My father-in-law is Kangxi

Chapter 1785 Gao Zhier

The Ninth Prince’s Mansion, the upper room in the main courtyard.

The west room was brightly lit and had a kang table on it. Besides Shushu and Mrs. Bo, there were the children sitting around them.

The Seventeenth Princess and the Nineteenth Prince were picked up at noon, and played with the three Fengsheng siblings for half a day in the afternoon.

Most of the food on the kang table is suitable for children.

Mashed potatoes with cherry sauce, fried chicken nuggets, fried shrimp cakes, cabbage and minced meat rolls, as well as thumb-sized buns, millet steamed cakes, gold and silver steamed buns and sesame sauce sesame cakes.

Except for the Nineteenth Prince, who needed to be fed by a nanny, the other children could eat by themselves.

A flat plate was placed in front of each person, and they could eat with a spoon or directly with their hands.

The children ate with gusto.

Niguzhu’s favorite is golden steamed buns, which have a crispy outer skin.

Fengsheng likes thumb-shaped buns, which have shrimp meat in the middle and are chewy and springy.

This dish, which has less salt and oil, is naturally not suitable for the lady's taste.

Mrs. Bo usually ate little for this evening meal, so she ate half a bowl of white porridge with eight-treasure pickles.

Shushu had been looking after the children for the whole afternoon and was already hungry, so she used sesame seed buns to sandwich chicken pieces and put a lot of shredded mustard greens in them, making it a sesame seed bun with meat patties. She ate several of them.

Niguzhu saw it and immediately pointed at the sesame cake and wanted to get some chicken nuggets.

The sesame seed bun was only the size of a chess piece, so Shushu made her a sesame seed bun with meat in it and handed it to Niguzhu.

Niguzhu grabbed it in his hand, took a big bite, and ate so much that he couldn't even lift his head.

When Fengsheng and Akdan saw this, they both looked at Shushu eagerly.

Perhaps it is like this for all siblings. If he has something, I want it too. If she eats something, I will eat it too.

It would be fine if they don’t get it together, but if they do, three copies are standard.

Shushu made it for all his brothers as well.

The Nineteenth Prince was being fed mashed potatoes by his nanny. He was eating so happily that he didn't pay attention to anything else.

The Seventeenth Princess looked at her nephew and then at her niece, hesitating whether to speak.

Shushu knew that the little girl was shy, so she just made one for her and handed it to her.

"Thank you, sister-in-law..."

The Seventeenth Princess took it with both hands, thanked her politely, and ate the pancake gracefully.

There were not many people in total, and the children were not noisy.

But this room seems lively.

Shushu accompanied him for most of the day, his ears were buzzing, and he was exhausted both physically and mentally.

After the dining table was cleared away and the children were left to dry, they were all wrapped up in a bell and carried to their respective homes by their nannies.

The originally noisy house suddenly became quiet.

Shushu simply washed up and went to lie down in the west room.

Bai Guo brought in a foot basin and said, "Can I give Madam Fu a foot massage?"

Although Xiaosong is no longer in the main courtyard, Baiguo, along with Layue and Dongyue, have all learned some massage from her.

Shu Shu stood up and waved his hand, "No, I'll just soak it."

She can only walk a few steps every day now. Her feet don’t hurt, but they are a little swollen.

Baiguo just returned to the main courtyard from Ning'an Hall to serve today. This was because the Ninth Prince was not at home and was worried about Shushu.

She remembered something and said, "Fujin, the clothes sent from the palace for the Seventeenth Princess and the Nineteenth Prince don't fit them very well. The Seventeenth Princess's are too small, and the Nineteenth Prince's are a bit tight."

Shushu laughed when she heard that.

Led by Niguzhu, the originally quiet Seventeenth Princess also ran around the house.

The little bird, which originally could only eat two bites, has grown bigger in appetite.

The food was so good that his originally thin body suddenly became plump.

There is also the Nineteenth Prince, who has just started eating complementary food. He has a strong appetite and has become a lot fatter than when he first came.

Who would have thought that in just a month and a half, the two children would have such great changes?
The clothes given as a gift are not very suitable.

Shu Shu said, "Keep it as it is and bring it back to the palace for them later."

Fortunately, the Beile Mansion had prepared a lot of new clothes for the two princes and princesses, enough for them to change.

