Chapter 191 Lin Zhaoyuan Asks Zhang Guifen to Propose Marriage

Sheng Family, Shou'an Hall.

Old Madam Sheng said with an unhappy face:

"Didn't the first branch come here at the end of the year? At that time, you should have gotten the answer from Lord Zhongyong!"

Sheng Hong said: "What mother said is that this shipping is unprecedented in our Great Zhou Dynasty, and my cousin doesn't want to miss it."

If the first branch of the Sheng family also participates in the shipping business, it will definitely make a small profit.

And the small profit here is enough for the third branch of the Sheng family to be rich for many years.

The first branch is in business, the second branch is in politics, and the third branch is in farming, which is also the worst and often needs subsidies from the first branch.

But Sheng Hong and Sheng Wei both know in their hearts that the third branch is the last retreat of the Sheng family.

If the second branch's career is not smooth, the business of the first branch will inevitably be hindered. At that time, the third branch with land in hand will be the support of the other two branches of the Sheng family.

However, it is worth mentioning that the children of the third branch of the Sheng family are often helped by the first branch, but sometimes they still do not know what is good or bad.

Old Madam Sheng groaned, "You want me to save face, but you're worried that I can't do it alone, so you call Ming girl."

"Brother Yuan has always loved Ming girl, and he will definitely give my Sheng family a chance to participate in shipping."

"But have you ever thought that no matter how close the relatives are, there will always be a day when these favors will run out."

"As a father, have you ever thought about Ming girl?"

In fact, without relying on Wei Yuan, the eldest branch of the Sheng family can also participate in shipping trade.

However, the Sheng family has no chance to participate in the first official opening of shipping in Fuzhou as a pilot.

And the most profitable opportunity in the early stage of shipping is the overwhelming wealth that has come to Fuzhou.

The people of Fuzhou have taken it, but whether merchants, noble families, and officials in other places can take it depends on Wei Yuan's intention.

This is also the plan of Sheng Hong and Sheng Wei. They want to participate in the first opening of shipping.

However, Wei Yuan has already paid a lot for Ming girl, and has already repaid Wei Shuyi's kindness to the Wei family.

In the long run, after Ming girl gets married, if she encounters trouble, will Wei Yuan still lend a hand to help?

This is what makes Mrs. Sheng worried.

Sheng Hong sighed: "Mother, this is an opportunity for our Sheng family!"

"Minglan, after all, her surname is Sheng!"

Surname Sheng?

Hearing this, Old Lady Sheng stood up suddenly, furious,

"You bastard!"

"As a father, when have you ever put yourself in Minglan's shoes and really considered her?"

"When you first arrived in the capital, you used Minglan's uncle's reputation to collude with the rich and powerful. Do you think I don't know?"

"When it comes to considering Minglan, you are far less considerate than her uncle!"

"Now, for the sake of the Sheng family, you have to consume the kinship between Minglan and Yuan'er!"

"Don't Minglan and her mother owe you? How many of the things they wore and used today were given by you?"

"On the contrary, you took a lot of the various properties that the Duke of Yingguo and the Earl of Zhongyong gave to them and gave them to Molan, Bo'er and others. What else do you want?!"

"Remember, they don't owe you anything, and I don't owe you anything!"

Old Lady Sheng's words were really too harsh.

But she really couldn't stand it anymore.

Sheng Hong was scolded and immediately felt timid. He knelt down quickly.

"Mother, please don't be angry. I know I was wrong!"

Mrs. Sheng had some prestige in the capital. There were few people among the nobles who didn't know her.

For many nobles or wives, Mrs. Sheng was also their elder.

Nowadays, the civil servants respected this old man who dedicated his life to the Sheng family.

If it was said that Sheng Hong displeased the old lady or was known as unfilial.

His career would be over.

"I'm not going anywhere!"

"Minglan won't go either!"

"I advise you to give up some of the thoughts you shouldn't have!"

"I watched Ming grow up. No one should treat her badly!"

Mrs. Sheng said this.

