129

After escorting Lao Wu out of the palace, Xue Yao and Lao Liu headed for the Southern Third Estate.

"A while ago, I heard that King Rui arranged a marriage for you, but you politely declined." Xue Yao curiously looked sideways at Baby Nuan.

Lao Liu just turned twenty this year, his nature is still as introverted as when he was a child, and he hides a lot of things in his heart and refuses to say them.

Xue Yao was afraid that he already had a lover in his heart, and because he didn't say so, his marriage would be ruined.

"Uh-huh." Lao Liu nodded his head in a serious manner, "I've asked Big Brother not to worry about me, I don't want to get married for the time being."

"Also, you're still young." Xue Yao said.

Old Six raised an eyebrow and said, "Maybe I don't want to get married when I get older, but isn't Second Brother not getting married? I'm also practicing monasticism, okay?"

"Why do you think that?"

"Why does it have to be a marriage? Which girl does Ah Yao wish me to marry?" Old Six looked at Xue Yao inquisitively.

"It's not that I want you to get married." Xue Yao said, "I'm worried that you already have someone in mind and are not in a position to ask."

"Oh?" Lao Liu turned his head to look at Xue Yao, pursed his lips and smiled, his eyes curved like a very thin crescent moon, and joked in a half-true, half-false manner, "You saw through it?"

"There really is?!" Xue Yao's eyes widened, "Then why don't you just tell your big brother? Your mother consort isn't helping you out right now, you can only rely on ......"

"Do you have to get married if you have a lover? What if marrying him goes against the laws of etiquette?" Old Six looked at Xue Yao slightly seriously.

"What's so contrary to etiquette about this?" Xue Yao frowned, "Is she a pariah nationality?"

"No." A flash of loss passed through Old Six's eyes.

"Then what are you worried about?" Xue Yao was anxious: "How old is she? If you say it's too late, someone else might have gotten married first!"

"I can't do much, I know I can't, and I can't do without him, so I'm just going to go into monasticism with the Second Brother, is that all right?"

"You'll have to try it to see if it works!"

"Is that how much you want me to get married?"

"No, if you are as indifferent as His Majesty, I will not worry about your marriage, but now you have a man of your choice, how can you be so hesitant, in case you miss him, you will regret your life and grow old alone."

Lao Liu pursed his lips and smiled, Xue Yao's clear face reflected in his deer-like translucent eyes, "Is this king going to end up alone? Ah Yao doesn't want me either?"

"That's not what I meant." Xue Yao frowned, "Your Highness and I ......"

"It's enough to have your words." Lao Liu interrupted with a smile, "When you have a confidant in life, you won't be alone."

*

Xue Yao had been pondering over Warm Baby's words after leaving the palace.

What the hell is this kid thinking?

But then again, he's a year and a half older than Warmonger, and he's not even married himself, so who is he to worry about someone else's life's work?

Marriage is a peculiar thing; once there were all sorts of wonderful fantasies when we were far away, but when we are in front of the eyes, there are unspeakable anxieties and repulsions.

Grandpa Zhou Chong and his mother Zhou Rui did not worry about his marriage, intended to matchmaking family, but he was busy with official business can not get out of the body politely declined.

What is he afraid of?

It seemed that it was only when he was confronted with Azhu's admiring gaze that Xue Yao realized that his liking for the girl seemed to stop at admiration and curiosity, and that all those sparks and chemistry that he had seen in rom-coms from the old days, he had never felt.

His intended has not yet appeared.

Returning to the Zhou Mansion, the household staff panicked and invited Xue Yao to see the master.

As soon as he entered the hall, he saw Grandpa's brow furrowed as he spoke, "Move immediately and go see the Xue family's old lady."

Xue Yao's grandmother is critically ill.

When he was eight years old, the old woman who he had protected with his body in the monastery, the only elder of the Xue family who favored him, was nearing the end of her life.

"What's going on so suddenly?"

"Things are unpredictable in old age, and the old lady had a fall and woke up with half her body immobile."

It's a stroke.

Xue Yao rushed to the Xue Mansion with a fast horse and was hurriedly led to the main courtyard by an underling.

The house of the Xue family was full of people standing outside, seeing Xue Yao arrive, some were hateful, some were contemptuous, and more were pleasant and polite, even making a path for him.

The Xue family's eldest uncle was a major court official, so he naturally knew that the King of Ning could ascend to the throne at any time, and everyone in the Xue residence also knew that Xue Yao was the King of Ning's most favored companion.

