"Dad, what's wrong with you? Why are you so depressed?"
It was already ten minutes in the evening, and Zhang Ronger was serving food to her father in the lower cabin of the royal boat.
The soil and water of the south of the Yangtze River have raised people. In less than a year, Zhang Ronger, who was still a little girl when she was in Fuzhou, has become extremely moist. Her oval face is so fair and shiny that it seems to be broken by a blow. A pair of eyes that seem to turn around a thousand times.
It's like talking.
Zhang Shan looked at his pretty daughter, hesitated to speak, picked up the chopsticks and said, "Let's eat!"
"Dad, please drink the soup!" Zhang Rong said, serving a bowl of soup to his father, "Look how white and thick this fish soup is! It's really different from what the imperial chef makes!"
When the emperor's grandson travels, in addition to the accompanying military guards, there are hundreds of people who serve in the palace including catering and daily life, as well as the imperial doctors and cooks.
The fish soup was delicious, but Zhang Shan didn't know how to taste it. Looking at his daughter, he felt even more apologetic.
"Daughter, my father has pushed back the affairs of the Cai family!" Zhang Shan said, "The young master of the Cai family is not a good match!"
When Zhang Shan was in Beijing, he did inquire about the reputation of Young Master Cai in private. He was mediocre in both academics and conduct, but he preferred to act like a son of an official, and his reputation was not very good. When his daughter married into him, he was really a bit...
Feeling wronged.
Zhang Rong'er's face turned red, she lowered her head and ate her rice in small mouthfuls, feeling uneasy in her heart. Those sisters she had handed over with handkerchiefs had already gotten married and become mothers, but she was the only one who was still waiting to be married, and she soon became an old daughter-in-law.
.
But for this matter, she, a girl, had no time to come, so she could only listen to her parents' orders to find a matchmaker. Before she came to the capital, she heard that her father wanted to marry someone from a scholarly family, and she felt shy but also secretly happy.
But now, when my father said that he was not a good match, I knew that the man was not in his eyes.
Seeing that his daughter was in pain, Zhang Shan also felt bad. He gave his daughter a chopstick of vegetables and said, "Hey, I've wronged you. It's your father's fault for delaying your life-long event."
"Keeping filial piety is a great gift of human relations, how can you blame dad!" Zhang Ronger forced a smile. A young girl is at the age when marriage is considered, but an elder in the family has passed away, so as a junior, she must keep filial piety. When the filial piety period is over, she will also be older.
Already.
"Marriage is a lifelong event. Dad only has you as a daughter, so he must find you a husband who can support your marriage. Otherwise, if you find a random family, if you don't live well, Dad will die in peace!"
"Dad! Okay, why did you talk about this?" Zhang Ronger said anxiously.
Zhang Shan's heart warmed at his daughter's concern, and at the same time he felt a little guilty. In the early years, his official career was not going well, and he didn't want to treat his daughter like a treasure, so he just married into a small family. But when his official career began to smoothen,
By that time, my daughter had grown up.
When a daughter grows up, she has such a daughter. Naturally, her uncle has to choose from thousands of people. Character, appearance, talent, education, virtue, family background, everything must be good. But after choosing, it seems that the more you choose, the less likely you are.
satisfied.
In fact, what Zhu Yunxi said struck a chord in Zhang Shan's heart. If you marry your daughter to just anyone, wouldn't it be a waste of the child's life?
Suddenly, the image of the emperor's grandson lecturing him appeared in his mind, and a smile appeared on Zhang Shan's face.
You have to choose, and you have to keep choosing. My daughter is such a good girl, even the emperor's grandson will never forget her after seeing her. She can't just take advantage of someone's bastard.
"Daughter, dad hasn't asked you yet!" Zhang Shan said with a smile, "Have you ever thought about what kind of husband you want to find? Tell me, dad will follow your ideas and give you a proposal.
look!"
At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, the etiquette imitated the prosperous Tang Dynasty, so the atmosphere at this time was not conservative. There were no outsiders, so Zhang Shancai asked this question.
Even so, Zhang Ronger's face turned red with embarrassment, as if she was about to bleed. She lowered her head and made a noise like a mosquito, "Dad, how can you ask this? My daughter will naturally listen to you on all matters of marriage!"
"What's there to be ashamed of? You and I are connected as father and daughter, you say so." Zhang Shan smiled again and said, "Daughter, I remember you were not like this in your early years. You were so courageous. How come you learned how to do this after spending some time in Hangzhou?
Are you aware of the shyness of women from Zhejiang?"