Sheng Hong knew that his idea was in vain.

But just at this moment, Minglan came here and helped Sheng Hong up.

Seeing this, Old Lady Sheng did not say anything, but just sat back on the chair.

Minglan helped Sheng Hong sit down and asked, "Father, grandmother, what's wrong with you?"

Sheng Hong looked at Minglan, and felt a little ashamed for a moment. He coughed twice and said:

"Nothing, Ming girl, are you here to see your grandmother? You two can chat, I have something to do."

After a pause, he looked at Old Lady Sheng again and bowed:

"I'll take my leave first, and I'll come to greet my mother tomorrow."

Old Lady Sheng snorted and ignored it.

Sheng Hong was extremely embarrassed, so he left.

As soon as he left, Minglan came to the old lady and massaged her shoulders.

After a while, Old Lady Sheng asked:

"Why don't you ask what happened between me and your father?"

Minglan said, "Grandma, you were so angry just now, and your grandson heard it outside the yard."

Old Lady Sheng sighed, "It's your fault, your father, for thinking too much."

"You don't strive for progress yourself, but always pin your hopes on others."

Hearing this, Minglan stood in front of the old lady, thought for a moment, and said seriously:

"Grandma, I miss Sister Shulan and Sister Pinlan a little."

"I haven't seen Sister Shulan since she got married."

Sheng Weisheng has two sons and two daughters.

Shulan and Pinlan mentioned by Minglan are the legitimate daughters of the Sheng family, and Shulan is the oldest.

In addition, there are two legitimate sons, Sheng Changsong and Sheng Changwu.

After hearing what Minglan said, Old Lady Sheng was slightly stunned and said:

"Ming girl, if you do this, what if your uncle is unhappy?"

Minglan lowered her eyebrows and thought about something. She couldn't help feeling guilty. She looked up at Old Lady Sheng and smiled:

"Uncle treats me well, and I will never be able to repay him. Why would I bother you with this?"

"When we get to the southeast, if my uncle wants to use me to get close to me, I will tell him in advance."

"In this way, it won't make you feel embarrassed, nor will it trouble my uncle."

Minglan felt that she owed Wei Yuan a lot, so how could she help the Sheng family and not her uncle?

In this way, Minglan felt that it should be fine.

As for the Sheng family wanting to get involved in the shipping business, it's okay, but it won't involve her uncle.

This is Minglan's bottom line.

Old Lady Sheng said, "It's not impossible to follow your method, but I'm afraid that something will change."

Minglan said, "Grandma, even if I go, I won't tell my uncle that I will give the Sheng family's eldest house a chance to participate in shipping. Instead, I will persuade my uncle not to pay attention to my uncle. In this way, how can something change?"

"I go, but I don't want to embarrass you, grandma. I know that you have worked hard to run the Sheng family for many years and carefully maintain the relationship between you and the Sheng family."

"Grandma doesn't want to see you embarrassed about this matter."

Old Lady Sheng took Minglan's little hand, trembling her lips, and said:

"Sheng family is so lucky to have a younger generation like you."

"Forget it. Let's go back to our hometown. While I can still walk, I will take you for a good walk."

"Otherwise, grandma is also worried that there will be no such opportunity in the future."

Minglan knelt in front of Old Lady Sheng, "Grandma."

Since she followed the old lady, the old lady has taught her a lot of things and treated her very well.

The relationship between the grandparents and grandchildren is getting stronger day by day.

Therefore, Minglan naturally does not want to see the old lady becoming increasingly alienated from her father Sheng Hong because of this kind of thing.

When Minglan went to school.

Old Lady Sheng took out some of the wealth she had accumulated throughout her life, such as real estate, land deeds, etc., and looked at it again.

Seeing this, Fang Mama asked curiously: "Madam, why did you take these things out again?"

Mrs. Sheng said: "I plan to leave most of these to Minglan."

"There is another small part. I thought that I would give it as a gift in my personal name when the Earl of Zhongyong married the only daughter of the Zhang family."

