Chapter Thirty-Three: Seeking Kinship (Seeking Collection, Red Ticket)

  The sky was bright, and Lu Qi got up early to go to the military training ground. When he left home in the morning, he told his mother that he would find time to visit Wangjiangbao today. He suggested that his mother didn't need to ask a matchmaker in the city, but instead go to Wangjiangbao personally to ask Zhou Yue'er's mother to be the matchmaker. After they got married, they could give a heavier betrothal gift to Zhou Lao's family. His mother listened and was also very willing, waiting at home for Lu Qi to come and pick her up.

  Lu Qi arrived at the military training ground, and when the fourth watch was about to end, he gathered everyone and announced the day's training project, which was still the same as yesterday's training format, but with a change from 30 hits to 50 hits to qualify. He also publicly declared that the ten orderlies had the right to command troops in wartime and could follow his orders at any time to lead the designated soldiers to listen to orders. After the announcement, he immediately ordered the ten orderlies to take charge of training nine soldiers each, and then left the military camp under the pretext of returning to the city to report for duty.

  After leaving the military camp, he took off his official uniform and returned to the city. He rented a carriage to pick up his mother and Ning'er. With only one guard escorting them, they left the city. The driver of the carriage was initially hesitant to take on this job because there were bandits outside the city who robbed people. Only large groups of people dared to leave the city, but he eventually agreed to take the job after being persuaded by Lu Qi's official status.

  From the county town to Wangjiangbao is not far, the car driver was afraid of encountering bandits and drove hastily. The more he feared encountering ghosts, the more likely he would run into them. When they had traveled seven or eight miles, a dozen men appeared in front of them, blocking their path. Lu Qi looked at the people blocking the road, whose clothes were disheveled and who held all sorts of messy weapons. The only thing they had in common was that each person's head was wrapped in a blue cloth.

  "It's a green head!" The driver cried out in terror, but didn't dare stop the car or turn back, and instead kept driving forward.

  Lu Qi was stunned, last time he came and went very safely, but today he encountered bandits. He coldly swept his eyes and already had a bottom line in his heart. This group of bandits were clearly a mob, just by looking at the weapons they held, it was clear that they were not much stronger than ordinary soldiers.

  Lu Qi's leg moved, urging the war horse to charge forward. His right hand moved, and he drew his long knife, carrying a fierce and brave momentum as he rushed towards the bandits. The bandits were stunned, watching as Lu Qi charged up close, and they all shouted in surprise, hastily retreating. It was probably their first time encountering a bold and fierce cavalry general. A flash of the knife's light, and one of the bandits let out a miserable cry, clutching his head and falling to the ground.

  Lu Qi rushed through the bandits and quickly turned his horse around, pointing with his long knife, majestic and awe-inspiring, shouting: "Those who block my way will die, get out of the way!"

  The thug who had been knocked to the ground was helped up by his companions, and upon inspection, he hadn't suffered any injuries, but the top of his head was smooth and bald, as Lu Qi had shaved off his hair right down to the scalp. The thugs looked at each other, knowing they'd met their match, and that Lu Qi's first slash had been a warning, with the next one surely aimed at their necks. The leader of the thugs made a swift decision, waved his hand, and led his men away.

  Bandits fled in a car, the driver's face turned pale and kept muttering "God bless" before speeding away. Lu Qi led the horse to turn around and continued to escort the car safely to Wangjiangbao.

  The carriage arrived at Old Man Zhou's house, and Old Man Zhou, his wife, and daughter all came out to greet them. Lu Qi saw that his sister-in-law was safe and sound, and he too put his mind at ease. The coachman also regained his composure and stopped the carriage by the gate of the Zhou family home, waiting for further instructions.

  Zhou Yue'er supported Lu's mother into the Zhou family, Ning'er followed behind Lu Qi, after seeing the ceremony, they entered the hall and took their seats. Lu's mother explained her intention, asking Zhou's mother to be the matchmaker. Zhou's mother happily agreed repeatedly, immediately letting Zhou Yue'er go to the old Zhou mansion to invite Xin Niangniang.

  After Zhou Yue'er left, Lu Mu and Zhou Mu chatted about family matters, mentioning the encounter with the bandits. Lu Mu reminded Zhou Mu to never let Zhou Yue'er leave Wangjiang Fortress alone, and if she needed to return to the city, she must wait for Lu Qi to come pick her up. If there were any matters that required leaving the fortress, they should also try to wait for Lu Qi to escort them. From now on, Lu Qi would come to the pharmacy in Wangjiang Fortress every few days to keep an eye on things.

  Mrs. Zhou received the police's repeated responses and suddenly asked about Lu Qi being the protector of the county lieutenant, it turned out that yesterday afternoon a soldier from Wangjiangbao came to investigate and collect evidence to verify whether Lu Qi was indeed the official county lieutenant. Mr. and Mrs. Zhou didn't know what was going on, and coincidentally, Zhou Yue'er was at home asking questions. Zhou Yue'er knew about Lu Qi being the protector of the county lieutenant, although Madam Lu had instructed her not to spread it outside, but when the officials came to investigate, she couldn't hide it. After the soldier verified the facts, he said there was nothing wrong, just that they were afraid of bandits impersonating and affecting the peace of Wangjiangbao.

  Lu's mother listened and explained that Lu Qi was appointed as the county guard, but it was only a temporary appointment by the official yamen to be in charge of escorting grain taxes. She said that Lu Qi had no backing or connections in the official circles, and this position might not last long, so she didn't want to make a big deal out of it and invite trouble.

