The husband's son-in-law

Meng Jianyun was sitting on the horseback. Seeing Li Lin not far from the city gate through the crowd, his face turned cold. He drove the horse for a few steps, stopped it again, and said to the side: "You first back."

"Eh, okay."

The subordinates were surprised at first, they have already arrived in Zhaozhou City, why let them go first?But Guanshi Meng gave orders, and they didn't dare to inquire. If at this time, Guanshi Meng was more anxious than they were to go back and report to the adults.

A few people didn't dare to ask more questions, so they answered in a sauntering manner.

Meng Jianyun turned over and got off the horse, took the horse rope and went back a few steps, and caught Li Lin in the crowd, with an expressionless face, and said coldly, "It's going to be dark soon, what are you doing here?" ?”

Brother Lin was disappointed. Brother Wang Jian didn't come back today. He was startled when he heard a voice from behind. He turned his head and saw Meng Jianyun, and smiled again.

"you're back!"

Seeing the smile on Li Lin's face, Meng Jianyun turned his eyes slightly, and said in a cold and hard tone: "I told you, you should stay away from me in the future."

Brother Lin's face was stunned, what?

Obviously Meng Jianyun came to him first.

"Oh, what, you're so stupid." Seeing Li Lin alone, Meng Jianyun frowned and said, "There are people coming and going at the gate of the city, and it's getting late, what are you still doing, come back."

Brother Lin was called stupid by Meng Jianyun, his small face was aggrieved at first, but he became happy when he heard the words later, he nodded, walked beside Meng Jianyun, and said, "I know you are worried about my safety, but don't Say I'm stupid, but I'm not a fool."

"I'm still pretty smart."

Even the boss praised him for being smart.

"I'm not worried about you." Meng Jianyun said coldly.

Brother Lin smiled softly, and said, "And you misunderstood." His face was slightly sly, but his voice was still as soft as ever, and he said, "I'm waiting for Wang Jian inside the city gate. Brother, I am not waiting for you."

"..." Meng Jianyun looked over.

Brother Lin laughed and said, "Aren't you losing face? So, don't attack me in public and call me stupid. I also want to save face."

Meng Jianyun looked away and said nothing.

After a while, Brother Lin looked sideways at Meng Jianyun and asked, "Are you angry with me?"

"No." Meng Jianyun replied stiffly.

Brother Lin just laughed and said, "I knew you weren't so narrow-minded. Besides, I was right. Do you want to apologize to me in your heart? No need to apologize, I'm not narrow-minded."

Meng Jianyun: ...

Li Lin did it on purpose.

"You're not stupid, you're quite smart." Meng Jianyun said.It seems that no one else can abduct this person.

Brother Lin's happy eyes were full of smiles, and he walked slowly along the way. He said, "It's almost time for brother Jiayu's wedding, and I don't know when brother Wang Jian will come back. It was said that he would be able to catch up. Hope you're safe on the road."

If you can't attend the wedding in time, although it's a bit regrettable, it's still important to be safe.

Meng Jianyun didn't say anything, but thought that Li Lin was walking slowly, and he was chattering along the way——

"You get on the horse."

Brother Lin waved his hands and said in a low voice, "Everyone in broad daylight is human, so why don't we ride a horse together?"

"You ride." Meng Jianyun frowned and said.Li Lin thinks about something again!

How could he ride a horse with Li Lin?

"Hurry up and stop dawdling."

Brother Lin said something fierce, but he still obediently pretended to get on the horse, but this horse was tall, unlike the pony he rode when he was at home, it was not easy to get on, but he didn't want to ask Meng Jianyun for help.

Seeing that Li Lin was struggling to get on the horse, Meng Jianyun patted the horse's neck with one hand and said to stand still.While looking at Li Lin, he said, "I'll carry you up."

"Okay, thank you."

Meng Jianyun didn't know where to put his arms or how to hold them, but finally he hugged them up. Brother Lin sat down firmly, holding the saddle, while Meng Jianyun walked ahead leading the horse rope.

In this way, it is indeed much faster.

Meng Jianyun walked fast, Li Lin sat on the horse's back, condescendingly looked down at Meng Jianyun who was leading the horse for him in front, and smiled with his lips pursed, thinking that it would be fine to just kill him.

When they reached the gate of Li Mansion, Meng Jianyun carried Li Lin down.

"Here, go back."

"Thank you, Meng Jianyun." Brother Lin said with a smile.

