75, Ginkgo Biloba Leaves

"Brother Huaiyuan, you are joking. That is the daughter of the academician. How can I be so high as to marry her. Reading"

Bai Gui took a sip of the red wine in the goblet. He was awake and the taste was mellow.

The cultural salon of Wu Mansion is not only held in a venue that combines Chinese and Western styles, but also caters to different guests in terms of food. There are Chinese and Western meals, and the luxury of Wu Mansion is revealed everywhere.

The academician, whose full name is the academician, is commonly known as the academician, who is in charge of education and imperial examinations in a province. There is no fixed rank. They are all Jinshi candidates. They must be Jinshi candidates from the two lists. If the academician is appointed as a minister, he is from the second rank, and if the academician is appointed as a doctor, he is from the fifth rank.

This official is not a local official, but an official appointed by the emperor himself, similar to an imperial envoy.

So he has a respected status.

"Since ancient times, there has been a son-in-law under the list. The academician also likes heroes. With Brother Bai's knowledge and talent, it is enough..."

Wu Huaiyuan said concisely and pointedly.

What he said was true. There was a big gap between scholars. For example, Bai Gui, who was only one step away from becoming a scholar, had a bright future and the possibility of studying abroad, although his family background was not as good as that of the daughter of the academician.

But family background is not absolute...

Bai Gui smiled and said nothing. It was okay to just listen to these words. If you really take it seriously, it is possible, but the process is often unsatisfactory. Forcibly marrying into a family with a high status will never end well.

However, he also carefully looked at the girl standing next to the piano. She was dressed in luxurious clothes, a blue dress, about fourteen or fifteen years old, with a mediocre appearance. She was really not outstanding among the noble ladies, but she had a good temperament, which should be the result of reading poetry and books.

As he was talking, the sound of the piano stopped abruptly, and the group of noble ladies came over.

In the feudal era, women often had little free time, so they usually went out for a walk, traveled, or had poetry meetings to choose a husband. This cultural salon also had some meanings...

In the living room of the Wu Mansion, there were not only the three people who shared a bed with Bai Gui, but also other young men who were invited to come. There were about twenty people, all of whom were sons of political and business celebrities and gentry, young and vigorous.

Leaning on the counter at the corner, drinking and chatting.

Soon, when the daughter of the academician came over, her eyes lit up, and she said a few words to the girls who were traveling with her, and then walked straight over.

"Brother Huaiyuan, this is your bedmate, the head of this term?"

The daughter of the academician bowed slightly, and then asked with a shy face.

After completing the Chinese etiquette, she stretched out her long-sleeved gloves made of lace gauze, indicating a handshake.

Bai Gui was slightly stunned, and then reacted. He stopped the bow and quickly stretched out his hand to shake hands. Western etiquette must be taught in the women's school. At this moment, Shalong and the others were wearing suits, so the handshake was not so strange.

What surprised him a little was that he thought the daughter of the academician was interested in him, but after greeting him, she started chatting with Wu Huaiyuan and seemed very familiar with him.

After listening for a while, he also understood the general situation.

The daughter of the academician and Wu Huaiyuan have known each other for a few years. The daughter of the academician also had a good impression of Wu Huaiyuan. After all, he was adopted by Zhou Ying, so his appearance was not bad.

It's a pity that the man is ruthless, but the concubine is interested.

Bai Gui secretly cursed Wu Huaiyuan for being unkind and actually wanted to match him with the daughter of the academician to avoid this matter. Fortunately, he didn't take over the conversation just now, otherwise... this would be embarrassing.

However, this matter was like a bucket of cold water poured on his forehead, which made him sober up a lot.

Seeing Wu Huaiyuan and the daughter of the academician chatting happily, Bai Gui and Liu Mingda looked at each other and felt that they were a bit of an eyesore here, so they nodded together, moved away a little, and came to the side where the piano was placed just now.

During this period, some noble ladies showed their affection for him, but they were of lower family status, and they were all daughters of wealthy families in the provincial capital. He declined them one by one without leaving a sound.

People are very realistic!

Bai Gui sighed softly in his heart.

He was in a restrained mood and didn't care about these trivial matters. While talking to Liu Mingda, talking about some interesting things in history and life, or discussing news published in newspapers, he observed the surroundings.

At first, the boys and girls in the cultural salon were still very restrained, but after less than a while, they spoke freely, which made him and Liu Mingda seem a little lonely.

As for Liu Mingda, her family had already arranged a marriage. She was a lady from the south, a Jiangnan woman, and they would get married after returning from studying in Japan.

"I think Goethe's poem is very interesting, 'It is a living object that splits into two in its body, or two lives that merge together and are seen as one by us.'"

Bai Gui sighed and gently recited Goethe's famous work "Two-lobed Ginkgo Leaf", with a playful look in his eyes.

Liu Mingda couldn't help laughing out loud. This poem contains biological knowledge, which is mitosis in botany. It was discovered by Fleming of Germany in 1882 and taught in the Shiwuzhai of the Normal School a few days ago.

The atmosphere of the cultural salon in the living room now is exactly in line with it.

"Brother Bai really doesn't swear when he curses!"

Wu Huaiyuan walked over with an embarrassed look on his face. He happened to hear the Goethe poem sung by Bai Gui and smiled bitterly.

"I'll host it another day to apologize to Brother Bai."

He apologized.

"Then it's a deal, you can't regret it."

Bai Gui quickly agreed and raised his glass to clink with Wu Huaiyuan.

However, at this moment, Bai Gui suddenly caught a glimpse of a figure passing by the moon gate through the mosaic glass window of the living room. The man was wearing a Taoist robe, Quanzhen dress, a Hunyuan scarf on his head, and Shifang shoes on his feet.

"It's Taoist Master Zhang..."

Thanks to his good memory, Bai Gui could recognize at a glance that the Taoist just now was Taoist Master Zhang Zhishun, whom he had met before in Bailu Academy.

"Him?"

Wu Huaiyuan also looked up and said, "He has visited my mother several times these days, but I don't know what they talked about. Every time I see him come out with his head down..."

Bai Gui was surprised when he heard this, and then he thought for a while, then he bowed his hands with a solemn expression, "Brother Huaiyuan, please take me to see Taoist Zhang, he and my husband have a history..."

Taoist Zhang's character is obvious to all. He came to Wu's house and came out with his head down. He must have something to ask for. Otherwise, a Taoist priest repeatedly went to see a widow in private, which would inevitably affect Zhou Ying's reputation...

In addition, he has also benefited from Mr. Zhu's kindness many times. He can't pretend not to see such a thing. This is not knowing kindness. Besides, he also wanted to meet with Taoist Zhang to learn some things...

"Well, I'll ask right away..." Wu Huaiyuan had no reason to refuse after hearing this. Although he didn't know what Bai Gui wanted to do, it was not difficult to do. It was not a big request. He called a servant and asked where Taoist Zhang was waiting to meet his wife, and then asked the servant to take Bai Gui to the waiting courtyard.