Chapter 174 Drinking

But how can the children stop Ji Yong!

Ji Yong swaggered through the corridor and came to the front yard.

A large group of people came in, escorting an old man.

The old man was of medium height, with white hair and beard but a ruddy complexion. He wore a royal blue silk gown that was neither new nor old, and a small red agate bottle hung on his waist. His eyes were bright and there was a hint of curiosity that only young people have.

As soon as he saw Ji Yong, he laughed and said, "Jianming, how did you know I was here? I specifically told them not to tell you. I heard that you are doing well in the Hanlin Academy? Come, let me see if you have improved a bit."

"Great-grandfather!" Ji Yong widened his eyes, turned around and glared at his son fiercely, as if to say "Why didn't you tell me?"

The son couldn't help shrinking his neck and said hurriedly: "It was the two old masters who told us to do it. They said it was the old lady's intention to give you a surprise, so we didn't tell you."

"I think you're surprised, but I don't know where the joy comes from!" Ji Yong muttered, walked over with a stern face, saluted to Old Lady Ji, and called him "Great-grandfather".

Old Mrs. Ji habitually reached out to touch Ji Yong's head, but she never expected that Ji Yong was no longer the naive boy he used to be. He had grown a head taller than him. He had to raise his hand to touch Ji Yong's head. He smiled and said "good boy". The scene was inevitably a little funny.

Ji Song and Ji Qi lowered their eyelids, pretending not to see anything.

The others also turned their heads away.

Ji Yong's mouth twitched slightly.

Old Lady Ji had already pulled Ji Yong's hand and walked inside while talking to him: "Where are you going? It's a rare occasion for us all to gather together today, so don't go out to play, and stay with me, an old man. I brought a few inkstones from Jiangnan, which are given to me by your great uncle. Among them is a Yishui inkstone and a Longwei inkstone. Please help me to choose them." After saying this, she turned around and glanced at her grandchildren and great-grandchildren who followed behind her, and said with a smile, "You can each take one to use later."

After hearing this, several of Ji Yong's cousins ​​came forward to thank Grandma Ji with amusement, saying that Grandma Ji was biased, "What's the use of having an inkstone without ink? You might as well be a good person and give us some pine smoke ink to use!"

"I know you can't open your mouth," said Old Lady Ji, looking distressed. "Once you open your mouth, you'll bleed profusely! I have an inkstone but no ink. Do you want it or not?"

Everyone liked the naughty old lady Ji, and they all laughed and said, "Of course we need both inkstone and ink."

A group of people entered the hall laughing.

Ji Yong pouted and followed Old Lady Ji as if she had a toothache.

If it was someone else, he could just walk away without even saying anything. But facing Old Lady Ji, whom he had never defeated since childhood, in addition to the difference in age, he also had a kind of respect for the strong. Although he was reluctant in his heart, he still sat down with Old Lady Ji in the hall.

Old Lady Ji leaned over and said to Ji Yong, "Your tutor, Lord Yang, is full of praise for you. He even wrote me a letter, praising you for your knowledge of farming, which is incomparable to ordinary scholars. He thinks highly of you. Since I am here, I must meet him. You will accompany me to meet Lord Yang tomorrow. We are both from Nanzhili, and a neighbor is worse than a distant relative. If you have nothing to do on weekdays, you should go and ask for advice from him often."

What's there to do?

Every time he went there, he said he had to do farm work, which forced him to go around looking for a manager who knew about farm work to ask for help, so that he would not be caught...

Ji Yong replied sullenly, “Yes.”

Old Mrs. Ji's face was full of smiles. She no longer paid attention to Ji Yong and continued talking to Ji Song and Ji Qi.

The plan to look for Chen Qushui naturally fell through.

Not only that, Old Lady Ji also dragged Ji Yong to visit this person today and that person tomorrow, under the pretext of introducing some old friends to Ji Yong. Ji Song and Ji Qi naturally fully supported her, so that except for going to the Hanlin Academy, Ji Yong spent all his time accompanying Old Lady Ji.

In the blink of an eye, it was midsummer, but Grandma Ji had no intention of going back. Instead, she became more interested in visiting all the places she had visited in her youth, and she had to visit the places she had not visited to make up for her regrets.

Pian Jiyong's people came to report that Chen Qushui would set off for Zhending in a few days.

Ji Yong was so annoyed that he threw up his sleeves and refused to accompany her any longer.

Ji Qi was so angry that veins popped out, and he scolded him: "How many days of good life can the old man have? We, his descendants, don't show filial respect to him when he can still eat and drink. Do we have to wait until he is buried before showing filial respect to him?! If you dare to act arrogantly in front of him, you will have to kneel down in the ancestral hall!"

The Ji family's ancestral hall is in Yixing.

Ji Yong simply knelt in the Buddhist temple where portraits of Ji family ancestors were enshrined.

Ji Qi was so angry that he almost suffocated. He looked for a feather duster everywhere to beat Ji Yong.

Han also felt that Ji Yong had gone too far, and stopped Ji Song who came to persuade him: "Filial piety comes first in everything. If he doesn't even understand this principle, he might as well be beaten to death!"

Ji Song sighed.

Ji Qi beat Ji Yong.

Ji Yong said, "Then I don't have to accompany my great-grandfather everywhere every day, right?"

Ji Qi didn't say a word for a long time.

After Ji Yong got off work at the yamen, he went to look for Chen Qushui.

Chen Qushui is not in the shop.

