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Qiao Xuan's arrival as a matchmaker in Jiangdong officially kicked off the marriage between Jingzhou and Jiangdong. This is a typical political marriage. The various procedures and detailed arrangements of the marriage were negotiated and finalized by both sides, but the parties involved had no idea.

The most critical part of this is to welcome him in person. Jiangdong clearly stated that he hoped that Liu Jing could go to Jiangdong to marry Sun Shangxiang in person. This was also Mrs. Wu’s only wish. Mrs. Wu and the monarch of Jiangdong Sun Quan made a written security guarantee. Despite this, Jingzhou still proposed that Liu Jing would lead 8,000 troops to guard the army.

After repeated consultations, the two sides finally reached an agreement that the army would be reduced from 8,000 to 6,000, no more than warships, no more than five entourages to land, and no more than five entourages to land. After landing, they would not enter Jingkou City. They would only go to Beigu Mountain to meet Mrs. Wu, which would not exceed two hours. The Jiangdong Army could not exceed a thousand people within the Beigu Mountains. The Jingzhou Army was allowed to send fifty scouts, etc.

After these details were finalized, the day of the wedding was confirmed. The Jingzhou wedding fleet will set off on the fifth day of August.

Qiao Xuan stayed in Jiangxia for a while and finally arranged all the details one by one. At dusk, dozens of female guards were escorting a carriage slowly parked in front of the gate of the VIP hotel, and a female guard quickly walked into the hall.

At this time, Qiao Xuan was reading a book in the room, and the manager ran into the yard, "Old Guo, there is something important."

Qiao Xuan was stunned, put down the book and walked to the door. He saw a female guard wearing soft armor walking into the yard. The female guard bowed to him, "But the old Qiao Guo of Jiangdong"

Qiao Xuan was a little puzzled. Whose person is there, there is a female soldier, which is a bit like the two red pink cavalry of Princess Shangxiang in the past. He nodded with a smile: "I am Qiao Xuan, may I ask the girl is?"

"I am the marquis of the escort of the prefecture. I am ordered by my wife to ask the old man to go to the mansion to have a lecture."

Qiao Xuan then suddenly realized that it was the guard of Mrs. Tao, the wife of Liu Jing. Thinking about it, although Mrs. Tao did not have much to do in this marriage, once Princess Shangxiang entered the provincial muslim mansion, Mrs. Tao immediately became a key figure. Whether it is public or private, he should visit Mrs. Tao. This is also the minimum respect that Jiangdong respects Mrs. Zhou Mu.

Thinking of this, Qiao Xuan was both ashamed and annoyed. He actually ignored such an important matter. This was related to Princess Shangxiang's life for decades in the future. He hurriedly said: "Please allow me to change my clothes and go immediately."

Qiao Xuan changed into a formal court uniform, with a crown on his head, got on the carriage, and drove towards the prefecture not far away.

In fact, Tao Zhan was not idle. She had already passed the psychological barrier at this time and was also preparing for the marriage of Liu Jing marrying Sun Shangxiang very seriously. Her main task was to arrange Sun Shangxiang's future residence, and to review the betrothal gift. She thought it carefully and did not want the Jiangdong people to laugh at them.

The Zhoumu Mansion covers an acre of land, of which the Hou Mansion has two acres. The core of the Hou Mansion is a lake about fifty acres on one side. It is surrounded by lush trees and is covered with various exquisite pavilions and towers. The seven courtyards are inlaid with seven gems around the lake, which are completely imitated by the Weiyang Palace and Pepper House Hall, but they are much smaller.

Tao Zhan decided to arrange Sun Shangxiang's courtyard in the Hewu Academy, which is the second largest courtyard in the back house, covering an area of ​​ten acres, second only to the Luming Courtyard where Tao Zhan lives, and also represents Sun Shangxiang's status in the mansion.

Although it is called a courtyard, it is actually composed of a complex of buildings, with 40 or 50 rooms and pavilions. Standing on the highest crane palace, you can look at the lake by the railings, and the scenery is beautiful.

Tao Zhan was commanding dozens of maids to set up the house. At this time, the female guards and Marquis walked over quickly and saluted Tao Zhan and said, "Madam Qi, Mrs. Qiao Guo has arrived and is waiting in the guest hall."

Tao Zhan nodded and smiled, "Thank you for your hard work."

She took more than a dozen maids to the carriage and headed towards the living room in front of her house.

In the guest hall, Qiao Xuan was sitting in the hall and waiting for tea. It was already dark and the lights were bright. Eight maids stood around. The Qin and Han halls were completely different from those of later generations. They were built on the base, like a small hall with arched beams and column structures, and a high roof and wide hall. People sat in it and looked particularly empty.

At this time, a crisp sound of ringing and wearing a pendant came from outside the lobby. More than a dozen maids surrounded by a beautiful young woman in a fallen horse bun and a purple long skirt walked into the lobby. Qiao Xuan knew that this was the wife of the state capital, so he hurried forward to salute: "Jiangdong Qiao Xuan, see Mrs. Tao."

Tao Zhan smiled slightly, "It turns out it is Mr. Qiao Guo, we should have seen him."

Qiao Xuanyi was considering Princess Shangxiang's affairs and did not think about the past. When Tao Zhan reminded him, he immediately remembered that Mrs. Tao Lie was Tao Lie's granddaughter. Tao Lie brought her to Jiangdong to visit him. She was only seven or eight years old at that time. Later, when his eldest daughter married Sun Bofu, she also met her at the wedding.

He smiled awkwardly and said, "I am really confused. I did meet my wife with Ling Zu back then, but she was still young, and many years have passed in a flash."

