Chapter 597

Scholar Zhuang sat behind the table, waved his hand at Xu Zaijing with a smile, and signaled for him to sit down.

Just as he was about to say something, Qingyun lifted the door curtain and walked in.

Qingyun bowed to Scholar Zhuang and said: "Scholar, word has come from the Marquis's Mansion saying that there are guests at home, and the Madam wants the Fifth Young Master to go back for a trip."

Scholar Zhuang put away his smile, waved his hand at Xu Zaijing again, and said: "Zaijing, go."

Xu Zaijing stood up and agreed. Yunxiang, who was sitting on the wooden platform behind, hurriedly stood up and walked to Xu Zaijing's table to pack up his things.

Zaizhang, sitting in the first row, stood up and said: "Qingyun, do I need to go back with him?"

Qingyun bowed to Zaizhang: "Third Young Master, the Second Eldest Da Niangzi said that you do not need to go back."

Once Zaizhang heard this, he knew there was nothing major, so he nodded and sat back in his seat.

After packing his things, Xu Zaijing brought Yunxiang to the door, bowed to Scholar Zhuang, and said: "Scholar, the student will go back first."

"Hmm!" Scholar Zhuang nodded.

Xu Zaijing bowed slightly to his classmates again, turned around, and brought Yunxiang out of the school.

On the way out of the school courtyard,

Xu Zaijing walked and said: "Did the house say who is coming?"

"Young Master, Madam Chai is going to the Marquis's Mansion this afternoon." Qingyun whispered.

"Oh! Why so fast?"

Qingyun looked at the sky and said: "Perhaps because the weather is good today?"

Xu Zaijing nodded; with the weather yesterday where the sand and dust blocked the sun, no one would have thought that today would be sunny and bright.

Xu Zaijing and Qingyun rode their horses, leading their own carriage out of Jiying Lane,

the spring weather was warming up,

and the wide street was much livelier compared to winter; from time to time, one could see flower vendors carrying poles and selling fresh flowers.

The spring breeze blew, sending the fragrance of flowers to Xu Zaijing's nose.

After smelling it, Xu Zaijing immediately felt refreshed.

Suddenly,

"Ha~"

"Yo-ho~"

"Whew~"

The sound of cheering and whistling while riding horses came from behind. Xu Zaijing and Qingyun turned their heads to look, only to see a group of wealthy young men dressed in thin spring clothes, riding spirited horses.

This group of wealthy young men were not only dressed brightly themselves, but the saddles and bridles of the horses they were riding were also decorated with silk and fresh flowers.

What the wealthy young men were chasing were three women on horseback in front, with gold and silver jewelry and fresh flowers pinned to their hair buns, veils on their faces, and thin clothes through which colorful satin camisoles could be vaguely seen.

Those who could dress like this were naturally not respectable women.

"*Neigh~*"

The sound of a horse neighing rang out.

It was the wealthy young men, in order to attract the attention of the women on horseback, pulling the reins to make the horses rear up on their hind legs.

This action naturally drew a burst of exclamations from the people around.

Soon,

when the wealthy young men on horseback rode close to Xu Zaijing, they all looked at the small black horse Xu Zaijing was riding with surprise.

The wealthy young men who wanted to talk to Xu Zaijing, upon seeing Qingyun frowning beside Xu Zaijing, also had nothing to say and hurriedly rode their horses forward.

And the three women on horseback who were being chased by the wealthy young men slowed down their horses.

Among them, one with the most graceful figure looked at Xu Zaijing with tender, watery eyes.

Upon seeing Xu Zaijing's appearance clearly, this woman also passed Xu Zaijing on horseback with her companions.

Then,

this woman turned around, and while looking back with a smile, she nimbly took off her veil with her slender hand, letting Xu Zaijing see the pretty and charming face behind the veil clearly.

This woman looked at Xu Zaijing's eyes again, wanting to make eye contact with Xu Zaijing, and then shyly cover her face with the veil again.

