Shen Xiu glanced at the rude-faced maid and asked lightly: "Who is your master?"
The maid was very articulate, "This is the Lu family, so naturally our master's surname is Lu."
As soon as Lu Yuhan left, someone came to greet him. It was obvious that his every move was being monitored.
Regardless of whether the other party is Mr. Lu, I'm afraid I have to make a trip.
Shen Xiu touched the silver hairpin in her sleeve. She had expected that she would not go there peacefully today. Since someone invited her, she would go.
She nodded towards the maid: "Then you can lead the way!"
The Lu family's garden occupies a very large area. The maid led Shen Xiu inside for a long time, and finally brought her to a water pavilion.
Next to the water pavilion is a small pond. Unfortunately, it is winter now, and the lotus leaves in the pond have withered, leaving only an empty water surface.
The early winter wind blows from the pond, bringing a chill.
Shen Xiu wrapped her cloak around her body and thought in amusement, it seemed that the person who invited her here had no discernment and actually chose such a place for a date.
While she was thinking wildly, the maid had stopped and made a gesture of invitation, "My master is inside."
After the maid finished speaking, she retreated.
Shen Xiu pushed open the carved wooden door of Shuixuan and saw Mr. Lu enjoying tea with someone beside the coffee table in the middle.
That person was none other than Magistrate Zhen.
Seeing Shen Xiu coming, Magistrate Zhen did not raise his head, but just lowered his head and sipped tea.
Mr. Lu glanced at Shen Xiu and said with a smile: "Ms. Shen is here. The county magistrate said that Luo County Cheng asked him to help and bring you a few words. You guys talk first, and I will leave first."
When Mr. Lu left, he also closed the door.
In fact, Mr. Lu was very surprised when Magistrate Zhen came to celebrate his birthday today.
After all, Magistrate Zhen is also the head of a county. He doesn't have that much face to invite someone to come and congratulate his mother on her birthday.
However, since the other party came, Mr. Lu could only entertain him politely. When Magistrate Zhen proposed to pay his birthday to the old lady, Mr. Lu even said that he did not dare to do so.
Fortunately, Magistrate Zhen was just polite and then started talking about repairing the bridge.
As soon as Mr. Lu heard about the bridge construction, he knew that Magistrate Zhen wanted him to pay for it.
No wonder he would be so condescending as it turned out to be to make money for himself.
Master Lu understood Magistrate Zhen's intention, and after calculation, he came up with an amount that satisfied Magistrate Zhen.
After Magistrate Zhen was satisfied, Mr. Lu proposed to let him have lunch here before leaving.
Magistrate Zhen readily agreed, and asked to see Shen Xiu, saying that her adopted brother asked him to bring her a few words. However, the matter was not urgent and would be discussed later when Shen Xiu was free.
Master Lu did not doubt that he was there, so he asked the maid to stare at Shen Xiu, and then invited Shen Xiu over.
Mr. Lu more or less knew that Shen Xiu recognized Luo Gong as his adopted brother.
He thought that Luo Gong really had something to say to Shen Xiu, so after Shen Xiu arrived, Mr. Lu avoided suspicion and left.
Magistrate Zhen waited until Mr. Lu's footsteps disappeared in the distance, then raised his head and said to Shen Xiu: "Sit down!"
When Shen Xiu took off her cloak and sat down, Magistrate Zhen poured her another cup of hot tea.
"This is Mr. Lu's treasured white tea. It is said to be made from tea leaves of ancient tea trees and has been stored for two or three years. If I hadn't come here today, he would not have been willing to take it out."
Magistrate Zhen pushed the hot tea in front of Shen Xiu, "Tea can clear the liver and improve eyesight. You often use your eyes, so you can drink more of this."
Shen Xiu looked at the steaming tea in front of her, and she thought to herself that it seemed that she was right to let Qiao Meier drink jasmine tea every day.
Magistrate Zhen likes to drink tea so much. If Qiao Meier could drink tea with him often, she would be able to please him.
She lowered her head and thought about Qiao Meier, and took a sip of tea absentmindedly.
Magistrate Zhen looked at the person opposite and thought to himself, if Wan Niang were still alive, she would definitely not let down such a good white tea.
