bookcurios Chapter 236 Arms and Thighs
Chapter 236 Arms and Thighs
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Tokyo, the residence of the Earl of Zhongqin.
"what?!"
Mrs. Zhang, the wife of the Marquis Zhongqin, heard the news her son brought back and slammed the teacup in her hand, cursing,
“Is the Sheng family crazy?
"Okay! I want to see who in Bianjing City dares to marry their daughter!"
Uncle Zhongqin said nothing. He looked at the furious mother and son and couldn't help but have a bad premonition in his heart.
Listening to what this woman said, it would be a big mistake not to go to Yangzhou to propose marriage and set rules for the Sheng family, so as to prevent the daughters of the Sheng family from coming in to show off and bully the young man. It might even cause the Zhongqin Marquis's Mansion, which had finally started to improve, to fall into ruin.
Earl Zhongqin's premonition soon came true.
When they got the news and wanted to take action, the rumors in Tokyo were no longer something they could control!
The Zhongqin Marquis's Mansion abuses its power to bully others and look down on the children of civil officials.
The Sheng family is not afraid of power and does not sell their daughters for fame and fortune. They are a model of contemporary character!
No matter how they smear and throw dirty water on us, the outside world is like a solid block of iron and remains unmoved.
On the other hand, these rumors are more like ironclad evidence of their bullying of the weak.
The upright people in Bianjing were simply celebrating, as if they had been injected with chicken blood, or like a turtle that had bitten someone and would not let go.
broken.
It caused a big disaster.
But Zhang seemed to be unaware of it at all, and even wanted to drag Shoushanbo's family into the water.
The Huang family of Shoushanbo was so shrewd that they saw at a glance that Zhang was reaping what she had sown and that she would lose more than she gained. They did not get involved at all and even ordered Yuan Wenying, who had married into the family, to accompany the wife of Shoushanbo back to their hometown and away from Bianjing.
The whole city of Bianjing was in a state of panic, and the news spread to thousands of households, including the Princess's Mansion.
Where there is a will, there is a way.
A month later, several distinguished guests came to the yard of Old Lady Sheng from the Sheng family in Yangzhou.
The wife of Marquis Yongchang, Mrs. Wu, the wife of Duke of Yingguo, Mrs. Cui, and the wife of Master Qi from the Duke of Qi, Mrs. Cao, who came to Yangzhou to relax.
(Duke Qi - the first master Qi/the second master Qi, Qi Heng is the second master Qi's family.
The eldest son of Master Qi has died, and the title is in the family of Master Qi II. This is Master Qi’s wife.)
"Old sisters, long time no see."
Old Mrs. Sheng warmly welcomed these old ladies into the house.
One was an acquaintance, one had only met once, and one had only heard of briefly. The relationship between Old Lady Sheng and Xu was the same as the order of entrance and introduction.
Mrs. Cui, the wife of the Duke of England, and Mrs. Wu, the wife of the Marquis of Yongchang, have a very good relationship.
With Old Lady Wu as the middleman, Old Lady Cao, the wife of the Duke of Qi, the eldest master of Qi, and the daughter of the current emperor's uncle, who has some close relations with the royal family, was the good sister "brought" by Old Lady Wu.
After going through so many twists and turns, a group of old ladies of extremely noble status came all the way to Yangzhou City. It was not just a trip.
They came to read the fortune for Princess Qingning who was far away in Bianjing City.
"Yes, long time no see." Old Mrs. Cui greeted everyone and then took their seats one by one.
The old sisters looked exhausted from the journey, and must have just arrived in Yangzhou and rested for a night before they came to visit.
It must be because the eldest princess has given me a very tight schedule.
In this case, Mrs. Sheng did not hesitate.
She got straight to the point and asked Hualan, who happened to be serving in her yard, to make tea.
The tea ceremony has always been a necessary skill for contemporary noble ladies.
Hualan was raised by her grandmother since she was a child and was personally taught by Grandma Kong before she got married, so it is difficult for her not to know such basic skills as making tea.
Hua Lan's appearance is not the most outstanding in the Sheng family, but she is a good combination of Sheng Hong's toughness and Madam Wang's perfection and dignity.
He has a full forehead, dignified eyebrows and eyes, a straight nose, and thick earlobes. He looks like a blessed person.
"Hualan greets all the ladies."
Hualan knelt in front of the small table and began the performance step by step, starting with roasting tea.
During the conversation, although Mrs. Sheng was leading the conversation, she also deliberately slowed down the pace so that everyone had enough time to watch Hualan make tea.
Beat the whisk and place the teacup.
He stood up steadily, picked up the teacups, and served them to the old ladies sitting in the seats one by one.
"Come, sit over here, Hualan."
