bookcurios Chapter 244: Exchange of Tokens
Chapter 244: Exchange of Tokens
After being informed and confirmed by the maid, Yao Yiyi came to Lin Qinshuang's yard.
In fact, she was a little nervous.
She didn't know if it would be too much trouble for Lin Qinshuang if she asked her to do such a thing rashly.
After all, Lin Qinshuang is probably busier than those of them who are doing their homework to prepare for the imperial examinations. It is no exaggeration to call her the number one king of the Sheng family.
She took care of the chores in the mansion, the shops and properties in the capital, taking care of Changzhuo, Molan and herself who was dressed as a man... She even had to help take care of Hualan and her daughter who were married to the princess's mansion.
Madam Wang was sometimes stubborn. Whenever she encountered any minor problems in the Princess's Mansion, Hualan would only report good news to her and not bad news. She would always use the excuse of visiting Molan to come to Lin Qinshuang's courtyard and ask her for some advice and help.
Lin Qinshuang's methods in the harem struggle were truly eye-opening for Yao Yiyi. Her ruthlessness in striking when necessary made her firmly believe that if Lin Qinshuang intended to harm others, neither she nor her brother Changqiao would have a good life.
"Mrs. Lin, I have something I want to ask you for help with. It's about Rulan."
Yao Yiyi's voice was a little nervous, but after hearing it, Lin Qinshuang's eyes showed a hint of understanding.
"Minglan, is this about Rulan and the ladies of the Fuguogong Mansion?"
Lin Qinshuang, who paid close attention to what was happening in the private school, naturally knew that the young lady of the Duke of Fuguo's Mansion had a very good personal relationship with Rulan.
She had been urging Molan before because even the silly girl Rulan had a romantic relationship, so how could her daughter remain silent and not make any noise?
Angry! Urgent!
Fortunately, after hearing what her daughter said, she feels more at ease now and can focus more on the marriages of other girls in the Sheng family.
Sheng Hong works hard, and the in-laws in the Sheng family are helpful, and they will all be a help to her daughter in the future!
So we don’t care about whether the man is talented or the woman is pretty, but they must be truly powerful and wealthy!
The Fuguogong Mansion is a place where all the powerful and the wealthy share the spoils. Perfect!
As for what the young man looks like, it is not within Lin Qinshuang's consideration or information at all. Her investigation only focuses on the family's reputation, career, and future, so as not to implicate Molan in the future and tarnish her precious daughter's flawless white feather dress.
Yao Yiyi nodded.
"Yes, Miss An Qingyan of the Fuguo Mansion wants to invite Rulan to their home for a small banquet.
So I wanted to know more about their family situation.”
Lin Qinshuang put down the book in her hand and said with a gentle smile,
“I have already inquired about all the children who come to our Sheng Mansion to attend private school.
The Duke of Fuguo is a noble and aloof person. He is not afraid of authority and is dedicated to the country. He is a good man with integrity and you can rest assured.
If Rulan marries him, she will be well taken care of."
Yao Yiyi felt relieved after hearing this, but she still asked,
"My dear, do you think Rulan and the An family can get along well?"
Lin Qinshuang smiled slightly.
"An Qingyan looks like a smart and generous girl, which shows her family tradition and her mother's temperament.
Moreover, the eldest son of the An family has already been married, and his wife has been homeless for three years, but he still only has one concubine. This shows that she is a sensible mother-in-law. "
Yao Yiyi nodded, understanding what Lin Qinshuang's example was referring to.
Respect your daughter-in-law. Now the eldest son's wife of the An family should be no more than 19 years old. The next five or six years will be a good time for her to have children.
In this way, the stone in Yao Yiyi's heart finally fell to the ground.
She looked at Lin Qinshuang gratefully, "Thank you."
"No, it's my duty as a stepmother to worry about you. Otherwise, how can I take up the family income for nothing?"
As she spoke, Lin Qinshuang changed the subject and asked, "I just don't know about you, Ming girl, what do you think about your future?"