In the face of power, all hatred may be dissolved, depending on whether you can put aside face and self-respect.

When Xue Yao's grandfather was cleared of wrongdoing and returned to serve in the Cabinet, Zhou Rui borrowed her own father's authority to clear the air with the Xue family, and took her son away.

Because Xue Yao was still young at the time, the Xue family did not hold much of a grudge against him, and only erased Xue Yao from the Xue family tree in order to disgust Zhou Chong.

This is one of the most unwise things the Xue family has ever done, and heaven knows that the wind and water have turned, and now it has turned to that eccentric King Ning!

Nowadays, this Xue Yao is really the one who turns over the clouds and turns over the rain, and who doesn't know that the young King of Ning listens to this little companion the most?

Xue's eldest uncle used to be a member of the Crown Prince's Party, and he fought hard for half of his life, but he didn't expect to be overtaken by Xue Yao, the kid riding the black horse of the King of Ning, so his heart was really not in the right place.

King Ning was another character that couldn't be flattered, they simply couldn't figure it out.

The eldest uncle of the Xue family wanted to take this opportunity to get close to Xue Yao, and as soon as he saw Xue Yao being let in, he personally went up to him and cried and pulled Xue Yao's hand, "Xian nephew can finally come, the old lady just called your name."

Xue Yao didn't have the heart to be polite with him, quickly walking over to the side of the collapse, kneeling down on one knee and looking at the old man on the bed.

He used to visit the old lady often, but then because of the fight between the Third Prince and the Crown Prince, everyone was in danger, and as a close confidant of the Crown Prince, he didn't dare to cause trouble for the Xue family, and hadn't come to visit the old lady for half a year.

I did not expect the old man will change so quickly, the last meeting is still hale and hearty, hair white, at this moment has been ......

Xue Yao's nose was sore, and tears dripped in large drops onto the bedding along the bed.

He watched the old woman's sleepy face like a withered log for an instant, expecting her to open her eyes and listen to his apology, and wishing not to disturb her restful sleep so that she could recuperate and regain her health.

The old lady's life was extended by more than ten years by him, a matter known only to him.

The old lady, on the other hand, as if she sensed something in the dark, used the extra ten years of her life to wholeheartedly love and favor him, her commoner grandson.

Even when the Third Prince was so powerful that he framed his grandfather Zhou Chong, it was the Xue family's old lady who argued and sent a letter for Xue Yao to return to the Xue family, so as not to implicate her grandson Xue Yao after Zhou Chong was framed and convicted.

"Old lady ...... grandchildren are unfilial ......" Xue Yao could no longer suppress his heartache, and his tears flowed.

Uncle at the side of the side to comfort him: "The old lady usually daily in front of us boast virtuous nephews, now virtuous nephews have a bright future, how come the unfilial words? It's not too much to say that the lintel is shining, and in the future, if you can bring up more colleagues in the clan, it's not a waste of the old lady ......."

Xue Yao wanted to cover his ears.

I don't understand how a biological son can be busy paving the way for his own official career when his mother is about to die.

A meeting of grandchildren that seems to be noisy, but is actually dead silent.

In the end, Xue Yao didn't wait for the old lady to wake up, nor did he hear just a word of farewell.

The old lady just broke off in a fitful sleep.

Once upon a time, when I watched movies, I used to joke about the endless lines that the people in the movie couldn't say before they died, and with this effort I might be able to salvage them.

Now it's my turn to realize how cruel it was to not even leave a goodbye.

Death is not a harsh punishment for the dead; it brings with it a backlash that attaches itself to the living, causing the living to repeatedly repent of former transgressions that can never be atoned for.

The Xue family's eldest uncle took the initiative to find a way for Xue Yao to make amends, and the price tag was very clear - he wanted his eldest son, the first eldest grandson of the Xue family, to get the fat job as the Imperial Inspector of Salt of the Two Huaihuai next year.

Daqi's salt inspector has no rank, is not a fixed member, once a year, every year is the emperor appointed, belongs to the Qinzhi.

One year in office, enough to fertilize the pockets of several generations, but also to open up the official road, the future governor governor are not a dream.

If it were normal, if someone asked Xue Yao for this kind of request, he would only sneer in his heart and smile on his face, saying that he didn't have an official position.

Now that his grandmother has died suddenly, he has no way to make up for it, but he is actually considering the possibility of supporting the Xue family to repay his grandmother.

He needed a little time to calm down and shake off the guilt before he could sort this out.

Xue Yao is self-aware, frankly speaking, he is not unsuitable for the officialdom, just do not like the officialdom.

