I was exposed for adding my female boss to my group of female friends.

His wrists are now bare.

"What group?" Lu Ningna asked.

Lu Qingxuan put down her cup and said coolly, "Would you like to join the group where the family members usually share good things?"

"Hehe, no need."

Lu Ningna declined. She knew Lu Qingxuan's invitation wasn't genuine.

Lu Qingxuan looked up at Chen Ya and said, "Did Chen Sheng really abandon you in the countryside and only bring you back now?"

"What rural area?" Lu Ningna asked, her mouth slightly agape.

“Lu Shaohai said that he is Chen Shenghe’s child from his first marriage. He had been living in the countryside and was only recently brought back.”

"Really? Is that so? No wonder he was a stranger. I thought Chen Hai had gotten plastic surgery." Chai Xian laughed.

Lu Qingxuan stared at Chen Ya with her long-lashed eyes and asked:

"Lu Shaohai is a big mouth. He sometimes likes to exaggerate. He said you didn't graduate from junior high school. Is that really true?"

"Qingxuan!" Lu Ningna frowned, feeling it was inappropriate to say this in front of Chen Ya. "Don't... don't say this..."

After she finished speaking, she glanced at Chen Ya worriedly, but found that he had no expression.

Lu Qingxuan said, "Miss, please don't misunderstand. My question was not meant to be discriminatory at all. I was just curious. I have never had any prejudice against education. On the contrary, your attempt to guess his thoughts is likely to hurt people."

Lu Ningna's face turned bright red.

She could never handle her cousin, who was a little older than her.

Lu Qingxuan turned to look at Chen Ya and said:

"Don't take it to heart. I'm just curious about you because I've never been to the countryside."

Chen Ya sat down beside him, poured himself a cup of tea, gulped it down, and said:

"Then you really should go. Staying in the city for too long makes it easy to forget your nature as a natural person."

Lu Qingxuan raised her eyebrows slightly: "A natural person is not born a natural person, but a socialized animal. I don't think the countryside is not a society."

Chen Ya glanced at her and said, "Schulz's sociological ideas, right? But what I'm talking about has nothing to do with that theory. That's why I suggest you go and see for yourself."

Lu Qingxuan became serious and crossed her arms, saying, "Your manner of speaking doesn't sound like someone who didn't graduate from junior high school."

"I've just read a lot of miscellaneous books," Chen Ya smiled. "A few years ago, I worked as a librarian."

Chai Xian smiled and sat up straight, saying:

"Well, my opinion of you has changed a bit. You're actually quite self-taught. Why don't you go and get an adult bachelor's degree?"

"I don't have the time."

"Ahem," Lu Qingxuan coughed lightly and said, "I'm the one talking to him now."

Chai Xian grinned awkwardly and immediately fell silent.

Lu Liangchen didn't react at all, his face still bearing a relaxed smile, as if everything was going as he expected.

Chen Ya witnessed all of this, and immediately gained an understanding of the Lu family's structure and the status of these younger generations.

Lu Qingxuan placed one hand on her chest and asked, "Can you tell me what it's like in the countryside?"

"If we're only talking about China, then the countryside is like a live pearl that has failed to break free of its eggshell, while the city is like the countryside encased in cement."

Lu Qingxuan's eyes narrowed slightly, and she chuckled softly, saying, "Which scholar said this?"

"That's what I said."

“Then it’s not of any reference value,” Lu Qingxuan said. “Actually, what I want to hear is experience, not conclusions.”

"Then I suggest you go and take a walk by yourself."

"I don't have that kind of free time."

Lu Qingxuan retorted with the same words to Chen Ya, who simply smiled in response.

Lu Ningna looked left at Lu Qingxuan and then at Chen Ya. The two were exchanging glances, and she suddenly felt a little uncomfortable.

"Chen Ya... he's actually very capable."

"call……"

Lu Qingxuan placed her hand in front of her mouth, squinted her eyes, and elegantly suppressed a laugh. Then she opened her eyes, which seemed misty, and asked with a smile:

"Really? How powerful is it?"

Just as Lu Ningna was about to say something, a servant came over from outside the side hall and said, "It has already started. Great-Grandma instructed that it can be served."

