I'm not a fortune teller.

Chapter 56 Good Father.
"Brother, this place is so big!"

As soon as Zhang Meng entered the house, his eyes began to light up.

Zhang Rui and the chief steward walked in the front, and as it was not yet dark, they could see clearly that the house was indeed very large. It was a courtyard with three entrances and three routes formed by a strict central axis symmetry. The layout was neat, dignified and orderly.

The courtyard is filled with pavilions and towers with flying eaves and green tiles, which are intertwined and winding, and are exquisite and elegant, yet majestic.

"This courtyard decoration looks very new." Zhang Rui said, looking around.

"It was renovated just before the New Year." The butler rubbed his hands and smiled, "This is the residence of Wang Yuanlong, the former Minister of Rites. He was found to have participated in cheating in the Spring Examination three years ago and his house was confiscated by the emperor. This mansion was bought by my master."

"It was renovated just before the New Year, so it shouldn't have been specially prepared for me in the beginning, right?" Zhang Rui said with a smile.

The housekeeper did not hide anything when he heard this, and whispered, "Have you heard of An Qixuan, sir?"

"More than just heard of it." Zhang Rui narrowed his eyes when he heard it.

When I was still taking the exam for Tongsheng, I had heard of the name of that child prodigy. He was a scholar at the age of seven, and he was the top scorer. I studied hard for ten years but failed. I couldn’t even pass the Tongsheng exam, but a child who was at least five years younger than me even passed the Xiucheng exam. When I failed the Xiucheng exam, that child prodigy passed the Nanming Prefecture Jieyuan at the age of thirteen! !

This made me, a time traveler, doubt my life several times.

In my previous life, I lived more than 30 years longer than others, but it really was like living a dog's stomach.

"That talented man is coming to Beijing to take the exam this year."

"You came to Beijing to take the exam only this year?" Zhang Rui was stunned. When he passed the examination for the scholar, the other party was already the top scorer. Later, he cheated with a pen and became a Jinshi after four years. He has been an official for three years, but the other party did not even take part in the joint examination?

"Are you here aiming to win three prizes in a row?" Zhang Rui asked curiously.

"Not only that," the housekeeper said with a smile, "The An family was a family that helped Taizu conquer the world. Back then, their status in the capital was higher than that of my Lu family. It was just that Emperor Hongzhi participated in the struggle for succession and stood on the wrong side. They were tricked into leaving the capital and retreated to Jiangnan where they have been for more than two hundred years."

"An Qixuan is a top genius. I heard that he inherited the family's magic last year. It seems that he is planning to let the An family return to the capital this time."

"So this house was originally prepared for the great talent An?" Zhang Rui said with a smile.

"The An family and my Lu family have been friends for many years. Even though they fell into poverty and moved to Jiangnan, they still kept in touch. Lu Sheng's aunt married the third master of the An family."

"Given this relationship, I'm afraid it wouldn't be a good idea for me to take this house, right?"

"Your Excellency, please feel free to stay here. We will make other plans for Master An. Besides, the Master also thinks that you are more worthy of being won over than the one from the An family."

"Oh?" Zhang Rui immediately smiled and said, "Your Excellency the Duke has a good eye."

housekeeper:"."

This guy is really not humble at all.

"What do you think, Mom?" Zhang Rui turned around and looked at his mother who was looking around and seemed dazzled.

"Okay, okay," the old woman rubbed her hands excitedly.

She had never thought in her life that she would be able to live in such a nice house, and in the capital.

When I was living in the countryside, my biggest dream was that my child could pass the imperial examination, that an elementary school could be set up in the countryside, and that my thatched cottage could be replaced by a tiled house with stone slabs.

When his son became a county magistrate, his family had some money, but they had never lived in such a big house. Fuchun County was poor and remote, and the county government office they lived in was pitifully small. Although it was much better than a house in the countryside, how could it compare with this big house with its own pond?
"It's just... too expensive, isn't it?" The old woman was still a little sober.

According to what the postmaster said, an ordinary house in the capital city would cost several thousand taels. A house in this core area would probably cost at least hundreds of thousands of taels, right?
"You are welcome, old lady." The butler said with a smile, "Master Zhang and my master are close friends regardless of age difference. This little thing is nothing to my master. Besides, Master Zhang is a capable man with a promising future. This house is just a temporary grievance for him."

"Oh, my son, how can he bear this responsibility?" The old lady burst into laughter.

