Chapter 134
Lin Maogang walked into Gu Jingming's house.
Gu Jingming owned a small house near Fuxue Hutong, but as a young man with a penchant for leisure, he had lavishly renovated it, spending a fortune on it. The mat on his reclining chair alone was woven from 204 pieces of jade, providing a refreshing coolness and relief from the summer heat. Inside, a gilded incense burner and a two-foot-tall sandalwood statue of Confucius were placed on display.
Mrs. Gu was furious when she saw this. She said that no matter how rich the Gu family was, they were still a noble family. How could he be allowed to ruin their property like this? She then ordered the steward not to allocate any more money to Gu Jingming.
Gu Jingming couldn't just live on his salary; it was just a few bucks! It would be gone after buying a few picture albums. He had no money, but there were plenty of wealthy people around him, like Luo Shenyuan. He was well-connected with the Ministry of Works, and now he was the Minister of Works, so his income was rolling in. But this guy was stingy; don't even think about getting a penny out of him for no reason.
Lin Mao was also very rich, and he was like a child giving away money, not caring at all whether his friends paid him back or not. Gu Jingming had borrowed from him three or four times.
Then a few days ago, this guy actually came to ask him to pay back the money. Gu Jingming had spent all his money on a set of jade screens from the previous dynasty that he had set his eyes on, and he couldn't give him a penny. So he pulled him to sit down and asked, "Why did you think of needing money?"
Lin Mao said apologetically, "Brother Jingming, I'm getting married. I'd like to give her more betrothal gifts." He held up a few fingers and said, "I've calculated. I've borrowed seven hundred taels from you. Including principal and interest, you must pay me back one thousand two hundred taels."
At that time, he came to collect a debt, but his face was full of smiles, as if he would be able to marry Luo Yining in two days.
But today, when he came, he looked like a defeated rooster, completely devoid of spirit. He sat down and drank tea, his eyes narrowed.
Gu Jingming was afraid that he would bring up the matter of paying back the money again, so he quickly asked the maid to bring him tea and preserved vegetable pie.
"But you're unhappy about my cousin's marriage to Lord Luo?" Gu Jingming said, "Don't worry too much. A good man will always find a wife. I don't think my cousin is particularly outstanding. If you search the family of the deceased, you can find three or four people like her."
Lin Mao was silent. He said, "Sometimes I ask myself, what exactly do I like about her? She's not very nice to me, and sometimes she even wishes she could stay away from me."
"Then I realized that I liked her, so I took whatever I had. And she was like a little Pekingese... I could just catch her and play with her."
Gu Jingming thought that if Yi Ning heard what Lin Mao said, he would definitely want to slap him.
He nodded calmly: "Well, what you said makes sense - then why don't you just get a Pekingese?"
Lin Mao sighed deeply, straightened his robe, and said, "Brother Jingming, you don't know, I used to think being an official was the most unpleasant thing in the world. It's exhausting, and you have to be controlled. But when Yi Ning was little, my aunt told me that if I wanted to marry her, I had to have an official position. That's why I followed you to the capital to seek an official position."
"Now that she's getting married, my position as an official is meaningless."
Gu Jingming had never heard Lin Mao say this before. He became an official for this reason.
No wonder Luo Shenyuan wanted to transfer him to Shandong to be a county magistrate.
"Aren't you going to Shandong to take up your post soon? You are the local official and you can't be careless." Gu Jingming couldn't help but say.
"I know the transfer order from the Ministry of Personnel has already come down. I plan to leave in a few days."
Gu Jingming was secretly delighted and asked, "You're not going to drink at Luo San's wedding?"
Lin Mao shook his head. "I'm too lazy to go. My aunt will definitely nag me if I go." He sighed, "As the saying goes, if you fail in love, you will succeed in money. Brother Jingming, when will you return the twelve hundred taels of silver you owe me? I need some money for the trip to Shandong."
Gu Jingming's mouth twitched slightly. This guy had been talking for so long and still came to ask him for money. He really misjudged him. This guy was a money-grubber and even charged him interest. He deserved that he couldn't get married.
Maybe he didn't go to the wedding because he didn't want to give a gift.
Gu Jingming had nothing else to do, so he took out four hundred taels of silver and asked the servant to give it to him. Since he had no more money anyway, he kicked Lin Mao out of the house.
Yining was being annoyed by the manager when someone told her that Lin Mao was coming.
Lin Mao was waiting for her by the grape trellis at the foot of the hall steps. He was wearing a fine cloth robe and his eyes were bright. He told Yi Ning that he was going to Shandong to take up a post.
When Yining heard this, he looked at him. Lin Maoke, the county magistrate of Gaomi County, Shandong, started his career from here.
She patted Lin Mao on the shoulder and said, "Cousin Mao, do your best! Although the county magistrate is a local official, it is actually more difficult than the imperial censor." Then she asked the maid to bring some dried fruits and candies to him.
Lin Mao asked her jokingly, "Yining, do you think there's anything wrong with me?"
He still wanted to know why she agreed to marry Luo Shenyuan but not him.
Luo Yining didn't know what he meant. She had no idea that Lin Mao had ever proposed to her.
After some thought, she assumed he was dissatisfied with the Ministry of Personnel's transfer order. After all, he was being transferred from a Beijing official to a provincial official, a lateral transfer but essentially a demotion. She earnestly comforted him, saying, "You will definitely achieve great things in the future. Even your third brother can't compare to you." In the hearts of the people, Lin Mao was an upright and just official who upheld justice, but Luo Shenyuan was a powerful official who controlled the government. When others mentioned him, they would remain silent, afraid to speak, but they wouldn't effusively praise him.
Lin Mao smiled again after hearing this: "Never mind, why am I asking you that!" He wasn't the type to pursue her relentlessly; he was going to Shandong anyway. Besides, she was marrying Luo San, and he didn't want to be involved with him. It would be like going through the motions. Just like Gu Jingming said, maybe he could find a few he liked after searching around.
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