Because of Zhang Shou's special instructions, when Zhu Ying brought Zhang Shou back to Qing'an Hall, she never mentioned why Zhang Shou went to see Zhu Er. And both Tai Fu and Jiuniang felt that Zhu Er should be handed over to Zhang Shou for discipline.
It was very reassuring, so he didn't ask a question at all. So, Zhao Guogong Zhu Jing, who had originally planned to ask something, thought about it and gave up the plan.
Since everyone said that Zhu Er had changed his mind, he had better leave it alone... It was not that he and Zhu Tingfang had not taken care of it, but there was no filial son and brother under the stick, and the same was not true with fists and kicks. Anyway, they did not control Zhu Er.
It's better to leave it to Zhang Shou to take care of it.
Therefore, when he saw Zhang Shou saluting again, he nodded, and then said bluntly: "Zhang Shou, I invited your mother to come over, and now the two families have signed a marriage contract. I have already sent people to Shuntian Mansion Office to file it. That's it.
As a result, there will be no more rumors outside. As for the wedding date, although we have agreed on a few days, I still want to ask you and Yingying."
Even though she was generous and forthright, Zhu Ying's cheeks still turned red when she heard that the wedding date was about to be set. However, her joy finally overshadowed her shyness. She glanced at Zhang Shou and said with a smile: "I listen.
Longevity!"
Zhang Shou saw that Zhu Jing and Zhu Tingfang's father and son's eyes were all focused on him like sharp arrows, and he couldn't help but smile bitterly. Zhu Ying's words sounded very ordinary, but to the Zhu family, would they think that she was married before she was married?
Already planning to marry a chicken and follow the chicken, and marry a dog and follow the dog? So, he pondered for a moment and made the decision that had been brewing in his heart for a long time.
"Yingying's eldest brother and second brother are not yet married. As a sister, it is not appropriate for her to get married in front of her brothers. Thanks to Mrs. Tai and Aunt Jiu for trusting me, they have always allowed her and I to come in and out as a couple.
, I have never shied away from talking to others. I am very grateful for this, but if possible, I hope to put the wedding date at the end of the year."
Zhang Shou paused for a moment and noticed that Zhu Ying beside him was obviously a little surprised and even more disappointed. He turned around, looked at her sincerely and sincerely, and said word by word: "Yingying,
Your father and your eldest brother went on an expedition before, and now when they come back, they find that there is me beside you. They don't know me well enough, and I think they should let them know me better."
"This way, they should feel more at ease when you marry me in the future."
Seeing that Zhu Ying was slightly stunned, and then glanced at Zhu Jing and Zhu Tingfang hesitantly, with an obviously relaxed expression on his face, he continued calmly: "In addition, I am not without selfish motives. Yingying,
I remember telling you that I hope you wait for me for a while, because I don't want you to be poor and burdened after marrying me."
"Although the emperor rewarded or gave me a former Luwang Villa because of the new textile machinery, I can no longer afford to have the audacity to ask the emperor for help, or reach out to the Zhu family for the cost of maintaining such a house in the future. Before.
I have given the five thousand guan I received from the eldest prince to Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu to go to Xingtai to work. And the remaining cotton fields cannot be touched easily."
"The money I have on hand is not enough to arrange a wedding. That's why I hope you wait."
"I hope they can make progress in what they went to Xingtai to do. Because their progress also means my achievements. Moreover, several other things that I asked people to study before should also be able to be revealed before the end of the year.
.And all of this, if it goes well, will not only be achievements, nor just political achievements, but can be turned into real money."
"Yingying, don't laugh at me as a philistine. A poor and humble couple has nothing to live without, and everything is indispensable: rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar and tea. I know what it's like to have no money, so I don't want you to experience it once."
Hearing this, Zhu Ying's face suddenly cleared up and the bright sunshine appeared again. Without even asking her elders for their opinions, she said categorically: "Ah Shou, I promise you! Our wedding date will be on the
It’s the end of the year... but there are no weddings in the twelfth lunar month. It’s too cold in November. Let’s go to the beginning of October. I can wait for you until the beginning of October!”
Wu, who had been sweating just now, suddenly felt relieved. She said almost without thinking: "Okay, it's the beginning of October, and the sixth day of October is a very auspicious day... I don't know what the Grand Duke and Madam think about it.
?”
When Zhang Shou said just now that he wanted to schedule the wedding at the end of the year, Zhu Jing and Zhu Tingfang were both surprised. After hearing his reasons, they couldn't help but fell silent, and they quite agreed with Zhang Shou's words. However,
, when they heard the more sincere words from Zhang Shou, the last bit of uneasiness in their hearts had disappeared.
