"Uncle, Auntie, your grandson is studying out of town, isn't he?"
Murong Taotao asked with a smile, his deep eyes scanning the faces of the elderly couple, observing their reactions. "I've heard that in our Liang Kingdom, besides the Imperial Academy, the Bo Cai Academy has the best teaching quality. Have you heard if your grandson has studied there?"
Old Man Yun: "???"
Madam Gu: "???"
Why was this young master asking about their grandson's schooling right from the start...
Did he also want to study at Bo Cai Academy?
"Our Jinhe did study at Bo Cai Academy, but he has now transferred to the Imperial Academy..." Madam Gu explained.
Murong Taotao's eyes lit up upon hearing this, his heart stirred.
It seemed his information was correct.
That scholar named Yun Jinhe had indeed studied at Bo Cai Academy, and his sister had been his companion reader back then...
Seeing the young master's delighted expression, Old Man Yun asked, "Young Master Murong, why are you so interested in Bo Cai Academy?"
Given your age, you don't seem to be able to attend such an institution...
Murong Taotao suppressed his excitement and explained with a smile, "A friend of mine wants to study at Bo Cai Academy, so I wanted to inquire about it. There's no other reason!~"
Old Man Yun exchanged a look with Madam Gu and said nothing.
They felt that this young Master Murong was a bit strange...
"By the way, I have another matter I'd like to trouble you with, Uncle and Auntie!~" Murong Taotao stood up and looked at Eunuch Ruan, "Go and get the things from the carriage!"
"Understood, Young Master!" Eunuch Ruan responded and walked away with small, shuffling steps.
Old Man Yun: "???"
What did he get?
A moment later, Eunuch Ruan entered with bags and boxes of gifts...
He made three or four trips before carrying all the items into the main hall.
Old Man Yun was almost stunned, unable to comprehend why young Master Murong was giving them so many gifts.
At first glance, most of the gifts were exquisite and delicious pastries, as well as books and calligraphy, high-quality tea, women's hair ornaments, agate jewelry, silk fabrics, and so on...
All these items combined were worth at least a hundred taels of silver.
"Uncle and Auntie, these gifts are for you. Please accept them with a smile!~" Murong Taotao said with a smile.
Old Man Yun looked at Murong Taotao in astonishment, "That... Young Master Murong, we've only just met, and you're giving such valuable gifts. This, this probably isn't appropriate!"
Moreover, he and Young Master Murong were not related in any way, so why should he accept his things?
He believed in not accepting favors without a reason.
Murong Taotao chuckled, "Uncle and Auntie, please accept them without worry, because I might be staying at your home for a while. Consider these gifts as room and board fees..."
If he didn't stay, how could he investigate his sister's whereabouts?
Upon hearing this, Old Man Yun quickly looked at Madam Gu and pulled her aside, "Old woman, I think this boy's intentions are not as simple as they seem. What do you think we should do about this?"
Although the Old Yun family often had guests, not just anyone could stay with them...
If this boy did something detrimental to the Yun family, it would be too late to regret it.
Madam Gu lowered her eyes and pondered for a moment, then looked back at the smiling Murong Taotao, and whispered, "Since he is a friend of Young Master Xiao, it's not appropriate for us to turn him away. Let's let him stay for now, and we can discuss it after Young Master Xiao returns from the capital..."
Old Man Yun had no objections, so he called Cai Xia to prepare a guest room for Murong Taotao and take the gifts downstairs.
As for Young Master Murong's intentions, they would have to observe him slowly.
For lunch, they had braised cabbage with tofu and a stir-fried dish of green beans. Although no meat was added, stir-frying with animal fat made it taste like meat...
As the cabbage and tofu were about to be served, Niu Cai Xia rolled out the mixed cornmeal into flatbreads and placed them around the iron pot. After steaming for a minute or two, they could be taken out and eaten.
After class, Yun Jinhe drove the dairy cows out of the cowshed and took Sun Tianxiu and Yao Jinsheng to graze the cattle on the mountain. They returned just in time for lunch...
"Is this young gentleman Jinhe?"
At the dinner table, Murong Taotao stood up and cupped his hands towards Yun Jinhe.
Yun Jinhe looked surprised, "Who is this young master?"
Although he was a guest brought back by his grandfather, he hadn't introduced himself yet, so Yun Jinhe was a bit confused...
Murong Taotao introduced himself and then asked Yun Jinhe, "Young Master Yun, are you returning home for the holiday?"
As far as he knew, the Imperial Academy had not yet reached its holiday season.
Yun Jinhe found it difficult to talk about his glorious history, so he made an excuse to brush it off...
The meal was quite warm. Murong Taotao kept his eyes on Yun Jinhe throughout, hoping to find a topic to discuss his sister being his companion reader.
Yun Jinhe was also wary of him, so whenever Murong Taotao asked him a question, Yun Jinhe would answer vaguely and avoid direct replies...
Who would open up to a stranger they had just met?
At the same time, on a official road leading to the capital, five or six carriages were traveling.
Little Xi Tian and Xiao Jin Heng were sitting in the first carriage, while Kong Xing Zhuo sat on the carriage shaft with his legs crossed, leisurely driving the horses...
"Still sleeping?"
Xiao Jin Heng felt very annoyed seeing the little girl turn over and sleep with bubbles of snot coming out.
Ever since they got into the carriage, Little Xi Tian had been like a sleepy bug, sleeping soundly.
She would curl up her small body and nestle into the seat, and within moments, one could hear her snoring soundly...
Actually, Sweet Baby didn't want to be like this. She was organizing her space.
She hadn't taken good care of her space for a while, which had led to the plants and animals there growing wildly...
Especially the donkeys, horses, cattle, sheep, and various animals on the hillside, their breeding speed was extremely fast, and they had already exceeded the limit.
If some were not taken out, the ecological balance would be destroyed.
Some green vines were extremely tenacious, climbing up along the roots of the fruit trees and tightly wrapping the normally growing trees, like wearing a green skirt...
Little Xi Tian wiped the sweat from her brow, held a sickle, and with a few swift cuts, she removed the vines.
"It seems I need to seriously consider my second nephew's suggestion!~" Little Xi Tian said thoughtfully.
There was an overpopulation of cattle in her space. Letting the villagers help raise them and then selling them would also earn a lot of money...
As she was contemplating, a sudden sound of resentment pulled her back from her space to reality.