Chapter 107: Happy June 1st
Cai Lian Lane.
Dinner had just been served when a greeting came from outside the courtyard gate: “Is Xiucai Scholar Li at home?”
“Yes, I am,” Li Xuedong replied loudly.
“I’ll go open the door!” Mei Jie quickly stood up and walked out.
Li Jinzhu followed Li Xuedong out, while Li Xiaonan craned her neck to look outside.
Li Xuedong led the way, cupping his hands and smiling as he greeted Nanny Miao, who was stepping over the threshold, asking, “May I ask who you are?”
“Oh my, Xiucai Scholar is a scholar, so refined!” Nanny Miao took out a handkerchief and shook it out with a sigh.
“This is Nanny Miao. Nanny Miao, please come in and talk. Have you eaten? Please join us for dinner; we’ve just set it out.” Li Jinzhu quickly stepped aside, pushing Li Xuedong gently, and stepped forward to speak.
Yinzhu and the Hong Family had a small engagement, and she had accompanied Eldest Uncle to Nanny Official Matchmaker’s house once.
Although the marriage certificate for Yinzhu and Hong Er was handled and witnessed by an official matchmaker from Kunshan County and had nothing to do with this Nanny Official Matchmaker, they lived within this Nanny Official Matchmaker’s jurisdiction. Following the principle of “courtesy costs nothing,” Eldest Uncle made a special trip to inform her and also sent Nanny Miao a moderately sized gift as a token of gratitude.
Hearing the name Miao, Li Xiaonan stood up and went out, following Eldest Sister.
“I’ve already eaten. You sisters are truly diligent. It’s completely dark, and you’re only just serving dinner? Oh, with only this one meat dish, can so many of you eat enough?” Nanny Miao entered the house and first peered at the dinner on the table.
“Our family isn’t well-off,” Li Jinzhu replied with a smile.
“Your Xiucai Scholar is someone who needs to study and exert himself; he can’t afford to not eat well. You, as the eldest sister, can’t be too stingy with your younger siblings.” Nanny Miao sat down, took the tea from Li Yuzhu’s hand, and scrutinized Li Yuzhu from head to toe.
Li Yuzhu felt uncomfortable under her gaze and retreated to sit down and spin thread.
“Oh my, Second Sister is truly diligent,” Nanny Miao praised. Without waiting for a reply, she turned to Li Jinzhu and said with a smile, “Eldest Sister, now that your hair is tied up, you’re not going to let it down anymore?”
Li Jinzhu was momentarily stunned by the sudden shift in her question, then nodded, “Yes!”
“Speaking of which~” Nanny Miao drew out her words, “The court has laws. Men have their duties, and women have their place. It’s not acceptable for a woman not to marry. You are fortunate to have met someone like me. I am a person who is most understanding. Even if it’s a court decree, I will shield you from anything I can!”
As soon as Nanny Miao finished speaking, Li Xiaonan immediately retorted.
“Emperor Taizong issued decrees prohibiting the forced marriage of women. Especially the government; if the government is found to have forcibly married a woman, it will be treated as incest and filial impiety within the territory, and the official will be dismissed from their post.
“Also, ‘men have their duties, women have their place’ is from books, not a legal decree.”
Nanny Miao glared at Li Xiaonan, who met her gaze with a smile, “I have memorized the court’s decrees.”
“A Nan,” Li Jinzhu gently patted Li Xiaonan and looked at Nanny Miao, smiling, “Nanny, please don’t be angry with a child. When our mother passed away, A Nan couldn’t even walk yet. We siblings doted on her and didn’t discipline her much.”
Nanny Miao snorted and brushed down her clothing placket.
“If you don’t discipline her, when she marries later, her in-laws will discipline her~ Tsk!” Nanny Miao clicked her tongue loudly. “Let’s get down to business. Oh my! I can hardly speak.”
Nanny Miao cast a sidelong glance at Li Xiaonan, shook her handkerchief, and pressed her lips.
“Now that your hair is tied up, what about your sister? Is she still not marrying?” Nanny Miao pointed at Li Yuzhu.
“She will definitely get married,” Li Jinzhu quickly smiled. The latter part, “please trouble the nanny,” rolled on her tongue but didn’t come out.
