Although the action was about to take place tonight, in fact, Meng Yuan had already instructed the people below to start the arrangements long before Lu Hanjiang returned to Beijing, so there was no need for him to do these trivial matters anymore. Now he mainly plays the role of coordinating the overall situation.
Before resigning, Meng Yuan also told him one thing——
"Your uncle has written a letter asking you to come to my house when you have time. It's still early today, so you can go there now."
Lu Shangshu and Meng Yuan had a close personal relationship, but they had nothing to do with each other. Lu Hanjiang also took the obvious path and was expelled from the clan, but this did not prevent him from visiting.
After all, some things are convenient to do secretly, and some things, even if done openly, others will consider other things, and being secretive is more eye-catching.
After leaving Meng Yuan, Lu Hanjiang went home, changed into regular clothes, and asked Lao Qian to deliver the greeting card. Although it was extremely rude to send the greeting card on the same day, the relationship between Lu Hanjiang and the Lu family was delicate, so there was no need to worry about it.
This is so trivial.
The Lu family is a century-old family, and the patriarch, Lu Yannian, is the Minister of Household Affairs. This mansion is naturally majestic. The servant standing at the door did not say anything inappropriate after Lu Hanjiang introduced himself to his family, but his lengthy words
Silence is rude enough.
It's not his fault. After all, except for Lu Shangshu and Meng Yuan, in the eyes of others, Lu Hanjiang is a rebellious son who refuses to obey the family's discipline. Even if he is now in a high and powerful position, it cannot change the fact that he was expelled from the family.
The highest moral standard in this era is nothing more than loyalty to the emperor and patriotism, and the second is honoring the ancestors. The concept of clan is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and being expelled from the family is a very shameful thing.
Following the servant who led the way, he walked through the vestibule of Lu's house and headed towards the study. Actually, there was no need for the servant to guide the way. Lu Hanjiang had already known the directions by heart after having been there many times.
Although the maids and servants I met on the way were all well-trained, no one dared to gossip in person, and I'm afraid they didn't have enough time in private, but it was hard to say about the other people.
Two young men of similar age stood not far away, watching him pass by with unkind expressions.
If he remembered correctly, one of the two people was the youngest son of Lu Shangshu, but he had no memory of the other one, so he must be a descendant of the Lu family.
After he followed the servant and walked far away, the young boy with a more immature appearance said: "I just heard that Uncle Nan said that he handed me a greeting card, and he came to the door so quickly. It's really..."
Another older man said: "He is such a person who doesn't like formal etiquette. Yuan Jia shouldn't be surprised."
Lu Hanjiang remembered correctly, the young man's name was Lu Yuanjia, and he was the youngest son of Lu Shangshu.
"Cousin Xu Zhi, have you seen him before?"
The cousin Xuzhi mentioned by Lu Yuanjia is the son of Lu Shangshu's concubine, and is a few months older than him.
"When we were young, we studied at home together," Lu Xuzhi explained, and then said, "Yuanjia, you were sick when you were young, and you went to homeschool a little later than us, so it makes sense that you don't know his temperament.
"
"Why did he come to look for his father? Could it be that he wanted to return to the family?"
Lu Yuanjia's tone was full of alienation and annoyance. He didn't have a good impression of Lu Hanjiang. This was natural. A direct descendant of the clan would certainly not have a good impression of an expelled rebellious son.
"It's human nature for a wanderer to miss home."
Lu Xuzhi's words are probably the common view among people nowadays. Not only will his status be different when he returns to the family, but his network of contacts can also be greatly expanded. The most important thing is that he can gain a lot of fame and be recognized by the scholars again.
If Lu Hanjiang knew what they were thinking, he would definitely feel that all the young people nowadays are too bored to read, and they don't care about what the world is like now. No matter how high the reputation is, they can't stop the sharpness of the Xiuchun knife, so why bother.
In Lu Shangshu's study, the servants had already brought tea. After he left, Lu Hanjiang saluted Lu Yannian squarely: "My nephew has met my uncle."
Although Lu Hanjiang's parents were not well-known in this life and were not important in the family, they were of the same generation as Lu Shangshu in terms of seniority, so it was not considered disrespectful for him to call him uncle.
Unexpectedly, Lu Shangshu turned sideways and did not accept it. Lord Shangshu said seriously: "Pay attention to your identity."
Lu Hanjiang was stunned for a moment, then became speechless, and then continued: "Why should uncle be so careful? There are no outsiders here, and this ceremony is not a subordinate paying homage to a superior, but a nephew paying homage to an uncle."
Lu Shangshu shook his head, but did not continue to hold on to this place. He asked: "Will the journey south this time go smoothly?"
"Everything is fine, thank you uncle for your concern."
The two of them sat and chatted sporadically about their family affairs. Lu Hanjiang felt a little dry so he took a sip of tea, but he heard Lu Shangshu suddenly ask: "Your marriage...
"
puff.
All the tea that Lu Hanjiang had just drank returned to the cup. He coughed twice and wiped the water stains at the corners of his mouth with his sleeve. These series of actions made Lu Shangshu frown.
"Ahem, ahem, what did uncle just say?" Lu Hanjiang didn't expect that he would suddenly talk about such a heavy topic.
Lu Shangshu was silent for a long time before he said: "Brother Meng told me that you were hanging around a brothel a while ago, and it is always inappropriate to be so indulgent. It would be better to get married early so that your temper can be settled."
"When did I...oh."
Lu Hanjiang was stunned mid-sentence. He thought of the twenty girls who invited Yuelou that night... That's it?
"You are twenty-four this year, and you will be twenty-five at the turn of the new year. You are not too young. It is time to start a family."
As Lu Shangshu said this, he asked in a more serious tone: "Is there a girl you like?"
Lu Hanjiang shook his head and said, "That's not true."
Both Lu Shangshu and Meng Yuan had old-fashioned temperaments, and they only paid attention to the words of a matchmaker ordered by their parents. In this era, free love was called private giving and receiving.
But Lu Hanjiang didn't just deal with them, he had indeed never met a suitable girl.
"That's good," Lu Shangshu nodded with satisfaction and said, "I will send someone to find a suitable family for you. Although you apparently have no family background, you are now holding a fourth-grade official position and looking for a family background.
It’s not difficult for a girl.”
Not only is it not difficult, with Meng Yuan sitting behind him, it is not up to him to choose what kind of girl he wants. Don’t think that because he comes from a noble family, he looks down on a martial artist. A fool who has no brains and dares to show off in front of his old man just because he is born in a noble family, at this time
They are all counting ants in prison.
"Just follow uncle's arrangements in everything."
Lu Hanjiang agreed quickly. As the saying goes, there must be a road to the mountain. If you have something to do today, you will be getting married tonight, so I will let Lu Shangshu worry about it.
Then the two chatted about this for a while, most of the time Lu Shangshu was talking and Lu Hanjiang was perfunctory with "Yeah, okay". When he came to his senses, the sun was already setting in the west.
Lu Shangshu glanced at the sky outside the window and said, "Unknowingly, it's already this hour. Now that you have a special status, I can't keep you for dinner."
"What can I say, uncle? My nephew still has something to do at the Yamen, so I'm leaving now."
Lu Hanjiang went out and happened to bump into several girls from the Lu family having a fight. When Lu Shangshu followed him out, his face turned dark.