Chapter 287 The Diligent Emperor Used as Cannon Fodder (Part Twelve) Li Tianle...
Li Tianle originally had more than 30 taels of savings, plus the tuition fee given by his students, which was nearly 100 taels. He took a day off and went directly to the ancient brokerage firm with all his savings in his hands.
To make things convenient for himself and his students, Li Tianle planned to buy a house that was relatively close to the Hanlin Academy and the Imperial College, and priced under eighty taels of silver.
In ancient times, most new houses were built by the owners themselves, and those sold were mostly second-hand houses. Li Tianle only requested two houses in total.
It's located between the Imperial College and the Hanlin Academy, with three main rooms, two side rooms on the east side, and the main gate on the west wall. Next to the gate are the kitchen and a storage room, and there's also a small gatehouse. The asking price is 58 taels.
The other one was a bit further away, with a larger courtyard, side rooms on the east and west sides, and an additional screen wall at the entrance. The furniture was also newer than the first one, and the price was 78 taels.
The broker pointed to the latter, "This was originally a place where a master kept his mistress. Everything here is exquisite. Even the peonies in the garden can't be bought for less than five taels of silver."
The second house was indeed much more exquisite than the first. Although it cost twenty taels more, it had three more rooms and occupied a third more space, making it more cost-effective.
Li Tianle didn't mind the expensive twenty taels of silver, but he still chose the first courtyard. It is said that birds of a feather flock together, so if the second courtyard could be used as an outer residence, the surrounding atmosphere probably wasn't very good.
He has four students under his wing. What if he corrupts them? Besides, the first one is closer to home and cheaper. He lives alone, so having too many rooms wouldn't be very useful.
While haggling with the broker, he happened to see a servant selling things nearby. Seeing that he was interested, the young man also wanted to make another sale, so he quickly introduced the products to him.
Li Tianle did want to choose another person. Although his servant Shunzi was diligent in doing housework, he wasn't a very good cook. Although there was all kinds of food available outside, one couldn't always eat takeout.
Ignoring the boy's flowery boasts, Li Tianle's requirements were simple and clear: a good cook, a skilled stylist, and an older woman.
Now that the house is bigger, he no longer has to worry about the inconvenience of men and women living together. After some bargaining, the house price was not reduced in the end, and the old lady named Da Mai did not accept the money, but gave it to him as a bonus.
Although Li Tianle was not used to the human trafficking system, the servants he bought here were not people he could kill at will. They were provided with food and lodging and received a monthly salary, which was equivalent to signing a long-term employment contract.
He had only been working for a few months and hadn't bought anything big. All he had were a few sets of clothes, two boxes of books, and some bedding and pillows, plus desks and chairs that Li Tianle had specially made for four students.
They hired an oxcart and took the luggage over directly. The new Aunt Mai quickly cleaned the new house, laid out the bedding, and folded the clothes and put them in the closet.
Shunzi also cleaned the yard neatly, found out where to buy rice, flour and cooking oil nearby, and asked the firewood seller and water seller to come and deliver them every day.
Li Tianle spent only one day from looking at and buying the house to moving and settling in. When the four students got out of school, they were all stunned.
Moving to a new house is such a big event, and her husband just took care of it like that? Didn't he even ask someone to choose an auspicious day or invite relatives and friends over to congratulate them?
Is my husband a little too easygoing and careless with his personality?
Seeing the shocked looks on the four people's faces, Li Tianle immediately told Aunt Da Mai to serve the dishes. There were several fancy dishes bought from restaurants outside, as well as some home-style dishes made by Aunt Da Mai. The table was full and looked very sumptuous.
Li Tianle led the four students to their seats. Since he had to go to work the next day and the students had to attend classes, there was no wine served; instead, each student was given a bowl of egg drop soup.
"Who said I didn't celebrate? I specially asked Aunt Mai to cook a table full of delicious dishes, with chicken, duck, fish and meat all included. I have no relatives or friends, and the only people I know are the four of you. Having a meal with my husband today is just to celebrate our housewarming."
The four students looked at each other, then reluctantly sat down. This was probably the most simple and unpretentious housewarming celebration they had ever seen.
Li Tianle made it clear that he wouldn't accept gifts, only want to eat. The four students could only go along with him, offering him a cup of soup instead of wine, saying some auspicious words, and then they started eating.
Although there was a lot of food on the table, the four little ones were all at an age where they were growing and had just finished a day of school, so they were hungry and quickly focused on eating.
Chu Huaijin originally wanted to be more reserved, but seeing his friends eating so heartily, he couldn't help but join in the food-grabbing frenzy. Although the food was just average, it tasted better when you grabbed it.
After they had eaten and drunk their fill, Li Tianle led the four of them to the east wing. The east wing consisted of two rooms, one inside and one outside. The inner room was Li Tianle's personal study, and the outer room was where he would have classes. The place was noticeably more spacious and brighter than before.
Because the meal had taken up some time, Li Tianle specially extended the time by half an hour to make up for the lost time. He assigned homework to each of the four of them, gave them a few words of encouragement, and then had Shunzi send them back.
