The return of the son-in-law

In the afternoon, the servant came in to report: "Master, the plum feast is over."

"Have you heard anything?"

The servant replied: "The young lady who fainted at the gate of the yard is Xia Zhiyuan's daughter. Today at the banquet, someone poured wine and her clothes were dirty, so my wife asked Qiu Ju to take someone back to her yard to change clothes." It's just that I didn't know how I got to the gate of our yard and fainted again. But when that Miss Xia returned to the banquet, the wife's complexion was not very good, and there was not much interest in the banquet afterwards. "

"Xia Zhiyuan? I remember that he is a writer from the household department, and he is considered a decent person. How did he teach such a daughter?" Guo Zhan'an said disdainfully, "What about the rest?"

The servant continued to answer: "There is also Miss Shen Huachen, who is the daughter of Mr. Shen Qizheng, editor of the Imperial Academy. As for the other ladies, they are small and incompetent, so I didn't find out too much. But Cong'er sent a message and said, These ladies are relatively familiar with each other, and they seem to have frequent contacts on weekdays, and I am afraid that they are all daughters of eighth-rank and ninth-rank officials."

Guo Zhanan guessed Liu Pianpian's plan as soon as he thought about it, and ordered: "Send a few clever people to investigate Xia Zhiyuan's relatives. You must inquire about the relatives of Xia Zhiyuan in the past three generations. fall!"

"This..." The boy was a little embarrassed, "Young Master, I'm afraid that this person who is out of the fifth service has nothing to do with him on weekdays, and we are not so powerful, so we may not be able to find out."

Guo Zhan'an thought for a while and said with a smile: "I almost forgot. Then you go and check Xia Zhiyuan's relatives for three generations, and who he has been in contact with on weekdays. This can always be done, right?"

The servant hurriedly nodded and said: "Don't worry, young master, I will definitely do it!"

After dismissing the servant, Guo Zhan'an got up and went to Huo Yu's study, caring about Huo Yu's studies as usual.

There is still half a year before the imperial examination, but if Huo Yu wants to take the provincial examination, he has to go back to his hometown to take the examination in the provincial capital.He was born in a bandit village and lived in Tonghua County for the longest time, and his accent was not from Beijing. Fearing that his secrets would be exposed, Guo Zhan'an used his power to assign Huo Yu's household registration to Tonghua County.

Therefore, if Huo Yu wants to participate in the provincial examination, he has to go to the provincial capital where Tonghua County is located, that is, Yong'an Mansion to participate in the rural examination.Yong'an Mansion is thousands of miles away from the capital, and taking into account the days of being familiar with the water and soil, Huo Yu had to leave at least a month in advance, so as not to be unaccustomed to Yong'an Mansion's climate and soil, which would affect the rural examination.

Guo Zhan'an was dismissed by the emperor himself from the position of general judge in Xuzhou, and he was not allowed to leave the capital at will, but the reason why he accompanied his brother-in-law back to his hometown to take the imperial examination was not enough to convince the emperor.Therefore, he can't accompany Huo Yu to Yong'an Mansion.

Huo Yu heard the young man pass the news, quickly put down the book in his hand, got up and went out to greet him: "Brother is here, just happened to encounter some problems in studying today, I want to ask brother for advice."

Guo Zhan'an reached out and brushed a strand of hair from Huo Yu's ear behind his ear, and said with a smile, "It seems that it is really useful to keep you in check. These days, I have settled down to study, and I can still see the problem."

Huo Yu begged for mercy: "Brother, don't make fun of me. We agreed that when I become a juren, my brother will allow me to open a restaurant in the capital."

Guo Zhanan tapped Huo Yu's bright forehead: "I promised you, when did you ever break your promise? You, on the other hand, have been thinking about opening a restaurant all day long, be careful not to pass the imperial examination, and continue to study hard for three years."

Huo Yu shook Guo Zhan'an's arm, and said: "In this world, only those who pray to gods and worship Buddha to pray for one day to be named on the gold list, there is no one who can't pass the exam, brother, you are really bad."

Guo Zhan'an shook his head with a smile: "When the National People's Congress grows, your mouth becomes more powerful. It's too bad. I can't compete with your mouth."

Seeing that Guo Zhanan's words were getting more and more outrageous, Huo Yu quickly changed the subject and asked, "Brother, I heard earlier that there was a mess at the door, what happened?"

Guo Zhan'an didn't answer, but turned his head to look at Fuquan who was accompanying him.

Feeling Guo Zhanan's gaze, Fuquan raised his head, met his young master's searching gaze, and quickly shook his head, "Don't worry, young master, the second young master has not left the study."