It's a pity that this person has passed away, and he can only remember the person in front of him in vain.
The two of them had their own thoughts, and no one spoke for a while.
It wasn't until Shen Xiu put down the tea that Magistrate Zhen asked, "Isn't this tea delicious?"
Shen Xiu shook his head and said, "No. It's just that I'm a layman and don't like drinking tea very much."
Magistrate Zhen smiled bitterly: "Maybe it's not that you don't like drinking tea, but that you don't like drinking tea with me!"
It was rare for him to tell such a truth, and after he finished speaking, he even smiled to himself.
When Shen Xiu heard this truth, she was still a little stunned. She looked at the other party with some confusion, "Sir, may I understand that you have already thought of quitting despite the difficulties."
Magistrate Zhen did not answer, but took a sip of tea and said slowly: "I will tell you something, and you will know whether I will give up in spite of the difficulties."
"I fell in love with Wan Niang at first glance. Unfortunately, my parents felt that Wan Niang was fragile and might not be conducive to fertility, so they were very opposed to the marriage."
Magistrate Zhen looked up at Shen Xiudao: "Do you know what I did?"
Shen Xiu shook his head and said, "I don't know."
Magistrate Zhen smiled slowly and said: "Ever since I fell in love with Wan Niang, I have devoted myself to her. No matter how my parents objected, I just wanted to marry her. For this reason, I did not hesitate to kneel in the ancestral hall for a full month."
"My mother was very distressed at the time, and then she agreed to the marriage. But my father was extremely stubborn and said that it was okay for me to marry Wan Niang, but I would only agree to the marriage if I passed the examination to become a scholar."
"Back then, I was addicted to musical instruments. I just wanted to be a violinist and didn't want to take the imperial examination. My father knew my ambition and thought that if I said this, I would give up my mind."
County Magistrate Zhen smiled when he said this, "But he underestimated my determination. I seem to be an easy-going person, and I don't seem to care about anything, but if I really have any thoughts, no one can stop me."
"It took me just two years to learn the Four Books and Five Classics by heart, and finally I was admitted as a scholar. I finally got my father to agree to the marriage."
When Magistrate Zhen finished speaking, he smiled at Shen Xiu and said, "I know you are resisting me right now and don't like me very much. But it doesn't matter. I'll just wait. If it doesn't work in one year, then it will be two years. If it doesn't work in two years, it will be three years."
Year."
"You don't need to say anything." Shen Xiu interrupted him.
She had known that people like Magistrate Zhen would be difficult to deal with. Now that she found that he was more determined and patient than she had imagined, she couldn't help but feel a little lucky.
Fortunately, he found Qiao Meier, otherwise with the other party's stubbornness, he would probably fall into his prey sooner or later.
Now that she knew that the other party would not give up despite difficulties, Shen Xiu didn't want to deal with it anymore.
"You asked me to come to the Lu family, and I came. Now that the tea has been tasted, it's time for me to leave."
Shen Xiu stood up from the coffee table and said, "The seventh aunt of the Lu family is still waiting for me. Please forgive me for being with you."
"Wait." As soon as Shen Xiu took out his right foot, Magistrate Zhen's voice sounded behind him.
"After my term in Huai'an County is over, I have no plans to return to Beijing. I heard that the scenery in the south of the Yangtze River is not only beautiful, but the local Su embroidery is also very famous."
"It just so happens that I have someone who is in the Ministry of Personnel in the same year. It shouldn't be difficult to get a job as a county magistrate in Suzhou."
Magistrate Zhen said: "You like embroidery so much. If you go to Suzhou, you will probably like it very much."
Shen Xiu closed her eyes. It was undeniable that what Magistrate Zhen said was indeed very tempting.
But Shen Xiu had already made up her mind. When she opened her eyes, she said, "No need to worry, sir. If I want to go to Suzhou, I will go there myself."
Magistrate Zhen refused to give up and said, "Don't be in a hurry to answer me. Go back and think about it carefully." After a pause, he added, "I'll come back and ask you for your answer in a few days."
"You don't have to wait a few days." Shen Xiu turned around and said, "In three days, we will meet at my sworn brother's house. I want to give you a big gift."