Chapter 0138 How about betrothing her to you? (45)
"I'm informing you in advance just to remind you that you should manage your affairs well in the Criminal Division. It is best to achieve some political achievements. When the time comes, you will be promoted and you will avoid a lot of trouble."
Kou Ji didn't know what Fan Zhongyan was thinking, so he said something casually.
Fan Zhongyan took a deep breath and nodded slowly.
"Thank you, Brother Kou, for the tip. Fan will definitely come with a big gift to thank you someday."
Kou Ji chatted with Fan Zhongyan for a while about the affairs of the Criminal Division, and then asked Fan Zhongyan to go back to the Yamen of the Criminal Division.
The reason why he came to Fan Zhongyan today was actually to convince him, and words like promotion were just casual excuses.
After his conversation with Fan Zhongyan, he probably understood Fan Zhongyan's personality.
Fan Zhongyan has not yet grown into a famous official in the history books. He still handles official affairs, especially those in the officialdom of Bianjing City, not tactfully enough.
If today's scene were to be played by officials from the capital who have been in Bianjing for many years, I won't say what they think in their hearts, but they would definitely say a few words to show their loyalty.
But Fan Zhongyan didn't say a word to show his loyalty.
More importantly, he has a stereotyped prejudice against warriors and has no idea of reforming the bad government.
Still need to practice hard.
After Fan Zhongyan left, Kou Ji summoned Kou Zhong and asked him to help prepare a generous gift.
He left the house with generous gifts.
Just walked to the door of the house.
Yuyou quietly appeared beside him.
This guy is always elusive. If Kou Ji returns to Kou's house, he will disappear.
Once Kou Ji leaves Kou's house, he will immediately appear in front of Kou Ji.
Kou Ji looked at him in surprise, "Why are you still here?"
Kou Ji originally thought that while Kou Zhun was recovering at home, the equipment supervisor was asked to withdraw by Yu You and others.
Yu You rolled his eyes and said calmly: "I am a lifelong personal guard given to Prime Minister Kou by the government..."
The implication is that unless Kou Zhun dies, he will never be able to return to the equipment prison.
Kou Ji sighed inwardly, Kou Zhun's treatment was really good.
I was extremely envious.
Then he walked forward with his head down and ignored the swimming fish.
The place he wanted to go was not far from the Kou Mansion, so he did not take the sedan chair.
I don’t know who this guy Yuyou is. The more you pay attention to him, the more cheerful he will be at you. If you don’t pay attention to him, he will become quiet.
Kou Ji doesn't like to find people to criticize him for nothing.
Kou Ji walked out of Ma Xing Street, turned around, and arrived in front of a mansion.
Look up.
On the lintel is written the word Xiangfu.
The Xiang Mansion is very big, a little bigger than the Kou Mansion.
It was given by Emperor Taizong of Xi Nian during his reign. It is said that it used to be a royal residence.
The prince's mansion should be extremely luxurious.
After Xiang Minzhong moved in, he made several renovations and transformed an extremely luxurious prince's mansion into a courtyard with a scholarly atmosphere.
Even the door is dressed like a scholar.
After seeing Kou Ji come to the door, he did not open his mouth to drive him away. Instead, he bowed and asked, "I have met the young master. Is the young master here to visit friends or relatives?"
Kou Ji returned the gift and said: "Kou Ji from the Kou Mansion, come to visit Grandpa Xiang."
When the disciple heard this, he suddenly said: "It turns out that we are family friends, please..."
Menzi knew Kou Ji's identity and immediately led Kou Ji into the Xiang Mansion.
There are quite a few rules in the Xiang Mansion.
As soon as the door led Kou Ji through the door, he handed Kou Ji over to someone who looked like a steward.
Then the steward led Kou Ji to the side hall.
The corridors leading to the palace are winding and elegantly decorated, with plums, orchids, bamboos and chrysanthemums in abundance.
There are many poems between the walls and on the stone pillars.
Those poems seemed to be written casually by someone who had temporary inspiration while walking.
The handwriting is not very neat, and there are some old and new ones.
The steward led Kou Ji to the side hall, and Kou Ji heard the sound of reading aloud.
When the steward saw Kou Ji listening attentively, he smiled and explained: "That is the family school in the family. The young masters and girls in the family all study in it. The rules set by the master are to be read once in the morning, noon and evening. They have learned it that day.
article."
Kou Ji casually praised: "Xiang Mansion is indeed a scholarly family."
The steward said humbly: "Young Master is so complimentary..."
Kou Ji clicked his lips and wanted to say something, but in the end he held back.
With the little ink in his belly, it's okay to put on a show in front of other people, but it's easy to be exposed in a scholarly family like Xiang Mansion.
The steward didn't know what Kou Ji was thinking. He saw that Kou Ji had no intention of speaking again, and he didn't talk to Kou Ji again.
After he asked Kou Ji to sit down, he asked his maid to prepare fragrant tea for Kou Ji, asked his nanny to light incense, and sent his servants to the back house to report to Xiang Minzhong.
