Chapter 368 Impure motives
"You have a heart."
Tong Huaqiong calmed down and spoke in a calm tone.
Nie Mingyuan was slightly disappointed. Why wasn't his mother-in-law excited at all?
Such a high-quality cloak cannot be bought even with money. My mother-in-law always loves to take advantage of others, so there is no reason for her to be unhappy.
Nie Mingyuan concluded that his mother-in-law was now being conferred the title of county lady and was deliberately putting on airs.
Forget it, forget it, just bear with it. It’s his own fault for asking his mother-in-law for help.
Tong Huaqiong glanced at Gu Baishuang who was sitting next to Nie Mingyuan.
Gu Baishuang looked unnatural, and Tong Huaqiong became more and more suspicious that Nie Mingtian's motives for coming to wish her a happy new year were impure.
Nie Mingyuan then opened another box and gave Gu Dahan a jade pendant, Gu Dashu a snuff bottle, and Maner and Xiaolong Yaozu each a silver necklace.
Gu Dahan held the jade pendant and muttered to himself, what does a farmer like him need this thing for? What a shameless brother-in-law, he didn't even give a practical gift.
"This is what Xiaofeng's mother asked me to bring for my two sisters-in-law and my aunt."
Nie Mingyuan pointed to two packages and two exquisite wooden boxes on the ground.
Chen Sufen and Liu Yue'e are two pieces of satin.
The rest all belong to Gu Taohua.
This is obviously much more than the gifts from the two sisters-in-law.
Nie Mingyuan said to Gu Taohua, "Aunt, these two pieces of Shu embroidery are specially brought for you. Such materials and patterns are rarely seen in Pingchuan County. There are also two boxes, one for balm cream and the other for head ornaments. They are both for you."
Gu Taohua smiled faintly and said, "Thank you."
Nie Mingyuan was a little unhappy. This sister-in-law was really spoiled by her mother-in-law. She even looked down on these things?
What an attitude.
No wonder no one has come to propose marriage on the 15th of this month.
Despite all his complaints, Nie Mingyuan asked Nie Xiaofeng to bring another large box.
"Third brother, this is for you."
Nie Mingyuan waved to Gu Jingzhe and opened the box.
There are books, pens, ink, paper and inkstone in the box.
Nie Mingyuan smiled and said, "I asked my friend in Shengjing to bring this book, and I asked my friend in Huizhou who does business to bring this inkstone, which is made of fine Huizhou ink. This Xuan paper was brought by my relatives in Xuanzhou. Third brother, see if you like it."
Gu Jingzhe showed an impeccable smile on his face and said, "Thank you, brother-in-law."
Tong Huaqiong said politely: "Leave these to Xiaofeng."
Nie Mingyuan glanced at Nie Xiaofeng beside him and said, "Xiaofeng is not good at studying. He and my third brother went to the examination hall together to take the Tongsheng examination. I don't even want to talk about his grades. It would be useless to let him use them and taint these pens, inkstones, and paper."
Nie Xiaofeng had a sneer on his face.
Tong Huaqiong thought to herself that something was wrong. She was just being polite and didn't expect to poke Nie Xiaofeng's lung.
She doesn't know how Nie Xiaofeng's grades are.
At this time, the sound of martial arts training came from outside the window. It was Su Chengmin's daily method of developing physical fitness.
He exercised in a single layer of clothing in the cold wind.
Through the window, Tong Huaqiong saw Su Chengmin chopping wood with his bare hands.
Nie Xiaofeng was attracted and ran out excitedly.
Tong Huaqiong breathed a sigh of relief. It was time for Su Chengmin to chop the wood.
Gu Baishuang smiled and said lovingly, "You can't sit still when you see people practicing martial arts. It would be great if you could focus on studying like my third brother."
Gu Baishuang's daughter-in-law, Sun, hugged her son and said, "Mom, you don't have to worry. Third brother has loved swordplay since he was young. I think he can wield a sword as well as the top performer in the acrobatic class. If he can't learn in the future, he can still find a job with a sword."