But before this woman could make eye contact with Xu Zaijing, she saw a young lady in the carriage behind Xu Zaijing curiously lift the carriage curtain, and a face as fresh as a lotus rising from clear water, naturally without any carving, was revealed just like that.

The gaze of the woman on horseback was naturally attracted to Yunxiang, and she even forgot about the veil she had lifted.

After making eye contact with Yunxiang, this woman on horseback felt a bit ashamed of her own inferiority, hurriedly tied her veil back on, no longer looked at Xu Zaijing, but glanced at the carriage behind Xu Zaijing, turned around, and rode her horse forward.

Seeing this change in the woman on horseback,

Xu Zaijing followed the woman's gaze and looked back curiously; Yunxiang in the carriage smiled at Xu Zaijing with some confusion.

After walking for another two quarters of an hour,

Xu Zaijing's group was already not far from the inner city.

On the street, the number of women on horseback gradually increased, and the material of their clothes looked much better than what Xu Zaijing had encountered before; most were also wearing veils and pinning flowers, and some even had flower-shaped makeup dots between their eyebrows.

Judging by the direction they were walking, it was heading west, most likely to Jinming Pool.

Xu Zaijing rarely went out shopping at this time of day these days,

and on the side of the road,

from time to time, young ladies who didn't know him and were out shopping couldn't help but look at Xu Zaijing when they saw him riding a horse.

There were two reasons: one was that the small black horse was spirited and strong, and the other was that Xu Zaijing's appearance was handsome.

But these young ladies only looked; not a single one came up to greet him.

After walking for a while longer, when they arrived at a street corner, the traffic became a bit congested.

"*Didi-dada~*"

A burst of festive music played.

Xu Zaijing stopped his horse at the street corner to look; it was a procession delivering wedding gifts.

There were a few in this procession that Xu Zaijing recognized, including people from the Duke of Ling's Lu family, the Marquis of Zhongshan's Sha family, and the Marquis of Jinxiang's Ma family.

Xu Zaijing, riding a horse, was very conspicuous in the crowd. Lu Sanlang and the others saw Xu Zaijing and also curiously scanned him up and down a few times.

After all, at this time, Xu Zaijing should have been studying at the Sheng family's.

"Whose wedding is this? To actually have these few deliver the wedding gifts!" Xu Zaijing said with some confusion.

In the crowd, an elderly woman wearing a purple jacket and very decent jewelry stood to the side with a little maid. Upon hearing this, she smiled and said: "This young master, this is the wedding of the young master of the Qin family of the Marquis of Dongchang's Mansion."

Wearing a purple jacket meant she was a "high-level matchmaker" in the capital, mostly acting as a matchmaker for noble and wealthy families to introduce marriages.

Xu Zaijing nodded: "Oh! So it's this guy."

Listening to the contempt in Xu Zaijing's tone, this high-level matchmaker scanned him up and down, looked at the tall and straight Xu Zaijing, and smiled: "This young master, the old woman often goes to noble and wealthy families near Embroidery Lane to act as a matchmaker, but I haven't seen you much!"

Qingyun turned his head to look at the high-level matchmaker and bowed: "This Mama, our Young Master is just passing by."

"Oh, oh, oh! Then can you tell the old woman, which mansion is the young master from? Is he married?" This high-level matchmaker said with a smile, and looked at the small black horse again.

While this high-level matchmaker was looking, she was already running through the eligible young ladies who could match him in her heart!

Even the plan that the young lady's family might increase the dowry by 30% floated into this high-level matchmaker's mind.

"Don't trouble yourself, Mama." Qingyun said with a smile and a bow.

"Ah? This!" This high-level matchmaker looked a bit regretful.

After turning back to look at the sign on the carriage, the matchmaker's eyes lit up, and she asked with an uncertain tone: "Could it be the Fifth Young Master of the Marquis Yongyi's Mansion?"

