Carpenter's Lady

Chapter 9

After the two families settled down, the marriage was formally settled. Since Wu Ling had been living in the master's house, it would be difficult for him to live again after getting married, so Wu Ling planned to choose a suitable piece of land to buy. It was all prepared by the teacher's wife. The dozens of taels of silver Wu Ling had saved up was not enough to buy a house, but it was still possible to buy a piece of land and build it by himself.And what Zhang Mu has to do is to embroider the wedding dress at home. Some embroidery techniques learned in modern times also gave Zhang Mu a taste of cheating.Zhang Muhu felt that he was not useless either!But cutting clothes or something, it's not good at all!Zhang Mu could only turn to Grandma Fang, the legendary cutting expert, for help. The excuse she used was: "When I saw this red cloth, I panicked and my hands trembled a little!"

In other words, since the marriage was settled, Zhang Mu may no longer worry about being exposed as a counterfeit, and he has become more lively and thick-skinned.

The Zhao family in Xishui Village, under Zhao Wen's repeated urging, Mrs. Zhao couldn't drag the matchmaking matter any longer, so she went to Aunt Li's house behind the house.

When Aunt Li saw Mrs. Zhao coming over, she suppressed the contempt in her heart and put on a smiling face. After all, they lived in front of and behind the house, and it was not easy to make trouble.Politely let the mother-in-law of the Zhao family come in and sit and chat.

As soon as Mrs. Zhao sat down, she said: "Auntie, I have something serious to ask you after I pass today!" After Mrs. Zhao said this, she looked at Mrs. Li with a smile, waiting for her to ask what's the matter!Hmph, old godly woman, don't you want to watch the fun!Let you take a good look at it!
Aunt Li was a little dazed for a moment. Although my family and the Zhao family had occasional contacts, but because I always helped the wooden girl to talk, the Zhao family never liked me. Why did I come to her this time for something? It seemed like a happy event. . "Hey, nephew and daughter-in-law, don't play tricks on my wife. I think you look like a good thing! Tell me about it and make me happy!" Aunt Li smiled, her wrinkled face It squeezed into a chrysanthemum.

"Old aunt, isn't it a happy event! I'm here to ask you to help me run to Li Xiucai's house, and add Saner for me to be a great matchmaker!" Mrs. Zhao took Aunt Li's hand and said very affectionately Said.

Aunt Li stopped laughing when she heard this, and immediately said with a serious face: "Nephew and daughter-in-law, your third son just said that he is seven years older than Xiu'er from my grandnephew's family. What! I can't promise this!" Aunt Li waved her hand resolutely.

Mrs. Zhao saw that Aunt Li's expression was so quick, so she didn't pretend to be polite at the moment. She took out a handkerchief embroidered with wishful patterns, gently touched the corners of her mouth, and said, "Auntie, I won't hide it from you anymore. "You and Li Xiucai's family are also close relatives. It's okay for you to know about it. The daughter of the Li family has been pregnant with my third son's flesh and blood for two months. If my family doesn't propose marriage again, I won't be able to hide this belly!" "

"What did you say? Girl Xiu is pregnant?" Mrs. Li didn't care anymore when she saw the gloating expression on Zhao's mother-in-law. Now she just wanted to go to the town to ask her second nephew!He called his daughter-in-law over and accompanied her to the town.

"Okay, the old aunt actually agreed to help me take a trip, so I'll go back first, the old aunt has good news, you have to come and let me know, otherwise I won't know about it here, if it takes another ten days, Eight days, I’m afraid your nephews and grandchildren will come to beg you!” After finishing speaking, Mrs. Zhao stood up, dusted off her skirt with a handkerchief, and walked away with her head held high.

The daughter-in-law of the Li family has sharp eyes, and by looking at the handkerchief on the Zhao family's mother-in-law, she knows that Zhang Mu made it.Seeing that her mother-in-law was shaking from being angry, she hurriedly asked her son to find her husband and accompany Aunt Li to the town together!

Li Xiucai and Li Dalang from Shuiyang Village are both grandnephews of Aunt Li's natal family. After Li's father and Li Laoniang passed away, Li Xiucai and Li Dalang's family separated because Li Dasister and Li Xiucai's daughter-in-law couldn't get along, and the two families had no relationship. Very few, but I still respect Aunt Li and Grandma Li very much. After all, my parents have been walking with Aunt Li very frequently when they were here. The old aunt said that she was not an aunt back then, and she would have starved to death long ago, and the two brothers agreed with tears.

