Volume 5: Fellow Traveler Chapter 867: The Prospective Son-in-Law Arrives
As a result of reporting the title of the book, until that day when Zhu Ying left the girls' school and went to visit the lady at the Duke of Zhao's mansion, her face still showed a bit of annoyance and frustration - although the Korean girl had nothing to do with her, she was naturally very angry that the well-educated and well-mannered girl suddenly became illiterate.
But even so, she was still as sharp-eyed and sharp-eared as Zhu Ying. As soon as she reached the door, she caught a glimpse of Zhu Er sneaking out. She immediately rushed forward and grabbed him fiercely, then asked in a bad tone: "Where are you going, second brother?"
Zhu Er never thought that Zhu Ying was distracted, but he would be seen even if he carefully took a detour. Although he was annoyed, he knew that something must have gone wrong today when he saw the undisguised anger on Zhu Ying's face. If he hesitated again, the anger might fall on him, so he immediately smiled.
"Yingying, my grandmother sent me out to go to the Wang family..."
Before Zhu Er could finish his words, Zhu Ying immediately threw away her previous anger and anger. Instead of letting go, she held on even tighter, her eyes sparkling: "Which Wang family? Is it my future sister-in-law's family? She and her mother are back from Xuanfu? It's so cold, how can Wang Datou be so inconsiderate?"
When Zhu Er saw Zhu Ying's enthusiastic look, he secretly thought that something was wrong. However, before he could think of what to say, he suddenly heard a voice from behind: "Miss, are you here to see the Madam? The Madam just went to bed. She is in good condition today and has eaten more than the past few days. As for the Second Young Master going to the Wang family, it was the Madam's order."
"I heard that it's because it hasn't snowed recently, so the roads are relatively easy to walk on, and they are worried about the old house, so they hurried back." Mother Jiang saw Zhu Er turned around and looked at her with resentment, but she just pretended not to see it and said to Zhu Ying with a smile, "In fact, if you ask me, I'm afraid it's because the wedding is coming soon, so they need to hurry back to prepare."
"Although Wang Datou had asked the elders to help with the preparations, and both sides had the engagement ceremony, she is not the real mother after all. Speaking of which, if it weren't for Wang Datou's duties as the governor of Xuanda, the emperor originally planned to call him back. Now it seems that he probably won't be able to make it back in time."
It's best if he can't come back. If Wang Datou comes back, I will be burdened with several mountains at home. After marrying a wife, there will be another mountain at Yue's family! Zhu Er complained in his heart, but he dared not say it out loud. He could only smile at the side. Then, when he heard Zhu Ying's statement, he panicked again.
"In that case, I'll go with my second brother, and we'll come back to see grandma later!" Zhu Ying said, glancing at the flustered Zhu Er, and raised her chin slightly, "Second brother, you're usually smooth-talking, but you're often unreliable at critical moments. I'll go with you, so at least I can make up for the shortcomings."
Zhu Er opened his mouth to protest, but seeing Mother Jiang nodding in agreement, he knew that nothing he said would help, so he could only dejectedly accept the reality that his sister would follow him to meet his future wife. However, after he went out and got on the horse, he saw Zhu Ying also got on the horse and followed , so he couldn't help but ask stupidly, "Aren't you going to take the car?"
"It's not cold, why take a car? Besides, it's not easy to talk to you!" Zhu Ying looked at her silly second brother unhappily, rode her horse side by side with others, and then lowered her voice and said, "The closer your marriage is, the more likely others will find fault with you. Although Ah Shou often told me that the more the mother-in-law sees her son-in-law, the happier she is, but what if she meets a harsh one?"
"Anyway, I'll see what happens later. If someone is polite, I'll be respectful. If someone is tricky, I'll be picky..."
After hearing all these words from Zhu Ying, Zhu Er was not panicking at first, but gradually he became nervous. It was not like he had never seen his future wife before, but he could not see anything clearly from a distance, and it was even more wishful thinking to talk. As for his future mother-in-law... in his impression, she was a person who did not leave a big impression on him, because he was already panicking at that time.
So, when he came from the rich and beautiful Duke Zhao's Mansion to the Wang's Mansion with its black lacquered gate and old courtyard wall, he did not have the consciousness of a rich son-in-law meeting a poor relative, and even spoke softly to the doorman. And his attitude naturally made the servants of the Wang's family full of goodwill - especially when the Wang's family had far fewer servants than the Duke Zhao's Mansion, this impression was naturally very important.
