Chapter 2: Vulgar Routines
Tian'en Marquis Mansion, reception hall.
In the lavishly decorated hall, Madam Hu, the mistress of Tian'en Marquis's Mansion, had a gloomy face and sat upright in the main seat in the middle.
Seeing Lu Yi standing in the middle of the hall, tall, plump, beautiful as a peach, and quite handsome, but with a pair of triangular eyes that looked a little mean, Mrs. Hu snorted coldly and looked him up and down in an extremely critical manner.
Marquis Tian'en Lu Yu was just an insignificant branch of the Duke of Lai's Mansion. His talent and character were ordinary. He was not outstanding among the huge family members of the Duke of Lai's Mansion. He just relied on the power of the Duke's Mansion to become a small officer in the Yulin Army.
Mrs. Hu was born into an ordinary merchant family. As a woman, she had never studied seriously, and she did not have the upbringing of a lady from a noble family. She was also born to be aggressive and cunning.
When she married Lu Yu, her family gave her a very thick dowry, which was a perfect combination of "money" and "power". In addition, she was quite pretty, so Lu Yu must have married her because of her looks.
But she did not expect that she had such a blessing in her life. Just two years after she married Lu Yu and gave birth to two sons for him, Lu Yu inexplicably made a great contribution and was conferred the title of "Marquis of Tian'en" by the emperor.
Mrs. Hu suddenly turned from a gray sparrow into a phoenix. Her spirit and arrogance were completely different from what they were before.
Lu Yi bowed to Mrs. Hu and respectfully called her "Aunt".
According to the theory of clan blood relationship, Lu Yi's great-grandfather and the grandfather of Tian'en Hou Lu Tai (tai, the same as "big", "sunshine") were half-brothers. Lu Yi was the legitimate nephew of Tian'en Hou, so the title of "aunt" was very appropriate.
In the hall, besides Mrs. Hu, there were two other guests.
One was a man wearing a green brocade robe and a three-beam green gauze winged crown. He looked to be in his early thirties. He sat on the guest seat to the left of Mrs. Hu, holding a fine porcelain teacup in both hands, crossing his legs, looking at Lu Yi with an arrogant look and a sidelong look of disdain.
The other one was a girl of the same age as Lu Yi. She was wearing a white palace skirt with dark plum patterns and a small silver fox fur vest. She had red lips, white teeth, willow-shaped eyebrows and big eyes, and a tall figure. She was as charming as a willow in the wind.
The girl was originally very quiet and indifferent, looking like a 'beautiful lady from another world' who had nothing to do with worldly affairs.
But when she suddenly saw Lu Yi, the girl's eyes suddenly lit up, her gaze was like fire, and she glued it tightly to Lu Yi's upright, resolute and masculine face.
From a pair of heroic sword-like eyebrows, to a pair of bright eyes like cold stars, to the straight nose bridge, strong lip lines, and light brown skin like refined bronze.
The girl's eyes seemed to be coated with glue, sweeping across Lu Yi's face inch by inch and bit by bit.
Then, she quickly measured Lu Yi's stature with her eyes - her eyes suddenly lit up again.
Lu Yu was nearly nine feet tall, with broad shoulders, a wolf-like waist, slender and powerful arms and legs, and a figure as straight as a pine tree. His resolute appearance made him look even more masculine and powerful, and his temperament was completely different from those handsome men she usually interacted with.
But soon, the girl realized her mistake.
She slightly adjusted her sitting posture, restrained her expression, and returned to her original cold and quiet temperament, like a solitary orchid in a valley.
Lu Yu couldn't help but look at the girl twice more.
Lu Yi had never seen a girl with such beauty before in his life.
He usually studied at the Lu clan school in the Duke of Lai's Mansion, and had seen the daughters of the Duke of Lai's Mansion from afar several times.
Those rich young ladies were rich but not smart enough. Their temperament was far inferior to that of the girl in front of them.
However, although this girl is beautiful, she is like a beauty in a painting or a flower shadow in the water, which always feels unreal.
'Ding Dong'.
The man next to him closed the lid of the teacup and placed it on the small table beside him.
The man flicked the hem of his clean robe with his right hand and said softly, "Madam Hu, you are the mistress of the Marquis' Mansion. All the people in the Tian'en Marquis' Mansion are under your control and management. Please make the decision on ."