This is how the two interacted, and then they each went their own way, Meng Jianyun went to see the lord, Li Lin went back to his yard, he came back earlier today, it was still dark, Sister Taozi and Brother Jiayu were there , and said in surprise: "Today is earlier than usual, is Wang Jian back?"

"No."

"Then why do you have a happy face, smiling like a flower?" Liu Tao asked curiously.

Brother Lin said, "I thought of a hairpin jewelry."

"So it's like this. Brother Lin is happy when he thinks of new tricks. That's just right. You go to draw first, and eat later."

"it is good."

Brother Lin returned to his own room, thinking about the back view along the way just now, he laid out paper and pens and began to draw hairpins, so, just made a wooden one, which is easy to wear, not expensive, and not afraid of breaking.

Day after day passed like this, and it seemed that Su Jiayu was only two days away from getting married, and the Zhaozhou caravan finally came back.Su Shiyi entered from the north gate of the city, and Wang Jian still took the water route, which was faster than the land route, but he had to finish the follow-up time in Jiting, plus the distance from Jiting to Zhaozhou, so the return date of Su Shiyi was about the same.

It's all in tandem.

Zhaozhou merchants are always happy, the settlement that should be settled, the reimbursement that should be reimbursed——

"There's no rush for this. You can take a shower, have a meal, and take a break. We'll talk about the accounts after Jiayu's marriage is over." Li Zhouzhou told Wang Jian.

Wang Jian first put the account book with the boss, in duplicate, he had one copy of the original account book, the boss copied it later, so that he could reconcile with the boss later.

Brother Lin was very happy, he was busy taking care of bathing and eating for elder brother.

In the main courtyard at the back, Li Zhouzhou and Gu Zhao read the letter, and every year when they return from business, they can learn about the situation in Beijing from the letter, but the time lag is several months, even half a year.Gu Zhaoxian disassembled his brother's letter, and still wrote it a bit shorter. At the beginning, he wrote about his promotion, the servant of the household department.

"Congratulations, brother has been promoted." Gu Zhao was amazed when he saw it. His senior brother's official career, if it were put into modern times, would definitely be the model of a sweeping monk. Xiaoguan, if you move later, you will be able to rise like a rocket. How long has it been?

Afterwards, there was a happy event. The Kingdom of Hui, which is next to Fengzhou, won two victories in Dali, and it was still very beautiful. The Kingdom of Hui withdrew its troops from two cities.

Good thing!

Gu Zhao is happy. He has no idea how the battle between Anhui and Dali was in his previous life, but the current situation is very good. Anhui and Fan are the two largest small countries around Dali. They cover a large area, have rich resources, and a large population. There are also many, and they are good at riding, shooting and hunting. In the eyes of Dali people, they are inferior people who drink blood and drink blood.

But in fact, the people there are ferocious, and the value of combat force is still very strong-Dali has recuperated for nearly a hundred years, and several wars were launched four or fifty years ago, but they were also small, and the road was peaceful after that, and the soldiers had long since lost their strength. Fierce grudge.

Before that, Anguo was the first to launch the attack, and Fanguo next to him was watching, and Fanguo had won a few games, and Fanguo wanted to take advantage of it, but if Dali convinced Huiguo, the two small nations next to him would naturally be afraid, and slowly I stopped thinking that I shouldn't have.

So that's a good sign.

Gu Zhao naturally likes a peaceful and prosperous world, where the people don't suffer.Gu Zhao was happy with these two victories, and said: "I took the green plum wine, let's have a few glasses."

The servants will go to get the wine.

Gu Zhao also took out the glass cup and poured a glass for Zhou Zhou himself. Li Zhouzhou was also happy, touched his husband's wine glass, and said, "It's all a happy event. Xiaoshu said here, and I also ordered it for Jingli Jiaying." relative."

Good things, big and small, how good.

The two drank their glasses together.

"Su Jiaying is engaged? How?" Gu Zhao also came to chat.

Li Zhouzhou said: "I searched according to Jiaying's temperament. With Xiaotao's experience, Xiaoshu has put his heart and soul into it. This time, he found an ancestor who is considered well-known."

"...Ancestor, what you said reminds me of Chen Erniang, that bitch is also an official of the ancestors and has become dilapidated."

"It's not like that." Li Zhouzhou finished in one breath.

Xiaoshu is really worrying about Jiaying.