This kind of thing, once he got involved, he became a backer in a certain faction of the party, and he couldn't even wash his hands of it.

If the grandchildren of the Xue family get ahead and go astray one day and are impeached by the magistrates, Xue Yao's share of the interest groups that will be uprooted at that time will never be missing.

So this kind of thing is not at all a small favor that can be freely bestowed.

Even if Lu Qian might really listen to him, even if Lu Qian would do his best to protect him after the accident, wasn't this pushing Long Ao Tian towards the path of a comatose ruler?

Who is Lu Qian to pay for his guilt over his grandmother?

Therefore, after taking leave from the palace and waiting for the first seven days of his grandmother's life, Xue Yao politely refused his eldest uncle's request.

This is stirring up a hornet's nest.

The Xue family members who had kneeled to him as if he was their own grandfather a few days ago had changed their faces overnight.

Before the filial piety are afraid of his knees kneeling hurt, afraid of through the wind to give him frozen, now are not afraid, deliberately find him an inelastic futon for him to kneel.

The old master's eldest uncle, second uncle, and his own father were quite calm, and their attitude towards him was not condescending, beating around the bush and threatening to poke his unfiliality to the Xue family into the ears of the King of Ning.

Xue Yao listened with little expression, and in his heart, he actually felt quite amused.

These rumors spread out, indeed may bring him trouble, after all, the ancient times attach importance to filial piety, his mother Zhou Rui was formerly a concubine of the Xue family, he, the Xue family's concubine grandson refused to help the clan, say it will certainly be poked in the back of the spine.

But Lu Qian wouldn't care about these messy rules, he had always thought that Xue Yao had moved from the Xue family to the Zhou family simply because the young companion preferred to live with Grandpa.

That was enough, as long as Lu Qian didn't misunderstand him.

When Xue Yao went home, Xue Qiong caught up with him and asked him to take a step to talk.

This former overbearing brother who snatched food from him, has now become a family, eight years ago because of the academics can not keep up, was dumped by the crown prince, the road to the imperial examination is exceptionally bumpy, donate the official is impossible, can only wait to attack Master Xue that no oil and water official, the future is obscure.

He did not open his mouth, Xue Yao already guessed what he wanted to say, want to let him recommend to the King of Ning, the only way to let him become an official.

Xue Yao listened to him wheedle his way through before politely declining.

Xue Qiong's eyes changed, he lowered his head and pulled out a piece of paper from his sleeve pocket, shining it to Xue Yao with a vicious expression.

Xue Yao didn't react to what he was pinching for a moment, and it was only when he took it back to his sleeve pocket as if he were a baby that he remembered that it was a small piece of Milk Fudge wrapping paper ......

Should be the year when the burning, floating away missed a small piece of wrapping paper, I do not know where Xue Qiong found, actually hid for ten years.

"What does Brother Qiong mean by this?" Xue Yao deliberately pretended not to understand.

Xue Qiong sneered, "What do you mean you know in your heart, my mother has long seen that you will make witchcraft, back then you deliberately defected to the King of Ning, what are your intentions? If you let the King of Ning know that you engage in these unseemly things ......"

"Brother is really joking, what does the thing in your hand have to do with me? What will happen if you take this thing and go before King Ning to falsely accuse me, I advise you to think about it." After saying this, Xue Yao let out a cold laugh and waved his sleeve to leave.

*

When he returned to the Zhou Mansion, he saw the concierge dancing like a disco across the distance, frantically waving and nodding at him to walk faster.

Xue Yao thought to himself, "What's going on in the mansion again?

Quickly walking over to ask, only to realize that the King of Ning went out of the palace to find the door.

When the concierge finished talking to him, he suddenly dropped to his knees with a plop, scaring Xue Yao.

When I asked, I realized that the concierge had just offended the King of Ning.

Ning Wang went out of the palace and did not bring a guard or something, came up and asked the concierge, here is not the cabinet secondary counsel Zhou Chong's residence.

The concierge was on the verge of tears when he said, "I've never seen a dragon's son or a phoenix's grandson, and a young man just called our master by his first name, so I can't look at him in a good light. Young master, you must beg me for mercy!"

It's a fucking future Hail Mary!

The concierge felt that when King Ning returned to the palace, he was going to be dragged by the royal guards to the Noon Gate to be killed in battle.

Xue Yao cried and laughed, and asked the concierge a bit nervously, "You didn't murder His Highness, did you?"

This guy Lu Qian is very vindictive, if his attitude is too out of line, the concierge could really get into trouble.