Chapter 281 282 Li Mei’s Goddaughter

Laidi glanced at Li Mei secretly, "His parents are gone a long time ago. He used to live with his uncle in Tongzhou. After his uncle passed away, his aunt drove him back to the countryside, and his grandmother came back with her. , I built a few thatched houses with little money."

He is not bad looking and is a scholar. Although his parents are gone, he has left his uncle's house. It is so difficult to take care of his blind grandmother. The family is not afraid of being poor. As long as his character is good, he can be considered a good relative.

After thinking about it, Li Mei asked: "Since he has elders here, why doesn't he come to propose marriage? In your mind, your mother is the kind of person who despises poverty and loves wealth? That's all, why are you talking about this? If you let him come to propose marriage, you have to Let’s get married before the court matches!”

"Mom, he..." Laidi looked at Li Mei's disappointed eyes and hesitated to speak. Li Mei said angrily: "What? He didn't plan to get married to you? Did you stick to him regardless of your shame?"

Laidi looked at Li Mei, who was so ashamed that she shed tears. She thought that she would be beaten and scolded when she returned home, but she didn't expect that her mother did not beat or scold her, but even asked her to call Feng Qi to propose marriage. She was the one who embarrassed them. .

Laidi mustered up the courage to look up at Li Mei and said, "Feng Qi said that he will take the provincial examination in August and will consider starting a family after passing the examination."

Li Mei immediately understood the meaning of the words and sneered: "Did he personally tell you that he would marry you after passing the imperial examination? I heard you right. People say that he will only consider getting married after passing the imperial examination. No. He said he wants to get married to you! Besides, Ah Qing is also studying. Don’t you know that the title of Juren is not the rice in his family’s rice vat? What should you do if he marries someone else?"

Laidi's face turned pale and she murmured to herself, "No, Feng Qi will not do this to me."

Li Mei looked at Laidi's face, and her heart felt like it had fallen into an ice cellar. Her hand pointing at Laidi kept trembling, "Did you do that shameless thing with him? Didn't you often say before, you My cousin taught you women to have self-respect and self-respect, and to cherish yourselves, so that you won’t be looked down upon by others. If you stick up to me like this, what will others think of you? You have no name or status, so you just go to other people’s houses to clean up, give food and clothes. , where is your self-love and self-respect?"

Laidi looked at Li Mei's look and was stunned for a moment before she understood, "Mom, I haven't done anything extraordinary with him. I just saw that his grandmother couldn't see her eyes, and he was a scholar and couldn't wash his clothes clean. That's why Went to help.”

Li Mei looked into Laidi's eyes and knew that she was not lying. She felt relieved and said sincerely, "Laidi! Think about it, the children in the village have fallen in love with you and they know that the elders have hired a matchmaker to propose marriage. He If he really treats you, he should tell his elders and invite a matchmaker to come to his house to propose marriage. If he pretends to be confused like this, he doesn't take you seriously at all and has never thought about giving you the dignity you deserve. You Think about it, you will be eighteen next year, and you don’t like the children in the village, nor the two children that shopkeeper Chu mentioned, do you plan to wait until next year to serve as an official wife of the imperial court? "

Laidi knew in her heart that what Li Mei said was right, but Dou Chukai's heart was already lost in the longing for a beautiful relationship, and she struggled and said: "Mom, I don't know either, don't force me."

Li Mei saw the hesitation in Laidi's eyes and gritted her teeth and said, "Okay, mother won't force you. From now on, you are not allowed to go anywhere at home. I will give him ten days. If he has you in his heart, he will definitely I will be worried about you and will ask a matchmaker to come to my house to propose marriage. If he doesn’t come within ten days, you will have to follow your mother’s arrangements and get engaged honestly.”

Laidi looked at Li Mei and knew that this was her biggest concession. She thought to herself: The ten days my mother gave him are not short. If he doesn't come to propose marriage within ten days, it seems that I am really wishful thinking. After ten days, I will obey my mother's arrangements and live my life like my sister.

Laidi was hopeful and determined. She looked at Li Mei firmly and said, "Mom, I promise you, I will never go anywhere these days. If he doesn't come to propose marriage within ten days, I will follow your arrangement and never see you again." His side."

Li Mei's worried heart finally dropped a little. She pulled up Laidi who was kneeling on the ground and said, "Laidi! You have to remember that it is not easy for us women to live in this world. Once we lose our good reputation, we will have to leave." You are not respected anywhere. Scholars are more transparent and cold-hearted than ordinary men. Even if you insist on marrying him, you will not get his respect and the love you want. Do you want to You can understand what happened to Chen Baozhen."

Laidi thought of how stupid Chen Baozhen had become and how she despised the things Chen Baozhen had done when she mentioned it to the villagers. She shuddered in her heart and became even more determined to abide by the verbal agreement she made with Li Mei.

Li Mei touched Laidi's red and swollen cheek, and said distressedly: "Go! Go wash it and apply some medicine so that no one can see the traces."

"I know." Laidi nodded, got up and walked towards the bathroom.

Li Mei looked at Laidi's back and leaned back on the chair a little exhausted, thinking: Are children all debts? Then she thought of Li Yu's letter asking about her mother. She frowned and tried to recall the scene when she first met her siblings.

Early that morning, my brother climbed up from the mountain carrying an unconscious and soaked woman on his back. He said that when he was looking for food in the forest below, he saw a woman fall from the winding mountain road above into the mountain stream below and jump. Went down and rescued her.

At that time, everyone was fleeing the famine, and they were all wearing tatters, but the younger brothers and sisters were still wearing fine skirts, and the material felt like the kind brought back by fish.

When my siblings woke up in a daze, they said one thing, why are you doing this to me? From now on, I never mentioned how I fell into the mountain stream, nor did I ever think about looking for my family. I just often looked at the distance in confusion.

When she first settled in Xishan, she couldn't even cook a stove. Her life was really not like that of someone who grew up in a village like her. She could read and write, speak in a leisurely manner, and her needlework was easy to see. Li Mei went through everything she could think of under the guidance of the embroiderer, and called Brother Zhu, who was sitting under the eaves of the corridor, into the main room.

Brother Zhu glanced at Li Mei, who had red and swollen eyes, sat down next to her, rubbed her face with his fat hands, and said: "Mom, don't be angry with the second sister. I will study hard to prevent you from having sex with me." Shame on dad."

Li Mei looked at Brother Zhu with joy, touched the top of his head, and said softly: "Brother Zhu has grown up and knows that he feels sorry for his parents. Go get a pen and paper. Mom said you write, write it down and give it to me." Uncle Zhou gives it to your cousin."

Brother Zhu looked at Li Mei with bright eyes and nodded vigorously: "Yes!" Li Mei told Brother Zhu what he thought of, and asked Brother Zhu to write it down and read it to him again. If he felt it was correct, he asked him to send it to him. Went to Zhou’s house.