Chapter 126 Breaking the Rules for the Little Girl

On New Year's Eve, the mansion was filled with joy and decorations were hung everywhere.

As the lights came on, Lu Ji led Qin Xiaoning out of Qingsong Garden and walked around the corners towards the banquet hall in the front yard.

Before entering the hall, she could vaguely hear laughter coming from inside. Qin Xiaoning was timid, so she stopped and looked at Lu Ji: "Why don't I not go? It's against the rules."

"Why are you backing out again?"

Lu Ji glared at her, then took her hand in his and led her into the hall without saying anything, saying in a domineering tone: "I'll take care of everything."

Qin Xiaoning was almost forced into the banquet hall by him.

The hall is beautifully decorated with hundreds of colored glass lamps hanging all around, making the hall bright and dazzling.

The Sixth Miss was chatting and laughing with Li Lanchun. When she saw Lu Ji bringing Qin Xiaoning in, she was surprised and stood up and greeted them, "Sister Qin, come and sit here with me."

Qin Xiaoning was about to go over, but Lu Ji pushed her to the seat beside him. The girl had no choice but to sit down beside Lu Ji obediently.

The palace had a large population, so the New Year's Eve banquet was set up at separate tables, with two or three people at each table, sitting on both sides, leaving a large open space in the middle for singing, dancing and small plays.

When Fourth Master Lu Rui saw Lu Ji coming with his concubine, he was so surprised that he could fit an egg in his mouth. He blurted out, "Second brother, why did you bring the person from the room with you?"

Lu Rui is only fifteen years old this year, not yet twenty, a young boy. As he is the youngest child in the family, he has been brought up with a simple personality.

When Qin Xiaoning heard this, she immediately stood up and walked around to stand beside Lu Ji, saying respectfully: "I am only here to serve the prince."

Hearing this, Lu Ji looked back at the little girl, then raised his hand and forcibly pulled her back, forcing her to sit on the chair. He then turned to Lu Rui and asked, "Why? I bring my own people to the banquet, do I still need your approval?"

The tone was half joking and half intimidating.

Hearing this, Lu Rui scratched his head and said with a smile, "Of course I can't control my second brother." Then he insisted innocently, "But, isn't this against the rules?"

After saying this, Lu Rui glanced at Lu Ji's gradually colder face and was so scared that he stuck out his tongue and shrank his neck.

The third son, Lu Cheng, saw his younger brother being embarrassed, so he came over and joked to smooth things over, "Second brother is too overbearing. You don't follow the family rules here, and you don't allow the brothers to speak out."

Lu Ji smiled faintly, glanced at his eldest brother Lu Yu who was following his wife, and then glanced at Xia who was serving food to Lu Cheng, and jokingly retorted: "Brothers are all in pairs, it's New Year's Day, why do I deserve to be alone."

The Second Lady smiled and said to Lu Ji, "You kid, you are so heartless, as if we won't let you find a wife." She glanced at Lu Ji and said, "You are too picky, you look down on everyone."

As he said this, he sighed and said, "I wonder which fairy will catch your eye in the future and have the honor of attending our family dinner with you."

Lu Ji laughed after hearing the Second Madam's teasing, then looked at Qin Xiaoning beside him and said to the Second Madam: "Second Aunt, don't worry about me. There is a fairy who can accompany me to the banquet."

The sixth girl on the side saw everyone joking and came over to join in the fun.

She looked at her brothers and said with a smile, "The eldest, second, and third brothers all have beautiful women with them, but the fourth brother is left alone."

When Lu Rui heard this, he frowned and muttered without thinking: "If I had known this, I would have brought someone from the room with me."

Lu Ji looked at him sideways and asked calmly, "Is there someone in your room too?"

Lu Rui snorted: "Who doesn't have a beautiful maid in his house?" Unmarried sons of the noble family are not allowed to take concubines. Lu Ji has a concubine because he has to go to war, which is a special situation.

After Lu Rui said this, he realized that something was wrong, so he turned around and glanced at his mother, the Second Madam. He saw that his mother was talking to the Duke's wife and did not pay attention to what he had just said. Lu Rui was relieved and was about to drink by himself when he heard Lu Ji say to him again, "You failed the provincial examination again this year?"

Lu Rui was just fifteen years old. At this age, it was very rare for him to make it to the provincial examination. But in a family like the Gongfu, the sons were all outstanding. Lu Yu was selected as the top scholar when he just turned twenty. Lu Ji, who inherited the family's martial arts tradition, also entered the palace examination when he was just twenty years old. The third son Lu Cheng also passed the joint examination when he was fifteen or sixteen years old.

I'm afraid of being compared with others. Compared with his brothers, Lu Rui is far inferior.

Being asked by Lu Ji in public, Lu Rui blushed: "Second brother, why are you talking about something else?"

Lu Ji smiled but said nothing.

Lu Yu was born as a top scholar and the eldest son of the family. Therefore, he was always enthusiastic about the success of the family members in the imperial examinations. When he saw Lu Ji mention the imperial examinations, he turned to Lu Rui and said earnestly, "Fourth brother, you must study hard. This year, our family school has produced one third place winner and six jinshi candidates. As a direct descendant of the Lu family, you failed to pass even the provincial examination. It's really unreasonable."

As soon as Lu Yu finished speaking, the second master looked at his son and said in a deep voice: "After this New Year, you must study hard for me. If you fail again next year, your father will punish you according to the family rules."

The Lu family has a clean and upright family tradition, and they are strict in educating their children.

After hearing what his father said, Lu Rui was so scared that tears came out.

Seeing this, Duke Ning stroked his beard and said, "Silang is indeed a little behind, but he is still young, so there is still time for him to study hard."

Lu Rui thought his uncle was going to speak for him, and he was so shocked that he said, "I know how to work hard. If I didn't pass this year, I'll just work harder next year."

The Duke of Guo said, "Those who always talk about studying hard are usually the ones who don't know how to make progress." Then he said to his eldest son Lu Yu, "Go back and tell the private teacher to ask the teachers to be strict with Si Lang."

Seeing the men talking animatedly, the second wife turned around and asked her husband, "What are you talking about?"

The second master rolled his eyes at the youngest son and snorted coldly: "What else can I say? I'm teaching this disappointing fourth son."

Before the Second Madam could react, the Sixth Miss smiled mischievously and said, "Second Aunt, Fourth Brother just told us that he has beautiful maids in his room."

Although the Second Lady appears gentle on weekdays, she is never careless when it comes to disciplining her son.

When she heard what the Sixth Miss said, she was so angry that she pulled her handkerchief and glared at her son Lu Rui: "Good boy, you didn't even pass the provincial examination this year, and you still have the nerve to think about this. Wait until I see how I will deal with you."

The second master immediately agreed with his wife: "If you don't make progress this year, I will break your legs."

Lu Rui was so depressed after being scolded that he had no mood to drink anymore. He just sat there thinking about something.

How did I become the target of public criticism out of the blue?

　Lu Rui: Second brother, you are so bad.

　　Lu Ji: Who told you to meddle in other people’s business?

　　My darlings, please support me with monthly tickets!

　　(End of this chapter)