Volume 1 In the Countryside Chapter 26: Excellent Singer and Songwriter
It's a nice autumn with cool weather, I'm so hungry that I can eat a cow...
These were the ten words that Lu Sanlang uttered after standing in front of the bamboo house window for a long while.
Corresponding to these ten words is his depressed posture with his head hung down.
If he were in Lu Mansion in the capital at this time of year, it would be a little chilly at best, but during the day he still admired the cool and elegant bamboo forest. But last night it was so cold that it froze his heart!
There were only a few plates of juicy green vegetarian dishes for dinner, so he had to eat two big bowls of rice for the first time. At first, he was surprised by the quilt that was so thick that it could crush a person to death, and the mattress that was big enough to sink into, but he still woke up from hunger and cold in the middle of the night.
As for the few followers sleeping on the floor outside the bamboo house... he could even hear the sound of their teeth chattering last night!
Lu Sanlang regretted so much at this moment that he wanted to bang his head against the wall. If he was not afraid of angering Zhu Ying, he would have directly brought two maids to serve him. At that time, at least there would be someone to warm his bed, and he would not be like these servants who were useless except for staring blankly.
It was so cold last night that his teeth were chattering in bed, and his stomach was growling with hunger. He couldn't bear this pain alone!
He must let those guys in the capital who were gloating and waiting for him to be driven back by Zhu Ying and then come to please the beauty have a taste of what it is like to be a celebrity living in a bamboo house! Oh, and let them be punished by those problems!
Therefore, when he saw Qi Liang coming from outside through the window, he hurriedly went out to greet him with a smile.
"Brother Qi, is the old gentleman free now? I sent someone back to Beijing yesterday, and there are some things I need to discuss with the old gentleman now."
"Mr. Lu San actually got up so early, he's really energetic." Qi Liang nodded to him with a smile, "Mr. Lu said that life in the mountains is not easy. Yesterday we only had simple meals. I thought you would not be used to it."
Being praised for his vigor, Lu Sanlang could only laugh. After all, Zhu Ying was here, and he didn't want to give up his plan to cheat people. Yesterday, he was so honest that he didn't even let his followers go out to secretly get some delicious food. Now his mouth was tasteless, he was shivering, and he was cold and hungry. He just managed to smile, and then he heard something that made him extremely happy.
"That's great. Sir, please come over. I got up early and made some raw fish porridge, as well as some roasted game..."
At this moment, Lu Sanlang was only thinking about finally being able to have a good meal, so he agreed with great joy. He didn't even think about why an old man who lived in seclusion in the mountains would get up early to prepare such a meal that was obviously meant for lunch or dinner, and it was so greasy.
However, when he followed Qi Liang to the Qingfeng Xulai Hall in the center, he saw the thick cotton curtain raised high, and then he saw the person standing next to the main seat with a smile on his face, and he immediately felt a headache.
The lady wearing a red shirt with rich peonies embroidered on the edge, a red skirt with gold embroidery and hundreds of butterflies flying around, and covered in jewels, beautiful as a flower, who else could it be but Miss Zhu?
"Hey, Lu Sanlang, you're here!"
It was the first time that Lu Sanlang had experienced Zhu Ying greeting him so warmly and without sarcasm. Instead of feeling happy, he felt a little numb.
To be honest, Zhu Ying was indeed the most beautiful woman in the capital, and perhaps one of the most beautiful women in the world, but he really couldn't stand her personality and temper. Besides, where would he put his own mother if he married her? Otherwise, considering that he was the youngest in the family, unable to study, and in the eyes of others, he could only rely on the favor of the emperor to make a living, there was nothing wrong with marrying such a noble daughter who was well-connected in the palace.
He chased here just to make a gesture, to lure others here so that he could retire and quietly manage his own business. But Zhu Ying suddenly saw him and spoke to him with a smile. What did this mean?
While his heart was throbbing with fear, Lu Sanlang could not help but carefully cup his hands and say, "I didn't expect the young lady to be here, so I took the liberty to come and see the old gentleman..."