Mrs. Hu, who had a gloomy face, forced a smile, then she slapped the armrest of the chair with her right hand and pointed at Lu Yi.
"Lu Yu, it turns out that you are a poor and unlucky person."
Lu Yu was startled by Mrs. Hu's sudden rebuke. He looked at Mrs. Hu in astonishment and said, "Aunt, what did my nephew do wrong?"
Mrs. Hu looked at him with disgust: "What a disgrace."
After a slight pause, Mrs. Hu pointed at the man and said, "This is Mr. Bai Qiong, you should have an impression of him."
Before Lu Yi could speak, Mrs. Hu pointed at the girl again and said, "This Miss Bai Lu, you should also know her name."
Mrs. Hu clapped her hands vigorously and said in a cold voice, "You are not worthy of her, so hand over the marriage certificate and write a letter of withdrawal saying 'I am ashamed of my lack of talent and knowledge, and I am unethical and unscrupulous' to her, and end this matter!"
Lu Yi's eyes widened, and he looked at Mrs. Hu and the other two in shock and anger, and his gaze finally fell on the man Bai Qiong.
It’s okay to admit that you are ‘not very talented and knowledgeable’!
To admit that one is "immoral and unscrupulous" in the Dayinwu Dynasty, in this era, is to ruin one's future and life!
"Is it my father-in-law in person?" Lu Yi's voice turned cold.
Bai Qiong's face changed slightly, and he picked up the teacup again and took a big sip of tea. He said nothing, not even bothering to say a word to Lu Yi.
"Do you still have any shame? You're calling your father-in-law?" Madam Hu slapped the armrest vigorously and shouted, "How could a bastard like you who has no sense of shame and is obsessed with getting rich appear among the Lu family members of Tian'en Marquis Mansion?"
'Shameless and clinging to the rich and powerful'?
Lu Yi felt a surge of anger in his heart, and a vein in the middle of his forehead bulged out, beating rapidly "bang bang bang".
"Aunt, where do you get this from?" Lu Yi's voice gradually rose, and he scolded: "The young lady of the Bai family and I are indeed engaged, but this engagement was left by my grandfather. At that time, not to mention me, even my father was not born yet. How can Lu Yi be so 'shameless' and 'cling to the rich'?"
Mrs. Hu was speechless.
Although she is the mistress of Tian'en Marquis' Mansion and a super-rank marquis' wife of the imperial dynasty.
But she came from a small merchant family, had never been to school since childhood, and could not even recognize a few words.
In the Marquis' Mansion, she was a top-notch expert at taking advantage of her status as the mistress to bully others.
But if you ask her to reason or to refute others head-on, she doesn't have the ability to do so.
Bai Qiong snorted coldly, playing with the teacup lid in his hand, still without saying a word.
Bai Lu sighed softly, clasped her hands on her knees, moved her red lips slightly, and spoke.
Her voice was so clear and sweet, just like jade beads falling into a silver plate, the "ding ding dong dong" sound was so pleasant to the ear, even Lu Yi's anger inexplicably subsided a little.
"Mr. Lu is right. Our marriage was indeed arranged by our two grandfathers."
Bai Lu stood up and stood in front of Lu Yi, her beautiful eyes never leaving his handsome face.
"As Mr. Lu said, when the marriage contract was signed, neither your father nor I were born yet. In the final analysis, this marriage contract was just a spur of the moment decision made by the two old men after drinking."
Bai Lu looked at Lu Yi and smiled, "What do you think, Master Lu?"
Lu Yi put his hands into his sleeves again, looked at Bai Lu dimly, and said coldly: "I was just drunk and said something frivolous. Back then, the grandfather of the Bai family..."
Bai Lu interrupted Lu Yu and looked at him with a smile: "After all, we are just thinking about the past, which happened decades ago. Let's not talk about the past, but just talk about the present, okay?"
When Lu Yu wanted to speak, Mrs. Hu was already scolding him: "Shut up and listen to what the young lady from the Bai family has to say."
Veins on Lu Yu's forehead throbbed and he pursed his lips tightly.
Tian'en Hou Lu Yu is the head of this branch of the Lu clan.
Lu Yu is now leading the troops to garrison outside, and the Tian'en Marquis' Mansion is ruled by Madam Hu, the mistress.
According to the Dayin clan laws, the life and death, honor and disgrace of thousands of Lu family members in Tian'en Marquis' Mansion all depend on Madam Hu's decision.
