Cheng Lu listened to his mother's chatter patiently for a long time, agreed to ask the maid to bring a bowl of lotus seed soup, and then sent his mother away.
He was sitting quietly under the porch, sneering at the pomegranate tree in the courtyard that had grown lush branches and leaves and was planted by his father himself.
She said that he might have said something wrong unintentionally, or that someone might have spread rumors with ulterior motives. In fact, she had already determined in her heart that he said it, and threatened him that if his words reached the ears of his mentor, it would be detrimental to him... But his mother didn't even say a word to defend him, and handed over the right to handle the matter to Yuan... She was so stupid... I don't know how to describe it... She never used her brain... How could he have such a mother!
He thought of Yuan.
He has a graceful appearance, elegant manners, is good at dealing with people, and is good at dancing with long sleeves... Compared with him, Cheng Xu is just better at reincarnation...
His expression suddenly turned gloomy.
Zhao Dahai, wearing a blue cloth short jacket and a black cloth belt around his waist, walked in.
He was in his twenties, not tall but very strong, with a square face and purple-red skin. He looked like a farm man, honest and kind.
"Master!" He bowed respectfully towards Cheng Lu.
Cheng Lu nodded slightly and whispered, "Let's talk in the study."
Zhao Dahai followed Cheng Lu into the study silently.
Cheng Lu pointed to the armchair opposite him and said, "Thank you for your hard work along the way. Please sit down!"
Zhao Dahai thanked her but didn't dare to sit down. He took the tea from the maid and drank it all in one breath. When he saw the maid retreat, he whispered, "I have found out everything you asked me to find out. Mr. Xu was sent to Hangzhou by Mrs. Yuan to celebrate his teacher's birthday. Mr. Shi spent all his time in the flower shop, except for participating in a poetry gathering with his classmates. I heard from the clerk in the flower shop that Mr. Shi seemed to be holding a chrysanthemum appreciation party at home, and was shopping for those precious chrysanthemum varieties all over the street.
"Mr. Zheng did go to the Guangdong Guild Hall several times, and had two meals and one drink with the second master of the Thirteen Hongs in Guangdong. I heard from the servant that it seemed that the third house wanted to do maritime business with the Thirteen Hongs, but I didn't find out whether the deal was finally made. I want to go to the third house's drugstore in a few days to have a look. If Mr. Zheng wants to do maritime business with the Thirteen Hongs, he needs at least 50,000 taels of silver for one share. This is not a small amount. I estimate that the money will be taken from the drugstores. As long as I keep an eye on a few drugstores, I can know whether Mr. Zheng's business is successful.
"Ever since the fire, Master Gao and Master Yi have rarely come out except to go to the bookstore to buy books or to Wende Pavilion to buy pens, inkstones, and paper.
"Mr. Nuo is still the same as before, often instigated by Mr. Ju to go to the brothels near the Qinhuai River to gamble." At this point, he paused slightly and said, "There is another thing. The woman that the Fifth Master kept outside gave birth to a son yesterday, and the Fifth Master is still suppressing it and no one is saying anything."
"Oh!" Cheng Lu raised his eyebrows and said with a smile, "It looks like Jiuru Lane is going to be lively again."
Zhao Dahai also started laughing.
Cheng Lu ordered him, "Keep a close eye on the affairs of the Third House. Tell me as soon as you have any news." He said to himself, "Chi Si earned the money to open Yutai by doing maritime trade with the Thirteen Hongs. It seems that Cheng Zheng wants to learn from Chi Si."
Zhao Dahai had no idea and couldn't answer.
Cheng Lu personally refilled his cup.
Zhao Dahai hurriedly bowed to express his gratitude.
Cheng Lu gestured to him again to sit down and talk.
Only then did he sit on half of the chair.
Cheng Lu changed the subject: "Can you find out when Zhou Zhen will be back?"
Zhao Dahai thought about it and said uncertainly: "Let me give it a try."
Cheng Lu let out a sigh, looking a little depressed.
Zhao Dahai boldly asked, "Master, is it the second young lady of the Zhou family..."
Cheng Lu said nothing.
Seeing that he did not stop the discussion, Zhao Dahai asked with concern: "Master, are you really going to give the second daughter of the Zhou family to Cheng Xu? Now Zhou Zhen has been transferred to Baoding to serve as the prefect... Even if you can find someone with a similar family background to the second daughter of the Zhou family, she may not have the same good temperament as the second daughter of the Zhou family; and someone with a good temperament may not have such a good family background as the second daughter of the Zhou family..."
In this family, the only person who can talk to Cheng Xu and make him feel at ease is Zhao Dahai.
Cheng Xu was very depressed and couldn't help but indulge Zhao Dahai, saying: "Do you think that if I don't give Zhou Shaojin to Cheng Xu, I can marry Zhou Shaojin? You are dreaming! He will never marry the second daughter of the Zhou family to me. Zhou Shaojin can find out what happened in the past, let alone him. If I don't buy the house next door, maybe I can get away with it in front of him, but now the house is under my name, it's not right for me to say that I didn't know what happened in the past... But even so, Zhou Shaojin can't expect to have a good life.
"Yuan Shi will not agree to Cheng Xu marrying Zhou Shaojin, but Cheng Xu is deeply in love with Zhou Shaojin. Zhou Shaojin will definitely continue to live with her sister in the Cheng family before the eldest daughter of the Zhou family gets married. With Cheng Xu turning a blind eye, as long as Cheng Xu's name is linked to Zhou Shaojin, it may not be easy for Zhou Shaojin to get rid of the reputation of "secretly dealing" with Cheng Xu.
