Chapter 157 The True or False Master (14)
14
Lin Jingzhe almost suspected that Lu Jiming had broken his head.
The Wenyuan Marquis' Mansion helped the former Earl of Changping hide people for fourteen years, and when the matter was about to be exposed, they sent their second son to try to help them cover it up.
All these things, to put it nicely, are "blinded by the friendship between the two families", and to put it bluntly, are "jumping into the cesspool and rolling around".
Their family had done such a thing, and it would have been fine if Lu Jiming came to apologize, but he actually wanted to be on good terms with Lin Jingzhe and continue the "friendship" between the two families?
Is he crazy?
That day in the pavilion, Lin Jingzhe ignored him.
As a result, he came back again after a few days.
This time, he gave Lin Jingzhe some paper and pens, as well as calligraphy by famous calligraphers.
He looked at Lin Jingzhe with his usual gentle eyes, handed him the things, and said softly: "Jingzhe, I saw you practicing calligraphy in the pavilion the other day, and I saw that the paper and pen you used were not very good, so I specially prepared some for you, you can use them."
It was evening at this time. After class in the study, Lin Jingzhe made an appointment with Liu Yun and Pei Zhen to go shopping on the street together, so Lin Jingzhe waited outside the study.
Suddenly stopped by Lu Jiming, Lin Jingzhe frowned and looked unhappy.
"No."
He didn't even look at Lu Jiming, walked around him, went to the side, and continued to wait for his friends to come out.
But Lu Jiming caught up with him again and said, "Jingzhe, if you don't want to accept the apology gift from the Marquis' Mansion, then just accept these things. They are not expensive and can be used by you in your daily life. Just come to me for more when you are done with them."
He was quite calculating. He would come back to him after he had used up his money. As time went by, the two of them had more opportunities to meet each other.
"I said no need." Lin Jingzhe still didn't look at him, feeling a little regretful.
If he had known earlier, he would not have come to the study and asked Liu Yun and Pei Zhen to go to the back to find him.
Lu Jiming still had that gentle look on his face: "I'm sincerely apologizing. A gentleman knows his mistakes and can correct them. I was prejudiced against you in the past and did some things that hurt you. I really want to make amends."
Seeing that he couldn't drive him away, Lin Jingzhe simply turned a deaf ear to his words and ignored him. He just stood on tiptoe and looked into the study room intently.
Lu Jiming continued, "Our two families were originally old friends. Your mother recognized the wrong son, and I recognized the wrong brother. Your mother is making it up to you, and I just want to make it up to my brother."
"I used to take care of everything myself...
Everything about that fake brother is just to make up for you now, you don't have to think that I have ulterior motives. Master Zhu is good, but he may not be able to take care of everything..."
Lin Jingzhe didn't bother to pay attention to anything else he said, but as soon as he mentioned Master Zhu, Lin Jingzhe could no longer pretend not to hear it.
He turned his head suddenly and looked at Lu Jiming: "Shut up! How dare you say bad things about the master? Can you stop talking to yourself? Isn't it that gentlemen like to talk to themselves the most?"
Lu Jiming choked: "Jingzhe..."
Before he could finish his words, Liu Yun and Pei Zhen came out.
Seeing Lu Jiming blocking Lin Jingzhe, the two friends hurried forward and pulled Lin Jingzhe behind them.
"What happened?"
Lin Jingzhe said first: "He said bad things about the Master!"
What? Who is it? Who dares to say bad things about Master Zhu?!
After these words were spoken, the expressions of Pei Zhen and Liu Yun changed.
The students coming out of the study also stopped unconsciously, paid attention to this side, rolled up their sleeves, and were ready to fight at any time.
The situation was not good, Lu Jiming quickly explained: "I never slandered Master Zhu, I just..."
Lin Jingzhe interrupted again: "He said that the teacher was not good to me and refused to give me good paper and pen. He brought them to me today."
Lu Jiming said: "I just wanted to send you some paper and pen, I don't have..."
Lin Jingzhe said seriously, "I picked the paper and pen myself. My handwriting is not good, so I don't want to waste paper, so I wrote and wrote. Mr. Lu, please stop talking to yourself. I don't need your compensation. Please just stay away from me."
Liu Yun put his arm around his shoulders and was about to take him away. He said to Lu Jiming, "Did you hear me clearly? Please make way."
