There was no need to delay, for fear of being busy during the New Year, the matrons of each family were busy, so Minglan hurriedly sent out invitations at the end of November. After getting the consent of each family, she asked Cuiwei to prepare. (·~)
On the second day of the twelfth lunar month, Mrs. Liu and Hualan came to the door early in the morning, unable to hide their excitement. Hualan dipped her hands in tea, put down her handkerchief and said, "When I went out, my fourth brother was only a little old and couldn't talk.
I can’t explain it, but I’ll be asking for a wife in the blink of an eye.”
Liu's face showed a bit of fatigue and said: "No. When the sixth sister came with the news, both the master and the husband were stunned. It took half a day to come back to their senses. The master asked me to help him look at it.
It’s really hard for me. How old am I and what do I know? How can I show my little uncle a wife? I didn’t sleep well last night, thanks to the help of my eldest sister and my sixth sister.”
Hua Lan smiled and said: "My wife and old lady are both gone now, leaving only my younger brothers and sisters to take care of things at home. If we look at each other proudly today, my fourth brother will have a lot to worry about in the future. My younger brothers and sisters must not refuse."
Minglan pinched her waist and leaned on her eldest sister with a flattering smile, "Fourth sister-in-law, please relax, my eldest sister is here today, good or bad, it doesn't depend on us, right?"
Mrs. Liu was afraid that if she felt bad after getting a new wife, she would be easily blamed, so she was relieved to hear Minglan's words.
Hua Lan twisted Minglan's ears, glared and scolded: "It's strange that the old lady called you a little enemy. If you push me to the ground like this, if there is anything in the future, only I will be blamed by the master and the fourth brother, you will be wiped out."
Already."
Mrs. Liu hurriedly said: "Sister, don't say that. Not to mention that I rely on my eldest daughter. After all, eldest sister has had a few more years of food and experience than us. Only with eldest sister taking the lead, we will have the confidence."
"You two, stop trying to coax me with nice words. Come on, why don't I just stick to my head?" Hua Lan pretended to be angry.
The three of them chatted and laughed for a while, and Cui Wei came to send a message, saying that Mrs. Weibeihou and the Shen family's mother and daughter had arrived——
Mrs. Shen is nearly fifty years old, with slightly dark complexion and good facial features. However, her elaborately decorated clothes cannot hide the weathered complexion of her early years of hard work. Miss Shen's face is naturally delicate and pretty.
In terms of looks alone, Haishi and Liushi are both inferior to them, but they are too shy. Hua Lan asked her softly what she likes to eat and what she likes to play, and she answered like a mosquito.
It takes several lip readings to understand the word.
Mrs. Shen chatted and smiled bitterly in her heart. ~In fact, her daughter is quite cheerful and smart, but since she knew that she was going to marry a scholarly family, and she heard that there were no men in the Sheng family who were not famous, and the in-laws were noble, she became like this.
I'm afraid that if I say one more word or raise my voice a little bit, it will give people the impression of contempt.
Hua Lan smiled on her face, but she thought that she had three sons-in-law, and she couldn't help but assume the mentality of a mother-in-law. Miss Shen's irritable look really didn't suit her sweet taste. If she was asked to choose her daughter-in-law, she would definitely be
No, I'm afraid I won't be able to support the family in the future. But, again, for the sake of family harmony, it's better for a concubine's daughter-in-law to be shy and submissive than to be fierce and aggressive.
On the other side, Mrs. Liu had already said "yes" in her heart. When getting along with sisters-in-law, they are most afraid of being competitive. Her eldest sister-in-law, Haishi, is already extremely powerful. She can't survive another powerful younger sibling. Miss Shen is like this
Just right.
Ming Lan had a calm attitude, chatting and laughing freely, while looking at Miss Shen's childish face, thinking that she was only two years older than Sister Rong, but she had already started discussing marriage, and she was secretly guilty, as she was really suspected of harming the seedlings.
She had asked Mrs. Zhang carefully, and she said that knowledge of embroidery was secondary, and kindness and kindness were the most important thing. Although Changdong seemed to be honest and a bit dull, in fact he had big ideas in his mind. As long as he could follow his wife Harmony, beauty and mutual respect, no matter how ignorant Miss Shen is, she can learn to do it slowly.
After Ms. Zhang understood this, she immediately praised Miss Shen, saying that she was absolutely a good character. When she lived with her family in the countryside, she often loved to help the elderly cross ditches, and Changdong, who loved to carry the elderly down the mountain, was a perfect match.
Ming Lanmo,...this is your first time playing matchmaker.
