The escort team set off at 3:33

  "Let me help Miss San think of a solution?" Zhu Yuanchang chuckled: "What joke are you talking about? Who am I to get involved in this kind of thing? I'm just a humble steward, when did it become my turn to help the young masters and misses solve their marriage problems? I can only take care of small matters in the side courtyard, not big things like this."

  "But didn't you help the second young master resolve the county magistrate's case? That was a big deal, much bigger than a marriage problem, and you settled it in just two or three moves. The sisters in our inner courtyard all say you're a good man... Well, just now, among those two who were fighting, one of them really likes you, saying that if it's not you, she won't marry anyone." Zixin Cai pouted her small mouth and said seriously: "If you guess which one likes you, I'll help you two become a match."

  Zhu Yuanzhang was at a loss, laughing and crying at the same time. The little girl's words were all over the place, sometimes talking about this matter, sometimes that matter, two matters mixed together, unclear and confusing, even answering her didn't know where to start.

  Let's put aside the two maids' affairs for now! He thought to himself, if I want to come and ruin this marriage, what angle should I take? The best way is to spread rumors that the Ma family and the Sheng family have no relationship, so Zhang from Cheng City will immediately turn against them, not only will they not continue with the engagement, but they might even make another move against the Ma family... It's clear that this doesn't align with the interests of the Ma family.

  If he did something that didn't conform to the Ma family's values and it was exposed, he would lose his footing in the Ma family!

  This does not conform to Zhu Yuanzhang's interests.

  He thought for a moment and dismissed the idea of helping Third Miss, saying in a low voice: "I won't be able to help you with this matter. Women, at this age, can't avoid getting married. Even if she avoids it this time, she can't avoid it next time. Can Third Miss stay in the Ma family compound for her whole life? She'll either marry into the Zhang family of Cheng City or the Chang family of Pu City... Whether she marries early or late makes no difference. Listen to my advice and don't bother with it!"

  After finishing speaking, Zhu Yuanzhang turned around and walked away. He took two steps before Zixincai caught up to him from behind, grabbing his sleeve: "Really not helping? Third Miss has been so good to you! The day after you became the second-in-command, she had me make clothes for you. When you came back from the lawsuit, Third Miss even had me send several sets of clothes over... have you forgotten?"

  "Thank you for your concern, Miss Xie, but a debt must be repaid with the same coin." Zhu Yuanzhang said seriously: "As for marriage, I am also powerless to do anything about it."

  "Are you blaming Miss San for not allowing the maids to come find you initially?" Zixincai anxiously said: "That matter can't be blamed on Miss San, it's because you're too proud and look down on everyone, all the sisters felt that you weren't interested in them, they secretly cried when they returned to the inner courtyard... Miss San pitied the sisters, that's why she told them not to come find you... Don't hold a grudge against her just for this matter."

  Zhu Yuanzhang was so angry that he couldn't help but laugh, what's the point of this? I'm a king who rules the world with my eyes open, and I'll fight with women over such trivial matters like sesame seeds and green beans? You're underestimating me. He lightly brushed off his sleeve, broke free from Zixincai's grasp, and strode away.

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  The marriage between the Ma and Zhang families went very smoothly... The matchmaker sent by the Zhang family put the eight characters together, took a casual glance, and immediately said that Third Miss and Young Master Zhang were a perfect match, with the wife having a prosperous husband's appearance, and in the future, they would have many children and grandchildren. The matchmaker sent by the Ma family to Cheng City returned and also said that Second Young Master and Miss Zhang were also a perfect match, with the wife having a prosperous husband's appearance, and in the future, they would have many children and grandchildren.

  Everyone understands what the matchmaker is getting at, and they tacitly agree. Since they've made up their minds to push for this marriage, they naturally spare no effort, and both sides want a quick resolution, so the process moves extremely quickly.

  "After the " proposal" is the "engagement" stage, generally families will first discuss the betrothal gifts, starting with the "small gift", which is a negotiation of the price of the betrothal gifts. For wealthy families, the betrothal gifts are indispensable, usually including four to six pieces of high-quality silk fabrics ("four yang red" or "six yang red"), two gold rings, one pair of gold earrings, 36 small gifts, 64 medium gifts, and 102 large gifts in silver; food items, with a total number of "64", including 64 pairs of wrapped pastries, 64 oil cakes, 64 sesame seed balls, etc. There are also two to eight jars of old wine, hence the saying "old wine for the birth of a daughter".

  These things were originally to be sat down and discussed slowly, the betrothal gifts were less, the side that married the daughter would feel embarrassed. But now both parties don't care about this kind of thing, anyway I want to marry one back, and then marry another one out, the betrothal gifts and so on, just prepare two identical copies, you give me one, I'll give you one, after a round, the things came back again.

  After the engagement, it's just a matter of going through the motions of getting married... Logically speaking, this should be the most lively and important part, with a big procession, music and fanfare, sending off the daughter to her new home in a grand manner. However, both families chose to keep a low profile on this matter.

  The reason is simple, the Zhang family and Ma family are too far apart. The Zhang family lives in Chengcheng County, while the Ma family lives in Baishui County. The official road between the two counties is over 70 miles long. If they were to send a wedding procession with music and dance for 70 miles, it would take at least three days, and the musicians, drummers, and dancers would be exhausted to death.

