Chapter 538

Also in Xingguo Lane,

Duke of Qi mansion,

backyard,

in a study full of the scent of ink,

the Duke of Qi stood in front of a table with precious rice paper, holding an ink stick engraved with exquisite patterns, grinding ink above the moist inkstone with his wrist.

Behind the table,

Princess Pingning was holding her sleeves, holding a writing brush, and writing characters.

The Duke of Qi looked at Princess Pingning's characters and said softly: "My lady, your heart is not calm?"

Looking at the characters on the paper on the table,

Princess Pingning smiled helplessly and said: "My lord, you'd better do it!"

The Duke of Qi smiled, placed the ink stick beside the inkstone, and swapped positions with Princess Pingning.

"My lady, what were you thinking about just now?"

Princess Pingning lowered her head to grind the ink, silent for a moment; the study was filled with the scent of ink.

"I, I was just thinking about what you told me after you came home."

"About Gu Yuan Erlang?"

"Hmm!" Princess Pingning nodded: "I don't know if our Heng'er has the same thoughts as Gu Yuan Erlang."

The Duke of Qi smiled, wrote a few characters in one go, and said: "Heng'er has been sensible since he was small and is also a filial and good child!"

After glancing at Princess Pingning, the Duke of Qi continued: "In Bianjing, how many noble family disciples are as diligent in learning as our Heng'er?"

Princess Pingning stopped grinding the ink and looked at the Duke of Qi: "There are quite a few right in front of us!"

The Duke of Qi raised the corners of his mouth: "Not bad! My lady, this is also what makes me happy! As the saying goes..."

As he spoke, the Duke of Qi used his writing brush to point at the ink paste covered on the table: "Those who stay near vermilion get stained red!"

He pointed again at the ink stick in Princess Pingning's hand: "Those who stay near ink get stained black! With children as diligent in study as the Sheng, Xu, and Gu families, how could Heng'er not benefit?"

"If it were like the Han or Lu families, would you be happy, my lady?"

Listening to her lord's explanation, Princess Pingning revealed a smile and nodded repeatedly: "My lord is right."

Marquis Yongchang mansion,

backyard main hall,

Liang Han's young servant, Diao Che, wearing cotton clothes, stood solemnly outside the door with his head lowered.

Inside the house,

the Marquis of Yongchang was sitting in a chair very leisurely,

and in the open space in front of the chair,

Wu Daniang was holding a bamboo board in one hand and pinching Liang Han's ear with the other.

"Mother! Mother! Hiss~ Ouch! Let go!"

"Son was wrong, wrong, let go!"

"Father, save me!"

Ignoring Liang Han's shouts, Wu Daniang raised the bamboo board.

"Pop! Pop!"

The sound of bamboo strips whipping against thick clothes came through,

"Clatter"

The bamboo strip was thrown onto the table; Wu Daniang glared at Liang Han, who was rubbing his buttocks, panting, and said: "You rebellious son, look at Gu Yuan Erlang, and then look at yourself!"

"Think back to when the Marquis Gu's wife first came to Bianjing, how cold she was treated! Look at them now! Ah!? How is it, how grand!"

"Bang! Bang!"

Wu Daniang, who was questioning her son, patted the table again.

"People like Gu Yuan Erlang go out to achieve merit and ask for a title of honor for their birth mother; what about you!? At the age of fifteen, you only know how to fight chickens and walk dogs!"

Listening to his mother's scolding, Liang Han continued to rub his buttocks, glanced at the Marquis of Yongchang, and muttered two sentences.

"Say what, speak louder!"

"Mother, why do you always scold me and not my brother, and, and not Father!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the Marquis of Yongchang, who was already leisurely watching the show, changed his face, stood up, glared at Liang Han, and scolded: "It's really rebellious, actually daring to say I'm wrong!"

"In front of His Majesty, I can also get a word in!"

As he spoke, the Marquis of Yongchang's gaze shifted to find something, and then he grabbed the bamboo board on the table and walked toward Liang Han angrily.

"Run again, and I'll break your legs!"

Seeing the Marquis of Yongchang's momentum,

Wu Daniang hurriedly stood up and pulled the Marquis of Yongchang: "Marquis! Marquis! Sixth Brother is still young, you, you don't have to lower yourself to his level!"

Subsequently,

"Slap slap!"

A sound completely different from Wu Daniang hitting someone came through; it was Liang Han having his pants taken off and being whipped on his flesh.

Liang Han was in so much pain that he couldn't speak.

"Mother!"

Liang Han, at the age of fifteen, cried.

Jiying Lane Sheng family,

Shou'an Hall,

Sheng Hong, who had come off duty from the Yamen, was wearing an official uniform and sitting below the Old Madam, talking.

