County government office —
backyard.
Liu Yunfei, who unexpectedly passed the imperial examination and became a scholar, has been feeling quite triumphant these past few days.
That classmate who used to gossip behind his back that he would have accomplished nothing if he weren't the son of a county magistrate, has now been proven wrong!
And then there's Lu Yingying, his childhood sweetheart and nemesis; she should look at him in a new light this time!
"Young Master, Master requests your presence in the study."
The steward, having received orders, came to invite the young master to the study.
"I'm not going."
Liu Yunfei got carried away and his first reaction was not to go.
But then I thought about going to the government office next month. If I offended my old man now, he would probably cut off my allowance!
So he spat out the sunflower seed shells from his mouth and changed his words:
"Wait a minute, Uncle Liu, I'm coming!"
Butler Liu smiled kindly, thinking to himself that his young master had finally grown up.
It's quite remarkable, really. My young master started taking the exams at the age of nine, and after so many years, he finally passed the lowest level of the imperial examinations...
In the study—
Magistrate Liu held a letter in front of him, looking thoughtful. He rubbed his throbbing temples, feeling a bit of a headache.
"Knock knock knock~"
"Father, your son has come in."
Liu Yunfei walked unimpeded to the study door.
Although he is usually unconventional, he still knocks first when it comes to the important place of his study.
"Go in!"
Magistrate Liu rolled his eyes inelegantly, and the next second, the study door was pushed open.
Alas, it's a pity that his virtuous wife passed away so early; otherwise, his son would have had someone to help discipline him...
"Father, why have you summoned me here?"
Seeing his father sitting upright behind his desk as usual, without the expected outburst or angry glare, Liu Yunfei was honestly quite unaccustomed to it.
"Sit down here, I have something to discuss with you."
For once, Magistrate Liu spoke to his son calmly.
For some reason, Liu Yunfei felt a chill run down his spine when he heard that tone.
But as I approached and sat down, I suddenly noticed that there was already white frost on both sides of my father's hair...
Father, you are only thirty-six years old, how come you look so old?
Before he could think it through, his father's next words shocked him...
Uncle Lu has been dismissed from his post!
The reason is that in Ping'an County, which is under its jurisdiction, not a single person passed the imperial examination this time!
The people clashed with the academy, and several people died.
Among them were relatives of high-ranking officials in the imperial court!
Therefore, as the local official of Ping'an County, Uncle Lu could not escape blame!
After being dismissed from office, his property was confiscated, and he was demoted to a commoner!
Now that the Lu family has suffered misfortune, their daughter Yingying's arranged marriage is also off...
“Your father and your Uncle Lu were classmates and friends in our early years. Over the years, we have supported each other. We are not brothers, but we are closer than brothers.”
Magistrate Liu paused, and seeing the shock and anxiety on his son's face, he handed the letter in front of him forward, gesturing for his son to take a look.
Upon hearing of this major change, Liu Yunfei's first thought was not "revenge has been achieved," but rather concern for his arrogant and overbearing enemy!
With the Lu family suffering such a misfortune, her fiancé broke off the engagement?
It's absolutely hateful!
Uncle Lu didn't commit murder or arson; he just failed to supervise properly. Yet the engagement was called off. You can imagine how heartbroken she must be!
He opened the letter, skimmed through it, and his expression grew increasingly grim.
In his letter, Uncle Lu warned his father to be wary of the prefect, saying that his misfortune was largely undeserved, a pretext the prefect was using to install his own cronies...
Uncle Lu plans to return to his hometown to spend his remaining years in peace, and it is likely that they will never see each other again in this lifetime.
Their beloved daughter, Yingying, they wished to entrust her to the Liu family; whether she would become a concubine or something else was entirely up to Brother Liu and his son to decide...
Uncle Lu, this is... you want to entrust Yingying to him!
“Yingying is a good girl. If you can accept her, I will arrange your marriage and let her marry into our Liu family in a grand manner, becoming your wife. No, you must not take her as a concubine.”
“If you do not accept, then I will take Yingying as my goddaughter, bring her back to the Liu family, and find her a good match. From now on, you will address each other as brother and sister.”
Magistrate Liu had already come up with two solutions, and he would support whichever his son chose.
Liu Yunfei's carefree demeanor had vanished. After a moment's contemplation, he made his choice...
As the days passed, a few days before the end of the month, Jiang Yue suddenly received an invitation sent by Magistrate Liu.
Oh no, it's a wedding invitation!
Is Young Master Liu getting married? Is the timing so rushed?
"Qingyun, show your mother how to pronounce this character."
Jiang Yue gestured for Qingyun to come over and help her look at the bride's name. The strokes were a bit complicated, and she wasn't sure if it was Bao or Ying.
“Mother, this is the character Ying, Lu Yingying, and my sister-in-law is Lu Yingying.”
After recognizing it, Wu Qingyun taught his mother word by word.
Suddenly, as if remembering something, his expression turned somewhat strange.
After becoming acquainted with Young Master Liu, I often heard the name of this enemy from him. The enemy even got married?
Young Master Liu's quirks are truly...
"Now that we've received the invitation, we can't ignore it. There are still a few days left, so let's keep an eye on the gift arrangements."
Jiang Yue nodded. "Lu Yingying, that sounds pretty good."
During the Qingyun Imperial Examination, we were fortunate to receive help from Young Master Liu. Our two families have a good relationship, so we should prepare a generous gift!
And so, a few more days passed uneventfully.
On the day of Liu Gongzi's wedding, Jiang Yue, along with Qingyun and Changjun, along with gifts prepared by her family and fruits and vegetables spontaneously prepared by the villagers, hired Wu Jiahu's oxcart and went to the county government.
The scene was very lively, and the people registering the information didn't look down on them at all; they registered the name of Wujia Village very kindly.
Although they were just ordinary gifts, not particularly lavish or eye-catching, the sentiment was there, and Magistrate Liu believed he could feel the goodwill of the villagers of Wujia Village.
The three were seated at the middle table. After Jiang Yue sat down, she looked around and noticed that the atmosphere was a bit strange.
Logically speaking, even if the wedding of the magistrate's son is kept low-key, the bride's side should still have a few tables of food.
But strangely, the table seemed to be mostly for the groom's side...
Soon, a few more people arrived and were settled at this table.
However, the other party clearly knew more than she did. Seeing that she was dressed simply, although he didn't say anything harsh, his condescending tone still unconsciously showed.
The woman, adorned with gold and silver, perhaps out of boredom or a desire to show off, covered her mouth and laughed, revealing the jewels on her fingers. Seeing that the other woman remained unmoved, she changed the subject, saying:
"Hey, you country bumpkin, do you even know who the bride is?"
"have no idea."
Jiang Yue didn't want to cause trouble for Young Master Liu, and since it was a wedding banquet, she lazily gave him a perfunctory reply.
"She's the daughter of the magistrate of Ping'an County. However, her father was recently dismissed from his post, and now she's just a commoner, practically a poor girl. I really don't know how she managed to marry into the Liu family and become their young mistress."
kindness?
There's a lot of information here, let her take her time.
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