Chapter 251 Qi Tianyu Was Courteous and DecentAlthough Qin Huaiyong was appreciated by the Emperor, he did not have a high rank and at most, he was an upstart. Thus, Qin’s Mansion was not comparable to those aristocrat families who had a very long history. If he compared himself with those families, others would think that Qin Huaiyong was a man who was inordinately arrogant, proud of his ability and ignorant, for he dared to be diametrically opposed to Duke Xing’s Mansion.
It seemed that Qin Huaiyong was too haughty.
What’s worse, somebody might inform those aristocrat mansions and might lead to confrontation with Qin’s Mansion, which would then be considered as a catastrophe for Qin Huaiyong!
Since even Madame Dong came to hear about this, it seemed that Madam of Duke Xing was determined to let Qin Wanru become her accepted daughter in Duke Xing’s Mansion.
Qin Huaiyong had no right to say “no”!
Coincidentally, Qi Tianyu was here and Qi Baiyu was sitting outside, waiting wearily. Thus, Qin Wanru asked Qingyue to secretly pa.s.s Qi Baiyu a note, to let him bring Qi Tianyu to Qin Huaiyong’s study room…
“Lady, what does Madam of Duke Xing want from you?” Yujie gradually felt anxious when Qin Wanru said nothing.
She could not figure out why Madam of Duke Xing was treating her lady like this, and her lady used to have nothing to do with this madam, not long ago!
“Should we turn to Rui’an Great Elder Princess for help?”
“Rui’an Great Elder Princess has a bad relations.h.i.+p with Duke Xing’s Mansion, so it is not proper to get her involved!” Shaking her head, Qin Wanru directly rejected this idea.
“Then what should we do? Or are you really going to be the accepted daughter of Madam of Duke Xing?” Thinking about all the methods that seemed not to work, Yujie became so anxious that her eyes reddened considerably. “It is obvious that Madam of Duke Xing wants to plot against you! If you went to Duke Xing’s Mansion, as her accepted daughter, a mere word from her would put you under her control!”
Everyone knew that once they entered those high-ranking aristocratic mansions like Duke Xing’s Mansion, everything would get complicated and it would be extremely difficult for them to leave, let alone Duke’s Mansion. Therefore, n.o.body would dare to say no to Madam of Duke Xing, if she wanted to interfere in Qin Wanru’s marriage.
People would even think it was an honor for Qin Wanru!
“We will just wait for Qi Tianyu to come out!”
Qin Wanru smiled and stared at the door of the room. She meant it. In fact, meeting the Qi Brothers was not a chance encounter. The fact was that she came to the study room earlier deliberately…
In the room, Qin Huaiyong looked at Qi Tianyu in a pitying way. Compared with Di Yan, Qi Tianyu was much better than him, because he was handsome and looked powerful and lofty.
Although his position in the capital city was not high, his power and his standards of choosing people were far above Di Yan’s.
Madam Di was useless and had bad standards when it came to choosing people. She could not distinguish who was better and who was worse.
“How are you doing?” Putting down the file on the table, Qin Huayong asked. From Qi Tianyu’s perspective, he could see the words “Duke Xing’s Mansion” on the file, and suddenly his heart jumped fast.
“Thanks for asking. I am good. Right now, only my brother Baiyu and I are living in the mansion. It is very quiet and a good place for learning!”
Qi Tianyu answered with a smile.
“That’s great! How are your studies?” Qin Huaiyong nodded with satisfaction, and asked smilingly.
“Not bad, except sometimes I am still confused and don’t know which style of writing people in the capital city like!” Since Qin Huaiyong asked, Qi Tianyu answered him directly. With a bright and clear smile on his face, it seemed that he was not angry at Qin Huaiyong about Qin Yuru.
He was very decent and courteous and treated Qin Huaiyong politely and with the same familiarity he accorded to his father.
Qin Huaiyong was satisfied with him, but he sighed. He said sincerely, “It is good but you could not glue your face to the books. You’d better walk outside and look around. You may find out the style of writing these citizens like. I would like to help you, but you know that I am a general, and thus I cannot get too close to those civilians.”
The Emperor would suspect them if he, a general, got too close to the civilians. Those civilians who could judge if one’s writing was good or bad, were not ordinary people. Although Qin Huaiyong was new in the capital city, he knew about this. He did want to help Qi Tianyu, but he did not know how.
It was not an excuse because he always felt like he owed Qi Tianyu, because of Qin Yuru.
“I know you really want to help me and I appreciate it. But you don’t have to ask around for me, for it is inappropriate for you to get in touch with the high-ranking civilians. Moreover, if I could pa.s.s the exam one day, others would suspect you! You have just settled here without a firm foundation, and thus you need to establish an image that is both secure and prudent first!”
Qi Tianyu smiled, and his gaze swept across the file. He looked more and more respectful.
“Tianyu, well, Yuru is not comparable to you!” Qin Huaiyong gave a deep sigh and said this directly. Qi Tianyu was so reasonable and courteous. It was quite difficult to find a son-in-law who was clever and had common sense. If he pa.s.sed the exam, it would benefit Qin Huaiyong a lot!
Although he could not compare to Di Yan, things would change in the future.
“Never look down upon any poor, but clever man!”
“I appreciate it! You know, it is meant to be.” said Qi Tianyu, feeling lost. He smiled and looked calm, but there was a tinge of sadness in his eyes that showed that Qin Yuru had hurt his feelings.
