In Kaihuafang, not far from the Suzaku Gate in Chang'an City, in the Song Guogong Mansion, Xiao Yu drank the tea brewed by his son and listened quietly to his son's reasons.
"I come back once a month. I thought I came back to see your mother and me, but it turned out to be this?" Xiao Yu was a little dissatisfied.
Xiao Rui smiled and said, "I'm just thinking about you and my mother. The store is a small matter. Father, you are too busy. Why don't you let your mother go to the manor with your son to stay for a few days? The weather is getting hotter and hotter, and it's a good place to escape the heat."
Xiao Yu was not easily fooled. He put down his tea cup and said with a straight face: "There are indeed several shops at home, both in the east and west markets, and the shops are good. Although these family properties will be given to you sooner or later. But not now."
"Ah? Why, father? We have a shop at home, so I don't have to spend money to buy it. Every inch of land in Chang'an City is precious... I promise that if I buy a shop, I can make ten times or a hundred times the money, okay?" Xiao Rui didn't untie.
Xiao Yu jumped up and said, "You bastard! Do you think your father is a profit-seeking merchant? Are you bargaining? You are the eldest son of the dignified Duke of Song Dynasty, and now you want to go into business? My Xiao family has been aristocratic for generations, scholars, farmers, industry and merchants, and merchants are a lowly profession. , are you willing to degenerate?"
"A few years ago, you proposed a study tour, and I agreed. Once you go away for a few years, you don't come back, and when you finally come back, you have to move out and live on a farm. OK, passing down poems and books to the family, farming and studying, is always good. But you are getting more and more presumptuous. , now you tell me that you want to be that stinky businessman? Do you really think that your father will pamper you like your mother? From now on, you will stay in the house and you are not allowed to go anywhere!"
Xiao Rui was anxious, I just came back to buy a shop and get some start-up capital, but why did I end up like a sheep in a tiger's mouth? I'm going to be grounded!
"Father, calm down. I don't want to run a shop or do business. I'll go and say hello to my mother first..." Xiao Rui hurried away.
Xiao Yu's lips curved slightly, "Zhizi Mo Ruofu, what do you want to do, can you hide it from me? You can live in the house with peace of mind. You are now old enough. It's time to start a family. Tomorrow, I will go to the palace to see the saint for my father. Please pray to the saint. I will give you a marriage. You will have a family as soon as possible, and you will no longer be as reckless and playful as you are now."
"Ah? No, father, I'm only seventeen, not yet underage..." Xiao Rui panicked.
"Underage? In our Tang Dynasty, there are many people who marry at the age of fifteen. You have no control over your parents' orders or the words of a matchmaker. Go see your mother. Someone, send the young master back to his room. He is not allowed to go out without my order. Leave the mansion." Xiao Yu gave the order, and Xiao Rui was led by the housekeeper to the backyard.
In the backyard, Xiao Rui was complaining to his mother. Although the old lady loved her son, marriage was always a good thing. This time she did not stand on her son's side and chose to enlighten her.
At this moment, a fast horse galloped over. It was Xiaojiazhuang who came to report the news.
"It's not good, Young Master, the Xiaojiazhuang was set on fire by a group of gangsters. The second master sent a small horse to inform the Young Master!"
Xiao Ruixin said that there was a good chance. Could it be that my second brother knew that I was in distress and arranged for someone to come and rescue me?
Before they could speak, they bumped into Xiao Yu who was coming to the backyard, "Bastard! Have you made arrangements to fool me? Something happened to the farm just after I grounded you? Back off! Even if the sky falls, you will You are not allowed to leave the house either.”
The messenger knelt down and kowtowed anxiously: "Master, it's absolutely true. There are a group of more than twenty criminals, and they also lead a group of vicious dogs. They bite people when they see them. When the younger one came, there was already a fire in the house..."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Rui panicked. Is there really a bad person?
No longer arguing, he quickly bowed to his parents, then turned around and ran out the door, "Mom and Dad, it's an emergency. I'll go take care of the bad guy and come back to apologize!"
Xiao Rui's martial arts skills are outstanding in Chang'an City, not to mention the small Duke of Song Dynasty. If he wants to leave, who can stop him? He ran to the stable, grabbed a fast horse and went out.