The betrothed man is a scholar, he is nineteen years old, he is not yet married, and he has no fame - he didn't even pass the exam for a scholar.The family lives in a small village in a village outside the capital.This man's grandfather was the concubine of a seventh-rank official in Beijing. Later, his father separated when he was old.

The father gave birth to a son, and the son gave birth to a grandson. It was the turn of Su Jiaying's fiancé, who was already a grandson here. The money that the grandfather received from his generation was long gone, and there were only a few acres of fertile land left to make ends meet, and the rest was sold for money for education.

Because the ancestors were officials, the direct line is now an official in the capital, and the official position is not high. From a small Zhima official of the seventh rank, but the line of concubines is miserable, and the more time goes by, the worse it will be.

"...Xiao Shu said that when he met the scholar, he looks good, has a good physique, and does farm work."

Gu Zhao nodded when he heard the farm work, and thought it was okay. The farmers worked hard. Nowadays, there is no modern high-tech in farming. It really depends on manpower, and it is even more difficult. It is not bad for scholars to be able to work in the fields.

In fact, Xiaoshu also wrote a sentence in the letter: His mother had a dystocia and passed away early. There is no mother-in-law, only a father.

But Li Zhouzhou didn't tell his father-in-law about this, because he thought it would hurt Xiaoshu's reputation and image. It was a bit like being happy that his mother died early, and there was no mother-in-law to save trouble.Of course we can't say that.But Xiaoshu was also scared. The widowed mother of Xiaotao's fiancé last time, Xiaoshu was so angry that she almost made a move. It can be seen that she was angry and shameless with the other party.

"The population of the family is also simple. There is a father-in-law and a brother-in-law who is seven or eight years old and also studying. Zhuangzi invited the village mother-in-law to do some housework."

It's been so many years since the original partner died, and the scholar's father hasn't remarried yet, Xiaoshu thinks it's pretty good.

"Although it is a small village, I have actually visited it. It is better than the houses in the village. There are two big brick houses in the front and back, with a total of more than 20 mu of land. Ten mu of land is rented out. Living on these, if you don’t need to study, it would be easy, but the two brothers are really hard to study, so I revealed to the matchmaker that it would be better to choose one.”

The family didn't think about looking for a brother at first, no matter how you say, the brother is still not as good as a girl, but the daughter of a small businessman who is doing small business. The shopkeeper who buys and sells here is not considered to be a businessman without the face of you scholars.

Those who work part-time for wages are naturally not considered businessmen.

But when I heard my brother, the old man first disagreed, and the eldest scholar also hesitated.The matchmaker said mysteriously, "I'm not afraid to tell you the truth, this is a good family, and they have a good background."

"This little brother's cousin is the wife of a senior official from the fourth rank."

Now the family was startled, and the scholar hesitated to believe it. If it was really the cousin of the official's wife, it would be a bit low to find him. He knew the situation of his family, and it was no different from the people in the village.

"The one I was asked to introduce to him is even more amazing. His wife is also a brother, and he lives in the city next to the imperial city."

Rely on the imperial city - the common people mostly refer to the imperial palace.That's great, it's a big shot.

The matchmaker boasted so much hype that the family couldn't believe it. The scholar first pushed it away and said that he was not good enough for him, but now the matchmaker was dumbfounded. Why did he push it away if he didn't want to beg for the pie in the sky?

After hearing what the matchmaker said, Xiaoshu had a good impression of the scholar, and then naturally he talked about it, and the scholar knew that the brother's cousin was a fourth-rank official wife. The wife of the official who lives next to the imperial city is also true.

What's more, Mr. Gu, the fourth rank, studied under Mr. Sun, the wife of Jingli, and the famous Mr. Yan, who was so frightened that the scholar was afraid, and even more unwilling.

Xiaoshu said: "I don't force you to get married, both parties must be willing, otherwise the twisted melon will not be sweet. Jiaying came from the village, and she will have to work and show her face in the future. When will you pass the exam?" , when he becomes an official, he will naturally be able to enjoy the blessings, and he will suffer some hardships for you to study in the first place, but later on, don’t think he is a poor wife.”

"Although Mrs. Gu is not in the capital, I regard Jiaying as a cousin. I can help out even if it's not a big deal. I'll let you know if it's a big deal. You go back and think about it with your family and make a decision."

Five days later, the scholar came, nodded in agreement, and made an oath that he would never abandon his wife, otherwise he would make such an oath.

