Chapter 958: Marriage Discussion
On June 23, Ruan Rong gave birth to a son.
On July 16, Princess Beijing gave birth to a son.
On July 22, Wang Xifeng gave birth to a son.
The summer of the fourteenth year of Guangde was undoubtedly a season of "harvest" for Sun Shaozong. It was a pity that "eight or nine out of ten things went as planned, but only two or three could be told to others."
In the eyes of others, he just had a bastard son. It might be icing on the cake, but it was far from enough to regard it as a timely help.
In the eyes of most people, Sun Shaozong is undoubtedly at the lowest point in his life.
At the end of May, Wei Yiju, the Minister of Dali Temple, submitted a memorial recommending Sun Shaozong to go to Cangzhou Prefecture to preside over the investigation of the conflicts between scholars and gentry caused by the popularization of law in the countryside, but his proposal was withheld from him.
In mid-June, rumors began to spread that Sun Shaozong had been wavering in his approach, which had displeased the Jia family and even made the emperor and his concubines dislike him.
At first, everyone was only half-believing and half-doubting. Later, several people testified that the words came from Jia She, the eldest master of Rongguo Mansion. Suddenly, the gate of Sun Mansion was deserted.
At the end of July, the second prince caught a cold, and Emperor Guangde stopped attending court for three days and personally served him medicine in Jingren Palace, which led to a heated discussion about changing the crown prince.
As for Sun Shaozong, who was rumored to be on bad terms with the Rongguo Mansion and had been frequently visiting the Prince's Mansion for months, his market value naturally plummeted.
Some people who are used to looking down on the weak have even begun to think about using him as a stepping stone to advance themselves.
However, on July 25th, the situation suddenly changed - Jia Zheng, the second master of Rongguo Mansion and the biological father of Concubine De, suddenly visited the Sun family with great fanfare.
…
The front hall of Sun Mansion.
Jia Zheng, who was sitting at the head of the table, did not look as high-spirited as others had imagined . Instead, he looked haggard and tired.
But this is normal. Ever since Concubine De gave birth to the second prince, the Rongguo Mansion has been bustling with people. And the old lady's 80th birthday is approaching, so naturally everyone in the Rongguo Mansion is very busy.
At this time, Wang Xifeng, the head of the household, was unable to manage affairs, and Jia She was ordered by the old lady to reflect on his mistakes behind closed doors because of his drunken talk. So all the burdens fell on Jia Zheng and his wife.
Fortunately, Baoyu has made considerable progress in the past few years, and the third young lady, Jia Tanchun, is a very smart girl, and has helped a lot both inside and outside. Otherwise, Jia Zheng would have fallen seriously ill before the old lady's birthday.
Let’s get back to the story.
But after the host and guest sat down, Jia Zheng did not exchange any pleasantries with Sun Shaozong. He simply placed a letter on the coffee table, and with three fingers, slowly pushed it in front of Sun Shaozong.
"A few days ago, after hearing those nonsense outside, I planned to come here, but your aunt stopped me. I was waiting for this letter."
As he said this, he raised his hand to signal Sun Shaozong to take a look first and then talk about other things.
Sun Shaozong bowed slightly, held up the letter respectfully and took a closer look. He saw that the name written on the top was his eldest brother Sun Shaozu.
"A letter from my brother?"
Sun Shaozong looked up at Jia Zheng in surprise, and seeing that Jia Zheng was stroking his beard and smiling, with no intention of explaining, he hurriedly opened the envelope and read the contents at a glance.
After a while, he raised his head and said hesitantly: "Sister Xue and Brother Bao..."
He stopped talking halfway through.
However, Jia Zheng had already heard the unspoken meaning, and immediately said seriously: "Erlang, do you also believe those nonsense? Apart from other things, you should know something about the character of the Xue family's maid. She would never do such a private transaction!"
It turned out that in this letter, Sun Shaozu clearly expressed his support for the marriage between the Sun and Xue families. However, due to military orders, it was difficult for him to return to Beijing, so he specifically entrusted everything to Jia Zheng.
