Chapter 64: Beggar
Ye Shuo didn’t say anything at first. After washing up and eating, Ye Shuo asked, “Did the young master of the Cao family respond to you?”
Liang Wenyin nodded: “He has agreed to accompany me to the parade this morning.”
The customs of the people in the Great Zhou were relatively open, and there was no such thing as women being confined to their homes. If women wanted to do some small business, that was still possible.
After all, it was allowed by both parents, and there was nothing wrong with a man and a woman who were engaged going shopping together.
Ye Shuo never imagined that his adopted niece would be rejected by the young master of the Cao family. After all, his adopted niece was the granddaughter of the Grand Tutor, and now she was the niece of the Crown Princess. No matter what the young master of the Cao family thought, he was unlikely to refuse.
After Ye Shuo had eaten and drunk his fill, he always felt that the surroundings seemed too quiet, as if something was missing.
Then he patted his head and remembered that at this time, the tutor was probably going to court.
It’s really hard for him to concentrate on work at this time.But in fact, Ye Shuo overestimated the master by thinking this way. With such a devil in the family, how could the master concentrate on his work?
The prince had seen his teacher distracted more than once or twice.
What’s wrong with the teacher today?
The prince looked puzzled.
“Teacher…Teacher…?”
“Father is calling you.”
He suddenly came back to his senses and met Emperor Jingwen’s approving gaze, and the Taifu felt even more pressured.
I really hope the time will pass sooner…
The Grand Tutor had never felt that attending court was so torturous.
After finally waiting until the end of the court session, the prince came forward with a concerned look on his face: “Teacher, are you okay? By the way, I heard that Xiaojiu is with you? Xiaojiu…”
“I’m sorry, Your Highness, I can’t say much to you. I have to go home early today.” Without even bothering to greet his favorite student, the tutor left in a hurry after saying this.
“If it’s any later, my house will probably be demolished by the Ninth Prince!”
Looking at his teacher’s anxious back, and then at his father who was obviously in a good mood, the prince couldn’t help but took a breath.
The other side.
After Ye Shuo had eaten and drunk his fill, he rolled on the ground several times in front of everyone, and in the process painted his face, neck, and hands, which were most easily exposed, black.
After looking at the bronze mirror, he felt that it would be difficult to fool a real beggar, but if he wanted to fool a rich young master, it should be no problem. Ye Shuo put the mirror down with satisfaction.
The Madam beside him seemed to be hesitant to speak, as if she wanted to persuade him.
Looking at the little Lu Zi next to him, he had already knelt down with a plop: “Your Highness, if you have anything to do, just let me do it. Why do you have to waste yourself like this, Your Highness!”
If the imperial concubine knew about this, I would be in big trouble.
It’s just pretending to be a beggar, he can do it!
But…how could Ye Shuo possibly hand over such an interesting thing to Xiao Luzi? What fun would that be?
Although Ye Shuo is more playful, he does not neglect this operation. Wouldn’t it be better if he could take both into account?
So how could Ye Shuo let Xiao Luzi ruin his gaming experience?
In order to make it more realistic, he even asked the kitchen of Taifu Mansion for some stale water from the previous night and sprinkled it on himself.
Taking a bath is a luxury for beggars. It is impossible for a real beggar to have no smell at all.
Soon, Ye Shuo’s whole body became smelly, which was somewhat similar to the feeling of sweating too much and not washing.
The Ninth Prince in front of him performed his entire set of movements smoothly, which stunned Liang Wenyin, who was a little nervous on the side.
The movements were so smooth, it didn’t feel like it was my first time at all…
Just when Liang Wenyin was stunned, Xing Yucheng also arrived.
After all, Xing Yucheng was also the son of an official, so he must have known more rumors about the young master of the Cao family than a girl like Liang Wenyin who never left her house, so Ye Shuo called him over as well.
Xing Yucheng was not prepared at all. He was shocked when he saw a beggar standing in the main room of the Grand Tutor’s Mansion.
Seeing this, Ye Shuo immediately felt relieved: “It seems that my disguise skills are pretty good.”
If he could even fool his own study partner, the young master of the Cao family should be no problem at all.
Hearing the familiar voice, Xing Yucheng finally reacted: “Your Highness!?”
“Hey, why are you shouting? Don’t be so excited, calm down.” Ye Shuo rubbed his ears and didn’t care.
Xing Yucheng felt dizzy.
Not surprisingly, the Ninth Prince was going to do something weird again.
Xing Yucheng found that he was no longer surprised and became particularly calm. How long had he been with the Ninth Prince? He had already successfully trained himself.
After the Si hour, Ye Shuo heard some noise at the door and guessed it must be the young master of the Cao family.
“If I really want to cancel the engagement, wouldn’t it be a bit too willful? Would it implicate Aunt Wan?” The Aunt Wan that Liang Wenyin mentioned was none other than the Crown Princess.
Women of this era have always been like this. The first thing they consider is not themselves, but the family behind them.
“What if Aunt Wan’s reputation is affected?” Aunt Wan had finally secured her position as the Crown Princess. If she was implicated because of something like this, she would be blamed for her death.
Liang Wenyin tossed and turned all night last night, and the more she thought about it, the more uneasy she felt.
