Since he had agreed to take him as a disciple that day, how could Pei Xiaoyuan refuse now? He accepted it immediately.
Madam Xue personally led her son Li Hui out. The chief secretary, military commander and many other retainers and guests in the palace also arrived.
Pei Xiaoyuan followed the prevailing etiquette, apologized to Prince Ning and Lady Xue, sat on the pre-arranged teacher's seat, and accepted Li Hui's kneeling worship.
Li Hui was wearing new clothes today. Although he looked a little thin, his eyes were sparkling. He walked up to Pei Xiaoyuan impatiently and solemnly performed the ceremony of apprenticeship, saying, "Disciple Li Hui, hello to the master!"
Pei Xiaoyuan stood up, walked to him, lifted him up from the ground, and encouraged him.
Every time he said something, Li Hui nodded once, unable to hide his admiration. King Ning was delighted to see this, and the people around him were full of praise. After the master and apprentice finished burning incense and praying, King Ning invited Pei Xiaoyuan to have dinner. Madam Xue personally brought the maids in the mansion to prepare the meal. King Ning first led Pei Xiaoyuan to the study, and everyone sat with him. After a chat, it was known that Pei's son was not only a martial arts expert, but also a scholar. From the Book of Songs written by Si Wuxie to the classics of the Ming Dynasty, to the books of Wei and Jin, he had read them all. Even when King Ning talked about the "Family Instructions of Yan" that he highly respected, the young man in front of him could talk to him about self-cultivation, family management, and governing the world for learning, without any pause.
Everyone at the table nodded, and King Ning couldn't help but sigh inwardly, he really lived up to the name of a son of an aristocratic family. Although the son of the Pei family did not participate in the imperial examination, his knowledge and insights were in no way inferior to those scholars whose names were listed on the Jinshi list. King Ning couldn't help but look up to him even more.
According to the original plan of King Ning, he was going to skip Pei Jiazi and discuss the marriage with Pei Ji, because Pei Ji was the only elder left in the Pei family. If Pei Ji nodded, Pei Jiazi would naturally obey. But at this moment, he could not hold back and directly tested him in public: "Now that the western border is stable, you have also been ordered to come to the capital, and the year has come, you should get married. Does Si Cheng have any thoughts on this?"
He was so impressed with the young man that if his retainers and guests were not present, he would have almost asked his granddaughter directly.
Pei Xiaoyuan's eyes flickered as he looked at King Ning and paused.
Prince Ning immediately realized that he had acted too hastily, and hurriedly stroked his beard to cover up. He looked around at everyone and explained, "Recently, I heard that there is a family in the capital who thinks highly of you and is waiting for you to marry him, but I wonder what you think about this, young man?"
Pei Xiaoyuan hesitated for a moment, then stood up from his seat under everyone's gaze, bowed solemnly to King Ning, and then responded: "Although the country is not in trouble now, I have not yet established my reputation and career, so how can I have a family? I don't know which family in the capital would mistakenly like me. I am very grateful and even more terrified. So far, I have not heard of such a thing. I am afraid that King Ning has heard it wrongly. If this is true, I dare not mislead anyone no matter what. In the next few years, I will not have any thoughts about marriage."
Everyone was silent for a moment. Prince Ning was also startled.
With his keen eyesight, how could he not see that the young man in front of him was not saying one thing and thinking another, and it seemed that he really had no intention of getting married. But he finally met such a grandson-in-law that he liked, how could he be willing to just give up like this. Taking advantage of his friendship with Pei Ji, he was like the elder of the young man in front of him, and could not help but say earnestly: "It is naturally a good thing for a man to set his sights on a career, but marriage is a family affair, not just yours. How could you have known that getting married would be a burden? If you can choose a good partner, one surname, two families, and have more help in the future, it will be like adding wings to a tiger, wouldn't it be better?"