Chapter 77: Change of Weather

  Tian knew that this elder sister was quite capable, had a good eye for people, and had a wide range of knowledge. She was a person with depth and insight. He quickly told Zheng Suhui about the three candidates he had carefully selected.

  Zheng Suxin listened on one side while looking at the three men's resumes and the matchmaker's letter describing their family situations, and soon made her choice.

  "This is the Deng family, although they are wealthy and of good birth, there is only a widowed mother and he is her only son. There are many sisters and uncles and brothers in the household, it may not be easy to get along with them later." Zheng Suxin said tactfully.

  Tian sighed and said, "I originally thought that since they only have one son, Yuer would become the mistress of the house after marrying in, and there wouldn't be any disputes over dividing the family property in the future. I even thought it was a good match."

  Zheng Suxin covered her sleeve and smiled, saying: "Second brother's wife, you're lucky to be married to my mother as a daughter-in-law. My mother is a well-known kind-hearted person, but you can't expect everyone to be as good-natured as my mother."

  Kang is indeed a rare and virtuous person.

  Zheng Suxin and Zheng Xinghong are the children of their parents' first marriage, but they get along very well with their stepmother Kang.

  Tian also knew that Zheng Su-hen was not a person without a plan in her heart, and even she said that Kang's way was very kind, it really was very kind.

  Tian hesitated for a moment, “...You mean, Old Mrs. Deng is not quite right?”

  "This is just my humble opinion. Think about the old lady of the Deng family, who lost her husband at a young age and spent many years raising her children alone, and yet she managed to keep the family business intact. Just this achievement is not something that an ordinary woman can do. She herself has done it, so she may also have high expectations for others. If Yuer were to marry into their family, she would definitely have to take the mother-in-law as a model. Our daughters are all spoiled and pampered, although they know books and etiquette, but if they encounter such an overly strict mother-in-law, the children will really suffer too much, I couldn't bear it. I don't know what my second brother and sister think." Zheng Suheng said cautiously.

  Tian understood Zheng Su Huan's meaning, thought for a moment, nodded and said: "You're right. I didn't think of this layer, thanks to Big Sister reminding me." After finishing, she smiled again: "Father and mother often praised you as a careful person, today I know that you are indeed very careful, more careful than me, the birth mother. No wonder everyone praises you as a rare virtuous person, I am convinced today."

  Zheng Suxin smiled slightly. The Zheng family was her maternal family, and with their prosperity, she had the confidence to be in her husband's family. Zheng Suxin had never been a petty person, and even if others annoyed her, she wouldn't take it too seriously.

  Zheng Yuer is her junior, and she hopes that the girls in the Zheng family will all marry well-off husbands with a good family background, so that they can rise together.

  The two of them looked at the remaining candidates again.

  Zheng Suxin finally chose the Zhang family, saying: "This family has many children, a good family tradition, you see they have not had any concubines for several generations, all the children in the family are legitimate, although not as wealthy as the Deng family, but also a first-class family. Especially the young master of the Zhang family is a progressive one, you see he is only 18 years old and has already become a juren, three years later will be the year of the imperial examination, if he can pass the jinshi exam, in the future with the support of our Wu and Zheng families, a position as a minister is guaranteed."

  Tian heard this and was overjoyed, saying: "Let's go and combine our eight characters to see if we are a match."

  Zheng Suxin nodded and said, "I'll send someone to specifically ask about the situation of the Zhang family and see if it's the same as what the matchmaker said. If the matchmaker didn't exaggerate, I think this child is not bad and can be paired with our family's Yu'er."

  Tian said hastily: "Then I'll have to trouble you, elder sister."

  "Don't worry, Yu'er is my niece, I'll definitely help her choose a good husband." Zheng Suheng said, getting up to bid farewell, and went to say goodbye to Kangshi and Old Master Zheng. Along the way, she also visited her own younger brother Zheng Xinghong and chatted with him for a while before leaving the Zheng Guo Gong Fu.

  After returning, Zheng Suhui entrusted several people to investigate the situation of the Zhang family and found that it was indeed as the matchmaker said. Moreover, she also heard that the old lady of the Zhang family liked Zheng Yuer very much and insisted on having her as a wife for her eldest son.

  "Has Madam Zhang seen Yu'er?" Zheng Suxin asked the person who was inquiring about the news.