  Zhou's mother nodded in understanding, but Zhou's father looked at Lu Qi and said: "Xian nephew, the position of Protector County Lieutenant is a special appointment by the imperial court to the provincial governor, and it is also an orthodox imperial official, not something that can be temporarily appointed by the county. Now each county has a Protector County Lieutenant, with some large counties having as many as three. The main responsibilities of the Protector County Lieutenant are to escort officials, grain taxes, and suppress bandits. With the current prevalence of banditry, you have a heavy responsibility on your shoulders, so be sure to think carefully before acting, and do not act impulsively."

  Lu Qi's heart warmed up with Zhou Fu's words of love and care, and he replied in a gentle voice: "I will remember Uncle's teachings carefully. From now on, I will be doubly cautious in my actions and follow the strategy of not seeking merit but avoiding fault."

  Zhou Fu nodded and said, "Xian Shu's approach is correct. The reason for the current banditry is complex, and relying solely on the county's military strength cannot eradicate it. Xian Shu's priority should be on escorting, as long as the escort is not lost, there will be no fault."

  Zhou Fu's words were sharp and objective, Lù Qī nodded: "Tiān Fēng understands that the root of banditry is the poverty and landlessness of ordinary people. Most bandits are forced to join due to survival needs. With my abilities, it's impossible to completely eradicate them, nor do I want to cruelly slaughter them. From now on, we'll focus on escorting."

  His father's nodding head, meaning that the child can be taught. He is a scholar and a gentleman, able to clearly see through the source of the problem and persuade Lu Qi, which makes him an outlier among the scholars of the Tang Dynasty. In severe terms, he is considered a traitor and a rebel.

  Laja Changzhong Zhou Yueer returned, and Xin Niang came with a joyful expression. Lu Mu and Lu Qi were able to personally come to Wangjiangbao to propose marriage, Xin Niang felt that her wishes had been fulfilled, and she was 90% sure that Xin Yuner would become Lu Qi's legitimate wife.

  Xin Yiniang has arrived, and Xin Yun'er followed behind her, walking quietly with her head slightly lowered, a bright blush on her cheeks, looking quite shy.

  After entering the hall, Xin Niang first paid her respects to Mr. and Mrs. Zhou, as she was a concubine and had to bow her head in respect when meeting the male master and legitimate wife of the Zhou family. After paying her respects to Mr. and Mrs. Zhou, she exchanged greetings with Lu Mu, then let Xin Yun'er pay her respects. Xin Yun'er first gave a kneeling greeting to Mr. and Mrs. Zhou, then stood up and gave a slight curtsy to Lu Mu as a female courtesy.

  As soon as Xinyuner entered, Lu Qi immediately felt a bit tense and sized her up. He saw that Xinyuner was wearing a light blue dress with a high waistline, her skin as white as jade, her eyebrows curved and her eyes almond-shaped, her cheeks rosy and her lips cherry-red. Her looks were somewhat similar to those of Lady Xin, but her temperament was elegant and refined, vastly different from Lady Xin's stunning beauty.

  After the ceremony, Lu Qi's heart was put at ease, and he had a good first impression of Xin Yuner. After finishing the ritual, under his mother's hint, he also respectfully paid respects to Auntie Xin, who smiled and accepted the courtesy.

  After the courtesy, Xin Niang fell into the guest seat opposite Lu Mu, and Xin Yun'er stood shyly under her aunt. Zhou Mu, who was in the main seat, smiled and went straight to the topic, first asking about Lu Mu's intention to propose marriage, and then asked if Xin Niang was willing to marry, both of whom agreed orally. Then, Zhou Mu asked Xin Niang what dowry requirements she had, and Xin Niang generously asked the Lu family to decide. Lu Mu took out a thousand taels of betrothal gifts according to Xin Niang's previous request, which surprised the Zhou family greatly, thinking that Lu Mu was really very concerned about marrying Xin Yun'er.

  After the betrothal gift was given, Old Master Zhou wrote two marriage certificates with a flourish and had them stamped and signed by Madame Zhou, Madame Lu, and Aunt Xin. After each party received their copy of the certificate, Lu Qi got up to pay his respects to Aunt Xin, addressing her as "Aunt". Then, Xin Rong knelt elegantly in front of Madame Lu and kowtowed three times, addressing her as "Mother-in-law". Madame Lu smiled and asked Xin Rong to get up. After getting up, Xin Rong paid her respects to Eldest Sister-in-law Zhou Yue'er with a woman's courtesy. After finishing the courtesy, Madame Lu called over Ning'er to pay her respects to Xin Rong. When Ning'er knelt down, she addressed Xin Rong as "Master Mother". Xin Rong elegantly accepted the courtesy and gently called out Ning'er's name, asking her to get up.

  With the marriage certificate as proof, Xin Yun'er is already a legitimate wife of the Lu family. The wedding ceremony in the future is just a public announcement. If it's taking a concubine, in most cases, after writing down the marriage certificate and going through the formalities on the same day, if the woman's family is very poor or refuses to provide dowry, the man's family can take her home directly. Taking a concubine is equivalent to buying a woman back home, similar to the form of buying and selling slaves. After the master's death in the future, the concubine's natal family must return the betrothal gifts to take her back. If the concubine's natal family does not return the gifts, the man's family has the right to sell her after the burial of the deceased master seven days later.

  It's different when it comes to marrying a wife. The man must formally use a sedan chair to welcome her, and after entering the house, she has an equal status with the male owner, enjoying mutual respect. After the husband passes away, the wife has the right to control her own destiny, normally allowing her to return directly to her natal home and remarry. If she chooses not to remarry and instead remains chaste, she still has the right to dispute for a share of the family property to support herself in old age.