Chapter 103 Marriage
Kaifeng Prefecture has always been busy with official business, and Zhan Zhao has been sleeping and eating little during this period, so he just reviewed all the files accumulated over more than three months.
Many minor matters did not require the intervention of the prefect Bao, such as fights, which were generally handled by the chief constables and yamen runners of Kaifeng Prefecture.
Only major cases and bizarre murders would be taken over by Bao Zheng.
After confirming that the police officers did a good job even though he was not in Kaifeng Prefecture, Zhan Zhao finally "got off work". He went to a restaurant not far away and bought lunch. When he was almost done eating, two people came up from the stairs and sat directly next to and opposite him.
"Xu Jian is missing, Guard Zhan!"
The two men clasped their fists at the same time.
Zhan Zhao also clasped his fists and said, "It has indeed been a long time since we last met, Brothers Ding."
"You still call us Brother Ding instead of Big Brother and Second Brother?" The calmer man laughed, "My little sister's Yuehua Sword is in your hands."
Zhan Zhao suddenly felt embarrassed.
Some time ago, Zhan Zhao went to investigate the two Semites named Pu. When he passed Songjiang, he saw some girls from the martial arts world setting up an arena for a martial arts competition to find a husband. He didn't care much at first, but just went over to watch the fun out of boredom.
However, he found that the woman who was participating in the martial arts competition was very attractive to him in terms of both appearance and figure, and then she stood on the stage for some unknown reason.
By the time he came to his senses, the fight had already ended and they had even exchanged swords.
Ding Yuehua took away Zhan Zhao's stone sword, and Zhan Zhao now carries the Yuehua sword.
This Yuehua Sword is also a magical weapon... it's just not very famous. After all, Ding Yuehua is a woman from a wealthy family. Although her martial arts are okay, she seldom ventures into the martial arts world. Of course, there is no way for her to make a name for herself with her weapon.
Ding Yuehua's two elder brothers were the famous Ding brothers in Songjiang.
It was the two people who knelt outside Lu Sen’s house for a long time more than a year ago, wanting to learn magic.
Seeing his woman's brother coming to his door, Zhan Zhao was of course embarrassed.
The situation between him and Ding Yuehua seemed like they were secretly engaged. Although people in society were not fussy about small matters, it was still a matter of fact.
Seeing the two sturdy men in front and on the left staring at him, as if they were going to fight him if he didn't admit it, Zhan Zhao clasped his fists and said complacently: "Big brother, second brother, after you finish the things at hand, I will ask someone to go to Songjiang to propose marriage."
“Hahahaha!” Ding Zhaolan laughed happily on the spot. He patted the table, then took out several pieces of paper with a big seal from his clothes and said, “This is the dowry… a big house in the capital, and several hundred acres of fertile land outside the city. Take it!”
In the Northern Song Dynasty, wealthy families would pay money to marry off their daughters.
Lu Sen married Yang Jinhua and Bilian, and their family went directly from being "poor" to being "a wealthy family".
Zhan Zhao was stunned: "No, brother, I haven't even asked anyone to propose marriage yet, the dowry has arrived too quickly."
"If someone else wants to marry my sister, but doesn't have the formalities and talents, forget it." Ding Zhaolan waved his hand and said, "But the Royal Cat Zhan Zhao is a recognized hero, with excellent martial arts, appearance, and character. It's her blessing that my sister has won your favor."
Ding Zhaolan looked very happy while speaking, and it didn't seem like he was faking it.
Ding Zhaohui beside him was also full of joy: "Brother-in-law, since you called us brother, we accept this matter. We will go back and inform my younger sister, and wait for you to come to Songjiang to pick us up."
Good men are hard to find in the world, and a good match like Zhan Zhao should be seized when the opportunity arises. To some extent, the two heroes of the Ding family really cared about their sisters.
After saying that, the two Ding heroes stood up and were about to leave.
Zhan Zhao immediately stood up and said, "Brother, don't be in such a hurry to leave. At least stay in the capital for a few days. I will host a dinner for you."
"Go back earlier and let your little sister feel at ease." Ding Zhaolan waved his hand.
"Then at least wait until tomorrow before leaving." Zhan Zhao said, "You can watch the immortal shadow play performed by Master Lu tonight. I heard that there will be immortal music performances tomorrow morning to entertain the people! Why don't you stay for a day and see it for yourself?"
Xianjia shadow play?
Fairy music?
The Ding brothers looked at each other for a while, then nodded at the same time.
"Well, let's stay for a day." Ding Zhaolan clasped his fists and said with a smile, "Then I'll trouble my brother-in-law."
Zhan Zhao clasped his hands together and said, "It's my duty."
At the same time, Zhan Zhao felt relieved. It seemed that the Ding family was quite optimistic about his marriage with Ding Yuehua.
In the following time, Zhan Zhao entertained his two brothers-in-law, taking them to watch the fairy shadow play and watching their startled expressions.
