Do you know: I’m Xu Jiazi

This embroidery is quite pleasing to the eye just by hanging it on the wall. It is a thoughtful work.

Under Anmei's envious eyes, Pingmei handed the embroidery to Qingxia, and Qingxia carefully put it away.

In the evening, everyone in the Xu family had finished eating.

Pingmei was the only one left in the main hall of Sun's courtyard.

Sun was sitting on the couch, while Pingmei was sitting on the embroidered pier with the collapsed edge.

Mrs. Sun looked at her daughter, as if she had grown so big in the blink of an eye.

When she had Xiaowu, Pingmei was still a yellow-haired girl, but now she is beautiful and generous, and is about to marry into the Ningyuan Marquis Mansion.

Pingmei looked at her mother's eyes full of love, felt Sun's palm, and Pingmei rubbed her cheek.

"Mom, why do you leave me here alone?"

Sun smiled and waved.

Xiaozhu came over holding an exquisite small wooden box.

Sun put the small wooden box in Pingmei's hand and said:

"One of these is a gift from your aunt who is far away in Yangzhou. The letter said that marrying into a marquis mansion is not better than ordinary people, so you need more money. There is also a gift from your sister-in-law. It’s a sugar cane field to the south.”

Pingmei opened the wooden box. Inside were two land deeds and a thousand taels of silver notes.

"Mother, is this too much?"

"Ping'er, this is her old man's wish."

Looking at her silent daughter, Sun said earnestly:

"Ping'er, you know, I admire this aunt very much. Do you know why?"

"Mom, my aunt has won the memorial arch. It is admirable to raise the late husband's concubine and become a Jinshi."

Mrs. Sun shook her head and said: "This happened later. What I admire about this aunt is that she was originally a noble daughter of the Hou family. After marrying Tanhua Lang, she encountered great changes one after another but kept her original intention and did not let herself go. That tenacity of character has been wiped out.”

Looking at Pingmei's confused eyes, Sun smiled and recalled:

"At that time, I was about the same age as you, and I heard from your grandmother that the husband of Marquis Yongyi's only daughter had died. Your father's grandparents also found a good family for your aunt, but she guarded the Sheng family and was determined not to remarry. "

"Mother, why?"

"I didn't understand it at the time, but I admire it now that I think about it. My husband died, my legitimate son died young, and there is a concubine. So, is there anyone in the Sheng family who is older than your aunt?"

"Of course I don't have a mother! Are you saying that my aunt has the highest status in the Sheng family and she has the final say? But after remarrying, she can only rely on her own officials?"

Mrs. Sun glanced at her daughter appreciatively.

"Yes, Ping'er, your aunt remarried, how do you know that the remarried person is a beloved person? Aren't you just coveting her dowry of gold and silver? Your life is not in the hands of others.

She had suffered enough from having her fate manipulated, so how could she jump in again? "

"Then, mother, why do you say that my aunt has a certain tenacity?"

Sun touched her daughter's hair and said:

"Your great aunt has encountered great changes one after another after her marriage, but she still tried to do her best. Brother Hong became a Jinshi and married the legitimate daughter of the Haoying family. And she still has kindness in her heart. It was not the case before. It’s a pity that I took in an orphan girl from the Lin family and taught her carefully.”

Pingmei asked: "Is it the concubine of the Sheng family?"

Sun nodded.

"In those days in Bianjing, your aunt was famous as a proud woman. She acted willfully and uninhibitedly, and everyone in Bianjing didn't envy her. But when she got older, she became the most disciplined person. .”

There was something in Mrs. Sun's mind that she didn't say out loud. From one extreme to the other, how much grinding and grinding it would take!

Mrs. Sun looked at her eldest daughter and continued:

"Your aunt had such a good life when she was young. After getting married, there was such a huge gap. Even her legitimate son was killed, but she did not change to seek death, complain or be bitter.

This is tenacity. No matter how hard she suffers, she never gives up and moves forward. Your aunt is living tenaciously. "

Pingmei was young and looked at her mother with confusion in her eyes.

"Ping'er, no marriage is perfect. Although brother Yu seems to be a good person now, the fourth and fifth rooms in their house are not.

