Do you know: I am Xu Jiazi

Chapter 621: Competing [Thank you! Thanks again! I owe you 37k more]

After the Cold Dew,

It is late autumn,

It was dark early in the morning.

"Da da."

The sound of crisp and chaotic horse hooves could be heard on the street.

The people who got up early to go into the city to work saw a line of carriages and horses with lanterns coming towards them not far away, and hurriedly stepped aside to make way.

It was quite far away and the sky was dark, so the people could not see the carriages and horses clearly.

When I got closer, I found that the horse of the leader was particularly tall and handsome.

After watching the carriages and horses pass by, the people on the roadside continued on their way.

"Dad, did the young man in the front just now nod to us?" a young voice asked.

"What are you thinking about? Why am I nodding at you for no reason?" a more vicissitudes of life voice replied.

“Oh, that could be my son.”

Listening to the conversation behind him, Xu Zaijing, who was riding his own little black horse, pursed his lips helplessly.

After walking for a while in the dim morning,

Xu Zaijing and his party boarded the bridge over the canal.
Looking down from the bridge, you can see that many ships on the canal have lit candles.

After getting off the bridge,

A cold wind blew by, bringing a lot of chill.

On the roadside trees, many leaves fell from the branches when the cold wind blew, and swirled to the ground.

Part of the cloak Xu Zaijing was wearing was draped over the broad back of the little black colt, so a few fallen leaves landed on the cloak.

Some leaves also fell on the roof of the carriage behind Xu Zaijing and Qingyun.

But it was dark and I couldn't see clearly.

Arriving at Jiying Lane,
When Xu Zaijing turned over and got off his horse, the few leaves that fell on his cloak fell into the courtyard of the Sheng family with his movements.

2:30 a.m.
In Sheng Family Academy,
Candles were already lit on the desks of Xu Zaijing and others.

Master Zhuang walked into the school with a cool morning breeze on his body, looked at the people in the school, and nodded with satisfaction.

Afterwards, Master Zhuang looked at Minglan's position with some surprise.

Minglan could have come after daybreak, but she arrived early.

When Master Zhuang was looking at Minglan, Xiaotao, who was sitting on the wooden platform at the back, was yawning with her mouth open.

Xiao Tao yawned and smacked her lips, then closed her eyes and leaned on Yun Xiang's shoulder.

Yun Xiang, who was also unable to lift his eyelids due to getting up early, looked at Xiao Tao and then, with the help of Xiao Tao's support, leaned against her.

As the sky brightened,

Rulan and Molan also brought their maids to the school one after another.

When Molan sat down, she glanced at the candle on Minglan's table that had burned out a little and then gone out, and then looked at Qi Heng.

The sun in the sky slowly rises higher.

Zhuang Xuejiu, who was giving a lecture, stopped talking.

After turning his head to look at the position of the sun, he said, "Everyone, take a break."

Everyone stood up and responded.

After drinking the warm water or tea handed to him by the servants,

Xu Zaijing walked out with his classmates, preparing to take a walk and chat in the yard.

When the few of them walked out, the three Lans were still at their desks.

When Xu Zaijing and others arrived in the yard, the three Lans turned their heads to look outside.

Rulan and Molan both looked at Qi Heng, but Minglan glanced at Xu Zaijing, then looked away, stopped standing and sat back in her seat.

Afterwards, Minglan picked up the brush and prepared to continue practicing calligraphy.

After writing only three words, Minglan looked up and saw the two sisters in front of her also sitting down.

Glancing outside, he saw that Xu Zaijing and the others had already left his sight.

Seeing this, Minglan put down her brush and began to look at the scenery outside to relax her eyes.

after a little while,
"Hahahaha, Brother Changbai, well said!"

Although she didn't see anyone, Minglan knew without asking that it was the hearty laughter of her cousin from the Xu family.

Hearing the laughter, Minglan shook her head in confusion, then looked in the direction of the laughter with some worry.

Seeing a figure appear between the flowers and trees, Minglan quickly withdrew her gaze and lowered her head to continue practicing calligraphy "concentratedly".

Meanwhile, Zhuang Xuejiu, who was taking a nap on a bed in front of the school, had sat up at some point and was looking at the scene in the school in full view.

Listening to the gradually approaching voices outside the classroom, Master Zhuang shook his head, then stood up and walked towards his desk.

After another class,
Then it was noon.
When Mother Cui brought people to deliver the food carefully prepared by the Sheng family kitchen, the three Lans had already returned to their respective courtyards with the maids.