They were sizing up Miss Shen, and Mrs. Shen was also secretly sizing up the daughters-in-law of the Sheng family. They saw that Hua Lan was graceful and graceful, Ming Lan was kind and gentle, and their tutors were the best choices. Looking at Mrs. Liu, although her appearance was ordinary, she had a different personality. If you are dignified and upright, you won't be too difficult to get along with.
Mrs. Shen couldn't help but nod secretly, thinking that she was a well-educated family, well-educated, polite and kind, but not pedantic and jealous, trying to impose rules on others.
After everyone had finished the third and fourth rounds of tea, Mrs. Zhang and Mrs. Shen stood up to say goodbye. Minglan walked all the way to the second door, and after many good words, they parted ways. Back in the house, Mrs. Liu and Hualan had already met each other. After seeing the results, we exchanged opinions. One said that Miss Shen was well-groomed, which made me feel pity for her. The other said that the Shen family was rich and her father and brother were capable. In short, both of them said that the marriage was a good one.
"After all, Sixth Sister is the matchmaker. We don't have to worry about it. We should know that it is reliable." At the end, Mrs. Liu took Minglan to thank her again, and then left, saying that she would go back and report to Sheng Hong. ~
Watching Mrs. Liu leave, Hua Lan turned back and said with a smile: "He is a very slippery man. Even you are being tricked."
Minglan sighed: "She is just the third sister-in-law. She is neither the direct descendant nor the eldest daughter. She has to take care of the fourth brother's marriage, so it is understandable that she is afraid of not getting along well. We are the fourth brother's biological sisters, so we are one step behind. Just bear as much as you can."
"...The old lady always said that you are kind and will be blessed in the future. Now I believe it." Hua Lan was silent for a moment and sighed, "What you are saying is that it is indeed not easy for the third daughter-in-law. You don't know. Third brother, that unsatisfactory thing, a girl in his room a few days ago called out that she was pregnant, which made dad angry!"
"How can this be? The third sister-in-law is not yet born yet." Minglan was surprised, "The third brother is too confused. Everyone in the house knows what dad means. Now the third brother and the third sister-in-law are still young, how can they be the direct descendants? ,Aren’t you waiting for the decoction?”
"Why not? That girl was cunning and secretly poured the decoction in order to get pregnant." Hua Lan flatly said, "Dad was very angry and scolded the third child for not making progress. He didn't want to work hard and make progress, but he lingered among the flowers; now The third child was tied up and served a family meal, but the younger brother and sister cried and begged for a long time, so the third child was spared the penalty of kneeling in the ancestral hall."
"...Where's the girl?"
Hua Lan said disdainfully: "I drank the medicine and found someone to sell it. It's not me who said it, but it was the third child who got used to it. The girls in the room are all as bad-tempered as noble concubines. They don't know how high the world is, even the master's family." You have the guts to break the rules!"
Minglan sighed, there was no sentimental Jia Baoyu, and there was no such thing as the explosive Qingwen. Liu was not simple either, so maybe if she could clean up the house this time, she would probably have another group of girls unlucky.
"It was the same for Ke'er back then, and it was the same for Ruomei. Alas, the third brother couldn't contain his sentimental and soft nature, which made those girls have thoughts that they shouldn't have. In the end, they harmed others."
Hua Lan frowned slightly, and unconsciously let out a contemptuous tone: "What good can someone taught by Lin do?"
After a pause, he added, "Fourth sister is also in a lot of trouble now. The title of Duke of the clan has not been released yet, so the family has to work hard. Your brother-in-law said that the eldest son of his family is very popular now.
The commander-in-chief reuses the soldiers. Alas, poor Mrs. Liang..."
Minglan was silent for a while and then said: "This marriage is what the fourth sister has worked hard for. Good or bad, we can't blame anyone else. If something happens to the Liang family, we will do our duty as relatives and we will do it."
That’s it.”
Hua Lan praised: "This is exactly the reason."
…
On New Year's Day, in order not to be too deserted, Minglan left the task of making winter clothes to Sister Rong and Sister Xian early, and asked the two girls to rush in and out, sometimes inspecting the cotton cloth they had just bought, and sometimes
I asked for advice from the needlework, and I even had to do the distribution myself. It was a noisy and enthusiastic affair, but in the end I was spared Minglan thirty taels of silver.
Mr. Shao brought his daughter and Sister Rong to apologize, and said apologetically: "These two silly girls, they only care about their own fun, and almost delayed the business. Fortunately, my brother and sister have already ordered some clothes at the tailor shop, otherwise I would hate you two
How does it end?"
The two girls blushed and wrung their hands, not daring to raise their heads.
Minglan leaned on the bed and said with a smile: "A few dozen taels of silver are not expensive to teach the sisters a lesson."
Sister Xian raised her head happily and admitted her mistake sincerely. Sister Rong followed shyly and expressed her willingness to deduct the money from her monthly salary.