Lu Jiming had no choice but to move aside and let them leave.
Watching their backs as they left, Lu Jiming clenched the gift in his hand that he hadn't been able to give away.
He couldn't help but think that if the person in front of him today was Yi Zizhen, Yi Zizhen would definitely not treat him like this.
Yi Zizheng would definitely take the gift, with surprise written all over his face. He would examine it carefully, then pull his sleeve, act coquettishly to him, and say that he was his good brother.
But Yi Zizhen had already been sent away.
Before leaving, he was still a little angry with Yi Zizheng and wanted to cut off his relationship with him, so he did not go out to meet him, but asked the servant to give Yi Zizheng some money.
I heard from the servant that Yi Zizhen didn't want to take the money at first, but after refusing twice,
I accepted it reluctantly.
Yi Zizheng knelt down at the gate of his yard and kowtowed twice, saying that he was grateful for Lu Jiming's care over the years. He said that the emperor's order was difficult to disobey, and even if Lu Jiming had promised to protect him in the beginning and couldn't do it now, he would not blame Lu Jiming.
Lu Jiming is not his brother, but he is better than his brother.
Yi Zizheng's last words were that his younger brother Jingzhe had just arrived in the capital and had suddenly inherited the Earl's Mansion. A big tree attracts the wind, and his life must be difficult. He hoped that Lu Jiming could take care of his younger brother Jingzhe as he had taken care of him in the past.
He has been ordered by His Majesty to never return to Beijing and will never see Lu Jiming in this life. His only wish is that Lu Jiming will not be sad, that he and Lin Jingzhe will return to their respective positions, and that Lu Jiming can think of him occasionally when taking care of Lin Jingzhe.
After listening to the servant's report, the old friendship quickly flooded Lu Jiming's heart.
He regretted it.
When the incident happened, Yi Zizhen was just a baby in swaddling clothes, knowing nothing. What did the child swap have to do with him? He was just innocent.
He rushed out of the yard and chased after him.
In the end, all we saw was Yi Zizheng helping his parents, who had just been tortured, to leave.
Yi Zizheng didn't even turn his head, and his stubborn back was deeply imprinted in Lu Jiming's eyes.
It was precisely because of what he said before he left that Lu Jiming went to apologize to Lin Jingzhe and gave him gifts, wanting to take care of him as his new brother.
But who knows...
Lin Jingzhe didn't care at all. Not only that, he also hoped that he would go away and not get in the way.
Yizi really had good intentions, but it was all wasted.
Lin Jingzhe's ungratefulness made Lu Jiming miss Yi Zizhen even more.
He couldn't wait to return home, locked himself in the room, picked up a pen to write a letter to Yi Zizheng, and asked a servant to deliver it with money.
*
On the other side, Lin Jingzhe was surrounded by two friends and walked onto the street.
In the evening, all the street vendors would pack up and go home, so they could only stroll around and buy some things.
Liu Yun comforted him: "Don't be angry, next time we will go to the backyard to find you, don't come to find us."
"Yeah." Lin Jingzhe nodded, "He came to see me last time, but was driven away by the teacher."
Liu Yun frowned: "What do you think he is thinking? He must recognize a younger brother? If he doesn't recognize his younger brother, he will feel uncomfortable all over? He is sick, and this younger brother is a medicine?"
Pei Zhen also frowned: "Don't talk nonsense, don't talk about others behind their backs."
"Oh." Liu Yun covered his mouth, saw the tide-watching building next to him, and changed the subject, "Jingzhe, do you want to eat outside? My grandfather gave me some pocket money a few days ago. Let's go in and order a dish..."
When he looked up, he happened to see Master Zhu on the Tide-Watching Tower.
In one of the private rooms upstairs, the window was open and Zhu Qingchen was leaning against the window, looking at them with a smile. It was unknown how long he had been watching them.
Seeing that they had noticed him, Zhu Qingchen waved at them.
Oh, the kids are coming to the street.
The two of them bowed and saluted: "Master."
Across the stairs, Zhu Qingchen asked, "Have you eaten yet? Do you want to come up? The Master invites you..."
As soon as he finished speaking, a tall figure approached from behind him and pressed his shoulders.
It’s Lu Que.
"Zhu Qingqing, I'm inviting you to dinner now."