The corners of Yao Yiyi's mouth twitched. She really didn't expect that she would be urged to get married by her elders when she was just over ten years old.
She did not hide anything from Lin Qinshuang and told her her true thoughts.
"Girl, I'll tell you the truth. I actually... don't want to get married. I want to help Sister Molan wholeheartedly."
Although Lin Qinshuang had heard about Minglan's plan from Molan a long time ago, she couldn't help but feel relieved when she heard it in person and saw the determination in Minglan's eyes.
"You are a sincere person, but after you are sixteen or seventeen, marriage will be ..."
"It's okay. Even if I change my mind in the future, I can still find a son-in-law. As long as I am strong, butterflies will come to me."
Great! It's worth all the time I've put into raising your brother!
It makes me feel so happy when I raise a kid like this who knows how to repay his gratitude and wait for the harvest!
It's Molan who has a long-term vision, and as a mother I still have to work hard.
Lin Qinshuang grabbed Minglan's hand and encouraged her.
"What a great ambition! I support you!"
"Little girl!!"
*
A few days later, Rulan accepted An Qingyan's invitation and attended the banquet with Wang Ruofu.
An Qingyan treated everyone warmly at the banquet, but as expected, the eldest lady of the Fuguo Duke and Wang Ruofu vaguely mentioned the matter of Rulan's marriage to her youngest son.
Not long after returning, the An and Sheng families privately found a matchmaker, made a verbal agreement, and exchanged tokens of love.
Rulan is the fifth in the Sheng family. The eldest son of the Sheng family has not yet been engaged, so it is absolutely impossible to overstep the boundaries. Therefore, the two families did not go through the formal three books and six ceremonies at this time.
Sheng Hong's "excusing" made the old master of the Fuguo Mansion even more satisfied.
He admired the Sheng family's emphasis on etiquette, and this made him more confident about the upbringing of his granddaughter-in-law Rulan, who had not yet married into the family.
However, the 'silly' Rulan was still having fun with An Qingyan and An Qingxu, and had not changed much.
Because Old Madam Sheng said, 'One should remain unchanged in the face of ever-changing situations', and this is what a 'lady from a noble family...' is.
Forget it, she can’t remember. In short, she should just play with her sisters as usual, and leave the complicated things to her mother, Sister Molan and Sister Minglan!
At this moment, Rulan felt as if she understood her mother's happiness.
With a strong family background, as long as you don’t make any mistakes, the rest will be arranged by smart people!
Her greatest value is to live a stable life, stabilize the daily life and everything in the new small family, get married, have children, get along well with sisters-in-law and sisters, live in harmony with her husband and wife, be filial to her uncles and aunts, and treat her elders with courtesy.
She is very good at these!
……
Time flies, and two years have passed. The day of the exam is approaching.
The imperial examination system and examination questions of the Song Dynasty were very different from those of the Ming and Qing dynasties that Molan had experienced.
The first prerequisite for an aspiring young man in the Song Dynasty to take the imperial examination was to "obtain the status of a candidate."
Candidates for the imperial examination need to submit a family petition.
The so-called family situation is a description of the family situation of three generations at that time.
In addition to this, you also need to prepare a guarantee letter which is equivalent to a guarantee letter.
Apart from these two, one must be of good character and have no criminal record, have a clean identity and not be a monk, clerk, merchant or other similar person, not be in mourning, have no serious illness and have healthy limbs, and be from the same place as one's hometown (native place, meaning local people taking the local exam).
If all the above conditions are met and you pass the review, you will obtain the qualification of "candidate" and can take the exam.
and so.
If Molan had not used her ability to vouch for Minglan, in the Song Dynasty, which still required recommendations, guarantees, and family background checks, if she wanted to disguise herself as a man and pursue a career in politics... the first person to object would be Sheng Hong.
Because this would be a big adventure that would cost the lives of all nine members of their family.