As she spoke, this high-level matchmaker looked carefully at Xu Zaijing's face again.

And while the few were talking, the procession delivering the wedding gifts had already passed, and the street corner became clear.

Xu Zaijing smiled and bowed to the high-level matchmaker, then rode his horse forward.

Following the departing Xu Zaijing with her gaze, the matchmaker shook the handkerchief in her hand and sighed to the little maid beside her:

"Tsk, tsk, tsk! Polite and has temperament, no wonder the ladies of the official families in the capital are always asking about this Xu family young master! Hearing a hundred times is not as good as seeing once!"

The little maid following nodded repeatedly, indicating agreement.

Getting closer to Quyuanjie,

"Young Master, these flowers are beautiful."

In the carriage, Yunxiang lifted the curtain and pointed to the side of the road, where a few baskets of fresh flowers on the flower vendor's pole were very bright.

"*Whoa~*"

Xu Zaijing stopped again. After waving his hand, Yunxiang smiled, got off the carriage, and went to the flower vendor to pick fresh flowers.

"Fifth Young Master! Why are you here?"

Behind him, a familiar voice rang out.

Xu Zaijing turned around to look; it was the Li family brothers who had lived in his house for a period of time before.

Xu Zaijing smiled and said: "There are guests at home today, and Mother asked me to come back. What about you?"

Li Taotie smiled with some embarrassment: "Fifth Young Master, my wedding date has been set, and I am here to deliver the invitations today."

Xu Zaijing and Qingyun were both stunned.

Xu Zaijing smiled: "Is it the time when Qingcao and the others went to the restaurant for a gathering and met you outside the building?"

Li Taotie nodded with a smile: "Yes! It was thanks to listening to Sister Qingcao's suggestion that I bought the right things, and only then..."

Xu Zaijing smiled: "Haha! That shows Qingcao did a very good job!"

At this moment, Yunxiang also picked the fresh flowers, paid the silver, and walked back carrying the flower basket.

After Yunxiang got on the carriage, Xu Zaijing and the others entered Quyuanjie together.

"Actually the Zhou family of the Marquis of Jiangyin?"

Xie Shi sat beside Sun Shi and said in surprise as she looked at Li Taotie in the hall.

"Yes!"

Li Taotie replied.

Xie Shi nodded and smiled: "Speaking of which, it can be considered a good marriage! Back when the Zhou family was founding the country, they also practiced a hand of good naval forces! And with my maiden family's main line, the relationship is also considered quite good."

Xu Zaijing, sitting in the lower seat, asked in confusion: "Sister-in-law, since the Zhou family also understands naval forces, why haven't I seen the children of the Marquis of Jiangyin's family in the capital?"

Xie Shi looked at Sun Shi and smiled: "Fifth Young Master, their Zhou family's women and children are all in the capital! The children are at the right age to be used, and they are all helping the imperial court guard Jiangyin; they don't return to the capital often!"

Xu Zaijing nodded.

When he went to Yang Zhou before, Xu Zaijing did not continue eastward or southward, so he did not set foot in Jiangyin.

Sun Shi waited for her daughter-in-law to finish speaking, looked at Li Taotie, and said: "Taotie, there are not many elders in your family in the capital, and these elders probably don't know much about the Great Zhou's weddings, right?"

Li Taotie nodded solemnly after a moment of stunned silence.

Sun Shi nodded and said: "The Marquis of Jiangyin's family also shouldn't overstep their bounds and take action! I am heavily pregnant and cannot help with the coming and going! Eldest Son's wife."

"Mother." Xie Shi looked at Sun Shi and said.

"Later, you go to the Marquis of Yongchang's Mansion, tell Madam Wu, and ask if she has time then! If she can, you also go with Madam Wu to help."

"Yes, Mother."

"Jing'er."

"Mother."

"Before going to Bai Gao to save people, Taotie and the others were a great help, and Yege'er should also attend and help for the sake of his elder brother."