After Shushu washed his feet and got on the kang, Baiguo would go to the kang in the second room to keep watch.

Shushu asked her to sit down by the kang and said, "You are the same age as Hazelnut. You will be nineteen next year. It's time to think about your future..."

The Baiguo and Hazelnut families were bondservants of the Imperial Household Department, and were the staff assigned to them when Shushu and the Ninth Prince were in the Second Institute.

Therefore, there are more options for two people to choose from when it comes to marriage.

In addition to the people from the Ninth Prince's Mansion, one can also marry into the family of the bondservants of the upper three banners on behalf of the family.

Shushu doesn't like to worry about these things.

Although getting married is not a matter of life and death for this woman, who knows whether her life will be good or bad in the future.

If you live a good life, it's fine. But if you don't, you still have to worry about it.

Bai Guo felt a little shy after hearing this, and said, "My father and Enie have already told me that they are not very knowledgeable and let me make the decision myself. I like someone, but I am afraid that I am marrying above my station. How about you, Madam, help me to discuss this?"

Shushu felt a little confused after hearing this.

Baiguo was her personal maid, working in the inner chamber, and was limited in the number of men she could see.

She thought for a moment, looked at Bai Guo and said, "Is it Gui Yuan?"

Among the officials in this mansion, the only ones Shushu could remember who were not married were the Guo Luoluo brothers, Xing He, and Yuanbao.

The Xing family is a poor family, Yuanbao is dumb and has no future, and the only ones that Baiguo can say are marrying above their station are the Guo Luoluo brothers.

Bai Guo nodded and said generously: "He is the only one left in Master Gui's family. His life is quiet now. It will be easy for him to return to the mansion to work."

Shushu thought about the identities of these two people.

The Baiguo family was just an ordinary bondservant of the Imperial Household Department. His father and brother were both ordinary clerks, not high-ranking officials.

Although Gui Yuan worked in the Beile Mansion, he was still a bondservant of the upper three banners, and he also had the hereditary bondservant position of the Guo Luoluo clan, and his children and grandchildren had a future of fourth-rank officials.

Baiguo is close to Shushu, so his status is elevated.

So it’s not too high a target.

After all, everyone knows that ever since Xiaochun and Walnut went out, Baiguo has been the first person in front of Shushu.

Several bannermen and bondservants under the Ninth Prince, who were able to pass on messages to this side, had inquired about Baiguo's marriage.

To be honest, it was people around Shushu who were promised to people around the Ninth Prince, which is similar to how Hetao was promised to Gao Bin.

The difference is that Walnut has an uncle who is an official.

Among Baiguo's relatives, none are of rank and they are at the bottom of the bondservants of the upper three banners.

Gao Bin was just a subordinate who was taken care of and promoted by the Ninth Prince, unlike Gui Yuan who was the Ninth Prince's cousin.

One increases and one decreases.

To outsiders, this marriage seems a little inappropriate.

Shushu and Baiguo had been master and servant for four or five years, and she knew that Baiguo was not after Guiyuan because she wanted to marry into a rich family, but because she had no choice.

She was with Shushu, and the only men she saw all year round were the ones from the Prince's Mansion.

This marriage requires mutual consent from both parties.

Shushu asked, "When you meet him on weekdays, how does he treat you?"

Bai Guo said: "They are well behaved, their eyes look at their noses and their noses look at their hearts, and they don't even look at me."

Shushu was not surprised when she heard this.

Guiyuan had been the ninth prince's mistress and had lived in the palace for ten years, so she had never made any mistakes in observing the rules.

Even if the maidservant beside the mistress is not a concubine in reserve, she is not someone that outsiders can play with.

Shushu said, "Wait for Master to come back and ask him if he has any plans..."

When Gui Yuangang started working here, there was a discussion about marriage, but since he was the grandson of an heir, he began to observe filial piety to his grandfather before the ceremony, and the marriage was aborted.

Gui Dan's situation was similar. He started arranging his marriage in the thirty-seventh year. However, in the thirty-eighth year, something happened to Guo Luoluo's family. He also mourned his grandfather and mother, so his marriage was delayed.

Bai Guo followed Shu Shu and saw that Xiao Chun, Hetao and other sisters made their own decisions on marriage and had their own rules. He said, "My family can't help me, so I saved up the dowry myself. If Master Gui has someone in mind, please help me hide my thoughts to avoid embarrassing others and losing face."

