With the remaining money, Qi Surong allocated part of it to replace all the family's bed sheets and bedding with new ones. He also opened two plots of land in the front yard and planted some vegetables.
The days passed in a busy and peaceful manner, and before anyone knew it, the golden autumn arrived, and Xu Chen, whom Qi Surong had been waiting for, finally entered Beijing.
At the same time, someone recommended Baiyang Academy to Qi's father. This academy was second only to the official school in scale. It had a special children's school in its branch. Many children from wealthy families and talented people studied here.
Qi's father was very moved. Qi Surong immediately found his father and persuaded him to let Su Bao join Xu Chen's family.
"Xu Chen?" Qi's father had been in contact with Xu Chen before, but he didn't think highly of him. He was worried that he would miss Su Bao's studies and did not agree with his daughter's proposal.
Qi Surong said: "Baiyang Academy is located in the mountains and forests, far away from home. Subao is young. If he encounters trouble, he may be out of reach."
In the last life, Su Bao was admitted to Baiyang Academy, and was even bullied. Among them, people who Qi Su Rong had offended were indispensable to help him.
"A man always needs to be independent. Let's buy him an older bookboy to take care of his daily life. With this arrangement, he will have no worries." Qi's father didn't care about these trivial matters.
Qi Surong secretly smiled bitterly and continued to persuade: "Dad, Baiyang Academy is very famous, the students are complex, and there are many factions. The Qi family is no longer what it used to be, and Subao is among them, so it is inevitable that he will not be looked down upon by others."
Father Qi's face darkened, and anger flashed in his eyes.
Qi Surong knew that he didn't like hearing this, but he had to say: "Dad, no matter what you decide, my daughter hopes that you can first consider the current situation of the Qi family."
Qi's father pursed his lips tightly and exposed the veins in his clenched arms. After a long silence, he said angrily: "Then let Su Bao decide for himself."
Let Subao decide for himself? Qi Surong was sure that Subao would definitely choose Baiyang Academy.
Compared to a stranger who has never heard of it, the name of Baiyang Academy is obviously more attractive.
Qi Surong remembered that in his previous life, Subao met Xu Chen when he accompanied his mother to the temple to offer incense. He had a few words with Subao and then decided to take him under his wing. My mother did not refuse at the time. She went home to discuss it with her father, but finally gave up due to various reasons.
In a person's life, there are often various opportunities. The wise will take advantage of them, the mediocre will ignore them, and the foolish will abandon them.
One step can lead to a thousand miles of misunderstanding.
Although she could not guarantee that Su Bao would have a good future if she became Xu Chen's disciple, at least she would not be implicated in all kinds of overt and covert struggles and power struggles.
"Subao, how about going out for a walk with your sister?" Qi Surong leaned against the window of the study room and smiled at the young boy who was practicing calligraphy.
"I'm not going." Su Bao glanced sideways at his sister and buried himself in writing.
"I'll buy you a thousand-layer cake." Qi Surong continued.
Su Bao's hand paused for a moment, then continued waving.
"There are also Suhezi, mince honey cake and jujube cake."
Su Bao raised his head and said seriously: "Add another roast duck."
"make a deal."
After the abduction was successful, Qi Surong immediately dressed up and set off, planning to persuade Su Bao to try his luck and see if he could meet Xu Chen during the trip.
"Su Bao, have you heard of Xu Chen?" Qi Su Rong asked Su Bao while taking Su Bao around in the temple.
"Who is he?"
"The number one scholar who was famous all over the world eight years ago."
"Why did my sister suddenly mention this person?"
"This person had extraordinary talents at a young age. He studied hard, read well, and memorized extensive knowledge. He wrote poems at the age of six and composed essays at the age of nine. He was a student at the age of eleven. He was awarded the title of Jie Yuan at the age of fourteen. He won the first prize at the age of seventeen. Three yuan and No. 1, the name moves the world."
Su Bao's eyes flashed brightly, and then he asked doubtfully: "But it seems that there is no such person in the court. If he is really talented, how can he be unknown?"
"Because he resigned after less than two years in office."
"Why?"
"Do you still remember Prince Duan?" Qi Surong asked.
"Sister is talking about Prince Duan who was demoted from the capital two years ago?"
"Exactly." Qi Surong said, "He is lustful and likes to cross-dress and flirt with women from good families or beautiful married women. Our mother was almost scorned by him."
"That's right." Su Bao clenched his fist and said angrily, "That man is a prince, but he behaves so carelessly. It's really disgusting."
Qi Surong nodded and continued: "At that time, Xu Chen had a confidante who was not very worried about him, but was afraid of his identity and did not dare to resist. Xu Chen asked: 'Why don't you dare to resist?' The woman said: 'He is the prince's son. How can you offend your respect?" Xu Chen replied: "Did he give his name?" The woman said: "No." Xu Chen said: "In that case, you have the right to treat him as a shameless person. Just do whatever you want to do.' Later, the woman met Prince Duan again. Thinking of Xu Chen's words, she no longer tolerated it and ordered someone to beat the prince. The prince loudly announced his name, and the woman angrily said:' As a prince, how could you do such a shameless thing? You are not only shameless, but you dare to slander the name of the prince, and you are guilty of an extra level of crime." With that, he gave Prince Duan another fat beating, which made Prince Duan's nose and face swollen. Prince Duan was so beaten that he felt humiliated and did not show his face again for more than a month."