A man who is able to put aside his fiancée's most likely very generous dowry and consider his future life before getting married, and who hopes to give his fiancée a better life on his own, is undoubtedly quite trustworthy.
Mrs. Tai stopped Jiuniang who wanted to dissuade her. When Zhu Ying took the initiative to push the wedding date to October and Wu hurriedly mentioned an auspicious day, she smiled and said: "That's fine.
, I have seen all the auspicious days this year, this is it! Ah Shou, don’t push yourself too hard, don’t do things too hastily.”
Zhang Shou bowed his head and said in salute: "Yes, I understand. Madam, don't worry."
When Zhang Shou and Wu said goodbye together, Zhu Jing saw that Zhu Ying sent them out as a matter of course. He watched the three people who would be a family leave in the future and couldn't help but whisper: "What you hear is false, what you see is false."
In fact, I used to think that Yingying judged people based on their appearance, but now I know when I see her, this girl is not just a thing in the pond."
The madam suddenly smiled and said: "Of course, even if Yingying is confused for a moment, are your wife and I still blind?"
Even though he never disobeyed his grandmother, Zhu Tingfang couldn't help but whisper: "But grandma, you have never met Zhang Shou before, so why are you so confident in letting Yingying go to the countryside to meet him?"
"Those families in Rongshui Village were carefully selected by you, and I sent so many people to follow Yingying. Why should I be worried? At that time, the Zhu family was already at the forefront of the limelight, and Yingying went to the countryside to avoid the limelight.
I can feel more at ease. As for you saying that I have never seen Zhang Shou before...how could I not have seen him? I had already been to the village once before sending Yingying off."
As the lady spoke, she squeezed the prayer beads in her hand tightly and squinted her eyes slightly: "I saw him joking with the farmers in the fields, talking about the harvest happily, and when I heard the farmers talking to him, they all laughed.
I admire and respect him, and I know that he is a good kid. At least, he is a hundred times better than many high-talking boys in the capital!"
She paused for a moment and then said with a smile: "How can a child who is destined to be born on the same day, the same year, the same month and the same year as Yingying be the thing in the pool? He came to this world under the circumstances, and human beings
Pin Junxiu, that’s what you should do.”
Jiuniang nodded slightly and said with great emotion: "This child, Ah Shou, has lived up to the life his mother gave him."
Zhu Ying saw Zhang Shou and Wu all the way to the back door, but when she said goodbye, she was still a little reluctant to leave.
Seeing that the maid at the back door had already avoided it, and there were no other people waiting on the street, Zhang Shou couldn't help but pull her hand, then stepped forward and hugged her gently, and then stepped back for two seconds after letting go of his hand.
He smiled and said, "Although it will take more than half a year before you can marry me, we are in the same capital and can see each other all the time."
Wu didn't expect that Zhang Shou would be so bold in front of her, and she couldn't help but be shocked. When she saw that Zhu Ying was not embarrassed at all by the abruptness, but her face became more and more beautiful, and she even hummed softly, she couldn't help but
She smiled. Feeling that she was blocking the two of them from whispering here, she simply walked briskly towards her home, but she was thinking about another thing in her heart.
When the marriage contract had just been signed, she and Zhao Guogong Zhu Jing agreed to re-write Zhang Shou's life experience in the marriage contract - who was his father and who was his mother, and she was contracting with Zhu Jing as an adoptive mother. Moreover, Zhu Jing had already hinted
After passing her, once Zhang Shou's official rank becomes higher, he can build a family temple at home to worship his ancestors.
In this way, the late Zhang Xiucai and his wife would not only enjoy incense during the holidays. And she would not feel that she shamelessly took away their beautiful life.
After Zhang Shou talked to Zhu Ying for a while, he urged her to go back, and he turned around and went home.
After arriving home, when he heard Wu telling the details of the engagement letter and Zhu Jing's warnings and reminders, he did not continue the topic, but said bluntly: "Mom, these things are up to you. As for what happens next, I'm afraid
Thank you for your hard work. Choose a suitable day these days and let's move."
Zhu Tingfang and Zhu Jing returned one after another, and the Zhao Guogong Mansion was naturally in a state of joy. Even the servants were walking and doing things with a bit of joy. Because of the Tai Madam's instruction, the Zhu family and the Zhang family had already signed a marriage contract, replacing the original oral engagement.
It was finally settled, the marriage certificate was sent to the Shuntian Mansion Office, and the news spread instantly.
For a time, they, who had long been accustomed to Zhang Shou's frequent visits, started talking hotly. The maids and maids even congratulated Zhu Ying repeatedly when they caught her. However, Zhu Ying was not like those shy girls, who smiled and handed out generous rewards.
