.

  Ji Yong swaggered through the corridor and into the front yard.

  A large crowd of people swarmed in with an old man at their center.

  That old man was of medium stature, with white hair and beard but a ruddy complexion. He wore a half-new blue satin robe, with a small red agate bottle hanging from his waist. His eyes were bright and spirited, yet showed a hint of the curiosity that only young people have.

  He saw Ji Yong and smiled, saying: "Jian Ming, how did you know I came? I specifically told them not to tell you. I heard you're doing well in the Hanlin Academy? Come, let me take a look, have you made any progress?"

  "Great-grandfather!" Ji Yong's eyes widened as he turned around and glared at Zi Xi, with a "why didn't you tell me?" expression.

  The young servant hastily bowed his head and said, "It was the two masters who instructed us to do so. They said it was the old master's intention to give you a surprise, that's why we didn't tell you."

  "I'm surprised, but I don't know where it comes from!" Ji Yong stuttered, walked over with a straight face, bowed to Old Master Ji and called out "Great Grandfather".

  Old Master Ji habitually reached out to touch Ji Yong's head, not realizing that Ji Yong was no longer the naive young boy he once was. He had grown taller than Old Master Ji by a whole head. It wasn't until he raised his hand that he managed to touch Ji Yong's head, and with a chuckle, he praised him with a "well done". The scene couldn't help but be a bit comical.

  Ji Song and Ji Qi lowered their eyelids, as if they hadn't seen anything.

  Others also turned their heads away.

  Ji Yong's mouth corners twitched slightly.

  Old Master Ji had already pulled Ji Yong's hand. As they walked, he said to him: "Where are you going? It's rare for everyone to gather together this year, so don't go out and play, keep me company, old man. I brought a few inkstones from Jiangnan, which were given to me by your uncle, including an Yi Shui inkstone and a Long Wei inkstone. Help me take a look." As he spoke, he turned his head and glanced at the grandchildren and great-grandchildren following behind him, smiling: "Later, each of you can take one to use."

  Several of Ji Yong's elder cousins heard this and came forward to thank Old Master Ji in a flattering manner. They shouted that Old Master Ji was being partial, saying: "What's the use of having an inkstone without any ink? Your family is not as good as others who do things thoroughly, so why don't you reward us with a few pieces of Songyun ink?"

  "I knew it couldn't be spoken," Old Master Ji said with a pained expression, "speaking would lead to severe bleeding. There is inkstone but no ink. Do you want it or not?"

  Everyone likes the old and stubborn Mr. Ji, laughing and shouting: "Of course, we want both inkstone and ink."

  A group of people walked into the hall with laughter and chatter.

  Ji hummed with his mouth closed, his toothache seemed to follow Old Man Ji's side.

  If it were someone else, he would have left without hesitation. But facing Ji Lao Tai Ye, whom he had never beaten since childhood, apart from the difference in age, he also had a kind of respect for the strong, although unwilling, he still accompanied Ji Lao Tai Ye to sit down in the hall.

  Old Master Ji leaned forward and said to Ji Yong, "Your teacher Yang has been praising you nonstop, saying that you are well-versed in agriculture and are not like ordinary scholars. Since he holds you in such high regard, now that I'm here, we should go pay our respects together - tomorrow, accompany me to visit Master Yang. As fellow natives of Nan Zhili, it's better to be close neighbors than distant relatives; on ordinary days, you should often go seek his guidance."

  What's good to go?

  Every time he goes there, he says it's for farming matters. He had to find someone who understands farming matters to ask, or else he would have been exposed...

  Ji Yun murmured a response, "Yes."

  Old Master Ji's face lit up with a smile and he ignored Ji Yong, chatting with Ji Song and Ji Qi instead.

  The matter of going to find Chen Qu Shui naturally came to nothing.

  Not only that, but Old Master Ji also dragged Ji Yong to visit this person today and would drag him to visit another tomorrow, under the pretext of introducing some old friends to Ji Yong. Ji Song and Ji Qi naturally fully supported this, so much so that Ji Yong spent all his time accompanying Old Master Ji except when he went to the Hanlin Academy.

  Before he knew it, midsummer had arrived, but Old Man Ji showed no intention of returning home. Instead, his interest grew stronger, and he wanted to revisit all the places he had been to in his youth. As for the places he had never been to, he felt an even greater urge to make up for lost time and visit them as well.

  Someone came to report that Chen Quanshui would set out for Zhending in a few days.

  I'm fed up with your nagging, I've had enough, goodbye!

  Ji Qi's face turned blue with rage, and he scolded him: "Old master still has a few good days left. While he can still eat and drink, we as his descendants are not filial. Are we going to wait until he passes away before being filial? If you dare to be insolent in front of the old master again, go kneel at the ancestral temple!"

  The ancestral hall of the Ji family is in Yixing.

  Ji Yong knelt down in the Buddhist hall where the ancestral portraits of the Ji family were worshipped.

  Ji Qi was so angry he almost fainted, searching everywhere for a chicken feather duster to hit Ji Yong.

  Han also felt that Ji Yong was too much and stopped Ji Song who came to persuade him: "Among the hundred virtues, filial piety is the first. If he doesn't even understand this, it's better to beat him to death."

  Ji Cong sighed.

  Ji Qi beat Ji Yong up.

  "Then I don't have to accompany Great-Grandfather everywhere every day!"

  Ji Qi didn't say a word for half a day.

  Ji Yong left the government office and went to find Chen Qu Shui.

  Chen Qu Shui is not in the shop.

  Tian Fugui spoke to Ji Yong with great courtesy: “... Seventh Master has invited Mr. Chen over for a conversation, and he may return a bit late. I don't know what business you have with Mr. Chen? Would you like me to pass on a message? Or should I tell him that you came looking for him and ask him to visit you tomorrow?”