She just thought that this person was a good choice, and even if he was a little out of her league, she could still reach him. She didn't have the idea that he had to be her only one.

Shu Shu nodded and said, "Don't worry, it won't cause any uproar..."

Shushu has a rough idea of ​​the direction here at Baiguo.

She just doesn't want to marry out and wants to come back and work like Xiaochun did.

Baiguo is not a reckless person.

Even if Gui Yuan did not express anything when the two were dealing with each other, his attitude must have been warm and polite, which was why Bai Guo had this idea.

So the possibility of them being interested in each other is 50-50.

If Guiyuan is not suitable, then find someone with simple family background from among the bannermen.

Whether they were from a banner family or a bondservant family, once they were assigned to the Ninth Prince, they became his lifelong servants.

Being able to marry the concubine's confidant maid was a blessing they could never ask for.

Anyway, I am about to give birth, and it will take another year or two before I release Baiguo, so I can take my time to choose a candidate.

Of the four palace maids who went to the second residence at the same time, only three are left in the palace now.

Hetao got married and is now the wife of a county magistrate in Xianghe.

Peanut never married and she was in charge of the sewing room.

There is also a Hazelnut, who is a servant under Concubine Yi. He is the same age as Baiguo. In his early years, he worked in the kitchen with Xiaotang. Later, when the lady of the earl came, he went to Ning'an Hall. Now he is in charge of the kitchen of Ning'an Hall.

Ginkgo was originally called longan, and it was Shushu who came up with the name.

Later, Guiyuan returned to Beijing from Shengjing and worked in the Prince's Palace. Because of his respected status, Guiyuan was renamed Baiguo.

Thinking of this, Shushu raised his eyebrows.

Could it be that their fate was already determined when she named him in the thirty-seventh year?
*
The rear courtyard.

Brothers Guidan and Guiyuan are talking.

Gui Dan's family has a house, a granted house outside Di'an Gate, and they did not ask for a yard here. When they don't want to go home on weekdays, they rest at Gui Yuan's place.

Seeing Cao Shun moving and occupying the last two courtyards, Gui Dan looked at Gui Yuan and said, "I told you to move to the front earlier. If you don't move, there will be no place to move in the future!"

When I get married and have children, it will be inconvenient to live in this small courtyard.

They have been living a life of luxury since childhood, with servants at their disposal, and by then they will definitely need more help.

This hostess must separate from the people in front.

Gui Yuan said: "Don't worry..."

Fuqing and Erhe are here to gain experience.

Once you have enough experience, it's time for promotion.

As for Zhang Tingzan, if he is promoted again, he will be the Vice Minister of Six Ministries and be granted a house in the imperial city. He will no longer live in the small courtyard.

Gui Dan snorted, "There is no difference between the front and back yards. When you get married, it will be inconvenient for me to stay overnight."

Gui Yuan said, "Isn't there an empty courtyard? When the time comes, just say hello to Master Jiu and get one ready."

Gui Dan shook her head and said, "No, I can't vacate my house. Otherwise, my father will listen to my stepmother's instigation and separate me."

His father remarried a year after his wife's death. She was an old red-belt maid.

In the early years, there were many cases where the eldest sons of the Eight Banners were separated from their families.

In recent years, it has become less common.

Guidan was originally the legitimate son and the only son, but after he had a stepmother, things became unsettled.

Gui Yuan said: "The commander is on you, what else is there at home?"

Separating them may not be a bad thing.

Gui Dan said, "We can't just look at these. We are the maternal family of the Empress. The female members of the family are qualified to hand in plaques to pay respects to the palace. I can't give this qualification to my stepmother, lest she turn around and have other ideas. It's not easy to settle down at home, but we can't withstand any more disturbances."

Only then did Gui Yuan realize that he had thought so much.

He said, "Now that the Fifth Master and the Ninth Master have opened their own residence, the situation is different from the early years. In the early years, the two masters were young, so the Guo Luoluo family could use the Empress's name to bully others. Now that the two masters are watching over them, it won't go to that extent."

Gui Dan thought about it and agreed, but it’s always better to be cautious, so she still can’t slack off.

His abilities were limited, and he couldn't do much for the Fifth and Ninth Princes. He could only watch as his family members didn't let the two princes down...

(End of this chapter)