My husband was waiting for me to wake up last night, and I haven't slept for long yet.
Seeing that her lover was sleeping so soundly at this moment, how could Xie Shu dare to disturb him?
He slowly made the bed, sat beside his lover, and stared at him quietly.
At this time, Xie Shu noticed that her husband's feet were exposed outside the quilt.
During these two days, Xie Shu also discovered some harmless little habits of his lover when sleeping. He couldn't help but have a faint smile in his eyes. He pulled the quilt, trying to cover his lover completely.
Yu Chuxi was sleeping soundly with the quilt in his arms. When he noticed someone pulling the warm thin quilt on him, he couldn't help but stretch his legs, wanting to kick the bad guy away.
However, when he stretched out his foot, it fell right into Xie Shu's palm.
Xie Shu paused slightly, then gently held her lover's white feet, and after a moment, she let go.
Yu Chuxi woke up. He didn't know how long he had slept. His mind was a little dull, but he was in good spirits. The room was still dim, as if there was no daylight.
Yu Chuxi turned over in the quilt, and found that the curtain outside the window was tightly covering the ground. However, judging from the floating green light, it was already bright outside.
Then, Yu Chuxi's gaze involuntarily fell on the figure by the window. Xie Shu was wearing a white silk dress and sitting by a chair, reading a book.
His handsome facial features were like carefully outlined paintings, his eyelids were slightly drooping and his expression was focused.
Yu Chuxi stared at him for a while before saying, "Xie Shu, what time is it now? Why didn't you call me?"
The lover just woke up, and his voice was a little lazy and lingering.
Xie Shu closed the book and looked back. The faint sunlight outside gathered on his eyebrows, as if a painting was smudged by a little ink. "It is now three quarters after noon. I have already told Feng He and the others. My husband does not need to worry."
Yu Chuxi met his eyes and her heart suddenly started beating fast.
He vaguely felt that Xie Shu's attitude towards him was a little different, but he couldn't tell what was different.
In the past few days, news spread in the city that the great scholar Jiang Hong had retired and returned to his hometown and had already arrived in Nanjing.
In fact, this news could not be concealed. After all, Jiang Hong, as the former chief academic officer of the Imperial College, has always enjoyed a high reputation. On the way back, he passed through countless towns. How could anyone not recognize Jiang Hong's identity as long as he took a look at his pass?
Within a few days, every household with a name in Jinling City knew the news, and they were all very excited. If their children could become Jiang Hong's disciples, their path to the imperial examination would be guaranteed.
Moreover, everyone knows one thing, that is, Lu Shuo, the most trusted favorite of the current emperor, who serves as the second-rank Ziwei Order, is Jiang Hong's student.
But the most critical issue now is that Jiang Hong had left Yangzhou some time ago. Logically, he should have arrived in Jinling City, but for some reason, no news has been heard until now.
Until this day, when several inconspicuous carriages stopped at the Jinling city gate, several deep ruts were left on the ground.
The soldiers guarding the city went to check as usual, and saw that except for the carriage in front, the rest were filled with thick books.
This situation is simply astonishing.
These books are not the common bamboo slips, but mostly paper scrolls. Nowadays, the imperial examination is very popular, and the price of paper is high, much higher than before. And complete rare books are so precious. As the saying goes, it is easy to get money, but rare books are hard to find.
Seeing this scene was no less than seeing mountains of gold and silver. Several soldiers guarding the city could not help but breathe heavier, and a trace of greed flashed in their eyes. Before they could make any plans, an accompanying guard coldly threw out a pass.
When they took a look at the pass, several soldiers suddenly felt cold in their hands and feet. This was Mr. Jiang Hong, who the prefect had ordered not to neglect a few days ago!
That afternoon, with the help of local officials, all of Jiang Hong's belongings were arranged in the mansion he had purchased earlier.
The next day, the prefect Wan Linming came to visit.
Wan Linming had people prepare gifts in advance, and he straightened his clothes before leaving before getting on the carriage.
Seeing that the Lord was so serious, Li Ming asked carefully: "Lord, I have heard of this old Mr. Jiang for a long time. He is highly respected and has a good reputation. However, according to the information I got from the capital, there seems to be a hidden reason for Mr. Jiang's retirement this time. Even if Mr. Jiang is still in office, he is on an equal footing with you. Why is your attitude so..."
Wan Linming waved his hand to interrupt him and said, "Although you are smart, Li Ming, you are not knowledgeable enough about worldly affairs. Even if a great scholar like Jiang Hong does not win the emperor's favor, the emperor will never dare to neglect him, in order to show respect for teachers and implement benevolent policies, so as to educate the people. The same is true for paying a visit. Moreover, this official did this for more than just this reason. I have an important matter right now, but I can only get the answer from him..."
When Wan Linming said this, a trace of contemplation flashed across his face.
Li Ming showed an expression of sincere admiration, and said that the master was wise. At this time, he remembered something and said, "By the way, Master, you mentioned before that you wanted to introduce Xie Shu to Mr. Jiang..."
When Wan Linmingjing was reminded of this, he also remembered it and just nodded without saying anything.
When they arrived at Jiang Hong's house, the doorman welcomed them in.
