The day before the palace examination, Cheng Wanwan and Lu Yingxue were arranging the clothes of their two children.
Because you are going to the palace to meet the Holy Spirit, what you wear is very important. It cannot be too rude or too shabby.
"This set of bright red linings is the number one scholar's uniform that I specially ordered from an old tailor in Beijing. I made two sets." Lu Yingxue said proudly, "It is said that the first few number one scholars wore clothes made by him before they were selected. The Holy Spirit appointed me, and there are too many people looking for the old tailor to make clothes this year. Fortunately, I was smart enough to find them in advance, otherwise I would definitely not be in line."
Cheng Wanwan picked up the No. 1 Scholar's Suit. The workmanship was of the highest quality, and the material was very soft and skin-friendly. It fit snugly.
"Forty-eight taels of silver per set." Lu Yingxue clicked her tongue, "With that much money, I can buy more than 20 acres of fertile land in Dahe Town."
Cheng Wanwan couldn't help but click her tongue. Although the materials and workmanship were good, forty-eight taels of silver was really ridiculously expensive.
But even if it is so expensive, most parents are willing to pay for their children.
While the two were talking, Mrs. Qi came over and said, "There is a Mrs. Li outside with Young Master Li asking to see her. She said she wanted to thank her in person."
Cheng Wanwan thought for a while before remembering who Mrs. Li was.
The boy who disappeared with Donghua last time seemed to be the third young master of the Li family. After being rescued, the third young master Li had been recuperating at home. Now that he came to visit, he thought he was in good health.
She put down what she was holding and walked toward the living room.
Mrs. Li looks about in her early forties, and Young Master Li looks more than fourteen years old, still looking like a boy.
"I have met Mrs. Sui." The two Li family members saluted at the same time. Mrs. Li said sincerely, "Because Quanzi has been ill, so I waited until today to come to thank you. If Mrs. Sui hadn't asked General Ruan to search the entire capital, my son might have been killed earlier. He died... Mrs. Sui's great kindness to my Li family will be engraved in my heart. Although our Li family has a small official position and a weak position, as long as Mrs. Sui says a word, I will go through fire and water without hesitation."
"Mrs. Li's words are serious." Cheng Wanwan said hurriedly, "I didn't come here specifically to save Young Master Li, so I can't afford such a big thank you."
Mrs. Li presented the thank-you gifts, including exquisite jewelry, precious ginseng and Ganoderma lucidum, and antiques and famous paintings... It seemed like she had brought everything the Li family could get their hands on.
Cheng Wanwan knew that if she didn't accept it, Mrs. Li would definitely not be able to feel at ease, so she had no choice but to ask Mrs. Qi to accept it and register it in the warehouse.
When Young Master Li San gets married in the future, she will send some similar gifts back to him.
"Actually, there is one more thing I have to do today." Mrs. Li said with some embarrassment, "The girl who was imprisoned with Quanzi in the house of the doctor of the Ministry of Justice must be Mrs. Sui's niece, because this girl is related to Mrs. Sui. Therefore, what I say next may be suspected of clinging to Mrs. Sui, but please be clear to Mrs. Sui that our Li family has absolutely no intention of doing so."
Cheng Wanwan put down the tea cup: "Mrs. Li, if you have something to say, you might as well speak up."
"Let me tell you." Li Haoyang coughed and said uncomfortably, "Ms. Zhao and I spent one night together in the attic. In addition, we had many contacts that were beyond courtesy. Her reputation as a good friend has been damaged. I am willing to I am responsible for this, so I came to visit my mother today with the intention of proposing marriage."
Cheng Wanwan was immediately shocked.
Unexpectedly, Donghua disappeared and came back with a chance of marriage.
However, Donghua’s parents are still alive, and so are her grandparents, so it’s not her eldest uncle’s turn to decide on this girl’s marriage.
She stood up and said, "I can't make the decision on this matter. Mrs. Li, please sit down for a while."