Huo Yu thought that Guo Zhanan was worried that the noise outside would disturb his study, so he smiled and pleaded for Fuquan: "Don't worry, brother, my study is so far away from the gate of the yard, where can I hear any noise? It's just a nap When I got up and heard someone talking about it outside, I realized that someone had fainted in front of the yard. Brother, is that person alright?"

Guo Zhan'an was relieved, and said with a smile: "Actually, I don't know too well. The young man guarding the yard came in to report, so I let Grandma Jia deal with it. In the midst of winter, I'm afraid someone just happened to pass by the yard because of the cold. At the door, she passed out at the door. Don't worry, Nanny Jia has already sent him back, so there must be no serious problems."

Huo Yu nodded and said, "That's good. It seems to be extremely cold this year, and brother should also pay attention to keeping warm during the day. Don't wear one or two less just because you look at the sun outside. Fuquan, I will ask about this year's issue later Is there enough cotton padded clothes, if not, let Jia Huan order someone to hurry up and make some more."

Guo Zhanan reached out and pinched Huo Yu's cheek, and said with a smile: "Okay, you can study at ease during this time, and Jia Huan and the others are watching the things in the yard. It's the same sentence, when will you be admitted to Juren?" , I will let you open a restaurant to do business anytime, otherwise nothing will be discussed."

Huo Yu couldn't help defending himself: "I said this because I cared about my brother. If the people below catch a cold, it would be bad for my brother to infect it."

Guo Zhanan seized the opportunity to tease him: "Since you care about me so much, warm me up at night, huh?"

Since Huo Yu had already done that with Guo Zhan'an, there was no reason why he didn't understand. He blushed and said, "The more I talk, the more presumptuous I am. I still have questions to ask my brother."

Guo Zhanan accepted it as soon as he saw it, and asked with a smile: "What's the problem?"

Huo Yuru breathed a sigh of relief, and hurriedly took the book to ask Guo Zhanan for advice.

Besides Liu Pianpian's place, Guo Xiantong was finally looking forward to it, so he quickly talked about the behavior of many girls at today's plum appreciation banquet.Of course, she had already taken a fancy to Xia Keqing, and the rest of them became foils.

Guo Xiantong said after listening, "According to what you say, that daughter of the Xia family is a good match?"

Liu Pianpian said with a smile: "My lord, I never expected to find a pleasing one for Zhan An just for this one plum appreciation banquet. But this Miss Xia has a great demeanor and is not surprised by favor or humiliation. During the banquet, someone She didn't get annoyed when she spilled wine on her body intentionally, and she still had a smile on her face. I couldn't stand it anymore, so I ordered Qiu Ju to take her back to my yard and change her clothes. Such a good-tempered person is just right for Zhan An What!"

But Guo Xiantong was a little hesitant: "She is a guest we invited, and if others pour wine on her, it's not easy to get angry during the banquet, but she still has a smiling face, isn't it a little cowardly?"

When Liu Pianpian talked about this matter with Guo Xiantong before, seeing Guo Xiantong's indifference, she thought Guo Xiantong didn't care about this matter.Now unexpectedly hearing what Guo Xiantong said, Liu Pianpian became a little anxious, and quickly defended Xia Keqing: "Master, you don't understand this. The most important thing about my daughter's family is chastity, and she is a master by doing this." The demeanor of a mother."

"Really?" Guo Xiantong looked at Liu Pianpian and asked, "Then when you went out as a guest before, if someone gave you a face, why didn't you accept it with a smile?"

Seeing that Guo Xiantong actually compared herself with Xia Keqing, Liu Pianpian couldn't help being displeased, and said angrily, "Master, what are you talking about! If others don't give me a good look, they look down on Master! If it wasn't for Master, I wouldn't want it." What about being that shrew. The master is talking about me now, is it because he despises me?"

Today, Guo Xiantong just thought that his eldest son was going to start a family, but all these years he has been unkind to his eldest son, always hitting him, it is rare that his conscience discovered it once.But how could such a conscience compare to Liu Pianpian's color?

Seeing Liu Pianpian's appearance of wanting to cry, Guo Xiantong's only bit of guilt has long been thrown to Java, and he comforted him: "I don't despise you, but Zhan An is my son anyway, or My eldest son, he will marry the mistress of the next generation of the Guo family, so we can’t choose a weak one, can we?”

Liu Pianpian was startled when she heard this, raised her head and asked, "What did the master say? Mistress? Didn't we all agree on this at the beginning? This family is to be left to An'er."

Guo Xiantong sighed, and said: "Why don't I want to pass on the Guo family to An'er? It's just that since An'er is favored by Princess Rongfu, he will be the son-in-law in the future. The son-in-law, the son-in-law, the title sounds nice , but when did the son-in-law become an official in the Chu Dynasty? It was Emperor Taizong. If the family is handed over to him, when will the Guo family have a bright future?"

