After the whole family was swept away, I lay down flat

Chapter 1009: Double Happiness
After hearing this topic, Ma, who was originally tired after a day's work and was sitting in the armchair not wanting to talk, suddenly became energetic again.

"You'd never guess!" She said with a big smile on her face, "The matchmaker that Brother Fu of the Qiao family asked for turned out to be Shopkeeper Feng, who escorted your cousin and her daughter to the capital from Yongping Prefecture that day! Although we are not very familiar with him, Baozhu was able to meet Brother Fu because Shopkeeper Feng asked him to be his bodyguard when he escorted your cousin and her daughter. If Shopkeeper Feng hadn't arranged it at that time, maybe there would be no marriage between Brother Fu and Baozhu! It can be seen that it is perfect for Brother Fu to ask Shopkeeper Feng to be the matchmaker!"

Hai Xiya was stunned for a moment and asked, "I remember that Shopkeeper Feng seemed to be an acquaintance of Ma Shangyi's?"

Ma nodded and said, "That's right. This shopkeeper Feng's adoptive father also came from the palace, and he and Sister Ma have been friends for decades. I heard that Sister Ma has been living in his house since she came to Beijing this time. When Bao Shun came to Sister Ma that day, Sister Ma greeted her old friend. It happened that Shopkeeper Feng was near Yongping Prefecture at the time, and was planning to take the caravan back to Beijing, so he took the job of escorting his niece and the others."

Hai Jiao smiled and said, "The foster father of the shopkeeper Feng, Eunuch Ji, has a large garden at home. Many old palace maids from the palace live there. Most of them are from the Cining Palace, and some are from other palaces. They have known each other for decades and have experienced many ups and downs together. The Cheng'en Marquis's Mansion had originally invited Ma Ma to live there, but Ma Ma thought that there were many old friends in Eunuch Ji's garden, and she would be able to reminisce with them when she had nothing to do, so she declined the Cheng'en Marquis's Mansion and moved to Ji's garden. I've been to that garden two or three times, and I just think it's exquisite, with beautiful scenery everywhere, good food, and the host's hospitality is very thoughtful. No wonder Ma Ma is more willing to move there."

Ma sighed, "It's a pity that we haven't had a chance to visit Sister Ma since we came to Beijing. I miss her so much. But if she had been living in someone else's garden, it would have been difficult for me to visit her. Now that we are more familiar with the shopkeeper Feng, maybe we can get a feel for him? The New Year is coming soon, no matter what, I have to give Sister a New Year gift."

Hai Xiya smiled and said, "What's the big deal? Since Baoshun has been to the garden, you can ask Baoshun to bring the New Year gifts over. Ma Shangyi is also a guest. If she was in Cheng'en Marquis's mansion, we could still shamelessly disturb her. But now she is staying at a place where the owner is a stranger to us and an old eunuch from the palace. It's better not to cause trouble for her."

Even if Feng the shopkeeper became the matchmaker between Qiao Fu and Hai Baozhu, he was also Qiao Fu's connection. Moreover, although Feng the shopkeeper was the adopted son of the master of the Ji family, he might not be the master of his adopted father. If Ma Shi went to him to test the waters without permission, how would he answer? If he was not allowed to come to the house, it would be considered rude; but if he really invited people to the Ji family, how could he know whether the owner of the Ji family's garden would welcome strangers? If Ma Shi really wanted to visit Ma Shangyi, there would be plenty of opportunities to meet in the future, so there was no need to go and disturb her.

Ma understood the implication of her husband's words. Although she didn't agree with it in her heart, she still obeyed his will and said to Haijiao, "Then prepare the New Year gifts another day, and Baoshun will run errands for Grandma."

Haijiao agreed with a smile.

The matchmaker invited by Qiao Fu was Feng, who was somewhat unexpected to Fang and Hai Baozhu, but they were familiar with each other and had a good relationship with each other. Feng also brought his wife with him. The couple were warm and friendly and very good at talking. They praised Qiao Fu's newly improved conditions to the sky. If Fang had not known Qiao Fu's true situation for a long time, she might have believed them and really thought that Qiao Fu was a rising star of the Jinyiwei who came from a noble official family, had a bright future, and was both civil and military!

