Chapter 53: Boating on the Wei River
After Wang Jingzhe left, Li Lanrong and Mao Qingshui didn't think this little episode was a big deal. In their opinion, there was a wide Wei River between Wang Jingzhe and the Longxi Li family, and there was absolutely no possibility of the two sides of the rushing river being brought together.
On the contrary, Uncle Li, who was quite old, said with some concern: "This young man said that he would come back in a month. By then, it will be almost the time for Cui from Qinghe to come and propose marriage. If he makes a scene at this critical moment, it will probably have a bad impact. Wouldn't it make people laugh at him?"
Li Lanrong smiled: "If he really comes, we can just kick him out."
Mao Qingshui said directly: "Then just make sure he doesn't even have the chance to enter the door."
As for the marriage that the old man of the Li family had arranged for his granddaughter, Li Lanrong and Mao Qingshui had actually never really agreed to it. It wasn't that they looked down on Wang Jingzhe, but they felt that it was a bit too hasty to arrange the marriage of the eldest granddaughter of the Li family by arranging a marriage at birth.
More than 20 years ago, Li Lanrong and Mao Qingshui became pregnant not long after they got married. At that time, the Li family was having a hard time. Many industries were in a period of transition and many difficulties had to be solved.
At that time, the domestic economy was about to take off. If the Li family made a bad choice and took the wrong path, their huge business would probably decline.
At that time, the old man, who was the head of the family, was quite worried all day long. Some prestigious people in the clan even began to force him to abdicate. At this time, the old man told Li Lanrong that he was going to Longxi.
"When Wu Zetian ascended the throne, do you know what the real reason was for her to ascend the throne, other than her tough and ruthless tactics? Besides the fact that she was supported by the aristocratic families..."
Li Lanrong said: "The family tree says that it was because of two great masters of the time who predicted Wu Zetian's fortune and assisted her in ascending the throne. One was Yuan Tiangang and the other was Li Chunfeng. Without them, there would be no Empress Wu Zetian, and there might not be the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty."
"Li Shimin once asked Li Chunfeng and Yuan Tiangang to calculate the destiny of the Tang Dynasty. Unfortunately, they only calculated it to more than 200 years and stopped. At that time, Li Shimin asked them, "Can't you calculate it to the next 500 years? Why didn't you do that?" The two knelt down at that time and said that forcing a country to calculate its destiny would harm their lives. If they really calculated the destiny of the Tang Dynasty, they would probably die on the spot. If we died, it would not be a good thing for the Tang Dynasty to be without a national master. So they only calculated it to more than 200 years. Li Shimin didn't force it at the time. He was very convinced by what Yuan Tiangang and Li Chunfeng said. After thinking about it, he felt that the Tang Dynasty had a destiny of almost 300 years anyway. Who would have thought that the Li Tang family's rule would end in the 289th year? In fact, when they calculated the destiny, they knew that the Li Tang dynasty would only last 289 years. But they could never tell Li Shimin this."
Li Lanrong said, "Dad, is the deduction technique of Li Chunfeng and Yuan Tiangang really that weird?"
"Of course..." The old man didn't say much at the time and told Li Lanrong: "I'm going out to find someone who also knows how to calculate, and he seems to be from the same origin as Yuan Tiangang and Li Chunfeng. Let's ask him about our family's problems."
The old man was gone for more than two months. When he came back, Mao Qingshui was already more than five months pregnant and could tell whether it was a boy or a girl. So when the old man knew that the Li family had a granddaughter, he told the couple.
"When this child grows up and turns 25 this calendar year, someone will come to our house to propose marriage, and then we will betroth the child to that person."
As for why he wanted to marry off the eldest granddaughter of the Li family who was arranged to be married off, the old man did not say much, but only reminded that the marriage must be completed.
Mao Qingshui wanted to object, but Li Lanrong stopped her and said, "No matter how healthy my father is, he will definitely not live past 25 years. By then, it will be our own business for the girl to get married. Besides, the family she marries may not really wait for more than 20 years. This marriage may just be a joke, just a casual talk."
A few months later, Mao Qingshui gave birth to a daughter, but the old man's health deteriorated. A few years later, he was lying on the bed and about to pass away. Before he died, he called Mao Qingshui and Li Lanrong to his side and told them to remember the engagement and not to regret it.
Who would have thought that both Li Lanrong and Mao Qingshui thought that the old man was confused, and that even when he was terminally ill, he still remembered the engagement more than 20 years later. However, they did not refute him at the time, but after the old man passed away, they directly changed their daughter's surname from Li.
Isn't this engagement about the eldest granddaughter of the Li family? I'm not even named Li anymore, so how can this engagement be valid?
What the two of them thought was that, regardless of matchmaking or anything like that, even if their daughter was going to get married, she had to marry someone who was a good match for her. The aristocratic families attached great importance to marriage, and if their daughter wanted to choose a husband, an ordinary person would definitely not be able to do it.
Therefore, Li Lanrong and Mao Qingshui were overjoyed, but not because of the Jingzhe Festival.
As for Wang Jingzhe, he didn't feel that it mattered much after he left the Li family. Father Wang only told him to propose marriage, but he didn't say that he must marry her. Do I have to force her to do it if she doesn't want to?
There's nothing wrong with breaking off the engagement, but this tone must be maintained!
Not long after leaving Li's house, Wang Jingzhe took a taxi and arrived at the Wei River. He had to go to Li's house again in less than a month, so he planned to stay nearby and wait for the next few days.
There are many fishing boats and wooden canoes parked on the bank of the Wei River, some are for carrying passengers across the river and some are for doing business. The carp and river seafood of the Wei River are very famous. People often take fishing boats to the river and then catch the carp and river seafood directly from the river and cook them directly on the boat and eat them.
Wang Jingzhe saw that it was almost time for dinner, so he found a fishing boat and rowed into the river. After the boatman parked the boat, he asked Wang Jingzhe if he wanted to drink, then tied a basket of beer and put it into the river.
"Splash" the boatman threw out a fishing net, and after the net fell into the water, he quickly gathered it up and dragged it onto the boat .
"Oh, you're lucky today. You caught a good fish..."
After the boatman pulled up the fishing net, there were two big carps and a bunch of river shrimps in it. Wang Jingzhe smiled and said, "It is said that the carp from the Wei River are very fresh and tender. Let's kill them now."
Not far from the fishing boat, there was a wooden boat floating. A woman was sitting on a bamboo stool in the boat, holding a fishing rod. A young girl next to her looked at Wang Jingzhe's fishing boat with resentment and said, "Cousin, we have been fishing for most of the day and haven't caught a single carp. Look at other people who catch fish as soon as they cast their nets. What kind of life is this?"
The woman who was fishing glanced over there and saw Wang Jingzhe dancing and shouting about killing fish and eating meat. The woman was suddenly stunned. This man was as innocent as a child and his smile was very innocent.