Soon, Wan Linming saw Jiang Hong. Although Jiang Hong's hair and beard were gray, he was energetic and behaved dignifiedly.
Wan Linming exchanged pleasantries with him for a while and found that Jiang Hong's words were not as rigid as those of ordinary great scholars. Instead, he was open-minded and bright. He was certain in his heart, so he found an opportunity to get to the point and said, "Mr. Jiang, to be honest, I have been worried about something recently. I wonder if Mr. Jiang can give me some advice."
Jiang Hong's expression did not change. He just narrowed his eyes slightly and said, "If you have anything to say, please speak."
Wan Linming then said, "A few days ago, I got the news that the current emperor is preparing for a southern tour. This southern tour is a big event and it is the first time that has ever happened. I really don't understand the details and I am afraid that I might make mistakes. I hope Mr. Jiang can give me some advice."
Jiang Hong had already expected that Wan Linming would ask about the southern tour, and he sighed inwardly.
In fact, he was one of the people who advised against the emperor's southern tour that day. The treasury was not well-off, the people were tired, and the Tatars were eyeing them covetously in the north. A southern tour would cause a lot of trouble. At that time, the emperor kept silent and everyone thought that he had given up the idea of a southern tour.
Who knew that a few days later, the emperor brought it up again in the morning court, and this time, Ziwei ordered Lu Shuo to take the initiative and cite the various advantages of the southern tour. Because the southern tour would pass through Zhili, Huguang, and Lianghuai areas, which are the granaries of Daqing, it would also be possible to inspect rivers and eliminate floods, and at the same time understand the people's sentiments and win the hearts of the people.
Now that Lu Shuo was a close minister of the emperor, he had made arrangements in advance, and naturally he got a lot of support, catching them off guard.
How could Jiang Hong and the others not guess at this time that the emperor had made up his mind? Thinking about it again, the third prince Shao Zhen had inexplicably gone to Jiangnan a few months ago, and everyone just came back.
For a moment, everyone didn't know whether to lament that the emperor was now old and so stubborn, or to be angry at Lu Shuo for doing anything to please the emperor and for power, wealth, fame and gain!
Jiang Hong was also very disappointed. Lü Shuo was the first student he had ever accepted. He saw that Lü Shuo had a poor background and loved his talent, so he accepted him as his disciple. Lü Shuo was indeed extremely talented, but unfortunately his temperament was...
Jiang Hong came back to his senses, suppressed his emotions and said, "I don't know much about this southern tour. The emperor has handed it over to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, but you don't have to worry. The Ministry of Internal Affairs will send people down in a few days. In fact, all the way to Jinling, Tai'an under the rule is really eye-catching, and the emperor likes the peaceful scene the most..."
Hearing this, Wan Linming understood Jiang Hong's meaning, and a look of joy appeared on his face. After thanking Jiang Hong for his advice, he did not forget to talk about Xie Shu before leaving: "I wonder if Mr. Jiang still wants to accept disciples in the future? I have my eyes on someone before, maybe I can catch your eye."
Since he moved in yesterday, there have been many visiting cards sent to him, but Jiang Hong didn't see any of them. He didn't expect that the prefect would also want to send people over. Jiang Hong couldn't help but laugh and said, "I naturally trust the people recommended by the lord, but I have already accepted a closed disciple a few days ago, and I will not accept any more disciples in the future."
How come it was only a few days' difference? Wan Linming thought it was a pity, and then he said casually: "This is really unfortunate. The man I had my eyes on before was called Xie Shu, and he was really good."
However, what he didn't expect was that as soon as he finished speaking, Jiang Hong, who had been so nonchalant just now, suddenly laughed and said, "Oh? This is quite a coincidence."
Xie Shu had also heard rumors in the city these days. When he compared them with his previous guesses, he immediately understood that his teacher was actually the great scholar Jiang Hong, who had once served as the chief academic officer of the Imperial College. No wonder his conversation was so extraordinary.
However, Xie Shu was still able to maintain a calm state of mind. The teacher had such a great reputation. Although he did not reveal his true identity at the time, in Xie Shu's opinion, this was not something worth worrying about.
The teacher had a free and easy personality. Perhaps it was inconvenient to explain at the time, so he did not say it directly. Now that the teacher has agreed to accept him as a disciple, he should not belittle himself.
According to the time agreed between the teacher and him, Xie Shu planned to visit today.
At this time, Yu Chuxi came over and handed him a lacquered box.
Seeing Xie Shu didn't know what it was, but subconsciously raised his hand to take it with a gentle expression, Yu Chuxi's lips curled slightly, his eyes as bright as autumn water: "You go to see the teacher, don't you know to bring some tuition? But Mr. Jiang is not like others, he will definitely not look down on gold and silver, but this, he should like it."
Upon hearing this, Xie Shu's eyes only glanced at the intricately carved lacquer box in her hand, and then her gaze was deeply fixed on her lover's face.
He naturally knew what "Shuxiu" was. In the past, "Shuxiu" meant a bundle of dried meat that students needed to bring when they met their teachers for the first time. Later, it generally referred to gifts that needed to be given when becoming a disciple, as a way of showing respect for the teacher.
But gifts that are too light or too heavy are both inappropriate, so choosing a gift is also a difficult task.
However, Langjun even thought of this for him.
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