Do you know: I am Xu Jiazi

Chapter 568 I will write a poem to attract your attention [Thank you! Goodbye! I owe you 48k]

"My dear, is this painting by Long Mian Jushi valuable?"

Zhou Xuenniang asked with a tone full of seeking advice.

Lin Qinshuang shook her head and said, "It's not worth much. A painting could only be sold for four or five strings of cash before. I heard that the price has increased a bit these days since he has become the tutor of the young master in the Duke of Qi's mansion."

"Oh, I thought I would get dozens of strings of cash."

Lin Qinshuang glanced at Zhou Xuenniang and said, "Why do you sound a little disdainful and contemptuous?"

"Humph! The money he spends on painting in his spare time is your monthly allowance! For a nobleman like Xu Jiawulang, the price he would pay for a painting would definitely be higher. And you still look down on him?"

"My servant, I dare not."

Zhou Xueniang quickly bowed her head to admit her mistake, then glanced at the painting and said, "Little girl, there is an inscription on it."

Lin Qinshuang nodded, looked at the upper right corner of the painting, and read: "Don't lose your way wherever you go."

"Miss, which poem is this sentence from?" Zhou Xuenniang asked.

Lin Qinshuang thought for a moment, then shook her head and said, "I can't figure it out for now. Let Mo'er read it herself when she comes back. She knows a lot of poetry."

"That's what I said."

Taking out another brush from the wooden box, Lin Qinshuang examined it and said, "That's all. Anything else?"

"My dear, there are two small wooden boxes. I wonder what's inside them."

"Open it and take a look."

After a moment, Zhou Xuenniang said with some disappointment: "My dear, it looks like a chess piece."

"Well?"

Putting down the brush, Lin Qinshuang looked at the black and white chess pieces in the two small wooden boxes and reached out to pick up one.

"Girl, what material is this made of?"

After stroking it for a while, Lin Qinshuang was stunned and said with a look of nostalgia in her eyes: "It's a rhinoceros horn."

"Girl, you are really amazing. You found it out with just one touch."

Lin Qinshuang waved her hands and shook her head, saying, "When I was a little girl in the Lin family, my father had a set of chess pieces like this, and he treasured them like nothing."

Hearing this, Zhou Xueniang knew that her flattery had failed, and she lowered her head quickly: "I am sorry for talking too much."

Lin Qinshuang put the chess pieces back into the small wooden box and said, "Give a coming-of-age gift, which is several hundred strings of cash. If my Mo'er were to marry into such a family, she would have a good life."

Wei Xiaoniang's courtyard is now in a peaceful state.
"Girl, we're back."

The voice of Liu Mama's biological daughter Jiuer came from outside the house.

Soon, the curtain at the door was lifted, and Jiuer walked in with her little maid Qiujiang.

"The warm water is on the table. Drink it if you are thirsty."

Wei Shuyi, who was sitting at the table writing, said without raising his head.

"Hey!"

After drinking the water, Jiu'er stood aside and said, "My dear, today's Fourth Miss's coming-of-age ceremony was held in such a grand manner! I saw the eldest Miss in the hall, and she looked even more majestic than before."

Wei Shuyi stopped writing with his brush, looked up at Jiuer who was talking, smiled, and said, "How can the eldest lady of the Marquis's Mansion not be impressive?"

Jiuer nodded repeatedly: "Little girl, I think even Sister Cuichan beside the eldest girl is a little different!"

Wei Shuyi lowered his head and continued writing, saying, "Cui Chan has always been around the eldest lady, attending tea parties and flower viewings, and interacting with the housekeepers of the wealthy families in Beijing. She must change."

"That's what I said."

"My dear, what will the scene be like when my fifth and sixth daughters come of age?"

Wei Shuyi put down his brush, thought for a while, and said, "Yingchang Prefecture is not like Runzhou. It is much closer to Bianjing. At that time, the Wang family's relatives will definitely come! Maybe even Old Lady Wang will come. It will be a grand and lively occasion!"

After a look of reminiscence in his eyes, Wei Shuyi continued, "I still remember that when the eldest girl came of age, it was Old Lady Wang who was the guest of honor, and Aunt Feng was the sponsor."

Jiu'er thought about the grandeur of that day and nodded with a smile: "What my little lady said is true. It will be like this then! Humph! What can Lin Qi Pavilion hide today? On that day, I will definitely suppress Lin Qi Pavilion and let them know what a legitimate daughter is and what grandeur is!"

