218, matchmaking at home
218, matchmaking at home
After arranging matters at home, Lu Mingfei returned to the Imperial College to study.
This time he passed the imperial examination, and his clan originally wanted him to return to the village to worship his ancestors and hold a banquet, but he asked his father to help him refuse, and just said that they would do it together next time when he had good news.
Originally, his family had planned to set up a few tables of dinner in the city, but with so many refugees outside and beggars inside, and with the war still going on in the north, they had a lot of things to do at home, and his father was busy with the new workshop. Lu Mingfei told his father that there was no need for all that, and that they could just cook a few dishes and celebrate behind closed doors.
As for the gifts sent, many of which were valuable, he had his father return them to others and also sent a return gift as a token of gratitude.
His father and mother took care of all the trivial matters at home, so there was no need for him to step in.
In addition, he was already busy studying and preparing for the exam in February next year, so Lu Mingfei himself could not spare the time to take care of these interpersonal relationships, and left it to the adults at home to handle.
After he returned to the Imperial College, perhaps because of his great success in the provincial examination, he became a celebrity in the Imperial College. Wherever he went, there were crowds of people surrounding him, seeking his advice.
There are people here who sincerely want to learn from him; but there are also people who are not convinced by him and deliberately come to him to exchange knowledge.
The first kind was fine; if they were genuinely looking for him to discuss academic matters, he wouldn't mind spending some time with them, learning from each other and making progress together. The most disgusting were the second kind, who couldn't even pass his exams and still came to him to pick fights and show envy. He really didn't want to even bother with such envious people.
But people like this won't bother you unless you don't want to pay attention to them.
Many people came to see him every day, which not only disturbed his studies but also wasted his time, seriously affecting his normal studies and life.
Finally, he was forced to give up his classes. When it became inconvenient to stay at the Imperial College, he asked his teacher for a note and borrowed a stack of books from the library. He then went home and read them behind closed doors.
It is quieter to study at home, and no one will disturb him from time to time.
However, while studying at home, he inevitably found himself distracted by the family business and listening to news from outside. After winter, the fighting in the north subsided somewhat, but minor conflicts never ceased.
They were far away in Kyoto Prefecture and could only learn news about the north from the victims and merchants who came north.
This year there were floods and wars in the north, and many victims came to Kyoto Prefecture.
Although the imperial court sent people to provide disaster relief, it is unknown whether the relief supplies can reach the victims and how much of them can reach them.
Fortunately, the feudal lords of various regions have taken action. Regardless of their motives, as long as they can help the people under their rule, Lu Mingfei believes that it is all good. As for the imperial court, when it comes to disaster relief and governance, it really gives people a feeling of decline.
Time flies when I am studying at home.
It was not until the first snow fell in Kyoto Prefecture that he remembered that he had not seen Zhao Lang for some time.
"Why hasn't this guy come for so long? Could something have happened?" Lu Mingfei felt a little strange. This was the first time that Zhao Lang hadn't come to see him for such a long time. This made him feel strange and a little worried.
He put down the book in his hand and went outside.
Not seeing Guard Ma outside, he walked towards the house where Guard Ma lived, guessing that Guard Ma might be hiding inside the house and sleeping.
The room that Guard Ma lives in now was their former tool shed, but before that it was just a wooden shed. Later, after they bought this yard, they built two houses here with blue bricks, one of which is still used as a tool shed and the other is for people to live in.
Two years ago, his father, mother, younger brother, and servants all moved to the braised food shop. This small courtyard was where he, Zhang Qi, and the guards lived.
However, the room his father and mother had originally lived in was still kept and not given to anyone else to live in. Zhang Qi lived in the room that had originally been reserved for his younger brother.
Perhaps because they heard his footsteps, the door of the house was opened from the inside before he could knock.
"Want to go out?" The one who opened the door was Guard Ma. He was sent by their prince to follow and protect Master Lu, and now he was officially the Lu family's coachman.
"I'm not going out. I have something to ask you." Lu Mingfei said.
"Mr. Lu, please speak."
"What has your prince been busy with recently?"
"I'm not too sure about this. How about I go back and ask?" Guard Ma hadn't been back to Prince Ding's Mansion for a while. Their master hadn't come here, and he hadn't seen his former brothers for a long time, so he really didn't know what their prince was busy with recently.
"Okay, tell him to come see me in the evening if he's free." After Lu Mingfei finished speaking, he paused and added, "If he's busy, forget it." He was afraid that Zhao Lang was busy with something and had no time to come see him.
Guard Ma paused mid-nod. He turned to look in the direction of the courtyard gate and lowered his voice to remind, "Someone is coming."
Is there anyone here? Could it be Zhang Qi coming back?
