Kou Zhong has been sweeping toilet floors for three to five months. Except for the ridicule from a few patrolling stewards, almost no one knows about this servant who once guided his master. Now that the spring equinox has arrived, I have only heard that the imperial court has granted leave.
But it has nothing to do with him; he still stays in the yard, doing his dirty work, but in his free time, he stands on the wall and looks at the grand formation of the Spring Festival. At first sight, Cheng Congyuan walks past with his head held high, followed by
Beating gongs and drums, a dozen minions crowded around Ye Yongjia, and suddenly there was a chaotic and lively scene. He thought to himself that after the Spring Festival, he would never hear such a noisy sound again. It was not the mansion.
Instead of mobilizing troops and mobilizing people, he no longer had to worry about toilet matters.
Kou Zhong was always very sharp-tongued and had no intention of settling down, so he easily flattered others. Naturally, he was taken care of by several stewards and was sent to buy a house as a comprador. Although he was new here and could not get any big errands, he could be assigned to a few
He was also very self-sufficient in his small errands and had no intention of being greedy. During this period, he also became familiar with several "colleagues" and heard from them that the spring festival would last only one day. After the event was completed, Cheng Congyuan would
He persuaded his master to go to Jinan for a banquet. Kou Zhong was extremely angry about this, thinking that this was Cheng Congyuan's excuse for his own selfish desires.
But since Cheng Congyuan was so premeditated, he would never use it to show off his power. This was an opportunity to revitalize the family business: Wang Chuding, the prefect of Jinan, hosted a banquet for prominent families in Shandong, including the Ye family. After Cheng Congyuan received the letter,
He was almost overjoyed. This letter meant that the Ye family was very likely to make friends with the government. Once successful, any long-term plan would be unfavorable, and would even shock Shandong. Thinking of this, his face suddenly became sad, and his wrinkled hands began to tremble.
, recalling the hardships and hardships he and Ye Long went through while running the house, he was filled with emotion. After being stunned for a long time, Cheng Congyuanfang sighed slightly, stood up slowly on the couch, and then ran straight to the study.
"Master, this is a letter from the prefect of Jinan... I think I must go."
Instead, Ye Yongjia looked hesitant, looked at Cambodia thoughtfully, and uttered a few cold words for a long time: "It's better not to go."
Cheng Congyuan scratched his ears and said to himself: "Why is there something wrong with my ears again..."
"It's better not to go." Ye Yongjia repeated word for word.
Cheng Congyuan stood up in shock this time, and smiled angrily: "Stop being so disregardful of the overall situation. I'm afraid no one will support us! If we connect with the government this time, we will have a prosperous family business at our fingertips!"
"Cheng Congyuan persuaded with his fingers.
Ye Yongjia stared coldly at the Cambodian book. This so-called "prosperity" was already clear on the day he killed Zhang Ping, completely extinguishing his previous ambition. But it was not ambition that drove his decision-making, so everything fell into place, and some were only
It's the slightest obstruction in my heart.
"Then go. Family business is the most important thing." Ye Yongjia said relaxedly.
Qihe is only separated from Jinan by a river, and besides, only two of them were going, so it was convenient not to add many people to accompany them. They also did not pass the Zhongjing Temple in the middle, so there was no delay, and they quickly stopped in front of the magistrate's office.
Before the magistrate came to greet them, the two of them visited first with their cards in hand. After entering from the main entrance, they first saw an open courtyard built with bluestone pavement. The courtyard was extremely square; there were several shallow ponds on both sides of the road, and there were a few shallow ponds on all sides.
It was surrounded by white stone sills and squeezed into a cross shape, but it did not prevent the road from leading straight to the steps in front of the hall. Ye Yongjia also walked into the hall, not daring to enjoy the scenery more, so he had to sit in the hall
Waiting for the magistrate.
"Master Ye is here!" Ye Yongjia raised his head and saw that the prefect was wearing casual clothes. His eyebrows and hair and beard were all silvery white, which was so shiny. But his face was shiny, his facial features were extremely smooth, and there was no wrinkle on his face, which was different from his age.
Very consistent.
"Master Wang, please don't call me that! Just call me by your name." Ye Yongjia stood up quickly and bowed respectfully. "Oh, you can't do this. How about calling me Ye Guishi?"
"It all depends on the prince." Ye Yongjia responded with a smile.
"This is... oh, Mr. Cheng!" Wang Chuding moved to Cheng Congyuan, as if he had known him for a long time.
"I'm a slave, please don't take my life..." Cheng Congyuan pretended to be frightened and knelt down. Wang Chuding hurriedly held his arm: "I don't know how many times I've seen you, why are you so polite?" Cheng Congyuan
Smile slightly.
"How is Ye Yushi doing?" he asked Cheng Congyuan.
"This book is not for slaves to read, so what do I know? I am not a child, I can read by myself!" Cheng Congyuan glanced at Ye Yongjia.
There are no letters from home. Ye Yongjia thought for a moment. But it would be inappropriate to explain it directly. Without thinking, he said: "My father's official affairs are complicated, and there have been no letters recently. Apart from that, there are no big things. I am in good health."
