Xu Nuo waited on the veranda for a long time before seeing Xu Gulei coming over with a cup of tea. [No pop-up novel website]
"Liu Niang, those boys were rushing to drink tea. I waited for a long time to get one. I didn't mean to be so slow." Xu Gulei strode over, handed the tea cup to Xu Nuo, and explained a few words in passing.
Xu Nuo first curtsied and saluted, then bowed his head in thanks and took the tea cup. When he raised his head again, the respect on his face disappeared immediately, and he smiled slyly: "Did you forget? I have a very sharp nose. If I hadn't drank two cups of tea soup, I won’t have such a strong tea fragrance on my body.”
As soon as he said this, the smile on Xu Gulei's face immediately dissipated. He raised his sleeve and smelled it for a moment before saying, "Liu Niang's nose is really good. She even knows how many drinks I have had. But our Erlang is really popular, so here we are." My classmates are all descendants of wealthy families in Suzhou City. In the past, it was rare to see these young men gathering together." He hurriedly changed the subject.
Xu Nuo was drinking tea and didn't reply. Xu Pingqi's popularity was not really good. She had just observed it and found that except for Ye Qingchen, who really got along with him, the rest of these boys were not close friends, or even just acquaintances.
These people came just to give Xu Gucheng, the future doctor of the Ministry of Industry, a face and to establish some connections.
The same tea, the same water, became more fragrant after passing through Ye Qingchen's hands. After drinking it, he nodded in praise and couldn't help but wonder when his tea skills would reach such a level.
Before Xu Gucheng left, he had appointments with people every day, and the number of times he had lunch at Xu's house was very few. The books in his study had been transported to the north a few days ago. He only needed to bring a change of clothes when he left. Xu Pingqi didn't bring much with him. Apart from half a truckload of books, he didn't even have half a truckload of other things.
Therefore, after sorting it out, their luggage was very light. There were only four carriages in total.
After Ms. Lu negotiated with the matchmaker hired by the Zhang family, she had been preparing food for Xu Gucheng and his son on the road. She personally gave instructions to the young men she brought with her on the road, and as of today, everything is ready.
Two days passed in the blink of an eye.
The carriage had already set off, and Xu Gucheng was already fully dressed. After practicing a set of boxing in the courtyard, he entered the house covered in sweat and saw Madam Lu sitting under a thin quilt with her clothes on.
Lu's jet-black hair was spread on her back, and her lotus-root arms pierced through her hair. Exposed. Seeing Xu Gucheng's eyes immediately curled up. He said with a smile: "Master, I have to travel today, so don't be tired."
"It's been a habit for many years. It can't be changed. It's not tiring to do a set of punches anymore." Xu Gucheng took off his coat as he spoke, then went into the clean room to rinse. When he came out, Lu was already dressed. I was sitting in front of the mirror applying rouge.
Xu Gucheng wiped his hair casually and rested his chin on Lu's shoulder. He said reluctantly, "Mother, in all these years, you and I have never been separated for so long."
Lu held Xu Gucheng's hand and said softly: "It's only two months. It's not a separation." If Xu Gucheng went to Beijing alone to take office and only came back once a year, that would be a separation.
"Well. It's best if you think so. I'll leave the family affairs to you. Liu Niang is very sensible now, so you don't need to worry about her. But you have to keep an eye on Si Niang and let her prepare for marriage. Over there in the third bedroom of the big room , I'm going to tire you out too." Xu Gucheng put his arms around Lu, and a warm and steady voice came out of his mouth.
Lu chuckled lightly, leaned into Xu Gucheng's arms, and looked up at him slightly: "Didn't I leave Suye in Suzhou? With him here, what do I have to do?"
"My wife, Xu, is really amazing. I have discovered this..." He did not tell Lu about Suye's stay in Suzhou.
Xu Gucheng's arms wrapped around her even tighter, as if there was no chance of holding him again if he let go.
Outside the house, Xu Nuo and Xu Pingqi stood with big eyes and small eyes. Their parents were bored in the house. It was really not suitable for them to go in here.
Grandma Li was also very embarrassed and didn't know what to say for a while.
In the end, Xu Nuo waved and asked Xu Pingqi to follow her out first.
"Remember to write and tell me what happened on the way." Xu Nuo said this straight to the point. If Xu Gucheng wrote a letter, it would definitely be to report good news rather than bad news. Although she couldn't change anything, knowing the situation was better than not knowing.
"Okay, if anything happens to my mother, please write to me and tell me." Xu Pingqi nodded, with a very calm expression on his face, but seriousness in his eyes. It was obvious that he had already made such a plan, and now he just said it according to the plan.
"Be careful on the road. No matter who you meet or what happens, be careful and follow dad closely." Xu Nuo knew that Xu Pingqi did not practice martial arts. If something happened, it would be safest to follow Xu Gucheng.