Liu Pianpian was completely dumbfounded: "But, but, but the children born to the princess are of royal blood, and they are more noble than others when they are born. It will not be a problem to be named a county king at that time! The Guo family has such descendants. , isn't it nobler than Guo Zhanan's child?"

Although Guo Xiantong's official career is not smooth, and the only academic talents he usually has are used for drilling, but it is related to the Guo family for a hundred years, so he has used all his brains, and now he can see it very clearly.

"Ma'am, I know that you are doing Feng'an well, but since he is favored by Princess Rongfu, he can only give up his desire to be an official. Of course I prefer Feng'an, and I hope Feng'an can inherit my mantle , but what will happen to the Guo family in a hundred years, it must not be ruined in my hands just because of my own preferences."

"No, it's impossible!" Liu Pianpian screamed, thinking that her plan for so many days was completely rejected by Guo Xiantong, "Master, this family must not be given to Guo Zhan'an!"

Liu Pianpian's current appearance is no different from that of a lunatic. When Guo Zhan'an saw this, he felt displeased, and frowned, "What do you want to do? How should this family be run? I'm afraid it's not your turn to decide?"

This sentence was like a blow to the head, and Liu Pianpian woke up a lot immediately. She shed tears and quickly calculated in her heart: "I, I, I didn't mean that. Master, you have to believe me, I am not blaming you ah."

Finally, she thought of an excuse, and said quickly: "Master, think about it, after the death of the former wife, you and the Di family have completely broken off. Master, don't be angry, I am not blaming you, I am just reminding you Ah! You have been married to me for 12 years. Everyone in the world knows that you are the son-in-law of the Liu family. When my natal family mentioned the master, they all praised him. At this time, the master said that he would leave the Guo family to Guo Zhanan. What do you make the Liu family think? , what does Concubine Liu think?"

On weekdays, Liu Pianpian is domineering in the mansion, and she also relies on the big tree of the Liu family, but she has never talked about it so bluntly.

Guo Xiantong wanted to save face the most. Seeing Liu Pianpian directly move out of Concubine Liu and Liu's family to suppress him, he became more and more displeased: "It's ridiculous, what about my Guo family, what does it have to do with Concubine Liu?"

Liu Pianpian hurriedly said: "Concubine Liu once asked me that An'er would become the head of the Guo family in the future. I saw that the master had promised well on weekdays, and thought that An'er could really become the next head of the family, just like Concubine Liu. The empress said it. Concubine Liu was willing to matchmaker An'er and Princess Rongfu because she knew about it. Otherwise, An'er, as your second son, would lose everything after the separation, Princess Rongfu Even if she wanted to, the concubine would not agree. My lord, I have said everything, you can save me, my lord! If the concubine Liu knows that I lied to her, even if I am her cousin, she will not Forgive me lightly!"

"You!" Guo Xiantong was so angry that his hands were shaking, he pointed at Liu Pianpian and was speechless for a while, "How many times have I told you, don't be so arrogant outside. It's good for you, you are all arrogant and entered the palace! What about my Guo family? Out of a daughter-in-law like you!"

While wiping her tears, Liu Pianpian said: "Master, it's all my fault, the concubine Liu and the concubine will not spare me lightly, why don't you beat me to death first!"

Guo Xiantong scolded: "What are you talking about? You and I are a husband and wife, how could I do such a murderous thing? You, forget it, I owe you in my previous life. You and Zhan An can talk about this matter yourself. "

Actually speaking, Guo Xiantong was only for Liu Pianpian, and more because Liu Pianpian's words tore his last blind leaf—yes, when Di Wanyan passed away, he was completely with the Di family. After getting rid of the ties, especially since the direct line of the Di family has been cut off, the original Yue family has long since lost its support for him; and since he married Liu Pianpian, it is clear that he is on the side of the Liu family and Concubine Liu.

It was he who was confused, and even at this point, he still wanted to continue his middle way, trying to stand invincible in this silent fight.If he makes up his mind and makes a quick decision, he may lose his place of burial.

Although Guo Zhan'an clings to the prince, but he has alienated and suppressed his eldest son for more than ten years, even if the prince intends to give him a chance, he himself can't believe it.

He has no choice.

Thinking of this, Guo Xiantong actually aged ten years overnight.

Liu Pianpian didn't care about these, since Guo Xiantong had spoken, she was happy to accept it.Fearing that the night would be long and dreamy, when Guo Xiantong's next rest day came, she sent someone to invite Guo Zhan'an, intending to force Guo Zhan'an to accept the marriage as a stepmother.

