Chapter 283 284. Is his son some kind of celestial being?
Lin Zhong has a very stubborn personality.
Almost no one could force him to do something he didn't want to do, but this almost didn't include his mother. Princess Henghuan wanted to compete with her.
The conversation ended on a sour note.
Lin Zhong was unwilling to listen to Princess Henghuan's words and choose someone else to marry.
Princess Henghuan was not to be outdone and insisted on arranging a marriage for him. She also gave her youngest son a strong dose of confidence, "You are willing to delay getting married, but I wonder if the one in the Changning Marquis' Mansion is willing."
"It's just between him and me."
Lin Zhong's fists clenched and unclenched, and he finally left without looking back.
"Zhong'er..."
Princess Henghuan looked at Lin Zhong's back and sighed slightly tiredly. She wanted to rub her temples with her jade fingers, but her well-maintained long nails hindered her.
The nanny behind her stepped forward quietly, massaging her solar plexus with unwavering force, and softly said, "Princess, don't worry. The young master is young, and he will understand your painstaking efforts sooner or later."
"I understand Chong'er's temperament."
Princess Henghuan was not overly worried. She was not just a mother. Her political sense was even sharper than that of her husband, Duke Su.
"Zhong'er is just too reserved and soft-hearted. He's afraid of a frog running away when it's being boiled in warm water, but he doesn't understand... simmering oil over a fierce fire is the perfect way to achieve the desired effect."
Princess Henghuan wants to arrange a marriage for her youngest son.
This big news caused a sensation in Kyoto. No one in the Duke's Mansion refuted the rumor, which undoubtedly confirmed its authenticity. Many people were fanning the flames or sowing discord behind the scenes.
Among them, those who have children of marriageable age want to marry into one of the Duke Su’s Mansion or the Marquis Changning’s Mansion.
The noble lady Gui Ge'er who is in love with Lin Zhong hopes that Lin Zhong will "change his mind" and choose her as the wife of the second son of the Duke's Mansion. The noble young man who is greedy for the power of the Changning Marquis Mansion hopes to marry Lei Zhouzhou and rise to a higher position in his career.
Some are simply rivals who can't stand seeing the Duke's and Marquis's Mansions doing well.
Needless to say, the status of the Duke of Su's Mansion is very high. In recent years, the Marquis of Changning's Mansion has been unrivaled. It is a veritable close minister of the emperor, and its influence is so great that even the old aristocratic family, the Duke of Su's Mansion, has to give it some distance.
I heard that the emperor also intends to make Marquis Changning the chief examiner of the next spring examination.
Anyone who knows a little about the imperial examination knows who the chief examiner is and which batch of Jinshi are his students.
If he were to become an official in the court, he would belong to the lineage of chief examiners. That is why when the emperor ascended the throne and opened the special examination, Meng Yao called himself a disciple of the emperor.
——Of course.
Because the chief examiner of the palace examination is the emperor, in this respect, all Jinshi can call themselves the emperor's disciples, but the degree of closeness can be different. Only those who can pass the joint examination can go to the palace examination to meet the emperor, so the chief examiner of the joint examination is particularly important.
If Marquis Changning serves as the chief examiner and the tribute students who pass the examination fully meet his preferences, he will give priority to the tribute students in subsequent promotions and appointments, and the tribute students will also reciprocate by serving Marquis Changning as their teacher.
Although Duke Su had never served as the chief examiner of the imperial examination, many officials from the Duke's Mansion were promoted by him.
If the Duke of Su's Mansion and the Marquis of Changning's Mansion were to form a marriage, even those arrogant veterans of three dynasties in the court would have to think twice.
so--
The Duke of Su's Mansion and the Marquis of Changning's Mansion must never marry.
All of a sudden, invitations to the Duke of Su's Mansion and the Marquis of Changning's Mansion came in one after another, all wanting to seize the opportunity and marry into one of the two mansions.
The Duke Su's Mansion was as lively as the Chinese New Year. The Duke Su's wife accepted almost everyone who came and even held many flower viewing parties inviting ladies from various families. Those ladies understood the situation and brought along girls and boys of marriageable age from their own families or from other branches.
However, the gates of the Changning Marquis' Mansion were soon closed, and all invitations were returned. Even Lei Zhouzhou, one of the parties involved, rarely left the mansion.
There was a lot of discussion in Kyoto.
"Young Master Lin and Young Master Lei are having a conflict? Could it be that the Duke Su's Mansion disagrees, angering the Marquis Changning's Mansion, and the two families are severing ties?"
"I heard that Young Master Lin and Lady Suguo had a quarrel not long ago. Young Master Lin went to the Marquis of Changning's mansion to look for Young Master Lei, but they also parted on bad terms."
"I heard that it was the one from the Marquis of Changning Mansion who was hesitant to agree, and that Young Master Lin, out of love and hatred, asked the Lady of the Duke of Suguo to choose a marriage for him?"
"I don't know which family will be the fastest to have good things happen. If the in-laws I choose are not as good as the ones on the other side... it's a pity that my daughter is still young and can't join in the fun."
"My kid is just eighteen..."
This quick-witted and courageous official, right after the morning court session, quickly caught up with Marquis Changning and tried to get close to him, trying to sell his own son.
Lei Li, who was so sleepy that he almost fell asleep: "..."
This person must be sick.
I couldn't understand what he was saying, and I just wanted to punch him.
Oh...you want to marry his Zhou Zhou, what are you dreaming about? Lin Zhong from the Duke of Suguo's Mansion wanted to marry Zhou Zhou and chased her for several years. A mere third-rank official wants him to marry Zhou Zhou without paying anything?
Is his son some kind of celestial being?