"I'm quite thoughtful, at least more so than you, Sixth Sister, for your trouble." Xu Pingqi inadvertently picked up the jade hanging on his waist with his fingers and looked down.
This eldest brother gave it to him, and he will be able to meet him soon. The eldest brother really needs to be more thoughtful.
Thinking of his brother, Xu Pingqi couldn't help but smile.
Xu Nuo frowned and cursed: Are you too narrow-minded? How dare you tell me that you have a lot of eyes on me?
Of course, she didn't say what was in her heart, but patted Xu Pingqi's shoulder encouragingly, meaning to ask him to work harder. Unexpectedly, she was dodged after just one pat.
"Men and women are not intimate." Xu Pingqi said expressionlessly.
Wouldn't this guy just go to Bianjing? Are you going to draw a clear line with her so soon?
I came to her room to borrow tea and water before. Why didn't you pay attention to the relationship between men and women?
At this time, everyone in the Xu family came out of the Chuihua Gate and bid farewell to Xu Gucheng and his son outside the gate.
The whole family was dressed particularly joyfully. Ms. Zhang was wearing a plum blossom-patterned short jacket and a gold jumper gauze skirt. She couldn’t stop smiling. She was pulling one person to talk to another, and laughing to another person. , unable to stop even for a moment.
Ding and Zhong were also dressed in a dignified and decent manner, which obviously took a lot of effort. The men and women of the Xu family were even more eye-catching when they stood together. Apart from brightly colored clothes, their appearance was nothing to choose from.
Mr. Xu, who had inherited his good looks, coughed and said to Xu Ping: "Erlang, this is the first time you have traveled far since you became sensible. Everything you see and hear along the way is an opportunity for you to learn. Be careful in your words and deeds. Don't do anything." It's disrespectful. When you get to Bianjing, you should study with the teacher for a year or two, and then go to Yingtian Academy."
There will be many distinguished people entertaining Xu Gucheng along the way, and Xu Pingqi will be with Xu Gucheng. His words and deeds represent the Xu family's upbringing to a certain extent.
"My grandson will obey your grandfather's teachings." Xu Pingqi bowed respectfully and saluted.
On the other side, Mrs. Zhang was mumbling beside Xu Gucheng. Speaking of being out alone, Mrs. Ding and Mrs. Zhong both started to shed tears.
Finally, several people stopped crying, and Xu Gucheng took Xu Pingqi into the carriage. When he closed the curtain, his eyes stayed on Lu, and a faint smile appeared on his handsome and elegant face.
The carriage went further and further away. You can't see anything until you turn the corner. A group of people from the Xu family went back.
When Xu promised to go back to the house, he would just lie down and stop moving.
After Xu Gucheng left, no one in the Xu family could teach her how to practice calligraphy. She was recently learning how to practice calligraphy. Small changes will affect the final effect and may make the previous nearly half a year of efforts in vain.
When Xu Nuo was worried about what to do, Nanny Li suddenly came over and said, "Sixth Lady. I left this for you before Alang left."
As he spoke, he handed a book to Xu Nuo.
Xu Nuo took it and took a look, feeling a little moved in his heart.
Her father actually wrote a copybook for her. He was so busy recently that he would take time to write a note for her, and he knew that this was what she needed most now.
When you truly care about someone, you will know what the other person needs most. Only then will they use their time to do something for each other.
"Thank you, mama." Xunuo happily climbed to the desk, put the copybook on it, and hurriedly called Chun Tang to come over and polish it. Let Qiyue go to the penthouse to get some more rice paper.
Xu Gucheng's carriage arrived in Bianjing on August 6th, and the Xu family happened to receive his letter of safety during the Mid-Autumn Festival.
During August. Xu Nuo enjoyed eating the sweet-scented osmanthus duck that was fragrant and fat but not greasy. She also ate mooncakes non-stop every day since August 10th, trying every filling. After a few days, her arms were not as slender as before. Mrs. Lu noticed it and stopped sending food to Mingjin Pavilion.
After the Mid-Autumn Festival, Xiu Niang received a letter from Hu Ling. Hu Ling's letters were never short, so she leaned directly on the quilt, picked up a piece of moon cake, ate it and read it.
"I thought you would come to Bianjing with your father, and the banquet was prepared for you, but I didn't expect it to be in vain. It's just that the sun is getting warmer, why didn't you come? You are not so delicate People. Xu Erlang is three years younger than you, so why don’t you come?”
Hu Ling was very puzzled by Xu Nuo's failure to set off due to the hot weather. Xu Nuo looked at the repeated reasons why she didn't come in the letter, and seemed to be able to imagine her being furious when she ran to Xu's house and found no one.
"Second Senior Brother and my family canceled their marriage a few days ago. Although it was a good thing, a lot of people came to propose marriage afterwards, which gave me a headache. The children of these families are not as good as the others, not even Second Senior Brother. How could I agree? .”
