Chapter 7 Shuixie Examination School Predicts Good and Bad
Pavilion means borrowing.
It is made by borrowing scenery, whether it is by the water or by the flowers, and it is made according to the situation.
The Glazed Water Pavilion is the place where the old lady of the Lu family usually receives guests. It is located in the Guanchi Garden of the Lu Mansion. Next to the water pavilion, there is a rugged area of Glazed Lake water flowing in the Guanchi Garden, hence its name.
The waterside pavilion is built next to the pond, facing the water on three sides, so you can see the beautiful scenery of the Glazed Lake. The small building has green bricks and green tiles, and the roof is a hill-top style with its legs tilted up. It is quite similar to the quaint scroll of a small Suzhou garden building. spirit.
Lu Jing also visited many gardens in his previous life. In the past three months, he has always come here to pay his respects to the old lady and the eldest lady. Logically speaking, he should be used to seeing this glazed water pavilion.
But when he saw the beautiful scenery in Liuguang Water Pavilion again, he was still impressed by the luxury of Lu Mansion.
The Lu Mansion, where white jade is used to make horses for the palace, relies on the generosity of its ancestors, and even in this ten-mile Changning Street, it is a place of first-class luxury.
Lu Jing walked into the main hall of the Waterside Pavilion and found that even though he had arrived an hour late as instructed by the old lady, there were still two or three Lu family members of his generation sitting in front of the sandalwood table in the hall. , focus on reading.
The old lady of the Lu family was very strict in running the family, but she loved scholars very much.
She always hoped that the Lu family would produce a champion, so no matter whether the children of the Lu family liked reading or not, they would always bring a classic when they came to pay their respects to the old lady.
——Only except Lu Jing.
It's not that Lu Jing is noble.
But Lu Jing knew deeply that because of his mother's drum beating, the old lady of the Lu family hated him deeply, but there was no way she could like him.
Even if he brought a hundred books with him, the old lady would only think that he was being pretentious, and would also give the impression that he was opportunistic and good at playing tricks.
Instead of doing this, it is better to come lightly and arrive lightly.
And... to study, you need to be still and steady. How can you concentrate on studying in such a noisy environment?
In the main hall of the waterside pavilion, there are two rows of tables on the left and right. Sitting at the front on the right is a young man with haircut like a knife, eyebrows like an ink painting, a face like peach petals, and eyes like autumn waves.
This young man wears a high crown on his head and a silver band on his forehead. He smiles like the moon in the Mid-Autumn Festival, showing his talent.
Lu Qiong, the eldest young master of the Lu family, is Lu Jing’s half-brother.
Sitting at the front on the left is a young man with sharp eyebrows and cold eyes, and a tall and straight body.
This young man is the eldest son of the second house of the Lu family, and he is also Lu Feng who had asked Lu Jing for Qingyue before.
The Lu family has not yet been completely separated, but the old lady had ordered the two houses to be divided a long time ago.
The head of the mansion is also the patriarch of the clan with the surname Lu. Lu Shenyuan, who has inherited the title, is Lu Jing's biological father. Lu Shenyuan has two sons and two daughters, Lu Qiong is the second eldest and Lu Jing is the third.
The head of the second mansion was named Lu Chongshan, and he had many heirs. The eldest young master was Lu Feng.
The head of the second palace is obsessed with Buddhism and eats fasting and worships Buddha all day long. All the affairs of the second palace are also taken care of by Mrs. Zhu of the second palace.
At this time, in the main hall of the waterside pavilion, in addition to Lu Qiong and Lu Feng, there was also Lu Jing's cousin Lu Yi, who was also Lu Feng's biological sister.
Lu Yizheng was whispering to a stranger next to him.
This stranger was a young girl, wearing red clothes and a gauze covering her face. Her face could not be seen clearly, but Lu Jing could see that she was looking at him curiously.
Lu Jing glanced at the girl.
"Could this be Nan Heyu?" Lu Jing speculated in his mind.
