At the beginning of September, a small autumn rain quietly came, washing away the last trace of heat left in Shudi, and it began to feel a little cool in the morning and evening.

Yang'an County, Jianzhou, this is Jianzhou Prefecture, Xue Tao's new home is located here, it is a small Linjiang county, in a blink of an eye, his father Xue Xun has been the governor of Jianzhou for almost four months.

In front of the window, Xue Tao was writing letters to Ai Lang at the desk, she had to write a letter to Ai Lang almost every day, but none of these letters were sent, they were all placed in the small cabinet next to her, and there was already a thick stack.

The thoughts brought by an autumn rain added a little sadness to her, and the strong feelings of longing pressed on her heart like a mountain, making her unable to extricate herself and making her difficult to dispel, so she had to write a letter to express her feelings of longing.

'Although the concubine is in a small city in Shu, she can hear the sound of the horn on the battlefield, Jin Ge Iron Horse, the remnant sun is like blood, I don't know if Guo Lang can be safe........

At this time, there was a rush of footsteps in the yard, Xue Tao knew that this was Xiao Yuniang, she quickly stopped writing.

I saw Xiao Yuniang rushing into the courtyard in a hurry, and shouted loudly: "Girl, that Mrs. Liu has come to ask for a kiss again." ”

Xue Tao was suddenly upset, Mrs. Liu is the wife of Taichangqing Liu Tuo, Liu Tuo is a native of Jianzhou, his parents are old and cannot leave his hometown, his wife and several children also stayed in his hometown, except for the eldest son who is a county in Xiangzhou, the other two sons are studying in Chengdu, one is twenty years old and the other is eighteen years old.

The Liu family was also the largest landowner in Jianzhou, owning 300 hectares of fertile land on both sides of the Zhongjiang River.

Soon after Xue Xun took office, he was invited by Mrs. Liu to take his wife and daughter to Liu's house for a banquet, but Mrs. Liu took a fancy to her, and learned that Xue Tao had not yet allowed anyone, so she moved her mind, her eldest son had already married a family, and her youngest son had already been married, only the second son Liu Tong had not yet been married.

On the second day of the family banquet, she took her son to visit and tentatively proposed to the Han family the possibility of a marriage between the two families.

At this time, Han was still thinking about the Jade Sword Son of Chang'an, so he did not agree to Mrs. Liu's proposal, but he did not explicitly refuse, but only said that he needed to discuss it with her husband.

Mrs. Liu also needed to write a letter to tell her husband in the capital about this matter, and the matter was temporarily delayed, and just when everyone thought that this matter was over, Mrs. Liu came to ask for marriage again.

Xue Tao got up angrily and said, "Little Fish Lady, let's go out for a walk!" ”

Xiao Yu Niang hesitated and said: "I think it's best for the girl to make it clear that she doesn't want to, if the girl is not there, what if the lady acquiesces that the girl is willing?" ”

Xue Tao also felt that Xiao Yuniang was reasonable, he couldn't escape, and he should make his attitude clear.

"Girl!"

The maid Xiao'e said at the gate of the courtyard: "Madame, please come over!" ”

"I see!"

Xue Tao cleaned up his desk a little, put away the half-written letter, and walked quickly towards the middle hall.

The Xue family lives in an official house, I have to say that the biggest advantage of being an official in the local area is that the residence is spacious, the long history is second only to the history of the thorn in Jianzhou, and the official residence is the same as the history of the thorn, covering an area of ten acres, not to mention that the house rented in the past is a world of difference, and even the Xuanyangfang house that has just lived in it occupies only thirty percent of its area.

The official residence is a standard three-in, the front yard, the atrium and the back house, and a west courtyard, which is a place for staff and doormen to live, Xue Xun can't afford to raise a Qingke staff for the time being, and only Kang Bao lives in the west courtyard at present.

The atrium is a place for receiving guests, eating and relaxing, and there is a small courtyard with a flower bed in the middle, in which a pear tree is planted at least seventy or eighty years old, and it is full of yellow and clear autumn pears.

At this time, sitting in the main hall were Xue Tao's mother, Han, and Mrs. Liu, who came to ask for marriage.

The Han family had a very nourishing life in Jianzhou, and when she gathered in the circle of officials and wives in Chang'an, she was not of high status, she was despised everywhere, she looked at people coldly everywhere, and her clothes were always the same.

Now her husband is the second person in Jianzhou, holding real power, there are many people begging his family to do things, there is an endless stream of gift-givers, Han's has several sets of good silk dresses, the family is well-off, Han bought five or six more servants, especially in various gatherings, she is always surrounded by all kinds of flattering people, which makes her feel dignified, and she doesn't want to go back to the capital.

