Bringing the Railway to Daming

The autumn wind is bleak, and the weather at the end of October is already a bit chilly.

After leaving the newspaper office, Liu Ruoxue rode a brand-new women's bicycle at a leisurely pace along the street.

A maid and a female guard followed behind on bicycles.

To make it easier to ride a bicycle, she couldn't possibly wear a skirt; instead, she wore women's trousers and a pale white long shirt with a hem that reached three-tenths of the way to her knees, the cuffs of which were quite narrow for that time.

Liu Ruoxue's attire was not unusual in the capital at that time—many women dressed similarly for convenience when going out to do errands.

For example, the female guards behind them wore tighter, short-sleeved outfits to make fighting easier.

Liu Ruoxue did not return to the Liu residence, but instead went with her maids and guards to a teahouse called "Tianranju".

Although located in the inner city, this teahouse occupies a considerable area, consisting of three buildings and a large courtyard. Its elegant yet refined decor exudes understated luxury, making it one of the most popular places for high-ranking officials in the capital to conduct business and relax.

After Liu Ruoxue arrived, she went directly to a private room on the third floor of the west building, where someone was already waiting—Liu Ruoyue.

"Why are you so late, elder sister? I think that person has been here for a while now," Liu Ruoyue said as she approached.

Liu Ruoxue said, "I was a little delayed by work—the agreed time was 6:30, and there's still a quarter of an hour left. Where is that person?"

"It's over there in the Cuihua Pavilion," Liu Ruoyue whispered, pointing to another private room on the third floor.

Liu Ruoxue smiled and said, "Alright, then go and test him according to the plan. Remember, don't go overboard like last time."

Liu Ruoyue looked embarrassed and said, "Oh well, once bitten, twice shy. This time I'll definitely be more careful."

After saying that, she took out a mirror to check if her makeup and attire were appropriate, then straightened her clothes and went out.

Liu Ruoxue, along with her maid and guards, remained in the private room, looking out at the "Cuihua Pavilion" through the open window.

It turns out that Liu Ruoxue came here to "go on a blind date".

According to the traditional customs of the Ming Dynasty, one family would take their child to visit the other family. Ostensibly, the two families would have a chat, but the two children would have a brief meeting in between—generally, the woman would secretly glance at the man to see if he was satisfied.

In the past, this was considered a relatively enlightened approach by parents.

After all, in the past, most marriages were arranged by parents and matchmakers, and the couple had never met before marriage.

It was only in the last one or two decades that the atmosphere in the Ming Dynasty became more open and young people became more independent that this change gradually occurred.

The Liu family, however, was more lenient in their control over their children in this regard.

Therefore, when Liu Ruoxue said that it would be too troublesome to invite people to the Liu residence one by one, because it was impossible to invite the men to the matchmaking meeting individually, and their elders would also need to be invited, then Liu Kuan and Zhu Huilan would need to be there—Zhu Huilan was fine, but Liu Kuan, as the head of the Tiangong Academy and a Grand Councilor, was quite busy on a daily basis.

Moreover, if Liu Ruoxue ultimately doesn't approve of the person after inviting them to her home, it will be somewhat embarrassing for the other party.

Therefore, Liu Ruoxue suggested imitating the arranged marriages of later generations, allowing her to meet the other party privately first, and if they felt it was a good match, then their parents could meet.

Liu Ruoxue did not take a liking to him during their first two meetings.

Later, Liu Ruoyue also got involved in the matter and suggested that she test the character of the blind date to prevent Liu Ruoxue from misjudging people and meeting the wrong person.

As a result, the third time, Liu Ruoyue, lacking experience, gave herself away during the test, causing the other party to get angry and leave. The fourth test went smoothly, but Liu Ruoxue didn't take a liking to the person. By the fifth time, Liu Ruoyue didn't handle the situation well and actually made the person mistake her for Liu Ying. Although she did manage to find out the person's character was not good, she also made herself quite embarrassed.

Therefore, this time Liu Ruoxue instructed Liu Ruoyue to be careful and secretly decided that if Liu Ruoyue still did not handle things well, she would not let her participate.

After all, if their parents found out, they would definitely get a scolding...

After Liu Ruoyue went over, she pushed open the door and went inside. What happened inside was unknown to Liu Ruoxue and the others for the time being, as the two private rooms were some distance apart and had good soundproofing.

About a minute later, Liu Ruoyue came out and politely closed the door to the private room.

Afterwards, Liu Ruoyue took a closer look and saw that the person did not come out or open the window to look in this direction. She then deliberately went around in circles and returned to the private room where Liu Ruoxue was.

"What do you think of this young master Liang?" Liu Ruoxue asked.

"Don't be in such a hurry, elder sister." Liu Ruoyue smiled and deliberately kept everyone in suspense. She drank a cup of tea first, sat down, and then said, "After I went in, I followed the same routine and said that I had the wrong private room. I also asked the young masters around me about the location of other private rooms."

"From beginning to end, this young master Liang was very polite. He not only did not exchange many words with me, but he also did not even glance at me more than a few times."

Liu Ruoxue smiled upon hearing this, but said, "With such a beautiful face as my sister, how could he resist looking at her for long? Could it be that he has a problem with his tastes?"

Liu Ruoyue covered her mouth and chuckled, "Why don't you go and find out for yourself, eldest sister?"

Liu Ruoxue said, "Now that he has passed the first test, I naturally want to see him—please lend me the mirror."

"Tsk tsk, it must be really difficult for you to get ready in front of the mirror like this, eldest sister." As she spoke, Liu Ruoyue took out the mirror and the makeup box from her handbag, as if she was going to touch up Liu Ruoxue's powder.

Liu Ruoxue merely tidied her hair and clothes slightly, refused to accept the extra points, and then left with her maid and female guards.

Upon arriving at the entrance of Cuihua Pavilion, she naturally didn't push the door open like Liu Ruoyue, but instead knocked on it.

Soon, a fairly handsome young man opened the door, glanced at the three of them, and asked, "Is it Miss Liu Ruoxue in person?"

Liu Ruoxue bowed and said, "Indeed, you must be Young Master Liang."

"Yes, Miss Liu, please come in."

As he spoke, Young Master Liang made way for the three of them, master and servant, and then left the door open.

Liu Ruoxue, however, had her maid close the door—she had no habit of letting passersby watch her go on blind dates.

Only then did she take a closer look at the young master Liang in front of her.

This young master Liang was probably close to 1.8 meters tall, more than half a head taller than her. He didn't look particularly strong, but he wasn't thin either. He had a traditional scholar's air about him.

At the same time, Liu Ruoxue also recalled information about this Mr. Liang.

His name is Liang Qiushi, and he is 25 years old. After graduating from the Imperial University of Peking, he went on to study Confucianism at the Imperial Academy. This year, he graduated with excellent grades and was admitted to the Hanlin Academy as an official. Although he is currently only a ninth-rank scribe, he has already obtained an official position, and his future is very bright.

As for Liang Qiushi's family, they were originally small landowners, owning two or three thousand acres of land.

However, his father seized the opportunity presented by the imperial court's emphasis on commerce more than twenty years ago, and engaged in business in the Jiangnan region. He had become a well-known merchant in Hangzhou, owning several factories and dozens of shops, with assets likely exceeding one million strings of cash. (End of Chapter)