C35 (2/2)
Xue's great-grandfather was one of the founding fathers of the Yan Dynasty. He had made his fortune in military exploits, and was awarded the title of Marquis of Changping. It was a pity that most of the children and grandchildren were mediocre. Although he was a big family, he could not be compared to the second family, but he had two promising sons, the eldest, High Scholar Xue Mingrui. His wife, Lady Yao, was the daughter of his master, and they were waiting for the imperial court to begin its proper practice before taking part in the examination. Xue Chaoyun had been intelligent since he was young, and his age was as small as a jade. Although he had a somewhat cold and proud temperament, he did not have an overbearing aura. He looked even more powerful than his big brother when he was young.
After the family had finished their meal, Xue Zhengjing was taught a few lessons before he gently asked, ”Master Wu, you've come back from Beijing. Are you going to practice martial arts with me tomorrow morning, or with Master Wu?” Even though he was no longer the marquis, his martial arts skills could not be left behind. In the future, Xue Qianyun would take part in the college exams, the country exams, and the assembly tests, without a good body, which was already delayed a bit by the eldest son, whose former age was good and health was not good, and who stayed in Ping County for a period of time. His body was actually getting stronger every day, so he respectfully told Xue Qiuyun some martial arts skills, which seemed to be very effective in the past few years.
Xue Ning Yun stood in the middle of the room and looked at his mother, then said to his father, ”Your son wishes to formally take Master Wu as his master.”
When Lady Xue heard this and was about to speak, she was stopped by Xue Duanjing's hand. He looked at his son anxiously. It was one thing to practice martial arts with Master Wu, but after paying respects to Master Wu, should they take the martial arts exam or something? Not to mention the peace of the country, even if the country was not peaceful, she didn't want her son to fight and kill all day.
”It's not impossible to be under Master Wu's tutelage, but I want to know your plan. Do you want to focus on practicing martial arts, or do you want to focus on literature and attend the Academy Competition two years from now?”
”My son is still a scholar.”
She left her parents and went back to her study. A picture of a plum blossom hung on the east wall of the study, with only four budding plum blossoms. He had personally drawn that plum blossom and cut it out with scissors. Everyone in the study knew that it was Second Master's treasure and couldn't easily touch it.
Although she was unwilling, Mrs. Xue still prepared things for the ceremony. She knelt down respectfully on the ground and handed over a letter, kowtow, and a cup of tea.
Although Master Wu was a general of the Xue Clan, he had great talent in martial arts. If it wasn't for the fact that Xue Xianyun had good roots, he wouldn't have been willing to do so. Earlier, when Xue Zhengjing didn't mention it, he had hinted that the Second Master had good bones, but Xue Zhengjing had chuckled at the time, so Master Wu could only laugh.
As the Third Princess had originally lived in the main hall of the Eastern Palace, she didn't need to move after becoming a daughter. She still lived in the Hall of Huazhi, which meant that her items had been replaced with a variety of accessories.
The bestowal ceremony was extremely grand. Tutor Wang often bestowed the title of first rank Crown Prince Grand Tutor, while Tutor Qian bestowed the title of first rank Crown Prince Grand Tutor. Zhou Xuan became the commander of the Eastern Palace guards, and Lin mama became a seventh rank official. The four bamboos were still the maids of the East Palace. Originally, the princess wanted them to each take a position as a female official. In any case, she could decide on the positions in the Eastern Palace, such as Si Le, Pian, Si Xiang and Si Jiu. Only Du Xi, who was not fond of writing and did not like martial arts (she did not want to train her muscles), had taken on the post of a teacher, which was to say, a title.
Tian, Zhao, Yue, and Jiang came to celebrate with gifts. Emissary Jiang specially sent a letter from King Jiang, which Emperor Qing He handed over to his daughter.
”Your … Your Highness, I heard that the sixth prince of Jiang Country is deeply loved by King Jiang. Is that true?” Ever since the Third Princess had helped her a few years ago, Xu Lin had gradually opened her heart to her. In her heart, she was extremely dependent on her, and she would do anything she wanted to help her.
Zhu Ru Yi, the princess of Yan Kingdom, smiled when she heard this. ”You've heard of it, and yet you're still asking me.”
If I had two things, a beloved one and a casual one, I wouldn't have taken out the one I loved first.” Ji Panpan was now a small female official in the Eastern Palace. She knew quite a lot about helping Lin mama, but she was a good girl who liked to be straightforward. Ru Yi felt that this was also the reason why Lin mama liked her.
”Whether you like it or not, it's true that Prince Jiang is capable.” King Jiang had used a thousand horses in exchange for Jiang Liu's reputation as a student of Yan City. In other words, when Prince Jiang Liu came to exchange knowledge, he was exchanging students, not protons. To be able to tell King Jiang to give up a thousand horses, this prince was worthy of their attention. What they valued wasn't his identity, but his scheming ability. It seemed that the more children King Jiang had, the better it would be. Those who wanted to advance, would naturally make a living.
The red bamboo still didn't change its gossiping habits, ”I wonder how this Prince Jiang looks like?”
Zhu Ruyi did not reply, but instead said, ”At the palace banquet tomorrow, Grand Princess Jing Yan's health is not good, and she will not be able to make it here. Tomorrow, an old man from General Xuan De's estate will be coming over. She's already old, so Ji Panpan told Lin mama that she'll have two servants come over to serve her. ” This year, he was also in his sixties, and was conferred the title of Princess Jingyan. She and the Prince Consort had a deep relationship, and the Prince Consort had always been widowed after his death and had no children, so the withering of the royal family was also true. Zhu Ru Yi didn't even have a close relative.
The various female officials and domestic servants in the Eastern Palace only interacted with each other in the Eastern Palace. Apart from the head bodyguards, therefore, it was none other than Zhu Ru Yi who was to serve in the Eastern Palace.
Red Bamboo and Ji Panpan hurriedly agreed. As for the rest of the women, they weren't important to the woman. They had their own Lin mama to receive them according to the rules.