Immediately, he remembered the hint in Mallow's words before, and the only stranger here was this girl, and he became more and more convinced of his guess.
The person sitting at the top of the pavilion is naturally Mrs. Junning, the old lady of the Lu family.
Accompanying her, talking quietly to Mrs. Ning, was Lu Qiong's biological mother, Lu Jing's aunt, and the actual manager of the Lu family's mansion after Lu Shenyuan was demoted - Mrs. Zhong.
Lu Jing had just walked into the main hall, and the old lady was still closing her eyes to rest.
Mrs. Zhong's eyes had already fallen on Lu Jing.
Lu Qiong, who was shaking his head and looking at the old lady and Mrs. Zhong from time to time, saw Lu Jing coming and immediately put down the classics in his hands impatiently.
He said to Lu Jing: "Why is Brother Jing so unpunctual? You came to greet the old lady and mother, but you asked them to wait for you?"
When Lu Feng heard this, he also turned his head and stared at Lu Jing.
Lu Jing walked to the center of the main hall and bowed slowly: "Lu Jing would like to say hello to grandma, and say hello to mother."
Although Mrs. Zhong is not Lu Jing's biological mother, in family law, Mrs. Zhong, the legitimate mother, is closer to her than the biological mother of the concubine. She must not be neglected, and she must be addressed as "mother" on weekdays.
After paying homage to the two elders above him, Lu Jing stood up again and bowed to his two elder brothers, Lu Qiong and Lu Feng.
Lu Feng waved his hand and continued to read.
There was more interest in Lu Qiong's eyes, and she said with her hands: "Brother Jing, you are so brave, you didn't apologize for being late..."
"Qiong'er, I asked Lu Jingchi to come here a few minutes ago." The old lady still didn't open her eyes. Instead, Mrs. Zhong said softly: "In the past few days, I heard that Lu Jingchi was studying hard on weekdays, so I thought of calling him
Come later and test his knowledge."
When Lu Qiong heard this, he immediately shrank his head, lowered his head and pretended to read, lest the "examination of school knowledge" would happen to him.
Lu Jing's long hair fell down, and his eyes did not change at all.
He stood in the middle of the main hall, and everyone's eyes were focused on him.
Including the girl in red with her face covered with gauze.
The girl in red's eyes sparkled, and she thought to herself: "This Lu Jing is quite calm, and the impression he gave me today is actually much calmer than when he was studying yesterday..."
The girl sitting in front of him in the main hall of the waterside pavilion was not the Nan Heyu as Lu Jing had guessed.
But it was Shengzi, the girl who talked to Lu Yi yesterday.
Sheng Zi was not the only one who thought so, Mrs. Zhong also felt that after not seeing each other for a few days, Lu Jing's demeanor suddenly changed a lot from that of a timid young concubine.
At this moment, Lu Jing was standing in the center of the main hall, his body balanced and his arms hanging down naturally. Even when Mrs. Zhong's eyes swept across her, Lu Jing did not avoid her, but instead faced her very naturally.
It's like a... diligent and conscientious scholar who is not tainted by external things.
"This is surprising." Mrs. Zhong was surprised in her heart, but her face remained calm.
Lu Jing didn't know that the fate of "diligence and hard work" was not only beneficial to visualization and learning.
Because of this fate, his demeanor, and even other people's perceptions and impressions of him, have undergone very slight changes.
"You have been studying hard for a long time, and you must have a good understanding of Confucian classics. I want to take the test from you today, Lu Jing, what do you think?"
Mrs. Zhong spoke softly, her long fringed skirt swayed slightly due to the draft, and her demeanor looked quite noble.
"The young lady from Nanguo Duke's Mansion came here in person, probably to take a look at me, to observe my person, and to appreciate my character... It's like buying a horse, testing the horse's legs and observing its temperament. The eldest lady of the Duke of Nanguo's Mansion wants to come to this place.
