The method proposed by Cui Jing is simple and clear.
He returned to General Chang's residence with Chang Kuo, and in the study, he picked up a pen and wrote four big words:
"Just hang these four words outside the gate of the mansion, and those who want to discuss marriage will leave on their own."
His tone was so serious that it seemed as if that was not just an ordinary piece of calligraphy, but a talisman that could be used to ward off evil spirits.
Chang Kuo picked up the calligraphy and took a closer look. He saw the four big characters "No Discussion of Marriage" written on it.
"This..." Chang Kuolue came back to his senses and his eyes lit up with joy: "Great!"
The most high-end and convenient rejection often only requires the simplest and most direct method!
Chang Kuo immediately ordered someone to paste the calligraphy directly on the gate of the mansion.
After Chang Suining left the Duke of Zheng's mansion yesterday, he went to the farm with Chang Sui'an to check whether the autumn harvest was ready. When he returned home, he saw the four eye-catching characters on the door:
Chang Sui'an was stunned, and asked the servant who came to greet him: "Whose idea was this?"
"My lord, this is the general's order."
Chang Sui'an also understood: "Oh, it really seems like something my father would do."
"But this handwriting doesn't look like my father's." Chang Suining stepped forward and took a closer look: "My father can't write such beautiful words."
In other words, there are few people in the Chang family, or even in the entire capital, who can write such vigorous and powerful characters.
Dad couldn't have specially invited some calligraphy master to write these four words, right? Chang Suining's doubts were soon answered in the front hall.
She saw Cui Jing, dressed in official robes, sitting in his living room drinking tea.
Judging from his appearance, he was obviously pulled here right after the morning court session.
"Sui Ning, have you seen the words posted outside?" Chang Kuo laughed and said, "This is what Grand Commander Cui just wrote!"
Chang Suining looked at Cui Jing in slight surprise.
——Has he been threatened? If he was threatened by Lao Chang, he might as well wink at her.
The young man did not blink, but just lowered his eyes and continued drinking tea.
Pian Changkuo added: "Not only was the calligraphy written by Grand Commander Cui, but the idea was also proposed by Grand Commander Cui!"
Cui Jing: “…”
There is no need to mention it in such detail...
Inexplicably, he seemed to be quite involved in this matter, as if he was very keen on blocking her marriage plans.
Cui Jing, who never liked to explain, felt that he needed to explain at this moment: "General Chang told me today that there have been frequent visits from ice men recently, and Madam Chang has no intention of discussing marriage, and the general can't stand it——"
Chang Suining had already sat down in the chair, smiled knowingly, and said, "Thank you, Commander Cui. Although this method is simple, it is also very good."
simple?
Cui Jing looked at her.
Is this a compliment?
Chang Kuo said to him enthusiastically, "If there is nothing urgent, stay and have lunch today before leaving."
"Thank you, General, but I still have things to do." Cui Jing glanced at the clepsydra, put down his teacup and stood up: "It's time to go."
Are you leaving now? Seeing that he was busy and not free, Chang Suining naturally swallowed the polite invitation that was on the tip of his tongue.
Chang Kuo sent someone to escort Cui Jing out of the house.
After leaving the Chang Mansion, Yuan Xiang looked back at the "talisman paper" and suddenly asked, "...Grand Commander, did you come here just to write these words?"
Anyone can write these words, so why is it worth it for the commander-in-chief to make a personal trip?
Yuanxiang felt that it was a bit strange, but he couldn't tell what was wrong.
Cui Jing stopped when he heard that, looked back, and suddenly felt that his behavior was a little strange.
Thinking back carefully for a moment, he felt that he could no longer delve into his thoughts at the time. Instead, he felt as if he was possessed by something...? He was still confused in his heart when he suddenly heard his subordinate say, "General, I understand!"
Cui Jing immediately looked at his subordinates.
"No wonder you didn't like making friends in the past. In fact, it's because you, the Grand Commander, are very affectionate. Once you consider someone a friend, you will do everything personally, no matter how big or small the matter is." Yuan Xiang sighed, "Madam Chang is really envious of others for having a friend like you."
Cui Jing: “…”
Maybe that was the case? After all, he had no experience in making friends before.
"Let's go." Cui Jing jumped onto the horse.
Yuanxiang quickly mounted his horse and followed.
Looking at the handsome and upright back and the always wise head of his own Grand Commander, Yuan Xiang could not help but shake his head and sigh in his heart, for someone as lacking in love as the Commander, it is really easy to lose his mind in these close relationships that have never been touched.
Chang Suining and Chang Sui'an had lunch at home and then went out.
Today is the ten-day holiday of the Imperial College, and Cui Lang proposed to hold a community banquet, and the venue was chosen at a famous elegant place in the city - the Listening Hall.
