Seeing what was on the carriage, Xu Yao smiled and said to Bai Mi, "See, we were right."
The messenger handed Xu Yao a letter sealed with wax. Xu Yao took it, leaned against the carriage shaft, opened the envelope, and began to read it. After reading it, he pondered for a long time, then turned around and went to the front yard with the letter.
After cleaning up the backyard, Lin Zhining busied himself with preparations for spring planting. His family owned a lot of land, and although tenant farmers cultivated it, Lin Zhining had to plan what to plant and how to plant it every year around the beginning of spring. In recent years, the Ministry of Works had produced many new types of fertilizers, and those who had used them said they were effective. After buying some, Lin Zhining first tested them on a small plot of land and found that they could indeed increase yields. So, recently he was considering whether to promote this fertilizer on a large scale on his land. If so, it would cost a lot of money, and Lin Zhining was hesitant about whether it was worth it.
Seeing Xu Yao approaching with a letter, Lin Zhining quickly stood up, helped her sit down on a chair, and said, "Why did you come at this time?"
Xu Yao handed the letter to Lin Zhining and said, "My ninth sister wants Lin Zhijing to go to Luzhou. I came to ask for your opinion."
Lin Zhining took the letter, glanced at it, and said with a smile, "I was just about to go and discuss something with my cousin Zhijing. I'll go ask him for his opinion, and if he's willing to go, we'll take him there."
Xu urged, "You should hurry up and go. Once he's settled on a marriage, he'll go with the steward who came to deliver the message for Ninth Sister. This matter needs to be resolved as soon as possible. He's not getting any younger, so we should settle his marriage now. A marriage won't interfere with his exams."
Lin Zhining smiled and agreed, instructing Xu Yao, who was serving by her side, to go to the backyard to rest. He then got up and went to the neighboring house with the steward who had delivered the message.
The house next door, where Lin Zhijing lived, was a five-courtyard house. Northern houses are built in a spacious and grand manner, and the front and back yards were clearly separated. Because the family was small, besides Lin Zhijing and her son, there were a few rough-working old women, an old servant who guarded the gate, and a few maids who served in the inner courtyard.
Lin Zhijing was reading in the study in the front yard. After recovering, he became engrossed in reading. Lin Zhijing had already considered that if he wanted to prevent his mother and son from being bullied, they needed to achieve academic success. Since there was such a good opportunity, why not give it a try?
Upon hearing that Lin Zhining had arrived, Lin Zhijing hurried to the door to greet him. Lin Zhining introduced the manager, and when Lin Zhijing heard that he was from Lüzhou, her heart immediately jumped.
Lin Zhining said with a smile, "Cousin Zhijing, let's go inside first and see what the letter says."
Lin Zhijing invited the steward to sit down and rest, while she went to the study with Lin Zhining.
After reading the letter, Lin Zhijing remained silent for a long time until Lin Zhining asked him, "Cousin Zhijing, what are your thoughts?"
Lin Zhijing said somewhat sadly, "Cousin Zhining, how can I be worthy of the Zheng family's daughter in my current state?"
Lin Zhining scolded in a low voice, "Are you confused? You only think of yourself. Why don't you think about the fact that Miss Zheng is of marriageable age? As she gets older, she has remained unmarried. Won't people gossip? Won't those who have ill intentions towards her take the opportunity to slander Miss Zheng or even do bad things to her? Cousin Zhijing, I won't hide it from you. Before the Lunar New Year, the Sixth Prince and the Seventh Prince were fighting. The two of them took a raft made by Miss Zheng and chased her all the way from outside the city to the city. And this is the capital! In front of so many people, they were going to stage a farce of a hero rescuing a beauty, forcing Miss Zheng to become the Sixth Prince's concubine. Cousin Zhijing, I don't need to say more about why this happened."
Lin Zhijing stood up abruptly, trembling, and whispered, "How dare they? How dare they?"
Lin Zhining sneered twice and said, "Why wouldn't they dare? Miss Zheng is unmarried, has ways to make money, and most importantly, she is a princess personally appointed by the Emperor. Tell me, if the Emperor had to choose between her and one of the Emperor's princes, who would he choose? He would definitely choose the prince. The Emperor might even think, 'Good water shouldn't flow into outsiders' fields. It's just right that such a good girl can marry into the royal family.'"
Lin Zhijing slumped down and sat down. Lin Zhining patiently advised, "Cousin Zhijing, you've done very well. How many people have been eyeing this family's land and shops? For these few things, the Lin family has come to tear us apart like mad dogs. If it weren't for you, who knows what kind of situation this widow and her children would have ended up in. Now it's all good. You can support this family and still have the energy to continue participating in the imperial examinations. What I mean is, you should quickly get engaged to the Zheng family's daughter. It's not just for the Zheng family's daughter, but also for your own sake. After the engagement, ask the Xu family to recommend you to study at Taishan Academy. That's an academy founded by the Xu family's son-in-law. Many children from the Xu family's in-laws study there. My brother-in-law, the top scholar from the Xu family, came from that academy."
Lin Zhijing had never heard of Taishan Academy. When Xu Di became famous after passing the imperial examination, Taishan Academy, where he studied, became a place that many students flocked to. However, because of the strict rules of the academy, many people could not stand the rule of taking care of their own lives, and they could not stand the austere life of the academy. They dropped out of school after a short time.
Many people have carefully studied the teaching system of Taishan Academy. Putting aside everything else, the fact that the students of the academy are required to go to some nearby county government offices to help with their work every year has made many people sigh. Reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles. What you learn from books is never enough. You must put it into practice to truly understand. These are not just empty words.
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