I'm not a fortune teller.

Chapter 58: Zhang does not take a concubine.
"Dad, shall we go back?"

Luo's voice seemed very calm, as if there was no ripple in her voice, but only she knew that she had almost used up her last bit of strength to say this.

When Old Man Luo heard this, he opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say for a moment.

After traveling all these years, he had never seen such a beautiful woman. She came so ostentatiously, and the Zhang family was waiting here. In addition, with this big house, this beautiful woman, his cheap son-in-law was really lucky.

"Let's go." Old Man Luo sighed.

That woman's demeanor was definitely not something his daughter could match. If he approached her now, it would only add to her humiliation. If she turned out to be a cruel person, he and his daughter would be outnumbered and it would be a question whether they could leave the capital safely.

that's all
"Ma'am, where are you going?"

A familiar voice sounded behind him, and Luo's back froze, but he didn't dare to look back, for fear that it was an illusion he had heard.

Just as he took another stiff step forward, his hand was already held by the other person: "Madam?"

Luo turned back stiffly, and what she saw was that familiar face and a concerned look in her eyes, which made her feel dazed for a moment, and she still didn't think it was real.

"My dear son-in-law, how are you?" Old Man Luo was a little surprised. He saw clearly that his son-in-law had just seen his daughter and almost left her side and ran over. Apart from other things, his attitude seemed to be different from what he had guessed before.

"My father-in-law is here too?" Zhang Rui quickly reacted and saluted.

Luckily the other party greeted him first, he thought it was the groom.
Father Luo frowned slightly. Was it because he hadn't seen me for three years or something? He felt like this kid was seeing me for the first time.

"Ms. sir?"

When she heard the other party talking to her father, she realized that it was not an illusion and called out cautiously.

"My wife, you have been traveling hard all the way." Zhang Rui looked at the big family behind the other person and breathed a sigh of relief. This world is full of weirdness. It's good that the whole family can get to Beijing safely. In the future, they should try not to be separated too far from their families.

"Husband, who is that?" Mrs. Luo pointed cautiously at the girl at the door. She noticed that when her husband ran over, the other party had been looking at them with a cold face.

Zhang Rui showed a trace of embarrassment when he heard this. Although he had not spoken to the woman yet, she came with the Lu family's butler. He roughly guessed who she was. It was probably the Nightingale girl that the butler mentioned yesterday.

"Ahem. Well, about those ridiculous things that happened back then, don't worry, ma'am, go in first and let your husband explain them to you."

Mrs. Luo was stunned, including Old Man Luo. He was actually willing to explain?

"Brother." Zhang Yu, who was standing behind him and saw his elder brother taking the initiative to hold his sister-in-law's hand, felt relieved. Although he had been comforting the Luo father and daughter on the way, saying that his elder brother was not that kind of person, he was still unsure in his heart.

"Oh, Xiaoyu, and my sister-in-law, you can go in first and put your things aside. The yard is big. Mom said that we will give you rooms after you come. You must be hungry, right? Go inside first."

With this greeting, the Luo father and daughter followed into the house with trepidation. When they reached the door, Zhang Rui glanced at the nightingale, and a flash of surprise flashed in his eyes. Then he bowed and said, "Miss, Steward Lu, I'm sorry for being rude just now. Please come in."

"You're too polite, sir." Butler Lu smiled awkwardly. He didn't expect that Lord Zhang's wife would come today, and it seemed that he valued his wife who came from a merchant family very much.

Nightingale had a cold expression, with a hint of mockery in her eyes.

A pretentious man.
After entering the inner hall, the old lady and Zhang Rui's father first sat in the seats of honor under Zhang Rui's arrangement. Then he arranged his father-in-law to sit on the left, and arranged Butler Lu to sit on the right. He then took Luo's hand and sat next to his father-in-law.

"How come you have time to come here, father-in-law?" asked Old Man Zhang with a chuckle.

Compared to his old woman, he was actually very satisfied with his daughter-in-law from the Luo family. He was even very proud at one point that his son was able to marry the daughter of the Luo family.

"I heard that my son-in-law got a promotion. How could I not come to celebrate?" Old Man Luo said with a smile.

However, I was somewhat puzzled by the Zhang family's attitude. It didn't look like they were going to turn hostile. Could it be that they wanted to use courtesy first and then force?

This is fine, as long as it's not too embarrassing and everyone gives each other a way out, then the trip won't be in vain.

"My husband, do you want to talk about this girl?" After Luo calmed down, she didn't say anything more and went straight to the point. Those who should come should come as soon as possible. It would be best if they could leave in a dignified manner as my father said and get a letter of divorce.

"Oh, that's it." Zhang Rui covered his head, feeling aggrieved.

What's going on? You didn't marry the wife yourself, and you didn't find the mistress yourself, so why should you have to explain this matter yourself in the end?
"Back then, when I went to Beijing, Miss Nightingale took care of me."

nightingale?

Mrs. Luo and Old Man Luo frowned slightly when they heard this. Why does it sound a bit like the stage name of a brothel girl?
Moreover, although the other party was extraordinary in bearing and stunningly beautiful, from beginning to end, the Zhang family seemed to have no intention of letting her take the seat.

"Husband, just tell me what you mean." Luo said directly.

For some things, it is better to cut the Gordian knot.

Zhang Rui nodded and looked at Nightingale. "Miss Nightingale, I was confused and did some ridiculous things back then. Now three years have passed and I still think that many things have passed. I wonder why Miss Nightingale is visiting me this time?"

"Is Zhang Lang so heartless?" Nightingale's eyes were dim, her expression seemed cold, and her voice was only slightly sad, which made everyone present feel a little distressed. Not to mention the men, even the women felt pity. Zhang Rui took a deep breath. In his two lives, this was the first time he was looked at by a woman with such sad eyes, and it was a beauty of this level.