If an ordinary member of the clan was punished by Madam Hu, he would be beaten to death, and the Dayin government had no power to interfere in the clan's internal affairs.
Lu Yi took a deep breath, lowered his head slightly , and pretended to listen attentively.
Mrs. Hu sneered with satisfaction.
Bai Lu smiled lightly and said calmly, "We won't talk about what happened back then. But as for what's happening right now, Mr. Lu, do you still remember what our ancestor said to you when you first came to visit us five years ago?"
Of course Lu Yi remembered.
Five years ago, Lu Yi just turned ten years old. According to the folk customs of Dayin, a ten-year-old boy is called "Xiao Lang", which means he is considered "half an adult" and is qualified to represent his family to visit old friends and make friends.
For the first time, Lu Yi prepared gifts and went to visit the Bai family.
During that visit, Lu Yi did not meet other people from the Bai family. Only Bai Lu's grandfather Bai Changkong came out to meet him.
At the Bai family, Lu Yi only drank half a cup of lukewarm "cold" tea, and after receiving a few words of "earnest teachings" from Bai Changkong that were neither cold nor hot, neither salty nor bland, he was "politely sent away".
Bai Lu smiled and nodded when she saw Lu Yi nod, "My ancestors said that you should study hard, work hard, and seek a promising family, so that you can fulfill your marriage contract."
Lu Yu's heart skipped a beat.
He raised his head and looked seriously at Bai Lu, who was as beautiful as a flower and full of smiles, and then looked at Bai Qiong, who had a proud and impatient look on his face and was sitting with his legs crossed and shaking constantly.
"Yes, Mr. Bai asked me to study hard and make progress five years ago. He also said that if I didn't make any achievements, it would not only bring shame to myself, but also bring disgrace to the Bai family and make Miss Bai lose face." Lu Yi's smile gradually became brighter: "So, in the past five years, I haven't visited you again."
Bai Lu smiled, her eyes as fiery as she scanned Lu Yi's handsome face again.
Bai Qiong said sarcastically, "If you are someone who is eager to make progress, my Bai family will be happy to marry you."
Shaking his head, Bai Qiong knocked the teacup lid against the teacup, making a 'ding ding' sound.
"But look at you. You have wasted your time and neglected your studies over the past few years. You can say that you have achieved nothing. I am not wronging you, am I?"
Knocking the teacup vigorously, Bai Qiong scolded, "In the fifteenth year of Jiayou, your clan's year-end evaluation was a poor one."
"In the sixteenth year of Jiayou, your clan's year-end assessment was a poor one."
"In the seventeenth year of Jiayou, your clan's end-of-year assessment was a poor one."
"This year, the eighteenth year of Jiayou, your clan's end-of-year assessment, well, there has been some improvement, but it is still in the lower middle school, and the results are still shameful!"
Bai Qiong shook his head and sighed, "I am a very straightforward person. I always say what I mean and never fear offending anyone. The family school of Duke Lai's mansion is not considered good in the whole of Gaojing. To say it is third-rate is a bit harsh. To say it is only second-rate is very appropriate."
"You can only get a low-level assessment in a second-rate clan school."
Bai Qiong threw the teacup onto the small table, stood up, put his hands behind his back, walked in front of Lu Yi, and stared at him with a stern look: "Do you think you have a future?"
"Do you think you can become famous all over the world?"
"Do you think you can hold a high position?"
"Do you think you are worthy of my daughter?"
"You, don't you feel ashamed? Don't you think that you are too weak and unlucky to bear the responsibility of that marriage certificate?"
The veins on Lu Yu's forehead were throbbing.
He recalled the years he had spent at the Lu Clan School, and every year-end evaluation, the head of the school, Lu Jun, would prepare for him a topic for his Taoist studies.
In Lu Jun's words, clan studies is about "teaching according to one's ability", so at the end of the year, everyone's thesis topic is different.
But for four consecutive years, the theoretical topics that Lu Jun gave to Lu Yi were all life-threatening!
Mrs. Hu scolded impatiently: "Well, the toad wants to eat the swan meat, but he doesn't even consider whether he has the luck to do so!"
"Okay, Mr. Bai, Miss Bai, I'll make the decision on this matter."
"Lu Yu, hand over the marriage certificate, and write a deed of your own volition to cancel the engagement according to my wishes, and it's settled."
