If not abolished

In the alley, several middle-aged women were doing needlework and talking about the latest news around them.

"Hey, have you heard? A wealthy family just moved into Nanmen Hutong?" said Auntie A, twisting the thread in her hand.

"A wealthy family? What wealthy family? Why do they come to our small place for no reason?" Aunt B disagreed.

Auntie C patted the two sisters' hands and said, "Don't tell me, I passed by and took a look at this family when they first moved in."

"Really? Then do you think they are a wealthy family?" Aunt B asked curiously.

Auntie Bing kept it a secret, "At that time, I only saw the carriages parked along the way, but I didn't see the owner of the house. However, the servants looked quite elegant, and the girl was dressed like the housekeeper of the county magistrate's family."

"So it seems that some important person has really come to Jining City." Aunt B said.

"Isn't it some declining family in the capital?" Auntie A guessed.

"It's really hard to say. Look at the Hu family in the past, wasn't it the same? Now the old lady and the third daughter are back too?" Aunt Bing thought of another family.

When Auntie B heard about the Hu family, she said sarcastically, "You know, this Hu family is really strange. Mr. Hu finally got a job in the capital, and the old lady went there to enjoy her life. How come he came back in less than a year? And he brought his granddaughter back with him."

"Didn't they say that the third young lady came back to accompany the old lady to recuperate?" Aunt A said honestly.

"Recuperate? That's all an excuse. Let me tell you something." Auntie B looked around and saw that there was no one around. She bent over and whispered, "I heard that the third girl doesn't have a very good reputation in the capital. It's spread all over the capital that the third girl is a sickly girl. No one dared to propose marriage to her, so she hid back."

"Where did you hear this news? Didn't they say that the third young lady's health has improved a lot in the past two years?" Aunt C asked suspiciously.

"Oh, my dear sister, this news was told by the Liu family in the north of the city. You know, she has a cousin from her aunt's family whose neighbor's brother is working in the capital, so her news cannot be wrong." Aunt B patted her chest and guaranteed.

"But I remember that many fortune tellers in the city have read the fortune of the third girl, and they said that she would be rich and powerful in the future, right?"

"Then it's not true yet, is it? The third girl will be twelve or thirteen next year. Look, there are matchmakers coming to propose marriage. Every family in this city, big or small, knows that the third girl of the Hu family is in poor health."

"Well, the Hu family has done a lot of good deeds in the city, so let's do some good deeds." Auntie A stopped the topic of the Hu family from continuing.

"I won't say it anymore, but it's the truth."

"Okay, stop talking, or someone will hear it."

胡宅

"Girl, something's wrong with you." Lingzhi ran over shouting.

Hu Shanxiang had been well-behaved for the past six months and had become much calmer. Seeing Lingzhi running over, she held her hand and said, "Why are you so anxious? What happened?"

"Something bad has happened to the girl."

"What happened?"

"Just now, I heard a matchmaker coming to the front yard to propose marriage to the girl." Lingzhi said in surprise.

"Really?" Hu Shanxiang was very calm.

Lingzhi was puzzled as to why the girl had no reaction at all and was so calm. "Girl, are you scared silly? Why are you so calm and not excited at all?"

"It's normal for a matchmaker to come to my house. There's nothing to be surprised about. I'm getting older day by day. It's only a matter of time."

"Ah, young lady, have you been ready for a long time? I thought, young lady, have you ever thought about what kind of person you want to marry?"

"This!" Hu Shanxiang kept silent.

"Girl, can you tell me something?" Lingzhi was extremely curious.

"You are so curious, girl. Do you want to get married? Otherwise, I will ask my grandmother to help you." Hu Shanxiang said with a smile.

Lingzhi blushed so much at what her girl said, "Miss, you are so good at teasing me. I will never marry and will stay with you all my life. Wherever you go, I will go." Lingzhi showed her loyalty to her.

"That's so good. You will stay with me all my life." Hu Shanxiang was suddenly moved. In her previous life, even her own family did not firmly choose her. She traveled to ancient times and was told by a little girl that she would stay with her all her life.

"Yes, even if you get married, I will still stay with you." Lingzhi looked at Hu Shanxiang's expression, which was about to cry, and was at a loss for a moment, "Miss, what's wrong with you? I grew up with you and was born to accompany you. This is my mission."

"But everyone has his or her own life. If one day you want to pursue your own happiness, just tell me."

"Miss, I am already very happy to be with such a good master like you. Marrying someone is just changing someone to serve you, and that person may not be as good as you, so why should I make myself suffer?"

"You can see clearly."

"Of course."

"Well, from now on we will share the good times and the bad times together."

"You are so nice girl."

"You are good too."

"Miss, aren't you curious about which young man the matchmaker introduced to you?" Lingzhi was still curious about this.

"Why are you in such a hurry? If grandma thinks it's a good idea, she'll tell me later, right?" Hu Shanxiang really took this matter in her stride.

"The girl is really patient."

"Read more books and practice calligraphy, you can do it too."

Hu Shanxiang thought her grandmother would tell her about this during the meal, but she didn't expect that the meal was no different from usual. She didn't ask any questions, and after she put the old lady to sleep, she went back to her room to rest.

"Why didn't the old lady tell the third young lady about the matchmaker coming to her house today?" asked the nanny beside her.

"Si'er's parents are not in Jining, so how can I make the decision alone? What's the point of bringing it up so early when Bayi hasn't even started yet? Besides, Si'er herself may not be willing to marry in Jining, so this matter needs to be considered carefully."

"Then let the master and his wife in the capital read this letter?"

"The letter must be written, so that her parents can know that someone wants to be a matchmaker for her. Let's see what their plans are."

"But the third girl is still young. She can wait for a year or two to pick one."

"Do you think that Er knows this himself?"

"I didn't see anything unusual with the Third Miss during the meal, but now she is in charge of all the family affairs. Logically, she should know about the matchmaker coming to her house."

"She has made a lot of progress in the year since she came back, which is both a good thing and a bad thing."

"What the old lady said is very strange. Isn't it a good thing for a girl to grow up? Why is it not a good thing?"

"It's a good thing that she's grown up and become sensible, but it also means that she has to be independent and get further and further away from us."

"old lady."

"It's okay. This day will come sooner or later."

"Sir, I heard that a matchmaker came to propose marriage to the third young lady?"

"Talking about marriage?"