Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 519 Qiao'er's Marriage
Now Qiao'er has grown up, so naturally she won't call him father anymore like she did when she was little. After all, uncle is just uncle, not real father, but in the hearts of Qiao'er and Zhu Shenzhu, both of them have an extremely important position, and emotionally they are no different from real father and daughter.

"Qiaoer, you've grown up..." Zhu Shenzhui said with emotion as he looked at his niece.

A smile bloomed on Qiao'er's face. Qiao'er, who had been attached to Zhu Shenzhui since childhood, almost had the urge to throw herself into Zhu Shenzhui's arms like her two younger brothers when she saw him. However, her girlish modesty prevented her from doing so. After all, she was not like that when she was a child anymore. Moreover, she also knew that Zhu Shenzhui was just her uncle, so she forced herself to stay where she was and greeted Zhu Shenzhui with the female etiquette taught by her mother and aunt.

But Zhu Shenzhui didn't have such concerns. He took two steps forward and came to Qiao'er, and reached out to touch her head as if he was touching two little ones. This action made Qiao'er's eyes light up, revealing a happy smile, and she even called him uncle in a somewhat embarrassed voice.

Zhu Shenzhui laughed loudly, took back his hand, and took out the gift he brought for Qiaoer. Unlike the two little ones, Qiaoer's gift was a bracelet inlaid with gems that he had carefully selected from Bu Shitu's treasure house.

This bracelet is very exquisite. It is obvious at first glance that it is not a product of the Central Plains. It is probably from the Western Regions, and it looks quite old. Zhu Shenzui has been carrying this gift with him all the time and had prepared it for Qiaoer a long time ago.

"Uncle, this..."

"What? You don't like it?" Zhu Shenzhui asked with a deliberate smile. Qiao'er's surprised expression had already told him the answer.

"Thank you, uncle. Qiao'er likes it very much." Qiao'er accepted the gift generously and put it on her wrist. The exquisite bracelet on her slender jade-like hand made Qiao'er more beautiful. Xu Jingqiu couldn't help but praise the gift, but her sister-in-law Zhang hesitated to speak, as if she felt that the gift was a bit heavy for the child. However, seeing that everyone was very happy, she didn't say anything in the end, but just smiled.

After receiving the gift, Qiao'er subconsciously looked behind Zhu Shenzhui, as if looking for something.

When it was confirmed that Zhu Shenzhui came back alone, Qiao'er couldn't help but ask Zhu Shenzhui, "Didn't Wang Hai come back this time?"

Hearing Qiao'er's question, Zhu Shenzhui told her that Wang Hai was in the grassland and could not come back with him this time. Qiao'er seemed to be a little disappointed when she heard this answer, but she concealed it very well and returned to normal in a blink of an eye. Although others did not notice it, Zhu Shenzhui noticed it and his heart could not help but move slightly.

Zhu Shenzhui's return home was a great joyous event for the family, so naturally it had to be celebrated.

On that day, Xu Jingqiu and her sister-in-law Zhang personally cooked a few of Zhu Shenzhui's favorite dishes and poured a pot of good wine. The family happily reunited together.

In the evening, after the children went to rest, Zhu Shencui and his wife went to their room. As the saying goes, a long separation is like a newlywed couple. The next day, Zhu Shencui slept in for a rare time, and when he got up, the sun was already high in the sky.

After breakfast, the two children went to private schools. The eldest had started to study in private schools when they were in Pingyang. Not long after they moved to Luzhouwei last year, they found a new private school and the eldest and second children went to study. Xu Jingqiu was very concerned about the education of these two children. Although the Zhu family did not need the two children to take the imperial examinations, it was impossible for them to take the imperial examinations due to their status, but Xu Jingqiu, who came from a scholarly family, did not neglect the education of his children.

In fact, apart from Xu Jingqiu's own reasons, there is another very important reason, that is, Xu Jingqiu knows the existence of Tana and Tana's child. As the Tenger tribe becomes more and more powerful in the grassland, especially now that the Tenger tribe has replaced Bu Shitu as the King of Shunyi, Xu Jingqiu, as the legal wife, is very worried that her son will be outdone by Tana's child.

Although the two children could not make it to Mongolia at the moment, Xu Jingqiu knew something about her husband Zhu Shenzhu's plan, and she was also looking forward to some possibilities in her heart. Even if this possibility seemed a little unrealistic, what if it could really succeed?
If her son was not talented or could not become a qualified heir at that time, Xu Jingqiu would never agree. She would never want Tana's son to occupy her son's original position, not to mention that Zhu Shenzhu had already made a promise to her. However, even with the promise, Xu Jingqiu had to make preparations in advance. This preparation was to educate the two sons well and make them not lose to the Tengger brothers. This was also an obsession in Xu Jingqiu's heart.

Last night, when the two were lingering, Xu Jingqiu asked Zhu Shencui why he had taken so long to come back. In order to avoid Xu Jingqiu's worry, Zhu Shencui did not tell her the truth, let alone that he had gone to the capital.