Wow……
A third-rank official.
It is easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but difficult to go from extravagance to frugality. Now he thinks that the third-rank officials are small officials.
"Master Wei..."
Lei Li spoke slowly, his tone drawn out, a smile half smirking, "Last month, your son was riding his horse in the downtown area and nearly killed a little girl. The month before that, he molested a decent woman in public and then went on a rampage in public, calling my Zhou Zhou a... a yaksha who didn't understand romance."
"Master Wei probably doesn't know that the last time you scolded my child like that, I whipped him over a hundred times, right?"
“…”
Lord Wei broke out in a cold sweat and quickly made an excuse to run away, so fast that it seemed as if there was a flood or a beast behind him.
"Marquis Changning still has such a good temper."
Lei Li turned around when he heard this and saw that it was Mr. Zhang, the Minister of Rites.
"Why hasn't Xiao Yuzhu come to play with Xiangqin recently?"
Minister Zhang, with his beard and temples all white, said cheerfully, "Xiangqin got a new kitten yesterday, and she said she wanted to play with it with Yuzhu."
"It's not convenient recently."
Lei Li glanced at him and said, "Don't you know? Those people are so annoying. They blocked my way during the next morning court session. If Yu Rui goes out, your house will probably be crowded too."
"It's a good thing if someone comes. It would be embarrassing if no one comes."
Master Zhang stroked his beard and said, "The Duke Su's mansion is overflowing with guests. The Duke's wife has recently been with the wives of Minister Lu, Minister Li, and Minister Tan... I think she's staying with them."
Lei Li raised an eyebrow. "Only three families? His Lin Zhong is so unpopular? My Zhou Zhou had thousands of suitors, but those people were too annoying, and Zhou Zhou didn't like them, so I closed the door."
There are so many people seeking marriage that it’s annoying.
He is the owner of the Changning Marquis' Mansion, and his wife is Zhou Yi. He doesn't want to have to socialize after his official business. As a man, Zhou Yi can't possibly attend an appointment and make small talk with those ladies and husbands.
Lei Jingsheng likes banquets. It’s okay to go occasionally or get together with good friends, but this kind of high-intensity commercial mutual praise is better avoided.
Miao Yurui likes quietness, and it is more fun to stay at home with Xiao Yuzhu than to attend a banquet.
Lei Shengjiang was transferred from the Hanlin Academy to the Transportation Department last year. He works under Lei Li and rides in his father's car to and from get off work every day. But when he has to work overtime... his dear father will tell him to work hard and then abandon him and run away.
Lei Li has almost complete control over the Transport Department. All of them are his people, and no one dares to get close to him or try to establish a relationship with him.
Although Lei Li always smiles, he is decisive and meticulous in his work. He will turn a blind eye unless it is a matter of principle. He doesn't even require him to report in the morning, as long as the work is done well.
After all, there will be no fish in clear water.
But if someone knowingly commits a crime, don't blame him for being cruel and ruthless.
It’s very simple for Lei Zhouzhou not to go out.
He has a lot of friends and it's fun to go out and play, but there have been too many rumors in Kyoto recently. Whenever he goes out, he will attract attention and may meet some of Lin Zhong's admirers or his own suitors.
Lin Zhong's admirers were annoying, and his own suitors were even more annoying. Those people didn't really like him at all, but just stuck to him like taffy for the power of the Marquis of Changning's Mansion.
There are also some men who are obviously much weaker than him, but always want to teach him. His posture is very standard and he hits the bull's eye with one arrow, but they still insist that he is wrong in this or that. They are simply mentally ill.
Not as good as Lin Zhong at all.
Lin Zhong would never say such things, nor would he look down on others or act pretentiously.
Some people really liked him, but he didn't like those people and rejected them. However, they kept pestering him after being rejected again and again, which was really annoying, so he simply stayed at home.
The rumor that he and Lin Zhong had a big fight is completely nonsense.
He just exchanged a few words with Lin Zhong at the gate of Marquis Changning's Mansion, then returned home and never went out again. This could also be described as a quarrel and a cold war, and there were other outrageous rumors.
As for Lin Zhongyi's engagement——
This is what Lin Zhong came to him to say that day.
"My mother wants me to get engaged, but Zhou Zhou, you know, I only have you in my heart. I don't want anyone else but you. I won't marry anyone else."
Lin Zhong looked at him firmly and seriously, and said, "My mother might keep me in the mansion for the next few days, and I won't be able to come out to see you. There might also be some unpleasant rumors in Kyoto, but Zhou Zhou, believe me, I won't change my mind."
"Whether you like me or not, Zhou Zhou, I will always wait for you."
"I know."
Lei Zhouzhou didn't quite understand what he meant at the time.
But in the following period of time, especially when the Duke Su's Mansion had an endless stream of guests, rumors were everywhere in Kyoto speculating that Lin Zhong would marry so-and-so, and people spoke as if they had seen it with their own eyes.
Among them, the most widely rumored one is that the wife of Duke Suguo liked the families of Minister Lu, Minister Li and Minister Tan very much. They all had boys of the right age in their families, between fifteen and eighteen years old, and all of them were of good character and kind-hearted.
These rumors always add a few sentences:
Better than the one from the Marquis of Changning’s Mansion, the guy from the Marquis of Changning’s Mansion is really… add a bunch of bad descriptions, anyway, it’s all criticism.
Lei Zhouzhou knew that he was indeed quite rebellious compared to other traditional guys, and the most rebellious one was his father Lei Li——
All right.
Their whole family seemed to be quite rebellious. The most normal one was his brother Lei Shengjiang. However, because he got married early, he was criticized by some people in the court for being too sentimental.
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