kingnovel Chapter 920 Operations
Chapter 920 Operations
As the year draws to a close, Kyoto becomes more and more lively.
Officials in the Ming Dynasty also had a rest system. They could take a day off on the first and fifteenth day of each lunar month. They could take a three-day holiday on the Winter Solstice, a five-day holiday on New Year's Day, and a ten-day holiday on the Lantern Festival.
Of course, the New Year’s Day holiday in the Ming Dynasty was from the first to the fifth day of the first lunar month, which is equivalent to the annual leave in later generations.
Compared with New Year's Day, the Ming Dynasty paid more attention to the Lantern Festival, with 10 consecutive days of holiday from the th to the th day of the first lunar month.
As the New Year's Eve arrived, Lu Cheng's house began to get busy. Xiangling and Qingwen, the two maids, directed the servants to redecorate the entire house. The kitchen was also busy preparing various delicacies.
At the same time, some relatives and friends also exchange gifts.
In addition to the Rong and Ning mansions, Mr. Li, whose son was saved by Lu Cheng, Tao Sheng, a porcelain merchant in Xicheng, and Mr. Zhou, also came to visit with gifts.
During festivals, when people came with gifts, it was not easy to refuse directly. But Lu Cheng did not meet all these businessmen in person. He just asked the housekeeper to receive them one by one, accept some of the gifts, and prepare return gifts.
In those days, the status of merchants was not high. Even wealthy merchants who had accumulated a fortune through business for generations would still be looked down upon by scholars with great achievements.
Although Lu Cheng didn't care about these class differences, he didn't have enough time to receive every businessman who came to visit him.
"Master, Mr. Zhou from the west of the city wants to see you. He said he has something to discuss with you."
"Has he not left yet? Let him wait in the living room."
Soon, in the living room.
"Mr. Zhou, what do you want to discuss with me?"
"My Lord, I... I dare to seek to become your relative."
"Mr. Zhou, you should know that I have already been engaged."
"I know this, and I understand that I am not worthy of being your wife. If you do not mind my vulgarity, I am willing to be your concubine. I am also willing to prepare a generous dowry for my daughter."
"What does Miss Wan'er think?"
"Sir, Wan'er has been thinking about you and admiring you ever since you rescued her from the bandits. I originally planned to send Wan'er to my hometown in Suzhou to find a suitable marriage for her. But Wan'er said that she would rather be your concubine. Here is a letter from Wan'er, please read it.
If you read the letter and agree to this marriage, I will go back and make preparations. When Wan'er is old enough, I will send her here. If you don't want to, please write a letter to Wan'er to stop her from thinking about it. "
Lu Cheng took the letter, opened the envelope, and saw rows of beautiful small handwriting written on the letter paper.
"Your Excellency Lu Cheng, I have long admired your talent and I hope you will forgive me for taking the liberty of writing to you.
On that day, the Lord won the first place in the imperial examination and rode a horse in the streets. His demeanor was unparalleled. I was lucky enough to see him and I will never forget it. Later, I heard that the Lord redressed the grievances of the people, was not afraid of the powerful, and solved many strange cases. The people of Kyoto praised him unanimously, and I admired him even more.
Knowing that you have already found a good partner, I dare not ask for anything more. I only wish you a long and healthy life, and that you and your spouse live in harmony.
Then I was held hostage by criminals. Fortunately, you went to rescue me without fear of danger. I will never forget this feeling. I miss you so much. My thoughts are like the full moon, which loses its brightness every night.
Now I forget my shame and write to you to ask for your help. If you understand my heart and sympathize with my intentions, I am willing to stay by your side for the rest of my life and relieve your worries.
If my daughter has the intention and I do not, please let me know and I will not disturb you. I will only do good deeds and pray for your blessing.
The letter is short but the feelings are deep. I can’t express my deepest love to you. I hope you can write me a letter in return.”
To be honest, Lu Cheng has lived for so long and has received many love letters from young girls.
