Chapter 4 A Promise Worth a Thousand Pieces
Bai Qiong and Bai Lu said goodbye hastily, looking a little embarrassed.
The father and daughter got on a beautifully .
Surrounded by several horse-riding servants, the carriage traveled several dozen feet along Tian'en Street in front of Tian'en Marquis Mansion. Bai Qiong suddenly jumped up from his seat and kicked the wall of the carriage hard.
"How dare he, you arrogant, filthy little dog, how dare he, how dare he?"
"A promise worth a thousand gold? A promise worth a thousand gold?"
"Little dog, aren't you afraid of dying of stuffiness?"
Bai Qiong roared angrily, his face twisted, his eyes almost popping out of his sockets: "Okay, okay, okay, you bastard, if you don't accept my toast, you'll have to drink a penalty. Very good!"
Bai Lu sat quietly by the side, twisting a silk handkerchief in her hands, and sighed softly with a dazed look: "Father, to be honest, his talent and knowledge are also excellent."
With a deep sigh, Bai Lu murmured, "If it weren't for the fact that Grandpa Lu died in the war and Uncle Lu was unreliable, his family would have declined faster, then... Alas!"
Bai Qiong sat back in his seat with a gloomy face.
He looked at his precious daughter and sneered sarcastically: "Talent, knowledge, are these things useful? Are they useful? In today's Dayin, what matters is family background and origin."
"If his grandfather were still alive, his father might have taken over his grandfather's position as Yulin Zhonglang. Tsk!"
"But now, he can't count on the Laiguo Mansion."
"When his grandfather was alive, he had some ties to the Duke of Lai's Mansion. But when Marquis Tian'en rose to power, his family followed Marquis Tian'en and separated from the Duke of Lai's Mansion."
"In the Tian'en Marquisate, do you expect that Hu, who is eager to move all her belongings back to her mother's home, can use the resources of the Marquisate on a branch of her family?"
"Without the support of your family, even if you are extremely talented and well-educated, and you work hard to pass the imperial examinations and pass as a scholar or a scholar, what good is that? It is far better than having a noble family raise a filial and honest person, who can directly rise to the top and become successful!"
"That little boy Lu Yi is not a good match for you."
Bai Qiong suppressed his anger, looked at his pretty and energetic daughter, and said with a smug smile: "Over the years, the old man and your uncles have racked their brains to build up your power, reputation, and fame. What are they asking for?"
"In the future, even if you can't be a princess, you should at least marry the legitimate son of a family with a history of thousands of years, right?"
Bai Lu twisted her handkerchief and her pretty face suddenly flushed.
Bai Qiong looked at his precious daughter with a smile: "For example, Prince Zhu, who is on good terms with you, is excellent."
Bai Qiong smiled happily.
The daughter who was raised with great effort and the only daughter in three generations of the Bai family, naturally she should be sold for a good price!
Bai Lu's face became more and more rosy, and she said to her father shyly.
She stamped her feet vigorously, and then asked Bai Qiong hesitantly, "But, father, since he won't give in, and he has the support of Marquis Tianen's wife, the marriage certificate is in his hands, which is a huge, huge hidden danger after all."
Speaking of the word "hidden danger", Bai Lu's face turned pale, she bit her lips with her silver teeth, and grabbed the handkerchief with both hands, almost tearing it into two pieces.
"Our family is now well-known in the imperial court. Not to mention my grandfather, father, and uncles, my reputation must not be tarnished in the slightest!"
Bai Lu looked at Bai Qiong with great concern.
Lu Yi held the marriage certificate, so Bai Lu was suspected of "selling goods to two families". If this matter were to be spread out, it would be a huge stain. Who among those wealthy families would tolerate a woman with a bad reputation entering the house?
Bai Qiong swung the hem of his robe, crossed his legs, and acted as if he was "in command of everything" and "confident".
"Don't worry, my dear girl. Your marriage is the future of the Bai family. It is the future ."
"You married a good man, which is the first solid step for our Bai family to move from a family of scholars and officials to a family of aristocrats and rich people!"
"Since the Lu family's kid doesn't know what's good for him, it's no wonder we don't care about the friendship between our two families over the years."
Bai Qiong curled his lips and smiled coldly with contempt, like a commander commanding thousands of troops. He waved his hand lightly and said, "You are just a little kid. You were reduced to ashes in the blink of an eye. That's all."
After a slight pause, Bai Qiong narrowed his eyes and said coldly: "It's tonight, just wait and see."
The carriage went away quickly, and finally a sigh from Bai Qiong was heard in the carriage.
"It's just that tonight's arrangement is inferior after all. It is inevitable that there will be some risks and some aftermath."
"That boy is so hateful. Your father used all his favors and asked Lu Jun to suppress and make things difficult for him in the clan school, ruining his reputation in the Lu clan, just to find a reasonable excuse for our family to cancel the engagement."
"After all, he is from the Jingyang Lu clan! Without a legitimate excuse, even if he is a member of a concubine's clan, it is not easy to bully him."
"I never expected this ignorant little dog to say something like 'a promise is worth a thousand gold'. How could he say that?"
Tian'en Marquis Mansion, reception hall.
Mrs. Hu looked at Lu Yi with great eagerness. Her gloomy face was now filled with a bright smile, making her look even more beautiful and as lovely as a young girl.
Lu Yi sat upright in the seat that Bai Qiong had just occupied, holding a cup of fresh tea and looking at Mrs. Hu seriously.
"A gentleman's promise is worth a thousand pieces of gold. This is absolutely true."
"The Bai family wants to break off the engagement. I can understand their thoughts. My family background has declined, and I am now a poor boy. I am not worthy of their girl This is a fact."
