"I dare to ask Brother Chen, is this thing dug out of a tomb?" Lu Sheng asked casually.

Chen Jiorong nodded: "It was from the tomb. You haven't answered me yet. As my sister said, how much does it mean we understand each other?" He then changed the topic to his sister's marriage.

Lu Sheng had avoided it once before, and now he was asked about it again, and he sighed immediately.

"This kind of thing can't be rushed. Brother Chen will figure it out in the future, and I've only known Yunxi for such a short time, so your family can trust me so much?"

"You can say this. I was worried at first, but now I am really relieved." Chen Jiorong said with a smile, "If you agree, we can double the dowry!"

Lu Sheng smiled bitterly.

He knew that on the one hand, Chen Yunxi really liked him, but on the other hand, the Chen family had been suffering from the fact that their daughter could not get married, and they finally found a suitable one, so they refused to let go.

"Let's talk about this later, at least until my fame is confirmed." Lu Sheng used the annual scientific examination as a shield.

When Chen Jiorong heard this, his eyes suddenly showed more admiration. This is a temptation that can make you rich instantly if you accept it. If he were in the same situation, he would definitely agree to it. After all, after getting married, he could still marry a concubine and find three, four, and five bedrooms. Although my younger sister Chen Yunxi has a little longer legs, similar to those with disfigured faces, and has physical defects, she has other bonuses after all.

"That's it, it's settled. We'll make a decision after Brother Lu's annual exam. Yunxi is already quite old and it's time to get married. I hope Brother Lu won't delay."

Lu Sheng was helpless and could only nod. The two of them separated after coming out of the wine shop. Seeing that it was getting late, Lu Sheng turned around and went home.

After a night's rest, he went to the academy again the next day. When he sat down in his seat, he heard a noise coming from outside.

"What's going on out there?" Lu Sheng looked at Song Zhenguo, who was sorting out books.

Song Zhenguo looked gloomy and replied in a low voice: "Wang Ziquan's family is here."

Lu Sheng saw many people in the school getting up and walking to the windows and doors to take a look. The faint cries of women and children could be heard outside.

He stood up and heard several classmates sighing.

"The man from Ziquan seems to have disappeared. A young woman came to the house with two children. I heard that her old father was beaten and seriously injured at the government office in order to report to the government for help. He couldn't even get sick when he returned home. Alas."

"How come the government office beats people?"

"It's not that his old father didn't believe that his son had drowned, so he knelt at the yamen gate and couldn't get up. It turned out that the newly appointed prefect had the worst temperament for this kind of unruly people."

"Pity the orphan and the widowed mother."

"Yeah, it's a pity. His old father is dying now."

The more Lu Sheng listened, the more uncomfortable he became. Wang Ziquan's family was also a merchant before. Although his business was not big, he had little wealth, but now his family was ruined.

Song Zhenguo also heard the voices around him, pushed his way through the crowd, and came over, standing with Lu Sheng.

"It's my fault, if I hadn't called him out that day."

"Don't think too much, it's none of your business." Lu Sheng patted him on the shoulder. But Song Zhenguo still looked gloomy and did not reply.

The two of them left the school one after another and saw a pretty young woman, about eighteen or nineteen years old, with two children who were only one or two years old, kneeling on the main road that the college must pass, with her head lowered. , wearing linen and wearing filial piety, dressed in plain white.

There are no less than dozens of people watching around, and it is becoming more and more lively.

"Let's go and take a look." Lu Sheng pulled Song Zhenguo and walked out first.

"No! I can go alone, it's my fault! I can just go!" Song Zhenguo grabbed him and said in a deep voice,

Lu Sheng was stunned for a moment. Before he could recover, he saw Song Zhenguo standing in front of the young woman and talking to her in a low voice.

Two college teachers also squeezed in from the surrounding college students and stepped forward to inquire about the situation. Soon, Song Zhenguo supported the young woman and boy and quickly left the college.

Lu Sheng followed closely and left the academy together, following the two of them.

Before they could catch up after taking a few steps, they saw an official from the yamen coming. After speaking with Song Zhenguo and the young woman, they quickly got into a carriage and left.

Before leaving, Song Zhenguo made a gesture to Lu Sheng not to follow him and asked him to go back to class.

"Don't delay the annual exam, go back! I'll handle this matter!" Song Zhenguo shouted to Lu Sheng from a distance, then got in the car and left.

Lu Sheng watched the black carriage with red stripes leave and saw that it was a carriage specially designed for government offices.

He stood at the entrance of the college for a while, then turned around and continued to class.

The matter about Wang Ziquan's family was circulated in the college for a while, but was quickly suppressed. Several times, Lu Sheng saw people from the government coming to talk to academic officers from several colleges. Perhaps they were the ones who prompted the rumor to be suppressed. And Wang Ziquan's family members no longer come to make trouble.

Song Zhenguo's face became a little more relaxed and relieved after they went together that day. He probably made some compensation to Wang Ziquan's family.

This disappearance case made a fuss for a while and then quickly calmed down. After the storm, the college slowly returned to normal, as if it had never happened.

Song family.

Song Zhenguo silently ate the food brought by the maid. There was a table full of chicken, duck, fish and goose, but he just had no appetite and something was on his mind.

