong straightforwardly and told him that Guifang had promised to Dong. Tun Li's family, and came to hire the day after tomorrow, and told the Geng family not to come to propose marriage again.

After speaking, Gui Fang was afraid of being discovered by Mrs. Zhang and making the two families unhappy, so she ran back in a hurry.

The four of Xianglai's family pretended not to know about this, and Xianglai went to the mountains to pick vegetables with his second aunt.

On the morning of the third day, Xianglai and Second Auntie dawdled and did not leave early, but the Li family came to offer the betrothal gift just after Mao.

There was nothing particular about marrying a concubine and hiring a concubine. No one from the Li family was present, but Wu Dequan and another matchmaker came with two servants carrying a box tied with red silk.

The big red box looked big enough, but it was just for show. There was only 100 taels of silver in it, which was regarded as the initial dowry, and the real dowry would be delivered three days before the marriage.

It's just that if the gift money before and after this is really collected, Guifang's life in the Li family will be entirely up to her in the future. If she is really bullied, the Shen family will have no face to stand up for her, because it is impossible for the Shen family to bring her there. For a dowry that was worth the bride price, Gui Fang was actually selling it to someone else.

Looking at the big red box, Mrs. Zhang couldn't keep her mouth shut with joy, and invited Wu Dequan and the matchmaker to the room with a smile.

Now that Shen Wanjingang can sit up by himself, Mrs. Zhang was worried that he would know the details of the Li family, so she asked Dachang to carry him to the middle room. In the name of exercising his body, he would rest there for a while. It was dragged until the matchmaker left.

Although she had a good plan, she didn't expect that Guifang would make a fuss.

In the past two days, Guifang has been trying to impress Zhang by trying to impress her as Xianglai said, but it didn't work. Now that the next hire came today, she couldn't do it anymore.

Before a few people entered the house, she went out to the courtyard, kicked the box over, and shouted: "Who asked you to give these? I didn't promise to marry you. You won't get anyone if you send things. I don't want to throw money for nothing." Hurry up and bring it back!"

The new matchmaker was from the East Village, and he didn't know Gui Fang well. He thought it was a good deal, and he just went through the motions and it was over. He didn't expect such a show to happen today, so he was stupid at the time.

Seeing that the money was about to be obtained, Mrs. Zhang could not allow Guifang to make such a fuss, so she quickly stepped forward and grabbed her and reprimanded her, "You damn girl, what kind of crazy are you smoking, go back to the room!"

Gui Fang had already put all her heart out in order not to be a concubine for the Li family, she tried her best to argue with Zhang, "I'm not going back, why marry me to the Li family..."

As he spoke, he turned to the matchmaker and said, "Geng Shunzi and I have already been engaged since childhood. It's not like Li Wangcai can't marry a concubine, so why insist on robbing someone else's daughter-in-law!"

Mrs. Zhang was so angry that she raised her hand and gave her a mouthful, saying, "You damn girl, what are you talking about? When did you get engaged to Geng Shunzi!"

Guifang insisted, and said: "Geng Shun and I are baby relatives. My father and Uncle Geng made a promise in the field! Uncle Geng gave his family's field to our family as a dowry. I don't care about it." You know, I am already a member of the Geng family, and I can no longer marry into another family!"

(End of this chapter)