Zhang Ronger smiled again, looked at her father, bit her lower lip and said, "Actually, my daughter thinks, no matter what your family background, appearance is not important! A good family background may mean you are arrogant. A good appearance may be a frivolous person. Just because you are good at learning, it does not necessarily mean your character is good.
Good. Even though he seems to have good character, he may not always be the same as he is on the outside.
The most important thing for a man is to be open-minded, calm and kind, benevolent, responsible, and motivated. My daughter grew up with her grandmother in the country when she was a child. She has known...the principles of life since she was a child. As long as
If people are good, life will be good..."
As she spoke, she lowered her head and her voice was already too small to be heard.
Zhang Shan nodded approvingly, "This is called virtue! My daughter is a virtuous and sensible woman!"
At this time, footsteps suddenly came from outside.
A somewhat feminine voice sounded, "Master Zhang, are you here? The Za family is a disgrace to the bastard!"
Why is he here?
Zhang Shan was shocked, stood up quickly, and opened the door himself, "Eunuch Wang, why are you here?"
Although the bastard has no rank and is just a green-robed eunuch, he is a person close to the emperor's grandson. In time, he will definitely be the chief steward in the palace, just like Eunuch Park who is beside Banzai today.
Although Zhang Shan is a scholar, he is also a bit upright and pedantic, but he does not dare to look down upon him. Having said that, even if the eunuchs of the Ming Dynasty are not human beings, there are still a few people like Ling Han, Liu Sanwu and others who dare to treat these eunuchs badly.
face.
"His Highness said, let the Zajia come and see you!"
The bastard smiled mockingly and glanced casually into the cabin, where he saw Zhang Ronger.
Then he continued to smile and said, "Is this the daughter of your house?"
Zhang Shan hurriedly turned around and said, "Daughter, please see the prince soon!"
Zhang Ronger gave the bastard a graceful and graceful gift, but unexpectedly, the latter turned slightly to the side when she was saluting, avoided the gift, and did not fully receive it.
This is a very high level of respect, and not being polite means showing respect and humility.
The bastard said with a smile, "Girl, you don't have to be polite. What kind of memorial tablet does the Za family belong to? You can't treat it as a big gift!" Then he laughed and said, "Master Zhang, are you having dinner?"
"Yes, we are about to eat!" Zhang Shan was puzzled and said with a smile, "You are..."
"Your Highness has a reward!" Bastard clapped his hands, and several palace servants quietly came over with several porcelain bowls. Then he continued to speak, "Your Highness said that you are not required to salute and thank you. This is a reward for your girl!"
"ah?"
"I?"
The Zhang family father and daughter were stunned for a moment and looked at each other, not knowing why.
"Your Highness's words!" the bastard said with a smile, "I ate the girl's meal on the Fuhe embankment that day, but I haven't repaid you yet. Today, I want to repay the girl some food and drink, please don't refuse!"
While he was speaking, several palace attendants came into the cabin one after another carrying porcelain bowls and placed them on the table.
"The dishes His Highness gave you, one is bird's nest, and the other is Tremella soup, which are the most nourishing and beautiful!" The bastard continued with a smile, "There are also two kilograms of frosting sugar sent as tribute from Ryukyu. These are good things, and the noble concubines in the palace also
It's just three liang per day. This alone shows how much His Highness values the girl!"
After saying that, he smiled again, walked away, and returned to the upper level of Yuzhou.
In the cabin, the Zhang family's father and daughter looked at each other for a while. They looked at each other for a long time, both of them were confused.
"Your Highness, why do you reward your daughter with so many things?" Zhang Ronger asked in confusion.
Zhang Shan thought of a possibility in his mind, but he couldn't believe it, and a hint of sadness slowly appeared on his face.
If this kind of situation were seen in others, they would definitely be overjoyed. They would like to go to thank you immediately and find out what His Highness is saying. There are even some shameless ones who might dress up their own daughters and send them off.
But he was a genuine imperial examination scholar and regarded himself as a scholar-official. The last thing a scholar-official wanted to do was marry a royal family. Whether it was a prince-in-law or a daughter-in-law, they considered it not the right path.
Therefore, since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, from the late prince to the various vassal kings, the wives have all been daughters of noble nobles, and few of them came from civil servant families.
But if there is really a favor, the ministers would not dare to resist. However, the emperor's grandson's attitude is unclear at this time, and it is really a headache to come out like this.
"This..." Zhang Shan sighed in his heart, "Your Highness, you have posed a difficult problem for me!"