The beginning of the counterattack! The time-traveling boss is famous in Beijing

Lu Jingchen looked up at the winter scene painting he had asked for from Qin Ruo in the study. The more he looked at it, the more depressed he felt.

New Year's later, he returned to the capital from Taihe County. He originally wanted to talk to Mrs. Lu about his ideas as soon as he got home.

Mrs. Lu changed the subject at that time and just told him to concentrate on preparing for the exam and to discuss anything after the results were announced.

He did not mention a word about his delay in returning to Beijing, nor did he ask about Qin Ruo.

Lu Jingchen even suspected at one point that his mother didn't really know what happened to him in Taihe County.

But at that time, after being rejected by Lu's mother, Lu Jingchen also thought that the timing was not right, so he put the matter on hold.

He just wanted to wait until he passed the imperial examination before telling Lu's mother about his request to marry Qin Ruo, so that he would feel more confident then.

In the days leading up to the Spring Examination, Mrs. Lu took care of her son's daily life almost personally, taking care of him in every detail.

Seeing his mother working so hard for him, Lu Jingchen couldn't bear it for a moment and completely calmed down to prepare for the exam.

On the day when the results of the spring examination were announced, Lu Jingchen lived up to everyone's expectations and won the third place in the imperial examination and became a member of the Hanlin Academy.

He thought he finally had the chance to have a serious talk with his mother about the problems between him and Lin Wanning.

Lin Wanning has a distinguished family background, is well-educated, gentle and virtuous.

But the only person he wanted to spend the rest of his life with was Qin Ruo, who had a free and unconventional personality.

What he didn't expect was that after being chosen by the emperor, thanking the emperor for his grace, and parading through the streets back to the Lu Mansion, Lu's mother also officially announced the news that the Lu and Lin families had exchanged engagement letters and would get married in September.

The Earl of Zhongyuan's Mansion is deeply favored by the Emperor and holds a high position in his heart.

And Lu Jingchen was the newly selected third place in the imperial examination by the emperor. It was a double blessing for the Lu family, and people came to congratulate him one after another.

Lu Jingchen felt as if a bucket of cold water had been poured on him. He was not prepared at all.

Afterwards, he angrily questioned Lu's mother, why didn't she discuss such an important matter with him? He clearly said that he had no interest in Lin Wanning.

Mother Lu just calmly asked him back: "You don't want to marry Lin Wanning, do you want to marry the princess? There happens to be a princess of the right age in the palace. Your grandfather got the news that the emperor intends to choose a prince consort for the princess from the top three of this year's palace examination. This year's number one scholar is from Jiangnan and has a wife, and the runner-up is not good-looking. Who do you think will be the prince consort?"

"If I hadn't spread the news that you and Wan Ning were engaged earlier, and the emperor had proposed first, wouldn't that have embarrassed the emperor? Whether the Lu family can recover depends entirely on you. You know the consequences if you marry the princess. Have you ever thought that as the eldest son of the Lu family, your marriage is not only your personal matter, but also the future of the entire family?"

"Wan Ning is a good girl. How is she unworthy of you? Do you know how important a woman's character, family background, and talent are to a family? Don't you understand how important reputation is to a woman? Cancel the engagement? Do you think the Earl of Zhongyuan's Mansion is made of paper and can be canceled just like that?"

"We have been in Ganzhou for so long. If it weren't for your grandfather's help and the support of the Earl of Zhongyuan's Mansion, do you think your father would have had another chance to return to the capital?"

Lu Jingchen was speechless after hearing what his mother said.

Of course he knew that the prince consort could not participate in politics. Compared to Princess Shang, Lin Wanning had to be the best choice.

In the face of family interest conflicts, it is not his turn to say no to his marriage.

After all, he is his own son. It is heartbreaking to see his son so distraught.

Finally, Mother Lu said to him, "She is just an ordinary country girl. If you really like her, you can marry her after Wan Ning gets married. But Wan Ning must be the legal wife of the Lu family."

Only then did Lu Jingchen realize that his mother was not unaware of the situation, but was waiting for him here.

It was normal to take a concubine in the Dasheng Dynasty. Even his father had two concubines. It was just that Lu's mother disciplined them well, so the two concubines were relatively well-behaved.

He didn't even dare to think about Lu's mother's suggestion to take Qin Ruo as a concubine.

He even felt that the word "taking a concubine" was an insult to Qin Ruo.

At this point, Lu Jingchen didn't even have the ability to resist and could only numbly follow his family's arrangements.

He was also a man who was well-versed in the books of sages, and felt that if he married Lin Wanning, she would be his wife.

In front of outsiders, he would give her the respect and face that a legal wife deserves.

That's all he can give.

After marrying Lin Wanning, every time Lu Jingchen looked at his gentle wife, he felt more depressed and painful, and it became more difficult for him to suppress his thoughts about Qin Ruo.

Every day after returning from the Hanlin Academy, he would lock himself in the study and stare at Qin Ruo's portrait of winter scenery.

There was even a moment during that time when he was shamefully tempted by his mother's suggestion.

It was not until the news came that Qin Ruo was conferred the title of Princess that he completely gave up.

If Qin Ruo was an unknown country girl before, he felt that she still had some chance.

After Qin Ruo was named Princess, the distance between him and her was suddenly pulled further away. When the emperor was going to hold a ceremony to confer the title of Princess on Qin Ruo, he had completely given up.

Today, his colleagues in the Hanlin Academy occasionally talked about the fact that the commoner princess personally appointed by the emperor would arrive in the capital in the next few days, and he was uneasy the whole day.

Lu Jingchen looked at the painting on the wall, suddenly reached out to take it down, carefully rolled it up and hid it behind the bookshelf.

Then he opened the desk drawer, pulled out an unfinished painting from under a stack of rice paper, and placed it on the table.

In the picture, there is the back of a woman in a simple dress looking back.

Although there are no facial features drawn on it, someone familiar with the figure can recognize at a glance that the person drawn by Lu Jingchen is Qin Ruo.

Lu Jingchen's eyes fell on the painting. He remembered the second time he met Qin Ruo at Qin's house.

On the day he left, he leaned his head out of the carriage and just happened to see Qin Ruo looking back and smiling as she came out to see him off.

At that time, he felt that his heart seemed to stop beating suddenly.

He stroked the portrait with his hand, and a gentle smile involuntarily appeared on the corner of his mouth.

Just then, there was a sudden knock on the door, and Lin Wanning's voice came from the door.

"Husband, I made some lily and lotus seed soup for you. You've been busy all night, it's time to take a rest." Outside the door, Lin Wanning's voice was gentle, and her tone was full of concern.

Lu Jingchen's smile froze in the room. He hurriedly put away the paintings on the table and stuffed them into the drawer.

He took a deep breath, adjusted his mood, then slowly stood up, walked to the door and opened it.

Lin Wanning was wearing an elegant dress with an exquisite jade hairpin in her hair. She stood at the door of the study with a smile on her face, looking gentle and dignified.