  "That person smiled and said: 'It's said that she was seen at several banquets before. Zheng Dagu Niang is gentle and polite, and can take care of the weak and small, leaving a good impression on Old Lady Zhang.'"

  If it were the young master of the Zhang family who was infatuated with Zheng Yuer, Zheng Suhui might still have hesitated. But now it's her future mother-in-law who has a good impression of Zheng Yuer, which is truly rare and precious.

  A woman is not afraid of not being able to win a man's favor, but rather of not being able to win her mother-in-law's heart. Because a man's heart is always easier to move than his mother's.

  Zheng Suxin immediately sent a letter to Tian Shi.

  The Tian family had already matched the eight characters and said it was a heavenly match. After hearing Zheng Suxin's news, Tian immediately recognized the Zhang family. With joy, she told Zheng Xinghui that she wanted to form an alliance with the Zhang family.

  Mr. Zheng was a bookworm and upon hearing that Zhang's son could read, he immediately took a liking to him.

  The two families hit it off, and by the end of the year, the eldest son of the Zhang family and the eldest daughter of the Zheng family had already become engaged, with the betrothal gifts, divination, and request for a wedding date all completed. They decided to hold the grand wedding three years later, hoping to achieve the auspicious omen of "a big success followed by a small success".

  Zheng Yuer is thirteen years old this year, and in three years she will be only sixteen years old. It's the age when one is still young and tender, getting married and having children a year later doesn't count as too young, it's just right.

  This joyful event was accomplished, and not only did the Tian family and Zheng Xinghui thank Zheng Suhuan, but even the Kang family was grateful to Zheng Suhuan. To repay Zheng Suhuan's kindness, the Kang family even took the initiative to advise Old Master Zheng to establish his original wife's eldest son, Zheng Xinghong, as the heir.

  Mr. Zheng, however, seemed to have other plans and told Mrs. Kang not to interfere, that he had his own ideas.

  ……

  On the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, Sheng Siyan had Laba porridge at home with her parents and younger half-brother and half-sister.

  Sheng Ningfang was scooping the Laba porridge from her bowl with a spoon while perking up her ears to listen to Wangshi and Sheng Qiye's conversation.

  "...Zheng's eldest daughter has gotten engaged, we should also send a gift to show our respects." Wang said to Sheng Qiye.

  Sheng Qiye said casually, "You're in charge, what's the point of asking me?" He also said, "I saw a medicine in the palace pharmacy that I think can be used to replace the poisonous liquid of Guo Shanfeng. After you finish your congee, come with me to the pharmacy and we'll take a look together."

  Wang was also a medical enthusiast, and upon hearing this, he hastily said: "Alright then. Let Siyan take care of the gift-giving." After finishing his congee in a hurry, he followed Sheng Qiye to the pharmacy to study alternative prescriptions.

  Sheng Siyan smiled and watched her parents' figures disappear at the end of the corridor, then lowered her head and took another big mouthful of porridge.

  This porridge is so sweet!

  Sheng Siyan ate one bowl and wanted to eat another bowl.

  Sheng Ning Fang looked at Sheng Si Yan's increasingly plump figure with disdain and said, "Elder sister, you are the eldest daughter of our country's public house, can't you show some dignity? Fortunately, we can't go out now, otherwise I would be so ashamed to go out with you that I would die."

  Sheng Siyan knew that the women of the Great Xia Empire valued thinness as beauty, Sheng Ningfang did not listen to Wang's advice and only ate sparingly. At such a young age, she indeed had a delicate and elegant demeanor, but it was too early for her to be dieting like this...

  Sheng Siyan has said many times, but Sheng Ningfang doesn't think so and still thinks that Sheng Siyan is intentionally trying to get her to follow Fat.

  Since he wouldn't listen no matter how much she advised him, Sheng Siyan also didn't bother advising him anymore.

  "I'm eating my family's food, what business is it of yours? I think you've never been hungry. Wait until you're starved for three days and three nights, see if you still dare to speak nonsense." Sheng Siyan gave a cold glance at Sheng Ningfang, finishing the second bowl of Laba congee cleanly.

  On her way back from the dining hall, Sheng Siyan found that the weather had suddenly turned cold. The cold wind whizzed into her silver fox fur coat, and the wind blowing on her face was like a knife scraping against it.

