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"But aren’t you preparing for the metropolitan exam? How can you have so much free time to teach me? Do you still want your exam to go well or not?" Little Jing Kong wasn’t that easy to compromise.
This remark resonated with Gu Jiao's inner thoughts. Right now, the most important thing in the family was the next month's metropolitan exam. Whether she could be a Gongshi’s wife depended on Xiao Liulang's performance.
Xiao Liulang: I knew you would say that.
Xiao Liulang resolutely said, "I won’t be the one teaching you, but Granduncle. Granduncle has a lot of time to teach you."
Little Jing Kong slumped on the chair soullessly.
The next day, Xiao Liulang took Gu Xiaoshun and Gu Yan to start learning craftsmanship from a master.
The process of acknowledging a master went smoothly; the other party didn't ask for any expensive apprenticeship gifts and very amiably accepted his two new apprentices.
The master was surnamed Lu. He was a man with a square face and his real age was nearly fifty, yet he looked less than forty years old.
Gu Xiaoshun scratched his head and whispered to Gu Yan, "Gu Yan, have you ever heard of master’s name before?"
Gu Yan shook his head, "No, I've only heard of Lu Yuan."
"Who is Lu Yuan?" Gu Xiaoshun asked. He was a country bumpkin who knew nothing about the capital.
Gu Yan patiently explained, "A great master! An awesome person! Although our master's surname is Lu, he certainly has nothing to do with that great master. "
Great Master Lu was the most famous craftsman of the State of Zhao. Even the Emperor's dragon chair and dragon bed were crafted by his hands, which showed how important his position was in the State of Zhao.
There were rumors that the swallows carved by Great Master Lu were able to fly, and the fish carved by Great Master Lu were able to swim. What was more, it was said that Great Master Lu once carved a beautiful woman, who came to life and became his wife.
There were so many rumors about Great Master Lu that three days and three nights were not enough to recount all of them.
However, Great Master Lu was very temperamental and eccentric, and on one occasion offended His Majesty and was almost put to death by His Majesty.
After that, Great Master Lu retired and stopped taking business from the imperial court.
Some people also said that Great Master Lu had changed his name and continued to work as a carpenter in another place. Nowadays, there were many people in the market who boasted that they were selling the works of Great Master Lu.
As the two people were talking in the yard, a woman in a plain cotton skirt came out carrying a wicker of pickles.
Looking at her posture, this woman could be said to have a graceful bearing, but looking at her face... Both of them were somewhat astonished.
That was a disfigured face.
Unlike the smooth birthmark on Gu Jiao's face, this face was riddled with criss-crossed scars. It looked hideous and terrifying, enough to scare away those less bolder ones on the spot.
The two of them did not move, nor did they stare at the other party for a long time.
Gu Jiao was often looked down upon because of her flawed appearance, so Gu Yan and Gu Xiaoshun would never treat others as such.
"You are?" Gu Yan asked.
His eyes were clear, without the slightest fear or disdain.
The woman smiled.
Ordinary people’s smiles would make you feel warm, but hers didn’t. When she smiled, all the scars on her face moved, which made her look more scary and ferocious.
She said, "Are you his new apprentices? I am your master’s wife."
So she was their master’s wife.
Seeing that she didn't look like she was lying, the two immediately saluted her, "Greetings to master’s wife."
The woman neither answered nor ignored them, simply flashing them a slight smile. Then she put the wicker of pickles on the rack to dry under the sun, and finally turned into the house.
Gu Yan was more and more convinced that this craftsman surnamed Lu wasn’t Great Master Lu.
Great Master Lu's wife was a great beauty, so much so that none of those who had caught a glimpse of her was not fascinated by her beauty.
His aunt, Imperial Concubine Shu, was regarded as a stunning and remarkable beauty in the imperial harem, but he heard that compared with Great Master Lu’s wife, the latter still overshadowed her.
Gu Yan and Gu Xiaoshun waited in the yard for a while before Xiao Liulang came out with Master Lu.
"I’m leaving both children in your care." Xiao Liulang cupped his hand and said to Master Lu.
Master Lu also briefly returned his gesture, "Young Gentleman Xiao is polite. I’ll be out with my wife these next two days; they can start taking lessons from me in three days."
"Understand." Xiao Liulang told Gu Xiaoshun and Gu Yan to bid farewell to Master Lu, and then they got on the carriage and left.
After the three people had gone, Master Lu planned to go back to the house. Just then, he saw his wife Nan Xiang coming out of the house through the curtain.
“It's windy outside, why did you come out?" Master Lu went up to his wife and supported her arm with concern.
Nan Xiang looked at the carriage gradually disappearing at the end of the alley, and asked, "Why did you suddenly agree to accept apprentices? Don't you hate being a master?"
"Sigh." Master Lu let out a sigh, "That young man named Xiao Liulang is Old Feng's disciple. I owed Old Feng a debt of gratitude that year, so this time I just thought I'd pay Old Feng back this way."
"Old Feng’s disciple?" Nan Xiang curled her mouth, "That old fogey even looked down upon the Great Scholar Zhuang, and yet a lame child actually entered his eyes?"
The Great Scholar Zhuang in her mouth was Zhuang Xianzhi, the fourth master of the Zhuang Family. Not long ago, he was appointed as provincial governor of You Province, and was one of the best scholars in the State of Zhao.
Zhuang Xianzhi had always respected Old Feng, hoping to inherit Old Feng's mantle. Unfortunately, Old Feng never asked him to be his disciple for some unknown reason.
"I think that boy is pretty good." Master Lu said, "Judging by his speech, he’s not like an ordinary country boy."
"Can a person who managed to enter Old Feng’s eyes be a simple person?" Nan Xiang smiled faintly and shifted the topic away from Xiao Liulang, "One favor for two apprentices. Isn’t this too expensive?"
Master Lu said, "Not really. If it weren't for Old Feng’s help, I'm afraid I wouldn't have met you in this life. Old Feng will forever be our matchmaker, and I have to pay back this favor no matter what. "
Nan Xiang was amused.
In front of outsiders, she always worried that she’d look too horrible when smiling, but she had no such qualms in the presence of her husband.
After she had laughed enough, she took her husband’s hand and said, "I like those two children. They are much better than the ones that came before."
Gu Xiaoshun and Gu Yan weren't the first two to have come here, trying to acknowledge a master. Who knew exactly how many had come before them, but there were definitely many talents among those people. However, Nan Xiang didn’t like any of them.
As long as she appeared, those people acted as though they had seen a ghost; some even almost peed on the spot from fright.
"It's good that Xiang'er likes them." He accepted his apprentices not according to their qualifications, but according to whether his wife liked them, even if the person was a fool. For example, that beautiful young boy named Gu Yan seemed to be a foolish boy.
"Teach them well." Nan Xiang said, "Don't teach people half-heartedly."
Master Lu cleared his throat, "Yes, Madame."
Despite answering readily, he had his own thoughts in his heart. Carpentry was hard, exhausting and boring. Most people couldn’t last for a few days, at most three months. He could guarantee that those two children would soon take the initiative to beg him not to teach them anymore.
When Xiao Liulang’s group of three returned to Bishui Alley, the courtyard was noisy. It turned out that Feng Lin and Lin Chengye had come to visit.
Along with the two of them, there was another acquaintance they met in Pingcheng—— Du Ruohan.
Raz P.'s Thoughts
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