There is actually a popular saying in the government.
"Congratulations to the eldest lady, congratulations to the eldest lady!"
When Zhu Ying returned to her room after dinner, Zhan Jin and Liu Yin came forward to congratulate each other with smiles. When Zhu Ying slapped their fair hands in annoyance: "I've already given you the rewards."
Yes, you are still making trouble!"
Liuyin immediately stuck out his tongue, and then whispered: "Miss, I thought the wedding was going to be held in the next two months, but I didn't expect that it would be postponed until October. I don't know what happened to the master and Mrs. Wu.
Thought."
Zhang Shou's words in Qing'an Hall were forbidden by Mrs. Tai's instruction, so outsiders didn't know. But at this moment, Zhu Ying was reminded by Liu Yin's words, and she once again thought of Zhang Shou's impressive voice at that time, and her face.
Unconsciously, two more red clouds flew up, and then he said happily: "Ah Shou is also thinking about me! I knew he was very good!"
Zhan Jin and Liu Yin couldn't help but glance at each other, snickering in their hearts. No wonder even when the master came back, he immediately signed the engagement letter without saying a word. With the look of their eldest daughter, it was clear that their hearts were completely tied to Shou.
How can there be any room for change in the young master?
Compared with Zhu Ying, who was in high spirits during happy events, when Zhao Guogong Zhu Jing returned to his Yongning residence from Qing'an Hall, he walked slower and slower. Not only him, but also the Jiuniang beside him. And the male
This stiff and unspeakable atmosphere between the master and the mistress naturally affected the maids here, and for a while, there was silence all around.
When Jiuniang was cultivating in Zhaoming Temple, she did not have a maid. She did everything by herself. The nuns in the temple knew that she had an extraordinary status and asked the younger nuns to help her with some chores. After she returned to Zhao Guogong's palace, Yongning took the throne.
The maids up and down were no longer the same group as before, and they were all careful and only gradually got a feel for her character.
Knowing that she is different from Zhu Ying, she is usually calm and not picky most of the time, but she is not merciful to some mistakes. Naturally, everyone is more uneasy when facing her than when facing Zhao Guogong Zhu Jing. After all, Zhu Jing is a rough person.
He didn't pay much attention to the little things around him. At this moment, he watched the two of them enter the main room one after another. No one else dared to follow them, but they didn't dare to leave either.
No one knows what kind of huge conflict this couple had sixteen years ago, regardless of the fact that they also have a young daughter, Zhu Ying. One is practicing in a temple, and the other is not picking up his wife to go home, but he is not divorced either.
If you don’t take a concubine, it’s just wasting it. If someone does something wrong now, what if you become the scapegoat to vent your anger?
Just when they didn't want to stay or leave, they heard Zhu Jing's voice coming from inside: "Go and clean up the bathroom first and prepare hot water. I'll take a shower soon. Don't come near me without my instructions."
This house!"
With such an order, everyone hurriedly responded, and then dispersed like birds and beasts. Inside the room, Jiuniang noticed the movement outside, raised the corner of her mouth, and said with a smile: "It seems that everyone is afraid of the return of Duke Zhao, who has made great achievements.
When he saw his former second cousin's wife re-entering the house, he became furious."
Zhu Jing smiled stiffly: "Jiuniang, aren't the things of the past in the past..."
"I came back because of Yingying and Zhang Shou, and also because I'm sorry for all the hard work my mother has done over the years, and I'm sorry for the two innocent children, Dalang and Erlang. It's not because of you."
Jiuniang was still cold. Even when she saw Zhu Jing's face darken, she had no intention of taking back her words. She just stood there, staring at him sharply. She didn't know how long it took before she heard him sigh.
One breath.
"I know what you are angry about. That Wen Po was indeed drunk to death and didn't know anything. Widow Zhang also passed away due to dystocia. Mrs. Wu was shocked and frightened. She lost her head and couldn't remember anything. Concubine Yu...
…”
Zhu Jing paused for a moment, smiled bitterly, shook his head and said: "After Concubine Yu became pregnant, she experienced a lot of messy things in the palace. In addition, there was a lot of fighting. The baby landed safely, but she was so weak that she passed out.
When I arrived at that time, I did have a villain's heart to judge a gentleman's belly, but, you know, I also prepared for rainy days and took precautions before they happened..."
Jiuniang looked straight at her husband, and then laughed. Yes, it was not Hua Qi who arrived first, but her good husband who cared about his wife and children. He saw the mark she left and turned back.
Back. She still remembers Zhu Jing's first reaction of shock and anger when she discovered the miserable and chaotic situation.