aircannonsinc Chapter 531: Describing haggardness
Chapter 531: Describing haggardness
"Young Master, could it be related to the last time when the carpenter made our golden nanmu into table legs?" The steward at the side suddenly thought of something and said.
"What's the connection? Does he know Mr. Jiang?" Young Master Tang was a little confused.
"It is said that she is from Qinghe Village, so she is from the same hometown. It just so happens that my wife is also from the Jiang family of Qinghe Village. What a coincidence."
The manager's words made Young Master Tang think a lot. Why did he feel that something was wrong?
However, Mr. Jiang was already waiting in the mansion, so he naturally could not be neglected. He was a scholar before, and in just two years he had become a juren.
If the February joint examination goes well, then the palace examination will only be a matter of ranking. With Jiang Youzhen's ability, there is no doubt that he will be admitted to the government through the imperial examination, but he still has to be careful to avoid making enemies.
However, when he thought that his uncle's boy Ke Zhenqiu was now a juren, he couldn't help but feel more confident.
Jiang Youzhen was standing in the side hall admiring the calligraphy and paintings on the wall. Although the Tang family was only a wealthy family in the town, they were very generous. This painting should be an authentic work of a master in the previous dynasty. If it was sold, it would probably cost dozens of taels of silver.
Such paintings were hung in the side hall. Although they were not very wealthy, they were definitely not just a rich family in the town.
"Hahaha! Mr. Jiang is so honored to be here. I am so sorry that I failed to welcome you in person!"
A hearty laugh was heard before the person was seen.
Jiang Youzhen turned his head and saw a man in a dark blue round-necked Taoist robe walking in. This man was Tang Cheng, the eldest son of the Tang family.
"Master Tang, please forgive me for disturbing you by coming to your house." Jiang Youzhen stood up and bowed to the other party.
"Mr. Jiang, you are too polite. We cannot even invite you on normal days. It is a blessing for the Tang family that you can visit my humble home."
As soon as Tang Cheng came in, he exchanged a few pleasantries with Jiang Youzhen, and then sat down at the lower right seat. This move was obvious, Jiang Youzhen had the title of a juren, so even if he was the host, he could not take the seat.
"Please sit down!" Tang Cheng immediately asked someone to come up and change the tea.
"The last time we met was more than a year ago, right? At that time, Mr. Jiang had not yet achieved the title of a juren. I didn't expect that in just over a year, Mr. Jiang's status has risen so much!"
Tang Cheng observed Jiang Youzhen's expression, but found that she was smiling and there was no complicated emotion in her eyes, as if she was just chatting about family matters.
Although he was young, he was very cunning. He was not sure what Jiang Youzhen was up to, so he did not dare to mention it, otherwise he would be embarrassed.
"Where? Where? I was lucky enough to pass the exam and become a juren."
"Mr. Jiang, there is no need to be modest. We are the youngest Juren in the Dayun Dynasty, and possibly the youngest Jinshi, or even..."
"Ahem!" Jiang Youzhen coughed lightly, interrupting the other party's flattery. If he continued talking, wouldn't he be taking the imperial examination as a sure thing? It seemed particularly frivolous.
Tang Cheng had another plan in mind. This kid is hard to deal with! If it were any other young man, with such an achievement, wouldn't he be so proud?
He exchanged a few polite words with Jiang Youzhen, but after a while, Jiang Youzhen still did not take the initiative to mention the purpose of his visit, which made him feel a little uneasy.
What does this mean? He was hesitant. He didn't think he was here to cause trouble, but he couldn't have just come to drink tea.
"The Tang family has been doing good business in the past two years and has a good reputation in the surrounding area. I heard that the eldest young master of the Tang family is kind and righteous, and likes to give charity. His reputation has even higher than when Master Tang was alive." Jiang Youzhen turned his eyes away from the painting and suddenly said.
"Where? Where? These are all the good reputations accumulated by my father. To be honest, they are not as good as when my father was alive." Tang Cheng was completely confused now. He didn't know what Jiang Youzhen's intention was.
"That's right! It's easy to build a good reputation, but it's harder to maintain it. The Tang family has always had a good reputation, which is related to the careful maintenance of Mr. Tang. Of course, it is also inseparable from the careful maintenance of Mr. Tang.
However, since the Tang family has always had a good reputation, isn't it unfair that they are criticized for a small matter and their reputation is damaged? "
Jiang Youzhen's words made Tang Cheng's face darken. "What do you mean, Mr. Jiang? We are acquaintances, so you can speak frankly. If there is anything that has displeased Mr. Juren, then I will definitely investigate and give you an explanation."
Could it be that he really came here to defend his fellow countrymen? After going through so much trouble, he finally gave the Tang family a big accusation that damaged their reputation. What a good move.
However, Jiang Youzhen did not continue the conversation, but suddenly said: "In fact, our two families are still relatives by marriage. Mr. Tang's second wife is a relative of our Jiang family. If it were according to the original rules, we would have to call her cousin. But now that my family has adopted her, she is considered a relative."
Tang Cheng naturally knew about this. After he married a second wife for his father without any reason, the second wife's parents and family members came to the Tang Mansion to ask for money again and again. Last year, because they were afraid of damaging the reputation of the Tang Mansion, they just gave them some money and sent them away casually.
But later, more and more people asked for it, and his wife, Sun, came to complain to him, so he asked someone to investigate Jiang's affairs.
He knew that the relationship between the Jiang family's eldest branch and Jiang Youzhen's family was not good, and could even be said to be incompatible, so he dared to ignore the Jiang family. However, he did not dare to go too far, and usually gave them some food and drink, and did not shortchange them of food and clothing.
But Jiang Youzhen's methods were indeed cruel. The Jiang family's current state was caused by Jiang Youzhen. He didn't believe that it was not caused by Jiang Youzhen.
She was able to conspire to marry her cousin to the Tang family as a second wife, which showed that she was extremely cruel. This kind of person would take revenge for any slight, and her methods were vicious, so he didn't dare to offend her.
Jiang Youzhen certainly didn't know that the other party had misunderstood her. Wu Ya's marriage to the Tang family had nothing to do with her. She would not implicate Wu Ya in her hatred with Jiang Haiqing. After all, she was just a little girl and she hadn't been offended by him.
"So, Mr. Jiang is here to visit Jiang's... er... mother?"
Since she was his father's second wife, he had to call her mother no matter how old she was. The problem was that Jiang was much younger than him, so he couldn't bring himself to call her mother.
Jiang Youzhen almost spit out a mouthful of tea when he heard this. Wu Ya is only less than 18 years old, right? She already has a young and naive eldest son. Who can resist hearing this?
"Hey! I wonder if Madam is free?" Jiang Youzhen asked, suppressing the twitching of his mouth.
"So you want to see the lady. I'll send someone to invite her right away!"
Tang Cheng was glad that he had asked someone to prepare everything just now. After tidying up, he should be able to meet people.
Jiang Youzhen didn't wait long before someone came in. Jiang Youzhen was stunned when he saw him.
It turns out that a young girl in her prime can be worn out beyond recognition in just over a year.
In his memory, Wu Ya was also a pretty girl. However, the woman in front of him with a woman's bun and wearing an old-fashioned grape purple jacket overturned the original image of her in Jiang Youzhen's mind.
To describe a person who is haggard, the current Wu Ya embodies these four words very well.