In the afternoon, Chen Qing came to Lu Mansion and formally came to meet Lu Yihao.
Lu Xiu's father, Lu Jin, met Chen Qing first. Although Lu Jin was Lu Yihao's eldest son, he was relatively mediocre, far inferior to his uncle and brothers, and his status in the family was not high.
But Chen Qing liked him the most in the Lu family. His kindness and love for his daughter moved Chen Qing very much.
"I heard from Xiu'er that my nephew is coming today, so I've been waiting in the mansion!" Lu Jin said with a smile.
"My nephew went to the Ministry of Civil Affairs in the morning, so he can only come here in the afternoon, which keeps my uncle waiting for a long time."
"It doesn't matter! It doesn't matter!"
Lu Jin asked again with concern: "Have you found your elder?"
"My nephew really can't find a suitable elder. Zheng Ping and I feel like brothers, so I asked Zheng Ping's father, Uncle Zheng Guo, to pay the betrothal gift for me. He can be regarded as my elder."
"Oh! I know him. He's a nice guy. When will he come over to pay the betrothal gift?"
"At midnight the day after tomorrow, he will send a post tomorrow."
"I understand, let's go! Go see the old man."
Chen Qing followed Lu Jin to the back house, but was surprised to see Lu Yihao sitting in the pavilion fishing, with a thick cotton robe wrapped behind him. This was not a cotton jacket, but a robe filled with kapok, which was more breathable and warmer than cotton.
The imperial court distributed cotton to officials as welfare every year, so officials wore cotton official uniforms in winter, but rich and powerful people usually wore furs, or used duck down, goose down, and cashmere to fill their bedding.
"Father, nephew Chen Xian is here!" Lu Jin stepped forward to greet his father.
Lu Yihao nodded, "I saw it, go ahead!"
Lu Jin quietly winked at Chen Qing and pointed at his chest, meaning to ask Chen Qing to be more relaxed and not to quarrel with the old man.
Chen Qing smiled and nodded, and then Lu Jin left.
Chen Qing stepped forward and saluted, "Junior Chen Qing meets Lu Gong!"
Lu Yihao smiled slightly and said: "We are going to be a family soon, and we don't have to be so different. Just follow Xiu'er and just call me old man. When you get married, you can change your name to grandfather!"
"Junior, please obey!"
"Sit down, this chair is prepared for you, let's chat."
Chen Qing sat down on the small chair next to him, and Lu Yihao asked with a smile: "Can you fish?"
"I've fished before, but I just don't have the patience of the old man and can't sit still."
"Haha! I am patient now that I am old. When I was young, I could not sit still either."
Chen Qing looked at it for a while and asked, "Didn't the old man make a nest?"
Lu Yihao was startled, "What do you mean by making a nest?"
“It’s just about throwing bait, attracting fish to a certain place, and then setting the hook to fish.”
Lu Yihao slapped his thigh, "This is a good idea, why didn't I think of it?"
Chen Qing was speechless. At this level, he still wanted to write "The Fishing Classic"?
"Don't worry, old man. I will give you a bait recipe later. Both herring and crucian carp will like it."
"Okay! I'm not in a hurry. You can write to me later."
After a pause, Lu Yihao asked again: "In this battle of Jingxiang, I heard that you don't want a reward?"
Chen Qing's heart moved. This old man has very deep ears and eyes in the court! He already knew what happened in the morning.
Chen Qing smiled and said: "It's not that I don't want the reward, it's that the officials don't want to give it to me. I can only settle for the next best thing and give the reward to my subordinates."
"The officials won't do this kind of thing!"
"I guess it's because of the Queen Mother, and the officials can't do anything about it."
Lu Yihao smiled slightly and said: "Your attitude is very good. Proposing a condition that is not excessive is equivalent to giving the official a step forward. To give others the impression that it is the result of your initiative and has nothing to do with the official."
"The original intention of this junior is actually not to suffer a loss."
Lu Yihao laughed, "Actually, the reason is not important, what is important is the result."
Lu Yihao asked again: "What are your next plans?"