The Han family wears silk, eats oil, pampers and treats well, and the aura of the official's wife has gradually developed, and she has also learned the routine of the official's wife, it can be said that among the three members of the family, she is the one who has changed the most.

Although her husband repeatedly warned her that she was not allowed to accept financial gifts, the Han family still refused all kinds of small favors, a few taels of silver, a few horses of silk, a few loads of pork, a few kinds of game, a few baskets of mountain goods, etc., of course, she couldn't receive a really large amount of gifts.

While drinking tea, Han smiled and listened to Mrs. Liu praise her son.

"It's not that I specially praised my son, my Erlang is handsome, has a good character, and has a gentle personality, he is studying in Chengdu, and there is no one in Chengdu who does not praise him, saying that he can inherit his father's business, and sooner or later he will become a high-ranking official in the imperial court, by the way, he is going to enter Beijing next spring to catch the exam, this child has been studying hard in recent years, and there should be no problem with the title of the gold list."

Han smiled and said: "Ling Lang is indeed very good, I believe that people who want to marry your mansion have also lined up, but marriage also pays attention to fate, we are all from the past, we should have a deep experience, Mrs. Liu said didn't it?" ”

Mrs. Liu's smile was a little stiff, and she reluctantly said: "My family's Erlang fell in love with Ling Ai at first sight, and I think this is their fate." ”

Han secretly despised her in her heart, and there were many people who fell in love with her daughter at first sight, and even the Jade Sword Prince, one of the four princes of Chang'an, bent down to the door to recommend himself, and the young people in a small county town also wanted to beat her daughter's idea?

In the matter of the Liu family's courtship, she and her husband have the same attitude, they can't marry the Liu family, the husband respects the daughter's choice, and the Han family doesn't look down on the Liu family, with the jade sword son in front of him, all the people who come to ask for marriage are bleak.

However, Liu Tuo is Taichangqing after all, and he is a high-ranking official from the third rank of the imperial court, and he can't offend people.

Han said: "Our family has a very light view of everything in the door, especially my lord's attitude is more open-minded, as long as his daughter is willing, he has no opinion, I said fate is what it means, to see the child's attitude." ”

"Hey! What children know, they are all arranged by their parents, this has been the case since ancient times, the words of the matchmaker, the orders of the parents, I don't think there is any need to pay too much attention to the children's ideas. ”

Mrs. Liu could see that Xue Tao was very indifferent to her son, so she knew that she was not very willing, so she didn't want to ask Xue Tao's opinion, as long as Han and her husband Xue Changshi agreed.

At this time, Xue Tao walked in, gave a salute to his mother, and gave Mrs. Liu a blessing gift.

Han smiled slightly: "Erlang of the Liu family has a deep love for you, Mrs. Liu also likes you very much, you are not young anymore, can you see if this marriage lady can make decisions for you?" ”

Xue Tao shook his head decisively and said, "My daughter doesn't agree!" ”

Mrs. Liu's face suddenly became a little unbearable, and she said coldly: "Miss Xue means that my son is not worthy of you?" ”

Xue Tao saluted her, "Xue Tao's ideas are not so worldly, and I never look at any family, as long as I like it, even if the other party is poor, even if it is a down-and-out scholar, I am willing to marry him, maybe Ling Lang is very good, but I don't feel suitable for me." ”

"Tao'er, don't be rude!"

Han Shi sank his face and said, "I really shouldn't have called you here, you should go out quickly." ”

Xue Tao saluted Mrs. Liu again, turned around and walked away quickly.

Han hurriedly laughed and said: "The child is not sensible, Madame should not be as knowledgeable as her, I will ask her to apologize to Madame when I go back." ”

Mrs. Liu was helpless, of course she couldn't show the same knowledge as the younger generation, she had to say: "What Ling Ai says, I won't take it to heart, I just hope that Mrs. and Xue Changshi can give a clear statement, if this marriage can be successful, I can also arrange a matchmaker to come to the door, if it can't be done, it is best to give me an explanation, so that I can give my lord an explanation, he is very serious." ”

What can Han say to her? said that the family is not worthy, and the family is higher than their own; said that the other party's son was shallow, and he couldn't say this; Come to think of it, it's best to use delaying tactics.

"Isn't Ling Lang going to participate in the imperial examination next year? I think he should be allowed to concentrate on studying, and when he Jinbang High School, maybe Ling Lang won't be able to look down on my family Tao'er, Mrs. Liu, I think Ling Lang's future is still important at this stage, Ling Lang Jinbang High School, I believe that my family Tao'er has also changed his mind, and then talk about marriage, wouldn't it be a matter of course? ”

How high-sounding this was said, the other party couldn't find a reason to refute it for a while, Mrs. Liu rolled her eyes, and had to say stupidly: "Okay! Then I'll take my leave today. ”

.........