The first three chapters talk about the causes and consequences and general background of the heroine's escape. The writing is a bit long-winded, so you can try reading it. If you are impatient, you can skip directly to the fourth chapter. It will not affect you.
As the curfew approaches, pedestrians on the streets are hurrying, trying to get back to their respective houses before the gates close.
In Yongkangfang, there is a house with high arched eaves and a well-proportioned layout.
In the main courtyard, a woman knelt down on a low platform and said earnestly to the man sitting across from her: "Mr. Lang, marry Qiniang, and our eldest husband's betrothal gift will be secured, and you are joining the army." This official position has been suspended for many years, and it should be promoted. Although the husband of the Yan family is not good-looking, a man does not rely on his reputation to make a living, and it depends on his family background."
"It's not like you don't know about the husband of the Yan family. Not only is he not good-looking, how can he match Qiniang? How can I explain to my second brother if we really marry her? Don't mention this matter again." Xu Anren picked up the book on the case. He took a sip from the cup.
"Oh, Lang Jun values the second brother, but he didn't see how much the second brother respected Lang Jun, his elder brother. He sent someone to send Qiniang back without saying anything. If I hadn't gone to inquire specifically, I wouldn't have known that this happened. ." Mrs. Sun became more and more angry as she talked, "Now that Qiniang lives at home, if this news gets out, how will our little lady behave? Eighth Niang still has to talk about marriage!"
Xu Anren was silent.
Sun said angrily: "I should have married my second brother in the first place and followed him to Chang'an to live well and be a royal wife. I would no longer have to work hard to manage the family business and serve my parents-in-law. Your brother has a high and powerful position, but what benefits has he given you? ? Even if you ask him to take care of things in officialdom for you, he won’t even do it..."
These words touched Xu Anren's heart. As the eldest brother, he did not have the majesty of the eldest brother. The second brother was favored by the family for his studies. He became a Jinshi and became a successful official. Now he is serving as the censor of the fifth rank in the court. .
You must know that the prime minister is only in the third rank. If he continues to be promoted, he may become the prime minister in a few years. And he could only serve as a seventh grade official in Xiangzhou and join the army.
This is what Sun is most envious of. She and Zhang are sisters-in-law, because Zhang’s betrothal gift is more than hers, and it’s not too late. If Zhang really becomes the wife of her husband in the future, how will she deal with it?
…
The two of them were arguing among themselves, but they didn't notice a slender figure under the eaves of the corridor quietly turning and leaving.
Qiu Lu carefully held the concoction in her hands, fearing that the cold would affect the properties of the medicine, so she kept walking towards the west courtyard.
Thinking of what he just heard, he couldn't help but look indignant.
Her little lady is innocent, that's why nothing like that happened. It's all because the husband and his wife were too cruel. They sent the little lady directly back to Xiangzhou. The marriage they had settled in Chang'an might not work out either.
And the husband of the Yan family is not a good person. She has only been back for a few months and has heard many rumors about him.
When they arrived at the west courtyard, Qiu Lu opened the curtain and walked in, and asked Xia He softly, who was fanning the little lady: "Is the little lady awake?"
Xia He helped Xu Chengyue up: "I woke up early. I'm waiting for you."
Qiu Lu sat in front of the bed holding the medicine and stirred it with a spoon.
Seeing that she was still feeding her spoonful by spoonful, Xu Chengyue hurriedly said, "I'll do it myself, no need to feed her."
Drinking this kind of medicine slowly is torture, it is better to just take a sip.
After saying that, he took the concoction and drank it all in one gulp.
Qiu Lu twitched the corner of her mouth, the little lady was getting more and more bold.
Xu Chengyue put down the bowl and showed a painful expression.
It was as if a handful of yellow lotus and bitter melon were stuffed in her mouth, mixed with a strange smell, filling her entire nasal cavity, and it was her limit without spitting it out.
Xu Chengyue felt that it was better not to drink it. After all, the effect depended on gambling, and the taste would not hurt her as much.
After rinsing my mouth and pressing it with candied fruit, I finally felt better.
Qiu Lu looked at her face and said hesitantly: "Little madam, I just passed by Da Langjun's yard and heard them say——"
She paused mid-sentence, as if unable to speak, and Xu Chengyue looked at her curiously.
"——I want to marry the young lady to the husband of the Yan Sima family. The young lady must not listen to them. The husband of the Yan family is extremely ugly, has a rude personality and has a bad temper. He often beats and scolds his servants. Every year, he will be removed from the house. We carried out the corpses of many beautiful maidservants, and I heard that the skin and flesh were all rotten.”
Xu Chengyue's heart sank and she quickly asked: "They are also my elders after all. Why are they like this?"
"The young lady is innocent and seems to be kind-hearted to everyone, but she doesn't know that the eldest lady has a human face and a beastly heart. She wants to sell the young lady to exchange for the betrothal gift and the official position for her eldest husband." Qiu Lu said through gritted teeth.
Xia He was furious when he heard this, "It's unreasonable. It's not their turn to make the final decision on the young lady's marriage, if not..."
When he said something he shouldn't have said, he was silenced by Qiu Lu's sideways glare.
Qiu Lu felt distressed and suggested: "How about we ask the old lady to make the decision?"
"The old lady is old and doesn't care about things." Xu Chengyue traveled here for several days. Although she was not in good health and her head was always groggy, she still understood the basic situation.
The original owner's father was an official in Chang'an. It seems that the original owner committed something and was sent back to his hometown. Now the grandfather in the mansion has passed away, and the grandmother is old and has nothing to do with anything. The original owner's uncle and aunt are in charge of the mansion.
"...How about writing a letter to the husband and wife?" She asked cautiously.