"Hong'er, in that case, the Grand Ministers discussed for a long time in front of His Majesty?"

"Yes, Mother! Your son heard from Minister Li that several Dukes even had a very unpleasant time because of this!"

The Old Madam nodded lightly: "The merit of the Beizhou incident is not small! After the event, when evaluating merit, naturally everyone wants to take more credit for themselves!"

"But, no matter what, the greatest merit still belongs to Jing Ge'er and Gu Yuan Erlang and the others!"

Sheng Hong nodded, drank a sip of tea, and continued: "Mother, in the days before the New Year, your son sees that Gu Yuan Erlang's good reputation for filial piety will definitely spread in Bianjing!"

Looking at the Old Madam, who had a confused expression, Sheng Hong talked about Gu Yuan Erlang asking for a title of honor for his mother.

The Old Madam listened with a smile on her face and said: "Gu Yuan Erlang is a thoughtful child! With such a reputation spreading, I think families in the capital who have young ladies to discuss marriage will have one more candidate to choose from."

"Mother is right. Today, when your son came off duty, there were colleagues who knew Gu Yuan Erlang was studying in our house asking me about this child."

The Old Madam, knowing that Sheng Hong would be able to handle it properly, nodded with a smile and didn't ask any more questions.

"Then for this child Jing Ge'er, has the reward been decided?"

Sheng Hong hesitated for a moment and said: "I heard from Minister Li that his military rank has been raised quite a bit, and the palace has sent many rare treasures, as well as a mansion in Guangfu Lane!"

"Is Guangfu Lane east of the palace city, inside the inner city?"

"Yes, Mother! Not far from Jingming Lane and Huihe Lane! I heard it's a three-entry mansion covering more than ten mu!"

The Old Madam pondered for a moment and said: "Hmm, a three-entry mansion; according to the current price of courtyards in Bianjing, it can be worth twenty thousand taels."

Sheng Hong nodded repeatedly.

The Old Madam said again:

"This occupation of more than ten mu is about as big as the racecourse of the Marquis Yongyi mansion... it can be considered an industry that Jing Ge'er earned himself!"

"Mother is right! His Majesty also said a few words to my cousin..."

After Sheng Hong repeated those words of the Emperor about "ancestral hall" and "plaque," he said: "Mother, what do you think His Majesty means by this?"

After hearing this, the Old Madam pondered for a long time, took a deep breath, straightened her body on the Luo Han chair, and blinked her eyes thoughtfully.

"The Xu family is likely to produce a..."

Listening to the Old Madam's words, Sheng Hong widened his eyes: "Heaven! Jing Ge'er really needs to study hard!"

You hour (after 5 PM),

the sky was already dark,

Quyuan Street,

Marquis Yongyi mansion,

the lanterns hanging at the main gate were huge and bright,

and the manager of the Xu family gate, who had received the good fortune and the reward money, was sweeping the firecracker debris at the gate with a full face of smiles; some debris drifted onto the snow on the side, so it could only be picked up when it was dawn.

Inside the Marquis mansion,

a low-key large carriage was parked near the racecourse,

near the stables,

a small horse with a slender figure and seemingly young age, with its ears back, was being affectionately licked by one of Xu Zaijing's dragon horses.

The small horse had a beautiful figure and lowered its head from time to time to eat a few mouthfuls of forage.

In the main hall of the backyard,

the floor furnace was burning, and the hall was very warm.

Under the bright yellow candlelight,

Xu Minghua and Sun Shi were teasing their grandson Huyan Bi,

and beside them were Xingdai and Xingzhong, two children who had taken off their shoes; they were standing on the Luo Han bed looking at their little cousin.

Xie Shi and Hualan were busy serving food,

and Anmei, holding her eldest niece in one hand, helped Xie Shi place a dish, looked at Zaihang standing by the table with a proud face, and said: "Brother, this time I arrived earlier than Eldest Sister!"

Zaihang curled his lip and said: "That's because the Gu family had something to do, so Eldest Sister couldn't come directly!"

Anmei: "That's still me arriving early!"

"Fine, fine, you arrived early, okay?"

"Eldest Sister comes back and always helps the younger sister-in-law serve food, but you just watch when you come back! You don't have any sense..."

Seeing the reproachful look in Hualan's eyes, Zaihang didn't continue.

Looking at her "henpecked" brother, Anmei said: "Brother, say it! Why don't you say it? Hmph~"

After speaking, Anmei rubbed her face against Hualan, who was busy, and then walked toward Xu Zaijing, who was sitting below his parents, holding his niece.