Lu Mingfei felt a little strange and turned to look towards the gate. But he seemed to hear the sound of horse hooves. The person outside was riding in a carriage, so it couldn't be Zhang Qi returning.
***
“Knock knock—”
It was very open, and there was a knock on the door outside.
Lu Mingfei signaled Guard Ma to open the door.
Guard Ma nodded, and as he went to open the door, he asked through the panel, "Who is it?"
"I'm Manager Cao. Is your young master at home?" asked the person outside.
Manager Cao? Lu Mingfei was no stranger to this Manager Cao. Originally, their family had rented this courtyard for seven or eight years, and Manager Cao would come every year to collect rent. It was only after their family bought this courtyard in the past two years that Manager Cao stopped coming every year to collect rent.
But what was this person doing in their house at this time?
When Lu Mingfei heard someone outside asking if he was home, he knew that this Manager Cao was looking for him. His family had a good relationship with this Manager Cao before, and since someone was looking for him and he was at home, it would be bad to pretend not to be home. Seeing Guard Ma turn around and look at him, he nodded.
After receiving instructions, Guard Ma opened the gate of the yard.
Lu Mingfei stood in the yard, and when the gate opened, he could just see the people outside.
Besides the familiar Steward Cao, there was also a slightly plump middle-aged man wearing a long green gown standing outside the door. He looked like the housekeeper or steward of some family.
The person who can make Manager Cao stand next to him seems to have a higher status than Manager Cao.
When the people in the yard saw them, the people outside the door also saw the people in the yard.
Steward Song looked up and saw a young man of about seventeen or eighteen standing in the yard. The young man was wearing a moon-white robe that had been washed so clean that it looked pale. He had clear eyebrows and handsome features, and he had a scholarly air about him. He was obviously a scholar.
When Cao Guanshi outside the door saw Lu Jieyuan standing inside, he bowed and congratulated him: "Congratulations, Lu Jieyuan, congratulations, Lu Jieyuan."
"Thank you." Lu Mingfei walked towards the gate, nodded to Manager Cao and the man looking at him, and asked Manager Cao, "I wonder what brings you here today, Manager Cao?"
"This is our housekeeper, Housekeeper Song. Our Housekeeper Song wants to talk to you about something." After Housekeeper Cao introduced their Housekeeper Song to Lu Jieyuan, he also introduced Lu Mingfei to their Housekeeper Song. "This is our Jie Yuanlang who won the provincial examination this time. He won the first place in the provincial examination before he even reached adulthood. He will definitely have a bright future in the future."
Lu Mingfei looked at Butler Song and nodded. Hearing that Butler Song wanted to talk to him about something, he had no choice but to invite Butler Song and Manager Cao into the courtyard. "If you have anything to say, let's talk inside."
Behind Butler Song and Steward Cao were two servants carrying things.
After Steward Song entered the room, he waved his hand and asked the servant behind him to bring the gift over. He then said to Lu Jieyuan, "This is a gift our wife asked me to bring to you."
"Your wife is very thoughtful." Lu Mingfei did not immediately say that they would not accept these things. What he was thinking was that when the housekeeper Song left, he would let the guard Ma carry these things back to the carriage outside.
He led the two guests to the main hall in the main courtyard and asked the guard Ma to make a pot of tea.
After the three of them sat down around the table, Lu Mingfei asked Butler Song, who was visiting their home for the first time, "I just heard from Butler Cao that Butler Song wants to see me about something?"
Steward Song paused for a moment before asking, "Then I won't beat around the bush with you, Lu Jieyuan, and I'll just speak directly. This time, I'm here on behalf of our eldest lady."
"You go ahead." Lu Mingfei signaled the housekeeper Song to speak up if he had anything to say. He was still thinking in his heart that he didn't know the eldest lady of the Song Mansion, so what could the other party want from him?
Soon, he thought of a possibility. Could it be?
Sure enough, what Butler Song said below confirmed his guess.
"I heard that Lu Jieyuan is not engaged yet. We have a seventh daughter in our family, who is fifteen years old, quiet and gentle, a rare and good girl. If Lu Jieyuan is interested in marrying into our Song family and becoming our son-in-law, our two families will arrange for Lu Jieyuan to meet our daughter." asked Butler Song.
Lu Mingfei noticed that when the housekeeper Song spoke to him, his chin was slightly raised. Although he spoke to him in a questioning tone, the expression on his face gave him the feeling that marrying a girl from the Song family was a good fortune that he had encountered in eight lifetimes.
Originally, he only knew that many matchmakers came to their shop to propose marriage for him, but were all rejected by his mother and father.
Unexpectedly, someone found their home, and he was the one who came directly to him. He was really shocked and laughed at the same time. Author's words: Thank you Bole 9492239 (9492239) for your support. Kisses! To know more exciting content, please leave me a message on Liancheng Reading.
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