This summer seems to be extremely hot and muggy, and the chirping of cicadas is annoying.
The Duke's Mansion no longer closed its doors to thank guests, and Zhang Fu also returned to the court, leaving early in the morning and returning home late every day. He was busy attending court and training at the Fifth Military Camp. He was so busy that he sometimes did not return home for several days.
Without the Wu family in the mansion, nothing has changed.
But there seems to be some changes.
Zhang Jie no longer confronts Huo Xi and Huo Nian, and seems to have grown up overnight. But when the brothers meet in the mansion, they are no different from strangers.
Huo Nian and Zhang Mao listened to their sister's words and did not pass on the grievances of the previous generation to Zhang Jie, but Zhang Jie ignored them. The two brothers did not want to be hot-faced and cold-butt, so they chose to ignore it.
So the three male heirs of the eldest family were like strangers in the house.
The servants in the mansion were surprised at first, but gradually got used to it.
Zhang Jie also went back to the Imperial College to attend school. Sometimes he and Huo Nian went in and out together, but it was as if they didn't know each other.
Zhang Fu tried several times to resolve the sense of alienation between his sons and acted as a peacemaker, but with little success. He had no choice but to let them go.
The old father is powerless.
He couldn't care less, he was so busy that he couldn't even go home, and he couldn't find the energy to care even if he wanted to.
The emperor wanted to march north again, send more troops to the border, and train sailors. It was also the time of year when all the prefectures, counties and garrison stations sent troops for training. Zhang Fu was so busy that he became dizzy.
As for Mu Yan, he hadn't seen his people for a long time. Li Yikaner also went with him.
I remembered what he said about going to various places in Qingzhou to supervise training, and I didn't know when he would be able to return to Beijing.
Now that the house is peaceful, seeing that Huo Xi has reached the age of getting married, Mrs. Hou came to ask her what kind of person she is looking for. He wants to take her to some flower parties and receptions, and participate in some social activities, so that she can find a good family for her.
.
After all, good girls are afraid of hiding.
Huo Xi remembered what Mu Yan had told her about proposing marriage to the family when he came back, and declined the proposal.
"Does your father have a suitable candidate?"
"That's right."
"Oh? Let the second aunt guess, is it the young master from the Duke of Guizhou's mansion?"
Huo Xi didn't hesitate and nodded with a smile.
Mrs. Hou saw her like this, and it was obvious that this was something agreed upon by both parties. You and I were in love, and they were a good match. It was just right. So she felt relieved.
"That child looks very good to me. He is a perfect match for you." Mrs. Hou was very happy.
"Did his family say when they would come to propose marriage? Proposing a marriage is one thing, getting married is another. It may take a lot of time. Auntie also wants you to prepare a dowry, so the time will not be short. In a family like ours
, no matter how fast you go, you won’t be able to complete the six rituals in less than a year.”
If he doesn't come to ask for marriage, the man is not afraid of delay, but he will delay his daughter, and it will also affect Sister Ning's younger sisters' marriage proposal.
Huo Xi thought for a moment and said, "There's no need to worry. He's out on official business right now. Let's wait until he comes back."
"Okay, you just have to be aware of it. Now your father has no intention of marrying again, and he is so busy that no one can be seen. Your grandmother also said that she would recite sutras in the ancestral hall for a whole year. There are many big and small things, and the second aunt is always afraid of missing them.
your business."
"It's my fault for letting Second Auntie worry."
"Hey, why do a family have to say such things?"
Seeing that Huo Xi was successful, Hou no longer worried about seeing her.
She received countless invitations, and there were many people who wanted to marry Sister Ning. She was the eldest daughter of a British father-in-law, and her appearance was not bad, and she was well versed in general affairs. She could not get a marriage from anyone.
The Hou family was also very merciless in receiving posts. As soon as she went out to socialize, she would be chased and inquired about by the ladies and queens of various houses.
Now that the father and daughter know what's going on, she doesn't have to think about it anymore.
He just said that the British government had some plans, and sent away a bunch of ladies who wanted to send their sons to their house.
Sometimes I met Mr. Cheng, the Duke of Guizhou's wife, on certain occasions, and the two of them would get together tacitly and exchange greetings, just like the two sisters.
Both of them are wives in the Duke's palace. They meet at many social banquets in the capital and can be seen on many occasions.
When Mrs. Cheng saw Mrs. Hou surrounded by a bunch of ladies, asking for news about Huo Xi and recommending her nephew, Mrs. Cheng was anxious in her heart.
I don't know what her son is thinking. The person he cares about is going to be taken away, but he is not worried at all.
They didn't say when they were going to propose marriage, leaving the old mother alone to worry and get angry.
Mrs. Cheng really wanted to stand in the middle of all the ladies and yell, "The eldest daughter of the British Duke is the one my family likes!"
Unfortunately, she didn't come to ask for her hand in marriage, and she didn't express her position for a long time, so she couldn't do such a thing to ruin the girl's reputation.
I just watched anxiously.
Fortunately, Ms. Hou and her had a good rapport, and they knew what was going on, so they hit it off immediately, blocking many people from prying.
The two chatted happily.
Mrs. Hou wanted to help Sister Ning establish a good relationship with her future mother-in-law, so she naturally became more and more enthusiastic towards Mr. Cheng.
In addition, Mrs. Wu was the one who went to socialize on many occasions in the past. Now that the government relies on her for lady diplomacy, Mrs. Cheng is also needed to show her the way.
And some ladies, seeing how affectionate they were, thought that Cheng's son had not yet been found, and wondered if the two families had reached an agreement?
Could it be that the original rumors were true? Or were they just trying to be fake?
Seeing that the eldest daughter of a British father-in-law had a wife, some people also backed down.
But I am not willing to give up the British father-in-law's family relationship. I remember that in addition to the eldest daughter, the British father-in-law also has three daughters. Although they are all concubines, they are no better than those from a small family?
Then he set his sights on Bi Zhu and Bi Yue. Even the eight-year-old Bi Gui had many people asking about her.
But little Wang was very happy.
Only Mrs. Liu said that her daughter was too young and refused to pay attention to her. She only focused on helping take care of the affairs of the big house.
Just when everyone thought that the Duke of Guizhou was about to marry the British Duke, unexpectedly, news came out that Master Mu was planning to marry someone else.
Everyone asked whether the news was true or false.
Unexpectedly, after asking around, the news actually came from the Duke of Guizhou's mansion.
Moreover, the women who want to marry Master Mu have all been sent to the capital from Yunnan, and they are afraid that they will be married directly from the capital.
The people in the capital pricked up their ears again and started to inquire about the gossip.
Huo Xi naturally heard the news.
Now that she is co-director of the Central Government, everyone in the house is willing to listen to her. Plus she has a lot of people, so any troubles outside will be reported to her ears immediately.
"Girl, I went to the moon to find out. The news is true!" Mother Ma looked anxious.
The Duke of Guizhou's government was so unkind. They actually brought a woman all the way from Yunnan and said that she was specially sent to marry Master Mu!
This is bullying! Do you think the British government is paper-thin?
Mother Ma, Xiang Xiang and other girls were very angry. Young Master Mu would sneak over at night from time to time and promised them that the girl would come first, and now he has come all the way from Yunnan to fetch a girl to get married!