Yu Shu's group of four sat and waited for a while in a tea room in the Consecrator Courtyard. Two cups of tea were exchanged before a middle-aged manager with hair and a brown fur collar walked in hastily, and he swept the room with a calm and collected expression before wiping off the sweat on his forehead. He felt strange in his heart that there were so many people here, yet he didn't know that the other two were here to join in the fun. He bowed towards Xue Rui and apologized. "I'm late, Lord Xue, please don't take offense."
Xue Rui waited for a while, but he didn't look unhappy. He raised his hand and said, "It doesn't matter. How is it? Do you have a count of the people I asked you to choose?"
Yu Shu often heard people calling Xue Rui "First Young Master Xue" respectfully. Of course, there were also people calling him "Lord Xue". It could be seen that Xue Rui preferred the latter.
"Of course. Lord Xue asked someone to tell me yesterday. I dare not neglect it." The middle-aged steward hurriedly took two steps forward and took out the booklet from under his armpit. His fingers were sticky with saliva. As he flipped through the pages, he said, "There aren't many boys in the courtyard these days. There are only four who are well-educated, sensible, sensible, and well-behaved. I've picked them out. In terms of family background, the best is the grandson of the former Jiangzhou provincial governor, Bai Wei. He just turned 12 last month. He is good at painting and is good at both literature and martial arts. His family has a set of long boxing. His birth date is good and he is beautiful. He has been disciplined in the courtyard for a year and has a gentle temperament. If there is anything wrong with him, he just doesn't talk much. "
Listening to the steward's report, Jing Chen and Shui Yun, the two Daoist disciples, did not have any strange expressions. Only Yu Shu revealed a trace of surprise. She was here to pick a servant, so why was the talent that this steward mentioned was actually the descendant of an official? He did not look like someone who was suitable to be a study attendant. He was good enough to be adopted as a son.
How, how much does it cost?
In fact, Yu Shu didn't know much. The common servants referred to servants who had been sold. However, servants were also divided into high and low ranks. The better ones were the children of rich and powerful families. He had been educated since he was young, but he didn't let out much.
Those who came close to it were poor people who sold themselves as slaves because of poverty or famine.
Apart from that, there was also a type of servant who had a high status. He also had a good upbringing, his body was pure and clean, but because his family declined, he was reduced to a slave because of his crimes, and entered the Ministry of Revenue's slave registry, and was detained by the imperial court, unable to escape. They could only serve others as slaves, and this type of servant could never be bought outside.
Even more despicable would be the prostitutes in the brothel.
"That's enough. You don't have to read them out one by one," Xue Rui interrupted the middle-aged manager. "Bring the people you just mentioned to me first. Let me take a look at them."
"Yes, Sir, please wait a moment." The middle-aged steward closed the booklet and turned to Yu Shu. "Young Master, Young Lady, please wait a moment as well."
He retreated to the door and gave the order.
Not long after, servants carried two small tables in. Four treasures of the study were placed on the table, and a pair of cushions were placed on the ground. Yu Shu was puzzled about what was going on when she saw the steward who had just left leading a few people back in.
Looking closely, there were four youths. Their figures weren't ordinary, but they all had good looks. Their heads were lowered, and her expression couldn't be seen. But their ages were about the same, and they wore cotton robes of the same style. Their colors were different, and the most eye-catching one was the one in the middle in a blue robe. His lips were red, and his teeth were white. He was very beautiful, and no one would believe that he wasn't a child raised by a rich family.
Perhaps it was because of her preconceived notions that they were all full of energy, and Yu Shu had a cold heart. She didn't have much sympathy for their past experiences, and how they were reduced to slaves. She was only thinking about how much it would cost to buy such a book boy. If she didn't have enough money on her, she would have to borrow from Xue Rui.
"Sir, these are the ones." The middle-aged steward extended his hand and pointed at Xue Rui. He then turned to the four youths behind him and said, "This is Lord Xue from the Supreme Court of Justice, and also the eldest son of the Minister of State. There are also the other young masters and young ladies, why aren't you greeting them?"
"Greetings to Lord Xue, Young Master, and Young Lady."
Perhaps the steward had instructed them beforehand, but the four youths greeted them politely. If it wasn't for the fact that Yu Shu had heard that they were either from a scholarly family, or that they had fallen to such a state after becoming an official, she would have thought that they were four young masters raised by some family, and that their parents had called them out to show off in front of the guests.
"Ta." Xue Rui wiped the teacup in his hand, and looked at them one by one. He then said to them, "You should be able to read and write. Write a poem for me to read."
"Yes."
Yu Shu looked at the four youths sitting on the ground in front of her, writing at the small study table. Only then did she realize what the four treasures of the study were for.
"Bring their eight characters and four pillars over." Taking advantage of the time they were writing their poems, Xue Rui took a piece of paper from the steward of the Conclave and passed it to Yu Shu. "Take a look, see if there's anything wrong with it."
Yu Shu nodded and carefully compared the eight characters in her hand. She secretly calculated, but there was nothing that countered Yu Xiaoxiu's fate.
These youths didn't waste time. Soon, one of them finished writing a poem. The maidservant serving tea brought it to Xue Rui's hand. Xue Rui glanced at it, nodded, and handed it to Yu Shu. He casually joked, "This character's writing is better than yours. Take a look."
Yu Shu glanced at him and looked at it seriously. Although she didn't know much about poetry, she could at least see that it was smooth. At least this five-character sentence was something that Yu Xiaoxiu, who had only been in school for a few months, couldn't write.
"Miss Yu, let me take a look." Shui Yun stretched out her hand and asked Yu Shu with some interest.
Yu Shu passed it to her and casually asked, "Does Miss Shui know poetry?"
"I know a little. My father taught me." Shui Yun nodded and tilted her head to look at Jing Chen with a smile, "But I'm not as good as Senior Martial Brother. Miss Yu doesn't know, but my second martial uncle said that if Senior Martial Brother went to the capital to take the imperial examination, he might be able to become the top scorer."
"Oh, is that so?" Yu Shu turned her head to look at Jing Chen. Her mood was a bit complicated. She couldn't help but say, "I've known you for so long, but I didn't know you knew poetry."
After saying that, she felt that she had spoken too quickly. Her words sounded like she was complaining and more or less sounded a bit depressed. However, this was inevitable. No matter what, Jing Chen was the person she had liked wholeheartedly. He was a man who she had wanted to spend the rest of her life with. How could she just say that she didn't care?
Jing Chen met Yu Shu's gaze. It was unknown if he had noticed something, but he seriously said, "At that time, I lost my memory. I could even forget martial arts and Daoism, let alone these things. If I don't remember, how would you know? "
Yu Shu's eyes moved and she said in a low voice, "That's true."
Jing Chen still wanted to say something, but Shui Yun pulled his sleeve to look at the poem and diverted his attention.
Yu Shu looked at the pair of martial siblings who had a close relationship in front of her and couldn't help but feel a bit uncomfortable. When she turned her head, she happened to meet Xue Rui's dark and bright eyes. Her eyelids immediately twitched. Afraid that he would see through her discomfort, she coughed to conceal it and said, "Didn't you say that this place is interesting? How come I don't see it?"
Xue Rui moved his gaze away and casually pointed at a youth below. He said in a warm voice, "Tell me about your background."
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