"Yes. Miss Jiuer is right."

finished,

Wei Shuyi lowered his head and sighed softly.

Although Minglan was raised by the old lady, the old lady was old after all and didn't like the hustle and bustle.

When Minglan comes of age, the old lady will probably invite a few old friends from Beijing. The Xu family may give more expensive gifts because of the old lady's status as her aunt, but the rest will be the same.

Even Wei Yuyi, Wei Xiaoniang's biological sister who loves Minglan, can only be a supporter.

I guess there are pros and cons.

At that time, Wei Shuyi will definitely have to hand over the housekeeper's power.

Thinking of this, Wei Shuyi took a deep breath and continued writing in the account book.

in the afternoon,

The guests had a great time and bid farewell to the Sheng family one after another.

Linqi Pavilion,
"The fourth girl is back."

The voice of the maid was heard outside the door.

"Mom! My daughter is back!"

Molan walked into the house with her maid.

Lin Qinshuang looked at Molan, who was wearing a brand new jade hairpin and a flower hairpin, and said with a happy smile in her eyes: "Mo'er, come here, let mother take a look."

When Molan came closer, Lin Qinshuang looked her up and down and said, "Good! Very good!"

"Mother, I heard from Yun Zai that the gifts from the masters of the academy have been delivered to you, mother?"

"Well! Your father sympathizes with me."

"where is it?"

Molan looked past Lin Qinshuang and glanced into the hall.

"In the side room! Come."

Then, Molan began to appreciate her gift.

"Look, Mo'er, this painting is made of good materials and is well framed!"

Hearing Lin Qinshuang's voice, Molan, who was carefully looking at the gift given by Qi Heng, raised her head.

"Mom, this orchid is also well painted, isn't it?"

"This is from Xu Jiajing's brother. There's a poem on it."

Thinking about Xu Zaijing's appearance and the relationship between them where they had only spoken a few words, Molan walked to the wall and looked at the paintings.

"Where does this poem come from?" Lin Qinshuang asked.

"Don't lose your old path when you walk." Molan thought about it for a few seconds and then said, "Mother, the original text of this poem is 'Don't lose your old path when you walk', which is a line from Mr. Wu Liu's poem that Zhuang Xuejiu likes."

"Oh! No wonder I couldn't remember it. It turns out that I added one extra word." Lin Qinshuang said.

Molan said with doubt in her eyes: "Mother, with this added word, the meaning of this poem has changed, and it has a sense of admonition. Strange, what can I advise you about?"

Lin Qinshuang thought about it and said, "Mo'er, mother, this is just a trick of the boy to attract your attention!"

Molan looked at Lin Qinshuang hesitantly: "Mom, what are you talking about?"

Lin Qinshuang waved her hand and said to Juan'er: "Didn't you say before that you were afraid of Xu Jiajing'er and didn't dare to talk to him? Maybe it was those hooves outside who wanted to stick to a young man like Xu Jiajing'er! He saw Mo'er in the school and you ignored him, so..."

"Yes, is that so?" Molan was a little uncertain.

Zhou Xuenniang at the side said with certainty: "Miss! It must be like this! The more you ignore me, the more these guys like me. Who knows, our Sheng family might have another lady in the mansion."

Molan shook her head: "Who wants to bother with him! I only like Brother Yuanruo! Look at the things Brother Yuanruo gave me, they are clearly carefully prepared."

"Ah!"

Xu Zaijing sneezed as he rode home on horseback.

"Who is saying bad things about me?" Xu Zaijing said to himself.

Hua Xiang, who was in the carriage at the back, lifted the curtain, revealing a look of concern on her face. After a moment's glance, Hua Xiang shrank back into the carriage.

In the evening, Xu Zaijing drank a bowl of bitter herbal medicine under Sun's supervision.

The next day was the Cold Food Festival.

The Zitui swallows made yesterday have now been hung under the lintels of every household.

Two days after the Cold Food Festival is Qingming Festival, and the Jinming Pond will be opened again on the first day of March, so Master Zhuang simply let the students have a few days off.

On the Ching Ming Festival,
The Imperial Guards Cavalry, like before, formed teams of a hundred men with clear flags and shining armor and ran out of the city in four directions. The army was so majestic that it attracted the attention and cheers of passers-by from time to time.

