Chapter 51 Where is the Miss Li?
Longxi is an ancient city. It was called Longxi County from the Qin and Han Dynasties to the Sui and Tang Dynasties. It included the areas of Tianshui and Lanzhou. It was the only way for ancient silk and a battleground for military strategists. Many famous people with the surname Li were born here. Li Bai, Li Yuan, and Li Guang all came from Longxi County.
If you ask ordinary people which are the major families in the country, except for a few that cannot be mentioned, some people might say it should be the Kong family of Qufu. The Kong family has been passed down for thousands of years and their descendants are spread all over the world, with countless celebrities.
Some people would also say the Manchu royal family Aisin-Gioro family or the Zhouzhuang Shen Wansan family. Some people might even say that Hong Kong Island is called the Li family's city, which can also be counted as one.
But when it comes to the five surnames and seven clans aristocratic families, I'm afraid not many people know about them, such as the Longxi Li family, the Qinghe Cui family and the Taiyuan Wang family. It is said that after Wu Zetian came to power, the power of these aristocratic families was weakened and became history. Until now, there are no legends about the Longxi, Taiyuan, Qinghe and other aristocratic families. Most ordinary people think so, but what is the truth?
Take the Longxi Li family for example, they are a legitimate royal family. Even though the Tang Dynasty has become a thing of the past, do you know where all the royal descendants of the Li family are?
Wang Jingzhe arrived in Longxi three days after leaving the capital city. However, the place he wanted to go was not inside Longxi city, but a remote area of the old city.
This old town is quite old, and many houses still retain their historical appearance. The difference between them and modern buildings can be seen at a glance.
Wang Jingzhe stood in front of the gate of a large mansion. The gate was indeed very large, at least twice as large as the gate of Feng's courtyard house. Especially the plaque on the door gave people a sense of oppression. In addition to the two words "Li", the signature was a small seal script, and there were carved dragons and phoenixes all around, with a seal script word "Li" in the middle.
"I feel so noble..." Wang Jingzhe muttered, "After all, this is a royal family. Wow, this house is really nice."
"Ding, ding" Wang Jingzhe knocked on the doorknob. A moment later, an old man in a Tang suit with hunched shoulders opened the door a crack.
Wang Jingzhe straightened his robe, straightened his spine, and said word by word: "Wang Jingzhe from the Wang family of Chaoge is visiting the Li family of Longxi."
Chaoge is a small place, an unknown little town. However, if we go back a thousand years, this place would have been quite famous.
The capital of the Shang Dynasty was Chaoge.
"Uncle Li, in your opinion, what kind of person is this young man?" A few minutes later, in the main hall of the Li family mansion, a middle-aged man and woman were sitting on two armchairs. Holding blue and white porcelain teacups in their hands, they asked with a frown.
Uncle Li is the hunched-shouldered old man who opened the door for Wang Jingzhe just now. He is an old servant of the Li family.
"He's quite young, about 23 or 24 years old. He looks very calm, not like a pretentious young man. He speaks with full energy..." Uncle Li commented on it in a proper manner, and finally said after thinking for a while, "He's a very ordinary person."
The middle-aged man and woman looked at each other without saying a word. It was clear what their reactions were. Although the old servant Li Bo was a servant in the Li family, he was the one who brought up his master. Even the young master and young lady born to the mistress were raised by him, so his status was relatively transcendent.
This couple is the current head and mother of the Longxi Li family . The man is called Li Lanrong and the woman is called Mao Qingshui.
Seeing that neither of them spoke, Uncle Li asked again, "What about this engagement..."
Not many people knew that the eldest daughter of the Li family was engaged. Probably only some elders in the clan knew about it. This engagement was made more than 20 years ago by the then head of the Li family, Li Lanrong's father.
It is said that the eldest daughter of the Li family is engaged to a young man named Wang, but the other party's specific identity is not clear.
Li Lanrong and Mao Qingshui were not quite sure either.
Uncle Li said: "Why did the old man arrange such an engagement for the eldest lady?"
"If the old man were still alive, you could go and ask him why he arranged such a marriage for the young lady. Anyway, I'm not quite sure." Mao Qingshui said this with some dissatisfaction. It seemed that the words of parents and the matchmaker did not work well for her, because God had absolute decision-making power in the Li family back then. If he said there was a marriage, then there was a marriage.
Uncle Li frowned again and said, "But isn't Cui from Qinghe also coming to propose marriage?"
The eldest daughter of the Li family is already of marriageable age. In the past few years, people have come to propose marriage to them, but Li Lanrong and Mao Qingshui have always suppressed the topic. But about a year ago, the Qinghe Cui family sent someone to the door, saying that the young master of their family had also reached marriageable age and wanted to marry into the Longxi Li family.
To put it bluntly, this is a marriage between two former aristocratic families, who want to get together and move to the next level.
Li Lanrong and Mao Qingshui were both quite satisfied with this marriage. It was said that the young master of the Cui family was very outstanding. He returned from studying abroad at a young age, and when he was young he worshipped a master to learn the art of feng shui and geomancy.
To describe it simply in one sentence, this person is truly a rare talent.
The day for Qinghe Cui to propose marriage is coming soon, but what is unexpected is that the marriage also came today, which is a bit embarrassing.
"People are still waiting outside..." Uncle Li reminded.
Li Lanrong frowned, while Mao Qingshui smiled: " Who did you arrange the marriage for?"
"Our eldest lady"
"What should our eldest daughter's surname be?" Mao Qingshui asked again.
"Of course it should be the surname Li." After saying this, Uncle Li suddenly understood.
Mao Qingshui smiled, clapped his hands and said, "Yes, this marriage was arranged for the eldest daughter of the Li family. The young man surnamed Wang who came to propose marriage should also marry the eldest daughter surnamed Li... But where is this eldest daughter surnamed Li?"
Li Lanrong glanced at his wife, frowned and said, "This is a bit unreasonable."
"Then does what I said make sense? If there is a Miss Li, I can certainly betroth her to him, but...what if there is no Miss Li?"
Li Bo suddenly asked, "Madam, have you expected this day to come?"
Mao Qingshui said: "I don't want my daughter to marry an unknown wild boy who came out of nowhere. How can he be compared with the young master of Qinghe Cui family? My daughter must marry a dragon and phoenix among men!"
Yes, after the old man died in his early years, Mao Qingshui regretted this marriage. She didn't want to marry the eldest daughter of the Li family to this man named Wang.
So, if the eldest daughter of the Li family did not have the surname Li, then did she not need to get married?
After all, the one the old man agreed to marry was the eldest daughter named Li.
Haha, it’s just a word game.