Chapter 225 The presence of people before the feast is a sign of impending doom.

As everyone walked towards the main hall, Lu Liangchen and Lu Qingxuan lagged behind. Lu Qingxuan whispered:

What do you think?

Lu Liangchen stared intently at Chen Ya's back and whispered, "Hiss, I'm not sure. This guy doesn't seem like the junior high school dropout Lu Shaohai mentioned."

Lu Qingxuan rolled her eyes and said:

“Who asked him? That person is not important. I’m asking why Great-Grandma suddenly wants to eat at Fushou Hall today.”

Lu Liangchen was a little surprised: "Weren't you having a pleasant conversation with him just now?"

"Which eye of yours saw that I was happy?" Lu Qingxuan said irritably.

Lu Liangchen knew that Lu Qingxuan didn't like jokes, so he quickly stopped teasing her and said:

"Seriously, did you see anyone else come today?"

"Who? Are you talking about Li Siqing?" Lu Qingxuan asked.

“Yes,” Lu Liangchen nodded, “They probably want Lu Ningna to show off in front of us and solidify her position.”

Lu Qingxuan frowned slightly: "Possibly."

After saying that, she smiled bitterly again: "Great-grandmother is biased, everyone knows that, so why make such a fuss? It makes us look too mercenary and opportunistic. Nobody wants to compete with Lu Ningna for anything."

"Yes."

Lu Liangchen's words were somewhat vague.

He didn't say that he didn't want to compete with Lu Ningna for anything.

In this family, perhaps only someone as self-important as Lu Qingxuan would say such a thing with such confidence.

Lu Ningna is monopolizing the family's few remaining resources. Who wouldn't have some ulterior motives in that situation?

Once inside the main hall, the two quickly stopped talking privately and unconsciously distanced themselves from each other, both wearing business-like smiles.

Grandma Yu smiled warmly: "Please sit down, children, make yourself at home."

Although they said to sit anywhere, no one dared to sit on top of Lu Ningna. Only after she sat down did the others take their seats in turn.

Naturally, Chen Ya sat in the last seat.

"Good, good, good." Grandma Yu smiled kindly and said "good" three times in a row to the younger generation sitting in their seats.

The second great-grandfather moved slightly beside her, his face full of displeasure.

The clock behind them showed that it was already 12:10. Usually, he would have finished eating and was sunbathing outside in the yard by this time.

"This table is for twelve people, and eleven of them are seated now. There's only one seat left. That's great. It's wonderful that so many members of the Lu family are still able to eat together."

Lu Ningna said from below, "Grandma, what's there to be happy about? When we have dinner during the New Year, two or three tables are always full."

Grandma Yu asked, "Have you read 'Dream of the Red Chamber'?"

Lu Ningna said, "I have watched the TV series..."

"So you haven't read the original book?"

"I don't have time to look at that."

Lu Qingxuan said, "I've seen it."

Grandma Yu looked at Lu Qingxuan and said:

"Do you remember that chapter in 'Dream of the Red Chamber' where the entire Jia family gathered in the Grand View Garden for the Mid-Autumn Festival?"

Lu Qingxuan hesitated for a moment, then nodded and said, "I...remember."

“I didn’t understand it before, but now I do,” said Old Madam Yu with a strange expression. “When Grandmother Jia sat down at the table to lament the lack of family members, I felt the same way she did.”

Lu Qingxuan was immediately confused.

The time that Old Lady Yu was referring to was Chapter 75 of "Dream of the Red Chamber," which reads, "A strange omen appears at the night banquet, and a good omen is found when appreciating new poems for the Mid-Autumn Festival." This is the only time Cao Xueqin wrote about the Mid-Autumn Festival in the Jia family.

However, although the Mid-Autumn Festival seemed lively and festive on the surface, it was full of signs that the family was about to decline.

It is exactly the same as the current Lu family.

Lu Qingxuan couldn't understand why her great-grandmother would suddenly say such a thing.

This is very unlucky.

She has always been fearless and never hides her doubts. She has always believed that if there are ominous signs, pointing them out directly will make them less ominous.

So Lu Qingxuan spoke up: "Great-grandmother, I have something to say, which may be unpleasant to hear, and I don't know if I should say it."

