SFS Chapter 188 1 Wishful thinking
Chapter 188 1 Wishful thinking
After Lu Jingchen got on the carriage, he could no longer conceal the anger on his face.
The servant Qingsong sat opposite Lu Jingchen, with his head lowered and not daring to breathe.
"Qingsong, do you still remember how long you have been with me?" Lu Jing looked at the wind outside the window, his voice a little cold.
"Master, I am a servant boy in your mansion. When I was six years old, my wife arranged for me to serve in your courtyard. It has been ten years now." Qingsong did not dare to look up and answered Lu Jingchen's question in a serious tone.
"You still know it's ten years! Let me ask you, what were you doing at Qin's house just now?" Lu Jingchen turned around and threw the book in his hand towards Qingsong in an angry manner.
Qingsong didn't dare to hide. He just lowered his head to pick up the book on the ground, wiped it with his sleeve and put it back in front of Lu Jingchen.
"What benefits did my mother promise you? Why did you interfere in the master's affairs again and again? You knew that I liked Miss Qin, so why did you obey your mother and prevent me from meeting her? What is your intention?" Qingsong's silence made Lu Jingchen even more angry.
He stood up suddenly and approached Qingsong, his eyes as sharp as torches, as if to penetrate the other's heart.
He received a letter from his mother before the Chinese New Year.
Each letter urged him to return to Beijing as soon as possible, and also warned him not to be deceived by those unknown people outside and ruin his bright future.
During that period, whenever he had free time, he would go to Changhe Village or Qin's house.
There was something else behind my mother's words. It was obvious that someone had revealed my whereabouts to her.
Combined with Qingsong's performance today, this person must be Qingsong without a doubt.
Qingsong's face was pale. He knelt in front of Lu Jingchen, and his voice was filled with tears.
"Master, you know Madam's methods. She has given me an ultimatum, asking me to report your daily actions to Madam. If I don't obey, the lives of the old and young in the family will be in danger!"
He kowtowed as he spoke, and the sound of his forehead hitting the ground echoed in the small carriage, sounding particularly sad.
"Master, I know that Miss Qin is someone you value, and I am afraid that Madam will be angry with Miss Qin... Aren't you harming Miss Qin? Master, calm down. The only person you can marry is Miss Lin. Madam will never allow someone of Miss Qin's status to enter the house."
There were tears in Qingsong's eyes and his voice was full of pleading.
At this moment, Lu Jingchen's words were like a bucket of cold water, pulling him back from the edge of impulse.
The Lu family declined, and a few years ago my father was demoted in reality and transferred to the position of Chief Officer of Gansu.
Although the Chief Clerk of Ganzhou was a fifth-rank official, my father often sighed that he would rather return to Beijing and be a seventh-rank minor official than stay in Ganzhou.
No matter how lowly an official in Beijing is, he is still under the emperor's feet.
Lin Wanning, who came from the Earl of Zhongyuan's Mansion, was the best marriage candidate. This was not only the expectation of his father and mother, but also the key to the family's revival.
Thanks to my grandfather's arrangements, my father was transferred back to the capital and joined the Ministry of Works a few years ago, where he served as a doctor in the Dushuiqinglisi.
At this critical moment, he needed to rely on the power of the Lin family to consolidate his position.
As the eldest son of the Lu family, he has no choice but to take responsibility for this marriage.
However, he was unwilling to do so.
When Lu Jingchen thought about having to spend the rest of his life with a woman with whom he had no emotional foundation and who was married only for family interests, his heart felt as if it was weighed down by a thousand-pound stone, making it difficult for him to breathe.
Two years ago, Lu Jingchen followed his father to visit his ancestral home outside the capital.
Lin Wanning was taken to a banquet by her cousin, where she met Lu Jingchen and fell in love with him at first sight.
Unable to persuade her daughter, Mrs. Lin had to hold her nose and secretly ask someone to go to Lu's maternal grandfather's house to discuss the matter.
Lin Wanning was born in the Earl of Zhongyuan's Mansion. She had a gentle and virtuous personality. Her willingness to marry into the Lu family was a clear sign of marrying down from her parents' background.
Mother Lu was naturally overjoyed and agreed immediately.
The Lu and Lin families then exchanged engagement letters, waiting for Lu Jingchen to take the imperial examination and marry Lin Wanning.
By the time Lu Jingchen found out, it was already a done deal.
He had an argument with his mother, and in a fit of anger he used his connections to enter the Luming Academy in Taihe County from Ganzhou.
One reason was to resist his mother's arrangement, and the other was to escape from Lin Wanning.
Compared with the Earl Zhongyuan's Mansion, the Lu family's family background is really not impressive enough.
Considering that Lu Jingchen was intelligent, kind-hearted, and scholarly, and also because he loved his only daughter, Earl Zhongyuan had no choice but to agree.
Lu Jingchen recalled the past and closed his eyes in pain.
All that was in his mind were Qin Ruo's past smiles and frowns, and he felt mixed emotions.
"Get up!" Lu Jingchen's voice was low and tired. After a long time, he finally called Qingsong to get up.
"Thank you, young master." Qingsong stood up tremblingly, his eyes red.
As a master and servant for many years, Qingsong knew Lu Jingchen's inner struggle, and how could he not feel sorry for his master?
The madam is strong and powerful, and the master has been following the official career path paved by the Lu family since he was a child, and he is overwhelmed by the family's expectations and responsibilities.
Miss Qin is a very nice person, but their identities are ultimately very different.
After all, it was impossible for the young master and Miss Qin to be together. He couldn't bear to see his master getting deeper and deeper into trouble.
Every step the young master takes must be carefully considered to pave the way for the family's future. Personal emotions are not worth mentioning in the face of the family's rise and fall and interests.
Inside the carriage, neither the master nor the servant spoke a word.
Lu Jingchen's hand fell on the winter landscape painting that he took away from Qin Ruo's house, and his heart was filled with sourness.
At the Earl Zhongyuan's residence in the capital, Mrs. Lin looked at her daughter Lin Wanning, who was embroidering a handkerchief with her head down and a slight smile on her lips, and she felt annoyed.
"What are you busy doing? Embroidering a handkerchief for that kid named Lu..."
"Mother, what's the surname Lu? What are you talking about? The Spring Examination is coming up soon. Aunt Lu said that Jingchen was supposed to come back before the New Year, but was delayed by something. Calculating the date, he should be on his way now. I have nothing to do anyway, so I thought of embroidering a handkerchief so that he can come back as a token of my appreciation."
Lin Wanning stopped sewing, looked up at her mother, and a blush appeared on her face.
Mrs. Lin felt extremely upset when she saw her daughter's reaction.
She couldn't understand what her daughter liked about the boy surnamed Lu? In terms of family background and talent, there were many young talents in Beijing who were better than Lu Jingchen.
Her daughter was completely devoted to it, and as a mother, she had to make plans silently behind the scenes, hoping that Lu Jingchen could treat Wan'er with some sincerity.
However, Lu Jingchen has always been indifferent, even a little cold, towards Ning'er.
Since going to Luming Academy in Taihe County, he has not written a single letter to Ning'er.
Mrs. Lu said that her son was dull and had forgotten about the imperial examination, so he neglected to greet Lin Wanning.
But is Mrs. Lin so easily fooled?
She knew clearly in her mind that Lu Jingchen obviously didn't have Ning'er in his heart, and she was afraid that it was just Ning'er's wishful thinking.
At this time, Mrs. Lin really regretted that she should not have been soft-hearted at the beginning. She could not resist her daughter's nagging and gave in on this matter.