Only after Mother Cui left the school did Qingyun step out of the hall.

Xu Zaijing stood up and walked out.

"what happened?"

"Young master, Erlang of the Rong family sent his servant to say that after you get out of school, he will invite you to meet in Mother Ruan's courtyard." Qingyun said in a low voice.

"Several people?"

"Just you and Rongjia Jilang."

Xu Zaijing thought for a moment and nodded, "Okay."

Sheng’s backyard,

Shouantang,
The old lady sat on a Luohan chair, holding a porcelain bowl in one hand and chopsticks in the other. There were several dishes on the table in front of her, the same as what Xu Zaijing and others were eating.

Sitting opposite the old lady was Minglan.

Seeing Minglan's eyes full of thought and the way she was eating mechanically, the old lady sighed and said, "Ming'er, what are you thinking about?"

"Ah? Grandma, my granddaughter didn't, didn't think about anything!"

"Really?"

Seeing the old lady's concerned look, Minglan pursed her lips and shook her head, saying, "It's fake."

The old lady tilted her head and raised her chin slightly towards Mama Fang. Mama Fang understood and called Cuiwei Danju and Xiaotao to walk out together.

When there were only the grandparents and grandchildren in the room, the old lady said softly, "Tell me, what's wrong?"

"Grandma, I've heard from my aunt, Danju, Xiaotao and the others these days that people are talking about cousin Jing."

"With such a bad reputation in Bianjing City, Cousin Jing didn't even think about making amends, nor did he investigate how the news got out! Today, he was still laughing!"

"This is not good for him!"

Looking at Minglan who was worried, the old lady said softly: "Ming'er, your cousin Jing is not a girl! Reputation is not a thing that has been brought to court, so it doesn't have as much impact on a man like him as you think!"

"Think about the many outstanding figures in history books. When they were young, many of them were naughty and even bad boys. But it did not affect their achievements at all!"

"Now that Brother Jing is both civil and military, let others say whatever they want about his reputation."

Minglan frowned, turned her eyes around and thought for a while, and said: "Grandma, you are right! But, what should Cousin Jing do in this case..."

The old lady chuckled and said, "Why, are you worried that your cousin won't be able to find a wife tomorrow?"

Minglan nodded repeatedly.

Looking at Minglan, who was becoming more and more outstanding, the old lady sighed and said, "Ming'er, you are overthinking it. If nothing else, your cousin Jing is the legitimate son of the Marquis's mansion, then there is nothing for you to worry about."

Minglan looked up at the old lady, and the two of them looked at each other.

As if she had made some kind of decision, Minglan pursed her lips and nodded: "Yes! Grandmother is right!"

Looking at the girl raised on her knees, the old lady said, "Eat."

After dinner, Minglan took Xiaotao to take a nap.

The housekeeper standing by looked at the old lady leaning against the pillow on the bed with her eyes closed and her brows slightly frowned. She said softly, "Old lady, what happened to you this afternoon?"

The old lady opened her eyes and looked at Fang Mama beside her. After thinking for a moment, she said slowly, "Nothing, just some random thoughts."

Then, the old lady continued, "Has Hong'er returned home at this hour?"

Mother Fang shook her head and said, "Madam, when we went out just now, the master had not come back yet. I heard from Dong Rong that the master was busy with official business today."

The old lady closed her eyes, hummed, and stopped talking.

Before she knew it, the old lady fell asleep.

After sleeping for an unknown amount of time, the old lady slowly opened her eyes. At a glance, she saw Cuiwei was the only one standing in the room, and she could faintly hear voices coming from outside.

"cough!"

The old lady coughed.

"Old lady, you're awake!" Cuiwei hurried forward and said.

When Cuiwei's voice was heard, the talking outside the house stopped.

When Cuiwei came over with warm water for soothing her throat, Fang Mama also lifted the curtain and walked in.

"Old lady, the master is back. I heard that you were taking a nap, so I wanted to say goodbye."

"Let Hong'er come in." "Hey."

Subsequently,

Sheng Hongbai walked in without changing into his official uniform.

"Mother."

Sheng Hong bowed and saluted.

The old lady didn't drink the water, but waved her hand and said, "Hong'er, sit down first."

"Yes, mother."

The old lady drank a few sips of water to moisten her throat, and after handing the porcelain bowl to the housekeeper who was holding out her hand, she looked at Sheng Hong and said, "Hong'er, you haven't even changed your official uniform yet, and you've come to my courtyard. Is there something important going on in the court?"