He still respected Qin Huaiyong, and did not regret doing this, but the wound in his heart had not been healed yet.
It was quite difficult for him to heal, because he had deep feelings for Qin Yuru since they had grown up together. It was pretty good for Qi Tianyu to try his best not to hate Qin Yuru, let alone there were rumors spreading outside. It was said that someone even asked Qi Tianyu, but he never spoke ill of her, which made Qin Huaiyong really appreciate him.
“If…” Qin Huaiyong said, feeling guilty.
“You don’t need to say that. I know. Things could not be changed now. You don’t need to worry about me, for I am always grateful to Qin’s Mansion. I grew up with your two daughters and thus, I will treat them as well as before, even if this thing happened.” Qi Tianyu interrupted him, raised his head and said seriously.
His words saddened Qin Huaiyong. “If Madam Di and Yuru were not so conniving, things would be totally different! Rumors would not be spread in the city! The marriage would even be settled, because of my ultimatum. Otherwise, Qin Yuru and Di Yan would be notorious now!”
An idea suddenly jumped into his mind — apart from Qin Yuru, he still had Qin Wanru!
Thinking about this, he became excited, set his eyes on Qi Tianyu and looked at him from head to toe. Then he kept nodding secretly. Qin Huaiyong had rooted for Qi Tianyu all the time, and if Qi Tianyu were to pa.s.s the exam, he would let Wanru marry him. In view of the close relations.h.i.+p between Qi’s Mansion and Qin’s Mansion, the former would definitely agree.
Then, Qin Huaiyong could not help smiling at him, and he looked kinder, without telling Qi Tianyu his thoughts. Although he had made up his mind, he needed to wait patiently until Qi Tianyu pa.s.sed the exam.
“Uncle, I want to learn Kongfu!” Standing out, Qi Baiyu talked to Qin Huaiyong.
“You?” Qin Huaiyong turned around to look at Qi Baiyu and smiled. He knew that Qi Baiyu loved Kongfu. It was great for Magistrate Qi to have two sons, one who was endowed with the gift of pen and the other, the gift of sword. However, Qin Huaiyong suddenly felt aggrieved, because he did not have a son.
“Yes, uncle, I want to learn Kongfu. Could you please ask a master to teach me?” Qi Baiyu stepped forward and asked.
He was still young, so he had no inhibition in front of Qin Huaiyong. He used to climb over the wall numerous times, and had been caught by Qin Huaiyong each time, when they were still in Jiangzhou. Qin Huaiyong knew he was a naughty boy, so he laughed. “Great! I will choose a time and find a good master, and ask him to go to your mansion to teach you! However, you need to learn well and don’t climb over the wall again!”
Qi Baiyu blushed and scratched his head. He chuckled and answered, “You must be kidding! I am not that naughty boy any more, and I will not do that again!”
“I remember that you used to climb over the wall and come into my house in Jiangzhou. It was not long ago, right?” Qin Huaiyong laughed and relaxed. He leaned back and spoke to Qi Baiyu.
“Uncle!” Qi Baiyu’s blush deepened and he stamped his foot heavily. His embarra.s.sed and bashful look, and his little figure, amused Qin Huaiyong and Qi Tianyu, who could not help laughing in the study room.
Qi Tianyu stood up and walked to the desk. He smiled at Qin Huaiyong and bowed to him respectfully. “Thank you for doing this, uncle. Baiyu has always looked forward to learning Kongfu and he does not like to study. My father also agreed, so he has asked a master to teach him when we were in Jiangzhou. However, when we arrived here, we are not familiar with this city, and don’t know who we should turn to!”
“It doesn’t matter! Our families have a good relations.h.i.+p. Moreover, your father is not in the capital city now, so I am obligated to take care of you. It really doesn’t matter!” Qin Huaiyong waved his hand and said.
“I appreciate this, uncle. I think we’d better not interrupt you anymore, so it is time for us to leave!” Qi Tianyu stepped backwards and bowed to Qin Huaiyong, together with Qi Baiyu. Looking at the Qi Brothers, Qin Huaiyong had mixed feelings in that, although they had different looks and characteristics, they behaved well.
They made a few conventional remarks, and then they left. n.o.body noticed that when Qi Tianyu was close to the desk, he managed to read the file completely.
Qin Huaiyong had been reading this before they came, so he half closed it. There were words like “Duke Xing’s Mansion” on the cover and others words like “Madam of Duke Xing”, written on the page of the half-closed file. It was obvious that this file was about the Duke Xing’s Mansion and Madam of Duke Xing!
“Is Qin’s Mansion really ready to let Qin Wanru be the accepted daughter in Duke Xing’s Mansion?”
He walked silently to the gate with Qi Baiyu. Then he suddenly stopped and seemed to be not in a hurry to leave. He squinted and flicked his sleeve slightly. A trace of doubt appeared in his eyes. He had thought Qi Rongzhi was hyperbolic, and did not trust her at first. However, since he had read the file on Qin Huaiyong’s desk, he began to keep it in mind!
“What’s wrong, brother?” Qi Baiyu turned to look at him, and asked.
“Nothing. Let’s go!” Qi Tianyu answered unhurriedly, and Qi Baiyu followed him out. While Qi Tianyu was walking, he seemed determined, and not hesitant any more…