I go to the ancient imperial examinations

Chapter 544 Negotiations
The scorching heat of the day did not dissipate, and Zhifu Jiao felt the heat wave hitting his face when he opened the car curtain, coupled with his restlessness, his complexion looked a little ugly.

Steward Niu, who had been waiting for a long time, walked over quickly, regardless of the sweat on his body, "Master."

"How is Lianyu's situation?" Zhifu Jiao asked in a deep voice, took the handkerchief handed over by the maid, wiped his face, and continued to walk into the house, "What did Doctor Luo say?"

Steward Niu first handed a cup of herbal tea to Zhifu Jiao, and then said: "Returning to the master, Dr. Luo checked the second son in the morning, and the wound is all right, just wait for the scar to form. Doctor Luo prescribed two medicinal meals Fang Zi..."

After a while, there was the sound of water in the inner room.

After washing off the sticky sweat on his body, Zhifu Jiao sat in the bathtub and felt more comfortable, squinting his eyes and said in a deep voice, "I'll go to Madam's for dinner in half an hour."

"Yes, I'll go and order you, my little one." Butler Niu was overjoyed. After rumors about the second son's marriage suddenly spread in the mansion, the master and his wife had an argument, and the two broke up unhappy. Today, the master took the initiative It's really a joy to go to my wife's place for dinner.

Steward Niu was not afraid that Zhifu Jiao would notice the joy on his face through the screen. He turned around and went out of the room to give some instructions to the maid who was guarding the door, and then returned to the house to wait on him.

As soon as Zhifu Jiao returned to the mansion, Aunt Huang sent people to watch in the front yard. She was busy in the small kitchen at the moment. Although there was a maid fan playing beside her, she was sweating after a while.

"Boil this soup for a while longer, and then put it in the well water to chill it." Aunt Huang stirred the pot twice with a spoon. The tangy aroma couldn't whet her appetite even though it was too hot, but she still ordered Said: "That cup is for Lianyu to drink soup, carefully, it is made according to the medicinal recipe, don't add any ingredients randomly."

"Yes, the old servant is watching, Auntie, please don't worry." The old mother beside her responded, and she understood what Aunt Huang said. She was worried that someone would plot against the Second Young Master when it came to food.

Mrs. Jiao controls the middle minister of the Jiao Mansion, but Jiao Lianyu is the default heir of the Jiao Zhi Mansion, so Aunt Huang does not show herself in the mansion, but many servants have already taken refuge in her.

"The lotus pond vegetable stir-fry will be brought up first, and the steamed duck with fermented rice will not be steamed." Aunt Huang ordered a few more words, making sure that the dishes to be served tonight are all the prefect Jiao's favorites, and then she left the steamer. kitchenette.

"Auntie." Before Auntie Huang returned to the yard to take a bath, she saw a twelve or thirteen-year-old girl running over quickly, saluted in a hurry, and said, "Just now there was news in the front yard, the master is going to to the madam."

After the little girl finished speaking, she bent her body and did not dare to look up. In the morning, the master said that she would come back for dinner. After all, today is my aunt's birthday, and the second son has suffered a great grievance this day.

But who would have thought that the promise was good in the morning, and the master broke his promise this afternoon when he came back from the Yamen, changed into ordinary clothes and went to the madam's yard. If word got out, my aunt would become a laughing stock in the house.

The hand holding the handkerchief tightened suddenly, and Aunt Huang tried her best to suppress it, but she couldn't control the ferocious expression on her face.

The serving maids and mother-in-law also lowered their heads at the moment. Aunt Huang is usually gentle and considerate in front of the master, but they are all aware of Auntie's methods.

"I didn't expect Madam Jiao's official background to be able to use such a trick that can't be put on the table." Aunt Huang said with a half-smile, and Aunt Huang almost said clearly that Mrs. Jiao cut off her beard at an old age without shame. This is a lack of men !

"Forget it, let the kitchen deliver the dinner in half an hour." Aunt Huang said again, and then led the maid Shi Shiran to the yard.

……

Different from what Aunt Huang prepared in the evening, which were all the favorite dishes of Jiao Zhifu, half of the dishes on Mrs. Jiao's table were cooked according to Jiao Lianping's taste.

It's also different from Aunt Huang who took a bath and changed clothes, then sat in front of the dressing table and carefully combed her hair and put on her make-up.

As usual, Mrs. Jiao glanced at Zhifu Jiao with a lukewarm attitude.

After a while.

"Don't you know what to eat when you have a new injury and an old injury?" Mrs. Jiao looked over coldly, and successfully stopped Jiao Lianping from picking up vegetables.

Mammy Niu of Bucai knowingly changed the place of this stewed pork with ham in front of Jiao Lianping.

"Thank you, mother, for your concern. My son will eat this stewed cabbage." Jiao Lianping smiled cheekily, and as expected, he picked up a chopstick of cabbage and ate it slowly.

The magistrate Jiao knew that Jiao Lianping and Qiu Huaixin had a dispute at the gate of the Qiu's courtyard, but he really didn't know that Jiao Lianping and Qiu Huaixin had even fought. With his nose and face swollen and his inconspicuous smile, no matter how he looked at it, he looked like a Ineffective dude.