There was a faint sound of father's footsteps and voices passing by outside the room. He didn't go out to see the ceremony. He just sat in the bedroom and sighed deeply.

They were also outsiders who moved their family to this city along the mountain. My father's business had just started to flourish. He was extremely busy and was already in a bad mood. Coupled with his affairs, he was even more depressed.

"But why doesn't father understand Jun'er's kindness? If I marry her, my family will be harmonious and my career will be successful. With Jun'er's help, my family will be stable. I will definitely succeed in the annual examination." Song Zhenguo lamented in his heart.

Puff puff puff.

While he was eating, a black pigeon suddenly flew out of the window, staring at him with a pair of pink eyes.

Gu Gu.

The dove called twice.

When Song Zhenguo saw it, his face suddenly showed joy.

He walked over in a few steps, hurriedly grabbed the pigeon, took out a paper roll from under its feet, and quickly unfolded it.

‘You don’t have to worry about what Jun’er said before. Jun’er threatened to die, but the boat head finally agreed. Taking advantage of the festival tomorrow night, as long as Brother Song can come up with 10,000 taels of silver, he will redeem Jun’er’s life. Brother Song, don't worry. Although ten thousand taels is a lot, Jun'er has saved a lot over the years, which can at least cover most of it.

Tomorrow night, Brother Song must come alone. Jun'er, I will leave my body intact to my eldest brother. I hope you will have mercy on me.'

After Song Zhenguo finished reading, he felt an uncontrollable joy from deep in his heart rushing to the top of his head. He straightened up, his face turned red quickly, and he kept walking back and forth in the room, grabbing the roll of paper.

"Jun'er. Jun'er, you are mine! I will definitely take you out of the boat and get you out of that hellish place. I'll give you a name!" He clenched his fists and murmured in a low voice. But he completely forgot about Xiaojun's previous reminder not to paint a boat during the Fumigation Festival.

After being excited in the room for a while, Song Zhenguo slowly calmed down.

"But Jun'er said before that you shouldn't go to the Boat Painting Festival during the Fumigation Festival? Are you afraid that I will be deceived?"

He thought for a while, his face gradually calmed down, and he stood there hesitating for a while.

"When I see Jun'er, I will ask you why I was not allowed to paint the boat during the Fumigation Festival before. Maybe there is some special reason."

With joy in his heart, Song Zhenguo began to prepare banknotes. Ten thousand taels of silver was a large amount for him. Some of the wealth he had accumulated over the years was spent on Jun'er during this period. It was somewhat difficult to collect ten thousand taels in a hurry. Although Jun'er said that she would fill most of it herself, was he the one who asked his woman to bear the burden?

"No matter, let's go to my sister to borrow some money first." He didn't even eat anymore, and hurried to the door to go out. Suddenly I remembered something again and stopped.

"It's such a good thing, although Jun'er is embarrassed and said that I should go alone. But this kind of happy event should be shared and celebrated by two friends." Song Zhenguo quickly sat back at the desk, studying ink and pouring water. , and began to write letters to the only two friends he had now.

But just as he started to prepare the pen and ink, he hesitated and put down the pen.

"Forget it, it's better for me to go alone. So as not to cause complications and increase variables. I can inform other people after the matter is decided."

He quickly went to find his sister and borrowed fifteen thousand taels of silver notes from there, saying that he would invest the money for business, and soon everything was ready.

The annual exam was getting closer and closer, and Lu Sheng's family also sent Qiao'er over, along with a thousand taels of silver notes to supplement his recent expenses.

But Lu Sheng also knew that his family was selling off various real estate shops and preparing to move. Because of the big explosion in Jiuliancheng, many people moved, and the price of real estate disposal of shops also depreciated greatly. If the family wants to repurchase real estate in the future, it will also have to be Leave a lot of money behind.

So being able to give him another thousand taels of silver was already an expense squeezed between the teeth. After all, the Lu family is in a precarious period now.

The storm slowly subsided, and Lu Sheng slowly put Wang Ziquan's matter behind him, began to concentrate on improving himself, and also began to look for ways to make money on his own.

"There is a clear spring in the middle of the mountain! There is turmeric in the red ditch! There are finches outside Baisha Town! Turmeric is flowing on the surface of the new river!"

"Yanshan City! My hometown~~~~Yanshan City! My hometown~~~la la la la~~ la la la la la~~~~"

"La la la!~~~La la la la~~~~!"

"La la la~~! La la la la!!"

Lu Sheng stood expressionless at the window, listening to the loud and shrill male singing.

He was woken up at around three o'clock in the morning, which was when Yinshi got up. Then he saw these teams outside one after another, some with sharp voices, some with rough voices, passing by on the street. .

At this time, there was a long line of people playing suonas and singing loudly on the street. Most of them were uncles and aunts, dressed in red and blue. They were beating drums, smashing gongs, and shouting trumpets. It was the warm-up of folk songs before the Fengsi Festival. He hurried slowly towards the center of the city.

What made Lu Sheng even more speechless was that the people who came out to watch the excitement on the streets did not feel noisy at all. Instead, they followed the procession happily, and some even sang along. There are also special officials from the yamen to maintain order.