novelhk Chapter 146 You might also recognize him
Chapter 146 You might also recognize him
Just as Zhenyulou was about to close, Zheng arrived in a carriage.
After giving instructions to the shop assistant, Gu Lin left Zhenyulou and boarded his carriage.
Once inside the carriage and sitting opposite Zheng Hao, Gu Lin noticed several books placed beside him.
Following Gu Lin's gaze to the books beside him, Zheng Hao explained calmly, "These are national histories compiled by the Hanlin Academy. I'm taking a few back to pass the time."
Look at these ways of passing the time! Gu Lin felt his teeth ache just listening to them. Others spend their free time listening to music or watching plays, or going out with friends.
Gu Lin shook his head inwardly. Sure enough, self-disciplined people are self-disciplined wherever they are. On his first day on duty, he had already started preparing for the work ahead.
However, he did not reveal his true thoughts. Gu Lin repeatedly praised Zheng Hao, saying, "Reading more books is a good thing; there is no end to learning."
Seeing the young man's intimidated look, Zheng Hao's cold eyes softened slightly, a hint of a smile appearing on his face.
Since discovering that Uncle Gu was reading storybooks in the study last time, Zheng Hao knew that the other man did not dislike reading, but rather disliked reading classics such as the Four Books and Five Classics.
If the classics were replaced with storybooks, Uncle Gu could read six or seven in a day. But when it came to serious books, he would look extremely troubled as soon as he opened the first page.
The two arrived at the gate of the mansion bestowed by Emperor Jian'an. Zheng Hao had Da Zhu drive the carriage inside. Gu Lin lifted the curtain and looked at the magnificent mansion with its carved dragons and painted beams. He swallowed hard and turned to Zheng Hao, asking, "This mansion must have four courtyards, right?"
Zheng Hao nodded at him.
Gu Lin sighed in admiration, thinking, "As expected of the emperor, he is so generous."
As the carriage entered the mansion, Gu Lin instantly realized how large the four courtyards were. He wondered how long it would take to walk around the entire mansion without a carriage.
Following the young man to the front yard, Gu Lin sat in the carriage and admired the scenery outside through the curtain. Every step revealed a new view, with the rockery and garden arranged in a magnificent manner. This was only the tip of the iceberg of the entire mansion, and he couldn't help but be shocked by the luxurious and ostentatious scene before him.
However, after the initial shock, Gu Lin looked bewildered. If he remembered correctly, the regulations for ancient residences were very strict, and the ostentatious and extravagant construction of the residence before him was clearly not something Zheng Hao could afford.
Seeing Gu Lin's confusion, Zheng Hao explained, "In a few days, the Ministry of Works will send people to renovate the residence."
Gu Lin breathed a slight sigh of relief upon hearing this.
Then, realizing his reaction was a bit overreacting, Gu Lin said to Zheng Hao apologetically, "Don't blame me for being nervous. It's just that I didn't expect the mansion bestowed by the Emperor to be so luxurious. It's really making me uneasy!"
Zheng Hao's expression softened, and he nodded slightly in agreement: "Uncle Gu's concerns are justified. This residence belonged to a high-ranking official of the third rank a few years ago. Because of his corruption and selling of official positions, the emperor ordered him to be executed and his property confiscated, and the residence has been left empty."
Gu Lin finally understood the origin of the mansion. Then, he asked the other party curiously, "So the renovation and construction of this mansion were all handled by the Ministry of Works, and we don't need to worry about it, right?"
"The Ministry of Works sent people here mainly to remove the illegal items. We will be responsible for the detailed repairs and renovations ourselves."
Zheng Hao said, "Uncle Gu can go about his business. I will come to the residence to check on things every day after I finish my shift."
In just a few words, the two agreed on their respective tasks and then took a car back to the inn together.
Back at the inn, Zheng Hao had the waiter bring dinner to his room, and Gu Lin ate with him.
While picking up some food, Gu Lin asked Zheng Hao, "Around when can we return to Yueming Prefecture?"
Zheng Hao placed the cabbage and bone soup in front of the young man and put a spoon into the soup bowl. He said, "The Ministry of Personnel has not yet arranged the appointments of the second and third-class Jinshi. We can only return to our hometowns to visit our families after all the new Jinshi have been appointed. According to the speed at which the Ministry of Personnel works, it will take at least half a month."
After Zheng Hao finished speaking, Gu Lin's expression turned disappointed.
He thought that soon after the palace examination, they would be able to quickly go back and bring Zhao's wife and Gu An over.
Seeing the young man's dejected expression, Zheng Hao comforted him, "Uncle Gu, don't worry, the newly appointed scholars have a month's leave to visit their families."
This was better than nothing, so Gu Lin cheered up again.
