Chapter 1167
Chen Ping'an considered himself fairly familiar with Emperor Song He's temperament, so even if the other man personally came to the village school, it was not particularly surprising; rather, it felt only natural. Of course, Chen Ping'an had no intention of making him ask three times and declining three times. He simply had never expected Song He and his party to stay the night just like this. From the looks of it, since you, Chen Ping'an, had said at the dinner table that you needed to consider the matter, then they would wait for your definite answer. They would talk once he had thought it through. Wasn't this just shamelessly playing the rogue?
At first, Chen Ping'an did not know about this. After the meal, he had merely escorted them to the door, assuming Song He and the others would settle down in the county town or over in Yanzhou Prefecture.
Once their lodging had been roughly arranged—naturally, Yu Mian and Yu Yu handled all of that—Prefect Pei Tong and General Chu Liang returned to their respective offices, while Attendant Official Zhao Yao had also departed. Song He then took a walk through the village alone. The old houses here, those with thin family means, were all yellow-mud dwellings. The better-off households had white walls and black tiles, with courtyards designed in the style of Four Rivers Returning to the Hall. The village paths were paved with long strips of bluestone, worn smooth and gleaming year after year by passing shoes, cart wheels, and ox hooves. Under the moonlight, they shone even brighter.
Most villages consisted of a single surname. The old and young alike were ranked by generation, and a certain character in the middle of their names marked that generation.
Not even a few steps after