She didn’t quite trust this Nanny Official Matchmaker, so she decided not to ask for her trouble.
“Since you’ve moved here, I have to concern myself with your sisters’ marriage fates. What kind of family is our Second Sister planning to marry into? Tell me one, two, three, so I can pick one, two, three for you.”
“Good character. As for other things, like family circumstances, as long as it’s passable, that’s fine. It’s really hard to say one, two, three. If both families feel it’s suitable, then it’s suitable,” Li Jinzhu replied cautiously.
“How can it not be discussed one, two, three? For example, would you be willing to marry a seventy or eighty-year-old man? Even if he’s not that old, would you be willing to be a second wife? Right? When arranging a marriage, don’t you have to discuss one, two, three?”
“We haven’t thought about one, two, three; we just need to feel it’s suitable,” Li Jinzhu said with a gentle smile.
“Look at you. Then let me think for you. Your younger brother is a Xiucai Scholar. Such a young Xiucai Scholar is rare in the entire Pingjiang Prefecture. You are a scholarly family. Marriage most values a suitable match. This first point is that without some scholarly background, it won’t do.”
Nanny Miao began to list one, two, three for Li Yuzhu.
“What scholarly family are we?” Li Jinzhu chuckled.
“Oh my dear sister, how many Xiucai Scholars are there in the entire Pingjiang Prefecture? Those families that haven’t produced a Xiucai Scholar in generations still dare to claim they are scholarly families. Yours is a truly scholarly family!”
Although Nanny Miao sighed occasionally, her sighs were very reserved.
She was an official matchmaker, unlike those lower-class matchmakers who roamed the streets. This was something she had to demonstrate in every action.
“The second point is that the age difference cannot be too great. Although an old husband and a young wife means the husband dotes on his wife, if the man is older, either he’s a second husband, or if you say he’s never been married at his age, there must be something in between, right?”
“Indeed,” Li Jinzhu nodded with a smile.
“The third point, this is me being nosy. In my opinion, a mother-in-law who is too overbearing is not good. Alas, difficult people are already hard to deal with. With a mother-in-law and a daughter-in-law, how can they get along well? If you can’t get along with your mother-in-law, life won’t just be difficult; it could even cost you your life!”
Nanny Miao looked genuinely distressed.
“Indeed,” Li Jinzhu nodded again.
“Then let’s put it this way. For your Second Sister’s marriage, setting aside other things, these three points must be met. The first is a scholarly family. I know, I know. If the person is truly good, this point can be overlooked. The second is that the age cannot be too great. The third is that the mother-in-law cannot be too overbearing and unreasonable. Is that right?
“Then it’s settled. You all eat; I’ll be going now. Just wait for my good news.”
Nanny Miao stood up, waved, and called out, “No need to see me off, no need to see me off,” and left the courtyard gate.
Li Jinzhu and Li Xuedong saw Nanny Miao off. As soon as they entered the main hall, Mei Jie, with a tightly furrowed brow, said urgently, “She doesn’t seem like a good person!”
“Don’t worry, Sister has it under control,” Li Yuzhu pulled Mei Jie closer.
“I can see that. Last time, when we went to her house to deliver a gift for Yinzhu’s marriage, Eldest Uncle warned me as soon as we left her house, saying she has a stern face and sharp eyes, and must have a cruel heart. Let’s not mind her. Let’s eat; the food is getting cold.”
Mei Jie let out a long sigh. “I’ll go heat it up! The stir-fried cured meat needs to be heated; the meat dish can’t be eaten cold.”
“Mei Jie, please stir-fry another plate of eggs,” Li Xiaonan looked at Li Jinzhu and called out to Mei Jie.
Li Jinzhu frowned, looking at Li Xiaonan.
Li Yuzhu chuckled, “Mei Jie, please stir-fry two more eggs and mix them with this plate of garlic sprouts and cured meat.”
After nearly three months, Auntie has finally returned to work, and Xiao Xian has also returned to work.
Wishing everyone a happy Children’s Day.
Face life directly and keep a childlike heart.
By the way, do you have any monthly tickets on hand?
Seeking tickets and support!
Returning to work and production, seeking performance!
