After drinking three bowls of tea, the sun was setting, and the servant from the Dings' house returned, bowing to Zhao Zhen: "Our master invites you to go to the study."

  Zhao Zhen heard this and hastily tidied up her appearance and composed herself, then followed the family servants out of the hall.

  The study was originally in a quiet small courtyard on this side of the east wing, leaning against the inverted seat.

  The house servant walked up to the entrance of the main hall, where a silk curtain was hung, and announced in a loud voice: "Mr. Zhao from Qinghe has arrived."

  A slightly tired voice came from inside, saying slowly: "Bring him in."

  The house servant parted the curtain, and Zhao Zhen walked in with her head bowed. As she raised her eyes, she saw a person sitting behind the desk, about thirty-four or thirty-five years old, with black hair and a dark complexion, wearing a plain blue cotton robe, with a white jade pin holding up his ordinary hair knot, leaning forward slightly, with his left hand on the desk, his eyes closed, and his right hand propping up the desk, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

  Although they are both seventh-grade officials, in front of him, Zhao Zhen felt a bit ashamed. Not to mention that he couldn't afford such a spacious courtyard as a study, nor could he produce such a delicate jade hairpin, just talking about his demeanor, if he didn't know his identity, Zhao Zhen would have thought that the person he was meeting was one of the top officials in the six ministries.

  Thinking of this, his attitude became more humble: "Zhao Zhen, at your service, Lord Jing."

  As soon as he heard the two words "lower official", Jing Yongcai let go of his hand and raised his eyes to look at him. After a moment, he called out loudly to the servant who had come earlier and said:

  "Didn't I tell you to bring in the person who delivered the message?"

  "This is Mr. Zhao who has come from Qinghe with a message."

  Jing Yong's eyes stared intently at Zhao Zhen.

  Zhao Zhen bowed and said, "I am indeed here to deliver a message for Third Young Miss, and I also happen to be the county magistrate of Qinghe County. I took advantage of my trip to the capital to help her with this task." As he spoke, he retrieved the letter from his bosom and handed it over with both hands, placing it on the table.

  Jing Yong heard that he was the local county magistrate, but he was a half-grown child serving as a messenger, and couldn't help but feel a few doubts. He didn't even look at the letter, but instead had his servants withdraw and began to size him up.

  Zhao Zhen felt his gaze and couldn't help but lower her waist slightly.

  After a moment, Jing Yong stood up, took the letter and walked to the chair by the wall, gesturing with his hand: "Please sit down, Lord Zhao."

  Zhao Zhen thanked him and sat down in the guest seat.

  Jing Yong called for someone to serve tea. As he unfolded the letter, he smiled and said: "Lord Zhao wants to come and establish a good relationship with the Xie family."

  Zhao Zhen cupped his hands and said: "Thanks to the care of Qinghe County officials, I was able to govern without worry for three years."

  Jing Yong nodded. Zhan Xin looked at him.

  Zhao Zhen also wanted to know what was said in the letter, and quietly observed his expression, but his face was as calm as an ancient well with no ripples, and nothing could be discerned.

  In a moment, Jing Yong put away the letter and placed it on the tea table, saying: "Over the years, how have Master Xie and his family treated Lang Ge and his siblings?"

  Zhao Zhen thought for a moment about the relationship between the Li family and Mrs. Yang, then said: "At first, the Qi family came to take away the two young masters of the Xie family. Mr. Xie agreed to their three conditions and let them stay. Living under the same roof, it's inevitable that there will be some conflicts. Fortunately, the Qi family would occasionally show some concern."

  He didn't know that Xie Rong's appointment as a compiler in the Hanlin Academy had a great relationship with Jing Yong, based on rumors he had heard about how the Jing family had helped Xie Teng return his mother's dowry. He wanted to tell Jing Yong how Wang Shi had framed him and squeezed out Xie Cang, but as a scholar, he couldn't bring himself to speak ill of others, and was afraid that if he did, Jing Yong would look down on him instead. So he swallowed his words again.

  Jing Yongduan held his tea in hand. Half a day later, he let out a sigh and said, "My younger cousin lost his mother at a young age. And was raised by Old Lady Xie to be soft-hearted, not knowing how much suffering he endured along the way. I thought that after getting married and having children, with the dowry from his late mother to rely on for living, he could finally live in peace. But instead, he died young - if my mother were still alive, who knows how many more tears she would have shed because of this."

  Zhao Zhen saw his sincere expression, and couldn't help but follow him in saying: "When Second Master was alive, this humble official had met him a few times, and he was indeed a refined and elegant gentleman. Now, Young Master Lang is even more outstanding than Second Master was when he was alive - not only are his writings excellent, but his appearance is also one in a hundred."

  Jing Yongxiang smiled and said, "The Xie family members all look good. But why do the boys have to be so outstanding? As long as they are physically fit, diligent and studious, that's enough." Although he said so, the smile at the corner of his mouth never faded. He asked again, "Shouldn't Wan sister be nine years old now? I see her handwriting in her letter is quite solid."

  Whenever it came to Xie Wan, Zhao Zhen's expression became more respectful, "The third young lady not only looks good, but at a young age, her insight is also extraordinary. I don't know how to describe it, in short, if the master sees the third young lady in person later, he will understand."

  Jing Yong thought it was just a polite remark, and with a smile, he turned the page over.

  Zhao Zhen saw that he didn't mention his official position at all, and felt a bit anxious in her heart. However, she couldn't speak directly.

  He was now regretting not having brought a copy of his resume, which would have provided a good conversation starter. Just then, he saw the official stand up, as if to see him off. Zhao Zhen's eyes landed on the Qingtian stone seal in the vermilion ink pad on the desk and could no longer hold back, blurting out: "This seal of yours is quite old, sir. I happen to have two pieces of Fujian's Shoushan stone here, would you be interested?"