Du Fu.
Having just finished organizing the documents, Du Yuan looked up from his desk, rubbing his aching wrist, and then asked the servant who had been attending to him, "What time is it?"
"Young master, it is already past 7 PM. It is getting late. Would you like to rest?" the servant asked.
Du Yuan nodded slightly. The candlelight illuminated his features more gently than during the day, but his eyes were not as gentle as they were during the day; they were cold and clear.
Du Yuan half-closed his eyes. At this hour, everyone in the manor was asleep, and he didn't want to disturb his husband and child's rest. He was about to tell the servant to rest in the study when the servant hesitated and whispered, "Young master, as for my husband..."
"What happened to my husband?"
Du Yuan frowned slightly, his usually gentle expression turning cold.
The servant was sweating profusely and was on high alert as he dealt with his young master.
He lowered his head and said, "The lights in my husband's courtyard are still on."
Du Yuan hesitated, and the servant dared not speak.
He couldn't help but think of the evaluations given by the servants inside the manor and the people outside, who all said that their young master was a gentleman, with a very good temperament, and would never lose his temper with anyone.
However, the personal servant who had grown up with Du Yuan since childhood knew that their young master was not as easy to talk to as he seemed. Even if he made a mistake in front of the master and madam, he should not do anything stupid in front of the young master.
Du Yuan composed himself, his expression softening into his usual gentle demeanor: "Let's go."
Although the other party did not explicitly state where they were going, the servant understood and walked ahead with a lantern to light the way to the husband's courtyard.
A faint candlelight flickered inside, but even the dimmest candlelight seemed exceptionally bright in the darkness.
Wen Wenping lay on the bed, dressed in a snow-white undershirt and trousers. Her top was open to the sides, revealing her snow-white chest and abdomen, with a few light red stretch marks on her flat, white belly.
Wenwen raised her eyes and looked at the maid who was applying moisturizing oil to her, and asked, "Yu'er, do you think this moisturizing oil can remove the stretch marks on my stomach?"
Yu'er gently massaged her young master's belly and comforted him, "Young master loves you dearly. Even if you have stretch marks on your belly, he won't mind."
Yu'er's words were not meant to deceive Wen Wen. She was Wen Wen's dowry maid and was wholeheartedly devoted to him. From the day she entered the Du family, she had carefully observed the attitudes of everyone in the Du household towards Wen Wen, paying particular attention to the attitude of her son-in-law towards him.
The young master and his son-in-law had been married for a short time. Because of the imperial examinations, the son-in-law often stayed in his study. However, every few days, he would take time to come to the backyard to keep the young master company. Otherwise, the young master would not have been able to conceive a baby just three months after marrying into the family.
Moreover, what Yu'er was most satisfied with about her son-in-law was that he was not interested in beautiful women. Even when her young master was ten months pregnant, he did not have any intention of taking a concubine, let alone having affairs.
Even the young master's mother advised him to bring one or two beautiful women as concubines to his son-in-law's dowry. The young master foolishly expressed his opinion to his son-in-law, but was rejected. For the past ten months, the man has either stayed in the study or come over to dine with the young master, and has not allowed any other women or men to get close to him.
However, after Sister Chen's reminder, Wen Wen did not have the same good attitude as Yu'er. A trace of worry appeared between his usually carefree brows: "Human hearts are unpredictable!"
Yu'er paused, a hint of helplessness on her face. She wanted to tell her young master that the saying "human hearts are unpredictable" wasn't appropriate for this situation.
Wenwen closed her eyes and continued, "Although my husband is very good to me, I cannot completely entrust myself and my child to him. Times change and people change. If my husband has someone new in the future, he will inevitably feel that my child and I are in his way."
"······husband······"
Wenwen said to herself, "I've made up my mind. From now on, I will stop being lazy and will pay my respects to my mother-in-law every day. I will try my best to take over the management of the household. In the future, even my husband will have to ask me for money."
Caught by the corner of her eye, Xiao Cui saw the figure standing beside the screen. Her expression grew anxious, and she whispered, emphasizing her words, "Husband..."
Unaware of Yu'er's discomfort, Wenwen urged, "Yu'er, pour more lotion on your hands, apply more heavily."
As the figure drew closer, Yu'er's body trembled slightly. She raised her eyes and saw that her son-in-law's expression was cold and distant, unlike his usual gentle demeanor. Then she looked at the young master lying on the bed, almost half-naked, and Yu'er felt that she was doomed.
"What are you doing?"
Du Yuan approached the two men, finally standing by the bedside. His voice, no longer gentle, turned cold as he asked.
Hearing the sudden sound inside the room, Wen Wen immediately opened his eyes, which were lightly closed. Seeing Du Yuan standing beside him, joy appeared on his face: "Husband."