  Should I go visit my aunt?

  Ji Yong thought for a moment, and then absent-mindedly walked out of the shop.

  There was a horse-drawn carriage stopped beside him, and someone lifted the curtain and shouted at him: "Ji Xianming, what are you doing here?"

  Ji Yong looked up and saw He Yu sitting in a carriage wearing brocade clothes.

  After the two of them had a fight at Zui Xian Lou, He Yu felt that Ji Yong was generous and straightforward, while Ji Yong thought that He Yu was also quite responsible. As a result, they started to get along with each other - when Ji Yong topped the imperial examination, He Yu sent him a congratulatory gift; when He Yu got married, Ji Yong went to attend his wedding banquet.

  "It's nothing, just wandering around." He subconsciously didn't want to let He Yun know that this was Duan Zhao's pen shop.

  He You didn't mind. He nodded and said, "I'm going to Zui Xian Lou to drink, do you want to come with me - the host is Chen Ze Xi, Xu Zhi Jue, Yang Yun Xiao, and Cai Gu Yuan are all there."

  Chen Zexi is the Minister of Rites, only 32 years old this year. He is the grandson of Chen Yan, a former Grand Secretary, and a renowned young talent in the court. He Yurou married Chen Zexi's cousin.

  Xu Zhiqian and Yang Yunxiao were colleagues of Ji Yong in the Hanlin Academy, both of whom were also young.

  Ji Yong was feeling uncomfortable in her heart, and upon hearing that Cai Guyuan, who often glanced at her sideways, was also there. She immediately became interested and got on the carriage without being polite: "Then I'll be bothering you."

  He Yu most admired Ji Yong's unruly and unbridled style, haha laughed loudly and stepped aside to let him in, and went with Ji Yong to the Drunken Immortal Building.

  Ji Yong's sharp tongue is really something that few people can withstand.

  Cai Guyuan's face had already turned pale before he even finished his drink.

  Xu Zhiqiang and Yang Yunxiao barely managed to stifle their laughter.

  Chen Zexi thought this wasn't a big deal and gave He Yu a look. He signaled to He Yu and Ji Yong to leave first.

  He Yu saw that Cai Guyuan was very uninteresting and had no intention of continuing to pretend to be peaceful here, so he quietly said a few words to Ji Yong, and the two of them finished the wine in their cups and stood up to bid farewell.

  As he walked through the corridor, he couldn't help but complain: "Didn't they say he was only eight feet tall? I don't think he's that great..."

  No one said a word, when suddenly someone emerged from the adjacent room and almost collided with He Yun.

  He Yunbu pushed that person away.

  That guy had a bit too much to drink, stumbled and almost fell to the ground. Suddenly he became furious and shouted: "Can't you watch where you're walking?"

  He Yu immediately grabbed the man's collar and scolded: "Who the hell are you talking about? You dare to say it again! If I don't beat you until you're toothless, my surname isn't He!"

  He let out a "huh" and a flattering smile spread across his drunken face: "Lord Ji, I didn't expect to run into you here?"

  Ji Yong had just spat out a watermelon seed and was watching the commotion with great interest, when unexpectedly the other person's greeting landed on him. He was taken aback for a moment. "Who are you?" he asked.

  That man straightened up and smiled: "I am Zheng Zhaokun, the chief of the Water Purification Department of the Ministry of Works. When Lord Ji was a high-ranking official in the imperial examination, I went to his mansion to congratulate him and met Lord Ji once."

  Ji Yong didn't know him at all.

  Thinking of his uncle being the Minister of Works, this person was mostly trying to curry favor with him by using his own high school as an excuse to send gifts.

  He let out an "oh".

  He Yu didn't want to argue with him anymore and said displeased: "Forget it, you apologize to me, and this matter will be settled!"

  Zheng Zhaokun hastily nodded and apologized, then warmly invited: "Mr. He, Mr. Ji, it's better to meet by chance than to be formally invited. Please give me the opportunity to toast you both with a cup of wine."

  He couldn't help but laugh at what He Yong said and looked him up and down, saying "I didn't expect you to be a clever guy."

  His words had barely fallen when he saw the door of the room behind Zheng Zhaokun open wide, and a burst of silk and bamboo music and women's giggles came out.

  Someone walked out, shouting "Zheng Zhaokun" in a loud voice. He looked up and saw Zheng Zhaokun right next to him, patted his shoulder heavily and said with a strong drunken tone: "You fell into the pit of hair?"

  Ji Yong and He Yu's gaze met across the courtyard.

  Saw a boy sitting on the main seat in the hall, who was even more beautiful and delicate than a little girl.

  There were two charming women sitting beside him, one was pouring wine for the young man, and the other was chatting with a twenty-year-old man who sat next to the young man, with sword-like eyebrows and starry eyes, handsome and elegant.

  The man seemed somewhat unaccustomed to such occasions, with a hint of awkwardness and embarrassment between his eyebrows.

  Feeling someone's gaze, the young man raised his head and gave them a sly glance with an air of nonchalance.

  He Yu frowned and whispered to Ji Yong: "It's Gu Yu."

  Kyoto Xiao Ba Wang, nephew of Empress Wanhuang, eldest grandson of Yunyang Bo Gu Quanfang.

  Ji Yong has also heard of it.

  But his gaze fell on the handsome man beside Gu Yu, and his eyes suddenly flashed with a cold light like a sharp blade.

  "Director Zheng has invited us with great enthusiasm. If we don't go and have a couple of drinks, it would be too rude to Director Zheng." Ji Yong said calmly as he walked into the private room.

  He Yu was shocked.

  Had no choice but to follow him in.

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  Sisters and brothers, today's update.

  o(n_n)o~

  ※