The sun was shining brightly in the east, and golden light was shining through the gaps in the clouds.
The old donkey was chewing hay and neighing in the pen. The big black dog was wagging its tail in the yard early in the morning, looking at the Taoist practicing boxing not far away.
Lu Liangsheng walked out of the room, squinted his eyes at the morning light, stretched comfortably, and then he found that his master was lying on the stone steps under the eaves.
"Master?"
The scholar called out softly, and the toad moved twice, its two short legs twitching subconsciously, and it murmured like in a dream.
"...slow down...it's coming, it's coming..."
Lu Liangsheng came to the courtyard in some confusion, turned up his sleeves, and started practicing Qianyang Palm. He occasionally paused, tilted his head and asked the Taoist priest next to him in a low voice.
"What happened to my master?"
"who knows."
Sun Yingxian posed as a white crane spreading its wings, then wiped the mustache under his nose.
"I saw him lying there early in the morning. I guess he got tired in the middle of the night and fell asleep there."
Pulling force?
Lu Liangsheng was also full of doubts. Wasn't he fine last night? He was watching the moon alone.
"If I really have diarrhea, I wonder if the doctors in the city will treat a toad..."
Thinking of this, the master went to pick it up, brought it back to the house, put it on the bed and covered him with a quilt. Then he returned to the yard. Just like he did in Lujia Village in the past, he practiced boxing with the Taoist for a while. After washing up, he was still very energetic even though he had been busy all night yesterday.
After eating the breakfast brought by the maid in the mansion, he took a book and went to the front yard to find Grand Secretary Zhou Zhen.
The morning breeze brought fresh air, and the flowers and trees in the mansion rustled softly.
Now that I have let go of everything, I feel free and at ease. I even walk much more briskly than usual. Of course, using magic is another matter.
Whenever servants in the mansion saw him, they would greet him respectfully, and Lu Liangsheng would respond with a smile. Occasionally, one or two maids would meet him and secretly glance at him from time to time during the greetings, their cheeks blushing with shyness.
Unfortunately, the scholar with brisk steps had no idea what these meant. He walked quickly across the corridor, holding his books and writing brushes, his robe fluttering in the wind, causing the maid who had just taken a few steps to look back repeatedly.
Come to the front yard.
In the distant corridor, several servants waiting outside were whispering. Ever since they started practicing , especially when they entered the foundation-building stage, their eyesight and hearing had become very good. Before they had even passed through, the words had already entered their ears intermittently.
"That shameless Zhang Liancheng was right in the hall. I saw it all."
"...Master is not angry?"
"Angry? How could I not be angry? I even smashed a teacup. Zhang Dongming was also there, and I didn't even dare to breathe."
"Bah... who told his son to do something like that."
"Stop talking, Master Lu is coming this way."
A sharp-eyed servant saw the scholar slowly approaching and hurriedly bowed and smiled while holding the tray .
"Mr. Lu , are you looking for my master?"
Lu Liangsheng vaguely heard a familiar voice coming from the door behind the living room. After a moment, he looked at the boy and said with a smile:
"Since Mr. Zhou is meeting a guest, I will meet him later."
"No, no, Mr. Lu, don't leave in such a hurry."
A servant quickly caught up with him and tried to persuade him to stay, "Master, you are not meeting a guest, but an enemy." He floated to the door and snorted.
"It's the Zhang family's father and son. They're here to apologize to the master. My young lady is also in there. I think she's crying out of anger right now."
It turned out to be a household chore.
...Then I can't go in.
Lu Liangsheng thought about it and was about to leave when the door creaked open. Zhou Rong, wearing a plain white dress decorated with flower calyxes, walked out first with a personal maid and red eyes.
When she saw the scholar outside, she quickly wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes, smiled, suddenly bowed slightly to Lu Liangsheng, then lowered her head and walked quickly to the end of the eaves with lotus steps.
"It seems that your young lady is a person who can look at things in a positive light." Lu Liangsheng said with a smile. There was a faint fragrance in the air, which smelled quite pleasant.
The servant beside him nodded: "That's right. If it were any other young lady, she would have tried to commit suicide."
Through the open door, Zhou Zhen saw the scholar talking to the servant and invited him in.
In the living room, the Zhang father and son had indeed come to apologize. The gifts alone were piled half a person high. When Zhang Dongming saw the scholar coming in, he pulled his son forward.
"Lian Cheng, hurry up and thank the benefactor."
Zhang Liancheng was thin and frail, and even after the fox demon had extended his life, he still looked very weak. He probably knew what happened from his father. When facing a scholar who was younger than him, he was still very polite.
"Your Excellency, please accept my sincere greetings."
Lu Liangsheng thought it was just a bow, and just as he stretched out his hand, Zhang Liancheng suddenly knelt down with a bang, leaving him stunned.
Is this going to end? Why does this family like to kneel down so much?
"Get up quickly, no need to be so polite..." For a moment, Lu Liangsheng was so frightened that he couldn't find the right words. After helping Zhang Liancheng up, he accompanied Zhou Zhen and the father and son.
The matter of the marriage may have been discussed. The father and son knelt and greeted them with smiles. Even though Zhou Zhen had a hot temper, after venting his anger, he still let them sit down and talk.
After a while, Lu Liangsheng finally breathed a sigh of relief after sending the Zhang father and son away. He suddenly felt that being knelt upon was not a good thing.
After that, he officially put aside the trivial matters and asked Zhou Zhen for advice on the topics for the provincial examination. The scope was not too wide, after all, there would be another one held by the Ministry of Rites next spring.
This period of time was enough for Lu Liangsheng to thoroughly understand the book. For more than two months, no one came to disturb him. Occasionally, Zuo Zhengyang would come to visit, but usually not for too long.
Master Toad Taoist has also become lazy recently. He is either quarreling and bickering with Sun Yingxian, or lying on the custom-made small lounge chair to bask in the sun.
There was another thing that gave Lu Liangsheng a headache.
Ever since Lang Yan met Zhou Rong that time, this young lady from the Zhou family came here almost every day. Sometimes she said she missed this side yard, and sometimes she asked Liangsheng if he could paint a portrait for her.
As soon as the word "portrait" came out, the sky in the side yard changed, becoming gloomy and a cold wind blew.
Soon, I heard that there was a ghost in the backyard...
Of course, there were also some things that made the scholar feel happy. A few days ago, a letter was sent from home. There were crooked handwriting on the pages. They were what his sister Lu Xiaoxian learned in a private school. After Lu Liangsheng came here, the village hired a teacher to teach. Think about the current situation of Lujia Village and Beicun. Everyone is embarrassed to see people without dozens of taels of silver in their pockets. They can definitely afford to hire a teacher.
There wasn't a lot in the letter. Most of it asked him if he was doing well here and if he had enough money. There were caravans bringing crops, fish and crabs from Lujia Village here , so he could contact them if he was short of money.
The final signature may be what Lu Xiaoxian wanted to say herself.
"Brother... I miss Sister Ghost, you too, and that big toad... When will you come back?"
Even the Toad Taoist felt deeply moved by the feeling of being remembered by others, and Nie Honglian, who had read the letter nearby, was crying and thinking about going back...
"I'll go back after the exam."
Lu Liangsheng comforted her, his eyes looking through the window lattice. A yellow leaf fell from the old tree in the yard.
In two days, it will be the autumn examination.