Similarly, Wan'er and Jiayin were also reluctant to part with Aibei and Wenwen.
Especially Wan'er, while Jiayin could enter the palace and chat and go shopping with the Third Princess and Baozhu and other young ladies, she was always busy with household chores, afraid of making mistakes, and worked diligently.
When I have a spare moment, my grandmother and aunt aren't around, and I have no one to talk to.
But Abe came, so she finally had company.
Aibei was straightforward and curious about everything Tianwu did, which made Wan'er feel like she had a younger sister. They would laugh and chat together, eat snacks together, and every day was lively and happy.
Now that Aibei is leaving, Jiaxi and Jia'an are also leaving, and in a few days Jiaren and Lige'er will also be going to their posts...
Just thinking about how much more deserted the mansion would be made Wan'er sigh.
But all good things must come to an end, and no one can stop parting.
Fortunately, the separation was because we each had a better life ahead of us.
Compared to the busyness of the Li family, the city was also extremely lively.
This time, perhaps in preparation for the recapture of Jiangbei, the imperial court assigned almost all the newly appointed scholars to official positions, and most of them were substantive posts, intending to give them more experience.
The newly appointed scholars had not left Xindu and were all waiting for this good news.
Now that the dust has settled, everyone is naturally happy, and celebratory banquets are in full swing.
The people in the city were also talking about it, and some even chimed in with their own happy comments.
"Mr. Qu, who rents a room in the courtyard next to mine, became a county magistrate. He was overjoyed. Yesterday, he bought meat and held a banquet. I also drank a bowl of celebratory wine with him."
"Haha, me too. But the official sent was my maternal uncle's third maternal aunt's nephew. I went to deliver the congratulatory gift and was treated as a distinguished guest."
"When his family was supporting his studies and they were short of money to buy him writing materials, I helped them out with a full two taels of silver. Now I'm benefiting from it too!"
“This time, when I go out to take up an official post, my son has also been called up to be a minor steward. We won’t have to worry about making a living from now on.”
"Such a good thing? I'm so envious!"
"Exactly! Why don't we have such good relatives in my family!"
"Those who went out to take up official positions this time are highly sought after, while those who stayed in Xindu are just figureheads with no real power."
"There's nothing we can do about it. There are too many powerful and influential people in Xindu. How can a newcomer possibly stand out?"
"It's not that there aren't any; the third-ranked scholar (探花郎) even got a fifth-rank official position."
"The fifth rank is indeed very high, but it's just a book-writing job, not very useful! Moreover, if the emperor hadn't hoped to marry the princess to the Lu family, even the third-ranked scholar probably wouldn't have been able to get such a high rank."
“That’s true! I’ve heard that this Prince Lu is actually not very talented. He was only chosen as the third-ranked scholar because the Emperor took a liking to him. Sometimes people say that being good-looking is an advantage, otherwise he would probably have failed the imperial examination long ago.”
"That's not necessarily true. We can't just say for sure whether he's truly talented or not. But the fact that His Majesty chose Prince Lu as his son-in-law must mean that Prince Lu has some exceptional qualities."
"Exceptional qualities? Haha, he must have exceptional qualities, otherwise how could he have married a princess!" The speaker winked and made faces, clearly implying something.
The others laughed heartily; being men, they were all naturally interested in this topic.
After the joke, everyone dispersed.
No one knows who spread this "extraordinary ability" around, so much so that a day later, when everyone saw Lu Zong, after clasping their hands in congratulations, their eyes couldn't help but glance downwards.
Lu Zong wasn't stupid; he immediately realized something was wrong.
So the servant went out for a walk, and when he came back, his eyes were red with anger.
Lu Zong was also locked in the study and did not come out for a day and a night.
The servants and stewards of the Lu family were terrified, and were so worried that their master was in trouble that they had no choice but to run to find help.
The Li family was extremely busy, and the servant, without doing much else, rushed directly to the Jia family.
Jia Xu also heard the rumors and was so angry that he smashed his favorite inkstone.
Upon receiving the distress call, he immediately took a jar of strong liquor and some good dishes and rushed to the Lu family.
The door to the study was forcibly opened by the servants. Jia Xu chased them away and went inside.
Lu Zong sat at the table with disheveled hair, bloodshot eyes, and an extremely thin face.
Jia Xu was so heartbroken that he cried on the spot. How could the once spirited young master have turned into this?
“Brother Lu, you said you come from a military family, you can’t let such a trivial matter defeat you! If you’re angry, we’ll go out and beat someone up, why torture yourself like this!”
Lu Zong didn't respond, but instead opened the wine jar and gulped it down.
Jia Xu quickly snatched the wine jar away and was about to speak again when Lu Zong choked up and cried, "I'm not convinced! I studied hard for ten years and I could have passed the imperial examination on my own merit, but I was chosen directly as the third-ranked scholar just because I was selected."
"As a result, everyone said I was a useless embroiderer, and that I only made the list and became the prince consort because of my outstanding qualities!"
"Is all my ambition only good for winning a woman's heart? If I were in love with her, that would be fine too. But I clearly like..."
"Brother Lu!" Jia Xu quickly covered Lu Zong's mouth, looked around warily, and urgently whispered to him, "Brother Lu, you absolutely mustn't say such things again! Be careful, or you'll bring trouble upon yourself and your family!"
Lu Zong shook off his hand, completely losing his temper.
"Am I supposed to be a coward for the rest of my life? Am I supposed to be called a useless embroiderer for the rest of my life? Am I supposed to live a cold and lonely life?"
"But why can't you give me the girl I love! As long as she's with me, I'll accept it!"
"Why the Third Princess? What kind of bullshit consort is he? I don't care! Why should everyone else go to the herdsmen's side and leave me here as a puppet to suffer for the rest of my life!"
"I refuse to accept this! I refuse to accept this!"
Jia Xu held Lu Zong tightly, refusing to let go despite his loud crying.
He couldn't help but get teary-eyed. He and Lu Zong had been friends for many years, so how could he not know what Lu Zong was thinking?
But one cannot live for only oneself.
Especially for scions of powerful and wealthy families like theirs, they have carried the honor and disgrace of their families on their shoulders since childhood, always putting the family first, and their personal preferences are simply not worth mentioning...
"Brother Lu, cry all you want. But after you've cried, life will go on as usual. The Third Princess... is a good girl too. You two will surely live a harmonious life together."
"Don't underestimate the power of repairing books. If you do it well, you'll still be remembered in history. Besides, I'm staying in Xindu now, so I'll keep you company while I drink."
Lu Zong didn't say anything more, only tears flowed like a river.
No one could see the black mist of hatred that had solidified in his eyes, a mist even thicker than the darkness of the night outside…
In the courtyard of the Li family in Suijintan, Jiayin came out of the bath and carefully flipped through the booklet.
Shui Ling took a cotton towel to wipe her master's hair, and Shui Yun came in with some calming tea. Upon seeing this, she quickly took the towel from her.
Shuiling is careless and doesn't know how to handle things properly.
The master's hair was thick, black, and straight, like dark satin, and shiny.
It would be such a waste if some of them were torn off by Shui Ling.
Jiayin didn't even look up, and asked, "Did you check the box again? Is there anything wrong with it?"
"No, Princess, everything is ready. We'll just bring it on the ship tomorrow," Shuiyun replied.
Shui Ling took a piece of pastry and munched on it, unable to resist interjecting, "With Fourth Young Master and the others gone, the house will be quiet again."
Jiayin sighed, casually closed the booklet, but suddenly cried out in pain.
Today's update is here!
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