The fragrant tea that the maid brought up was a cup of tea soup.
Kou Ji brought it to his mouth and took a sip. He was a little uncomfortable with it. Fresh goat milk was added to it, which gave it a bit of a fishy smell.
He just put down the teacup.
The sharp-eyed steward came up to him and asked with a smile: "Young Master, are you not used to drinking?"
Kou Ji smiled calmly and said, "A bit...just ask someone to prepare a cup of warm water for me."
The steward nodded, "I will let the maid prepare now."
After a while.
A cup of warm water was placed in front of Kou Ji.
Kou Ji drank two cups of warm water but did not wait for Xiang Minzhong.
He looked at the books in the room and listened to the sound of reading outside, and sighed: "It is not unreasonable for the Xiang family to be full of nobles."
"Does that mean that in your heart, the Kou Mansion is not as good as my Xiang Mansion?"
A delicate voice sounded outside the door.
Before Kou Ji could say anything, a beautiful figure had already appeared in the side hall.
The person who came was a young girl. Judging by her figure, she should be young. She had a veil on her face, full eyebrows, and was wearing a blue skirt.
When Kou Ji saw her, he was stunned for a moment, stood up slowly, cupped his hands and said, "Girl, you are polite..."
The girl returned the gesture and said, "You haven't answered my question yet..."
Kou Ji retracted his hand and smiled calmly: "Each one has his or her own merits..."
The girl blinked her eyes, glanced at Kou Ji, and shouted sweetly: "Your answer is quite clever. It neither belittles my Xiang family nor weakens the reputation of your Kou family. But I am not satisfied, so you answer again."
Kou Ji was stunned for a moment, then laughed out loud and said: "Why should I satisfy you..."
After saying this, he sat down on the chair.
He was reluctant to continue messing around with a little girl.
When the girl saw this scene, she stamped her feet and said, "You! That's rude!"
Kou Ji rolled his eyes and curled his lips and said: "As if you were not rude. I am a guest. When I arrived at Xiang Mansion, you, as the host, did not entertain me well. You chased me and asked questions, and you forced me
I’ll give you a satisfactory answer. Isn’t this rude?”
When the girl heard this, she stamped her feet angrily.
Normally, when those princes and grandsons met her, they would not follow her wishes and please her.
He was as obedient as a raccoon cat in front of her, answering whatever he asked.
She had never met someone as slightly scoundrel as Kou Ji.
Kou Ji took a sip of water and said to the girl: "Stop stamping your feet. If you stamp your feet again, the brick under your feet will be broken. Although Xiangfu is not short of money, if the news that you chopped up a brick spreads, it will be broken in the future.
I can’t get married anymore.”
It was okay that Kou Ji didn't mention this, but when he mentioned it, the girl was completely annoyed.
"Even if I marry a pig or a dog, I won't marry you."
The girl gritted her silver teeth, pointed at Kou Ji and roared.
Kou Ji was stunned, rolled his eyes, and muttered: "It's inexplicable..."
"You! You! You bastard!"
The girl was yelled at by Kou Ji angrily.
Before Kou Ji could reply, she covered her face and ran out of the side hall.
Kou Ji looked confused, turned his head to look at the steward who was waiting on the side, and asked: "Is she... there... something wrong here?"
Kou Ji raised his finger and pointed at his head.
The steward's mouth twitched and he didn't reply.
"Ahem~"
Two heavy coughs came from the back hall.
Kou Jixun walked over and saw Xiang Minzhong, wearing a large robe and with his hands behind his back, appearing in the side hall.
He held a ruler in his hand, and a corner of the ruler emerged from behind him, and Kou Ji could see it clearly.
Kou Ji saw that the old man looked like he had just returned from teaching.
On weekdays, the old man would go to the palace to teach the prince, and when he returned to the palace, he would also educate the younger generations in the palace.
The old man looked very busy. He did not look like he was recuperating at home and waiting for the official's approval to beg for bones, as the rumors said.
"Is it that ungrateful boy who is talking ill of my husband and granddaughter?"
Xiang Minzhong muttered something knowingly, he sat on the main seat in the side hall, and casually put down the ruler in his hand.
Kou Ji stood up slowly and bowed, "Kou Ji, I have met Grandpa Xiang."
Xiang Minzhong glanced at Kou Ji and said in a neutral tone: "Is it you who is talking ill of my granddaughter? Among my many disciples, you are the first one who dares to speak ill of my granddaughter."
Kou Ji shook his head decisively, "I definitely didn't say anything bad about your granddaughter."
The corners of Xiang Minzhong's mouth twitched, and he glared at Kou Ji and said, "You are the first one who dares to tell lies in front of me."
Kou Ji pretended to be surprised, "So that girl just now is your granddaughter? Let me tell you, why is she so pretty and pretty?"
The corner of Xiang Minzhong's mouth twitched again, and he raised his hand to get the ruler.