  He took out the wooden box and opened the lid, placing it on the desk.

  Jing Yong's eyebrows indeed rose with interest, and he stretched out his well-maintained hand to take it out. There were two stones, one long and one short, with a uniform lustrous and smooth texture, truly worthy of being a top-grade jade.

  "Who would have thought that Duanfeng had such a refined interest! Such a longevity stone is probably rarely seen even in the Jade Hall."

  He smiled and took it in his hand, playing with it, and uttered the two words "duan feng", which made the atmosphere even more harmonious.

  Zhao Zhenzheng was puzzled as to how he knew his style name, Jin Yong sidled over to a bright spot to take a look at the stone, and then he saw that in the letter Xie Yu had asked him to bring along, a document with "Zhao Zhen's Resume" written on it had slipped out.

  It wasn't until then that he realized what Xie Wan had asked him to bring was actually his own resume!

  For a moment, her sincerity warmed his chest, and the numbness in his limbs that had been sitting for half a day began to dissipate.

  "I, a low-ranking official, have been stuck in the seventh rank for over ten years, never having made any mistakes, and I believe I've achieved some accomplishments. This time, thanks to the luck of meeting you through Third Young Lady, I hope you can promote me one or two ranks."

  Jing Yong turned his back to him, raised the stone in his hand and gazed at the texture in the middle, as if he hadn't heard what Zhao Zhen said at all, and didn't turn around for a long time.

  Zhang Zhen's face gradually showed a hint of warmth, and after a moment, he gritted his teeth and continued: "Your subordinate humbly requests that the Grand Lord may..."

  "You take this back."

  Before he could finish speaking, Jing Yong had already turned around and handed over the two stones. His voice was as low and calm as before, but the familiarity was gone, replaced by the initial politeness and distance.

  Although Zhao Zhen had already mentally prepared himself for rejection, that phrase "Duan Feng" suddenly gave him infinite hope. Just as his heart was about to lift up, he was suddenly told by him that it was still hopeless, and the disappointment and despair in his heart could not be described by any words.

  "The adults thought the official's gift was too light—"

  "Director Zhao is overthinking." Jing Yong stroked his beard, his tone becoming even more gentle, and a hint of a smile appeared at the corner of his lips. "Although I, Jing, am somewhat worldly, I'm not at the point where I'll take anything that's offered to me. Given your experience, I'm sure the Ministry of Personnel will carefully review the appointments. I received Sister Yu's letter; it was troubling you to make this trip."

  Zhao Zhen had been in the officialdom for many years, and now even if it was to beg for an official position, he couldn't bring himself to cling to him desperately. He silently made a deep bow, and followed the servant who lifted the curtain out of the mansion.

  The Sunrise Inn on the left of Hejian Guild Hall, Xie Wan sat in the guest room at the back yard leaning against the window to appreciate plum blossoms.

  Luo Ju walked in with a light and quick pace, saying in a low voice: "Lord Zhao has returned from the Jia residence. From the moment he left to entering the willow pavilion, he kept sighing all along, it seems that things didn't go smoothly."

  Xie Wan nodded slightly, seemingly unsurprised.

  Luo Ju waited for a while without seeing her make a sound, then said: "Do you want to send a letter to the Jingfu?"

  Xie Wan stood up straight, took a sip of warm soup, and said: "He bumped into a wall today, and naturally he will find his own way again. Let's grind his heart for now, and wait until he feels hopeless in two days before talking to him. Tomorrow we'll go take a look at the dock first.

  Luojin's face turned pale as soon as he heard that she was going to the dock, knowing that her idea of opening a rice shop had not been dispelled yet.

  The dock is a gathering place for all sorts of people, and ordinary folks don't usually go there to hang out. She's just a spoiled little girl who wants to go there; what if something happens, who will be responsible?

  Xie Wan, however, had her own ideas. "I'm not going to wear gold and silver to show off there, I'll just pretend to be a country girl who's come to open my eyes, following my family to have some fun, what's the big deal?" She was very familiar with the streets and alleys of the capital, but she had never been to this dock before. This time, she finally came, and there was also the matter of opening a rice shop on her mind, so she couldn't not come to take a look in person.

  Xie Lang couldn't outdo her, how could Luo Sheng outdo her? Moreover, there was also Shen Tian and Luo Ju urging them on.

  The next day, Xie Wan and Luo Sheng disguised themselves as a father-daughter pair from afar who came to the capital to do business. They took advantage of their departure from Beijing to come and see the sights. Luo Ju disguised himself as the older brother, Wu Xing and Shen Tian were nephews, leaving Yu Xue and Yu Fang at home, all the way to the dock.

  Jing Shi Ji Shui Tan Wharf is dozens of miles away from the five cities in the east, west, south, north and center of Beijing, and it is completely two different worlds with the city of Beijing.

  The Tonghui River connects the Grand Canal and the Jiuyan Lake, with countless boats docking and setting sail every day to transport grain from south to north. If you say that this is one of the busiest places in Beijing, it must be true.

  In addition to being a dock for unloading grain, Jishuitan was also the general helm of the grain transport, so not only were there many people from the rivers and lakes gathered here, but also many officials.

  Among them were officials who came to discuss official business with the boatmen, and also minor officials who took advantage of the opportunity to extort money from the boats.

  Luo Ju drove the horse-drawn carriage along the Tonghui River and took a lap around, roughly understanding the geographical location, calculated the route, then stopped near the vegetable market, found a noodle shop to eat a bowl of noodles, paid the money, asked the boss to help watch the car, and walked to the dock.

  PS: Thanks for the peaceful amulet from Crispy Potato Chips, thank you so much~~~