Then, early the next morning, I listened to the heavenly music played by Master Lu…very bright and exciting music.
These warriors simply think the song is nice.
But for the great composers and the famous ladies in brothels, it was a groundbreaking and soul-stirring work.
The theories, rhythms and styles involved in this music are all valuable resources that can bring them inspiration and breakthroughs.
In fact, the music broadcast in the early morning was not shocking to the people in the entire Bianjing city.
After all, the average level of literary and artistic appreciation in this era is not high, and music is not as intuitive as pictures, so Lu Sen's act of broadcasting music only caused shock to a special group of people.
For ordinary people, it is the crowing of a rooster in the early morning that wakes them up.
That afternoon, Lu Sen saw Zhan Zhao in his own pavilion.
"What? You want me to help you propose marriage?" Lu Sen touched his head and said, "Although Xiong Fei, you are going to get married, and I am very happy for you. But for the matter of proposing marriage, don't you need the help of elders and understand the rules? Although I am a Taoist, I really know nothing about these things."
Zhan Zhao said somewhat embarrassedly: "There are only two or three elders who can help me, and they are all busy with their own things. I can't ask Bao Fuyin to help me propose marriage."
Indeed...Bao Zheng traveled thousands of miles to propose marriage?
With Bao Bao's face that was almost as serious as charcoal, if someone who didn't know the situation saw him, they would definitely think that Bao Zheng had traveled thousands of miles with his guard Zhan to catch the murderer.
Why are you still talking about marriage?
"I want to help you, but I don't really understand the rules in this regard." Lu Sen smiled bitterly and said, "I had to ask Uncle Zhe to help me go to the Yang family to propose marriage."
Zhan Zhao said, "Don't worry, Lu Xiaolang just needs to sit down, and I will ask someone to help with the rest."
Lu Sen's eyebrows twitched at this moment. He stared into Zhan Zhao's eyes for a while, then smiled and said, "Tell me, what is the reason? I have to take action."
“I can’t hide it from you.” Zhan Zhao chuckled helplessly, “In fact, my family’s elders will not allow me to marry a girl from a Jianghu family. They will only let me marry a noblewoman from the capital, but I don’t want that!”
I see!
No wonder Zhan Zhao wanted me to help.
With Lu Sen's current status and fame, he is indeed very qualified to propose marriage.
And now that the marriage has been decided, I guess no one would dare to deny it, whether it's the Ding family or Zhan Zhao's side.
At this time, Zhan Zhao and Lu Sen did not know that the Ding family was also involved in the officialdom.
"That's fine." Lu Sen thought about it and agreed: "It's no problem for me to go to Songjiang with you, but I'll tell you this in advance. I'll only be making clay sculptures when I go there. Don't expect me to speak for you or help you with your birth date and fortune."
Zhan Zhao was overjoyed: "Thank you, Lu Xiaolang."
After getting the result he wanted, Zhan Zhao happily chatted with Lu Sen, then had dinner before leaving.
After Zhan Zhao left, Lu Sen went up to the third floor, and Yang Jinhua sat in his arms, asking coquettishly, "Can you bring Bilian with you when you go to Songjiang this time?"
Hmm? Lu Sen was a little surprised: "Aren't you going with me?"
Yang Jinhua shook her head: "Bilian and I have been married for less than a year and we have already gone out to travel in Hangzhou. Now we are going to Songjiang. What kind of nonsense is that? There is no one to watch over the house. People will laugh at us."
This is the "heroine" spirit of Yang Jinhua at work.
Women had a very high status in the Northern Song Dynasty. The power possessed by the eldest wife was almost the same as that of the male owner. If the two parties divorced... when the government decided to divide the property, it would even be more biased towards the woman.
Moreover, it was not uncommon for women in the Northern Song Dynasty to file for divorce.
A typical representative is Empress Dowager Liu.
Therefore, women in the Northern Song Dynasty often managed their families well so that men could work and strive outside without any worries.
"Xiong Fei and I are close friends, so I must help him." Lu Sen patted Yang Jinhua's hips, "Don't worry, there is a direct waterway from Songjiang in Bianjing City, and the 'Ark' I deposited at Zhao's house is much faster than ordinary ships. It will take at least ten days, or at most half a month, to come back. So you don't need to take Bilian with you, wouldn't it be better to let her stay at home with you?"
"Sir, you like women. It will be more convenient for you to have Bilian with you." Yang Jinhua said shyly and timidly.
Yang Jinhua has been "growing" at a very fast pace over the past six months, especially in matters related to men and women.
After all, in "Ladies' Diplomacy", women often talk about this kind of thing in private.
For a normal man, after two or three months of marriage, it is good to have sex three or four times in ten days. But my husband is torturing me every day, and he is torturing two women at a time.
Yang Jinhua was not worried about Lu Sen eating wild food outside.
