Chapter 212 The Wasted Son of an Ancient Family (10)
"What? Xiao Mao is missing?"
A few days later, Bai Susu received news that the visitors were Xiao Mao's parents. They were crying and said that Xiao Mao had gone into the mountains to collect herbs for his father's chronic leg pain, but he had disappeared. They had asked people to look for him, and based on the traces, they guessed that he had probably fallen off a cliff.
The elderly couple cried bitterly, saying that they had been counting on Xiao Mao to support them in their old age, but now their lives were over.
The meaning is obvious.
They just hoped that the kind-hearted mistress of the Marquis's mansion could compensate them with some money.
Bai Susu was very annoyed.
Xiao Mao was sold into servitude to the Marquis's mansion, so in principle, he had no connection with his original family anymore. However, one should always consider personal relationships, and it's not right to simply ignore everything.
Her usual image of being gentle and kind.
It's really not easy to just dismiss them like that.
Balancing the need to adhere to rules and human relationships, Bai Susu took out her own money, spending about a hundred taels of silver, to persuade the two elders to return home.
However, after the others left, she felt increasingly uneasy.
The timing was too perfect.
Why did Xiao Mao have to run into trouble at this crucial moment? This guy was originally someone she had arranged to be by the eldest young master's side, and he knew quite a lot. If this got out, it would be very detrimental to her image. So, she originally wanted to arrange for someone to get rid of him without anyone noticing.
strangeness!
Bai Susu couldn't sleep. She arranged for someone to investigate what Xiao Mao had done and who he had met in the past few days, but they found nothing.
"Madam, Xiao Mao has also met with the eldest young master. Do you think it's possible that the eldest young master said something to him?"
The old woman beside her guessed.
Bai Susu shook her head, "No, the eldest young master is just an idiot."
The old woman nodded in agreement.
"Well, looking at it this way, there's nothing unusual. It was probably just a genuine accident."
Bai Susu nodded.
Well, it's an accident, so be it.
The problem now is that the eldest son has no one by his side, so we need to arrange a new servant.
This is not difficult.
She had been running the Marquis's mansion for several years and still had some people she could use. After a few days, she arranged for a servant to go there.
What I didn't expect was...
The newly assigned servant did go, but he couldn't see Changqing at all.
At most, you can only see Jianqiu.
"The eldest young master said that Xiao Mao's departure made him very sad. He hates this feeling, so he has made up his mind. Rules are rules, and he doesn't want to play with the servants anymore."
this....
Bai Susu was speechless after hearing the servant's report.
Who would have thought that kid is actually quite loyal!
However, there really wasn't a good solution. If he didn't want to hang out with the servants, she, as his concubine, couldn't very well try to persuade him, especially since his reasons were quite valid.
I used to get along well with the servant, but now that he's gone, I'm heartbroken.
For good reason.
Bai Susu had no choice but to instruct the newly assigned servant to do his best.
How can we possibly do our best?
I can't even see anyone, let alone hang out with them or lead them astray.
Especially after the New Year holiday, school starts again.
For Changqing, starting school is just a matter of sleeping in a different place.
However, he did not completely neglect learning.
He still pretended to look at Jianqiu's notes.
Several years passed just like that.
He didn't learn much, but he successfully overcame his illiteracy and learned some characters.
Surprisingly, Jianqiu's academic performance was quite good.
They are all outstanding in the field of ethnic studies.
The teacher lamented that if she were a boy, she might have passed the imperial examinations and become a scholar or a provincial graduate.
It's a pity she's a girl.
After learning to read and write, she could only read novels to Changqing.
Yes.
Although Changqing could read, he was lazy and sometimes even found reading tiring. So, Jianqiu had a new task: to read to him.
The girl's voice was clear and cool, but he found it very pleasant to listen to.
“Young master, you are clearly very smart. You can read and write without spending much time studying. In fact, you know some of the rare characters that I don’t even recognize. Why can’t you study the classics properly and pass the imperial examinations?”
"I think Song Changming isn't as smart as you. He only caught up in his studies because he had to take extra classes every day. Last year, he passed the preliminary examination and ranked last, but he still bragged about it in front of us. He's really annoying."
Jianqiu closed the book, looked at Changqing lying on the recliner, and said with a hint of disappointment.
She is not a man.
Otherwise, I really would have to take the imperial examination myself.
Changqing straightened up and said nonchalantly, "Why would I study the classics? I'm going to inherit the family business. Taking the imperial examinations is useless. Even if my rank is lowered, I can still live a life of comfort and ease."
"Then, then you should at least think about the younger generation, right?" Jianqiu's eyes widened.
Changqing waved his hand, "The younger generation has its own opportunities."
He's actually quite curious now.
In recent years, although he was not good at studying at school, he did not cause much trouble except for sleeping all day. His bad reputation in the capital has almost disappeared, and many people have forgotten that he exists.
Mentioning the eldest son of the Marquis's family.
Many people only remember that he seemed quite absurd before, but was later forced to go to school by his father and kept under surveillance. They really don't have any other impressions.
Song Changming has indeed managed his image quite well.
However, he is far from being outstanding enough to challenge the primogeniture system.
"I bet some people are getting really anxious, aren't they?"
Changqing thought to himself.
Bai Susu was indeed very anxious.
Something's not right.
Seeing that the good-for-nothing stepson, though still good-for-nothing, seemed to be less wicked.
The people assigned to the task were completely useless.
Moreover, and most importantly, his own son was not particularly outstanding; in fact, he wasn't even among the best in Beijing, at best he was in the second tier.
This...it's obvious that he doesn't meet the requirements for directly inheriting the family business.
what to do?
Changming had already tried his best. At this point, Bai Susu had to admit that the Song family really didn't have any academic talent. Even though her son was working so hard, he still couldn't stand out.
Then we can only try to find a solution through the eldest son.
But that kid is still slacking off at the school, and the people she arranged are useless, which is troublesome.
Fortunately, the old woman next to him gave him some advice at the crucial moment.
“Madam, have you forgotten that the eldest son is of marriageable age? I’ve heard that the young princess has argued with the family about this several times.”
Bai Susu's eyes lit up.
This marriage was arranged when the old Marquis was still alive, but now that boy is so useless and the young princess has such a fiery temper, of course they don't want him.
Being jilted would be incredibly embarrassing...
But if the woman disagrees, and the fool keeps pestering her, then things will get really out of hand, which would be even more complicated.
Bai Susu thought it was more likely the latter.
A young man's infatuation.
The young princess's children are also beautiful.
It seems we need to find an opportunity to let that boy secretly take a look at the young princess first. Once he takes her seriously, we can then propose marriage. If he is rejected, we can wait for him to make a scene.
Bai Susu hatched a plan.
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