When Chu Huaijin returned home, it was already dark. He entered the house with his father, who was working overtime at the Hanlin Academy.
Chu's father was a lecturer in the Hanlin Academy, responsible for accompanying the emperor in his studies. Recently, His Majesty had some ingenious ideas and often researched materials in the Imperial Study. As a lecturer, he naturally couldn't leave His Majesty behind and go home.
But to his surprise, his youngest son also returned so late. Father Chu immediately frowned and scolded him:
"It's so late to get home. Where have you been playing around again? Don't you know how old you are? When your older brother was your age, he was already preparing for the imperial examinations!"
I heard just a few days ago that you found a tutor after school, and I thought you were making progress. But now, after only a few days, you're back to your old ways of playing. If you don't get an A in the next monthly exam, be prepared for some family discipline!
Chu Huaijin stood respectfully listening to the reprimand until his father finished speaking, at which point he quietly explained:
"Father, today is my husband's housewarming celebration. I congratulated him and had a meal with him. He said that the meal took up a lot of time, so he talked for an extra half hour, which is why he came back late."
After saying that, he took out the homework that Li Tianle had assigned and showed it to Chu's father. Chu's father glanced at it and, after confirming that his youngest son had not lied, his expression softened.
He waved his hand, and Chu Huaijin respectfully bowed before taking his homework back to his own courtyard.
As for the matter of his father misunderstanding him and causing him to be scolded, that was naturally left unmentioned. Not everyone is like the teacher, who would apologize to a junior.
The father scolded his son, but he didn't take it to heart. He was too busy to care about whether his child would throw a tantrum after being scolded.
Fortunately, His Majesty is very considerate. He specifically instructed the ministers who have been working overtime with him these past few days that they do not need to come to the Imperial Study tomorrow, but can rest and relax in their respective offices.
Murong Yu wouldn't normally make a special announcement about such matters. As the emperor, whoever he invites to the palace for discussions must accompany him.
But after meeting Nangong Rou, Murong Yu's thoughts changed. A single sentence could make him a considerate leader to his subordinates. Why not do something like this to win people's hearts?
Anyway, Murong Yu had planned to leave the palace with Lin You the next day to try his luck and see if he could encounter another evil creature. The Imperial Study couldn't be closed off and needed other people to work.
As Lin You listened to Murong Yu using more and more modern vocabulary, she checked the frequency of her recent points deductions in the system.
To avoid any dramatic mishaps, she decided to give His Majesty a lesson on the basic criteria most modern women use to choose a partner.
"It requires providing emotional value to create romance, it requires the two of you to build a future together, it requires equal life values, and it requires lifelong commitment..."
As Lin You counted on her fingers, Murong Yu listened with a helpless and speechless expression, completely devoid of any romantic thoughts.
Still somewhat uneasy, Lin You, wanting to nip the danger in the bud, added:
“Those were just the criteria for choosing a partner for ordinary women. Someone like Nangong Rou, who is both beautiful and capable, must have even higher requirements. She has countless admirers, all of whom are virtuous and would definitely not be interested in someone like you who has a wife, concubines, and a bunch of children.”
Murong Yu didn't know what Lin You was thinking, but she still gave her assurance helplessly, saying earnestly:
"Immortal Lord, rest assured. I still cherish my childhood sweetheart, the Empress who has been with me until now. I would never be interested in a woman who carries evil spirits and could potentially drain my marrow at any moment."
He did appreciate Nangong Rou's many ingenious ideas, but he was only interested in her original world and found her useful. How could he have any other thoughts?
Even if you don't believe he doesn't love beautiful women, you should at least believe in his determination to avoid death.
Lin You thought he made sense, but love is something that starts with interest, right? Although she had never been in a relationship, she had read quite a few novels. You can't just say you're not interested in love and then actually lose interest.
"I believe you have no such intention, but since it concerns the well-being of all people, we must take precautions. For safety's sake, it would be better to give you an extra layer of protection."
Recently, Murong Yu has become quite familiar with Lin You, and at least he is certain that she will not harm him.
Hearing Lin You say this, he naturally had no objection. Just as Murong Yu thought that the other party would take out a magical artifact or a Taoist talisman, etc.
Unexpectedly, what I received in the end were seven or eight books of supernatural tales, each focusing on the detailed process of how mortals were lured by demons or ghosts, had their tendons and skins ripped off, and were sucked dry.
If you only read the story, Murong Yu isn't actually afraid. But considering his own situation, and even the fact that he almost got taken advantage of once, it's quite terrifying.
"Read two books every night, it'll definitely refresh your mind, it's more effective than anything else," Lin You said calmly, hands in her pockets.
With two subsystems operating in the open, and her own in the shadows, she couldn't use anything beyond this world to avoid revealing her identity. Besides, talismans couldn't defend against the system.
If we were to put a talisman on Murong Yu, we'd probably have to block the subsystem every day. Wouldn't that be a clear indication that there's a problem?
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