Mrs. Fang was surprised and said: "You want to give such a heavy gift to the Earl of Zhongyong?"

Mrs. Sheng smiled and said: "We think it is heavy, but the Earl of Zhongyong may not think so."

"Since our Sheng family came to the capital, it seems that the Earl of Zhongyong has not done anything, but if he were not there, our Sheng family would not be able to gain a foothold in the capital so quickly."

Minglan felt ashamed of Wei Yuan, so she thought that in the future, she would use her marriage to contribute to the prosperity of the Earl of Zhongyong's mansion.

But Minglan did not expect that Wei Yuan, who treated her like his own daughter, would sacrifice her marriage to fulfill his political future?

This is something that only Sheng Hong would do.

As for Mrs. Sheng, she felt ashamed.

Before Wei Yuan became successful, the Sheng family owed a lot to Wei Shuyi and her daughter. Now, even if they were good to them, it would be useless.

Even so, the Earl of Zhongyong was still able to let bygones be bygones.

This was precious in the eyes of Old Lady Sheng, who liked Wei Yuan as a younger generation.

But the Sheng family was hard to describe.

"Perhaps the most promising one in our Sheng family in the future is Brother Bai."

"I hope that Brother Bai can help the Earl of Zhongyong in the future, so that our Sheng family will not always owe favors to the Earl of Zhongyong."

"When I go to Youyang, I have to remind Brother Bai."

The old lady has paid too much for the Sheng family in her life. She has considered everyone, including Minglan.

But she has never considered anything about herself.

Wei Yuan and Xu Changzhi both respected this old lady.

——

The court issued a decree to build a navy.

The Ministry of Revenue is preparing money.

When the money of the Ministry of Revenue is in place, Lin Zhaoyuan will escort the officials of the Ministry of Revenue and the batch of one million taels of silver to the southeast.

One million taels of silver is just the beginning.

Everyone knows that relying on one million taels alone is far from enough to build a navy and strengthen coastal defense.

However, the Ministry of Revenue can take out this one million taels of silver at the critical moment of reforming the salt tax, which shows that it also hopes to see a worry-free situation in the southeast.

In any case, as long as the establishment of the navy and the construction of coastal defense are put on the agenda, Wei Yuan's achievements will be comparable to those of Zhang Fu and others.

This is not an exaggeration at all.

In Wei Yuan's previous life, at the end of the feudal dynasty, there was an official named Li Hongzhang. In the first half of his life, he often told people that the two biggest things he did in his life were to promote foreign affairs and build a navy.

Later, because of a defeat, he gradually withdrew from the stage of history.

From this point of view, Wei Yuan's maritime transportation, coastal defense and even naval construction at this time were similar to those of Li Hongzhang.

It's just that the national conditions are different, and it's easier for Wei Yuan to do such a thing.

In the future, history books will certainly write about this matter in detail.

But to be honest, there is no hero in a country, because the completion of a thing requires the full support of various departments of the court, and it is not the credit of Wei Yuan alone.

Without the money of the Ministry of Households and the shipbuilding of the Ministry of Works, even if Wei Yuan has great ability, he can only have the merit of making suggestions at most.

It is for this reason that Han Zhang will let various departments of the court actively participate. After all, the credit and reputation cannot fall on Wei Yuan alone.

Lin Zhaoyuan knows that his days in the capital will not last long.

Following Wei Yuan on the expedition for several months this time has given Lin Zhaoyuan some ideas. He wants to start a family.

Otherwise, after returning triumphantly, he will not even have a warm home in the capital.

Unlike Wei Yuan, he will get married after he comes back, and he has two sisters who love and protect him.

Lin Zhaoyuan was from the capital area. His family was poor and he had only an old mother who was suffering from dementia.

When Lin Zhaoyuan and others first arrived in the capital, Wei Yuan sent someone to bring his mother over and bought two slaves to take care of her day and night.

It was also from this moment that Lin Zhaoyuan was determined to work for Wei Yuan.