The butler quickly apologized with a smile, but he was extremely confused in his heart.

Lord Zhang's family looks like a group of ordinary people. The old lady has been the county magistrate for three years but she still can't change her country air. She doesn't look like a hermit family at all.

Where did this Zhang get all these skills?
Or is it the more secretive kind of inheritance that is passed down from generation to generation?
"I'm sorry to trouble the Duke and Butler Lu this time." Zhang Rui turned around and said with a smile.

"Master Zhang, you are being polite. By the way, I see that Master Zhang has only brought his family and grooms with him this time. Do you need me to find a good broker for Master Zhang and some good servants for you?"

"That's not necessary." Zhang Rui waved his hand and said, "My wife will be going to the capital soon, and the servants she has with her are enough."

When the housekeeper heard the other party talking about the lady, a strange look flashed in his eyes. He remembered that when he set a trap for the other party three years ago, he owed tens of thousands of taels of high interest for Miss Nightingale. He was so crazy. But now he has no intention of mentioning Miss Nightingale at all. Was it really just a show three years ago?
Thinking of this, he decided to test it again and whispered, "Does your Excellency still remember Miss Nightingale?"

Zhang Rui was stunned. Miss? Did he still have romantic debts here?

No way?
Nightingale? This name sounds like a girl from a brothel.

"Of course I remember." Zhang Rui turned around and smiled.

The housekeeper also smiled when he heard this and said, "Miss Nightingale has been thinking about Master Zhang all the time. I heard that Master Zhang has arrived in the capital, and she has been asking about him for half a month."

"I am really ashamed." Zhang Rui smiled awkwardly, "I did some ridiculous things when I was young, but I have a decent family, so I can only let you down."

"Isn't it normal for a man to have three wives and four concubines?" The housekeeper laughed when he heard this: "Why bother yourself, sir? With your ability, it would be a blessing for Miss Nightingale even if she becomes a concubine." "That's not necessary." Zhang Rui shook his head.

The old lady next to her had her eyes lit up when she heard this topic, but as she listened, she realized that the so-called Nightingale was probably not a decent woman. She didn't want her son to mess with such a woman. She would rather have a legitimate daughter from a local scholarly family in the capital.

"Your Excellency is really free and easy." The housekeeper smiled and said, "There are many young men in the capital who are willing to spend lavishly on Miss Nightingale."

"My family is poor, and I really don't have that kind of luck." Zhang Rui waved his hand: "Butler Lu, there is no need to persuade me anymore."

The housekeeper took a deep look at Zhang Rui and nodded: "Then I will write a reply. As for whether Miss Nightingale accepts it or not, I can't control it. After all, it was you who took the initiative to provoke her in the first place, hahahaha."

Zhang Rui: “.”
-
"Let me be your concubine?"

Qingfeng Tower started out as a teahouse, but now it is the largest brothel in the capital. Nightingale is one of the three top performers in Qingfeng Tower. She is an expert in both playing the piano and dancing, and has attracted countless young men from wealthy families. They spend money like water, but all they get is a song and a dance from this beauty.

Back then, Zhang Rui was just a poor scholar who had never seen the world. Compared with the princes and nobles in the capital, he was not even as good as an ant. Yet, he was personally served tea by such a beauty and had a relationship with her as if they were soulmates. One can imagine how flattered the poor boy was, to the point that he was willing to owe a loan shark tens of thousands of taels of silver for it.

In fact, Yeying has many such men. She is the hidden pawn that the Lu family has cultivated with all their efforts. In order to win over the seedlings, she has lowered herself to accompany many down-and-out scholars. However, she never thought that one day she would actually commit herself to such a man, and even be a concubine! !
Lu Sheng sighed: "This is my father's decision."

He looked at the graceful woman in front of him. The black veil could not hide her graceful figure. Even with the veil, she could attract a man's heart. When she entered the mansion, she was still a six-year-old girl, and she had already attracted the love of himself and Lu Yuan. In the words of the elders, she was a natural beauty, one in a million.

When the woman heard the other party say that it was the Duke's intention, her face turned pale instantly under the black veil.

Everyone says that the Duke of Lu is a low-key person. Only insiders know that the Duke is the most powerful person in the Lu family, and no one can question his words.

"Da Lang." The woman looked at Lu Sheng pitifully and could only place her hopes on the eldest son of the Duke's Mansion.

