Chapter 9 Planning
Lu Yi and Lu An began to have a passionate discussion about the taste of stinky tofu, including the various combinations of spicy, medium spicy, slightly spicy, spicy, fragrant and spicy, and sour and spicy.
The stinky tofu pieces were frying in the frying pan with a sizzling sound. The big man was busy working, grinning with great joy.
"Brother, I've said it before, those teachers in your clan school must be blind. How could a smart person like you not be able to read a few tattered books?"
When the big man heard that Lu Yi was praised by the doctors of the Imperial College, he was happier than if he had picked up a gold ingot.
He was so happy that he fried three extra portions of stinky tofu for Luan as a gift.
Lu An was so happy that he smiled from ear to ear.
Lu Yu stood aside, looking at the big man with squinted eyes, as if he was an idiot and a prodigal.
At the same time, in the northwest corner of Min'anfang, Duke Lai's Mansion, East Street.
Like Yulu Hutong in Tian'en Marquis Mansion, the entire East Street in Laiguo Mansion is inhabited by members of various branches of the Lu family.
In the main room on the north side of the two-story courtyard closest to the Lu clan school, Lu Jun, with a white towel tied on his forehead, dog skin ointment on his left and right temples, and shivering body, was wrapped in a quilt and looking angrily at the visitor sitting beside the bed.
Bai Lang, the eldest of the nine brothers of the second generation of the Bai family, looked sternly at the haggard Lu Jun.
He tapped his fingers on the bedside table and said lightly, "That's it. Brother Lu, please bear with me. Please bear this bad reputation for a while!"
Lu Jun's face darkened: "I cannot bear the bad reputation of being blind and misleading young people!"
He said angrily: "Five years ago, it was Master Bai Qiong who asked me to 'take good care of' Lu Yi in the clan school. Now, I am asked to bear all the stigma. I, I, I..."
Bai Lang snorted coldly : "Half a year, at most half a year, the money and grain deficits during Brother Lu's tenure, those who were involved will definitely be investigated thoroughly, and Brother Lu will be cleared of all charges and allowed to return to his post with honor!"
Lu Jun's face turned pale immediately. He looked at Bai Lang suspiciously, "Back then, the Duke of Lai's Mansion didn't have the power to help me find out the truth! You?"
Bai Lang smiled calmly and waved his hand gently: "The Duke of Lai's Mansion is indeed a noble and wealthy family, but the times have changed in the current Dayin. The military family is outdated . Now the ones who have the power to speak are my disciples of culture. No matter how powerful the Duke of Lai's Mansion is, it cannot investigate your case of embezzlement of money and grain."
Changing the subject, Bai Lang said leisurely, "But my old man wants to help you. It's just a matter of a word. Countless disciples have worked hard for this. Some corrupt officials have colluded with each other and manipulated the superiors for personal gain. It's easy to investigate such a small matter."
Lu Jun pursed his lips and said, "Can I be reinstated?"
Bai Lang smiled slightly: "It's just a trivial matter."
Lu Jun's face flushed. He struggled to straighten his body and gritted his teeth, saying, "So, I will bear this bad name and admit that I was blinded by my old age and delayed the development of Lu Yi, a talented person."
Bai Lang nodded in satisfaction: "That's great. The Lu family is full of good and bad people. No one is perfect. It's just a momentary mistake. It won't hurt your reputation too much, Brother Lu."
Bai Lang tapped heavily on the bedside table with his fingers, then stood up, took out a few thumb-sized gold grains from his sleeve and gently placed them on the table.
"Take good care of yourself. Brother Lu is in his prime and his future is boundlessly bright."
After a slight hesitation, Bai Lang lowered his head, approached Lu Jun, lowered his voice, and asked him curiously: "My brother, like Brother Lu, has also been ill for several days. Alas, my brother fainted on that day without knowing what happened, and He Fangling did the same. Brother Lu, did you see the person who hurt you?"
Lu Jun's slightly rosy face suddenly turned pale again, and his body trembled subconsciously again and again.
He tilted his head, looked at Bai Lang coldly, and said quietly: "Master Bai, if you are curious about this matter, why don't you go find the 'Palace Guard' to inquire carefully? To be honest, I really didn't understand what happened that day. Anyway, I felt a cold and fell ill when I came back."
"Later, it was the Palace Guard who came to inquire about this matter. After all, He Fangling was also seriously injured and bedridden." Lu Jun said quietly: "You want to know the cause and effect of this matter. In such a big city like Gaojing, I'm afraid they are the only ones who can answer you."
Bai Lang's face turned very ugly, as if he had worn new shoes and stepped on cow dung when he went out.
At the same time, in the Laiguo Mansion, the small study of the current Laiguo Duke Lu Yu.
In the small study room, which was decorated in a very simple and heavy style without any extravagance or luxury, there was a man named Lu Yu, who was well-maintained, with fair skin and tender flesh in his forties and a round face that looked very wealthy. He was wearing a light blue Taoist robe and had the elegance of an "idler". He was chatting and laughing with Bai Changkong, and he kept calling himself a "student".
The Lu family of Jingyang is the top family in Dayin.
The lineage of the Duke of Lai, a family of military merit and nobles who founded Dayin, has built up the present-day Duke of Lai's mansion with its red robes, bells and drums and food.
The former direct descendants of the Duke of Lai were all powerful martial arts masters who could swallow mountains and rivers and roam everywhere. It was common for them to destroy cities and strongholds, split mountains and stop rivers with their physical strength.
But times have changed. In today's world, culture and education are rising while martial arts are declining.
Along with the decline of martial arts, the power of Dayin's traditional aristocratic families shrank and their authority declined.