"Son understands, Mother. I will tell Second Brother today."

"Hmm. Good!"

Sun Shi smiled, looked at Li Taotie, and said: "Child, if there is anything else you need, don't be embarrassed to say it!"

Li Taotie took a deep breath, stood up solemnly, bowed and cupped his hands: "Madam, this boy understands."

Xu Zaijing smiled and said: "Mother, don't worry, Taotie and Li Chi Mei's wedding will definitely be lively."

"Hmm."

Thinking about the conversation with Xu Zaijing on the street, Li Taotie looked at his younger brother, stood up, and said: "Madam, this boy still needs to notify other families, so I won't stay long."

Sun Shi smiled: "Good! Jing'er, see them off."

After leaving the hall,

Xu Zaijing and the Li brothers did not go directly to the second gate, but went around the horse racing track.

Looking at the side room where he had lived for a period of time,

and looking at the spirited horses in the wooden fence of the horse racing track, Li Taotie said with some melancholy: "Jingge'er, when do you think I will be able to go to the north?"

Xu Zaijing waved his hand at Alan, who was bowing to him beside the stable, and said: "Once you get married, have children, and put down roots, you will most likely be able to go."

"Jingge'er, you are really blunt."

Xu Zaijing smiled and looked at Li Taotie: "Do we still need to hide things from each other?"

Qingyun, who was following behind, and the younger brother Li Li Chi Mei exchanged smiles.

Before, the four of them had entered the dragon's pool and the tiger's den together, lived and died together, and went deep into the enemy territory of Bai Gao; it was a real life-and-death friendship.

After looking at the high white wall behind the wooden house again, Li Taotie said: "Alright, we will take our leave first."

"Good!"

Xu Zaijing nodded and said.

Afterwards,

the Li brothers whistled, and the two mounts they were walking ran over cleverly.

After the two got on their horses, Li Taotie pondered for a moment and said: "Jingge'er, when you go back, thank Marquis Xu's Da Niangzi for me again. My brother and I didn't think that much about the wedding."

"After Madam mentioned it, I thought about how troublesome the coming and going would be; if there weren't someone who knew the ropes, most likely we would be rude and be laughed at."

Xu Zaijing smiled and patted the neck of Li Taotie's horse: "Hmm, I know!"

The Li brothers waved their hands and said: "Jingge'er, don't see us off!"

After speaking, the two rode their horses away.

Looking at their backs, Qingyun, who was beside Xu Zaijing, said: "Young Master, if Madam hadn't said anything, would the Li family's wedding really have no one to help?"

Xu Zaijing shook his head and said: "At that time, most likely the Empress would have let the ladies of the Cao family help manage it."

Qingyun nodded and said: "Young Master, then should I go to Xingguofang now?"

"Hmm!"

After Xu Zaijing finished speaking, he brought Qingyun to the wooden house beside the horse racing track.

"Alan, lead a horse out."

"Good!"

After Qingyun shouted, he looked at Xunshu, who was walking out of the wooden house with a smile, and said: "Where is Uncle Yin?"

Xunshu smiled: "He went to find Uncle Deng to talk."

Qingyun nodded, looked at Xunshu, who was walking towards the stable, and said: "Young Master, speaking of which, there have really been quite a few happy events in our mansion these past few months!"

Xu Zaijing thought for a moment, nodded, and said: "That's right! There have been quite a few!"

After finishing lunch,

Xu Zaijing returned to his courtyard,

stood in the corridor,

and looked at the sunlight not far away.

On the clothes rack near the grape trellis, besides a few of Xu Zaijing's clothes, there was also a handkerchief swaying in the spring breeze.

"Qingcao!"

"Ah?" A somewhat guilty voice came from inside the room.

After a moment, Qingcao walked out with wandering eyes.

"Young Master? What is it?"

"Put the handkerchief away, and when guests come this afternoon, bring it along."

"Oh..."

Qingcao lowered her head and agreed.

(End of chapter)