"He actually dares to hit the prince?" Su Bao looked surprised, with a bit of admiration mixed with surprise.
"As the saying goes, those who don't know are not guilty. The prince changed his clothes because he didn't want to expose his identity. Xu Chen's suggestion was also in line with the trend."
"He seems to be a little deviant." Su Bao said seriously.
Qi Surong smiled and said: "You are right. Xu Chen has a free and easy temperament, acts eclectically and boldly. He is regarded as an alien by other ministers in the court."
"So he resigned?"
"He resigned because of a friend." Qi Surong had specifically asked about it before, and now he slowly said, "It is said that when the late emperor was still alive, he suffered from depression and his body was getting thinner. The imperial doctors were helpless. Xu Chen had a good friend who was He was one of the imperial doctors. He had a cure, but he didn't dare to use it. Xu Chen asked about the reason, and the imperial doctor said: "Melancholy can be relieved by irritation. However, the patient is the current emperor. How can I dare to implement this?" Law.' Xu Chen suggested that before casting the spell, he should first ask the queen and the prince for the right to avoid death. The imperial doctor acted according to his words and received the approval of the queen and prince. Then he acted with confidence and tried his best to anger the emperor. , Sure enough, his depression disappeared. However, the queen and the prince did not fulfill their promise, and the imperial doctor was eventually killed by the emperor. Xu Chen felt ashamed of his friends and was also disappointed with the queen and prince, so he resigned from his official position. , From then on, he lived freely in the world."
"I see." Su Bao murmured, frowning with a thoughtful expression, which was very cute.
"Although Xu Chen has been an official for only two years, he has made the ministers in the court very fearful. His talent is beyond doubt."
"Sister thinks highly of him?" Qi Surong's words successfully aroused Subao's curiosity about Xu Chen.
Qi Surong asked: "Subao, if you let such a talented person be your teacher, would you be willing?"
Su Bao rolled his eyes a few times and nodded: "Yes, I do."
Qi Surong showed a happy smile.
While the sister and brother were chatting and laughing in the temple, Gu Jinyun and his father visited the Qi family.
Qi's father was naturally happy to see his old friend again and immediately served him wine.
After the two reminisced about old times, they naturally mentioned the marriage between the Qi and Gu families.
"I'm dissatisfied with Brother Qi. My son is cold-tempered and has a bad temper. He was admitted as a scholar at the age of sixteen, but he doesn't want to be an official. Instead, he abandoned literature and went into business. He spends all his time among the three religions and nine schools. It's very irritating." Father Gu There was some regret on his face, but he still couldn't hide his love for his son.
"Business?" Father Qi looked at Gu Jinyun and saw that he was handsome and impressive. Although his expression was a little colder, his eyes were bright and he looked like a general. Why would he choose to go into business if he was such a talented person
"Why doesn't my nephew want to be an official?" he asked.
"Official life is complicated and not as comfortable as shopping malls." Gu Jinyun replied concisely and concisely.
Father Gu glared at him and said, "Brother Qi, Jin Yun's business career was actually forced by circumstances."
"Oh? How do you say this?"
"I injured my right leg that year, so I was discharged from the army early and returned to my hometown. The emperor gave me a lot of silver, and I bought a house and land in my hometown. I originally planned to live a peaceful life. But my mother suddenly became seriously ill and almost all the family savings were spent. I couldn't save her. My wife cared about my foot injury and worked alone to support the family. Eventually I became sick from overwork. I had to sell the house to make up for the family expenses. It was also at that time that Jinyun passed the scholar examination. I had a chance I was recommended to take the exam, but for the sake of my family, I gave up writing and went into business.”
"That's it." Qi's father's eyes showed some approval.
Gu Jinyun sat aside with a cold look on his face, but his thoughts were already far away. His father always likes to praise his son in front of outsiders, but when he comes home he has a look of hatred on his face.
The two of them chatted and talked and finally got to the point.
"What does Brother Qi think of the marriage between our two families?"
Qi's father pondered for a moment and said, "I have to ask Su Rong about this matter. After all, marriage is an important matter and cannot be taken lightly."
"Brother Qi is saying, I wonder where Miss Qi is right now? Can you come out and see her?" Gu Chang is a rough guy. He always speaks his mind and never cares about the rules of a wealthy family.
Fortunately, Qi's father understood the temperament of this life-and-death friend very well, so he was not angry at all. He just said, "Unfortunately today, Su Rong took Su Bao to the temple to offer incense."
"Oh." Father Gu glanced at his son.
Gu Jinyun stood firm and motionless.
Father Qi added: "Brother Gu, would you like to stay and have dinner with us later? Su Rong will definitely come back before dinner, and then let her meet her nephew."
"That's why I'm bothering you." Father Gu laughed.
Then, Qi's father and Gu Chang set up a chessboard in the yard and started playing the game. They were killing each other so happily that they didn't notice that Gu Jinyun had disappeared at some point.