"I know." Zhu Qingchen crossed his legs. "I am responsible for my students, and you are responsible for me."
Lu Que looked at him seriously. What kind of nonsense was this?
"I've been eating with you every day recently. My old students and elementary students are dissatisfied. They think I dislike the food in their house." Zhu Qingchen counted on his fingers, "Nine days with you, one day with them, isn't that enough?"
Lin Jingzhe and Pei Zhen originally wanted to decline, but Liu Yun thanked them loudly, then pulled them forward and sat them in a row in front of the teacher.
Pei Zhen rebuked Liu Yun in a low voice: "Master obviously has something important to discuss with Master Lu, why did you drag us up here?"
Lin Jingzhe also nodded: "Yes, we shouldn't have come up."
Liu Yun thought for a moment and said, "Then I'll drag you down now."
As he spoke, he reached out to hold his friends' hands.
Both friends retracted their hands: "Don't move around anymore, it's getting weirder."
Pei Zhen said: "Can you be more steady? Make plans before you act?"
Zhu Qingchen leaned back in his chair and looked at them with amusement. They didn’t lower their voices when they whispered, and their voices were so loud that the whole private room could hear them.
It was unknown how long it had passed before the two students realized that the teacher was looking at them. They turned around and gave two awkward but polite smiles.
Zhu Qingchen asked casually, "How was your study today?"
The two students answered in turn.
Soon, Xiao Er will
The food was served.
The group was eating and talking, and naturally they talked about what happened just now when Lu Jiming blocked Lin Jingzhe.
Liu Yun said: "Master, what do you think he is thinking? Is he uncomfortable if he doesn't recognize a brother?"
Zhu Qingchen nodded: "What you said makes sense."
Hearing that the Master also agreed with him, Liu Yun immediately became inflated and looked at Pei Zhen confidently: "See, the Master also said so."
Zhu Qingchen asked Lin Jingzhe worriedly: "Did he do anything to you?"
"No, don't worry, Master." Lin Jingzhe shook his head, "He just gave me some writing materials, but I didn't take them."
"Next time you encounter something like this, remember to tell me."
"Hmm." Lin Jingzhe hesitated. "Master, I don't understand why he has to pester me."
"His 'real brother' left, so he came to find you, his 'fake brother'."
At this time, Lu Que, who had been sitting next to Zhu Qingchen and picking fish bones for him, spoke up: "Before Yi Zizhen left, he asked him to take good care of you."
"Ah?" Lin Jingzhe was shocked.
Without even raising his head, Lu Que put the picked fish bones into Zhu Qingchen's spoon.
Zhu Qingchen also looked at him in confusion, "What are you doing? Feeding me fish bones?"
Lu Que feinted and put the full bowl of fish meat into his bowl, then said, "Yi Zizhen said that you just came back and a tall tree attracts the wind, so let Lu Jiming take care of you."
Lin Jingzhe couldn't believe his ears. He had a teacher, friends, a mother, and now he was an earl. Why did he need Lu Jiming's care?
That Yi Zi is really weird. He has already left, but why does he want to cause more trouble for him?
Zhu Qingchen understood: "This explains it. Lu Jiming was entrusted by Yi Zizhen to take care of you in his own way. Perhaps, in Lu Jiming's eyes, he is quite great, and he is just trying to make compromises."
In the original book, it was Yi Zizhen who asked Lu Jiming to take care of him. In reality, things still inevitably developed in this direction.
The plot is back on track again.
The only difference is that in the original book, when everyone was bullying and exploiting Lin Jingzhe, Lu Jiming's gentle help seemed just right and indispensable, becoming the only support for him to survive.
But now, Lin Jingzhe just felt disgusted.
Lin Jingzhe frowned and put down his chopsticks silently.
He was so sick that he couldn't eat.
Lu Que added: "Also, the Earl of Changping and the Marquis of Wenyuan are old friends, which also means that they are one in the court."
Zhu Qingchen nodded and continued in tacit agreement: "Now His Majesty has directly stripped the title of Earl of Changping and punished the Wenyuan Marquisate. Your mother, Lady Wen's family, has also pointed the finger at them."
"The Wenyuan Marquisate is now in danger, and they are in urgent need of finding new powerful people to bind themselves to. Unfortunately, His Majesty has made this known to the world, and the prominent families in the capital all know what they have done, and have not accepted them."