After speaking, he slightly turned to Cheng Congyuan. Mr. Cheng seemed to be very satisfied with his adaptability.
"Oh, that's all."
After chatting for a while, Ye Yongjia was able to cope with it easily. There was no time for nervousness and fear, and the conversation was more enjoyable. Wang Chuding looked at the sun casually, and immediately called out a servant and asked, "What time is it?"
"My lord, it will be noon time."
After Wang Chuding heard this, he stood up and bowed to them: "It won't be long now and I'm afraid other families will come one after another. You two can go to the back hall and wait."
The two entered the back hall and walked around the screen. Inside was the banquet place. There were tables on both sides, which were guest seats. Above the guest seats was the main seat, with a separate sandalwood table facing the front, looking sideways.
Waiting for the guests. Of course the two of them sat at the guest seat. They also looked at the location and sat at the seat next to the chief seat. It was not that they were ignorant of humility. After all, the reputation of the Ye family was regarded as the crown of this domain. In addition, in order to socialize with the prefect, they chose
Here we are.
"I am getting better and better at doing things!" Cheng Congyuan sighed.
Ye Yongjia was indifferent and unusually silent.
"The prefect Wang has a daughter at home, do you know?" Cheng Congyuan tried his best to lower his voice. Ye Yongjia replied calmly: "I know what Mr. Cheng wants to do. But... no matter what, you don't need to say more."
"I'm only twenty-eight years old, only four years behind me..." Cheng Congyuan closed his eyes and said to himself, "I will express my opinion in front of the prefect later... If it happens, the Ye family will be deeply rooted in Jinan...
"
"Mr. Cheng!" Ye Yongjia patted his shoulder lightly, and Cheng Congyuan turned around: "Don't you agree?"
Ye Yongjia paused for a moment, then turned around and said with a smile: "Things may not work out, just watch it step by step."
The banquet was quickly set up, and all the people were present. The magistrate took the throne, glanced at the glistening wine in the cup, and held it in his hand: "The emperor has given me a holiday at the Spring Equinox, and I will take this opportunity to meet you all."
Let’s get together. I’m a virtuous man from Shandong. Please have a drink!” After saying that, he waved the wine cup and drank it all in one gulp.
Everyone sitting at the guest table also shouted: "Okay!" and poured the wine into their stomachs. Only Ye Yongjia stood up more slowly and drank the wine hesitantly. Wang Chuding then left his seat and toasted to everyone one by one, and Ye Yongjia hurriedly responded.
Suddenly, they were walking around, and several prominent wealthy families were toasting and chatting everywhere. As a member of the Ye family, Ye Yongjia naturally couldn't sit around, so he picked up the wine and toasted everywhere. He naturally went to the guest table in the east to pay tribute to the recent host.
The person who took the seat first made a toast. I learned that he belonged to the Zhou family in Jiyang and his name was Zhou Yizhi.
"Guild Ye is raising a son! At such an age, he can handle troubles!" Zhou Yizhi said with emotion.
"Yes, it was my father who was very discerning and chose Congyuan as my teacher. He taught me benevolence, righteousness, virtue and filial piety, and did not adopt heretics. Otherwise, we would not be where we are today." Ye Yongjia poured wine for him with one hand, and he thanked him, as if he was expressing his gratitude.
He muttered to himself: "My son is not living up to expectations!" Ye Yongjia said nothing. He raised his head again and asked with a smile: "Master Ye, it is a pity that my son did not become a Jinshi... I wonder if there is any other good way?
"
Ye Yongjia was stunned and looked back at Cheng Congyuan. Cheng Congyuan just kept his head lowered. His mind was confused and he didn't know what Zhou Yizhi meant. The anger in his heart suddenly rose, and he gritted his teeth and said: "You want to find another one."
For a good idea, you can ask the adults in the Ministry of Rites to see what they think. But the younger generation is dull and only knows how to study and become an official." Zhou Yizhi's face turned red, and Ye Yongjia didn't know how to ease it, so he was deadlocked for a while.
.Zhou Yizhi was still embarrassed, so he excused himself and asked the prefect to toast him, and left the table.
Ye Yongjia had no choice but to pretend that nothing happened and looked at Cheng Congyuan again. He had raised his head and could not hide his pale face. After this, Ye Yongjia was confused by doubts and was not very clear. He reluctantly finished a table of wine.
, I have forgotten how I socialized, maybe something went wrong.
When the prefect saw that Ye Yongjia had finally returned to the table, even though his expression was not good, he couldn't help but asked: "I saw that Ye Guishi didn't want to drink just now... I thought you didn't drink on weekdays, but in the blink of an eye you went to toast. I don't know why?"
..." After saying that, he then added: "I don't mean to blame you, I'm just asking."
Ye Yongjia kept his spirits up to avoid causing the prefect's displeasure. He bowed and bowed and said: "It's not that I dare to dislike it, it's just that all the guests are older and think of themselves as juniors, so it's better to take a slower approach in everything." The prefect seemed to admire him.