As the only scholar in the town, Li Xiucai has opened a school to teach in the town for many years, and many elementary school children in the village below were enlightened by Li Xiucai.Zhao Wen is one of them.The daughter of Li Xiucai's family, Xiu'er, is only 15 years old this year, and she has a five-year-old brother below her.Since Li Xiucai was able to stand out among thousands of boys and become a scholar, he devoted himself to studying poetry and books since he was a child, and regarded Confucius and Mencius as a saint. When her daughter was 13 years old, the Hong family was looking for a good boy for her daughter among Li Xiucai's students, picking and choosing, and found that among these students, no one could compare with Zhao Wen in terms of appearance, family background, and intelligence. , I sighed in my heart, and every time I considered other young gentlemen, I would say: "Compared with the Zhao family's gentlemen, they are still worse!" It was actually Zhao Wen who usually had a humble and courteous appearance, and the gift he gave every year was lower than that of the Zhao family. Ordinary students are more generous, which is why Hong feels that Zhao Wen is a young gentleman with a future and a family background.The reason why Zhao Wen was more polite than others was that at that time half of Zhang Mu's monthly embroidery money was handed over to Zhao Wen. Zhao Wen had money in his hand, so he was naturally more generous than the students who were struggling.

Li Xiu'er was a little impatient when she heard her mother nagging about the student surnamed Zhao every time, so she casually said once: "Then just choose Mr. Zhao?"

Hong looked at Li Xiuer's carefree appearance, and sighed, "Then the young man of the Zhao family already has a wife, how could he marry you again!" There is a young son who is still ignorant, and he must be taught well in the future.

After listening to her mother talking a lot, Li Xiuer became curious about Zhao Wen. When Li Xiucai was giving lectures, she secretly looked at Zhao Wen twice through the window. Never had ten children!Seeing the little girl from the master's house outside peeping at her, a strange idea burst out in her mind, and she looked out of the window with a gentle smile, Li Xiu'er covered her heart, and ran away blushing.

How could a 15-year-old ignorant and willful girl be able to defeat a 22-year-old man? Soon, Zhao Wen got her hand in Li Xiucai's small earthen hut where debris was piled up.

One month ago, the Hong family saw that their daughter always had a bad appetite and vomited frequently, so she asked Li Xiucai to invite the doctor, but Li Xiuer hurriedly stopped her and said, "Mother, I just don't sleep well at night, I kicked the quilt, and I'll be fine after a night of sleep." No, every time the old man takes the medicine, he cries to death, I don’t want to drink it! It’s just a waste of medicine money to call him over!”

Seeing her daughter saying this, Mrs. Hong felt the same when thinking of the medicinal juice wasted every time, so she waited for a while and looked at it again, then said: "Then look at it tomorrow, if it doesn't work, I will invite a doctor for you!"

I am clear about my own affairs, this morning sickness is not something that will be resolved in a day or two, that night Li Xiuer hesitated to tell Hong about her pregnancy, when she found out that the child was Zhao Wen, Hong thought it was extremely ironic , She thought that a man who was so good, turned out to be so filthy inside that he seduced the daughter of his master's family!

"Mother, he has already divorced because of me, and when he prepares the dowry, he will come to my house to propose marriage!" Li Xiu'er said shyly while enduring the nausea that rolled in her heart.

"Amu of the Zhang family and Li went home because of you?" A flash of light suddenly flashed through Hong's chaotic mind, and he looked at his daughter in shock.She thought that Zhao Wen was the daughter who hooked up with Li Hou, but it turned out that the two had been dating for a long time.Hong buried her head on her lap and swallowed in grief. She didn't even take good care of her daughter at home. During this period of time, she devoted herself to teaching her son and felt that her daughter was very safe at home. Unexpectedly... Oh my god!What a failed mother she was!

"Mother, don't cry, Zhao Lang will come to propose marriage soon, don't worry! It won't be good if Dad hears about it!" Li Xiu'er said impatiently.Mother is also true, father is next door!Unable to bear it, he vomited into the corner of the wall.

Hong raised her head, looked at her daughter squatting in the corner with teary eyes, and felt that she had never felt so unloved in her life!But this is her daughter after all, she must let her live smoothly.Zhao Wen has been with her for almost a month, and her daughter's belly has been around for at least two months, but the Zhao family hasn't come to propose marriage yet, so Mrs. Zhao might want to take advantage of Xiu'er's belly to get Qiao!
When Aunt Li arrived at Li Xiucai's house in the town, Li Xiucai's family was preparing to have lunch.