"No one can go against my father's will, not even me." Lu Sheng sighed and shook his head: "The day after tomorrow you will come with Butler Lu, don't think about dealing with him, if Butler Lu finds out that you are not sincere, you know the consequences!"

The resentment on the woman's face gradually disappeared when she heard this, and she revealed a cold expression. It turned out that most men are heartless.

When they were young, she and Lu Yuan argued with each other to please her, but now he can easily push her to others as a concubine.

"I still have some impression of that scholar named Zhang, but he is just a coward. I wonder what the Duke's intention is? Am I Nightingale so worthless?"

"Everyone was wrong back then." Lu Sheng looked at the other party seriously: "According to what Butler Lu reported back, they are not interested in marrying you."

"What?" Nightingale was stunned when she heard that, then sneered: "Pretending!"

She had seen many so-called hermit family children. How talented was the one from the An family? Didn't he fall at her feet?

Even the way the National Fair looked at him on public day couldn't conceal that desire, so how could the man surnamed Zhang still be so arrogant?
I want to see how far I can go!
"Dad, why are you here?"

In Fuchuan County, Luo, who had just taken care of everything, was about to leave overnight, but she heard from her servants that her father had come here. She was immediately startled and hurried out to meet him.

Ever since that heartless guy became the county magistrate, I followed him to the north and haven't seen my family for three years. My father's business is all in the south of the Yangtze River. This time he actually came all the way here. Was it because of my letter?

Sure enough, the middle-aged man, who looked exhausted, didn't even have time to take a sip of tea before he said directly: "I rushed here as soon as I received your letter. Fortunately, you haven't left yet, otherwise I would have to go to look for you again."

Then he took out a thick stack of banknotes and said, "Keep it!"

"Dad, what is this?"

"I was indeed wrong back then!" The man sighed, "I visited several masters before I arranged for you to marry this Zhang. According to the masters, with his qualifications, he had no hope of passing the imperial examination. So I thought of using our family's financial resources to find him a county magistrate in Jiangnan, which would be considered a good match. You would become the wife of an official and get rid of your business status, while he is a poor farm boy who relied on our family to buy an official position. We will not dare to be too harsh on you, and you should have no problems in this life."

"But I didn't expect this kid to have such good luck that he only took the exam once in Beijing and got second place, and started directly as a county magistrate. After only three years, he was transferred to the capital to serve as an official. This speed of promotion is not something that those noble sons with good backgrounds can match."

"When I saw your letter, I knew it was going to be bad. Your mother-in-law is a realistic person and will most likely persuade him to divorce his wife. This time, your father came to see if the Zhang family would really go back on their word. If he still has a little conscience and remembers your contributions to the Zhang family over the years, as long as he doesn't divorce you, anything can be discussed. Your father sold two shops and got this cash. The Zhang family is poor and can't even afford a house in a place like the capital. With this money, it won't be a problem to buy a courtyard house in the northern district at least."

The "Dad" girl burst into tears. Years of grievances and her old father's protection made the girl cry uncontrollably.

"Oh, child, you are so old, why are you crying?" The middle-aged man hurriedly wiped away his daughter's tears with heartache.

"You have so much money, how many shops did you sell? Stepmother..."

"Don't worry about her!" The old father laughed and said, "The money is earned by your father and me. How can a woman like her make trouble?"

The woman cried even louder when she heard this.

She lost her mother at an early age, but her father never neglected her because he married a stepmother. Even though her stepmother gave birth to two big fat boys, her father still gave her a generous dowry. As the saying goes, a daughter who is married off is like spilled water, but her father was still able to sell his property for her. With such a father, she was actually very contented in the first half of her life.

I shouldn't have dreamed of becoming an official's wife. I should have listened to my father and found a local boy from a good family, such as my cousin. How could I be suffering the grievances I suffer now?

“Oh, my dear Yaoyao,” the middle-aged man said with a distressed look on his face. “Don’t cry, don’t cry. Dad will go to Beijing with you. If the Zhang family doesn’t want you, but Dad wants you, let’s go back. Dad can still find you a better one. At least give you a divorce certificate. If he dares to go too far, even if it means making a big fuss, I will ruin his reputation as an official!!”

"Yeah," the woman nodded aggrievedly.

She was tired too. If the Zhang family didn't want her, she would go back with her father. Even if her stepmother disliked her, she would be more obedient and never aim too high again.

　I have to go with my wife to set off fireworks, happy new year everyone! !

　　
　
(End of this chapter)