"So, Lu Jiming came to contact you and wanted to make friends with you, and their mansion also tacitly agreed."
If Lu Jiming wants to prepare a gift for peace, he has to go to Wenyuanhou Mansion.
For its own interests, the Wenyuan Marquis Mansion would naturally not stop it.
After all, Lin Jingzhe was a new noble in the capital. Although he was an orphan and his mother was a widow, his status was there, and he had several teachers standing behind him. He was also good friends with Pei Zhen and Liu Yun. Even if he could not read, Pei Zhen and Liu Yun had a bright future and would not leave him alone.
If Lu Jiming could become his "good brother", the Wenyuan Marquisate would not only be able to wash away the stigma of the rumors - they had all reconciled with Lin Jingzhe, the victims hadn't said anything, and nobody else could say anything either.
They were also able to take a break and give the young Lu Jiming time to take the scientific examinations.
As long as Lu Jiming passes the imperial examination and becomes an official in the court, the Wenyuan Marquis Mansion will be transformed into a prestigious and noble family again.
Out of various considerations, the Wenyuan Marquisate wants to "renew the old relationship".
I see.
Lin Jingzhe nodded as if he understood, and then asked, "Then... isn't Mr. Lu also from the Lu family?"
"Isn't the eldest son already on good terms with the Master? Why are they trying so hard to get Lu Jiming here? If the Lu family needs help with anything, wouldn't it be better for the eldest son to persuade the Master?"
Zhu Qingchen:?
You damn kid, what the hell are you talking about?
What pillow talk? Did your master sleep with the villain at night?
No... am I, your master, a tyrant?
Zhu Qingchen was not a tyrant. Lu Que used chopsticks to dig out the eyes of the steamed fish. He was originally going to put them in his bowl, but when he heard this, he became excited and, like a "witch concubine", put the fish eyes directly to Zhu Qingchen's lips.
Zhu Qingchen didn't want to pay attention to him, fearing that his reputation as a "tyrant" would be confirmed, so he just looked at Lin Jingzhe.
Don't you think your choice of words is inappropriate?
Is this what you were taught?
But Lin Jingzhe looked serious and didn't think there was anything wrong with what he said.
It was not until Pei Zhen couldn't stand it anymore and quietly kicked him that Lin Jingzhe finally reacted: "Oh! Wind beside the ear! Master, I meant wind beside the ear, not wind beside the pillow!"
He has just started school, so it is normal for him to confuse "whisper in the pillow" with "whisper in the ear".
But it's too late to correct it now.
Lu Que pushed the fish eye forward again and said, "Master, fish eyes can improve eyesight. You should eat more when you read at night."
Zhu Qingchen opened his mouth at lightning speed, ate it in one gulp, and then sat back as if nothing had happened.
When Lu Que saw Zhu Qingchen eating it, he went to dig out the other side of the fish's eye.
He said calmly: "The Lu family and I are not of the same mind, they can't count on me."
Zhu Qingchen nodded, stretched out his hand, and placed it on the back of Lu Que's chair, looking like a little bully: "He is my man, he is on the same side as me!"
That’s indeed the case.
They had ignored Lu Que for so long, treating him as a discarded pawn and a cover-up for doing dirty things, and now they were shamelessly going to ask Lu Que for help. They couldn't bring themselves to do that.
Moreover, if I ask Lu Que for help, will the title of Marquis also be passed on to Lu Que in the future?
This won’t work. They still want to pass the title to Lu Jiming.
So just let Lu Jiming give it a try.
Lin Jingzhe probably understood the reasons why Lu Jiming approached him, nodded, and said thoughtfully: "Master, then I will just ignore him. If he comes to me again, I will scold him and drive him away."
"I just said that I had something to ask the master, why are you scolding him and sending him away again?"
"I..." Lin Jingzhe whispered, "I just want to scold him. He is asking for trouble and might just leave. Master, don't worry, I will scold him."
Zhu Qingchen didn't believe it at all. It would be strange if he would curse at someone considering his pitiful appearance.
Zhu Qingchen said to the other two students, "If I'm not in the mansion during this period, you two can help me keep an eye on him and don't let Lu Jiming get close to him. If you do a good job, the teacher will reward you handsomely!"
Liu Yun's eyes lit up and he asked, "What great reward does the Master have?"