You married into the Gu family and were looked after by your aunt from the Bai family, but she was not your biological mother.

No one can say what will happen in the future! But when you encounter anything, you can't live in despair and feel sorry for yourself. Do you understand? "

"Yes, mother."

"Now, your father's career is going smoothly, and the futures of your brothers and sisters are not bad either.

You can't be arrogant in the Gu family, but you can't be bullied either.

Xiaowu asked your cousin Zhu to find four women with children from Zhujiabao. They had all practiced boxing with their father and brother since they were children. Now that their children are raised in our family, they will definitely take good care of you when they marry you into the Gu family. "

Pingmei had always had a depressed bubble in her heart because of Qingzhi's incident, but it was suddenly burst by the preparations of her mother and younger brother.

Feeling that her relatives cared about her, Pingmei said coquettishly: "Mom, I don't want to get married."

Sun smiled and said:

"Silly girl, you say you don't want to marry a husband like Brother He Yu who has a title, can read, and is handsome?"

"I, I, I will serve my parents until I grow old."

"Then don't worry about me to death."

The mother and daughter talked, and when Xu Minghua came back, Pingmei returned to her yard.

At the entrance of the courtyard of Qiongzhi Pavilion, four women with neat figures and strong bodies stood at the entrance of the courtyard.

After seeing Pingmei coming, he saluted respectfully.

Xu Zaijing’s courtyard.

The room is stocked with dishes from the kitchen.

The eldest brother and the second brother sat aside, and cousin Zhu Qinghu.

This was considered a thank you banquet, to thank my cousin for taking the trouble to find four women.

When Xu Zaijing and his brothers entered the house, they saw that they were all women with thick limbs, simple personalities, and emphasis on family ties.

And most of them have children in the Xu family, or their fathers and brothers are in the military.

It can be seen that I didn't find it randomly, but I put a lot of effort into it.

So the four cousins ​​ate together in Xu Zaijing's yard.

"Cousin, I heard your marriage is about to be decided?" Xu Zaijing asked Zhu Qinghu with a smile.

Zhuqinghu, who had never blushed even when Bai Gaoguo's scouts were attacking him, frowned and said with some embarrassment:

"Where did you hear that?"

Xu Zaiduan looked at his second brother, Xu Zaizhang picked up the wine glass and said:

"Of course I heard what my aunt said."

Xu Zaijing asked:

"I heard that she is a girl from a scholar's family?"

"You guys, why do you ask about everything?" Zhu Qinghu said in annoyance.

The three Xu brothers laughed.

"They are all men, cousin, what are you ashamed of? I heard from my aunt that we have met before?" Xu Zaijing asked.

"That's it, that's the one you invited to massage your mother when you went to my house before."

After hearing this, the three brothers of the Xu family fell into recollection.

The second child, Xu Zaizhang, thought about it and said with a look of surprise on his face:

"No, cousin, that sister-in-law must be the same age as my aunt. How could it be her? She's not a girl either!"

Xu Zaijing said: "Second brother, would you like to think again?"

The eldest son, Xu Zaiduan, patted his second brother on the shoulder and said, "The one next to that woman, you still say she can read!"

"Oh oh oh, I remember it, I remember it. She is quiet, but she is a girl from a scholar's family, why would she go to her aunt's house?"

Xu Zaijing said:

"Second brother, you don't know, that girl's home is on Wanshengmen Nei Street, not far from our grandma's home. Several aunts have inquired about it."

Zhu Qinghu looked at Xu Zaijing. In fact, he didn't know a lot of information. He had only met the girl once.

Hearing his mother say that he was getting married, he used the excuse of having something to do in the army to sneak out without paying much attention.

Xu Zaijing looked at his cousin and deliberately stopped talking. It was his eldest brother Xu Zai who said:

"Xiao Wu, don't be so secretive and tell me quickly."

Xu Zaijing held up his wine glass and said nothing.

Zhu Qinghu picked up the wine flask and filled it up knowingly.

Xu Zaijing said:

"For this future sister-in-law, her father spent all the money on the imperial examination, and her mother fell ill again. In order to cure her illness, she sold all her land and only kept the house in the city.