Even if she ate it , she didn't feel anything. At most, she would feel a little uncomfortable, but it would be better after a while. After all, this is the current trend. It is normal for men to go out and have fun.
She was just afraid that Lu Sen would be careless when eating outside and get someone pregnant.
The two bellies at home are still not moving, but the one outside is bearing seeds first... If this really happens, the reputation of the Lu family and the reputation of the two wives and concubines will be gone.
Therefore, what women consider are always different from those of men.
Lu Sen simply thought that Yang Jinhua was probably afraid that he would do something wrong, but he still had no plan to let Bilian accompany him.
Yang Jinhua persuaded him a few times, but then stopped. The master didn't like it, so she couldn't say anything more.
After a few days of peace and quiet, Lu Sen and Zhan Zhao, together with a group of people looking for marriage proposals, boarded the "Ark" and drifted eastward along the river towards Songjiang.
Zhan Zhao was very concerned about this matter. The team that helped propose marriage and issued the marriage certificate was the best and most expensive in the capital, and in the eyes of ordinary citizens, it was almost unattainable.
But this is only the case in the eyes of ordinary people.
In fact, this group of people are only qualified to be responsible for marriage negotiations for ordinary people or some wealthy businessmen.
They cannot accept orders from high-ranking officials.
But with Lu Sen added, the situation becomes different.
Songjiang was not too far from the city of Bianjing. Going downstream, with boatmen taking turns to steer the boat, they arrived at Songjiang in less than three days.
Then the group prepared the betrothal gifts, engagement letters, etc., and headed towards the Ding family in Songjiang in a mighty procession.
Lu Sen and Zhan Zhao were mixed in the team.
Although Zhan Zhao had a faint smile on his face at this moment, Lu Sen could feel that he was a little nervous.
"Wipe your sweat and stay calm." Lu Sen said as he walked.
"oh oh!"
Zhan Zhao, who was usually calm, was a little flustered at this moment. He took out a handkerchief and wiped his forehead for a while, then pinched it, from his left hand to his right hand, looking like he didn't know where to put it.
Lu Sen raised his eyebrows and thought that Zhan Zhao seemed to really like the woman named Ding Yuehua, otherwise he would not be like this.
After all, he's someone who even the government has met. Under normal circumstances, there's no reason for him to be so nervous.
The team set off firecrackers as they walked, attracting a large number of idle people and little kids to follow.
The leading matchmaker threw handfuls of copper coins generously, attracting adults and children to scramble for them.
This matchmaker is quite good-looking. She doesn't have the materialistic look of other matchmakers. Instead, she has a kind of worldly-wise and generous look.
The betrothal ceremony had to be so lively to tell the world that the two families were getting married in a legitimate way and it was not a secret affair.
According to Zhan Zhao's idea, when he arrived at the Ding family's door, someone would naturally come to greet him.
But when they really arrived at the Ding family's door, something unexpected happened.
There are indeed quite a few people at the door, but few of them are from the Ding family.
The door of the Ding family was even half-closed.
The group of people blocked the door and cursed.
"Mr. Ding, you have the guts to kill my family, but you don't have the guts to come out and admit your guilt?"
"Old thief Ding, your son is cruel and vicious. As the head of the Ding family, can't you come out and say a few fair words?"
"Ding family, if you don't come out, we will break down the door and get in."
So when the hiring team arrived at the door, the scene was a bit strange.
The group of people blocking the door of Ding's house looked at the team that suddenly appeared in surprise.
Zhan Zhao was also very puzzled... He came here to propose marriage, so how could he suddenly encounter such a thing?
Both parties were stunned for a moment, and then the person on the other side shouted first: "Hey, it looks like you are here to propose marriage. The Ding family killed people for no reason and are vicious. You dare to marry such a wicked girl. Aren't you afraid that she will kill people from her husband's family in the future?"
This is a very vicious statement.
Lu Sen frowned, and Zhan Zhao's expression was also extremely displeased.
But at this moment, the door of the Ding family suddenly opened, and Ding Zhaolan walked out and said angrily: "Dai family, today is a good day for our little sister. If you have anything to say, we can talk about it tomorrow. Now leave quickly, otherwise don't blame us for being rude."
"How can you be so rude?" The leader of the riot was a young man in his early twenties, who looked quite majestic. "Your family's good fortune is a matter, but our family's funeral is not a matter? No one can leave until we have made things clear."
He waved his hand, and suddenly a group of people rushed out from the front and back of the street, blocking everyone at the door.
Zhan Zhao was no longer nervous at this time. He looked around and said, "Lu Xiaolang, something is wrong. These people are not from the martial arts world. Instead, they look like soldiers."
Lu Sen nodded, he also saw it.
After all, he had been a military supervisor for a period of time, and Lu Sen could tell the temperaments of soldiers and people from the martial arts world.