But thinking that the other person who made the move was Mr. Qiu's youngest son, Zhifu Jiao swallowed back his reprimand, but his face was a little ugly.

He didn't hear the reprimand, and Jiao Lianping didn't care about the rules of eating and sleeping. He put down his chopsticks and looked at Jiao Zhifu, "What did father do to sorry our mother and son?"

It's no wonder that Jiao Lianping asked this question. After all, except for the first and fifteenth day of every month, the magistrate Jiao seldom went back to the backyard to have dinner with Mrs. Jiao. He was either alone in the front yard or went to Aunt Huang's side.

Furthermore, Jiao Lianping and Qiu Huaixin had a fight today. According to the prefect Jiao's usual temper, he would definitely be reprimanded severely. No matter how you look at it, Jiao Lianping seems to have done something wrong to the prefect Jiao, so he made up for their mother and son in this way.

The already ugly face was as black as ink at the moment, Zhifu Jiao tightened his grip on the chopsticks, and finally restrained his anger, "You can't talk about eating!"

The prefect Jiao's meal was boring, but Mrs. Jiao and Jiao Lianping's mother and son were in a happy mood.

After the servant girl cleared the table and brought over tea and fruit, Jiao Lianping glanced at the sullen magistrate Jiao, and said maliciously, "Mother, according to the rules of our Jiao family, how much money should a concubine prepare for marriage?"

"It's just an engagement." Mrs. Jiao took the words, and even if they were married, it was not a separation. Jiao Lianyu is now just a bastard, not an official, so if his marriage is in accordance with the rules, even if he has passed the engagement and received the levy, the dowry Add up will not exceed 3000 taels.

Holding a teacup, Jiao Lianping smiled, not paying any attention to the anger in Jiao Zhifu's eyes, and continued to provoke without fear of death, "If father is reluctant to wrong your good son, then you can only separate the family first, so how many dowry gifts you want to prepare will not matter." That's fine, it won't break the rules."

Jiao Lianping is the eldest son as well as the eldest son. When he married his wife, the Chen family, the sum of the dowry gifts Mrs. Jiao prepared for him was only 5000 taels, which was almost twice that of the concubine. No one can say anything about the money paid out.

The second son is married to the concubine, and this dowry surpasses that of the eldest son. It is inevitable that some people will criticize the magistrate Jiao for not separating the concubine and concubine. Of course, it will be different after the separation. Since there are two families, there is no need to follow the rules of marriage of the legitimate son.

Mrs. Jiao glanced at Jiao Lianping and told him to stop before asking, "Today is Aunt Huang's birthday. Master is here to discuss something?"

"Lianyu is already weak, and the age difference between her and Miss Qiu is too great, so this marriage is over." Zhifu Jiao finally explained his intention.

After talking nonsense all night, Jiao Lianping, who had just taken a sip of water to moisten his throat, coughed in shock. He took the handkerchief handed over by the maid and wiped the corners of his mouth, regardless of his embarrassment, "Father, what did you just say?"

Mrs. Jiao was also shocked at the moment. Although her face quickly recovered, the astonishment just now was still captured by Jiao Zhifu.

Thinking of what Zhan Feiyu said in the letter during the day, Zhifu Jiao couldn't help feeling a little regretful in his heart. He should have believed in his wife. The marriage between Lianyu and Miss Qiu was definitely not planned by his wife, otherwise his wife would not have such an expression at this moment.

Mrs. Jiao finally understood the reason why Jiao Zhifu was abnormal tonight, and said with a sneer, "This marriage was arranged by me. If you want to regret the marriage now, please master to solve it yourself."

Mrs. Jiao would not slap her in the face. As for the previous rumors, since she has already assumed the notoriety, she will not "go back on what she says".

No matter what Jiao Lianyu was scheming, Mrs. Jiao didn't intend to take care of this marriage, and if she wanted to regret the marriage, she had to let Zhifu herself come forward.

"It's been said outside that my mother ordered the daughter of a criminal minister for him in order to take advantage of the concubine. Now that the marriage has changed, people outside are saying that the mother had to renege on the marriage due to the pressure of the father. Jiao Lianyu made a lot of money after all this. With a good reputation, we have nothing to lose, and the villains have made us mother and son!"

Jiao Lianping snorted, pulled the bruise on his face, and immediately grinned his teeth in pain, but even so, he still couldn't vomit, "Jiao Lianyu has taken advantage of everything, he thinks so well!"

Jiao Lianping could tell with his toes what the rumors would turn out to be. Jiao Lianyu was a poor concubine who had been humiliated. He was originally a talented young man, but his aunt was not kind and his brother was not friendly. The criminal minister's daughter wanted to end his official career with this.

Fortunately, the magistrate Jiao's father had sharp eyesight and saw through Mrs. Jiao's conspiracy, so he canceled the marriage, and the villain's aunt and eldest brother became a laughing stock.

(End of this chapter)