After the whole family was swept away, I lay down flat

Chapter 1086 Invitation

Lu Bainian had made up his mind, so there was no need for Haitang to worry about the rest of the matter, as he knew what to do.

Although Lu Ping'an was young and needed to observe mourning, he had already been brought up by his biological father. Now Lu Bainian sent him some simple books and writing brushes, inkstones, and paper, so he could live a fulfilling life during the mourning period. Lu Bainian naturally provided for his and his mother's daily expenses. The old servant Ah Si helped with the rough work at home, so there was nothing to worry about.

Lu Bainian also told them about his plan to send them to the countryside to live for a few months. Lu Ping'an's mother had heard about this from her late husband a long time ago, and she had no objection. The Lu family had never been kind to them, and even drove her late husband out of the house when he was seriously ill, causing his illness to worsen and he died at a young age. She hated the ruthless and ungrateful people in the Lu family and wished she would never see them again in her life. It would be great if she could avoid the eyes of these people and not let her son be manipulated by them.

Moreover, her late husband had instructed her and her son to follow the arrangements of her uncle before he died. She was born in a humble family and had limited knowledge, but she was very self-aware and never did anything stupid. She used to obey her husband's orders in everything, and now she only needed to follow the arrangements of her elders. Her uncle had studied, served as an official, and knew many important figures in the court. He was much more knowledgeable than her. Under the arrangement of him and his students, her husband got the title of Juren that he had never gotten in his life, and her son was qualified to participate in the imperial examination. He would be able to live a life of food and clothing in the future and his future would be bright. This was something she, as a mother, could not do, but her uncle did it, and he was sincere for the sake of safety. Why should she make trouble and hold her son back in a self-righteous way?
Lu Ping'an's mother obeyed all of Lu Bainian's orders and respected him very much. Whenever he went to the haunted house, she would bring her son to greet him respectfully and serve him diligently. Although she was called a niece-in-law, she was more filial than her own daughter-in-law. Under her guidance, Lu Ping'an also respected his great-uncle Lu Bainian and was very diligent and studious. Seeing this, Lu Bainian felt that his decision was right.

He tried to bring Lu Ping'an back to Hai's house for half a day, holding the child and teaching him to write by hand, feeling indescribable happiness and satisfaction in his heart. He remembered that when his son was still young, he had also taught his son to write in this way, but his son was naughty and could not sit still at all. His wife doted on him and always found excuses to "rescue" him from his study. When his son grew up and could sit still, he was exiled to the northwest for his crimes and was abandoned by his wife and children...

The family happiness he once had was so short, so short that he couldn't remember much of it these years. But now, he seemed to feel the family happiness again. He just couldn't believe that he had taught a good nephew with all his heart, and the grandson's biological mother was a filial and sensible daughter-in-law, so he could teach another unfilial ungrateful person? !
Lu Bainian began to take his nephew home to teach him for half a day every one or two days. When Cao Gengyun got the news, he also came back to see the child. He fell in love with him at first sight.

After Lu Bainian sent someone to send Lu Ping'an back, Cao Gengyun began to complain: "You have such a good grandson to take care of you, why didn't you tell me, your old friend? If I had known that Ping'an was such a lovable child, I would have come back to see him a long time ago!"

Lu Bainian said with a smile: "You don't lack children and grandchildren, why do you want to disturb the happiness of our family life? If you want to hold a grandson, go find your own grandson!"

Cao Gengyun sneered, "My children and grandchildren may not be sincere to me. They just hope that I can help them so that they can live a good life. They serve me diligently and please me, so I will lend a hand so that they can have food to eat and have a chance to make a living in the future. But it is impossible to expect me to be devoted to them, and it is equally impossible to expect them to sincerely take care of me in my old age and see me to the end of my life. Now I have done what I should do and spent a lot of money. I have to keep the remaining private money for my old age, so I can't give them anything. After the New Year, they will all have jobs and will pursue their careers. After I send them away, I will move back and continue to accompany you old brothers." He laughed and said, "Now that you have grandchildren to serve you, maybe when I am too old to move in the future, I will also rely on your grandchildren to take care of me. I have to get closer to him in advance."

Lu Bainian looked at him helplessly, "You are going to say that again. In fact, if you ask your sons to leave one or two grandchildren to serve you, I think they won't dare to refuse. The capital is their hometown after all. Even if they have to go abroad to pursue their careers, they will always come back in the future. Leaving a younger generation in the capital to look after the family is not a bad thing."

Cao Gengyun waved his hand and said, "Forget it. My grandchildren have different temperaments and they are all grown up. They all have their own ideas. If they are willing to be filial to me, they will stay without me asking. If they are not willing to take care of me in my old age, even if I ask them to stay, I won't be able to keep their hearts. Instead, they will feel resentful and will always suffer in the future. Why should I ask for trouble? It's better to hope that the students will be filial!"

Cao Gengyun didn't want to talk more about his children and grandchildren, so he continued to talk about Lu Ping'an: "What do you plan to teach him? Has he read "Three Hundred Thousand"? Do you want to learn some calligraphy and painting? Or the art of playing the piano, chess, and calligraphy. He is so young, don't let him recite the Four Books and Five Classics all day long. It would be bad if he becomes a nerd. It's better to teach him more interesting things?" Lu Bainian already had an idea about his nephew's courses, and he didn't intend to let his old friend interfere: "I know this. For now, he should lay a foundation first, and then formally study classics and history when he enters the school in the future. I will discuss the specific course arrangements with Old Xie when he comes back."

Cao Gengyun had no objection to this. In terms of knowledge of classics and history, Xie Wenzai was indeed the most accomplished of the three.

He lowered his head and counted with his fingers: "It's about time, right? The Lantern Festival is only two days away. They should be arriving in the capital by now, right?"

Lu Bainian nodded: "If nothing goes wrong on the way, they should be home by now. I wonder if everything went smoothly? Is there any trouble in the Hai family?"

The two elders discussed this topic in a low voice, and then went to the West Cross Courtyard to ask Hai Changan. How could Hai Changan know? But they sent someone to Jiyuan to inquire, and Jiyuan replied that everything went well. It seemed that the people from Haixi Cliff should have been quite safe on the road and had not encountered any accidents.

Just as the Hai family was waiting for news from Hai Xiya and his wife and Xie Wenzai, a messenger from the palace suddenly came to their door.

In her spare time, Empress Dowager Xu held a small banquet in the palace, inviting several girls who had been granted marriage by the previous emperor and were about to marry into the royal family or royal relatives to a gathering to enjoy the flowers. Begonia was also among the invited guests, and the time was the day before the Lantern Festival, which was tomorrow.

Ever since Haitang was granted marriage, she had been preparing for the Queen Mother to summon her from the palace. She never expected that she had to wait for so long, and the New Year was almost over before the invitation from the palace was delivered.

Compared to the other people in the family who became anxious and hurried after seeing off the palace envoys, Haitang was much calmer.

After waiting for so long, the other shoe has finally dropped.