The one who attracted more attention than Zhu Er was Zhu Ying, who was dressed in fine clothes and riding a horse, calm and confident. The eldest lady was the most eye-catching person wherever she went, even if Zhu Er was the protagonist today. Compared with the legendary arrogance, the butler who came to greet her took a peek and saw that Zhu Ying was always smiling, neither rushing to talk nor making any comments.
Except that it was a bit sudden for the younger sister to follow her brother to her future sister-in-law's house.
But Zhu Ying was no longer just a daughter of the Zhu family, but a wife of the Zhang family, and she was no longer an unmarried young lady. When she came to the Wang family, it was like a married lady meeting her future sister-in-law who had not yet married into the family. It was only natural. When Zhu Ying smiled and met her second brother's future mother-in-law, who had a kind face and gentle words, she really just stood by and watched the fun.
Mrs. Li was originally a little worried about her daughter's future sister-in-law, who was well-known in the capital for her powerful character . But when she met her today, she found that she was a very quiet girl, and she felt relieved immediately.
Therefore, even though Zhu Er's speech and behavior were a little rigid, and completely different from the frivolous and incompetent second son of the Duke of Zhao's mansion in the rumors, she just regarded it as a prodigal son who has returned, and did not take it to heart at all.
When faced with the eight-colored gift boxes sent by Duke Zhao's Mansion, she thanked them again and again, but immediately ordered people to prepare a return gift, and specifically asked her daughter to deliver it personally.
Zhu Er was so happy to have such a considerate mother-in-law. Unlike Zhang Chen who demanded a stunning beauty, he was fed up with the most powerful women in his family and only demanded a virtuous one.
So, when the door curtain outside was lifted and a simply dressed and graceful girl came in, he felt like he was floating at the first glance.
Although he had never been to the water town in the south of the Yangtze River, a picture suddenly appeared in front of his eyes. In the misty rain, a graceful girl walked out leisurely with an ink umbrella in her hand. Her eyebrows were like distant mountains, dark without any drawing, and her lips were like sand, vermilion without any makeup. The gentle and calm temperament that emanated from her bones made him lose six of his seven souls.
Fortunately, Zhu Er's self-control is much stronger than before, and the absent-minded state only lasted for a short while before he was forced to suppress it. He deliberately turned his eyes slightly to the side, and when the others came forward to greet him, he also hurriedly sang a big "no".
Although Wang was also interested in Zhu Ying standing beside her, her future husband was already there. After she presented the return gift, she asked Zhu Er openly, "I heard that the second young master is going to Cangzhou?"
Yes, I almost forgot. I am now the good farmer Zhu Gong. Even if I get married, I can't stay at home forever. I have to go to Cangzhou! Besides, my grandmother is sick, and my eldest sister-in-law is taking care of her in Qing'an Hall all day long. Even if I get married, I'm afraid I will have to be filial to my grandmother all the time...
Thinking of this, Zhu Er, who had just felt full of joy, unconsciously felt a little frustrated and discouraged. Then, he heard Zhu Ying's clear and pleasant voice coming from the side: "Second brother will indeed go to Cangzhou after getting married. It will be spring plowing, and many Haidong species that were previously agreed with others will need to be planted. After all, farmers are afraid of taking risks, so they are likely to say one thing in front of you and another behind your back."
Zhu Er finally came to his senses and nodded vigorously, saying, "That's right. The villagers don't have much experience after all. If something goes wrong after one season of planting, it will affect the livelihood of the whole family, so I'm afraid they will only care about the present. Although I promised to support the trial planting and several selected farmers have received money, I'm afraid that something unexpected will happen at that time."
At this point, he was afraid that his fiancée would think that he wanted to abandon her on purpose, so he quickly explained: "In Cangzhou, the most important thing is the cotton from Haidong, and some other crops can be grown in Beijing, so I won't stay in Cangzhou forever..."
Just when he was about to say something like "Don't worry", Wang smiled and said, "It's good that the Second Young Master can focus on getting the right thing."
Madam Li also smiled and said, "That's right, a man should focus on his work. Even if the Second Young Master is not committed to a career in politics, compared to living under the protection of the Duke of Zhao's mansion, going out to do something within his ability is also a kind of responsibility."
Zhu Er suddenly felt relieved after receiving such praise. He nodded with great joy, not noticing Zhu Ying's expression of trying hard to hold back her laughter. Then he did not know what he said in front of his future mother-in-law and fiancée.