She was completely unaware of her husband's unusually gentle expression.
"Why are you here so late?" Wen Wen stopped lying down, got up and sat on the bed, looked up at the man next to the bed and asked curiously.
Seeing Wen Wen's calm and unwavering demeanor, Du Yuan gradually calmed his anger.
After calming down, he realized that his anger had come out of nowhere, and that nothing could possibly happen between Wenwen and Yu'er.
His gaze lowered slightly, landing on Wenwen's smooth and supple chest and abdomen. He smelled the rich fragrance emanating from her. Du Yuan did not speak to Wenwen immediately, but instead turned to the maid and said, "Go down."
Yu'er raised her head slightly and looked at Wen Wen, who nodded and said, "You can go down now."
Yu'er withdrew after hearing her young master's instructions.
After Yu'er withdrew, Wen Wen felt a chill in his abdomen. Looking down, he realized that he was almost naked except for the inner garment he was wearing on his upper body. His chest and abdomen were exposed, facing Du Yuan. He raised his hand to close the inner garment.
Du Yuan reached out to stop him. Wen Wen looked up at the other man, his cheeks flushing as Du Yuan's hand rested on his bare shoulder. Then, he saw the other man pick up a porcelain bottle, lower his head slightly to smell it, and his brows slowly furrowed.
Thinking of the times when she used to apply perfume or have the maid apply ointments to her body, and her husband would object, Wenwen opened her mouth slightly and began to explain: "Husband, this is the body oil I bought, it's for moisturizing the body."
"Just for moisturizing the body?"
Du Yuan shifted his gaze from the porcelain vase and lowered his head slightly to look at the boy sitting on the bed, who only reached his waist.
Wen Wen opened her mouth, wanting to make up an excuse to fool the other party, but when she met Du Yuan's seemingly gentle but serious eyes, Wen Wen immediately confessed: "The shop owner who sells body oil said that this body oil can remove stretch marks, so I bought it to try and see if it works."
Upon hearing this, Du Yuan's brows furrowed: "How can you just smear something of unknown origin on your body?"
Wen Wen immediately explained, "I didn't apply it randomly. Sister Chen and I only dared to use it after we saw the shop owner use it on the waiter and it was fine."
"I've been applying it for several days, and I'm fine," Wenwen continued. "Husband, look, have the stretch marks on my belly faded?"
Upon hearing this, Du Yuan looked down at Wen Wen's belly and saw several light pink lines on her snow-white skin, like red plum blossoms just beginning to bloom on a snowy landscape. Du Yuan slightly shifted his gaze and said, "A gentleman focuses on the substance, not the appearance; he governs the inner self, not the outer self."
After he finished speaking, Wen Wen didn't react, but instead pursed her lips and stared at him.
Du Yuan wondered if he had been too harsh on Wen Wen.
However, considering Wen Wen's words and actions just now, Du Yuan felt he still needed to remind him of a few things.
The handsome young man looked aggrieved and confused: "Husband, I don't understand."
Du Yuan's breath hitched slightly, and then, a hint of annoyance flashed in his cold eyes. He had been spending too much time with his friends outside and had forgotten that even if a girl read books, she would only learn some superficial books and would not know many famous sayings and principles.
Du Yuan patiently explained to Wen Wen: "This sentence means that a person of good character and reputation is practical and does not care about outward appearances; he focuses on self-cultivation and does not care about things outside himself."
"But...husband..."
Wen Wen's expression grew even more aggrieved. He looked up at Du Yuan and said, "I'm a boy... not a gentleman..."
Therefore, don't try to teach me with your scholarly theories.
Du Yuan fell silent.
After a moment, he looked at the porcelain bottle in his hand and felt that it was unsafe to apply it to his body without having it examined by a doctor.
He said to Wenwen, "Don't use this thing yet. I'll send someone to the clinic to verify it. Once it's confirmed to be harmless, you can use it."
When the news reached Wenwen's ears, it meant that it would delay his efforts to remove stretch marks, but he didn't want to disappoint his husband's good intentions.
Just as he was fretting, the image of the young man appeared in Wenwen's mind.
His eyes lit up, and he said to Du Yuan, "Husband, you might know the owner of that shop."
Upon hearing this, Du Yuan lowered his eyes slightly to look at the other person. Although he had a wide social circle, his food, clothing and daily necessities were all arranged by his family, and he rarely dealt with merchants.
Wen Wen asked with a sly look, "Husband, do you know the newly appointed top scholar, Zheng Hao?"
Looking at Wen Wen's lively and cheerful appearance, Du Yuan felt no joy. He disliked hearing the name of a strange man from his husband when they were together.