Thinking of the powerful Mrs. Cui, Mrs. Hou was extremely troubled.
The Marquis comforted him and said, "Madam, don't worry. If my mother-in-law mentions the matter of marriage tomorrow, she will say that she has no control over the matter and will only need my nod. She will put the responsibility on me."
Mrs. Cui was picky about Mrs. Hou in every possible way, but she was extremely polite to Mr. Hou.
Mrs. Hou turned to look at Mr. Hou and said hesitantly: "But, wouldn't this cause trouble to Mr. Hou?"
Mrs. Hou was well aware of her mother's temper and was worried that her mother would say unpleasant things to Mr. Hou, so she did not want Mr. Hou to get involved.
Mr. Hou tightened Madam Hou's hand and said warmly: "What Madam said is inappropriate. Brother Le's marriage is a major matter in the Hou family. I am the head of the family and should be worried about it. How can I cause trouble?"
From now on, when something happens, my wife will just push me and ask my mother-in-law to look for me."
Mrs. Hou said worriedly: "Master Hou, my mother is used to being strong. What if she forces Brother Le to marry Sister Yi? I don't want Brother Le to be wronged."
Mr. Hou patted Madam Hou on the shoulder and said with relief: "Don't worry, my mother-in-law can force Madam, but she can't force me, let alone Brother Le."
Mrs. Hou thought for a while, but still felt uneasy, "Master Hou, is this okay?"
Mr. Hou smiled at Mrs. Hou, "Listen to me, that's right!"
The next day, Mrs. Hou arrived as promised.
In Fu'an Hall of Duke Chengguo's Mansion, Mrs. Cui was sitting at the top. She looked up at Mrs. Hou and said coldly: "Sit down!"
After Mrs. Hou thanked her, she sat down next to her.
Mrs. Hou's lowered eyebrows made Mrs. Cui a lot more angry.
After the servants served tea and left, Mrs. Cui asked straight to the point: "What do you think about what I told you? When will you come to propose marriage?"
Mrs. Hou put down the cup in her hand, leaned towards Mrs. Cui and said, "Back to mother, my daughter can't make the decision regarding Brother Le's marriage. This matter requires Master Hou's nod."
After hearing Mrs. Hou's words, Mrs. Cui's face instantly dropped.
He asked with great dissatisfaction: "You are Brother Le's mother-in-law, you can't make the decision in this matter?"
Facing Mrs. Cui's angry questioning, Mrs. Hou was in a panic, but thinking of her son's lifelong events, she tried to calm down and warned herself not to get into trouble.
Mrs. Hou sighed, lowered her head and said, "Oh, there are some things that my daughter has never said to her mother.
In fact, my daughter has not lived a satisfactory life in the Hou Mansion these years. She only looks at the scenery, but she is a person who cannot make the final decision. All the minor matters in the house are decided by the Marquis."
Mrs. Hou looked helpless and extremely guilty.
Mrs. Cui felt chest tight and short of breath, and said angrily: "Looking at your shrewd appearance, I thought you were a good person.
It turns out that you are a good-for-nothing! Why did I raise such a waste like you?"
Facing Mrs. Cui's scolding, Mrs. Hou lowered her head and said with great grievance: "My mother has taught me since childhood that a person needs to know the three cardinal principles and five constant principles. Where did my daughter go wrong?"
Mrs. Cui choked with anger and glared at Mrs. Hou bitterly. "You are an ungrateful thing, and you dare to talk back! What's your future? You're just a bastard in the nest."
Mrs. Hou looked down at the teacup, while Mrs. Cui glared and scolded her.
Aunt Qiao was on the side trying to persuade her.
Mrs. Cui stopped, took a deep breath, looked at Mrs. Hou and said, "In this case, let the Duke and the Marquis talk about this matter."
Seeing Mrs. Cui's compromise, Mrs. Hou secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
He nodded and said, "Yeah, okay. It's better for my father to talk to the Marquis about such a big matter."
Mother called me to come back. Is there anything else? If there is nothing else, my daughter will go back first. She has not been in the house for a few days, and there are a lot of things waiting to be dealt with in the house. "
Mrs. Cui didn't want to see Mrs. Hou looking hopeless, so she waved her hand and said: "It's okay, you can go."
Mrs. Hou stood up and saluted Mrs. Cui to say goodbye, took two steps back, turned around and left Nuange quickly.
Mrs. Cui looked at Mrs. Hou who was leaving in a hurry, and was so angry that she couldn't help but say, "Look at her like that, as if there is a ghost here, I'm so angry!"
Aunt Qiao advised: "My aunt may really have something going on..."
Mrs. Cui interrupted Mother Qiao with a stern face, "What can happen to her? Do you really believe that there is something going on in her house?
I don't want to see her as a coward who can't make any decisions, so I don't want to waste any time talking to her.
She thinks she can deceive me with just a few words? Huh!"
Mrs. Cui looked at the door with disgust, where Mrs. Hou could no longer be seen, and leaned back.
Aunt Qiao flattered her and said, "Yes, the old lady is very clear-sighted. How can my little aunt's little tricks escape the old lady's eyes?"
Mrs. Cui stretched out her hand, and Aunt Qiao handed the teacup into Mrs. Cui's hand.
Mrs. Cui took a sip of tea, handed the tea cup back to Aunt Qiao, and said: "Inform the concierge that the Duke is back and let him come in to report.
In addition, tell Cui Er that you can take action. Let me see if Nizi is gone, what use will the engagement be!"
Aunt Qiao bowed and said, "Yes, I understand."
On this day, Ning Wei took Hu Rui, Ruoqing, and Ruoyu to Dongshui Wharf, where they inspected the two ships of grain that had just arrived.
The river wind roared, making his face hurt. Wei Yuan tightened his clothes and said, "Miss, the river wind is strong, let's go to Xingyuan to talk."
Ning Wei nodded, "Okay!"
The group went to Xingyuan, and Wei Yuan let Ning Wei into the house.
Ning Wei stood in front of the window, looked at the carriages and horses coming and going to transport grain, and asked: "Is the yard inside full of piles?"
Wei Yuan nodded and said: "Yes, the backyard is full, and the front yard is also full. There can be at most ten more boats."
Ning Wei nodded, "Next, let's open several semicolons in the east, north, and south of the city to transfer some of the grain here.
Uncle Liu wrote to me and asked for more grain to be shipped before the river freezes."
Wei Yuan leaned forward and said, "Okay, I will immediately order someone to look for a shop."
Ning Wei looked up at the sky, "It's a cold winter this year. It's colder earlier than in previous years."
Wei Yuan then raised his head and looked at the sky, "Yes, this year's autumn is particularly short. It's not even October yet and it's already so cold."
Ning Wei remembered that this year, it started to snow in mid-October, and winter entered the capital early. By the winter months, the Shangshui River was so frozen that it was possible to walk on it.
The long cold winter lasts until February next year...
"Miss, the current price of food has doubled compared to last month." Wei Yuan said.
Hu Rui said: "With this increase, by the end of the year, the price of rice will probably triple to four times that of previous years."
Wei Yuan shook his head, "Food is related to the people's livelihood. The imperial court will not allow the price of rice to skyrocket. It will try to control the price of food on the market."
Hu Rui was puzzled and asked: "Will the imperial court intervene in food prices? How?"
Wei Yuan explained: "The imperial court has reserves in its granary, and in the event of natural disasters, it will open a granary and donate money."