Tian Fugui was very attentive when talking to Ji Yong: "...Master Qi has invited Mr. Chen to come over for a talk, so he might be back a little late. I wonder what Master Ji wants to talk to Mr. Chen about? Do you want me to pass on a message? Otherwise, I'll tell him that you came to see him and ask him to visit you tomorrow?"

Should I go and see my aunt?

Ji Yong was thinking about it and left the shop absent-mindedly.

A carriage stopped beside him, and someone lifted the curtain and called out to him, "Jianming, what are you doing here?"

Ji Yong looked up and saw He Yu, dressed in brocade, sitting in a carriage.

Ever since the two had a fight in Zuixianlou, He Yu felt that Ji Yong had a generous personality, and Ji Yong felt that He Yu was a responsible man, so the two began to get along fairly closely - when Ji Yong passed the imperial examination, He Yu sent him a gift; when He Yu got married, Ji Yong attended the wedding.

"Nothing, just walking around." He subconsciously didn't want He Yu to know that this was Dou Zhao's writing shop.

He Yu didn't care, nodded, and said: "I'm going to Zuixianlou to drink, do you want to come with me? The host is Chen Zexi, Xu Zhiji, Yang Yunxiao, and Cai Guyuan are all there."

Chen Zexi is the Chief Secretary of the Ministry of Rites. He is only 32 years old this year. He is the grandson of the former Grand Academician Chen Yan and a famous young talent in the court. He Yu married Chen Zexi's cousin.

Xu Zhiji and Yang Yunxiao were Ji Yong's colleagues in the Hanlin Academy, and they were also relatively young.

Ji Yong was feeling uncomfortable, but when she heard that Cai Guyuan, who always looked at her sideways, was also there, she immediately became interested and got on the carriage without any hesitation: "Sorry to bother you."

He Yu admired Ji Yong's unruly and celebrity-like demeanor the most. He laughed and made way for him, then went to Zuixianlou with Ji Yong.

If Ji Yong becomes sharp-tongued, few people can withstand it.

Before he finished drinking, Cai Guyuan's face had turned ashen.

Xu Zhiji and Yang Yunxiao tried hard not to laugh out loud.

Chen Zexi thought this was not a big deal, so he winked at He Yu, indicating that He Yu and Ji Yong should go first.

He Yu saw that Cai Guyuan was extremely boring and had no intention of continuing to pretend that everything was going well, so he spoke to Ji Yong quietly. After they finished the wine in their cups, they stood up and said goodbye.

As he walked through the aisle, he couldn't help but complain: "Isn't he said to be very talented? I don't think he's that good..."

Before he could finish his sentence, a man suddenly came out from the private room next door and almost bumped into He Yu.

He Yu couldn't help but push the man.

The man drank a little too much and stumbled, almost falling to the ground. He suddenly became angry and shouted, "You don't have eyes when you walk!"

He Yu had never heard such words before, and immediately grabbed the man's collar and cursed back: "Who the hell are you talking about? Say it again if you dare! If I don't beat you to a pulp, my last name is not 'He'!"

The man said "Huh", and a flattering smile appeared on his drunken face. He left He Yu and greeted Ji Yong: "Master Ji, I didn't expect to meet you here?"

Ji Yong had just complained about Cai Guyuan to his face and was in a good mood watching the excitement from the side, but he didn't expect the other party to greet him. He was slightly stunned and asked, "Who are you?"

The man stood up straight and said with a smile, "I am Zheng Zhaokun, the director of the Water and Cleaning Department of the Ministry of Works. When Lord Ji won the third place in the imperial examination, I went to his house to congratulate him and met Lord Ji once."

How could Ji Yong recognize him?

Considering that my uncle was the Minister of Works, this person probably wanted to curry favor with my uncle by using his high school graduation as an excuse to give him a gift.

He said "Oh".

He Yu didn't want to argue with him any more, and said unhappily: "Forget it, just apologize to me, and this matter is over!"

Zheng Zhaokun hurriedly nodded and apologized, and warmly invited: "Mr. He, Mr. Ji, it is better to meet by chance than to invite each other. Please give me a chance to toast you two with a glass of wine."

He Yu laughed, and looked at him and said, "I didn't expect you to be such a smart guy."

As soon as he finished speaking, he saw the door of the private room behind Zheng Zhaokun opened wide, and someone walked out, followed by the sound of string music and the teasing voice of a woman.

The man yelled "Zheng Zhaokun" at the top of his lungs. He looked up and saw Zheng Zhaokun standing next to him. He patted his shoulder vigorously and said drunkenly, "Did you fall into the toilet?"

Ji Yong and He Yu couldn't help but look into the private room.

Then I saw a young man sitting in the main seat in the private room, who was more handsome and elegant than the girl.

There were two seductive women sitting next to him. One was pouring wine for the boy, while the other was flirting with a handsome man in his early twenties, with sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, who was sitting next to the boy.

The man seemed somewhat uncomfortable with such an occasion, with a hint of embarrassment and reluctance between his brows.

Feeling someone was looking at him, the boy raised his head and glanced at them with a half-smile, a bit of ruffian in his expression.

He Yu frowned and whispered to Ji Yong, "It's Gu Yu."

The little tyrant of Kyoto, the nephew of Queen Wan, and the eldest grandson of Yunyang Earl Gu Quanfang.

Ji Yong has also heard of it.

But his eyes fell on the handsome man next to Gu Yu, and a cold light like a sharp blade suddenly flashed in his eyes.

"Lord Zheng has invited us so graciously. If we don't go and have a couple of drinks, we would be disrespecting him." Ji Yong said calmly and walked into the private room.

He Yu was stunned.

I had no choice but to follow him in.