Zhu Shenzhui found an excuse, saying that he could not come back in time, citing the changing situation on the grassland and Huang Taiji's invasion of the capital, which delayed him for several months. Xu Jingqiu did not think much about this explanation. Although she was smart, she was only a woman after all, and she had no experience in politics and military affairs, so she naturally did not understand many situations.

After evading this matter, Zhu Shenzhui turned to ask about family matters, especially the children. After listening to Xu Jingqiu's story, Zhu Shenzhui was very happy. Although his two children were young, his wife taught them well and they were also good at studying, which made him very satisfied.

But studying alone is not enough. His sons have to learn martial arts in addition to literature. Zhu Shenzhu taught his children martial arts at home. The eldest son practiced well, but the second son was still young and could only do a few simple gestures. More than a year has passed, and it is unknown how their martial arts are. But Xu Jingqiu said that the two little guys practiced boxing and martial arts in the yard every day after getting up, just like Zhu Shenzhu did in the past, and went to school together after training. From this point of view, it is not bad. After breakfast, Zhu Shenzhu moved around in the yard for a while, and did not practice martial arts as usual. Then he went to the house to make a pot of tea and flipped through a book on military affairs.

He didn't know how long he had been reading. Just when Zhu Shenzhui was reading with great interest, he heard the voice of his sister-in-law Zhang outside the house. Zhu Shenzhui quickly put down the book in his hand and got up to open the door. As soon as he opened the door, he saw his sister-in-law Zhang holding a bowl of soup. She smiled and said that she had just cooked the soup today and brought a bowl for him to taste.

"Thank you, sister-in-law." Zhu Shenzhui thanked her with a smile and was about to take it with both hands, but Zhang came into the house carrying the soup. Seeing this, Zhu Shenzhui followed her back into the house, and after Zhang put down the soup, he thanked her again.

"Uncle, please eat. If you like it, your sister-in-law will make it for you again in the next few days." Zhang put down the soup and did not leave. Instead, she said this to Zhu Shenzhui.

Zhu Shenzhui nodded, picked up the soup and took a sip with the spoon. After savoring the taste, he nodded with satisfaction and praised the soup for being delicious. He really troubled his sister-in-law.

Zhang was very happy to see that Zhu Shenzui liked it, but she still did not leave, as if she had something to say.

"Sister-in-law, we are family. If you have anything to say to me, just say it. Is it because the family is short of money? Or did the eldest and second brothers do something to make you angry?"

"Uncle, what are you talking about? The family income is sufficient, my two nephews are sensible children, and my sister-in-law has always respected me. I should thank uncle for the good life I have today..."

"Sister-in-law, there's no need to thank you. We are all family. If you hadn't been there to take care of the family after my father and brother passed away, the family might have broken up long ago. I have always remembered your kindness. Now that all the hardships have paid off, I just want you to live a comfortable life. As long as you are happy, I will do anything for you."

"Uncle's words make me, as your sister-in-law, feel ashamed. I appreciate your kindness." Zhang's face flushed slightly. She didn't know what she was thinking about, and she quickly shook her head.

Then she hesitated for a moment before telling him the purpose of her visit. After hearing her purpose, Zhu Shenzhui burst out laughing.

"Sister-in-law, I remember I mentioned this once before, right?"

"I mentioned it when we were in Pingyang Prefecture. Qiao'er was only thirteen at that time. My uncle said Qiao'er was still young and there was no rush to arrange this matter, so I listened to my uncle and didn't think about it anymore. But three years have passed in the blink of an eye. Qiao'er is almost sixteen now. It's too late for a girl to find a husband at the age of sixteen. I originally planned to wait for my uncle to come back and tell you about this half a year ago, but I didn't expect it to be delayed for so long this time. You also met Qiao'er yesterday. She is already a big girl. At her age, if I delay any longer, I'm afraid..."

Zhu Shenzui nodded slightly, feeling a little emotional.

What Zhang said was right. She had mentioned it once before in Pingyang Prefecture. In fact, not only Zhang, but also his wife Xu Jingqiu had mentioned it. According to the current practice of women getting married, girls usually have to be engaged when they are around thirteen years old. The whole process of engagement, engagement, and marriage will take about one or two years. This means that girls can get married at around fifteen years old.

Some of them were engaged at a younger age, and it was not uncommon for them to be married off at the age of 14. Even if one loved his daughter, this was inevitable. Zhu Shenzhui and Xu Jingqiu's marriage was considered late, of course there were other reasons, and in normal families, girls of Qiao'er's age were already married, or even mothers.

But Zhu Shenzhui's thoughts did not belong to this era. In his opinion, it was too early for Qiaoer to get married at such a young age. In his heart, Qiaoer was not only his niece, but also his daughter who he had brought up. A daughter is a father's little cotton-padded jacket. Zhu Shenzhui really did not want to marry Qiaoer off so early.

Because of this, Zhu Shenzhui did not agree with Zhang and Xu Jingqiu's proposal to arrange a marriage for Qiao'er, and the matter was shelved. But now it is different. Qiao'er is already sixteen years old. If she doesn't get married, she will become an old maid. As a mother, even if Zhang is reluctant, she still has to consider her daughter. So today she went to Zhu Shenzhui to talk about this matter under the pretext of sending soup.

(End of this chapter)