Sheng Hong took the teacup Cuiwei handed over, nodded, looked at the old lady and said, "Yes, mother."

"Drink some water first."

After Sheng Hong drank a sip of water as he was told, when he put down the teacup, Cuiwei had already walked out of the hall, and only Fang Mama was standing beside her.

"Mother, I was on duty at the government office today and learned that something serious happened in Guangnan West Road in the south."

Before the old lady could ask, Sheng Hong continued, "It is said that the princess of Prince Yong got angry for some reason and wanted to punish a Nung woman who married into Prince Yong's palace. As a result, she accidentally beat her to death. After hearing the news, the Nung tribe, which was fighting with Jiaozhi, returned to the southern part of Guangxi and is now confronting the imperial army!"

The old lady frowned and asked, "When did it happen?"

"My son read in the report that the incident happened more than half a month ago."

"This incident happened more than half a month ago. Does it mean that Princess Yong beat the Nong woman to death, or that she confronted our army?" the old lady asked.

"Confront our army!" Sheng Hong said.

The old lady took a deep breath, frowned and shook her head, saying: "Guangnan West Road is more than 3,000 miles away from Bianjing. It will take nearly half a month to deliver this letter to the capital. Now I don't know what the situation is in Guangnan West Road!"

"Northern Liao is in a state of chaos, which is a great opportunity for our dynasty! Once the south is in chaos, our dynasty will have to devote some energy to deal with it!"

After the old lady finished speaking, Sheng Hong nodded: "Mother is right!"

"So how is the court going to deal with this matter?"

"Mother, after discussing with the officials in the court, they decided that it would be best to appease her and reprimand Princess Yong before giving me some rewards."

"Moreover, Guangnan West Road has the imperial guards under the command of Viscount Xie, and Xiong's brother, Earl Kang'an, has also recruited and trained a lot of soldiers. If our people are ignorant of education, our dynasty also has ways to deal with them."

The old lady listened to Sheng Hong's words and nodded slowly.

"But with the commotion on Guangnan West Road, I think some businesses will be affected." Sheng Hong said again.

Hearing this, the old lady sighed and said, "I heard that some of the life-saving and bleeding-stopping prescriptions used in the army include a medicine from the south, right?"

"Yes, mother. I heard that the Marquis' Mansion seems to be trying to cultivate it to see if it can be raised on the farm."

The old lady nodded: "I hope it won't delay things in the north."

Everyone in the school,

In the afternoon, I also learned what was happening in the south.

After school,
The people who left the school discussed for a while.

After leaving the Sheng family’s gate, everyone bowed and said goodbye and went home.

Xu Zaijing rode on his horse, looking at the servant of the Rong family waiting on the roadside, and leaned over to Zai Zhang and said, "Brother, tell mother that Rong Xian is treating us today, so I will be back later."

"Okay." Zai Zhang glanced at the servant of the Rong family, nodded, turned and left.

Afterwards, Xu Zaijing, accompanied by the servant of the Rong family, rushed towards the main street of Panlou.

Late autumn afternoon,

The weather has become a bit cool, especially after sunset in the evening.

When Xu Zaijing arrived at Panlou Main Street, the street was a little dim due to the shade of the wooden buildings along the street, so the main shops, brothels and roadside vendors along the street had hung up lanterns.

Looking at the flow of people and cars on the main street, listening to the noisy conversations and the sounds of stringed instruments and wind instruments in the buildings along the roadside, Panlou Main Street seemed to be even more lively than during the day.

Under the guidance of Rong's servant,
Xu Zaijing and his entourage turned from the busy main street and entered the alley.

Under the shelter of the buildings on both sides of the alley, the noisy and bustling sounds on the street seemed to be much quieter.

In front of a house with a lantern with the word "Ruan" hanging on it, Xu Zaijing, Qingyun and Yunxiang got off the carriage.

Yun Xiang, who came here for the first time, listened to the noise coming from the street not far away and looked back a few times.

What catches your eye are the towering Pan Building and Qiyun Building with lanterns hanging on them not far away.

"Yun Xiang." Qingyun called softly from the side.

"Oh!" Yun Xiang responded and hurried to catch up.

Entered the courtyard.

"Fifth Young Master, you haven't been here for a long time." Mother Ruan and Xu Zaijing said with a smile.

While Mother Ruan was speaking, the pretty maid standing beside her glanced at Xu Zaijing and bowed hastily.