However, even though she knew that the words of the Feng couple were exaggerated and Qiao Fu's conditions were far from as good as they said, Fang was still very happy. She knew that Qiao Fu had a good family background and was both civil and military. She also knew that he was now under the command of his second nephew Hai Jiao, and his future was bright. If her daughter could marry him, she might have to suffer for a few years, but she would definitely live a good life in the future. Besides, her daughter was Hai Jiao's cousin, and Qiao Fu married the daughter of his in-laws and the sister of his boss, so he would never dare to be disrespectful. Looking at Qiao Fu's talent and appearance, although he was a few years older than Hai Baozhu, he could also be called a handsome man, and he was a hundred times better than the waste from the Jiang family's side branch in the past! Besides, Baozhu also liked him... Fang happily listened to the exaggerated words of the Feng couple, and agreed to the marriage without waiting for them to talk about the betrothal gift. Shopkeeper Feng and his wife were even happier upon seeing this, and they spoke all kinds of auspicious words. After a short while, they had arranged the three books and six ceremonies.

Ma was originally there to support her niece Fang, but she just went to chat with her for a while and didn't help at all. Fang had already discussed the matter with the matchmaker, so she didn't need to worry about it at all. Ma was happy, but she felt a little redundant. Someone came to her house to tell her that the imperial edict was coming, so she immediately took her leave. She didn't know how Fang talked with the person afterwards.

Now Ma thought of this and immediately sent someone to ask Fang. Soon she got a reply and learned that Fang and the Feng couple had a very smooth discussion. Both parties agreed to arrange an engagement for Qiao Fu and Hai Baozhu before the New Year and to officially get married in the first half of next year. This date was much earlier than Fang had originally expected, but the Feng couple said that Qiao Fu was not young anymore and that if he got married and started a family earlier, he could concentrate on his career. Even if Hai Baozhu needed to recuperate, she could wait until after the marriage to recuperate. Qiao Fu was not in a hurry to have children and was willing to give her enough time, but when he had a family and a career in the future, he would also need a good wife to help him manage the household chores.

Fang hesitated for a moment, then agreed to Qiao Fu's request. Since her son-in-law was willing to give her daughter time to recuperate, there was no need for her to postpone the wedding until one or two years later. Qiao Fu was about to have a bright future, and would soon go from being ignored to being in high demand. If the wedding was delayed for too long, something might go wrong. And if her daughter missed this ideal marriage, she didn't know if she could find a better family. For the sake of her daughter's happiness, Fang was still able to make compromises.

Seeing the pleading look in her daughter Hai Baozhu's eyes, Fang's heart softened and she agreed to the wedding date. However, Qiao Fu also understood that she and Hai Baozhu depended on each other for survival, and she would definitely be worried about her daughter, so she asked the matchmaker Feng to come forward and invite the future mother-in-law, welcoming Fang to stay at her daughter and son-in-law's home for a long time to help Hai Baozhu recuperate. Qiao Fu lost his parents at a young age and lived in the spy circle for a long time, away from normal family life. He believed that he needed the guidance of a loving elder to ensure that he could have a happy and stable life in the future.

This invitation was actually Qiao Fu's disguised promise to Fang to provide for her in her old age.

Fang was immediately overjoyed and even more satisfied with Qiao Fu as her son-in-law. Now that her second aunt Ma had sent someone to ask about the follow-up, Fang happily asked the person to pass a message to Ma. Her daughter's wedding date was moved up, and the dowry had to be prepared quickly. She was unfamiliar with the capital, and as a widow, it was inconvenient for her to do many things, so she had to ask for help from her second uncle and aunt's family.

Ma was also happy for Fang when she got the news: "Baozhu's marriage is finally settled. Her mother has someone to rely on for the rest of her life. We don't have to worry about her retirement anymore. Fu'er's family has an experienced and capable elder in charge. We don't have to worry about the young couple getting into trouble because they are young and ignorant. This is really a double happiness!"

Sorry to have kept you waiting for so long. I was discharged from the hospital today, so I only had time to write one chapter. Please bear with me. I haven't written for a week, so I'm a little rusty. I'll resume normal updates tomorrow after I adjust to my current state.