"What's so presumptuous? You can't come when I'm here?" Zhu Ying raised her eyebrows and looked at Lu Sanlang with interest. "I heard from the teacher that you solved two problems yesterday and planned to study mathematics with Mr. Shu Xiu? Not bad, not bad. I didn't expect that you have such talent..."
Just as Lu Sanlang was about to bite the bullet and evade the compliment that made his hair stand on end, he heard Zhu Ying suddenly change the subject and slap the armrest heavily, saying, "However, what I didn't expect was that you actually instigated the gentleman and tried to extort money by using the difficult questions you set, and the ones you extorted were the guys you used to hang out with!"
When Zhu Ying clapped the armrest, Lu Sanlang felt the hairs on his back stand up. After hearing what she said clearly, he racked his brains to open his mouth to defend himself, but then he only heard the old gentleman in the main seat, who was still wearing a hat veil, chuckle.
Then, an old voice said calmly: " Yingying , don't scare him."
Although she knew that Zhang Shou only called her Yingying to make the play more realistic, Zhu Ying was still happy. The beauty in her eyes and eyebrows was even more captivating.
Seeing that Lu Sanlang stole a glance at her and then hurriedly lowered his head, she smiled and said, "Lu Sanlang, if the master hadn't reminded me after seeing you yesterday, I would never have thought that you were pretending to be infatuated with me to fool outsiders!"
When saying this, seeing that Lu Sanlang was finally completely shocked, Zhu Ying couldn't help but glance at Zhang Shou again, and couldn't help but marvel in her heart that Zhang Shou's bold judgment was actually correct!
If Lu Sanlang hadn't been hit on the mark by what I said, why would he look so distraught as if his parents had died?
Lu Sanlang finally calmed down, looked up at the old gentleman sitting in the main seat, and immediately gave up the idea of refusing to admit it or covering it up. He smiled bitterly and bowed to Zhu Ying.
"Miss Zhu, you are the most beautiful among all the girls. Everyone admires you. One more or one less doesn't make much difference. Please forgive me this time. My father doesn't love me and my brother despises me. Only my mother has pity for me. I have no choice but to pretend to pursue you."
The more Lu Sanlang spoke, the more pitiful he sounded. "Isn't it just that I ate a little too much when I was young that I got this fat? I don't want to be so fat! But who made me hungry when I ate less? When I'm hungry, I get anxious, sweat, and my legs become weak? As for the Four Books and Five Classics, I get dizzy when I read them. If my father didn't think that keeping me as his son would have a chance of marrying into the Duke of Zhao's mansion, he would probably want to beat me to death!"
Having said this, he turned directly to Zhang Shou, and his fat face revealed an expression as sincere as possible .
"You are so wise, you saw through my trick. But I meant what I said yesterday. Just by looking at the questions you asked, I can tell that you are well-educated and have a wide range of knowledge."
"In that case, why don't you take in a few more disciples so that your knowledge can be passed on to more people? To be frank, the civil officials in the court, including my father, can't tolerate any famous scholars or great sages!"
"To be famous, even if Miss Zhu respects you and speaks for you in front of the emperor, it is not enough. You don't want to be called lucky. If you can take a group of noble children as students and take the opportunity to build a reputation, you can realize your ambitions in a blink of an eye."
"As for the money, I know you definitely don't care about it. I said before that I would collect money from them every day just to teach those guys a lesson..."
Zhang Shou interrupted angrily, "How do you know? I just want to be famous and become a general or a prime minister."
Seeing that Lu Sanlang was stunned at first and then disappointed, Zhang Shou said slowly: "If someone like you comes next time and Qi Liang can't handle it alone, you can help to receive them. Except for Qingfeng Xulai Hall, you can decide how to live in the other bamboo houses."
You come forward and I take the money, that's perfect!
Seeing that Lu Sanlang was immediately overjoyed, Zhu Ying couldn't help blinking.
The idea of becoming famous that Lu Sanlang just proposed seems to be... quite feasible?