Zhu Qingchen said confidently: "The teacher can tell you about the embarrassing things your grandfather did when he was young. You can use this as an excuse to ask them for more pocket money in the future."
Zhu Qingchen has a lot of these things.
Humph!
Liu Yun responded quickly: "Leave it to me. I will definitely keep a close eye on Jingzhe and will never let him and Lu Jiming get close."
Zhu Qingchen finally warned Lin Jingzhe not to meet with Lu Jiming in private, and not to go anywhere with him alone.
Zhu Qingchen didn't let him go until Lin Jingzhe raised his hand and swore that he would never act rashly.
After dinner, Lu Que sent the four teachers and students back home.
He walked steadily with the help of a cane, as if it was a way to help digest the food after a meal.
Lu Que has now gradually become accustomed to Zhu Qingchen's support. Zhu Qingchen holds his hand and walks side by side with him. The two of them walk slowly, and the two students follow obediently behind them without any impatience.
After returning to the gate of Liu Mansion, Lu Que watched Zhu Qingchen go in before getting on the carriage.
The carriage stopped in front of the side door of Wenyuan Marquis's mansion. Just as Lu Que was about to get off, Lu Jiming's servant came out from the side door holding a bundle.
Lu Que knew at a glance that it must be Lu Jiming who asked the servant to deliver a message to Yi Zizheng in Linjia Village.
It doesn’t matter. He has also arranged people to keep an eye on Linjia Village.
Every move was reported to someone.
After the servant left, Lu Que got off the carriage with the help of a cane.
*
Despite Zhu Qingchen's repeated warnings, Lu Jiming could not be prevented from getting close to Lin Jingzhe.
After all, every time Yi Zizheng wrote to him, he said that it was his fault and that he owed his brother Jingzhe too much, and asked him to take care of his brother Jingzhe on his behalf.
He had no way to refuse. While he was grateful for Zizhen's kindness and his own greatness, he had to apologize to Lin Jingzhe and beg for his forgiveness on behalf of Yi Zizhen.
But Lin Jingzhe ignored him completely and always stuck with other people, making it difficult for him to even say a few words.
Finally, half a month later, Lin Jingzhe couldn't stand it anymore!
When Lu Jiming approached him for the tenth time to give him a gift and teach him calligraphy, Lin Jingzhe saw his friends coming from afar, so he overturned the gift in his hand and threw it on the ground.
"Are you deaf, blind, or mentally ill? I told you no, no, why did you insist on getting close to me?"
"If you want Yi Zizhen to be your brother, then go to Linjia Village to find him! It's not like you haven't been there before, you know the way. It's only five days' journey from here to Linjia Village. If you ride faster, you can get there in two days!"
"He's not dead, so you can't see him anymore. If you want to see him, just go and see him.
He! Running thousands of miles for your good brother is truly a good story. "
Lu Jiming said: "I want to ask for your forgiveness on behalf of Zizhen. Zizhen is a very good person. He has always asked me to..."
"I'm living well on my own, no one bullies me. The only ones who bully me are you and your Zizhen. He has already returned to Linjia Village, why are you still hanging around in front of me?"
"You keep shaking me. Every time you mention the truth, it reminds me of the fourteen years when I was stolen!" Lin Jingzhe paused and cursed in a low voice, "Damn it."
Lu Jiming had never heard such words before, and he felt terrible: "What did you say?"
"Damn it. Put chicken feathers on your bat and boil water in the teapot."
"What?"
"Who the hell are you? Get out of here!"
Pei Zhen and Liu Yun who had just come over were stunned. Wow, this idiom is so clever!
Lin Jingzhe grew up in the market. Although he was beaten badly by Lin Laoer every day and looked pitiful, he had heard these swear words from others, and because they were simple and easy to remember, he kept them in mind.
It is just right to use it on Lu Jiming now.
He is not afraid of Lu Jiming at all!
His friends are here. If a fight breaks out, they can definitely win if they fight one against two!
Even if he can't win, the Master will support him!
All these things gave him the courage to fight back!
Lin Jingzhe said: "Do you still feel wronged? I am the one who should be wronged! You and Yi Zizhen, you two have a deep brotherly love, and you have deep feelings for him, so you should go to him and talk to each other, why do you always drag me into it? I am not your foil!"
Your friend is out of books, go help him
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