Tsk tsk, is this what it feels like to be a scumbag?

"Miss Nightingale, you are joking." Zhang Rui was calm: "You and I have not had any contact for three years, how can you be so heartless? Besides, with Miss Nightingale's status, there are many princes and nobles in the capital city who admire her. Why do you embarrass a poor scholar like me?"

"Does Zhang Lang dislike my identity?" Nightingale's voice became even more mournful.

"That's right"

nightingale:"????"

Butler Lu: “.”

What did this guy just say?
Nightingale couldn't hold back her expression any longer. Since her debut, no one, not even the princes in the palace, had ever said that they disliked her!

"I am a seventh-rank official of the imperial court, with a clean background. Miss Nightingale was born in a brothel, and our occasional contact was just for fun. It is not appropriate for you to chase her directly to her home, right?"

Nightingale stared at Zhang Rui intently, and Steward Lu was also stunned. Does this kid know how popular Nightingale is in the capital now? In order to get Nightingale to sing and dance, the princes and nobles in the capital spent money like water, but they couldn't even meet her.

"Zhang Lang!" Nightingale gritted her teeth and said, "You've always known that I only sell my art but not my body."

"That's also a brothel girl." Zhang Rui frowned: "Miss Nightingale, you might as well just draw a path for what you want."

"You" Nightingale couldn't help showing viciousness for the first time. The other party kept calling her a prostitute, which almost choked her to death.

Steward Lu, who was standing beside "Master Zhang," could not stand it any longer, so he stood up and bowed, saying, "Miss Nightingale is a famous zither artist in the capital. Although she is affiliated with Qingfeng Tower, she is not comparable to those prostitutes. It is difficult for many nobles in the capital to ask for a piece of music from her. Master, please do not humiliate her like this."

"Butler Lu is right." Zhang Rui smiled and replied, "I am not deliberately belittling Miss Nightingale, but my wife is here, and some things must be made clear to avoid misunderstandings."

Luo looked at Zhang Rui in a daze. When did she become so valued?
And it seems that the development of the script is different from what I expected.

She thought it was a noble lady who came to force her husband to divorce him, but it turned out to be a prostitute and a mistress?
"My lord, you really value your wife." Nightingale gritted her teeth and looked at Mrs. Luo.

She is not ugly, she is bright and generous, and she is considered pretty among ordinary women. But she can't compare with a beauty like me, right?

Moreover, she came from a merchant family and had none of the bearing of a lady from a noble family. Instead, she had the air of a common woman.

Luo felt uncomfortable being stared at, she didn't know why, the other party sounded like a prostitute, but she felt she couldn't afford to offend her, and didn't dare to refute for a while.

Old Man Luo was also cautious and did not say anything. After traveling all over the country for many years, he could tell at a glance that this woman called Nightingale was definitely not just a brothel girl.

"Of course." Zhang Rui stood up and stood in front of Luo and said, "When I was still poor, my wife gave herself to me. She has been taking care of the household and respecting the elders for so many years. She was originally a woman from a wealthy place in the south of the Yangtze River, but she was exiled to a small county in the north with me and suffered a lot. My Zhang family is poor and relies on my wife to subsidize it with her dowry. If you don't value this love and affection between husband and wife, how is Zhang different from a beast?"

Upon hearing this, Luo's father and daughter were stunned, especially Luo, who looked at each other in a daze.

Does he really think so?
But if that's the case, why has he been so cold to me all these years?
Nightingale was also stunned. Is this really the cowardly boy who was bewitched by her smile back then?
It seems that what the Duke said was right, this kid was a good actor back then!
"Zhang Lang has misunderstood." Finally, Nightingale took a deep breath and gritted her teeth and said, "Nightingale only wants to be with Zhang Lang, not for any fame. As long as Zhang Lang is still willing to have me, Nightingale is willing to be his concubine!!"

"That won't work." Zhang Rui shook his head. "According to the ancestral precepts of our Zhang family, after the legitimate son of the family marries a wife, he can only take a concubine if he is over 30 and has no children. My husband and I are in our prime and have plenty of opportunities to continue the Zhang family's lineage. The ancestral precepts cannot be violated, and Zhang has no plans to take a concubine."

Upon hearing this, the old lady of the first seat looked at her old man blankly and lowered her voice: "Does our family still have such a rule?"

Zhang's father rolled his eyes. "Didn't you see your son is talking nonsense? Our Zhang family has been farmers for generations. Do you think we are like those local gentry? And you want to take concubines? His grandfather's generation almost couldn't even get married!"

"Master Zhang, do you have to humiliate me like this?" Nightingale's voice turned cold.

Zhang Rui looked at her dimly after hearing this: "Miss Nightingale, you misunderstood. I am just clarifying my position. Not accepting does not mean humiliating you. I am just not lucky enough to receive such a favor from a beautiful lady."

"Good!" Nightingale laughed angrily, "What a bad luck! It seems that Lord Zhang's family is too high for Nightingale to reach. We will meet again!"

Having said that, he left with a cold face without even waiting for Butler Lu to speak.

Butler Lu saw it all, but for a moment he didn't know how to keep the man. He also couldn't have imagined that this Zhang could refuse such a natural charm so straightforwardly?
Is this guy even a man?
"Master Zhang, why are you doing this?"

"Butler Lu" Zhang Rui looked at the other party and said, "You came here today just for this matter, right? I thought you were here to send someone off for me."

What he was referring to was, of course, the enlightenment sorcerer that he had previously discussed with the Lu family.

"Master Zhang," Butler Lu said with a wry smile, "Miss Nightingale is the enlightenment sorcerer that the master carefully selected for you!"

Zhang Rui: “.”

　Please read on, please read on!!!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)