"I met Senior Brother yesterday. He is still so good-looking. No, he seems to be better looking than before. After thinking about it carefully at night, I think Zhu Langjun is better looking. Those eyes are really good-looking." Xu Nuo complained silently, Zhu Shang said With his eyes squinted all day long, how did Hu Ling find out what he looked like?
"What did you tell Zhu Langjun about the things I gave him earlier? I actually asked my senior brother to give them back to me, but he added a note asking me to go to different stores to sell different jewelry, which I did. Once again, I really made a lot of money.”
Zhu Shang estimated the price of a bunch of jewelry after just one look that day, and Xu Nuo was not surprised that Hu Ling would make a fortune.
"I heard that your mother was poisoned by that guy Xu Qian's biological mother? Was it Ji Xuan who cured her? He was quite talented, but why did he want to take the imperial examination career? Moreover, your father actually gave up the quota at Yingtian Academy to He, but not Xu Erlang!"
Xu Nuo didn't know where Hu Ling learned that her mother's injury was related to Aunt Du. The family scandal should not be made public, and not many people in Suzhou knew about it. She really didn't know that her father asked Xu Pingqi to postpone his studies at Yingtian Academy in order to repay Ji Xuan.
The last sentence in Hu Ling's letter was: "I'll show you my results in the past month. Although it's not pretty, it can still be considered a gift to you."
Xu Nuo put down the letter and took out the handkerchief from the envelope. The white handkerchief was embroidered with a half-open pink peony, and there were two young leaves under the stamen. Although it was not vivid, the shape was very standard. On the other side of the handkerchief were embroidered with three small words in silver thread: Gift from Hu Ling.
Surprisingly, it can already be seen!
Is it really a month?
Hu Ling was much better than her husband, and he was much more comfortable picking up needles than she was!
impossible!
Xu Nuo was in a state of confusion. Could it be that she really lacked some genes that made female workers so poor?
She has been focusing on practicing calligraphy recently. She has copied the copybook written by Xu Gucheng many times. When she replied, her handwriting was obviously much better than Hu Ling's, but she was not happy at all.
At the end of writing, I hesitated for a moment, but decided to humbly ask for advice and wrote this line: How did your female worker learn?
A few days later, Bianjing.
In a private room of a restaurant, Hu Ling, dressed in men's clothing, held the letter, patted his legs and kept laughing: "Xiao Si, Liu Niang, the female worker, really hasn't made any progress. How should I give her advice?"
Sitting across from Hu Ling was Xiao Yuan, who was wearing Xuanyi. He reached out to take the letter, read it quickly, folded it up and put it in his arms without any hesitation.
Hu Ling accidentally revealed that Xu Nuo taught her how to get the Xiao and Hu families to break off their engagement, so he "suggested" Hu Ling to send a handkerchief when sending the letter.
However, Xu Nuo's reaction really surprised him. It was not anger or denial, but a straightforward request for advice.
It seems that she really attaches great importance to this issue. Otherwise, find an embroiderer in the capital who knows how to teach communication, and she can learn it directly when she comes in October.
Hu Ling didn't notice that the letter was taken away by Xiao Yuan, and just kept laughing.
In the Xu family's house in Bianjing, Xu Gucheng also received a letter of promise. When he saw the words that she had made great progress, he couldn't help but smile knowingly.
"Brother Wenchang, why are you smiling so happily?" Lu Yijian came in with a smile in official robes.
Lu Yijian, thirty-four years old, named Tanfu, was first appointed as a doctor in the Ministry of Justice and Quan Zhi of Kaifeng Prefecture. He was the elder brother of the Lu family.
Xu Gucheng was close friends with Lu Yijian when he was taking the exam, and then he met Lu. Tomorrow is the day when he takes up the post of doctor of the Ministry of Industry. Lu Yijian came over in a carriage directly from the Kaifeng government office.
Xu Gucheng gave the letter in his hand to Lu Yijian without hesitation, with a smile on his face.
Lu Yijian read quickly and praised: "Liu Niang's calligraphy is so good, was it you who taught her?"
"That child has been pestering me all day long, asking me to teach her how to read and draw." Xu Gucheng's voice was gentle but with a rare joy. Liu Niang's handwriting is better than that of many ladies from aristocratic families. It will not affect the female workers if they are not good. What.
Xu Gucheng rarely talked about his children in such a tone. Lu Yijian laughed and asked, "When will they come to Bianjing?"
"Scheduled for September 25th, it will arrive in early October." Xu Gucheng lowered his eyes, took the tea soup from the boy beside him, and drank it slowly. (To be continued)
ps: I recommend the article "Happy Gate" written by my friend Junjuan Yezi: Protect your small family with many happy events, and strive to be a "blessed" second generation.
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