Grandma Yu smiled and said, "Then go ahead and say it. If it's really unpleasant to hear, I'll take it as just childish talk."

Sitting next to her, an uncle from the Lu family chuckled, "Great-grandmother, Qingxuan is already in her mid-twenties; she's not a child anymore."

She said, "In my eyes, you are all children. Qingxuan, you speak."

Lu Qingxuan said, "Great-grandmother, I read the annotated version of Dream of the Red Chamber. I've also seen the place you mentioned. Zhiyan Zhai's annotation there is 'Before drinking, the people are already moved, which is always a sign of impending dispersal.' Isn't what you said rather ominous?"

The phrase "Before drinking, the presence of people is a sign of impending doom" startled several uncles and elders, causing their faces to turn pale. Even Lu Liangchen looked at her with suspicion and uncertainty.

"Children speak without thinking, children speak without thinking!" Uncle said. "Qingxuan, you can punish yourself with a cup of wine, and that will not count as you saying anything wrong."

Grandma Yu reached out and stopped the uncle from saying anything more.

"Qingxuan is right, it is unlucky, but I was just about to say it, it is unlucky," said Old Madam Yu with a serious expression. "Something that happened not long ago reminded me of this chapter in 'Dream of the Red Chamber.' My Lu family is just like the Ningguo Mansion and the Rongguo Mansion!"

Do you know what happened this morning?

After speaking, her gaze turned cold and sharp as she scanned the people at the table, saying:

"When I was drinking tea this morning, I suddenly noticed that the Lu'an Melon Seed tea in my family had been changed from Ti Pian to Mei Pian. I asked the steward, Cheng, and he said that the estate wanted to save money, so they had to make do with this tea."

“I was very angry. After I got angry, I thought of this chapter in ‘Dream of the Red Chamber’ with sadness: ‘A clever wife can’t make porridge without rice.’ Just because a girl was added, even the rice was scarce. It can be seen that this family has already gone down the drain.”

Everyone in the seats, except for Chen Ya, dared not breathe while listening to Grandma Yu speak.

Grandma Yu shook her head and continued:

"So at noon today, I said I would call all my family members over, especially the younger generation. I wanted to see if any of the younger generation in the family had a proper job, or if they were all going to be idle and unable to support the family that the older generation had built."

Upon hearing this, the younger generation all replied that they would never let their great-grandmother down.

Lu Qingxuan's voice was clear and crisp: "Great-grandmother, Lu Ningna is not Lin Daiyu, and I am not Wang Xifeng. The future of the Lu family will not decline in our hands."

“Alright.” Grandma Yu nodded. “Then our Lu family will also have to change some rules. Just like reform, we need to bring in some new ideas to stand up again. From now on, we will select people based on their talents. Today, Grandma will play a game with everyone.”

She waved her hand, and the servants poured a glass of wine for everyone at their tables. Grandma Yu said:

"We'll drink today, but it can't just be drinking. Each of you younger generation members has to perform your best talent for your uncles, elders, and Teacher Li Siqing to see. Whoever performs the best will be rewarded by Grandma."

Upon hearing this, Lu Qingxuan and Lu Liangchen exchanged a glance.

Both of them thought to themselves: Just as I thought!

After all that buildup and the promise to see the younger generation showcase their talents, it's clear that the intention isn't to have them compete, but rather to let Lu Ningna demonstrate her skills in front of everyone!

It seems that Lu Ningna has made good progress in learning from Li Siqing and has already gained some skill in playing the violin.

Everyone has witnessed firsthand the resources the family has recently invested in Lu Ningna:

First, they hired Li Siqing, a national-level violinist, as her violin teacher, and then sent her to participate in various competitions, pulling strings and getting her to win several awards.

Some media outlets with good relations with the family began to publish articles introducing Ning Na, calling her a "rising star in the classical music world"... No one is more familiar with this tactic than the Lu family members.

In the past, Aihua would always use this method if it wanted to make a star famous.

Since the family lost Aihua Company, they have few resources left. They want to use the last of their influence in the entertainment industry to make Lu Ningna a hot topic and make her a "violin goddess".