  "It's unbearable, it's unbearable, how can it be so cold......" Sheng Siyan returned to her own room, still shivering with cold.

  The brazier had been lit early in the house, but the cold wind still blew in with a hiss from the open doorway.

  Mugwort led a few little maidservants to find and replace the thick gray mouse fur door curtain.

  Sheng Siyan was so eager that she almost threw herself onto the warm and cozy kang.

  Haitang brought her a cup of hot ginseng tea.

  Sheng Siyan drank half a cup in one breath, and only then did he feel the warmth gradually spreading from his stomach to his limbs.

  "How did it suddenly get so cold?" Sheng Siyan exclaimed. In previous years when they lived in the small broken house in Wangjia Village, they only used a pot of charcoal fire which was enough, and it had never been this cold before.

  "Maybe it's going to snow. It would be great if it did."

  Sheng Siyan muttered to herself, in previous years it had also snowed heavily, but never to the point where water would freeze into ice.

  The next morning, it started snowing as expected.

  It started with snowflakes, then became snowflowers, and later turned into snow petals. The sky was covered with a thick layer of snow, and it was impossible to see anyone's shadow three feet away.

  Sheng Siyan hid in her room and didn't even go to Wang's place for morning and evening greetings, and she also ate in her own room.

  Going out occasionally will freeze the whole person.

  It took a long time to recover after going back to the room and lying on the kang.

  On such a cold day, Sheng Qiye still had to take care of Xia Mingdi's body.

  Because of the snowy weather, Sheng Qiye has been staying in the imperial doctor's quarters in the palace these days and hasn't gone home.

  Wang's family, reminded by Wang Yixing, had long been prepared for the winter with charcoal and food, as well as sheepskin coats for all the servants, so they were not flustered in such cold weather.

  But others in Beijing were not so lucky.

  It snowed for five days and nights, and some beggars froze to death on the streets of Beijing.

  The Metropolitan Governor ordered the yamen runners to collect and bury the dead bodies on the streets, while also instructing the neighborhood heads of each street district to pay attention to the movements of their neighbors.

  This cold weather will soon spread from Beijing to all directions.

  Memorials from all over the disaster-stricken areas flew to the empress dowager's desk like snowflakes.

  Winter is originally a time of scarcity, and in some places, there are more vagrants going out to beg than at other times.

  This winter is so cold that many wandering beggars froze to death halfway.

  The weather is so cold, few people are willing to come out and work.

  The number of dead bodies piled up along the way also increased.

  Fortunately, it was cold and frozen, and living people could be frozen like ice sculptures, so these corpses didn't matter for the time being.

  By mid-December, the weather became colder and colder.

  The snow that fell the other day has not melted at all, and is piled up in the streets and alleys of the capital city. Due to the extremely cold weather, the snow has frozen into ice, causing many ordinary people's roofs to collapse.

  In such cold weather, even a warm house is gone, and it's even more miserable.

  Sheng Siyan covered herself with a thick sable muffler, sitting in her own warm house, entertaining Niu Xiaoye who had come to visit.

  Niu Xiaoye is restless.

  Those days when it had just snowed, she couldn't go anywhere, so she could only patiently stay at home.

  It's not snowing now, although the snow hasn't melted yet and the weather is still freezing cold. She couldn't sit still, so after discussing with her brother, she came to Cheng Siyan's house for a visit.

  Niu Xiaoye has been visiting Sheng Guo Gong frequently over the past few months. Moreover, in various activities in the capital city, as long as she can participate, she must be with Sheng Siyan together and openly defend her, not allowing others to speak ill of her.

  Sheng Siyan was very grateful and regarded her as a kindred spirit, even if Niu Xiaoye sometimes said the wrong thing, she didn't mind, knowing that Niu Xiaoye had such a bold and careless personality, which overshadowed her flaws.

  "Niu Siyan, I heard that Zheng Dainai is going to set up a porridge shed in the city to give porridge to those refugees. Does your family, the Sheng Guo Gong Fu, want to contribute some money and also set up a porridge shed?" Niu Xiaoye asked while eating crispy sesame seed crackers.

  This is the first update of 3500 words. There will be more updates in the afternoon with rewards. Are you girls ready to throw your pink tickets? Don't forget (⊙o⊙) oh!

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