After the spring equinox, the weather gradually became warmer, and the various flowers planted in the yard gradually bloomed, filling the yard with fragrance.
Zhao Nanyu has been transferred from the Hanlin Academy to the Dali Temple. His daily life is not too idle but not too busy either. His classmates who passed the imperial examination with him are now doing well in the court. It seems that he is the only one who has not been so prominent in the past two years.
There were also various snobs in the court. Seeing that he was not favored and did not please the emperor, they seldom interacted with him. Some young masters from noble families also often made fun of him.
Zhao Nanyu often heard people mocking and criticizing him, but he didn't show it on his face and looked calm, as if he didn't care at all.
The court was dismissed early that day. When Zhao Nanyu returned home, Shi Ge'er had just read two pages of the book. When he saw him, the little child called out obediently, "Father."
Zhao Nanyu walked up and touched his head, "Do you understand?"
Shi Ge nodded, "I can understand it. My uncle told me about it."
"Has your uncle been here?"
"Yes, I'm waiting for you."
The only person in the Zhao family who had a good relationship with Zhao Nanyu was his younger brother. Zhao Chao was born to one of the concubines of Master Zhao Er and was also a bastard in the Zhao family, but Master Zhao Er treated him quite well.
Zhao Nanyu saw him in the study, and Zhao Chao smiled at him, "Second brother."
He said calmly, "Hmm." After a pause, he asked, "What do you want from me?"
Zhao Chao and the others didn't have important matters to discuss. Today happened to be the first day of the new year. On the first day of every month, the Zhao family would hold a family dinner, and everyone would go to the main courtyard to eat together. This rule was set by the old man himself, so naturally no one dared to disobey it.
Of course, in such occasions, Zhao Nanyu, the son who was disliked by his own father, would not receive any attention. He would even often hear his other cousins making sarcastic remarks about him.
In this family, except Zhao Chao, everyone despises his background and regards him as a shame.
Zhao Chao smiled and said, "Nothing, I just happened to come here to teach my brother his homework, so I thought about waiting for my second brother to go to the family dinner with you."
He also doesn't like family dinners. The brothers are not convinced by each other and they don't get along well.
Zhao Nanyu was silent for a moment, his thin lips pressed into a straight line, and he slowly said: "I'm afraid not. I have to wait for your second sister-in-law to finish dressing before going to the main courtyard. You don't have to worry about me, go first."
Zhao Chao was surprised, and the smile on his face gradually faded. He asked, "Second sister-in-law?"
Is that woman worthy of being called sister-in-law? He treated Shi Ge'er harshly, was promiscuous, and had a dissolute personality, which brought shame to his second brother. The most infuriating thing was that there was one time when he went to a money shop in the name of his second brother to borrow money privately. In the end, he couldn't pay it back, so the owner of the money shop reported it to his grandfather.
That time, Mr. Zhao used the family rules on Zhao Nanyu and almost beat him half to death.
Zhao Nanyu understood what he was surprised about, but he didn't explain. He just said, "You go first."
Of course Zhao Chao was not willing to leave just like that. He had to ask for clear information. Shi Ge'er had said something good about her in front of him before, but he didn't take it to heart at that time. That woman had a heart of a vicious snake. How could she suddenly become a good person? He didn't believe it at all.
"Brother, can't you see what kind of person she is? You must not let her fool you."
Zhao Nanyu laughed softly, with a hint of smile in the corners of his eyes and eyebrows. It didn't look like a genuine smile, but more like a mockery. He said, "I know what's going on."
Zhao Chao also gradually calmed down. Yes, his second brother was much smarter than him, and his methods and intelligence were superior to his. He should not be blinded by that woman.
"Then I'll go over first."
"Um."
After Zhao Chao left, Zhao Nanyu stayed quietly in the study for a while, practicing calligraphy for half an incense stick, before moving to Huaishuiju.
Song Luan had just learned that they would go to the main courtyard for dinner tonight. In the book "Powerful Ministers", many things about the Zhao family were just mentioned in passing without any details, let alone such trivial matters.
She knew the fate of the Zhao family. The gossipy servants and the brothers who looked down on him didn't get anything good, but they didn't suffer a very bad fate either. Old Master Zhao was deprived of his power, and Zhao Nanyu, the scumbag father, got nothing.
These people didn't have much to do with her and there was no collusion between them. What gave Song Luan a headache was Zhao Nanyu's younger brother, the legitimate son whom his scumbag father loved so much. This seventeen-year-old brother, Zhao Wenyan, was having an affair with Song Luan!
The original book of "The Powerful Minister" wrote that after Zhao Wenyan passed the imperial examination, he was completely devoted to Song Luan. He was willing to dig out his heart, spleen, lungs and kidneys and give them to her. He never married for her and saved her from danger several times. Later, the original owner was poisoned to the bone marrow and lay in bed unable to live or die. He was the only one who went around looking for medicine for her.
After her death, he never recovered and lost his life not long after.
Song Luan was going to be honest and say that Zhao Wenyan was a really good person. He was infatuated and simply treated the original owner wholeheartedly. But now she didn't dare to have anything to do with him.
Fortunately, Zhao Wenyan is still studying and will not be able to take the imperial examination until next year. Song Luan doesn't know why Zhao Wenyan has fallen in love with the original owner. The only way now is to avoid him and prevent him from falling in love with her. This will be a good thing for him.