Ye Shuo could understand that when a person takes the first step, it always seems extra difficult.
“You only think about whether it will affect your aunt Wan’s reputation. Why don’t you think about it the other way around? Does the Cao family dare to involve your aunt Wan’s reputation? Will my royal family allow the Cao family to involve the reputation of the Crown Princess?” Ye Shuo had some understanding of his adoptive father. As for the Crown Prince, although he looked easy to talk to, he was actually not a soft person.
Liang Wenyin was stunned.
Ye Shuo immediately made the final decision: “So, go forward boldly and don’t waste such a good status of yours.”
Liang Wenyin finally came to her senses.
They had agreed to act out a play later, so Ye Shuo definitely couldn’t expose himself so early. When Liang Wenyin followed the young master of the Cao family out, Ye Shuo hid behind the screen wall.
After the two of them left, Ye Shuo took advantage of the young master of the Cao family not paying attention and secretly glanced at him from behind.
Judging from his dress and even his appearance, this man does look like a decent human being, but one cannot judge a book by its cover. Ye Shuo has seen many people who look good on the outside but are actually beasts in human clothing.
Knowing that the two of them would go to Baoyu Pavilion later, Ye Shuo hurried towards the Baoyu Pavilion while asking his study partner about the details.
Soon Ye Shuo learned that although the Cao family was not a family of aristocracy, they were also noble for generations, and most importantly, they had a good family tradition. They were indeed a rare good family in Shangjing City.
The head of Cao family now is Cao Luyi, the father of the young master of Cao family. Cao Luyi is over fifty years old. Although he is only a third-rank Si Nong, the post of Si Nong is related to food and people’s livelihood, so he is not treated as an ordinary person.
The youngest son of the Cao family is named Cao Rui. He has three older brothers, all of whom only married one wife. With his three older brothers in the lead, Cao Rui’s marriage will naturally attract a lot of attention, especially those families who love their daughters. They are all eager to find a son-in-law from the Cao family. However, when they heard that Cao Rui had been betrothed by the imperial tutor when he was young, those families gave up.
Hearing this, Ye Shuo felt something was wrong, so he interrupted Xing Yucheng who was talking freely and asked, “How do you know so much about the Cao family?”
Although we are in the same circle, it doesn’t mean that we know everything about them, right?
At first Ye Shuo just wanted to get a general idea, but he didn’t expect that as he listened, he almost understood the situation of the other person’s past three generations.
The most important thing is that Xing Yucheng is only 12 years old now. He is not yet old enough to join the circle, but he is so clear about it. It feels a bit wrong.
Xing Yucheng didn’t think too much about it. After all, the Cao family had a good reputation and was well-known in Shangjing City.
After hearing what he said, Ye Shuo felt even more weird.
Since the other party is known for his upright family tradition, he should not care about false reputation as much as others do. But now it seems that this is not the case.
It seems more like an advertisement that is deliberately put out, as if it is attracting and recruiting something.
Ye Shuo then asked: “Are the daughters-in-law of the Cao family of higher birth than the Cao family itself?”
This was the first time Xing Yucheng heard this question. After thinking about it carefully, he found that it seemed to be true.
It’s not that Xing Yucheng is gossipy, it’s mainly because the Cao family is too famous, and he can’t help but know about it.
Ye Shuo couldn’t help but smack his lips after hearing this.
“Okay, go on. What is Cao Rui’s reputation?”
Xing Yucheng barely hesitated: “Cao Rui has always had a good reputation. My mother even praised him before.”
“What about the people around him? Especially his friends, what about their reputation?” Ye Shuo still believed in the saying of like-minded people, because people with different values basically can’t get along well.
This question stumped Xing Yucheng: “I don’t know about this… No, wait, I suddenly remembered that Cao Rui seemed to have two playmates who grew up together. I heard that the two playmates were not very good, but because they grew up together, Cao Rui did not alienate them. Many people around me think he is kind and righteous.”
Ye Shuo nodded, indicating that he understood, and then he asked: “What about Cao Rui himself, is he considered outstanding among the children of officials?”
“I don’t think so…” Xing Yucheng hesitated: “I feel he is not as good as me.”
Ye Shuo was somewhat aware of his study partner’s abilities, and he immediately said, “I understand. You are excellent.”
Xing Yucheng was stunned for a moment, then he was overjoyed when he came to his senses.
The Ninth Prince is bragging about himself!
“Don’t be too happy yet. One last question. How is he, compared to his three brothers?” After all, other people’s children are still other people’s children. There is a sense of distance. But your own children are different. That can be seen and touched.
Xing Yucheng forced himself to stop laughing, thought for a moment, and then shook his head: “A little bit inferior. At his age, his brothers have all achieved fame and honor, but he has nothing now.”
“Okay, I think I understand what’s going on.”
After such a thorough investigation, Ye Shuo felt that the possibility that the young master of the Cao family, or even the entire Cao family, was good, was very low.
However, what you hear is not as good as what you see, so it still needs to be verified in the end.
Just like that, Xing Yucheng and Xiao Luzi watched helplessly as the extremely noble Ninth Prince took out a broken bowl from somewhere, put the bowl there, and then squatted down at the door of the Baoyu Pavilion very skillfully.
Xing Yucheng and Xiao Luzi were stunned.