She walked out and asked Mrs. Qi to go to the backyard to bring Mrs. Zhao and Mrs. Sun over.
The two came over with confused expressions. After Cheng Wanwan explained the matter clearly, the confusion on their faces turned into shock.
"Li family?" Mrs. Sun's eyes were round, "I remember that Young Master Li is the son of Li Jiancai of the Hanlin Academy. This official position in the Hanlin Academy seems to be the seventh rank. Then Donghua will be an official's wife. ?”
"What kind of sweet dream are you having?" Mrs. Zhao glared at her angrily, "The official is Master Li, not Master Li, so what kind of official wife is she? And another one, didn't you listen to what your sister-in-law said? Master Li thinks It has affected Donghua's reputation, so she came to propose marriage. This is not because she really wants to marry Donghua, but maybe because she wants to cling to your sister-in-law. We can't send Donghua into the fire pit."
"Yes, yes, mother is right." Mrs. Sun slapped her forehead, "Let's go in and meet the Li family for a while."
She strode in. Mrs. Zhao was afraid that she would talk nonsense, so she quickly followed her. Cheng Wanwan, as a melon-eater, also followed in.
"This is Mrs. Zhao and Mrs. Zhao San." Mrs. Li said with a smile on her face, "Mrs. Sui must have informed the two of me and Quanzi's purpose of coming. I don't know..."
Mrs. Sun looked straight at Li Haoyang. This boy was good-looking and tall enough. It would be a pity to match that bastard Donghua.
Could it be that he wanted to use Donghua as a middleman to seduce his sister-in-law, Mrs. Sui?
Thinking of this, Sun's eyes became evil.
She sat down on the chair and said carelessly: "We are all from the village. Our village doesn't pay much attention to reputation. If a girl is working barefoot in the fields and a boy sees it, that girl will not know. How many boys do you have to marry? Master Li San, you want me to marry my daughter so far away for just one reason, but I can't agree to it."
Mrs. Zhao said in a gentler tone: "Although the parents have the final say on marriage, in our village, it is more common for two children to get married as soon as they see each other. The main thing is that the children must like each other for the marriage to count. Li Madam, do you think this is true?"
Mrs. Li had already inquired about the situation of Mrs. Sui's niece's family before she came, but she only knew that it was a farmer's house and didn't know anything else.
Listening to Mrs. Sun's words, this image immediately overlapped with the imaginary peasant woman. If her son had such a mother-in-law, he would probably have a difficult life in the future...
She glanced at her son.
Li Haoyang stepped forward, cupped his hands and said, "If I don't mean anything to Miss Zhao, I can just pretend that nothing happened. No one will know about it, and no one will ask me to take responsibility for it. Miss Zhao and I have only met once." , if I say I like her, it’s true, but I must admit that I have a good impression of Miss Zhao. I have been thinking about it for so many days, and the result of my thinking is that I am willing to marry Miss Zhao as the wife of the Li family. "
"You actually really like Donghua?" Mrs. Sun couldn't help but asked, "What do you like about her?"
Although Donghua was her own daughter, she really couldn't see any good qualities in Donghua. This girl was too noisy, greedy, and very small-minded. She was once worried that Donghua wouldn't be able to marry... Who? I can imagine that winter flowers actually proposed marriage one step earlier than autumn flowers...
Li Haoyang's face turned red: "Miss Zhao has bright eyes and white teeth, gentle and virtuous, kind and lively..."
Sun: "???"
gentle?
Virtuous?
Kind?
Are you sure this is talking about winter flowers?
Cheng Wanwan carefully observed Li Haoyang's expression. The child was young and had no scheming intentions. His words were obviously spoken from the bottom of his heart.
Being able to see so many beautiful qualities in Donghua, it seems that this boy does have some affection for Donghua.
She knew something about the Li family. Mr. Li was a gentle man, Mrs. Li was tolerant and generous, and the family tradition was very good.
She said: "This is a lifelong event for Donghua. Should I ask Donghua to come over and ask?"