Everyone in the room knew that Sun's words were a sarcasm towards Nie Xiaofeng.
Gu Baishuang's face turned ugly.
Tong Huaqiong said: "It's no wonder that a hero comes from a different background. Everyone is good at different things. I think Xiaofeng might be able to become a general."
Gu Baishuang cast a grateful glance at her stepmother and said, "Mom, please stop praising him. I'll be at ease as long as he doesn't cause any trouble."
Gu Baishuang had never thought that her son would become a general, but she liked to hear these words of relief.
Sun curled her lips.
Gu Jingzhe saw this and said to Gu Baishuang, "Big sister, mother is not praising Xiaofeng casually. Our Master Su praised him for being fearless in the face of danger and acting like a general. Once, thieves broke into our school, and it was Xiaofeng who repelled three thieves by himself."
Gu Baishuang was surprised. If Gu Jingzhe hadn't mentioned this, she would have never known about it.
Nie Xiaofeng never told her about what happened at school.
Nie Mingyuan chuckled twice and turned the topic to Gu Jingzhe, saying, "How can Xiaofeng compare to my third brother? He passed the examination for a Tongsheng on his first try last year, and he will definitely pass the provincial examination this spring. He is the hope of our big family. When he passes the examination, we will have an official in our family."
Gu Jingzhe smiled and said nothing.
Nie Mingyuan turned to ask Tong Huaqiong, "Do you want to study at Wanliu Academy? It would be a pity if you don't go there with your qualifications. The dean of Wanliu Academy is a difficult person to talk to, but you don't have to worry. As long as you want to go, I can ask someone I know to get you in."
Tong Huaqiong wanted to roll her eyes after hearing this. If Gu Jingzhe wanted to go to Wanliu Academy, he could go after he passed the imperial examination this spring. It was not like she, Tong Huaqiong, could not afford to support him.
As for people he knows well, Nie Mingyuan's people can compare to Tong Huaqiong's people.
Lu Zhaoyang is the most favored disciple of the dean of Wanliu Academy. Isn't his relationship stronger than anyone else's?
Gu Jingzhe said, "Brother-in-law, I plan to take the examination for Wanliu Academy after the results of the provincial examination come out. If I pass the examination, I will take the examination for Wanliu Academy. It is not as impressive as taking the examination by myself to get in through others."
Nie Mingyuan said: "Don't bother. If you want to go now, you don't have to wait until the provincial examination is over."
Gu Jingzhe was still a teenager after all, and felt that Nie Mingyuan's attempt to use the back door to get him into Wanliu Academy was an insult to his knowledge. The teenager said with a look of disbelief, "Brother-in-law, don't you believe that I can get in?"
Nie Mingyuan said awkwardly: "Don't worry, Third Brother. I am also thinking about you."
Tong Huaqiong watched everything coldly, wondering what Nie Mingyuan was planning.
He not only gave Gu Taohua a generous gift, but also wanted to send Gu Jingzhe to Wanliu Academy.
The reason why he did this was because Tong Huaqiong loved the twins the most, and what could be better to please Tong Huaqiong than to please the twins.
Tong Huaqiong picked up the tea, took a sip, put down the cup, and watched Nie Mingyuan's performance quietly.
Nie Mingyuan finally got to the point and smiled at Tong Huaqiong, "I went to Mr. Huang's house for a drink a few days ago and learned that his daughter was engaged to the Lu family in Fucheng. This is really an unexpected marriage, one is in Fucheng and the other is in our Yanguan Town. When Mr. Huang said that, I learned that it was you, my mother-in-law, who arranged this marriage."
coming!
Tong Huaqiong thought that Nie Mingyuan's target was the Lu family.
This is easy to explain. Nie Mingyuan is a businessman. If he can get close to the royal merchant Lu family, then his business will naturally be worry-free.
Tong Huaqiong does not reject the idea of trying to get close to the Lu family to expand the business.
Didn't she also try to get close to Mr. Huang and the Lu family?
The key point is that Nie Mingyuan even schemed against people around him, so Tong Huaqiong didn't dare to introduce him to the Lu family.