Outer city east,
Outside the New Song Dynasty Gate,

"Rubber pancake, Zhang family's milk pancake~"

The hawkers' shouts were mixed in with other sounds and did not seem loud.

"Make way! Make way!"

With the shouts of the cavalrymen, "Dong-Dong~"

Hundreds of cavalrymen rushed out of the city.

When seeing this group of cavalry, many vendors turned their eyes to the noblemen who were stationed nearby.

As the cavalry marched past, some noblemen looked at the vendors and said, "Why are you looking at us like that? We are here to see if there is anything exciting to see."

Last year, Xu Zaijing, a famous young man from a marquisate in the capital, was chased from Xinsong Gate to Ansu Gate, which caused a big commotion.

Although many ordinary people and passers-by claimed that they did see the fifth son of the Xu family catching the arrow with his bare hands.

However, many young and unruly young people in the country think that this is nonsense and a false rumor.

It is impossible to repeat the situation of that day here during the Qingming Festival this year. After all, Zhang Shipan has no chance to join the cavalry this year.

If I come here, I might run into Xu Zaijing who is visiting!

I can also say hello then! Or I can use a big gift or a big prize to invite this person to compete with me and make a name for myself in Bianjing.

It is obvious that these young men are not well-informed. If they knew Liang Liu, Qiao Jiu and others, they would also know that Xu Zaijing was detained at home today.

The reason is that today Zhang Shipan has to accompany the palace attendants to pay homage to and sweep the tomb of Concubine Zhang who passed away many years ago.

For Zhang Shipan's safety, Xu Zaijing was detained at home by the emperor's order.

Later, the queen gave away many good things, but that’s another story.

March 1st,

Sunny weather,

The wind is clear and the air is peaceful.

The Jinming Lake in the west of the city was wide open.

On the way from Quyuan Street to Jinming Lake, Xu Zaijing rode the little black horse, and Zai Zhang accompanied the Xu family's carriage.

Because the wife of Marquis Yongyi, Mrs. Sun, was pregnant, there were only Mrs. Xie, Hualan and the maid in the several carriages of the Xu family.

As we got closer to Shuntian Gate, the traffic on the road became increasingly crowded.

On the way,

"Cousin, cousin, look over there!" A girl in a carriage pointed towards a place not far away through the gauze on the window.

"What are you looking at?" another girl's voice sounded, followed by an exclamation of "Wow".

In her own carriage, with no outsiders around, the girl was quite relaxed.

The reason for the exclamation was that not far away, there was a young man with a handsome face and an upright figure, riding a majestic black horse, with a red flower in his hair, wearing a silver-white spring shirt, a jade belt around his waist, and light-colored boots on his feet.

Holding the reins with one hand, his body rises and falls with the horse, exuding a calm and steady temperament.

"Cousin, who is he from?"

The girl in the carriage asked in confusion.

The girl who was surprised to be called cousin just now looked at the brand on the carriage and said, "Xu family! Look at the big black horse, it should be the fifth son of the Yongyi Marquis's mansion."

"Ah? Marquis's Mansion? Why is it a Marquis's Mansion? This family is too high-ranking."

Talking
The carriage continued to move forward.

When we arrived at Shuntian Gate,

The streets are becoming increasingly congested.

In front of the city gate,
"My convoy is large, so please go first."

Listening to the clear voices outside the carriage and looking at the majestic black horses nearby, the cousins ​​in the carriage looked at each other shyly.

"Thank you very much, Yanei!"

Following the words of the steward, the carriage started moving again.

The girl in the carriage also lifted the curtain and nodded with a smile at Xu Zaijing who was giving way.

The curtains were lowered and the carriage entered the somewhat dark city gate.

The carriage also became dark.

"Such a good boy, I wonder which girl will marry him in the future!"

"He is a juren at such a young age, and I heard he has military merits. He is also gentle and polite. The boys in the novels are just like him."

The sound of two girls talking in low voices could be heard faintly, and Xu Zaijing, who followed them into the doorway, looked a little embarrassed.

Out of the doorway,

The sunlight is a bit dazzling.

Xu Zaijing raised his hand to his eyebrows to block the sunlight.

After leaving Xinzheng Gate and crossing the Hulong River, the Xu family soon arrived outside Jinming Lake.

