Chapter 179 Origin
Along the way, He Sheng kept sizing up Lin Changning. Such a young fifth-rank military officer was extremely rare in the entire court, except for those whose positions were hereditary. Therefore, Zhiyuan's younger brother was definitely someone with real ability.
Their family was in business, but they had very little wealth. Every year, they gave countless gifts to officials as a form of bribery. Even so, people often used their business to extort money from them.
Therefore, his parents had high expectations for him. He was extremely intelligent and did not find it difficult to study for the imperial examinations.
His parents put a lot of effort into him. Back then, in order to find a good tutor for him, his father took him to several prefectures and spent almost half of the family's wealth to get him a place in school.
After he enrolled in school, even though he was very talented, he was looked down upon by some of his classmates because his family was in business, and even the great Confucian scholar who taught him did not take him seriously.
On the contrary, the sons of officials and those from scholarly families were more valued by great Confucian scholars.
During his three years of study there, almost all his classmates looked down on his background, as if being around him would make them smell of money and snobbery.
From that time on, he knew that only by truly studying hard, passing the imperial examinations, and achieving official rank would he and his family not be looked down upon.
But upon seeing Zhiyuan's younger brother, He Sheng suddenly had a sudden realization.
Since Zhiyuan's family has such connections, why go to such lengths? Perhaps he could write a letter to his father; with Zhiyuan's influence, the Lin family's commander should be able to offer some protection to their business.
If the deal goes through, we can offer the Lin family a 5% discount and move their liquor business to Taiyuan.
This way, the Lin family won't lack money, and they can also find a powerful backer.
Thinking this, He Sheng's smile became much more genuine, and he spoke wittily with Lin Changning, making the three of them laugh continuously.
After walking for about half an hour, we finally arrived at the Lin residence.
Zhiyuan stared at the courtyard in astonishment. It seemed even more exquisite than He Sheng's house. He looked at the carved beams in front of the door and realized that the regulations for a merchant's residence and an official's residence were always different.
Although the place is not large, the details in the shadows reveal its exquisite beauty.
Lin Changning immediately summoned a servant to help settle the group's belongings, while he himself led Zhiyuan and Hesheng forward. The two young ladies from official families hesitated for a moment before following behind.
This man saved their lives, and Zhiyuan and Hesheng protected them all the way. Although they were eager to get home, it would be too impolite to pass by without going in.
So they went into the Lin residence.
Lin Changning's house has a fairly large courtyard, enough to tidy up a few bedrooms and accommodate these people without any problem. It's just that the two female relatives are a bit of a hassle.
They were not a typical official family. Although there were guest rooms, there was simply no extra space available for the women's quarters in the inner courtyard.
After entering the courtyard, Lin Changning turned to the two young ladies from official families and said, "Ladies, please don't worry. You must be tired from your journey. Please stay and have a hot meal. After you finish eating and freshen up, I will have someone escort you home."
Su Mingshu and Zhou Wanning were overjoyed and bowed to Lin Changning, saying, "Thank you, sir."
They were still unmarried, and their journey of escape and living with these men day and night had already been somewhat inappropriate. If they were to continue living in the Lin family's house today, their reputations would be ruined.
Fortunately, Lord Lin was quite considerate and polite, and after offering them a simple meal, he sent them home.
Lin Changning led his men into the main room, invited them to sit down, and then instructed a maid to call his mother, as well as his second brother and sister-in-law. He told the cook to cook extra food, as there were more than ten people from the escort agency, and the cook's woks were smoking, so she probably wouldn't be able to finish cooking all the dishes.
So Lin Changning took out some silver and handed it to the errand boy: "Go to the restaurant and book three tables of food, with extra meat and vegetables."
They've probably been eating dry rations the whole way, so let's give them some more meat and vegetables to supplement their diet.
The two young ladies from official families sat properly in their chairs, and couldn't help but feel a little nervous when they saw Lin Changning looking at them.
"You two said you have relatives in Taiyuan. May I ask which family they are? After we finish eating, I'll take you home."
Su Mingshu and Zhou Wanning looked at each other, unsure how to answer. After a moment's hesitation, Su Mingshu replied, "My aunt is the wife of Zhao Jinshi, the prefect of Taiyuan. I came to Taiyuan to find my aunt."
Zhou Wanning blushed slightly and said, "My uncle is Zhou Wendao, the prefect of Taiyuan. I've come to find him."
Lin Changning had been in Taiyuan for some time now, and he happened to know both of the people they were talking about, who lived not far from this alley.
After the meal, a carriage can arrive in no more than the time it takes to drink two cups of tea.
Lin Changning nodded: "So you are relatives of the two lords. I understand. Your residences are not too far from here. After you have eaten, I will send someone to prepare a carriage to take you there."
The two young girls glanced at Lin Changning, stood up, bowed, and thanked him: "Thank you, Lord Lin."
Both of them were very well-mannered and had excellent manners. However, Lin Changning was a little puzzled. In the midst of war, why would two daughters of officials be running around seeking refuge with relatives? Thinking of this, Lin Changning frowned and asked another question.
"Now that there is war, and Taiyuan is not too far from the cities occupied by the rebels, what are you two doing here?"
The two girls, understanding what Lin Changning was asking, exchanged a glance, and Su Mingshu spoke first.
"My lord, you may not know this, but both my sister Zhou's father and I are commanders in the army. Our fathers were in the army during this battle. When the court was defeated in the first battle, our fathers brought us guards and sent us to seek refuge with our relatives."
Lin Changning raised an eyebrow and asked in a somewhat cold tone, "Where are the guards?"
The explanation itself is not problematic, but if the intention was to protect family members, why not go to a safer place? Why insist on coming to Taiyuan? This is somewhat suspicious.
Chang Zhiyuan looked at his older sister and explained to the two of them, "The guards of my brother and his companions were all killed by villains on the way, and that's how they met us."
Changning nodded to indicate that she understood, but she still felt there were doubts about the matter. The two girls blushed, thinking that Lin Changning was interrogating a criminal.
However, seeing that Lin Changning remained silent with a thoughtful expression on his face, Su Mingshu was afraid that Lin Changning had misunderstood something, so she spoke again.
"Well, I won't hide it from you, sir. But this matter concerns a woman's reputation, so please dismiss your attendants and don't spread it around."
Lin Changning straightened her expression: "Of course not, please rest assured, Miss."
After speaking, Lin Changning directed all irrelevant people in the hall to leave, leaving only her in the room.
"Miss, please speak freely. No one else will know once you leave this room."
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