In the current Duke Lai's Mansion, there are only a few family generals who have the strength of Tuomai level 12 or above.
Three generations ago, the head of the family, the Duke of Lai, and the other gentlemen below him had been fascinated by literature and devoted themselves to the study of poetry and songs, regarding themselves as "literary men"!
By Lu Yu's generation, Lu Yu and his brothers had even given up all the secret martial arts passed down in their family. They couldn't even ride a slightly majestic warhorse, nor could they draw a half-stone bow. They had become pure "literary and educational disciples", true "scholars"!
And Bai Changkong, as the deputy president of the Imperial College, is the most outstanding figure among the cultural and educational sages in the city of Haojing!
Bai Changkong came to visit in person, and Lu Yu naturally felt honored to be here, and did his best to entertain him warmly.
"This student is truly a student who has studied under Master Bai."
Lu Yu smiled brightly: "When Master Bai first entered the Imperial College, the student was assigned to Master Bai. However, the student was dull and wasted time in the Imperial College without being able to read well. That's why Master Bai didn't have a deep impression of the student."
After a light cough, Lu Yu assured Bai Changkong: "I never thought that my son or nephew would have such a fate . This is the honor of my Lu family, the honor of my Laiguo Mansion, and the honor of Tianen Marquis Mansion!"
"Master Bai, rest assured. As for this marriage, the groom's parents are my students. I will definitely make it a grand occasion and will not let my niece Wei Shuang suffer any injustice!"
"Even after marriage, if that little bastard Lu Yi dares to make my niece Wei Shuang angry, the Lu family's family rules will definitely not let him off!"
Bai Changkong smiled and nodded. He said calmly, "Well, that's settled. And please take good care of the Duke of Laulai's Mansion. Well, the fifteenth day of the first lunar month this year is a good day."
Lu Yu was stunned.
It's already the seventh and fifteenth day of the first lunar month. Isn't that only a few days away?
It's a bit too hasty.
However, the person in front of him was Bai Changkong, the most famous sage in Haojing City and a leader in the hearts of scholars.
Bai Changkong was a person who "despised princes and nobles" and "despised wealth and honor" in his life. He never "flirted with the rich" and was most "content with poverty"!
Lu Yu usually wants to get in touch with people like this, but they are too lazy to pay attention to him!
Now, Bai Changkong, with his "great virtue and nobility", came to his house in person to ask for the marriage of a poor boy from a side branch of the Lu family!
It is truly the 'gentleman's demeanor', it is truly the 'gentleman's righteousness', it is truly 'a gentleman's promise is worth a thousand pieces of gold'!
Lu Yu weighed his conscience again and again. If he were faced with such a situation, would he want to marry his daughter to a poor boy from a ruined family?
Tsk, I will definitely regret the engagement!
There is no doubt that I will regret the engagement!
Even if someone secretly kills the entire family, this marriage must be regretted!
I am so unbearable, but Bai Changkong is so "upright" and "gentleman"!
Lu Yu pursed his lips and nodded vigorously: "Master Bai, rest assured, I will immediately assign someone to handle this matter. On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, Lu Yu will marry Miss Bai, and I will definitely make it a grand occasion and will definitely not let my niece Wei Shuang down."
At almost the same time, in the reception hall of Tian'en Marquis Mansion.
Mrs. Hu had a gloomy face, like a rusty Buddha, and looked expressionlessly at Bai Qiong who was coughing lightly.
Six thousand gold, gone.
The cooked duck flapped its wings and flew away!
Mrs. Hu was feeling sad and haggard.
Heartbroken to the extreme, Mrs. Hu couldn't help but sigh: "How can you scholars be so shameless? What about the agreed cancellation of the engagement? What about the promised six thousand gold coins?"
"You, the Bai family, do you still have any shame?"
Mrs. Hu's lips were trembling, and her triangular eyes were gleaming with ferocity. She wanted to call someone in and beat Bai Qiong out with a big stick!
Bai Qiong coughed lightly and shivered. He took out a document from his sleeve and gently handed it to Mrs. Hu.
Mrs. Hu impatiently threw the document to the ground and said coldly, "I can't read, why did you bring out this broken thing?"
Bai Qiong laughed. He pointed at the official document on the ground and said calmly, "Da Yin's law stipulates that the salt and iron industry is government-run. If a private individual touches it without permission, he will be killed."
Mrs. Hu raised her head and didn't bother to pay attention.
"This is a salt permit contract, an official document issued by the Taifu Yamen."
Bai Qiong's voice was very light and weak.
Mrs. Hu was smiling like a flower with watery eyes. She stood up and picked up the document respectfully.
"With it, the Tian'en Marquisate can open a salt shop in Anlefang and sell official salt." Bai Qiong said softly: "If it is operated well, it will be easy to earn tens of thousands of strings of cash a year."
Madam Hu smiled extremely brightly and flirted with Bai Qiong, "Oh, Master Bai, what are you doing, what are you doing... Hey, change the teacup, change the good tea, and brew the top-quality delphinium tongue tea that I am reluctant to drink!"
Bai Qiong coughed heavily and said, "I'll have to trouble you to decide on the marriage between Lu Yi and my daughter."
"The fifteenth day of the first lunar month is an auspicious day. Let them get married quickly."
Bai Qiong looked deeply at Mrs. Hu: "Look?"
Madam Hu tightly grasped the document, and her eyes fell on Bai Qiong's face like spring water: "It's all right, it's all right, Master Bai, don't worry, even if I have to tie him up, I will send Brother Ming into the bed of my niece Wei Shuang! Hehehe!"
That's what!
Bai Qiong's face twitched and he suddenly wanted to kill someone.