"I'm sorry that my family didn't live up to expectations and someone broke off the engagement. I admit it."
"A dragon mates with a dragon, a phoenix mates with a phoenix, and a rat in a gutter can only dig holes in the ground. I understand this principle!"
"But breaking off the engagement is one thing, but trying to make up some nonsense and get something for nothing is wrong."
"If I don't pay a little, it would be a shame to the friendship between the two old masters in the past, and it would be a shame to Mr. Bai's current status. Don't you think this is reasonable? Not to mention, my last name is Lu, the Lu in Jingyang Lu!"
Mrs. Hu nodded repeatedly, clapped her hands and said with a smile, "Isn't that the truth? I was just fooled by Bai Qiong. It's just two hundred strings of cash, ugh!"
Mrs. Hu coughed a few times and said hurriedly, "What Brother Wu said is very reasonable. This is very legitimate. We are right. No matter how eloquent the Bai family is, without money, we cannot return the marriage certificate to them."
Madam Hu promised Lu Yi very seriously: "Don't be afraid of the Bai family. You have the support of the Marquis' Mansion. In this Gaojing City, no one can bully our Lu family's good son!"
Lu Yi looked at Mrs. Hu deeply, put down the teacup in his hand, and stood up.
"A gentleman's promise is worth a thousand gold. This is what the ancient sages clearly stated."
Lu Yi took advantage of Mrs. Hu because she had never been to school and had no knowledge. This "clear marking" was just to fool her.
But Mrs. Hu loves to hear this!
"Now, Mr. Bai is the bachelor of Wenhua Pavilion, the deputy head of the Imperial College, and the third-rank court official. He holds three positions, one for each gentleman. Therefore, without three thousand golds, I will not give you this marriage certificate."
"This is from Mr. Bai. This marriage certificate was drawn up by the two old men. When our ancestor was alive, his actual military position was Yu Lin Zhong Lang, and he was granted Hui Yun Xiao Wei and San Qi Bei Shi. It was also one position for one gentleman. This is another three thousand gold."
"Three times three equals six. Without six thousand gold, they will never be able to get this marriage certificate back!"
Mrs. Hu laughed out loud: "This is very appropriate and reasonable. No one can find fault with it. If anyone dares to find fault with it, I, your aunt, will personally slap him in the face!"
Six thousand gold.
Dayin is precious. One tael of gold can be exchanged for twenty taels of silver, and one tael of silver can be exchanged for one string of coins. According to the quality of copper coins, one string of coins is roughly worth between one thousand and one thousand five hundred coins.
Today, Dayin is rich in resources, and a pound of high-quality white rice costs only three or five cents, so the purchasing power of one string of coins is extremely considerable.
Six thousand gold is definitely a huge sum of money.
Just now, Lu Yi casually quoted this price to Bai Qiong and his daughter, and with the help of "Mrs. Hu, the judge", the father and daughter were forced to flee in embarrassment!
Lu Yi shook his sleeves. Although his clothes looked rather shabby, with his handsome face and sturdy figure, this action had an indescribable elegance, which made the maids in the reception hall's eyes sparkle.
"Then, Auntie, I'll trouble you to take charge of this matter."
Lu Yi bowed to Mrs. Hu with a harmless smile on his face.
"The marriage certificate is in my nephew's hand. If the Bai family comes to your house again, just tell them 'pay the money and get the goods'."
"My nephew is still young, and it's not a good idea to have so much gold and silver in your hands."
"Men become bad when they have money, and my nephew doesn't have parents or elders to watch over him. If he goes to those brothels, casinos, and brothels, wouldn't he really learn to be bad?"
"So, if I really get the six thousand gold, I would like to ask you to help me take care of it!"
After hearing what Lu Yi said, Mrs. Hu's face flushed and her eyes were watery. She looked at Lu Yi with great enthusiasm. She felt that this nephew was even more pleasing to the eye and cuter than her own son!
She said hurriedly: "Isn't that the truth? Men can't have too much money!"
"Don't worry, I'll take care of it for you. No one can bully you! If you get the gold, I'll keep it for you. I'll keep it safe for you. It's going to be foolproof!"
Mrs. Hu was so excited that her whole body was trembling slightly.
Six thousand gold!
For this money, there is nothing Mrs. Hu cannot do or dare to do!
She swallowed hard and waved to the trusted maid beside her: "You ignorant thing, don't you see that Brother Wu'er is wearing thin clothes? Go, quickly go to the storehouse and get ten strings of cash, no, twenty strings of cash and send them to Brother Wu'er."
"Take another piece of satin, no, two pieces of the best satin, and make two new suits for Brother Fang!"
"Go, go!"
"Tell the butler to double the amount of New Year's gifts given to Brother Wu this year, in addition to the amount given to ordinary members of the clan!"
"Hey, hey, send a few more servants to watch the back street of the mansion day and night, and put a few more night dogs!"
"We can't let the thief into Brother Ming'er's yard!"
Lu Yi put his hands in his sleeves and walked out leisurely.
Even after he had walked a long way, he could still hear Mrs. Hu mumbling something like "six thousand gold" and "six thousand gold" in the reception hall behind him.
Lu Yi entered the Tian'en Marquis Mansion through the back door.
At this moment, he left Tian'en Marquis Mansion from the front door.
Walking down the steps in front of Tian'en Marquis Mansion, standing in the cleanly swept square in front of the door, looking up at the sky covered with dark clouds, Lu Yi muttered to himself.
" Break off the engagement? I don't care."
"If you tell me straight, I will be calm and kind to others."
"But you have used such means to slander and suppress me for four years. I am narrow-minded. You must pay the price!"
"You are cunning, Hu is brutal, and you are driving a tiger to devour a wolf. I will watch a good show."