It can be said without a doubt that if Wei Yuan rebelled one moment, Lin Zhaoyuan would order someone to make a dragon robe and a dragon chair the next moment.

His mother was suffering from dementia, so it was difficult for him to find a husband for her. He couldn't tell Wei Yuan about this.

And Lin Zhaoyuan came to the gate of the Duke of Ying without telling Wei Yuan in advance, just because a doctor said that his mother would only live for one or two years when he returned home this time, and might not even survive this winter.

It was human nature for Lin Zhaoyuan to get married as soon as possible while his mother was still alive.

After thinking about it, it seems that in the capital, only the eldest sister-in-law who has been recognized by all the brothers and has not yet married can legitimately help him find a husband.

Although Zhang Guifen has not married, she has an engagement and is about to get married. In addition, she is the daughter of a general and is not bound by conventional etiquette.

Moreover, the person who asked her to help him find a husband is also a family member, so I think it will not be spread to others.

Therefore, Lin Zhaoyuan came to the door of the Duke of Yingguo's mansion in a hesitant manner, and hesitated for a long time before stepping into the mansion.

It happened that the Duke of Yingguo and his wife went to Daxiangguo Temple to burn incense and worship Buddha today.

Zhang Guifen's brothers all went hunting outside the city.

Therefore, Zhang Guifen was the only one in the mansion.

The servants of the Duke of Ying's mansion saw a general in armor standing outside the mansion and walking back and forth. They were curious and asked, "Who is the general looking for?" Lin Zhaoyuan hurriedly said, "This is my visiting card. I am a brother of General Zhongyong Bowei. I want to see my sister-in-law." He hesitated for a long time and didn't even say a complete sentence. This is just asking someone to propose marriage. If he meets the woman he likes, I'm afraid Lin Zhaoyuan will be too embarrassed to speak. Sister-in-law? The servant of the Duke of Ying's mansion murmured, took the visiting card, and hurried back to the mansion to find Zhang Guifen and presented it to her. "The general is very strange. I don't know what he wants to do." Zhang Guifen saw the three words "Lin Zhaoyuan" written on the visiting card and immediately asked, "Where is he?" The servant said, "He is outside the mansion." Zhang Guifen said, "Please invite him in quickly." Then, in the main hall of Zhang's mansion. Zhang Guifen sat in the first seat. Lin Zhaoyuan came here slowly and bowed to Zhang Guifen:

"My younger brother Lin Zhaoyuan, meet my sister-in-law!"

Hearing the word sister-in-law, Zhang Guifen blushed and said casually:

"Why are you here today, brother Zhaoyuan? What letter did brother Wei send you to deliver?"

Lin Zhaoyuan shook his head.

Zhang Guifen felt a sense of loss in her heart, "Then why did brother Zhaoyuan come here today?"

Lin Zhaoyuan hesitated for a moment, gritted his teeth, and said:

"My younger brother wants my sister-in-law to find me a marriage."

Find a marriage?

Hearing this, Zhang Guifen widened his eyes and felt incredible.

Lin Zhaoyuan explained: "My mother suffers from dementia, and there are no elders in my family."

"Brother Wei is my elder brother, so... so I came to find my sister-in-law."

"In a hurry, I really can't think of a more suitable candidate than you, sister-in-law."

"Little brother. Alas!"

Zhang Guifen saw his embarrassed look and shook her head:

"I know something about your family."

"Before you went to the war, Brother Wei also specifically told me to find a doctor to treat your mother regularly."

"Auntie doesn't know which girl you like? You have followed Brother Wei to guard the border for many years, and you must find some daughters of upper-class families. You call me sister-in-law, and I will help you with this matter."

After all, she hasn't married yet, so this group of people will inevitably gossip.

Lin Zhaoyuan said frankly: "Thank you, sister-in-law."

"The girl I like is a first-class maid beside the eldest sister of the Sheng family, Sheng Wei. Her name is Xiaodie."

As Wei Shuyi's status in the Sheng family rose, Xiaodie's status was naturally raised a lot.