allonlinenovel Chapter 200 Engagement
Chapter 200 Engagement
"Linzhou Xu Family, what kind of family is that? Why haven't I heard of it before?"
"Yeah, I haven't heard of it either."
"I only know about the Xu family of Xuanzhou and the Xu family of Runzhou. When did the Xuzhou Li family appear in Jiangnan?"
Dozens of students present were whispering and discussing among themselves. At this moment, their eyes looking at Xu Mingsheng changed. They no longer had the same admiration as before, but a bit more disdain. It turned out that Senior Brother Xu had been lying to them. The son of a prominent family was actually a child from a poor family. Perhaps, he was even worse than a child from a poor family.
"Brother Du, your disciples have really made you proud!" Master Huo said gloatingly, "A gentleman is open and honest, while a villain is always worried."
Master Du was upright and aboveboard. The only disciples he was proud of were Nan Rongyan and Xu Mingsheng. He never expected that Xu Mingsheng would be so vain and speak in a mixed way. He did not have the frankness and integrity of a scholar at all. The more Master Du thought about it, the angrier he became. His hand shaking the carved feather fan was shaking violently, "Xu Mingsheng, how do you explain this!"
Master Du didn't really care whether he became the president of Yunlu Academy or not. He was really blind to think of recommending this disciple to the governor. If such a person became an official, wouldn't it cause endless troubles and harm the people?
Xu Mingsheng hated Shen Qingyu with gnashing teeth in his heart. How had he offended Su Ziqing to completely destroy the image of a nobleman that he had worked so hard to maintain over the years, and now he was being ridiculed by others. He would remember this grudge.
"Teacher, the great scholar Xu Quan of the previous dynasty is my ancestor." Although Xu Mingsheng's family has fallen into decline, he is from a serious scholarly family, and his wealth is more noble than that of the Shen family, which started out as a merchant. When he mentioned his ancestor Xu Quan, his face became more proud. If you really counted, some of the young masters of the noble families present could not compare to the Xu family's nobleness. This is also the reason why Xu Mingsheng has always been self-admiring and refused to admit that he is a poor young master.
Master Du was surprised and said, "You are actually a descendant of Xu Quan!"
But no matter how surprised he was, Master Du was also disgusted by Xu Mingsheng's behavior. It was a real shame for the Xu family to have such an unfilial descendant.
"That's right." Xu Mingsheng was very pleased with himself. He had no shame at all after his lie was exposed. He took out a jade pendant from his arms and said to Master Du with false respect, "Teacher, this jade pendant is a token of trust given to me by Old Master Shen from the Shen family in Jinling. He also said that if I bring this jade pendant to you in the future, I will be the son-in-law of the Shen family."
The Shen family is extremely wealthy. Once he marries Miss Shen, wouldn't it be easy for him to get the mansion and fertile land without any effort?
In the lecture hall of Yunlu Academy, there are images of saints hanging on the wall. In such a sacred place, Xu Mingsheng mentioned his marriage affairs without knowing the proper manner. This is naturally unreasonable and absolutely not allowed. Moreover, considering Xu Mingsheng's usual cautious personality, it is impossible for him not to understand the importance of the matter. But he mentioned it anyway, and he mentioned it in front of dozens of students and two respected teachers of Yunlu Academy.
Shen Qingyu clenched his hands under his sleeves angrily. Xu Mingsheng, that despicable villain, wanted to publicize the news of his marriage with the Shen family and let everyone in Jinling city know about it. Even if Shen Chuanhe regretted it, he couldn't. Once it was reported to the government, the students and the two teachers present would be the best witnesses.
Master Du and Master Huo are great scholars respected by everyone in Jiangnan. If the matter is brought to the government, the people in the government office will ask these two great scholars to testify in court. Their testimony will be equivalent to helping Xu Mingsheng, because the people in the government will give face to Master Du. Even if Master Du does not stand on Xu Mingsheng's side, Xu Mingsheng has already gained the upper hand by involving the matter with Yunlu Academy and Master Du.
The Shen family is rich, but they have no power. Many of the branch of Old Master Shen are engaged in business, but only a handful of them pass the imperial examinations. It may be that the male members of the Shen family do not have the talent for studying. Over the years, except for the son of Master Shen who passed the imperial examination and became a seventh-rank county official, there are also a few male members of the Shen family who passed the imperial examinations. The remaining male members of the Shen family, let alone passing the imperial examinations, are very few. If the Shen family had not used money to manage things, I am afraid that the Shen family would have no place in Jinling Mansion long ago. This is why Shen Chuanhe tried his best to climb up the Nanrong family. Only the Nanrong family can keep Shen Chuanhe's money, keep Shen Chuanhe's wealth and honor, and let him sleep soundly and continue to be his master Shen.
The jade pendant that Xu Mingsheng took out was emerald green, and the pattern carved on it was the leaves of West Lake Longjing tea. Although the Shen family was not the only one doing tea business in Jinling City, the varieties of tea sold by each family were different. The Shen family's tea had a bright color, tender leaves, and evenly distributed flowers, just like the tea leaves carved on the jade pendant. Ordinary people might not be able to see it, but an expert would know at a glance that this jade pendant was definitely owned by the Shen family, and they could not deny it.
It's the Shen family of Jinling Prefecture. Mr. Du shook his head and sighed. The Shen family is just a family built up of wealth and money. Isn't it a lowering of Xu Mingsheng's status to become the son-in-law of the Shen family?
Of course, if Master Du knew that his favorite student Nan Rongyan also planned to marry into the Shen family, he would not only be furious, but would be so angry that he would vomit blood.
Liang Yanxiu was fiddling with the small abacus made of red gold in his hand while he said slowly, "I was wondering whose family it was. It turned out to be the wealthy Shen family. Brother Xu, I should congratulate you. Now that you have become the son-in-law of the Shen family, you will enjoy endless wealth and honor in the future. But I wonder which lady of the Shen family did you marry?"
"Of course it's the eldest daughter of the Shen family." It is said that the eldest daughter of the Shen family is both talented and beautiful, and is deeply loved by Mr. Shen. If he marries her, Mr. Shen will definitely give her a lot of dowry in the future. Xu Mingsheng secretly calculated in his heart.
Shen Qingyu breathed a sigh of relief and thought to herself, Shen Xitong was ruthless and Xu Mingsheng was despicable, but they were indeed a good match. Fortunately, the school rules of Yunlu Academy were very strict, and once students entered the academy, they could never go out. Therefore, they did not know about the rumors all over Jinling Mansion recently, as well as what happened at Madam Nanrong's birthday party. Shen Qingyu quietly hid the purple bamboo flute in her sleeve. If they knew that Master Nanrong's purple bamboo flute had been given to her, then her identity as the Second Miss Shen would be revealed. Fortunately, this purple bamboo flute did not look special, and if you didn't look closely, you wouldn't be able to find anything. Shen Qingyu guessed that there were only three people in the entire Yunlu Academy who knew her identity. As long as those three didn't say it, she would be fine. But she missed one person, and that was Mr. Huo's favorite student - Liang Yanxiu.