As its name suggests, this museum is famous for its music and has the best musicians in the city.
All societies in the capital hold community banquets and activities. Chang Suining doesn't like to organize these, but Cui Lang is willing to contribute money and effort. As the leader of a society, she only needs to show up and she can reap the benefits of winning people's hearts for free. There is no reason for her to be unhappy.
Wuer Society now has a total of 18 members, all of whom were selected by Cui Lang after strict screening.
Anyone who entered the Imperial Academy either had a good family background or was extremely talented. When a group of young people like this gathered together to play for a long time, it would no longer be just simple fun.
Chang Suining had just been to the farm yesterday. She knew very well that before the crops could be harvested, they needed to go through a lot of preparation and waiting, such as loosening the soil, sowing, and watering.
From the time a seed sprouts until it is harvested, not a single day is wasted.
The Listening Hall is decorated in the style of Jiangnan. In addition to the lobby and private rooms on the second floor for people to listen to music, there are four elegant courtyards in the backyard for scholars who like elegance to gather.
Cui Lang booked one of the "bamboo courtyards" today.
Chang Suining got off the carriage and as soon as he walked into the hall, he heard the sound of a pipa.
There were guests in the hall who were shaking their heads and chanting. Under the guidance of the waiter, she and Chang Sui'an walked through the front hall and entered the backyard. The green bamboo curtain fell and the sound of the pipa gradually faded away.
"Eh, Madam Chang?!"
Chang Suining was about to go to the "Bamboo Courtyard" when he suddenly heard a voice coming from the side.
She turned to look at the person who came, raised her hand with a smile: "Mr. Tan."
The young man in blue was very surprised: "Madam Chang still remembers me?"
Chang Suining smiled and said, "You are a person who shares the same feelings with Taibai, it is difficult for you to forget it."
Tan Li couldn't help but laugh: "Mrs. Chang really has a good memory..."
Then he asked curiously, "I heard that Madam Chang formed a martial arts club in the Imperial College, named Wuer Club?"
"Yes, I am here today for the community banquet. If Mr. Tan doesn't mind, you can come into the bamboo courtyard to drink tea and wine with me."
Tan Li showed an extremely regretful look on his face: "Thank you Madam Chang for the invitation, but I am also invited here today..."
As he was talking, he heard footsteps. He turned around and said, "They are coming to Mr. Song's poetry gathering!"
Thinking that his life was not well-off after coming to the capital, he liked to eat, drink and have ice cream for free to cut down on expenses. As they were both candidates to take the imperial examination the following year, he was naturally acquainted with the famous Song Xian.
Among the group of literati who were walking along, the one who was surrounded by the crowd was Song Xian.
When he saw Chang Suining, the expression on his face, which had been smiling slightly, faded.
"Mr. Song, this is the lady from the Chang family who painted in Dengtai Tower during the Dragon Boat Festival." Tan Li said, and suddenly smiled: "You two studied in the same Imperial College, so you must be familiar with each other. I don't think I need to introduce you!"
"I'm not familiar with her." Song Xian corrected without looking away: "And Madam Chang is not a student studying in the Imperial Academy."
When he said the second half of the sentence, he seemed to emphasize the word "wife" intentionally or unintentionally.
Tan Li was stunned for a moment, then laughed again: "Yes, Madam Chang worshipped Qiao Jijiu as her master..."
Song Xian frowned almost imperceptibly.
"The poetry reading is about to begin, let's go." He seemed unwilling to stay here any longer, and had an attitude that showed he didn't want to associate with anyone.
Tan Li smiled and bowed to Chang Suining, then followed Song Xian and the others.
"Ningning, who is that Mr. Song?" Chang Sui'an frowned and asked, "Why does he look a little bit..."
"I don't like you very much." Chang Suining took the initiative to speak.
Chang Sui'an nodded: "Yes!"
The sword boy looked at his husband again.
It has to be said that the man only shows extraordinary sensitivity in matters related to girls.
"Does my sister have a grudge against him?" Chang Sui'an asked in a low voice as he walked.
"Yes, it's a festival destined by heaven."
Because before she became Qiao Yang's apprentice, she had not inquired in detail about the fact that Mr. Song had also intended to become Qiao Jijiu's apprentice but was rejected.
With this natural hostility, she initially tried to balance her dignity and face by saying, "The so-called apprenticeship is nothing more than a little girl being willful and mischievous."
Even if it turned out later that she was not completely fooling around, her attitude was too high and it would be difficult to let it go after a while.
This is human nature, especially for a scholar who is proud and concerned about his reputation. She can fully understand it.
It is very difficult for the other party to walk down from this platform called prejudice.
"Has he said anything rude? Do you want me to teach him a lesson?" Chang Sui'an was eager to try.
Chang Suining: "No need, brother, just keep this butcher knife."