Minglan found it funny, soothed her chest and said: "Now I know that studying is one thing, and doing things is another. Remember that if you suffer a loss this time, you don't have to pay a monthly penalty. Go back and think about it. Where can I go?
You made a mistake, just don’t make it again next time.”
Then he said: "The first time you did something, something went wrong. I thought you were going to blame each other. Now you can bear it together, and the two sisters can be harmonious. That's good."
After the two girls received this compliment, their annoyance just now seemed to fade away. They held hands with smiles and went out as happily as birds. Shaw looked at it and shook his head and smiled.
On the twenty-third of the twelfth lunar month, Ming Lan led the stewards and their wives to offer sacrifices to the Stove Lord. The whole family shared soup and noodles, cleaned the courtyards, and prepared the New Year's Eve dinner. On New Year's Eve, everyone ate dumplings together, and a few maids and servants who were lucky enough
, and also ate two or three coins worth of silver coins, everyone seemed happy about something. For fear of shocking the pregnant woman, the maids went to the hospital to set off firecrackers from a distance. Sister Rong was so bold that she dared to set off two firecrackers by herself.
, Sister Xian hugged Shao so tightly that she could only light two fireworks sticks.
Minglan took Brother Tuan and lay down by the window next to the edge of the Kang to watch the gorgeous fireworks in the sky. The little fat girl stretched out her chubby fingers and pointed at the sky, not knowing what she was enjoying.
Early in the morning of the new year, Liao Yong's family and Hao Dacheng led all the stewards and servants in the mansion to kowtow to Minglan to pay New Year greetings. As usual, Minglan asked people to carry several baskets of copper coins to distribute the New Year's money, and each steward got an extra share.
In the next few days, we entertained the relatives and friends who came to pay their New Year's greetings one after another. Everyone was very interested. Gu Tingye was not there, and Minglan had a bulging belly and a tired face. The visitors did not delay much and left after chatting for a while. Che Sanniang, on the other hand,
She was extremely happy these past few days. She had just received a letter from her husband from afar, saying that the military supplies had been completed and he would be back soon to take her back to Jianghuai.
It was the first month of the year, and the emperor also had to give out new year's money. In addition to relatives of the clan, those whose husbands and sons-in-law like Minglan were fighting in the front, such as the Duan family, the Geng family, and the Bo family, were all rewarded. Minglan got a mutton-fat white jade ocean bowl. There are also several pots of kumquats provided in the greenhouse.
Both girls liked seeing such bright and live plants with a faint fruity fragrance in the middle of winter, but Little Fatty was greedy for seeing the round and bright fruits, and wanted to pick them and eat them. Minglan also didn't like it. After persuading him, he quickly picked off one, peeled off the pulp, and tore a piece of it into the little fat man's mouth.
…
…
The little fat boy was dumbfounded by the sourness, his mouth was flat with tears in his eyes, and his face was wrinkled into a big crab roe soup dumpling with thirty-two pleats, which was fresh and juicy.
No one cares about those kumquats anymore. The emperor’s grace is so great, Amen.
In addition, there are other favors from the emperor, including the decree of the Marquis of Yongchang to inherit the title.
Mrs. Liang finally felt relieved. As the event had not long passed, she could only hold a banquet to celebrate. Ming Lan sent her a congratulatory gift, and Mo Lan did not forget to go back to her parents' house to show off. Unfortunately, Mrs. Liu's attitude was cold and she had a long buttocks. The injury has not healed, so it is not suitable to see people.
Sheng Hong was very supportive. Since his family's title was guaranteed, of course he continued to remind his daughter to give birth as soon as possible, otherwise she would have no place in her husband's family. This really rubbed salt into the wound, and Mo Lan was so angry that she thought it was better not to show off.
There were many happy events in the first month, and good news came from the front within a few days. The general soldiers of Xuan Da wiped out the small group of Jie slaves wandering around Datong in Xuan Mansion, and the remaining soldiers rushed to the northwest outside the Great Wall, which was a good start for the upcoming war. .
The Emperor Long Yan was very happy, and among the rewards for his merits, the Liang Mansion was among the top three. For a time, the Yongchang Marquis Mansion was deserted before it was swept away, and it was once again bustling with people and people coming and going.
Unfortunately, this good situation only lasted for about ten days.
On this day, Mrs. Liu came to look for Minglan. In a few words, she said lightly that the Yongchang Marquis Mansion was about to split up. There had been a fuss for several days, involving Liang Han and Mo Lan, and asked Minglan if she wanted to go and have a look.
Minglan was silent for a while and then said: "Ask eldest sister when she is going, I will go with you."
The author has something to say:
I've been a little busy these past two days, more on that in the next chapter.