The young lady fell ill as soon as she came to Xiangzhou. Qiu Lu didn't dare to mention the people and things in Chang'an, for fear that she would be sad if she heard about it.
Now I am really helpless, thinking that my husband will not be so heartless and push the young lady into the fire pit.
"He won't take care of it." If he did, he wouldn't throw the original owner back to his hometown and ignore him for several months.
Besides, a father in a feudal society will not listen to his daughter's opinions, especially when it comes to marriage.
Qiu Lu felt even sadder after hearing this, feeling sad in her heart.
Xia He put his hands on his hips and puffed out his chest, "At worst, my servant is taking the young lady back to Chang'an on horseback. How can I still be at their mercy?"
Xu Chengyue smiled when she heard this, suppressed the anger and depression in her heart, and comforted them and said: "The marriage will not be settled so quickly. The most important thing is to take good care of your health so that you can plan for the future."
Her current physical condition makes it difficult for her to get out of bed and take two steps, let alone go to Chang'an.
At least the marriage must have the consent of the original owner's father. According to the speed of ancient carriages and horses, there is still time.
The two maidservants only followed her lead and nodded hurriedly.
.
Xu Chengyue was an author in her previous life. Many of her works were sold in film and television, and she was somewhat famous in the industry.
She has written about many subjects. Every time she writes a book, she has to collect a lot of background information and research, including the Tang Dynasty. So as soon as she opened her eyes, she roughly deduced from the furniture that it should be in the Sui and Tang Dynasties.
I thought it was pretty good. They were a noble family after all, and the atmosphere of the Tang Dynasty was quite open compared to other dynasties.
In addition, the original owner's parents were far away in Chang'an, so the uncle and aunt in the next room had nothing to do with her.
In addition to the food, clothing, housing and transportation that made her a little troubled, she couldn't be more satisfied.
Who would have thought that there was a big thunder behind it?
We should have known a long time ago that young women in feudal society are an asset in themselves and will inevitably be remembered.
It seems that I cannot stay here for long.
.
After Xu Chengyue did what she said, she took good care of her body.
She drank medicine on time every day to get enough sleep, and often walked around the room to exercise. She gradually got better, but she didn't make any announcement, and everyone in the house thought her health was still the same.
About half a month had passed since the day Qiu Lu eavesdropped, when Mrs. Sun suddenly came to the door and entered Xu Chengyue's yard.
The maid's call reached the room, and Xu Chengyue, who was strolling, quickly stopped, took off her shoes and lay down on the bed.
"Qiniang, my aunt has come to bring you good news." Mrs. Sun has a rather bold personality and arrives before anyone else.
Xu Chengyue pretended to have just heard her voice and struggled to get up from the bed.
When Mrs. Sun came in and saw this scene, she hurriedly held her down and shouted, "Oh, I'm sorry, we are all a family, there is no need to see her outside."
"Mother, I'm so rude." Xu Chengyue said in shame.
"You kid, you just follow the rules too much." Mrs. Sun brushed Xu Chengyue's hair away from her forehead as if she was being affectionate, with a joyful look on her face, "I'm here to tell you the good news, my aunt said it for you. It's a good marriage, I wrote to your father and asked him, and he agreed, so you can just settle down and get married."
Xu Chengyue had been prepared for this, but she couldn't help but feel cold. This father really didn't care about his daughter at all.
Mrs. Sun saw that her expression was wrong and asked tentatively: "Qiniang doesn't want to get married? I told you that the husband of the Yan family is a very talented man. If you miss this village, you won't have this shop."
Huh, talent? It's money!
Xu Chengyue's cheeks turned red and she said shyly: "Marriage matters are decided by the parents and the matchmaker, and it's all up to the elders. I've just never heard of the husband of the Yan family."
"You are my niece, how can I not think about you." Mrs. Sun made a kind look and sighed again, "But because of your previous affairs, it was difficult to arrange the marriage, and I also spent a lot of effort to find it. .”
The words sounded nice, but there was something hidden behind them, a half-hearted reminder of Xu Chengyue's "previous events" so that she would be obedient and get married.
Xu Chengyue responded with a sad expression, "I know that my mother-in-law is working hard, but with my broken body now, I don't know if I can survive until the day I get married."
Mrs. Sun's heart skipped a beat. She just planned to marry Qiniang, but she forgot that she was in poor health and hurriedly comforted her, "Don't worry, I'll hire the best doctor in Xiangzhou for you, and he will definitely cure you." sick."
Xiangzhou? It seems to be Xiangyang. Xu Chengyue heard the accent earlier and speculated that this place should be relatively close to the Central Plains. It turned out to be Xiangyang, no wonder it was so fast.
She now lives in the inner house and knows nothing about the outside world, which is not good.
His mind changed and he said, "Mother, I have a heartfelt request."
Sun was on guard, "What's the matter? You tell me first."
Xu Chengyue: "My son is in poor health. He can't even get out of bed and walk a few steps, let alone go out for a walk. Seeing that Tian is bored in the room, his energy is getting worse and worse. I want to ask my aunt to borrow some books. If you have nothing to do, take a look around and talk to comfort yourself."
Mrs. Sun didn't respond. She nodded repeatedly: "What did I do at that time? You kid is too polite. Your uncle has a lot of books. You can read whatever you want."
After chatting with Xu Chengyue for a few more words, Sun saw that her goal was achieved and asked her to take a good rest and take care of herself, then turned and left.
After going out, Mrs. Sun sighed, if it hadn't been for that incident, Qiniang would have been able to marry even the prince and grandson based on her father's status. It's a pity for such a person. I heard that the previous engagement also belonged to her sister. How pitiful!
But this is all life. Sun's conscience flashed away. Fortunately, her family had a large betrothal gift.