“Ningning!”
Qiao Yubai, who arrived earlier, waved to Chang Suining.
Standing next to him was Qiao Yumian, who rarely wanted to go out for a walk. When she heard that Chang Suining had arrived, a smile appeared on the girl's face.
Chang Suining walked over quickly.
Although Chang Sui'an was not a member of the society, as the elder brother of the society leader, he had long been familiar with Hu Huan and others in the society, and they got along very well, except when he was competing with Qiao Yubai for the title of brother.
Everyone greeted each other enthusiastically, and Chang Suining took Qiao Yumian to take a seat.
Cui Lang ordered that no drinking was allowed, so everyone just drank tea instead of wine, and talked about interesting things in the Imperial College, some current news, or some political affairs that did not touch too much.
"I heard from my father that the Saint was furious at the morning court yesterday because Ms. Ming secretly found out that several officials had written poems during a private gathering, implying that the Saint was unwilling to return power..."
"Those officials were all demoted! It seems that one of them was Censor Luo, who had advocated the abolition of the emperor with the saint..."
Hearing this slightly sighing tone, Chang Suining felt something was wrong - the fact that Censor Luo advocated the abdication of the emperor did not mean that he really supported the empress to ascend the throne, or that their positions and interests might have changed. In the court, only interests were stable and unchanging.
This is also the reason why those aristocratic bureaucrats are closely connected.
It was also the reason for the conflict between the Empress of the Ming Dynasty and the aristocratic bureaucrats.
From this incident, we can see that the voices of dissatisfaction in the court with the Queen's refusal to return power were increasing as the prince grew up.
Today I am just writing poems to hint at it in private, but what about tomorrow?
Demoting a few civil servants will not calm the situation.
When Chang Suining was making a judgment based on the news he heard, he suddenly saw a member of the club running in: "... Cui Liulang and the people from Xunmei Club are arguing!"
Just now, a servant came with a pot of wine and said that he saw an elder from the Cui family coming here, so Cui Lang went out to talk to him.
He just went out and probably hasn't met anyone from his clan yet. Why is he quarreling with people from Xunmei Society?
When Chang Suining and others arrived, they saw Cui Lang was about to take action.
"Bah! What do you mean by great talent? I think you are nothing but a jar of pickled cucumbers. I will smash you to pieces today and serve you as a snack!"
"Cui Liulang, calm down for a second. A gentleman should speak with words, not with fists..." Cui Lang's fellow members were pulling him back. Our reinforcements hadn't arrived yet, and we were outnumbered! The drunken student on the other side sneered, "You formed a society with women as the leader, which is already a joke. Don't you allow people to say anything?"
"Besides, what is Wuershe? They are quite arrogant——"
You must know that their Xunmei Society has always been recognized as the number one society in the Imperial College. How dare a polo player across the street arrogantly call himself the number one society! These dissatisfactions have not accumulated overnight.
Moreover, most of the members of Xunmei Society were from poor families, and they already harbored resentment towards the aristocrats who excluded and oppressed them. Now, faced with Cui Lang, a useless member of the Cui family, all their resentment erupted under the influence of alcohol.
"Even Brother Song said that Madam Chang's association is clearly corrupting the atmosphere of the Imperial College!"
Song Xian frowned when he heard this.
He had said this, and he still dared to say it now, but when it was said by someone else, it sounded like he was gossiping about the woman behind her back.
But the woman happened to come over at this moment and heard these words.
When their eyes met, she did not question or get angry.
Instead, he had Cui Lang pulled aside and said to him, "Mr. Song likes to compare men and women. Don't you think that apart from the difference between men and women, you have nothing else to compare with me?"
Song Xian frowned.
The members around him also looked indignant.
What kind of extremely arrogant statement is this?
Song Xian said: "I have always been courteous to you because you are a woman..."
Chang Suining looked at him and said, "You and I have never fought over anything, so why would we give in?"
Or was it that he had been competing with her in his heart because of the matter of becoming Qiao Jijiu's apprentice, and because she was a woman, he "disdained" to compete with her? Song Xian's fingers tightened slightly in his sleeves, as if his extremely secret thoughts had been seen through.
At this moment, the young girl in sight said, "Instead of speculating and discussing in private, Mr. Song, do you dare to put aside the distinction between men and women and compete with me openly to see who is better?"
Is this a public declaration of war?
There was a commotion all around.
Sensing those gazes, Song Xian looked at Chang Suining and asked, "What does Madam Chang want to compete with me?"
Good night, everyone~ (Yuan Xiang is worried today: I heard that Huichun Hall has recently diagnosed a new disease called love brain. Is his Grand Commander a complete friendship brain?
Today is also the day when the Grand Commander is obsessed with "friendship"_(:з」∠)_）
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