When queuing to enter the pond garden,
Xu Zaijing rode on his horse, relying on his high position, and looked around. He then turned his head and said to Zai Zhang, "Brother, today looks different than usual. Why are there so many carriages with flowers on them?"

Zai Zhang smiled and said, "Xiao Wu, think about it yourself."

Xu Zaijing looked at the carriage with flowers on it, thought for a moment, patted his forehead gently, and said, "Yes, yes, yes, mother mentioned before that the Queen wanted to choose a concubine for His Highness."

Zai Zhang smiled and nodded.

of course,

These girls from aristocratic families came to Jinmingchi not necessarily with the goal of becoming the Crown Princess.

After all, Zhao Fang is the only son of the current emperor, and his concubine is the future empress. The candidate must be selected by the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Imperial Clan Affairs.

A big part of the reason they came to Jinmingchi was that their families hoped they could replicate the "road to success" of Concubine Zhang and Concubine Rong.

This year, the gate of Jinming Lake seemed to have learned from previous lessons. There was no traffic jam for any reason, and the speed of entering the lake garden was much faster.

Amidst the noise, the Xu family's convoy quickly entered the Jinmingchi Garden.

Seeing Xu Zaijing's tall mount, the soldier standing next to Rong Xian hurriedly said, "Sir, sir, the fifth son of the Xu family is here!"

As he turned his head to look back, his eyes followed Rong Xian who was riding in a flower-decorated carriage. He quickly adjusted his expression and turned back to look at the door.

After adjusting his bright red cape, Young-hyeon smiled and waved to Seo Jae-jeong.

The Xu family's carriage went to the tent by the pond, while Xu Zaijing and Zai Zhang rode their horses to Rong Xian.

"Brother Xian, long time no see."

Xu Zaijing smiled and bowed.

Rong Xian returned the greeting: "Hello, Third Brother Xu, Brother Jing."

"Brother Xian, what were you looking at just now?" Xu Zaijing asked again.

Rong Xian was stunned and said, "Uh, I was looking at that carriage. It was shaking a little when it was moving. Is there something wrong with the axle?"

"Oh! Brother Xian is thoughtful."

Xu Zaijing nodded.

"Has Madam Dou come to Chiyuan?" Zai Zhang asked with a smile.

"She was pregnant, so we didn't let her come." Rong Xian replied.

After asking about the situation of familiar people such as Gu Tingye, Qi Heng and others, the Xu Zaijing brothers said goodbye and left.

Rong Xian rode on the horse, glanced at Xu Zaijing's back, and slapped the soldier on the head in anger: "Why didn't you report to me earlier! I almost..."

"Yes, yes, I was wrong!"

When Xu Zaijing and his brother dismounted from their horses behind their tent and entered, they heard Xie's voice coming from inside:

"Most of the noble ladies who have arrived in the capital now are from nearby! My mother's family has many relatives in Jiangnan. The news is that many noble ladies from aristocratic families are on the way."

"Madam is right! Mother said that there are also many girls from noble families in Hejian Prefecture rushing to Bianjing."

Listening to the conversation, Xu Zaijing walked around the curtain and entered the tent.

Looking at Gu Tingyi, Chai Zhengzheng and Rong Feiyan who were sitting in the tent, wearing beautiful spring clothes and with flower ornaments on their brows, Xu Zaijing smiled and bowed: "Sister Tingyi, Miss Zhengzheng, and Miss Feiyan, are doing well in their makeup!"

Zai Zhang smiled and said, "Hello, sisters."

Several girls quickly stood up with a smile and bowed.

Looking at the girls in the tent, Xu Zaijing and Zai Zhang looked at each other and said, "Tingyi, is Madam Bai here?"

Gu Tingyi smiled and nodded.

"Then, let's go and pay our respects to our elders first. Sisters, please take a seat." Xu Zaijing said with a smile and bowed.

Afterwards, Xu Zaijing and his brother returned the same way and walked behind the tent.

"Xiao Wu, these sisters came really quickly." Zai Zhang said with a smile.

"Yeah." Xu Zaijing responded with a somewhat unnatural expression.

When Xu Zaijing and the other arrived at the Gu family's tent, they happened to see Gu Tingye, Chang Feng and Qiao Jiulang standing outside the tent, looking at the carriages that were coming to each tent from time to time.

Seeing Xu Zaijing, Gu Tingye quickly waved and said, "Jing'er, you have good eyesight, come and help me take a look!"

(End of this chapter)