"Yes, it's been more than ten years, Sister Qiao is so good now," Tao Zhan asked with a faint smile.

"She is fine, she raises her daughter and lives in the palace. I don't see her very much."

Tao Zhan waved his hand, "Please sit down with the country elder"

The two of them took a seat, and Tao Zhan ordered someone to take a tea. Qiao Xuan noticed that although Mrs. Tao was wearing a purple long skirt, the fabric was fine linen, not silk. The stair hairpin on her head, the finger rings and arm bracelets were all decorated with ordinary red gold, which was an ordinary housewife.

He was slightly stunned and suddenly remembered what he had seen and heard in the past few days. Most of the men and women on the streets of Xiangyang were dressed simply without any luxury. Even the carriage he was riding in was decorated with ordinary decoration, but the horses were very majestic.

Qiao Xuan then slowly realized that Jingzhou advocated simplicity, and it turned out that it was the best to be effective. As the dignified wife of the provincial governor and the daughter of the Tao family who was rich enough to rival the country, she was dressed so simply. She obviously didn't deliberately dress her up for herself, but she should be her usual outfit.

This small detail made Qiao Xuan feel quite emotional. No wonder Jingzhou was able to fight several battles in succession, which was closely related to the accumulation of Jingzhou's national strength.

Tao Zhan pursed his lips and drank a sip of tea, and asked with a smile: "My general wants to marry Princess Jiangdong. This is not only a major event in Jingzhou, but also a major event in our family. I also do my best to arrange my residence according to the etiquette system. Will the Guo Lao go with me to see the residence of Princess Shangxiang in the future?"

Although Qiao Xuan really wanted to go and take a look, he knew that this was just Mrs. Tao's etiquette, not something that had to be done. If he really went, he seemed a little distrustful and seemed condescending to Jiangdong. He quickly smiled and said, "I feel completely relieved if I have the arrangements of my wife, so I don't have to go."

Tao Zhan smiled indifferently. The other party was unwilling to go, and she didn't force her. She smiled again: "In addition, I would like to ask Mrs. Wu to tell Mrs. Wu that although Jingzhou is noble and simple, it does not force the agreement. There are no strict rules in the provincial and ministerial palaces, everything can be casual. Moreover, General Liu is also very open-minded and does not restrict family members from entering and leaving the mansion. Although there are some regulations, it is mainly considered from the perspective of safety."

This is very important. Qiao Xuan knew that Princess Shangxiang was not a person who valued luxury, but she cared about freedom very much, for fear that she would not be able to control her own sex when she got married and would cause big conflicts. This would be bad.

Although Mrs. Tao seems very generous, if Princess Shangxiang is too much and is as free and willful as she is before she gets married, no one will stand it. Otherwise, why wouldn't anyone in Jiangdong dare to marry her? When he goes back, he must tell Mrs. Wu about this matter.

At this time, Qiao Xuan looked outside again. It was completely dark. He bowed and smiled, "Thank you for your reception. I have relieved me a lot of confusion. I will go back to express my respect to Mrs. Wu. It's getting late, so I will say goodbye."

Tao Zhan nodded and turned around and ordered the maid, "Come on it."

A maid came forward with a lacquer plate. There was a flat bamboo box in it. When she opened the box, there was a new collar and neatly stacked light red and fine linen long skirt. Tao Zhan smiled and said, "This is a long skirt that I spun and sewed with myself. I made two pieces in total. This one on me is one of the other one. I will give to Princess Shangxiang. I hope she likes it."

Qiao Xuan is a man with no slight contempt. He respectfully picked up the box from the plate and bowed: "I will convey my kindness to Princess Shangxiang."

After seeing Qiao Xuan off, Tao Zhan came to Songfeng Pavilion. Songfeng Pavilion is the residence of Liu Jing's concubine Xiao Baoniang. It is close to Tao Zhan's Luming Courtyard. It covers an area of ​​about acres and consists of more than twenty exquisitely shaped buildings. It is not as grand as Luming Courtyard or as luxurious as the Hewu Academy. However, it has another jasper-like style of a small family. Xiao Baoniang likes it very much.

The reason why Xiao Bao Niang got a yard alone was because she was pregnant. She had been pregnant for five months. She looked much plump and had a very good appetite. When Tao Zhan walked into her yard, he happened to see her barbecue with two maids in the yard.

"What are you doing?" Tao Zhan walked up to him and smiled.

"The eldest sister is here just now. Let's try the fresh venison meat that Aunt Wang just sent." Although Xiao Bao Niang is five months pregnant and is about to be a mother, her smile and mentality are still as straightforward as before.

Seeing the green smoke burning all over the yard, Tao Zhan couldn't help but frown and said, "It's such a hot day, I still have to barbecue meat. Don't you think it's greasy?"

Xiao Bao Niang smiled and said, "The old man often talks about meat. I really want to eat meat during this period. I guess I must be a stinky little girl in my stomach."

Seeing that she was in good spirits, with white skin and redness, and in good health, Tao Zhan remembered that when she was pregnant for five years, she felt so uncomfortable all day long. She couldn't help but believe the witch's face. Little Bao's mother was indeed prosperous and giving birth is absolutely effortless. It seems that it was a wise decision to let her husband take her as her concubine.

Originally, Tao Zhan wanted to talk to Xiao Bao Niang to relieve her annoyance, but seeing Xiao Bao Niang's barbecue so happily, she didn't want to disappoint her. Tao Zhan smiled and said, "Then you eat it slowly, I'll go back first."

She turned around and wanted to leave, but Xiao Baoniang felt that she had something to do, so she handed the barbecue to the maid and said with a smile: "It's nothing anyway, sister goes into the house to sit down."
Chapter completed!