Zhao Nanyu had been in the room for a while. He walked silently, tall and slender, standing quietly by the door. The golden afterglow sprinkled on his shoulders, and his calm eyes looked at her.
Song Luan was lost in thought, and seemed unaware of his arrival. She sat in front of the dressing mirror, holding her cheeks with both hands, her pink mouth pouted unhappily. She seemed to be talking to herself, and when she got annoyed she pulled her hair, banging her forehead on the dressing table. Zhao Nanyu actually noticed a hint of cuteness in her.
Zhao Nanyu finally spoke up and asked, "Is it done? It's time to go."
The sudden voice startled Song Luan. She woke up almost immediately, raised her head and stared at him blankly with wide eyes. She didn't even know when he came over.
The man stood under the window coffin with his back to the light, dressed in a blue shirt, gentle and elegant, with lowered brows and pleasing eyes. Half of his body was bathed in the sun, shining with holiness, high and mighty and inviolable, like a noble immortal who had been demoted to the status of a human being.
Song Luan stammered in response, "Okay, okay."
Zhao Nanyu nodded at her, "Since it's okay, let's go together."
In the past family banquets, they had never gone to the main courtyard together. The original owner disliked him very much and was only willing to go with him one after the other.
Song Luan was dressed very beautifully tonight. She liked bright-colored clothes, a lotus-colored cross-collared waisted skirt, and bright red embroidered shoes. She also put on some beautiful makeup on her face, which brought out the best of her facial features. She wore a flower ornament between her eyebrows, her eyes were bright, and her smile was sincere.
The two walked side by side, and Song Luan did not dare to get too close to him, for fear that he would annoy her even more. They had almost nothing to say along the way.
They first went to pick up Shi Ge'er. Zhao Nanyu did not ask her to hold the child's hand, but let Shi Ge'er walk beside him. In this way, the awkward family of three went to the main courtyard together.
They arrived neither too early nor too late, and the people from the first and second wives had almost arrived as well.
The old lady asked the nanny to bring Shi Ge'er into her room first. It seemed that she had not seen this great-grandson for a long time and wanted to see him and talk to him.
Zhao Nanyu did not try to stop him, but just told Shi Ge'er to be obedient.
After hearing this, Song Luan curled her lips. Shi Ge'er was the most obedient child she had ever met.
The decorations in the main courtyard were much better than those in the small courtyard where they lived. There was a small pond in the middle of the courtyard, and lion heads were inlaid on the stone pillars.
Several younger generations of the Zhao family were standing by the pond. They were cousins of about the same age, all in their prime, talking and laughing.
I don't know who saw Zhao Nanyu first. He raised the fan in his hand, and the words he uttered did not sound respectful. He called out, "Second brother, why did you come here just now?"
Song Luan looked in the direction of the voice, and the face that came into her sight could barely be considered handsome. It was fine if he wasn't smiling, but when he smiled, he looked a bit mean.
The person who spoke was Uncle Zhao's youngest son, Zhao Bo. He had very mediocre qualifications and had even failed the imperial examination two years before. He had disliked his second brother, who was very talented and knowledgeable, since he was a child. He was the eldest son of the family and had a noble status. He felt from the bottom of his heart that Zhao Nanyu, whose biological mother was a prostitute, was not worthy of being his second brother. For this reason, he often talked a lot about his right and wrong in private, and he always made sarcastic remarks to Zhao Nanyu in person.
"The banquet has not started yet."
The implication is that he is not too late.
The corners of Zhao Bo's mouth drooped, and he seemed unhappy. "That's true. Second brother came early, so it's inevitable that grandma will scold him again."
It is almost known to the whole family that Old Lady Zhao doesn't like Zhao Nanyu. They talk about him every time they see him. Of course, nothing good is said about him.
Song Luan stood beside him like a wooden man, pretending that she heard nothing and that it had nothing to do with me. She lowered her eyes and stared at the tip of her shoes.
But her thoughts had drifted away.
She was so hungry, really hungry, almost starving to death.
Zhao Nanyu pursed his thin lips slightly and said nothing.
Zhao Bo didn't get any benefit, so he snorted softly, glanced at him with contempt, and turned into the house.
At some point, a figure appeared in front of Song Luan. A thin body stood five steps away from her. At first, he frowned and looked at her with disgust in his eyes. Then he raised his eyes to look at Zhao Nanyu and said impatiently, "Second brother, why did you come here with her!?"
Almost at the same time, Song Luan noticed that Zhao Nanyu's mood beside her suddenly dropped to freezing point, like a sign of impending storm.
Her wrist was pinched hard, and then she was thrown behind the man. Zhao Nanyu bit her words and asked coldly, "Where's my father?"
Song Luan was startled and raised her eyes in surprise, staring blankly at the young man in front of her. Is this Zhao Wenyan, who will have a life and death relationship with her master in the future? ? ? Are you so disgusted now? ? ?
"Hiss" she cried softly. The man who was pinching her wrist used great force and it hurt.
Song Luan turned her watery eyes towards Zhao Nanyu pitifully, and she really wanted to beg him to stop pinching her. She didn't know what she had done to make him angry. It was really unfair.
The male protagonist is very fierce, and suddenly becomes extremely fierce.
I feel a little scared.
The author has something to say: Zhao Nanyu: Do you want to cheat on me?
Song Luan: I am not, I don’t have it.
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