Tianliangyuan

Chapter 7: Encountering a Golden Thigh

The Sun family has been declining in recent years. When Xu Lin married into the family, her father-in-law was a fourth-rank official, but now he has resigned. Her husband, Sun Qingyang, is now only a fifth-rank official, and he is the only member of the Sun family serving in the government, making them seem even more powerless.

Otherwise, Xu Lin wouldn't have thought of clinging so tightly to her family.

Xu Lin's thinking was simple: Xu Zhaozhao was the only daughter of her elder brother and sister-in-law, and she had been pampered since childhood. If Xu Zhaozhao could marry into the family, the Marquis's Mansion would surely support the Sun family in the future. Furthermore, with the Marquis's Mansion prospering, Xu Zhaozhao's dowry would certainly be substantial, and the Sun family would be able to live a more glamorous life.

It has to be said that Xu Lin was not only stupid herself, but she also thought of making the rest of the Xu family stupid too!

It's simply hopeless!

On the other side, after Xu Zhaozhao made an excuse to come into contact with some precious flowers, she felt that her body was full of power and that she was on the verge of a breakthrough.

It seems this time the harvest was good, and Xu Zhaozhao was very satisfied.

"How can you be so rude, young master? I clearly chose this Wei Zi plant first, how dare you snatch it from me?"

"What a joke! What do you mean you picked it out first? Did you pay for it? Humph, looking at your shabby appearance, you think you can buy Wei Zi? I think you're desperate for money!"

The young nobleman's words were met with a chorus of laughter.

The scholar, who was being mocked, turned red with anger, but he was not good with words. He pointed at the other person and kept saying "you, you, you" for a long time, but he couldn't come up with anything coherent.

Xu Zhaozhao raised an eyebrow. This plot sounds so familiar!

Isn't this guy, who was subtly mocked for being poor, the future top scholar described in the book?

Where is the powerful backer of that reborn female protagonist?

Fu Pei was furious, but he didn't know how to refute it, since he was indeed short of money.

It is also because he is not good at interpersonal relationships and offended powerful people as soon as he entered the capital. Now he is being suppressed repeatedly. It is a question whether he can even participate in the imperial examination next year, let alone pass the exam.

He had heard that a great scholar loved peonies, so he thought of finding a decent one to give as a favor, hoping that the master would give him some pointers. Little did he expect that he would encounter such a rogue!

In the end, Fu Pei returned empty-handed.

Xu Zhaozhao found it interesting; this person was indeed interesting, though his personality was not likable, he was truly full of talent.

Furthermore, in order to repay the kindness of the reborn woman, this top scholar was willing to bear the stigma and do favors for her.

Since that's the case, then it's better for her to repay this favor, so as to avoid tarnishing the reputation of this honest official in the future.

As evening fell, Fu Pei was hungry, but there was no rice left to cook. He hadn't expected things to be so difficult.

“Young master, it’s not just that we’re out of rice. The landlord came over today to urge us to pay the rent, saying that starting next month, the rent will increase by another string of cash. We can’t even afford the original rent. If it goes up again, we’re afraid we’ll have to find shelter in a dilapidated temple outside the city.”

Upon hearing this, Fu Pei suddenly had the idea of ​​returning to his hometown.

When Fu Pei first arrived in Beijing, he had a hundred strings of cash, but because he offended someone, he not only lost the money, but was also suppressed by others.

Nowadays, we can't even afford to buy rice to cook.

The master and servant sat facing each other, looking worried. One sat on a low stool, while the other sat on the ground. They looked at each other listlessly, as if they were about to give up.

Bang bang bang!

Someone knocking on the door?

The child immediately stood up, turned around, and asked, "Who is it?"

Fu Pei also craned his neck and pricked up his ears to listen.

"Young master, my son has come to visit Scholar Fu."

son?

A look of fear flashed across the boy's face: "Young master, could it be that 'master' again?"

"Don't talk nonsense, go open the door quickly."

It is a blessing, not a curse, but a curse that cannot be avoided!

Fu Pei tidied his clothes a little, and finally looked presentable.

The visitor was none other than Xu Junting, the third young master of the Marquis of Anxin's mansion. He was studying at the academy and had just returned today when Xu Zhaozhao conscripted him to be a laborer.

After a discussion, Xu Junting was full of praise for him. He had been somewhat reluctant when he came, but now he was completely convinced.

“Brother Fu, this place is truly unbearable. I think the roof looks bad. Since you have come here to seek fame and fortune, why don’t you find another place to stay? Only when we are healthy and in good spirits can we better learn and become disciples. What do you think, Brother Fu?”

Fu Pei naturally understood this principle, but he was too embarrassed to say it out loud because he was short of money.

“Well then, my Xu family has an empty courtyard. Although it’s not big, it’s enough for you and your servant to live in. If Brother Fu doesn’t mind, you might as well move in first. After listening to Brother Fu’s words today, I feel enlightened. I will definitely thank Brother Fu for your guidance.”

They were clearly there to help Fu Pei, but Xu Junting's words made it seem like Fu Pei was the one who needed to be thanked.

It has to be said that this gave Fu Peiyan a lot of face and a way out.

The next morning, Xu Junting personally led a group of people to help the master and servant move. Fortunately, Fu Pei didn't have much stuff, so the move was quick.

Upon arriving at their new residence, the young boy ran inside and took a quick look around before jumping up and down in cheers: "Wow! This courtyard is so big and bright. Young master, you won't have to worry about the room being too dark when you study in that pavilion."

Fu Pei gave him a few helpless taps and said to Xu Junting, "I'm sorry to have made you laugh, my page is naturally lively."

"Haha, I think this is perfect. Brother Fu is studying here all by himself, and having a lively and cheerful young boy by his side will make his life more interesting."

Once everything was settled, Xu Junting led his men away, making an appointment to come back for drinks the next day before leaving.

After seeing the person off, the boy couldn't help but slump his shoulders again.

"Young master, Young Master Xu will be coming over for drinks tomorrow. What should we offer him?"

Fu Pei was stunned; it seemed he was now penniless!

The master and servant looked at each other, but in the end they walked to the kitchen together.

"Oh! Young master, the rice jar is full. And there are two pieces of cured meat hanging there!"

Fu Pei then noticed that the kitchen was fully stocked with everything, including rice, noodles, meat, and vegetables, showing how thoughtful that young master Xu was.

"Sigh, we owe Young Master Xu a huge favor this time!"

The boy said happily, "Young master, please go and study first. I will clean up this place and then prepare to boil water and cook."

Last night, the master and servant had a good meal with the snacks that Young Master Xu brought, but they hadn't eaten anything this morning. After moving back home, they were starving!

When Fu Pei settled down here and truly became friends with Xu Junting, someone secretly came to inquire about his old residence on the other side.

At the Jiang residence, Jiang Ning listened to the servant's report and felt it was impossible.

"That's not right. I clearly remember him living there, and that a heavy rain a few days later would make him seriously ill. How come Fu Pei isn't living there now?"