“It would be interesting if Cheng Shi and Cheng Zheng did something at this time!
“But that’s all for the future.
"Now I am worried about Zhou Zhen. He is just a scholar, but he can make the prodigal son of the Zhuang family never dare to cause trouble to him again. I am afraid he is not a simple person. Cheng Xu can't see my intention. Fourth Master Chi doesn't bother to care about these. Zhou Shaojin is Zhou Zhen's daughter. If he is interested, he will definitely be able to see it..." When he said this, Zhou Shaojin's delicate and moving face appeared in his mind.
How great it would be if she was not Zhuang Liangyu's daughter... No, even if she was Zhuang Liangyu's daughter, and she did not have a face exactly like Zhuang Liangyu, he might be able to pretend not to know... He could marry her well and treat her like a treasure, just like Zhou Zhen treated Zhuang Liangyu... But now, every time he sees that face, he will think of Zhuang Liangyu.
I remembered the small portrait that my father treasured in his study, and the time when I followed my father to Ganquan Temple to burn incense. My father pointed at the graceful beauty from afar and asked him, "Would she be your mother?" I remembered the painful and desperate expression on my father's face before he died...
He closed his eyes.
Once the arrow is shot, there is no turning back.
Ever since he accidentally met Zhou Shaojin two years ago, he has had no way out.
Cheng Lu instructed Zhao Dahai: "Go and deliver some rice to those families. If they ask, tell them it's a Mid-Autumn Festival gift and ask them to stay out. If anyone asks about what happened that year, don't say anything nonsense."
Zhao Dahai responded respectfully.
Cheng Lu asked: "That beggar?"
"He has been sentenced to immediate execution." Zhao Dahai said hurriedly, "I pretended to be a hanger-on and delivered the letter to that family. I also pretended to extort two hundred taels of silver from that family. That family didn't suspect anything at all. You can rest assured."
Cheng Lu nodded, saw Zhao Dahai off, and knelt in front of his father's portrait.
"Dad, don't worry, I won't let your suffering be in vain. I just hate that Zhou Zhen would rather be cuckolded than reveal what happened back then." He looked at his father's smiling face and murmured, "I can't find Zhuang Liangyu, but I can find Zhou Shaojin. I want to make Zhuang Liangyu rest in peace in the underworld, and I want Zhou Zhen to regret marrying Zhuang Liangyu..."
He spoke with gritted teeth, and the eerie voice echoed in the small ear room.
※
Zhou Shaojin also heard the news that Cheng Xu went to Hangzhou to celebrate his teacher's birthday. She couldn't help but say "Amitabha" in her heart.
It seems that looking for Yuan family is still effective.
Two days later, Cheng Gao came to tell her quietly: "The ancestor of the second branch said that the atmosphere in the clan school is not good. The scholars are not working hard and studying hard. Instead, they are concerned about the affairs of the inner courtyard. He called Uncle Yi San and reprimanded him. He told him not to travel around with others when he is free. Since he has taken over the clan school, he should take good care of its affairs."
Zhou Shaojin smiled.
Who would have known that just two days after Cheng Gao said this, another incident occurred in the Cheng clan school.
In view of the poor academic atmosphere in the Cheng clan school, the eldest son decided to sponsor the school with 2,000 taels of silver. Ten students with the title of scholar were selected, recommended by the teachers of the clan school, to study in Yuelu Academy, one of the four major academies, for two years.
The average cost per person was two hundred taels of silver.
Not to mention studying in Yuelu Academy, you can even buy a small courtyard in the inner city of Jinling City.
All the students of the Cheng clan school were eager to try, and no matter where you went in Jiuru Lane, you could hear the servants discussing this matter.
Cheng Lu's face turned pale.
He knew that this matter was most likely directed at him.
Remove the firewood from under the cauldron.
I just don't know whether this was Mr. Chi's idea or Mrs. Yuan's idea? Even if it was Mr. Chi's idea, if Mrs. Yuan didn't intervene, would Mr. Chi care about these trivial matters
Cheng Lu did not sign up, but his name still appeared on the big red paper on the wall of the clan school.
People in the clan school congratulated him either sincerely or jealously.
He smiled politely and answered the questions one by one, but his heart felt like a hurricane.
Yuan, Cheng Xu, just wait!
Cheng Lu went home to pack his luggage.
Mrs. Dong cried like a tearful person, holding her son's hand and asking, "Can you not go?"
"No!" Cheng Lu said softly, "It will offend the eldest son's family."
After hearing this, Mrs. Dong became even more sad and started to cry to Cheng Bo: "How could you bear to leave us mother and son and go away? If you were here, how could my son pass the imperial examination and still have to look at other people's faces..."
Cheng Lu looked at his mother lying on the bed and felt annoyed.
Just know how to cry!
If crying worked, he would cry more sadly than she did.
My father had been trying to show Zhuang Liangyu that he would regret his actions, but he died before he could achieve his goal. My father had no interest in life, so he died naturally... My mother was so stupid that she didn't even know what the person beside her was thinking... But one thing my mother said was right. If my father were still alive, they would have a house and property, so why would he have to look at the face of Jiuru Lane... If he had any problems, my father would naturally come forward... My father would protect him like an eagle!
He thought of his father's broad back and warm hands, and his vision gradually became blurred.
※
Sisters, today’s extra update!
It's the weekend again, I wish you all a happy weekend!
PS: The typo has been corrected...
※(To be continued)