Xiao Yu was dumbfounded, and Mrs. Xiao panicked, "Master, what should we do?"
Xiao Yu kicked the person reporting the news on the ground, "Tell the truth, is something really wrong with Zhuangzi?"
"It's absolutely true. If there is even half a lie, the villain will die!"
Xiao Yu kicked him down: "You bastard, why don't you catch up quickly and let the young master rescue him alone? Come here, inform Xiao Banshan and ask him to bring a hundred guards to quickly support the young master."
The old couple were the only ones left in the room. Mrs. Xiao looked outside with fear, "Master, will Rui'er be okay?"
"Don't worry, although this kid is naughty, he is very capable. I secretly asked General Qin Shubao to try his martial arts. General Qin said that Ruier's strength is not inferior to him. Moreover, Xiao Banshan's three hundred guards are all retired from the battlefield. I'm a veteran. It's not a problem to send away a few thieves." Xiao Yu looked very confident.
Mrs. Xiao nodded and felt a little relieved, "Sir, our Ruier is talented in both civil and military affairs, but we don't let you and I show off. We only want to be farmers. Alas... I don't know what he thinks."
"Farmer? The farmer is quite good. Today he told me that he wants to go into business to make money. If it were our Erlang, I would have to break his legs! Huh, wait for the Da Lang to come back and continue to lock him up. Watch out for me Come on, don’t let him go out and get into trouble. I’m going to ask for a marriage from Your Majesty. I hope his marriage will be more secure.” Xiao Yu sighed.
Mrs. Xiao suddenly couldn't help but laugh, "Master, if the child sends the bad guy away, will he come back?"
I...hey! How did I forget this? Xiao Yu slapped his forehead and shouted that he had miscalculated.
After a moment of regret, Xiao Yu suddenly laughed, "It's okay, doesn't he want to open a shop for business? The shop plus the principal can get a lot of money. How much money does his village have? I chose Xiao Hu, the housekeeper. , come back every month to pay the bills, which total only a few hundred taels for daily expenses. I asked people to transfer Zhuangzi's money back. Without money, he can't do business. He will have to beg me later."
Mrs. Xiao smiled and scolded: "What an old fox, he even plots against his own son. By the way, for Rui'er's marriage, we can just choose a well-matched family, why bother the saint?"
Xiao Yu said with emotion: "Madam, we are not ordinary nobles. The Lanling Xiao family is famous, but the key point is that our branch has been an emperor. You don't know that my father was the last emperor of the Later Liang Dynasty before the Sui Dynasty. .”
Mrs. Xiao covered her mouth and smiled: "Yes, sir, you have also been the prince of the Liang Kingdom."
Xiao Yu rolled his eyes at Madam, "Don't mention this kind of thing again. Because of this, no matter who we marry in the court, we can't guarantee that the saint will not be suspicious, so we'd better let the saint appoint him. I guess it's very possible. It means marrying a princess."
"What? Princess? Then Rui'er is going to be the consort? How can this be done? Rui'er is the eldest son of Song Guogong. He will inherit the family business in the future. How can he have the eldest son, Princess Shang? I don't agree!" Mrs. Xiao complained! .
Being a consort in the Tang Dynasty was not called marrying a princess, but called Princess Shang. It was not a good name, but it actually meant serving the princess. Most of them are the second sons of powerful people, and there are no eldest sons.
Xiao Yu persuaded his wife with a smile, "Don't worry, madam, I have already inquired about it. The sage's eldest daughter, Princess Xiangcheng, is fifteen years old. She has good conduct, gentle personality, and is a virtuous person. She is most likely to be the one. With our son jumping Do you think a princess can handle his character?"
When it came to her son, Mrs. Xiao thought about it and felt relieved, "That's right, our son usually looks honest and well-behaved, but he actually has a lot of tricks up his sleeve. Which girl can withstand his coaxing? This is not true at all. Do you know who you followed?"
Follow whom? I, how do I know? What do you see me doing? I just married you, and the second wife was raised by your first-in-law’s maid.
Xiao Yu turned his head and saw his wife looking at him with strange eyes. He blushed, excused himself, and fled to the study.
Mrs. Xiao smiled and bent over.