"Yes."
He sat properly on a second-rate round stool, with his buttocks only one-third of the way up, his back straight, his chin held high, but his eyes properly lowered, not looking sideways or looking around randomly.
The word "dignified" comes alive in Hualan.
Even if the marriage proposal with the Princess's Mansion fails this time, with Hualan's performance, once the older sisters report back, there is no need to worry about not being able to arrange a marriage that is comparable to the Marquis Zhongqin's Mansion.
Old Madam Sheng felt very relieved when she saw Hualan like this.
It was worth bringing Molan along as a companion, allowing Hualan to compare with him and do some etiquette training.
Silence is more powerful than words here. She doesn't even need to bother to praise the word "noble lady". Anyone who sees it will say "good!".
The admiration in the hearts of the several old ladies who came from Bian Jing was even higher than the self-praise of Old Lady Sheng.
Especially Old Lady Cao, who was born in the emperor's uncle's family and relied on the queen. There were not many people who could catch her eye.
If she hadn't come to see the fortune on behalf of the eldest princess, and if her legitimate son hadn't died early and had no offspring, she would have wanted to keep Hualan for herself.
"Hualan, what do you do on weekdays?"
Mrs. Cao's question was within the expectations of Hualan and Mrs. Sheng.
Hua Lan responded respectfully,
"Hualan is not talented, and usually I am just busy with the chores in the mansion.
Every morning I would serve my grandmother, pay my respects to my mother, chat with her, and go for a stroll in the garden.
At noon, I would take time to check on my younger brothers and sisters. Of course, I could not check on them all at once, so I would come every few days to see if they missed anything or were being neglected. I would also act as an elder and check their homework.
My younger brother is still young now, so I can understand him whether he is practicing calligraphy or reciting texts.
After that, I went back to my grandmother's house, always ready to go, and learned some rules and principles.
When I return to my room in the evening, I will read some of my favorite miscellaneous books and biographies of famous people. In the summer, I will mix some of my favorite fragrances and continue to do embroidery before going to bed.
My sisters especially like the handkerchiefs I make myself, so I do a lot of embroidery work, but I never have time to rest.
Basically, I just repeat these trivial things every day, which is really not elegant. "
As Hualan told her story, Mrs. Cao's eyebrows remained curved.
“He’s a good, down-to-earth kid.
Being elegant has its advantages, but as the eldest sister, she can endure the boredom and loneliness of these mundane affairs, which shows her character. "
Hualan's face turned red again when she was praised by Old Lady Cao.
"Thank you, Mrs. Cao, for the compliment."
"Hey, why is Hualan's face so red? Are you shy?"
Hualan couldn't sit still after hearing the laughter, so she quickly took a handkerchief to cover half of her face.
Old Madam Sheng hurriedly tried to smooth things over.
"Let's go and rush for lunch.
You guys, if you keep laughing like this, we Hualan will probably bury ourselves in the ground."
"Ha ha ha ha."
……
The older sisters came in a hurry and left in a hurry.
The Sheng family was in a state of calm and anxiety for half a month.
One day, a matchmaker came to the door.
This matchmaker comes from Princess Qingning’s mansion.
This exchange lasted for more than two months, with both families asking about each other's names and agreeing on the relationship.
Time has passed and winter has arrived, and spring is about to begin.
In February, the dragon raises its head. On the fourteenth day of the second month, the eldest son of Princess Qingning's mansion and his wife came in person to pay the betrothal gift on behalf of their son.
Nazheng, also known as "guodali", is a formal engagement.
The marriage between the Zhongqin Marquis's Mansion and the Sheng Mansion not long ago ended here.
Today, the Princess's Mansion is even more grand than it was a few months ago.
"Pei Yanli from Princess Qingning's Mansion..."
"allow!"
When the news reached the capital, the Duke Zhongqin's Mansion was once again pushed to the forefront.
The Princess's Mansion was very satisfied with the eldest daughter of the Sheng family, and the Princess even personally sent her eldest son to propose marriage for her beloved grandson.
The children of the Sheng family were once again placed in front of a group of old nobles in Bian Jing.
The legend of the Sheng family since the old master was the third place in the imperial examination has caused people in Bianjing City to start discussing the secret of why the Sheng family is always favored by nobles, their family style and the source of their talent... and so on.
Apart from this, the people of Bian Jing would rather talk about the Zhongqin Marquis' Mansion, which they didn't know what to be proud of.
It is said that the arm cannot twist the thigh, and the Zhongqin Marquis's Mansion is not even as good as an arm compared to the Princess's Mansion.
They are powerless to change the current situation.
Even if Zhang was throwing a tantrum, she didn't dare to show any dissatisfaction with the Princess's Mansion on her face.