But he thought that this was not a classroom, so he stopped thinking about the ruler.
The reason why the girl appeared in the side hall was all because of his instruction.
He also heard every word of the conversation between the girl and Kou Ji.
Kou Ji is now telling lies with his eyes open, how can he not be annoyed.
Xiang Minzhong narrowed his eyes, held back his annoyance, and said quietly: "You praised my granddaughter so well, did you fall in love with her?"
Kou Ji was stunned. He thought Xiang Minzhong was joking with him, so he clicked his lips and said with emotion: "I have aspirations, but I can't reach them."
When Xiang Minzhong heard this, his inner annoyance dissipated a lot.
He waved his hand and said, "Sit down and talk."
Kou Ji cupped his hands, sat on his seat, picked up the water glass, and took a sip.
As soon as Shui entered the house, Xiang Minzhong said faintly: "Since you like my granddaughter so much and are willing to come to ask for her hand in marriage, how about I reluctantly give up my love and betroth her to you?"
"puff!"
The water in Kou Ji's mouth spurted out instantly. He looked at Xiang Minzhong in shock and blurted out, "Are you kidding me?"
"Um?!"
When Xiang Minzhong heard this, his face darkened and he stared.
Kou Ji realized that he had been rude and hurriedly explained: "I didn't mean that, I mean, Grandpa Xiang, please stop joking with me. The daughter of your house is something that many princes and grandsons can't even ask for. I mean, grandpa Xiang, please stop joking with me."
How can a poor boy from the countryside achieve such great things?
This kid is not here to ask for a hand in marriage, but to ask for a favor from Grandpa Xiang."
Xiang Minzhong glared at Kou Ji, with a dark face, and said in a deep voice: "You look at me, do you think I'm joking with you?"
Kou Ji smiled dryly and murmured in his heart.
Although he had reached the legal marriage age in the Song Dynasty, he had never thought about it.
Suddenly someone mentioned this, and he was really confused.
His mind was a little confused, and he couldn't think of a reasonable word of rejection for a while, so he could only evade: "Grandpa Xiang, this marriage has always been the order of the parents and the words of the matchmaker.
The kid can't make the decision himself.
I need to go home and ask my dad for instructions."
Xiang Minzhong suddenly stood up and said in a deep voice: "I will accompany you back to the Kou Mansion."
Hearing this, Kou Ji quickly waved his hand, "No, no, no... really no need... I'll go back and tell myself..."
Kou Ji didn't expect that Xiang Minzhong was so aggressive that he actually wanted to accompany him back to Kou's house. Judging from his attitude, it seemed that he had to settle on the marriage.
When Xiang Minzhong heard Kou Ji's words, instead of feeling relieved, he frowned and asked, "You look down on my granddaughter?"
Kou Ji opened his mouth, really not knowing what to say.
If he says he doesn't like him, he will definitely offend Xiang Minzhong, and even the entire Xiang Mansion.
At that time, let alone asking Xiang Minzhong to do something, if Xiang Minzhong didn't give him any trouble, he would have to burn incense and worship Buddha.
He wanted to say that he liked Xiang Minzhong, but seeing Xiang Minzhong's attitude, he might rush to the Kou Mansion before night to finalize the marriage.
Xiang Minzhong stared at Kou Ji and said coldly: "I asked Wang Shu to negotiate for an agreement before, but I never got a reply from Wang Shu. Today, I sacrificed my dignity and came to you personally to discuss the matter. I didn't expect you to refuse. Now.
It seems that you despise my granddaughter and don’t want to offend me, so you pretend not to know.”
Hearing this, Kou Ji didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He explained: "I really don't know...my uncle didn't tell me about it, and I didn't hear it mentioned by my father or grandfather."
"I know that you didn't know about this before this."
Xiang Minzhong said coldly.
Kou Ji was stunned, "Do you believe it?"
Kou Ji originally thought it would take a lot of effort, but he didn't expect Xiang Minzhong to believe it so easily.
Xiang Minzhong said coldly: "Because after I mentioned this matter to Wang Shu, I didn't get a reply from Wang Shu. However, I met Wang Shu's wife and asked people to help her son over and over again to propose marriage to my granddaughter.
.”
Kou Ji was stunned, "Is there such a thing?"
Xiang Minzhong nodded.
Kou Ji suddenly remembered the scene where Wang Kou and Wang Yuan were having trouble in Kou Zhun's bedroom.
She originally thought that Wang Kou and Wang Yuan were acting innocently with him.
Now it seems that the root cause actually lies in Xiangfu.
It must be that Xiangfu rejected Wang Kou's proposal to marry Wang Yuan, and Wang Kou's family was implicated in Kou Ji's case.
"You refused?"
Kou Ji questions.
Xiang Minzhong nodded and said calmly: "Wang Yuan is not qualified to compete with you. I am the son-in-law of Xiang Mansion, but not everyone is qualified. Wang Shu did this in an unethical manner, so I don't mind doing it in front of you.