"Grandma, you haven't seen me for a long time. I'm planning to visit you in Xishui Village when the museum is closed for the next two days!" Li Xiucai is in his 30s, and he looks like a child in front of Grandma Li Same, full of admiration.

When Aunt Li saw her nephew who was still so affectionate to her, she couldn't help feeling more anxious, "Daughter-in-law, you go and close the gate first, and if there are students who have not returned home, give them half a day off. I have something to discuss with you." Li Xiucai immediately asked his daughter-in-law to do it when he saw the sad expression on the old aunt's face.

"Grandma, what happened to you?" Li Xiucai asked with concern.

Aunt Li looked at the concerned face of her nephew and grandson, and sighed in her heart. Seeing that Li Xiuer was still sitting at the table, she didn't even have the intention of standing up to greet her, Aunt Li said impatiently: "Xiuer, you are good She's also the daughter of a scholar's family, so why don't you have any rules? When you see me, an old woman, you won't even ask me?" She used to think that this girl was young, just at the age of innocence, and it didn't matter if she wasn't polite.But she didn't expect that this girl was so spoiled, she could do such a shameless thing!On the way here, Aunt Li had figured out that what Zhao's mother-in-law said was true, otherwise she wouldn't be begging for something.

When the Hong family was all done and came back, Aunt Li said directly to Li Xiucai: "Now there are only two days to go, one day, the child in the womb of girl Xiu is lost, marry her to another county, Zhao Wen still wants to take the exam. He didn’t dare to destroy his own reputation in the imperial examination, and the bridge will return to the bridge, and the road will return to the road, which has nothing to do with each other; second, Xiu girl will marry in this way, and let Zhao’s mother-in-law hold her in the future!”

Before Old Aunt Li finished speaking, Li Xiucai's brows were already furrowed, "What child? What does it have to do with Zhao Wen?"

Aunt Li saw her nephew and grandson looking dazed, so she couldn't help but close her eyes. This child was only thinking about studying and didn't care about anything. She didn't even know that her daughter was pregnant with a student's flesh and blood.

Li Xiucai couldn't bear to ask any more when he saw his aunt's grief-stricken look. He turned his head to look at his wife and daughter. Seeing that both of them were pale, he suddenly felt a pain in his heart. His daughter!

A group of people in the Li family turned their backs on their backs, but Li Xiuer never let go of her pregnancy. She believed that Zhao Lang would come to marry her in a grand manner!From that day on, Li Xiucai never wanted to see her daughter again, and she didn't even want to hear about her.At this time, it was the Hong family who stood alone and went to the Zhao family to meet with Mrs. Zhao. Just one thing, if Zhao Wen of your family is determined to test his fame, he would not come to my house to propose marriage.

Dare to say that, the Hong family has the confidence. Her husband is the only scholar in this town, and the other one who was selected as a scholar is a student of Li Xiucai. His luck is better than that of Li Xiucai, and he passed the exam without any obstacles. Even though he is a top-ranked Jinshi, it is quite impressive in a small town. It just so happens that this student is the county magistrate of Tongtai County.At that time, people paid attention to respecting teachers, and the county magistrate still respected Li Xiucai very much, and he would send his subordinates to give gifts every year and festival.But what Hong didn't know was that what she was relying on was the reason that killed her daughter for life.

The next day, Mrs. Zhao asked Matchmaker Xu to come to Li's house to propose marriage, and the two quickly made a deal.Instead of wild geese, two ducks were used for the small ceremony, two bolts of fine cotton cloth, four strands of silk thread, a silver hairpin with Ruyi pattern, a bead hoop, a pair of silver bracelets with white characters Ruyi pattern, and a pair of gold earrings in the shape of orchid buds. , six boxes of pastries.Hong frowned immediately, it was too different from what she had expected, but her daughter was already pregnant with the Zhao family's flesh and blood, so she couldn't offend the Zhao family too much, otherwise Xiu'er's life in the Zhao family would not be easy in the future.Then he stopped making a sound.Li Xiucai never came out!

The wedding date of Li Xiuer and Zhao Wen was set on April [-]th, only half a month away from Xiaoding. Everyone in the town wondered why Xiucai married his daughter in such a hurry. In terms of body shape, it was obvious at a glance that Li Xiu'er was pregnant.The rumors in the town picked up like the wind.

(End of this chapter)