Both parents passed away a few years ago, leaving behind two younger brothers and one younger sister. Alas, he is also a pitiful person. "

Zhu Qinghu said nothing, holding a wine glass in his hand, with a heavy and thoughtful look on his face.

Xu Zaijing picked up the wine pot, filled it for his cousin and said:

"In order to support her younger siblings, my future sister-in-law learned some massage techniques from that woman and went in and out of the inner house to earn some money.

The aunts carefully checked the neighbors and heard that some people had proposed marriage to her, but when they heard that she had two brothers and a sister, they didn't say anything. "

Zhu Qinghu picked up the wine glass and had a drink with his three cousins, then picked up the food and said nothing.

It was Xu Zaizhang, the second eldest son, who said: "With this family background, is it possible for some cousins ​​to marry the legitimate daughter of an ordinary scholar's family, along with younger siblings?"

Xu Zaijing said:

"Second brother, you are right. Although her family has a house in Bianjing, it must be passed on to her brother.

However, I heard from my aunts that she did not miss out on her brother's studies, and no matter how hard it was, she supported him in studying at the Jingzhong Book School. "

"Cousin?" Xu Zaijing looked at Zhu Qinghu who was in a daze and asked.

"It's okay. Since mother has decided, it's good." He remembered those eyes. His gaze was something that few people could bear because they had seen too much life and death, but there was something different about that girl.

Changing the topic, the four cousins ​​began to discuss how Pingmei's wedding would embarrass Gu's family in a few days.

Xu Zaijing also told the news he got from Gu Tingyu: Gu Tingyang's boy was beaten half to death, and Gu Tingyang was also whipped by his father.

The Bai family also told the fourth and fifth families that if they dared to cause trouble when the Gu and Xu families get married, the eldest family would definitely cut off their money.

When the weather gets cooler.

There was a good harvest of corn in Xujiazhuangzi, and dozens of the largest and plump ones were selected and sent to the Hou Mansion.

The procession to welcome the bride from Ningyuan Hou Mansion also stopped at the gate of Xu Mansion on Quyuan Street.

Set off firecrackers,

The music played by the musicians was very lively.

Not far from the gate, there were soldiers from the Tianwu Army maintaining order, and servants from the Hou Mansion spreading money and food.

Among the children of the Gu family, only Gu Tingye and Gu Tingdi, the youngest in the fifth room, were allowed to attend the wedding, as well as several Bianjing teenagers who participated in the scientific examination with Gu Tingyu.

At the gate, Xu Zaijing did not come out, otherwise Gu Tingyu would not be able to enter the Xu family.

The eldest sister in the front office was saying goodbye to her parents, and her two brothers were there. Xu Zaijing did not join in the fun. He was quietly in a daze at the entrance of the courtyard of Qiongzhi Pavilion.

The things in the yard have already been packed into the car and ready to be transported to Gu's house, leaving only some things that cannot be moved.

The yard seemed quite empty and deserted. The swing was swaying slightly in the breeze, and it seemed that my eldest sister was relaxing on it.

The raccoon slave in his arms raised his head, glanced at Xu Zaijing curiously, and then meowed, as if asking why there was no one there.

Xu Zaijing touched the raccoon slave.

"Master. The eldest lady is about to get on the sedan chair."

Qingcao also felt a little depressed behind her young master.

Sister Qingzhi, who was close to her, was already holding the dowry in the wedding sedan outside the gate.

"Let's go."

Xu Zaijing took Qingyun and Qingcao to the gate.

At this time, the eldest brother Xu Zaiduan was carrying his sister on the sedan chair.

Xu Zaijing watched the sedan go away, while his second brother Zai Zhang already had a sore nose.

Pingmei put down the fan in her hand in the sedan, and through the sedan curtains covered with red gauze, she saw her brother standing at the door looking at her.

She didn't feel anything just now, but suddenly her nose felt sore, and she quickly took a few deep breaths.

Musicians play music.

The procession to welcome the bride started to move, but the residents of Bianjing who were watching the excitement suddenly discovered something new, pointing at the procession and whispering to each other.