... After Li Zhouzhou finished reading it, he felt that this scholar was motivated by profit and became acquainted with this family.

"It's normal to be like this nowadays. It's rare for two people to be happy with each other and get married." Gu Zhao comforted Zhou Zhou not to think too much, "Su Jiaying chose this road, whether it is bitter or sweet for himself Taste, think about the good, this person will pass the exam in a few years, if you think about it, if you think about it, it is not impossible for people to pass the exam at the age of four or fifty."

Li Zhouzhou couldn't laugh or cry after hearing this, and was even more worried.

As Xianggong said, if there is no result after more than ten years, then Jiaying will suffer for most of her life.

Who can blame it.Su Jiaying volunteered.

Nowadays, marriage depends on the official status of the fathers of all parties, and the affiliation with relatives is just a decoration. From the outside, Su Jiaying is a farmer's brother in the village, and his fiancé's father is also a farmer, so he is a good match.

Li Zhouzhou didn't think about it any more, and with June's marriage, Xiaoshu sent a letter to Sujia Village to take the Su family to Beijing, saying that they would get married by the end of the year.

After finishing the letter, Gu Zhao also personally sent the brother's letter to the master in the front yard.

After the master read the letter, his expression was a little strange.Gu Zhao still didn't understand, and asked: "Senior brother has been promoted, why is master unhappy?"

"He was a little hesitant in his letter, afraid that there was something left to write—unlike Zizhi." Sun Mu agreed.

Gu Zhao said: "What about Beijing, it's too far away from us, teacher, don't think too much and be careful about your body."

"I know." Sun Mu handed the letter back, just when he heard the faint sound of the piano, he looked at the little apprentice standing in front of him and said, "Since you are free, how are you writing poems? I came to Zhaozhou like this." I forgot to ask you about your homework for a long time, but now there is the sound of a piano in the moonlight, it is just right to test you..."

Gu Zhao: ...

Who doesn't sleep at night and plays the piano! ! !

In the end, Xiao Gu honestly squeezed out a song, which was really crazy. After he arrived in Zhaozhou, he had long forgotten the small skills of writing essays - he was writing official documents, because Mr. Gu had real power in Zhaozhou. People, I also asked not to engage in bells and whistles, and to write about events for me pragmatically, which has caused my current level to regress a lot.

Sun Mu also had a headache when he heard the nonsensical and non-contradictory poem, and finally waved his hand to let it go, don't get angry at him, "You knew rhymes and anti-contrast before, but now you are not as good as doggerel..."

Gu Zhao: Huh huh.

Then he walked out of the front yard in a dejected manner, passed by the gate of Rong Ye's yard, and heard the faint sound of a piano, Mrs. Gu looked at the door, then looked at the moon, and also said quietly: "The moon is full and short, The sound of the piano is disturbing, Ziqing is too uncomfortable, it's all his fault."

"Ugh."

Xiao Gu felt uncomfortable, so he went back to find his wife to act like a spoiled child.

October [-]th, Su Jiayu's wedding day.

Two days ago, the Li Mansion was cleaned up and down, and there were festive lanterns and festoons everywhere. On this day, early in the morning, the door of the Li Mansion was opened, and the couplets, happy words, and lanterns were hung up, and the house was cleaned up. The cement road outside the door was washed clean.

It is a custom in Zhaozhou that in the morning, the married couple welcomes guests, entertains relatives and friends, and sets up a banquet. After noon, the man comes to pick him up. After the etiquette and excitement, the man picks up the people to his home. In the afternoon and dusk, he holds a banquet at the man’s house, and then pays homage to the high hall. After the ceremony, they are officially husband and wife.

The married party enters the new house and waits, while the man entertains and entertains guests outside, and then returns to the bridal chamber.

About the same amount of courtesy.

So early in the morning, outside the gate of Li Mansion, there was an endless stream of carriages and horses, a group of merchants from Li Zhouzhou's side, the almshouse, Xiao Tian's family, officials from Gu Zhao's side, those from the Chen family, and from the Liang family. , the children were bouncing and bouncing, anyway, the front yard and the main yard are open water mats.

Li Dake was happy, and felt that the running water mat was the same as when he was in the village.

"At that time, Zhao'er passed the examination of scholar and Juren, and our family did the same thing. After eating for several days, two or three pigs were killed."