Are you still hesitating whether to 'marry' me or not?"
When Lu Jing thought of this, he felt angry for no reason.
In the world, marriage has always been the order of the parents and the advice of the matchmaker.
But when it came to Lu Jing, the Duke of Nanguo Mansion nodded to propose marriage, and the old lady of the Lu family and Mrs. Zhong had already agreed.
The marriage certificate was sent twice, and even Lu Jing's life deed and land certificate had been handed over to the Household Registration Department half a year ago and recorded in the Nanfu Foreign Register.
By now, they should have gotten married long ago.
But now, Nanfu has not only postponed the engagement time and time again, Nan Heyu even has to come to see him in person before making a decision... This is too ironic.
It's not that Lu Jing just wants to go to Nanfu to eat soft food, but this Nanfu's attitude...
It can't help but make Lu Jing a little angry now.
"The Duke of Nanguo has proposed marriage, but Nan Heyu has broken the contract repeatedly and is not an honest person. Qingyue has always hoped that I can enter the Nanguo Palace and become a rich man for the rest of my life...
But how can this rich man be so easy to get?"
These few things alone made Lu Jing have no good impression of Nan Heyu.
"Now I have the idea of the Ming Dynasty King. Marriage is not my only way out. Since Nan Heyu has disliked me several times and is unwilling to fulfill her contract, then I will fulfill her wish."
Lu Jing's mind was racing, and he didn't look at the girl in red next to him. He just remained silent, as if he was afraid of being tested.
When Mrs. Zhong saw Lu Jing's reaction, she frowned and sighed secretly: "The son of a young lady still cannot get on the stage."
She coughed softly: "Lu Jing, I have read Zhongzheng. I feel that Zhongzheng is the way to live in the world. I also know that impartiality is called Zhongzheng. I am a womanly woman and I don't know much about Confucian classics. Do you think so?
Do you have a deeper understanding?”
Mrs. Zhong had hated Lu Jing very much since the incident eight years ago. She just didn't want to be known as a "jealous wife" and "not intolerant of bastards", and she did not beat or torture Lu Jing.
But in a big family, just treating them differently can weaken a young man's temperament.
In the past eight years, Mrs. Zhong has used her imperial methods to make Lu Jing's mother and son miserable.
But at this juncture, Mrs. Zhong did not pose any problems to Lu Jing. Instead, she asked such a subjective question with a very low threshold and an extremely inclusive yet strong one.
"Probably I hope I can answer better and perform better in front of Nan Heyu. In this way, I can leave the Lu family faster without disturbing the eyes of everyone in the Lu family."
Lu Jing chuckled in his heart.
He was just about to pretend to be uneducated and speechless, so he fulfilled Nan Heyu's wish and strengthened her determination to regret the marriage.
Suddenly, another stream of information exploded in my mind!
【A gentleman's weapon must be sharp.】
[Mrs. Zhong takes the exam for you, you have the following options:]
[Ominous: I have been stumbling every now and then, studying hard for eight or nine years, but it’s nothing but a joke.
Profit: Get the "Zangzhuo (Red)" Life Palace, and get a red opportunity.
Disadvantage: If you are disliked by several people, you will be punished by Mrs. Ning’s family law.】
[Ji: Express what is in your heart, strive to be perfect within your capabilities, and make everyone dumbfounded by your performance.
Profit: Winning the favor of several people, you can "participate in the (Red) Life Palace, and get a white opportunity."
Cons: Disliked by Mrs. Zhong and Mrs. Ning.】
[Big Bad: Refusing to answer, Mrs. Zhong asked, and angrily scolded her for her usual viciousness.
Profit: Get the "Fatherless and Motherless (Yellow) Life Palace, and get a yellow opportunity.
Disadvantages: It is very dangerous and is very likely to lead to death.】
In just a blink of an eye, the good and bad signs were clearly imprinted on Lu Jing's mind.
Lu Jing was speechless and began to quickly speculate on his future choices.