Can you not force it? Yu Qing muttered in his heart, but how could he help Ashheng regret his marriage.
After a second thought, that's it. After going around in a circle, I still have to do what Ash Heng told me to do. I'll pretend to go through the test first, and then I can't let the Zhong family have any ideas that cause any accidents in the test. Then he bowed his hands in obedience and said, "My nephew is completely at the mercy of my uncle."
He had thought that once the trial was over, he would reveal the truth to Zhong Su and then run away immediately. The rest was none of his business and left Ashheng to have a headache.
In short, it is impossible for him to marry Zhong Su's daughter, and even if he is killed, he will not steal Ashheng's wife.
Seeing that he obeyed, Zhong Su became relieved. He clapped his hands on the armrests of the seat, stood up, and said like an elder: "Okay, you are tired from running around today, and you have just changed to a new environment. You need to get used to it and get some rest early. The gentleman you have been looking for will be here tomorrow. No matter whether you can pass this exam or not, you must try your best."
"Yes." Yu Qing responded respectfully.
Zhong Su then left with his hands behind his hands, and Yu Qing respectfully sent him out of the courtyard. His attitude made Zhong Su quite satisfied.
At night, lanterns are hung everywhere on the pavilions and under the eaves.
Zhong Su first went back to his study, then came out, walked through the garden, passed through the corridor, and came to the yard where his two daughters lived.
The maid who was dedicated to serving here came to greet him. He waved to excuse himself and asked, "Where are the two ladies?"
The maid replied: "The eldest lady is practicing calligraphy in the study, and the second lady was called by the madam to learn how to become a female prostitute."
Zhong Su smiled when he heard this. This was the daily life of the two daughters. The eldest daughter Zhong Ruochen liked pen and ink paintings and was good at writing and painting, but the younger daughter did not have that patience. He could even imagine that the younger daughter was forced to The scene where a schoolgirl is unwilling to disobey but dare not disobey.
It was a good thing that the younger daughter was not here, otherwise we would have to prevent the conversation from being overheard.
After telling the maid in the yard to watch, he went to his daughter's study.
The study room was brightly lit, with various calligraphy and paintings hanging on the surrounding walls. Zhong Ruochen, who had a quiet face, was sitting elegantly, writing densely packed small characters on a large white paper.
"The whole family belongs to you because of your beautiful handwriting."
Suddenly hearing his father's voice, Zhong Ruochen, who was concentrating on calligraphy practice, looked up and saw his father looking sideways at his writing. He immediately put down his pen and stood up to salute, "Dad."
Zhong Su tapped the words on the table with his fingers, "It's a pity that I'm a girl, otherwise I could have tried in this year's general examination."
Zhong Ruochen smiled and said, "Dad, you are joking. With this little bit of ink in your daughter's belly, she might not even be qualified to take the provincial examination." Then she stepped aside and asked her father to sit down.
Zhong Su was not polite. He sat down behind the desk and said, "I just went to the east courtyard and made an agreement with your fiancé. After he meets, he will choose an auspicious day for you to get married. I'm here to ask you. If you have any comments, or if you want to be specific, you can mention it, and the family will try to satisfy you."
Zhong Ruochen's cheeks turned red, and he lowered his head shyly, saying in a low voice: "Everything about my daughter depends on her parents."
Zhong Su: "Your mother won't let you meet. I agree. There are some things you don't understand yet, so I need to remind you that your engagement cannot be made public for the time being. His father may have offended the court back then. For some people, we don’t want anyone to interfere with his participation in the examination. This is also his own intention, so don’t overthink it.”
Speaking of this, he was also a little worried, but he had no choice. He had already boarded the pirate ship and could not get off.
Zhong Ruochen was quiet and shy, and hummed softly, "It's all up to my parents."
Zhong Su was silent for a moment, but finally reached into his sleeve and took out two identical metal shaft cylinders, placed them on the table, pointed at them, "Look at the difference between these two things."
Zhong Ruochen was confused and immediately took it into his hand to check and found that there was no difference. It was not until he saw the cover on one end that he realized that the words on it were different. One end was the word 'chen' and the other end was the word 'heng'. Outsiders might not understand, but she immediately felt something. She showed the two words to her father and asked, "Are the words different?"
Zhong Su nodded, "Yes, these two things were made by your deceased future father-in-law. The one written on you is in my hand, and the one written on Ash Heng is in the other person's hand. These are tokens of your engagement. Your late future father-in-law and I made an agreement back then, and what they had in their hands was just for betrothal gift. Now that they have given me the betrothal gift, I have also agreed to marry you to him. Take a look, Take a look at the things inside, as I agreed with your father-in-law back then, this thing must still be given to you."
Zhong Ruochen's face was red with embarrassment. She opened the two metal cylinders and poured out the contents. She found that they were two paintings cut in half. She tried to piece them together to see what they were. .
As a result, the more I read, the more confused I became. I found that two-thirds of the page was a landscape painting. This landscape painting was a bit strange. The main scenes were various large and small peaks, there seemed to be twenty or thirty, and the other third was a praise. Poems about landscapes.
This piece of calligraphy and painting put together cannot be said to be superb in painting skills, nor can it be said to be well written, but the painting paper seems to be a little special.