"Junior wants to go back to Shaanxi Road. All my soldiers are from there."
"Do you think the court will let you go back?"
"Junior, let's wait and see how the situation develops!"
Lu Yihao nodded, "Actually, Zhu Shengfei went to Shaanxi just for a transition. The officials wanted him to become a prime minister. This is what I later understood. So far, there are only four prime ministers, probably early next year! There will be a wave of official adjustments, no.
In the event of an accident, Zhu Shengfei will return to Beijing. Although Zhu Shengfei hates you, the new Xuanfu envoy will definitely not hate you. At that time, you will have a chance to return to Shaanxi Road."
"Could it be that Li Gang was transferred to Shaanxi Road?"
"It's unlikely. Li Gang and Zhang Jun have a bad relationship. Sichuan and Shaanxi are Zhang Jun's territory. He will definitely oppose it. If I guess correctly, the new Sichuan and Shaanxi Propaganda Ambassador must be recommended by Zhang Jun, or Sichuan and Shaanxi.
Lu Fayuan, deputy envoy of the Xuanfu Department, or Liu Ziyu, the prefect of Hanzhong."
At this time, Lu Jin hurried over and said to Lu Yihao: "Father, Li Zhiyu is here to visit and is waiting in the study outside!"
"I understand. You can take Mr. Chen to discuss the marriage! Let's try to be as simple as possible and get the wedding done before we go to work."
.........
At the same time that Lu Yihao met with Chen Qing, Qin Hui also met with his nephew Wang Bo in his study.
Wang Bo's fate was rough. He received the care of the Queen Mother and was appointed as the county captain of Kuaiji County. However, within two days of taking office, he took a group of prostitutes to the county government office to drink wine. He happened to be inspected by the Xiangong who was inspecting the Salt Railway crossing Yuezhou.
Wang Ding bumped into him, and Wang Ding was so angry that he dismissed him from his official position on the spot.
Qin Hui and Wang also secretly complained about Wang Bo, how could he bring prostitutes into the government office, it was so unbecoming.
Wang Bo had no choice but to continue to be his romantic son-in-law in Lin'an, leading a group of friends around Lin'an all day long.
Qin Hui also knew that his nephew was a helpless man and was too lazy to help him. He called Wang Bo here today because of the advice his wife gave him. Maybe Wang Bo knew Chen Qing's weakness.
Find a way to make Chen Qing break the law and then deprive him of his military power.
Wang Bo has been living a very debauched life recently. Their boat capsized in the West Lake a few days ago, but the people around them rescued them. Both men and women were naked, and they became a joke among the neighbors in Lin'an for a while.
Wang Bo thought that his uncle came to him to scold him, but unexpectedly he asked about Chen Qing's weaknesses, which he was very interested in.
"What a coincidence. My nephew and a group of friends have discussed how to deal with Chen Qing. They have thought of many tricks, which are quite practical, but they have no chance to practice them."
"Please tell me more specifically."
Wang Bo immediately beamed and said: "For example, his woman, this is the most effective. His fiancée is Lu Yihao's granddaughter. In addition, he also has two personal maids. They are a pair of girls. They look exactly the same. That watery appearance!
It’s absolutely amazing, Chen Qing loves them very much, if they are sent to the palace, Chen Qing will probably rebel.”
"Then what?" Qin Hui asked quietly.
"Then there are his friends, such as Hu Yantong, Li Qingzhao, the Zheng family, etc. If anything happens to them, Chen Qing will definitely stand up for them. Even if it triggers legal matters, he will definitely do it."
"Is there no more?" Qin Hui continued to ask.
"Finally, it's him. My nephew knows that he can't rub his eyes with any dirt. If someone bullies him and insults him, he will definitely retaliate with thunder, and many cruel methods will be used."
Qin Hui nodded, "I understand!"
Wang Bo smiled flatteringly and said: "My nephew has an idea, but it didn't come true last time. Why not test it first and see how he reacts?"
Qin Hui said calmly: "You tell me first and let me see if it works!"