Ye Yongjia's gaze was ignored, but Ye Yongjia never saw it.
Unknowingly, the banquet ended like that. Ye Yongjia didn't even touch the bamboo chopsticks a few times, but he drank a lot of wine, which made his face appear red. He felt a little dizzy, so he closed his eyes for a while.
Resting, he kept stroking his browbones. At this moment, Cheng Congyuan could not calm down. Although he was very quiet beside his master, his mind was not empty. He was thinking rapidly about the way to connect the situation. It must be like this
Tying knots are generally just right.
The prefect stood up and pulled up the curtain behind the main seat. Cheng Congyuan hurriedly collected his thoughts and ran after him. Wang Chuding suddenly heard footsteps behind him, turned back and stopped, and said with a smile: "What's the matter with Mr. Cheng?"
"
"I don't dare take the word 'sir' seriously. The magistrate wants to kill this villain!" Cheng Congyuan smiled slightly. "I'm here to talk to you. What do you think of my master?" Cheng Congyuan got straight to the point, his eyes
He slipped over and looked at him. Wang Chuding didn't understand what he meant, and replied blankly: "Very good..." He looked at Cheng Congyuan intently, and after a while, he suddenly pointed at the old servant and smiled: "You
This person came to marry the Ye family!"
Cheng Congyuan breathed out a sigh of relief, "I was ordered by the master to marry you! Mr. Wang, my Ye family is the most prominent family in Shandong. Isn't it appropriate to marry you?"
"No, no... that's what I thought!" Wang Chuding's face became much more relaxed when he heard the word 'Master'. He had no doubts. After all, Cheng Congyuan had been with Ye Long for many years, and of course he had full trust in him. Cheng Congyuan had full trust in him.
The reason why Yuan dared to lie like this was due to his consideration: if Ye Long came back, he would never reject this kind of marriage, so once he said it then, it would be a perfect match.
They both returned to the seats and sat down. Ye Yongjia was stroking his eyebrows and closing his eyes deeply. He didn't realize that the prefect had returned to his seat. Cheng Congyuan only glanced at him and then poked him gently. Ye Yongjia finally opened his eyes,
Looking at the Jinan magistrate sitting down, he hurriedly bowed down and saluted.
"No, no need. I just want to ask, did you know if Ye Guishi was ever married?" the prefect said.
"Never."
Wang Chuding added a smile to his face: "I have a daughter who is in her prime of life. She comes from a family of officials, so she has a gentle temperament and is quite proficient in poetry and calligraphy. If we agree, we will get married as soon as your father returns home.
I wonder how you feel about it?" Wang Chuding finished speaking slowly, leaning back quietly on the chair, waiting for the appropriate sound.
Ye Yongjia still leaned over and said nothing. Seeing the opportunity, Cheng Congyuan quickly reminded him and muttered a few words in a low voice. Then Ye Yongjia straightened up and said in a decisive tone: "Junior agrees!" Cheng Congyuan couldn't help but be happy for a moment.
, said "Okay!", clapped his hands again, and crisp applause echoed in the hall.
The prefect seemed to be very calm, nodded deeply, and then smiled and said: "I'm very happy that Ye Geizhi was so happy. You also have to tell your father that I agreed, so that he can be prepared." He lowered his head and twirled his beard.
"Junior understands." Ye Yongjia saluted again. He sat down slowly, closed his eyes again, and touched his brow bone. But his hands seemed to be controlled by others instead of listening to his own orders. He was in the position of political mediation.
Deep down, nothing on the body can move. Even if they want to stab someone in the heart, they will always be there to stop them; any conscience and things that should be pursued are annihilated in the roles that should be followed. What they forcefully give to people,
The force given to him made everyone run around in vain under such an order. He felt uncomfortable all over and endured a cramp in his stomach.
He saw Cheng Congyuan getting up and said, "It's not too late now. Besides, the banquet has ended and I'm still busy with things at home, so... I'll say goodbye to you for now."
Wang Chuding hurriedly left his seat and stood up, stepped forward and said goodbye: "We have agreed, but it doesn't hurt to leave. Don't you know that I need to see you all the way?"
Ye Yongjia said "no" several times and then gave up.
When Ye Yongjia walked outside the house, he suddenly felt a burning sensation in his stomach, and he suddenly felt a surge of air coming up. When he saw that there were still people around him, he tightened his cheeks and held back the breath. He did not dare to speak until he walked out of the city.
Outside, after wiping a corner, Ye Yongjia gestured to Cheng Congyuan with his hand. He made a sound of "vomiting" and then vomited. Cheng Congyuan hurriedly put his shoulder on one of his arms and patted his back slightly with his left hand. After a while,
Unable to vomit anymore, Cheng Congyuan took out a handkerchief from his waist and handed it to him: "Have you never drunk so much wine?"
"I don't know. It's just disgusting..."
"How about spitting it out?"
"I vomited cleanly...I don't feel sick anymore...I'll eventually get used to it..."