And while looking at Xu Zaijing, this extremely pretty little maid also glanced at Yun Xiang, who was following behind Xu Zaijing with a curious look on her face.

Xu Zaijing smiled and nodded, "I think it's been three or four years."

Feeling Xu Zaijing's gaze sweeping over her, the little maid behind Mother Ruan naturally lowered her head and looked at the ground.

Mother Ruan continued, "What the Fifth Young Master said is true. When you came, Fang Niang was still in my courtyard."

Then, Mother Ruan extended her hand and said with a smile, "Please come in."

While speaking, Mother Ruan also glanced at Yun Xiang, her eyes full of admiration and praise.

Xu Zaijing smiled and nodded, saying, "Has Erlang arrived?"

"Here we are. We just got here not long ago."

Mother Ruan said as she guided Xu Zaijing into the house.

While walking, Xu Zaijing could vaguely hear the sound of pipa and other music coming from other rooms in the courtyard.

Looking at Xu Zaijing's sight in the candlelight, Mother Ruan smiled and said, "Fifth Young Master, it is Yang Xingshou who is teaching the girls how to play the pipa."

Hearing this,

Qingyun, who was following behind Xu Zaijing, also looked in the direction of the music.

"Ugh!"

Mother Ruan sighed softly. Qingyun glanced at Xu Zaijing who didn't say anything, and said at the right time: "Mother Ruan, why are you sighing?"

Mother Ruan turned her head to look at Xu Zaijing, smiled and said, "After Wei Xingshou and Yang Xingshou entered the palace to perform, it became increasingly difficult to invite them! If it weren't for our friendship, I don't know what to do with these girls under my command!"

Qingyun smiled and said, "Mother Ruan, you are too modest. If others said so, I would believe it, but I dare not believe it if you say so."

When I was talking earlier,
Yun Xiang walked side by side with the little maid beside Mother Ruan at the back.

The pretty little maid looked at Yun Xiang beside her with scrutiny in her eyes.

When Yun wanted to look over, the little maid quickly looked away.

When they were about to reach the private room where Rong Xian was, the little maid looked at Yun Xiang again. After exchanging glances with Yun Xiang, the little maid was stunned at first, then smiled.

In front of the two,

In the private room, Rong Xian was talking to Xu Zai Jing with a smile.

After saying a few polite words, Mrs. Ruan turned around and said goodbye.

On the way out, Mother Ruan looked at the maid beside her and said, "Shishi, what happened to you just now? Why did you become so obedient after looking at Master Xu Wu's maid?"

"Where's that determined pride you showed when you spoke to me before?"

Looking at the little maid who pursed her lips, Mother Ruan continued, "When you heard that Wei Xingtou had a crush on this girl before, you couldn't help but want to compete with her. What happened? Why don't you say anything?"

The maid called Shishi glanced at Mama Ruan and said, "Mama, did you see the maid next to this young master? I thought she would look at me as if she were a rival, or as if she were examining me for comparison."

"But there was an admiring look in her eyes, and her eyes were so gentle."

Mother Ruan curled her lips and said, "Humph! She was a girl who had been trained since she was a child. How can she be the same as someone like you who just became a nun halfway through life!"

As the master and the disciple were talking and walking outside, the courtyard door was knocked again.

Soon, a young servant in formal attire came in, bowed and said, "Mother Ruan, my Lord will be here soon."

Mother Ruan narrowed her eyes and said politely, "Excuse me, sir, I wonder which family you are from?"

"Mother Ruan, I am from the Marquis of Xiangyang Mansion."

When the servant was speaking, his eyes couldn't help but glance at the maid beside Mother Ruan.

With the candlelight in the yard, the servant almost thought he saw a fairy.

"Cough." Mother Ruan coughed lightly.

The servant quickly withdrew his gaze, looked at the back of Miss Shishi who turned and left, and then lowered his head.

"Okay, then I'll tell the two gentlemen in the private room." Mother Ruan replied.

"Thank you, Mom."

Less than two quarters of an hour,
Xu Zaijing and Rong Xian looked at Marquis of Xiangyang who entered the private room and hurriedly stood up and bowed.

“Hahahaha! You finally come out to play! I heard that you’ve become interested in calligraphy recently?”

"Come, take a look at this calligraphy I wrote!"

Rong Xian, who was standing nearby, glanced at the Xiangyang Marquis who was speaking, then looked at Xu Zaijing, and said hesitantly, "Brother Jing, why don't I also write a calligraphy?"

(End of this chapter)