Lu Yunxing had been coming to the city gate frequently these past few days, and today he finally picked them up. The family went to a courtyard together.
Lu Yan and Cui Yanqing were also waiting at the door early.
As the family entered, Lu Yunfeng looked around and asked, "Where is this?"
"It's a house given to us by the Yanqing clan. It's a three-courtyard house. We were only allowed to move in after Yanqing passed the imperial examination in early October." Lu Yan led the group into the main hall, where a maid brought tea.
Cui Yanqing said, "There is a rule in the family that only those who have passed the imperial examination can receive this protection from the family. So before the results were announced, we lived in the house of my maternal grandparents."
Cui Yanqing's maternal family, the Yan family, held the rank of sixth-grade official in the capital. However, their sons were unworthy, and none of them were accomplished scholars.
My nephew is coming to the capital to take the imperial examination, so I will naturally do my best to entertain him. If he succeeds in the future, we can take care of each other.
Qin Xiaozhou was surprised again. The Cui family was indeed a prominent family. As long as the person passed the imperial examination, the family would allocate houses in this capital city where land was so expensive.
Lu Yunfeng said, "Eryun, then let's go together to thank the Yan family tomorrow."
Lu Yan patted Qin Jinrong's head and gave him candy.
Qin Jinrong, the mischievous boy, had lost weight and looked listless after traveling for two months. "Luckily, Lu Xiaosi didn't come. It's far and cold. If he had come, he would have been half-dead."
The snow in the dead of winter can be deadly, so the family went to bed early after dinner.
The next morning, the group went to the Yan residence.
The Yan family was delighted to find the Lu family so understanding and grateful.
The Lu family sent two solid-colored fox pelts and a box of velvet and pearl flower branches as a thank-you gift. The fox pelts were obtained by Ye Su from Xishan.
The velvet and pearl flower branches were made by the girls in the school.
Seeing that Lu Yunfeng and Qin Xiaozhou were both polite and well-mannered, and not just money-grubbing, Madam Yan held them in even higher regard.
After leaving the Yan family's house, Qin Xiaozhou and Lu Yunfeng braved the snow to look for a house.
Lu Yan asked, "Does your elder brother and sister-in-law not like living here?"
Qin Xiaozhou shook her head, "Of course not. It's not appropriate for our whole family to live here. If your second brother becomes an official in the capital, gets married, and has children in the future, he can't all stay at your house. What will others think of your second brother then?"
"We don't know anyone in the capital, so we don't know which girl will see Second Brother." After arriving in the capital, Lu Yan could only stay at home every day and didn't even know what the women in the capital did.
No one invited her out, and no outsiders spoke to her. "I don't even have anyone to talk to. I'm about to suffocate."
Qin Xiaozhou was also anxious. Although there were people everywhere in the capital, he couldn't see any of the girls from wealthy and powerful families. He was unfamiliar with the place and the people, so how could he find a wife for his second son?
"Hasn't anyone come to your second brother to propose marriage?"
No.
Lu Yunfeng heard about this but was not in a hurry. "Eryun is ranked twenty-sixth in the first list. The end of the year is approaching and there will be a palace examination next spring. There may be someone secretly watching. There's no rush. I don't believe that no one has mentioned marriage to Eryun. He has probably rejected them."
In a city with hundreds of thousands of households, a newly appointed Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations) would be highly sought after. It's impossible that no one would be interested in him. This can only mean that Eryun had already turned down suitors while she was away, which is why the matchmaker didn't come to her home.
Qin Xiaozhou asked Lu Yunxing, and it turned out to be true.
Lu Yunxing is twenty-two years old this year, and Zhao Fang is very anxious about his marriage. If he were in the village at this age, his children would already be old enough to run errands.
The wedding was imminent.
Qin Xiaozhou asked, "Why did you refuse them?"
Now Lu Yunxing is the same height as Shen Zexing.
Qin Xiaozhou had to look up at him. "Do you have a girl you like?"
Lu Yunxing lowered his head and remained silent.
Lu Yunfeng said, "Speak your mind. When family members have problems, they should discuss them together. Otherwise, not speaking clearly can easily backfire."
Lu Yunxing finally spoke: "I... I met a woman in a temple on the outskirts of the city one day. I fell in love with her, but I have never seen her since."
This is like something out of an idol drama! Love at first sight?!
Qin Xiaozhou was speechless. This young man was so stubborn. He probably wouldn't give up until he found the girl. "What are the girl's characteristics? What clothes do her maids and servants wear? Tell me everything. It's like finding a needle in a haystack, but we have to try."
"She was dressed in ordinary clothes and had no maids with her." Lu Yunxing recalled the scene that day; the girl looked to be about fifteen or sixteen years old.
She stood beneath the begonias in the temple, and the sight of her captivated her, an image she could never forget.
Qin Xiaozhou and Lu Yunfeng were both good at doing things, and they quickly selected a house in the south of the city.
The Lu family came to the capital this time specifically to settle down and find a wife for Lu Yunxing. They brought most of their money with them, paid the fees, and completed the paperwork, which quickly made the arrangements.
This is a four-courtyard house, and everything looks very new. It was built no more than five years ago and is divided into a front yard and a back yard.
The backyard not only has a flower room and kitchen, but also five small courtyards, and several bungalows behind them. It's expensive, costing 33,400 taels.
The couple gritted their teeth and had no choice but to buy it.
Lu Yan assigned several people to clean the courtyard, while the Lu brothers bought furniture.
Cui Yanqing often came to help. Lu Yan was pregnant and it was inconvenient for her to go out. The capital was in the north and the weather was freezing cold, so Cui Yanqing and the Lu family didn't let her go out much.
Before New Year's Eve, the Lu family hurriedly moved into their new house.
The eve of the Lunar New Year in Beijing was extremely lively, with the whole family going out shopping.
Lanterns hang high, snowflakes flutter, fireworks burst in a dazzling display—everywhere is a scene of wealth and prosperity.
This was the first time in so many years that they had wandered around the streets aimlessly like this.
No one was huddled in a thatched hut waiting to eat rice to fill their stomachs, and no shops were waiting for them to set up shop. Lu Yan got married, and Lu Yunxing also had a house in the capital.
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