She looked up at her father with puzzled eyes.
Zhong Su had already stood up, looking at the painting and shaking his head, smiling bitterly and saying to himself, "Ajizhang, Ajizhang, in terms of sophistication, I am far behind you."
What he lamented was that Ajiezhang not only supported him, but also took the initiative to find a son to be his son-in-law.
There were some things that he hadn't thought of before. It wasn't until 'Ashi Heng' came alone this time that he vaguely felt that he might just be a backup plan prepared by Ajiezhang. So what if he was a boy from the countryside with nothing? All the properties and connections he had managed over the years had to lend a hand.
Of course, this was not the first time he had seen this painting. Both he and Ajiezhang had studied it many times, but they had never been able to understand the secret.
Later, they simply split into two, and when they reunited, the two families were completely tied together, and they no longer had to worry about their respective back-ends revealing the matter.
Zhong Ruochen couldn't understand what his father was saying, so he tried to ask, "Dad, what's the profound meaning of this painting?"
Zhong Su sighed: "You don't need to ask too much now. Asking too much will be in vain. After you and Ashheng have a child, I will tell you or you can ask Ashheng. Now you just need to take care of your things." Just keep it, don’t lose it, and don’t reveal to anyone that you have it, including your mother, your sister, or even Ash Heng, do you understand?”
child? Zhong Ruochen was confused and shy, so he could only agree.
Zhong Su didn't say anything more, and left with a melancholy sigh, thinking that a matter that he had been worrying about for many years was finally coming to an end.
In fact, according to the agreement between him and Ajiezhang, the painting would be given to Ashiheng after the two juniors had children.
However, once he got the thing, he didn't stay for long and immediately handed it over to his daughter secretly.
He is not greedy for the so-called paradise of immortality, because he has entered that ancient tomb and witnessed the most terrifying scene in his life. It has become his nightmare, and he knows that it is not something that can be played with just a little money. Beyond his capabilities.
What's more, he has never been able to figure out the secret of that painting.
Zhong Ruochen sent his father to the steps outside the door before he obeyed and stopped. After watching his father disappear outside the door, Fang turned back to the study and stood in front of the two-in-one calligraphy and painting.
Thinking that this is a token of her engagement, thinking that this is a betrothal gift sent by her future husband to marry her, her delicate hands try to smooth out the wrinkles on the painting, her face and eyes are full of tenderness, and her cheeks show a hint of shyness, longing and reverie.
However, the wrinkles can be smoothed, but the crack that cuts it in two cannot be healed.
For her, who yearned for the beauty that was about to come, this crack meant imperfection, and she was a little unwilling to accept it. So she turned around and rummaged around on the bookshelf for a while, and found a piece of thin silk fabric that could be used for painting. Most of the time, she used it to paint. The one who drew the embroidery background map cut out a piece.
After that, the two and a half paintings were put together neatly, the canvases were arranged, the colors were compared, the colors were mixed, and the wonderful paintings were compared and copied.
With a warm look on my face, I copied it patiently and carefully. I want to eliminate the rift, want to reunite, want to leave a perfection in my heart, and want to give myself a perfection in the future. I think my future husband will see it. Finally, I can know my own thoughts...
In the east courtyard, Yu Qing sat cross-legged and meditated all night, and stood up feeling refreshed in the morning.
As soon as he opened the door, there was a servant outside who brought hot water. He washed and had a meal.
After Yu Qing finished eating, Butler Li also came, mainly to ask if he was okay with his stay last night.
"Very good." Yu Qing replied casually, thinking about what he might have to deal with today, and asked, "When will that gentleman arrive?"
Butler Li smiled and waved his hand and said: "No rush, I can't come in the morning. Mr. Ming is also called 'Mr. Afternoon'. He usually goes to bed very late at night and can't get up in the morning. He only teaches in the afternoon and has his own place to go in the evening."
Yu Qing asked suspiciously: "In other words, he only teaches one afternoon every day?"
If this is the case, it is just what he wants, and he will have more time to run outside.
It turned out better than he imagined.
"Yes." Butler Li nodded, "But we come here every other day. This is because the master's friends help accommodate. Mr. Ming doesn't want to run both ways. He is really lazy and doesn't bother to make money when he has it in front of him. He said It’s because he doesn’t want to worry twice, and the Zhong Mansion spent a lot of money to hire him.”
One thing he couldn't tell this person was that not only did Mr. Ming have to spend money, but he also had to hire a beauty to serve him, and that wasn't enough if he wasn't pretty enough. Seeing that I couldn't bear to be invited here, I simply invited a beautiful lady to show up first, and then I impressed Mr. Ming.
Yu Qing clicked his tongue twice, but he was actually complaining. He was working hard to earn some money, but when he looked at other people, they were so infuriating.
Forget it, since he couldn't come in the morning, he had to find a way to make his own money. The topic changed, "Uncle Li, do you have a carriage at home? Prepare one for me."
Butler Li asked: "What do you need a carriage for?"
Yu Qing: "I just came to the capital. Let's go out for a walk and get familiar with it."
This is an excuse, but the actual purpose is to find a suitable buyer, try to sell the fire crickets in his hand at a high price, and then collect the debt Xu Fei owes him.