Of course, in order for Guo Zhanan to accept it obediently, Liu Pianpian also asked Guo Xiantong, who was resting today, to stay and the two of them met Guo Zhanan together.

"It's just in time," Liu Pianpian was in a very good mood today, and she rarely gave Guo Zhan'an a smile from the bottom of her heart, "Zhan'an, come and sit down. Qiu Ju, serve tea to the young master."

Guo Zhan'an didn't even bother to taste tea, and asked bluntly: "Madam invited me over so early, what's the matter?"

"Isn't it important?" Liu Pianpian smiled until her eyes almost narrowed into a line, "And you, you are almost 19 years old, the eldest is not young, I was thinking, it is time to tell you about a marriage."

"Oh?" Although Guo Zhan'an had already expected it, he still asked, "Why is it so sudden, madam?"

"Where is it suddenly, I have been showing you for a long time." Liu Pianpian continued to laugh, "I am not asking for credit. I have read it carefully these days, and finally set up a family for you. The lady looks like Good-looking, well-mannered, and knowledgeable, in the future you can still have a good story about red sleeves."

Guo Zhanan smiled nonchalantly, and said: "Madam was just joking, don't talk about things like red sleeves adding fragrance, and the horoscope has not been written yet, Madam. I don't care. If the reputation of that lady is damaged, it will be Madam's." missed."

Liu Pianpian curled her mouth, spat at Guo Zhan'an, and continued to persuade: "There are only three of us in this room. You may not know Qiu Ju and the others. They have been with me for so many years, and their mouths are the strongest. Don't worry, Nothing we say in this room today will get out. Zhan An, let’s open up and say, what do you mean in your heart? "

"What do I mean?" Guo Zhan'an thought for a while, and said, "Now that I've been dismissed from office, how can I expect a wealthy family to take a fancy to me? Madam, there's no need to talk about this matter anymore."

For Liu Pianpian, Guo Zhan'an's weak appearance is simply rare in a thousand years.She really thought that Guo Zhan'an was depressed because he was dismissed from office and had no fighting spirit at home, so she could let her handle it, so she smiled and said: "Why do Zhan'an say that, I am certainly a woman, and I know how to sweep a house without sweeping it." The truth of the world'. As for you, there is one less person in the room to take care of you, so that you don't get too hot-headed and do things like raising food, grass and supplies without permission. This Miss Xia is discreet and dignified, and she is the most suitable for you. "

Guo Zhan'an saw that Liu Pianpian had been fooled, so he continued his efforts and continued: "Which Miss Xia is the madam talking about?"

"It's Mrs. Xia Zhiyuan's daughter." Liu Pianpian thought that Guo Zhan'an had moved his mind, and said triumphantly, "I also sent someone to inquire about this Miss Xia. She is sixteen years old, three years behind you. , Exactly! And there are three brothers in her family, all of whom are young talents, and they will also go into official careers in the future, so it will not be a big help for you? Such a good Yue family is hard to find even with a lantern! Zhan An , after passing this village, there will be no such store, so you should think about it clearly."

Guo Zhan'an hesitated for a moment, then said: "Marrying a wife and marrying a virtuous man, I have never heard of this Miss Xia before, this..."

Liu Pianpian hastily interrupted him: "How can you hear the reputation of your daughter's family? Zhan'an, don't hesitate, if someone preempts you, you won't be able to cry!"

Guo Zhan'an smiled and said: "Madam is right. It's just that I married a wife who will spend decades together in the future, not a concubine who can be sold at will. After all, I have to be cautious. Madam, let me have a few days Think about it."

Liu Pianpian originally thought that Guo Xiantong could be used to force Guo Zhan'an to submit, but now seeing that Guo Zhan'an had let go, she no longer pressed her, and simply put on a virtuous and generous appearance, and said, "Of course, marrying a daughter-in-law is a big deal. The most important thing is that I am impatient. Zhan An, go back and think about it carefully. I am not forcing you to do anything. In fact, this Miss Xia family seems to be tailor-made for you. I am so impatient because I am afraid that someone else will Get out and make the first appointment! Your father and I are satisfied with Miss Xia, so you should think about it yourself, ah. After all, you two are the husband and wife, and your wishes are the most important."

Guo Zhan'an got up and said, "Thank you Madam for your trouble. Father, Madam, I still have an appointment today, so I will take my leave first."

Guo Xiantong gave a faint "hmm", but Liu Pianpian was the one who greeted him warmly, got up and personally escorted Guo Zhan out of the yard.

After Jia Huan became the manager, Guo Zhan'an promoted two other personal servants.Now Shumo and Xieyi are waiting outside the yard, seeing Guo Zhanan coming out, they both go up to meet him.

When Guo Zhanan saw them, he just ordered: "Go to the Prince's Mansion."