It is for this reason that Sun Shaozong just mentioned the relationship between Jia Baoyu and Xue Baochai.
But Jia Zheng misunderstood in the end. In fact, what Sun Shaozong meant was: The Jia family is now on the rise, how could the Xue family be willing to give up such a good marriage?
However, from what Jia Zheng said, it was obvious that he had already received the news from the Xue family.
It’s Baochai after all.
Aunt Xue appeared in Sun Shaozong's mind... Xue Baochai's appearance and demeanor made him already give her about 60% approval.
Besides, Jia Zheng's visit at this time also had the intention of reconciling the two families. If he was really offended, and the rumors came true, it would be no joke.
After hesitating for a moment, Sun Shaozong finally stood up and bowed: "Since my elder brother has given the order and my uncle is in charge, I will have no objection."
“Hahaha, okay, okay, okay!”
Jia Zheng laughed heartily, helped Sun Shaozong up, and said "OK" three times in a row. Then he said, "Although your brother entrusted me with the task in the letter, I have discussed it with your aunt and think we can do more good things - when the old lady celebrates her birthday in a few days, we will ask her to be the matchmaker herself!"
This time, Lady Jia's eightieth birthday celebration was unprecedented in grandeur. It was said that a continuous banquet would be set up for eight days to entertain guests from all walks of life, from the court to the country, and from inside and outside the capital.
If this old man were to come forward in person to act as a matchmaker, the rumors of discord between the Sun and Jia families would naturally disappear.
only……
What would the prince think?
Ever since he heard that the Rongguo Mansion and the Sun family had fallen out, Sun Shaozong's treatment increased significantly when he went to the Prince's Mansion for "rehearsal".
It was about to be performed in front of Emperor Guangde, but suddenly this happened...
That’s all!
Anyway, the prince is a guy who is easy to fool, so I'd better welcome Xue's mother... uh, Xue's sister back home first, so that my trip to this world of the Red Mansion will not be in vain.
Having made up his mind , Sun Shaozong bowed once more: "Of course, it's all up to my uncle."
Jia Zheng became even happier when he got the confirmation.
Because there were many things to do at home, he carefully instructed Sun Shaozong not to show up in the first few days to avoid rumors outside, and then he said goodbye in a hurry and left.
But after Jia Zheng left, Sun Shaozong sat alone in the hall for a long time.
Roughly speaking, he has been in this world for more than five years. Although he cannot be said to be in power, he has certainly slept on the lap of a beautiful woman.
In daily life, even when dreaming at midnight, we seldom recall our past lives.
But now that the wedding is imminent, the traces of the past seem like a shadow play, hazy and blurry, yet clear in my mind.
I don't know why, but my heart feels empty, as if something has come to an end.
I don’t know how long it was before a call woke Sun Shaozong from his memories.
When he looked up, he saw Ruan Rong standing in front of him.
"Why, something wrong?"
Sun Shaozong felt a little timid for no reason.
Fortunately, Ruan Rong didn't notice anything and said directly, "Miss Xing is here. She is now in the eldest wife's courtyard. I heard she came to discuss the date."
Xing Xiuyan is here?
Sun Shaozong couldn't help but be stunned.
It's a good thing that many people wait for. Last year, Sun Shaozong wanted to bring her to his house, but ended up sending her to the bitter and cold land of Liaodong. When she came back from outside the Great Wall in May, she originally wanted to get things done as soon as possible, but Xing Xiuyan raised objections.
It's not that she regretted it, but she felt that Ruan Rong was about to give birth, and she really didn't want to disturb her peace and mind at this time.
This is reasonable and logical, so the Sun family naturally has nothing to object to.
So even Ping'er's matter was postponed. After all, Wang Xifeng was about to give birth, and Ping'er had been her master and servant for many years, so she was already worried about her.
Now that Ruan Rong has finished her confinement, it is only natural to discuss the wedding date.
But how could a girl come to discuss such matters on her own?