  Moreover, the roads between the two counties are not very safe. This year's harvest is not good, and refugees are rising everywhere. The county town is still relatively peaceful, but in the mountains and forests a little further away from the county town, there are already many bandits and thieves. The wedding procession walks slowly and carries a lot of dowry, making it an easy target for robbery. Therefore, along the way, you must not be high-profile, otherwise losing the dowry is a small matter, but losing your own daughter would be a big deal.

  The last two families discussed and decided not to use a large sedan chair to welcome the bride, but instead used a black carriage, equipped with dozens of fierce family guards, to send their daughter to the groom's county town first. In the county town, they would find an inn to stay for one or two days, and then let the sedan chair go to the inn to welcome the bride. This way, on the one hand, it could take care of etiquette, and on the other hand, it could avoid encountering danger on the road.

  The wedding date has been set for March 22nd, which is said to be an auspicious day!

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  March 19th, early morning!

  Zhu Yuanzhang got up early, washed his face clean, tied his hair back, put on a new cotton-padded garment, wore thick-soled cloth shoes, and looked refreshed from head to toe. He then hung a wooden sword at his waist. Today he was going to join the team escorting Third Miss to Chengcheng County to attend a wedding.

  As soon as he came out, he saw that Bai Shui Wang Er was already waiting for him at the side gate, today's Wang Er was also wearing a brand new cotton-padded jacket, holding a whistle stick in his hand, looking like an iron tower.

  The two of them exchanged a smile and headed towards the front gate, only to see a large crowd of people standing at the entrance. In the middle of the crowd were fifteen knife-wielding men holding reins of horses. The young master was known for being cautious in his actions, so he had arranged for all fifteen of his knife-wielding men to be part of the wedding procession. These men looked fierce and extraordinary, with an air that could intimidate any petty thief.

  Apart from this, there were also ten trusted house servants who accompanied them. These house servants wore green robes and small hats, holding a whistle stick in their hands, and they looked quite spirited. Behind the house servants, there were more than a dozen porters, each of whom had a carrying pole beside him, with a wicker trunk at either end of the pole, containing the dowry for Third Miss.

  The dowry was packed in dozens of boxes, with gold, silver, silk and satin, as well as a luxurious bed. In the Ming Dynasty, if a woman's dowry was too meager, it would be a loss of face, and her status in her husband's household would also be lowered. So the dowry prepared by the Ma family was quite sumptuous. I wonder if Zhang's daughter is now carrying large and small boxes, under the protection of the servants and guards, preparing to set out on her journey.

  A crowd waited at the gate of the mansion for a while, and a black carriage drove out from inside. The coachman was surprisingly the personal bodyguard of the young master, who was said to have killed 27 people. It seemed that the young master had sent out 15 assassins but still felt it wasn't enough, so he even brought his own bodyguard along.

  The bodyguard smiled at the people waiting by the door and said, "Let's go, we can set off now."

  "Where is Third Miss?" someone asked.

  "In the carriage behind me." The bodyguard said in a low voice: "Just said goodbye to the young masters, not feeling well, maybe crying now."

  As soon as he finished speaking, the curtain of the carriage was lifted, revealing Xiao Cai's small face with obvious tear stains. She leaned out of the window and scolded, "Who cried? The young lady didn't cry at all! You're the one who cried...... Waaahhhh..." She was the personal maid of the third young lady, and such maids usually followed their mistresses when they got married and became their husband's concubines. After many years, there might be a chance for them to be promoted to a secondary wife, but that would be the best fate they could hope for in this life.

  The little maid's crying and scolding made the bodyguard shrug his shoulders, but he wasn't afraid of Zixincai. Although he was now in charge of driving, if compared to status and position, he was much higher than Zixincai, it's just that he didn't bother to argue with a woman.

  At this time, a soft sigh came from the carriage, and a woman's voice said in a low tone: "Zixincang, come back... don't go and lose face, we women are just like that... Fang Huwei, thank you, please set off."

  This was the first time Zhu Yuanzhang had heard San Shaojie's voice, and as he listened, he felt it was gentle, warm, and very comfortable. Although her tone was somewhat disheartened, there was no sobbing sound, unlike ordinary women who cry loudly when they get married, which added a hint of strength to her gentleness.

  The bodyguard, also known as Fang Huwei, shouted loudly: "Alright, let's go!"

  Fifteen bodyguards mounted their horses, surrounding the black carriage in the middle, just like they usually guarded the young master. Wang Er and Zhu Yuanzhang led the ten servants to call on the porters to carry the luggage, following behind the carriage.

  The black horse carriage moved slowly forward, and the team began to move forward.

  While driving the carriage, Fang Youwei noticed Zhu Yuanzhang in the team of runners behind him. He recalled their conversation at the gate of the main hall last time and couldn't help but turn his head and say: "Huh? Aren't you that Zhu Ba who is in charge of the side courtyard? Are you going with us this time too?"

  Zhu Ba nodded: "Young Master said I'm a capable fighter, let me follow along too. If something happens, I can lend a hand to protect Fang."

  Fang Huwei didn't know why, but he felt a bit displeased with Zhu Ba. He glanced at him and said, "Country bumpkin, what can you do to help us? Don't think that just because you won a few fights in the countryside, you're considered a master. Just quietly take care of the rear foot soldiers, don't come over here and cause trouble for us."

  Bai Shui Wang's face turned red with rage, and he took a step forward, his club at the ready. Zhu Yuanzhang gently pulled him back, smiling and saying, "Second Brother Wang, don't lower yourself to his level."