But in such an era bound by feudal ethics, it is easy to imagine how much courage a girl in the boudoir needed to write such a bold letter of confession.
After reading the letter, Lu Cheng could even imagine that pretty and tender girl, holding the pen in her bare hands and choosing each word carefully, with such seriousness.
Thinking of this, Lu Cheng somehow recalled his school days and his youth. He also recalled the diaries he had seen on a computer.
"Mr. Zhou, please wait for a moment. I will go and write a letter. Please bring it to Miss Wan'er."
Lu Cheng got up and went to the study, took out paper, prepared pen and ink, and started writing.
Soon, a reply letter was written, left to dry for a while, and then put into an envelope.
Not long after, Lu Cheng returned to the living room and handed the letter to Mr. Zhou.
Mr. Zhou wanted to ask something else, but he heard Lu Cheng say, "After your daughter reads the letter, she will understand what I mean."
Mr. Zhou said no more and left.
After returning home, Mr. Zhou couldn't wait to hand the letter to his daughter.
Zhou Wan'er immediately returned to her room and opened the letter impatiently. On the letter paper, she saw the following:
"It is as if I were meeting you in person, and I am glad to see your letter. I have read your letter and I am filled with your deep affection. I am glad to know that you admire me.
There are 80,000 words in the world, but love is the most difficult to write. A girl's love is better than a thousand words in the world. I am overwhelmed with joy when I read the beautiful letter. It is easy to get priceless treasures, but it is hard to find lovers.
But I am engaged, and I have found a good match. You are still young, and you have a long life ahead of you. The future is long, and it is unknown.
I am willing to give you three years to wait for the future. If after three years, you have reached the age of marriageable age and are still as firm as a rock, without changing your original intention, I will definitely not let you down. Although I cannot exchange three letters and six formalities, I can still treat you with sincerity.
I have limited ink and paper to express my thoughts. It is cold and snowy, so please take care of yourself.”
After reading the entire letter, Zhou Wan'er's eyes stopped at the last few lines, and she murmured to herself: "You should be like a rock, and I should be like a reed. Reeds are as tough as silk, and rocks are immovable. For three years, my heart will not change. I do not ask for three letters and six rituals, but only for your company."
In the blink of an eye, it is the New Year and the weather is getting warmer day by day.
When spring came and flowers bloomed, Lu Cheng applied for home leave from the government office and prepared to take Daiyu to Jinan to visit his mentor Lin Ruhai.
In those days, due to the underdeveloped transportation and inconvenient travel, it might take several months for officials who lived far away to go home. It was normal for some officials not to go home for five or six years. Some officials even did not return to their hometowns for 20 or 30 years after becoming officials.
In the early Ming Dynasty, although the court had relatives visiting each other, the system was strict and officials were not allowed to take long vacations unless there was something important.
In the middle and late Ming Dynasty, the system of visiting relatives was gradually relaxed. Later, many officials took advantage of the loopholes to seek personal gain and delay the holidays, which led to several reforms and adjustments in the court, and the approval of leave became more stringent.
During the reign of Emperor Changtai, the situation changed again. Officials of the fifth rank and above needed the emperor's personal approval to apply for leave. Normally, the maximum leave for visiting relatives was two months.
Fortunately, Lu Cheng was only of the sixth rank, so he had more flexibility when asking for leave and only needed the approval of the prefect of Shuntian Prefecture.
Lu Cheng's usual performance was pretty good, and he maintained a good relationship with the Shuntian Prefecture Governor, so the superior approved Lu Cheng's two-month vacation.
At the beginning of March, Lu Cheng took Daiyu and left Kyoto and headed towards Jinan Prefecture.
At the same time, troops on the southern Gulf Islands and the Philippine Islands began to gather and prepare for a war against the Ming Dynasty's Qiongzhou Prefecture.
At the same time, many refugee organizations in the Central Plains and Jianghuai areas also united with each other and prepared to gather together and head south...