When Li Da recalled it, his face was full of joy and joy, and he greeted Xiaotian's family to sit down and eat.

In the morning, wave after wave of guests were eating, and Li Zhouzhou and Gu Zhao were busy greeting each other. On the road in front of Li Mansion, servants of Li Mansion distributed wedding cakes and money to the people of Zhaozhou who came to watch the excitement, and the money was not much. It's just one penny, but it's not unusual to feel the joy of the Li family.

Just after noon, the table noodles were finally finished, firecrackers were set off at the door, and gongs and drums rang all the way.

"Kiss, kiss, kiss."

"The groom is so handsome, he's here to pick up the bride."

"It's here."

People at the gate of Li Mansion spread the word, and the common people watching the excitement gathered on both sides of the gate of Li Mansion.Seeing that people were busy, the messenger ran in. Gu Zhao and Li Zhouzhou were in the front yard. Hearing the sound of firecrackers, Gu Zhaoxian called out, "Where's Li Zhaoxi? It's time for you to go out, Li Zhaoxi."

According to Zhaozhou marriage customs, if the married party has a brother, and the man comes to greet him, the brother will have to take an exam to make things difficult for him.Su Jiayu is Li Zhouzhou's nephew, and he has no other relatives in Zhaozhou except Li's family. In terms of seniority, it is naturally Li Zhaoxi's cousin.

Su Shiyi was looking for someone in the crowd, when he heard Fubao yell that I'm coming, he ran over in a hurry, very happy - today Fubao was wearing red elements, with a red print, and pants under a round neck robe, which can be compared with a little boy generally.

"Let's go. I'll be here when you come up with a test for the school." Su Shiyi supported Fubao.

The two acted as forwards and went to the door to 'make trouble with the groom'.Li Zhaoxi was small, so he thought about it, blocked the groom at the gate, waved his hand, Aji next to him knew about it, and handed him a Cuju ball, which was tied with a red ribbon and had a bell hanging on it.

When it moves, it jingles, very happy.

"Brother Hou, if you want to marry me, pass my three passes, Li Zhaoxi!"

Hou Tong smiled kindly, and said, "Okay, tell me."

Li Zhaoxi took the ball and made gestures on the spot. He threw the ball up and hit it with his head, then he used his knee when he landed the second time, and the last hit was that his shoulder rolled and broke.

This jingle sounded, and the people onlookers applauded and applauded.

A wedding should be lively.

Hou Tong came, but Hou Tong couldn't do a good job, the first time he couldn't resist the ball and rolled aside, Li Zhaoxi was anxious for others, and said: "I just forgot to say, you have three chances, now the first time Once, don't be nervous."

Su Shiyi next to him: ... This is not making things difficult, how can you still find love for the other party.

Li Zhaoxi put too much water, Hou Tong was embarrassed, he made a mess, but Li Zhaoxi said it, and said the second level.

Draw a bottle blindfolded.

"Brother Hou, look at this plain bottle. You want to draw your mood today. It's going to be burned. I want to give you gifts when I return home in three courts."

It means that if it is ugly, it is also your gift that is ugly.

"Success, tie it up." Hou Tong also said simply.

Su Shiyi was watching, hey, hey Fubao, it's all water, what's wrong with it.The surname Hou is in this line of work, did Brother Yu whisper to Fu Bao, don't bully Hou Tong?

The second level was easy to pass. Hou Tong painted a small river, stones, and two small ink dots on the branches, but it can be seen that they are two little birds leaning on each other. It is simple and well-intentioned.

Li Zhaoxi said: "The third level is coming, Brother Hou, let's sing a song."

Su Shiyi: ...It's that simple.

But Hou Tong blushed, and opened his mouth under the eyes of the big guys watching the excitement. When he sang, the big guys laughed, and even Su Shiyi laughed happily. Hou Tong's singing is really ugly.

Master Gu in the front yard vaguely heard it, and turned around to whisper to Zhou Zhou: "On the day of great joy, there are crows coming to this door, and the sound is too noisy."

"... Mr. Xiang asked knowingly, where is the crow, this is brother Yu's magpie came to announce the good news." Li Zhouzhou said auspicious words.

Mr. Gu thinks about Hou Tong's size and voice, how dare he be a magpie?

"I'll perform it for Zhou Zhou, and see what a real magpie looks like? The sound needs to be clear and tuned, and the most important thing is to have a pretty face..."

After boasting about himself, he really hummed a ditty.