It was not until he left the Wang family's gate that he, who had been feeling dizzy, finally woke up as if from a dream. He tried hard to recall what he had just said and done, but he could not remember much at all. His face turned pale.
He quickly asked Zhu Ying for help: "Yingying, I didn't..."
"Did I say anything wrong? Of course not." Zhu Ying raised her eyebrows slightly. Seeing Zhu Er heaving a sigh of relief, she said with a smile, "Second brother, you told your future mother-in-law and daughter-in-law a lot about the differences between Haidong's cotton seeds and our cotton seeds, and then you went on and on about peanuts and corn. It's a pity that they didn't chase you away."
"I...I actually said all this?"
Zhu Er felt like his jaw was about to drop. Although they were engaged and she was about to marry him, but... he was too unromantic! He hated her so much that he wanted to strangle himself to death, but when he saw that there was no anxiety in Zhu Ying's playful eyes, he suddenly sobered up from his dizzy head.
He said tentatively, "Yingying, I was so confused just now that I don't remember what I said or how they reacted. Please be kind and give me some advice."
"No need to remind me, you did a great job today, second brother. In the eyes of your future mother-in-law, my future second sister-in-law, a boy who is immersed in his own world and single-minded to the point of being a little silly is much better than a simple son of a noble family!"
Zhu Ying smiled as she spoke: "Don't worry, if you really do something stupid, I will just stand by and not say a word, not reminding you?"
Just as Zhu Ying said, Madam Li and Wang's mother and daughter were extremely pleased with the Zhu brothers and sisters who came to visit. Even before the marriage was first decided, they had seen Zhu Er from afar, and the Duke of Zhao's mansion would send people to come from time to time, saying that their second son's temper had changed a lot, but seeing it with your own eyes is believing.
A man who shows some anxiety after meeting them, but can talk endlessly about farming when talking about the future, is naturally ten times better than the boastful sons of noble families!
The Wang family's dowry was prepared long ago, and the Zhu family had held two weddings at the end of last year, so they were naturally familiar with it. And if the wife had not suddenly fallen ill, and the eldest grandson's wife Zhang had to tend to the sick in Qing'an Hall, it would not be Zhu Er who came to the Wang family today, but her.
The one that Madam Li had the most dealings with, the eldest daughter-in-law of the Zhu family, who was born in the Weinan Marquis's Mansion, was also Madam Li. After meeting Zhu Ying again today, not only did Madam Wang feel more confident about her life after marrying into the Zhaoguogong Mansion, but even Madam Li couldn't help but want to go to the temple to fulfill her vows and worship the Buddha.
God knows that ever since the emperor acted as a matchmaker and Wang Jie personally consulted the mother and daughter, they were actually worried - the orphan and the widow had depended on each other for so many years, and rejecting such a marriage might affect Wang Jie's future. How could they be so selfish? Now it seems that the Zhu family's style and education are one of the best even in the capital!
As for the idea of bringing good luck to the seriously ill lady, none of them took it to heart. Everyone is born, grows old, gets sick and dies. If we don't let the old lady see her second grandson marry his granddaughter-in-law as soon as possible, will we let her have lifelong regrets?
So, while Zhang Shou was busy fooling the tiger, Zhu Ying was busy training the six Korean ladies, and the royal family quietly buried the second prince, another wedding at the beginning of the year in the Duke of Zhao's mansion entered a busy process. In the blink of an eye, it was the day for the Wang family's dowry. The curious people of the capital still lined the streets, but the Wang family's dowry was simple, with only 32 pieces in total.
Moreover, it was obvious that several of the dowries in the middle were just for show.
Not to mention the scene of Zhu Ying's wedding with a lavish wedding dress, even compared to the grand ceremony of Weinan Marquis's daughter's wedding, it was far inferior. However, the comments of these gossipers about the poor appearance of the bride did not affect the mood of the people in Zhaoguogong's mansion at all. The welcoming guests were still smiling, and the one who greeted them at the door was Zhu Tingfang, the eldest brother, and the etiquette of the two sides was not messed up.
After welcoming Wang Jie's son, the young brother-in-law, who brought the dowry, into the house, Zhu Tingfang said in a deep voice, "The Madam sent a message this morning saying that she wants to divide the family property after my second brother's wife comes into the house, so I'd like to trouble your aunt to come over to the house for a chat."
