The Grand Secretary's Child-Raising Diary

Although she had long known that her young master was exceptionally intelligent, Ren Dong was at a loss for words when a four-year-old child asked her about her marriage.

Finally, he could only awkwardly curtsy to Lu Youning and dryly say, "Thank you, young master."

Having said that, without even looking at Lu Youning's reaction, he staggered out of the study, stepping on his right foot with his left. Only when he was alone did he dare to rub the goosebumps on his arms.

Lu Youning held the calligraphy brush, looking at Ren Dong who had run away with a puzzled expression, and then clicked his tongue and said, "This young master is really reliable."

Lu Youning was the kind of person who acted on his words, because he suddenly realized that everyone in their new Lu family, from top to bottom, from the old to the young, was a bachelor!

The Dendrobium and Coltsfoot in his yard could barely be considered bachelors, but Shouyan and Huaiyan, who were by his father's side, were both in their mid-twenties and still unmarried.

At the dinner table, Lu Youning personally served her adoptive father a bowl of chicken soup. While Lu Shiyan was drinking the soup, she solemnly expressed her thoughts: "Father, I want to wait for Granny Sun to come back and ask her to look at some Dendrobium and Coltsfoot specimens. I'll also take a look at Shouyan and Huaiyan while she's at it."

Lu Youning spoke casually, but Lu Shiyan, the head of the family, almost choked on his chicken soup.

Even Shouyan, who was serving on the side, coughed a few times unnaturally. Seeing everyone's exaggerated expressions, Lu Youning remained serious, as if it were perfectly normal for a four-year-old to say such things.

Lu Shiyan drank a few more sips of soup to suppress the itching in his throat. Looking at his eldest son's solemn and responsible expression, he suppressed the smile that kept rising in his chest, ignored the look that Shouyan was giving him, and agreed, "This matter was my oversight. Then let's do as you wish and hand it over to Granny Sun."

Feeling something was missing after saying that, Lu Shiyan added, "If the matchmaking goes smoothly, the betrothal gifts and dowry will all come from my account."

Seeing that Lu Shiyan didn't scold him for worrying about these things like an old-fashioned man, Lu Youning was happy. He waved his little hand and said grandly, "Father, just pay for Shouyan and Huaiyan's share. I'll take care of the people in my courtyard myself."

Lu Shiyan had no reason not to agree; he just felt that his eldest son's magnanimous manner was just like his own.

Shouyan stood to one side, watching the two, one big and one small, singing in harmony, and felt his cheeks burning. He dared not look at Zhang Shi, who was looking at him with a mocking gaze.

After waiting for his masters to finish their meal and return to their respective courtyards, Shouyan awkwardly spoke to Lu Shiyan: "Master, I don't want to get married."

Neither he nor Huaiyan were born into the Chengen Marquis's household. They were brought into the manor by slave traders when they were seven or eight years old, supposedly to be servants to the second young master. They had assumed their master would be a three- or four-year-old child who couldn't even walk properly, but they soon discovered upon entering Songtao Courtyard that the second young master was actually several years older than them.

Although they were supposed to be serving their masters, in the beginning, it was actually Second Master and Granny Qian who took care of them more.

Having grown up alongside their master, they knew best how much suffering the Second Master had endured under Qin's rule. In the past, when they were sad, Mama Qian would always comfort them, saying that things would be better once the Second Master grew up and got married.

But as they waited and waited, their master's married life became increasingly difficult. He and Shouyan saw this and felt sorry for him. In order to avoid having family members to hold them back after marriage, and in the end, Qin Shi would use this as leverage against the Second Master, so the two of them simply decided that they would never get married in this life and would just serve the Second Master well.

Lu Shiyan is the head of the family, but his mind is entirely focused on the overall situation of the court. If Lu Youning hadn't brought it up today, he probably wouldn't have thought about worrying about the marriage of Shouyan and Huaiyan at all.

Now that the topic has been brought up, he was surprised to realize that neither of them were young.

"Since the young master wants to find you a match, then you should go and see. If you find someone compatible, then it will be proper for you to settle down and start a family."

Shouyan was about to say something more when Lu Shiyan said, "If I refuse on your behalf, the young master will probably be unhappy."

Mentioning the young master would upset him, Shouyan thought about his young master's temperament and immediately touched the tip of his nose, remaining silent. After thinking for a moment, he decided to do as his master said and go to see her first. If things didn't work out, he could just say it wasn't a good match after the meeting; he didn't want to delay the good girl's chances.

After a few days of illness, Kuandong, following Lu Youning's instructions, brought a doctor to check on Sun's health and prescribe medicine every day. After a few doses of medicine, and with Lu Shiyan present, Sun's illness was cured in just a few days without any worries.

After returning home, he instructed Shi Hu to prepare a brazier of mugwort to ward off bad luck before going to pay his respects to Lu Youning. Upon hearing that Lu Youning was going to arrange marriages for the unmarried young ladies and servants in the household, he immediately perked up again.

"Our masters are kind-hearted; this is a great thing."

Madam Sun had always been concerned about the marriages of Banxia and the others, but before, when she was in the Chengen Earl's Mansion, the only people she could turn to were people within the manor. Not to mention that the servants of the manor had been given orders by the Earl's wife to ignore them, even if someone had come to propose marriage, Madam Sun would not have dared to let Banxia and Rendong marry into the manor.

Who knows if those people are harboring malicious intentions?

Now that the Second Master has separated his household, there are many new faces in this mansion. She will observe them carefully for a few days and surely find good candidates for Banxia and the others.

There's a reason why we didn't just pair up Pinellia ternata, Lonicera japonica, Dendrobium nobile, and Coltsfoot; such combinations are considered taboo by the master.

Sun's mother was older and more composed, so Lu Youning left the matter to her and waited for the last few marriages to be settled before he was responsible for providing the money.

Lu Youning was extremely happy during her time away from the family. In addition to practicing martial arts and completing the calligraphy exercises assigned by Lu Shiyan, she would often take the others, such as Kuandong Shihu, out for a stroll.

Lu Shiyan was extremely lenient with him, allowing him to go out and play as long as he completed his daily homework.

Xiao Shubai took a day off from the palace and specially sent an invitation to visit Lu Youning. Seeing Lu Youning's carefree life without any supervision, his chubby face scrunched up with envy. He spent nearly half an hour complaining about how strict the teachers at Chongwen Academy were, how restricted he was in the palace, and how much he missed his loyal brother Lu Youning.

Facing the chubby boy, Lu Youning was more outgoing and said proudly, "My dad said I'm still young, so I don't need to study so much every day."

Thinking about how he had to go to Chongwen Academy for classes every day before dawn, and sometimes being punished with a slap on the hand for not memorizing the texts assigned by the teacher, and then looking at the few lonely sheets of calligraphy on Lu Youning's desk, the contrast was too stark. Xiao Shubai grumbled and sidled over, whispering:

"Ah Ning, can I also be Lord Lu's son?"