On the table beside Xu Zaijing, besides a teacup, there was also an exquisite long wooden box made of fine materials.

"Little Five, let me see."

Anmei reached out toward Xu Zaijing and said.

Xu Zaijing smiled at his niece in Anmei's arms, turned to the side, opened the wooden box, and handed a folded piece of paper inside to Anmei.

"Help me unfold it."

Xu Zaijing unfolded the paper as requested.

Anmei took it with one hand and looked at it for a few moments: "Tsk tsk tsk, this Guangfu Lane, a good place! And it's a three-entry mansion! I don't know what the situation of that courtyard is, and whether it needs repairs!"

Sun Shi, who heard her younger daughter speaking, turned her head and said: "His sworn brother's family sent someone to say that the courtyard has always been taken care of, and it's still quite good!"

Anmei nodded.

"Sister, if you like it, you can move into that courtyard to live." Xu Zaijing said.

Anmei shook her head: "My mansion is quite good, no need to move!"

Zaihang, not far away, said: "Oh, now you say which one is yours?"

Anmei glared: "They are all mine!"

"Brother! You... Hmph!"

After glancing at Hualan, Anmei didn't say the stinging words; after all, her younger brother had earned a family business himself, while her brother Zaihang only thought about running to his father-in-law's house!

Ignoring Zaihang,

Anmei sat on another chair, feeling a bit tired from holding the child, and said: "Little Five, I see that the row facing the street in that mansion is shops?"

Xu Zaijing nodded: "Yes, it seems there are six in total, and there are merchants inside!"

"What about the rent?"

Xu Zaijing rummaged through the wooden box and said: "The rent for this year is all here."

"Hiss, Little Five, there's less than a month until the New Year, and the rent for this year is all given to you?"

"Hmm! It seems so!"

While the two were talking, Xie Shi smiled and said a few words to her mother-in-law, Sun Shi.

Subsequently,

Sun Shi stood up and said: "Alright, let's all take our seats!"

At the table,

while everyone was eating,

after Xu Minghua toasted a few cups,

he asked a few questions about Xu Zaijing's time in Beizhou.

a "hissing" sound of escaping air rang out in the room, and a trail of dark liquid sprayed onto the window paper.

Sun Shi, who was listening to the father-son conversation on the side, looked at Xu Zaijing with a heartache in her eyes and said: "Jing'er, was the river water on that winter night very cold! You must find someone to check on you, don't let it leave any lingering illness!"

Xu Zaijing smiled, shook his head, and said: "Mother, your son has thick skin and flesh; I didn't feel cold. It should be fine!"

Zaihang, sitting beside Xu Zaijing, patted his younger brother's thick shoulder with emotion and raised his glass: "Little Five, come, Brother toasts you a cup!"

The two touched glasses and drank, and Xu Minghua said: "In the city, how did you decide to go and attack where the thief leader was?"

After Xu Zaijing explained, Xu Minghua held his wine glass and nodded: "On the battlefield, sometimes the opportunity for battle is like this, fleeting!"

"If one is not careful, it wouldn't be this rare result of both opening the city gates and preserving the military supplies in the Great Warehouse!"

Zaihang listened and nodded repeatedly, saying: "Father, you rarely talk about battle formations at home, why don't you..."

Xu Minghua shook his head with a smile and said: "Zhang'er, battle formations involve life and death; if I talk about it, you haven't experienced it, so it's just empty talk on paper; talking more is harmful and useless."

"Yes, Father!"

Zaihang bowed and said.

Xu Minghua: "Hmm! Jing'er, now that your mother and I are here, and we haven't divided the family, do you have any plans for how to deal with that mansion?"

"Father, your son intends to rent it out." Xu Zaijing said after swallowing the food in his mouth.

Hearing this,

Xie Shi, who was on the side, glanced at her father-in-law and mother-in-law and said: "This, renting out a mansion bestowed by the Emperor, is it a bit..."

As she spoke, Xie Shi exchanged glances with Hualan again.

Sun Shi didn't speak, just looked at her husband.

Marquis Yongyi Xu Minghua pondered for a moment and said: "If Jing'er were already married, even if we hadn't divided the family, he should go and live in that mansion!"

"But, Jing'er isn't married yet, and we haven't divided the family, so no one can say anything if he doesn't go to live there!"

"Moreover, this mansion is the reward for Jing'er's merit this time; speaking of which, it's not entirely a favor, so it's flexible how to deal with it!"

Hearing this, the Xu family members at the table nodded one after another.

"If you are uneasy, Madam, you can also go into the palace and ask Her Majesty the Empress."

Sun Shi nodded repeatedly.

After the meal,

the hour was already late, so Sun Shi didn't let Anmei rush back to the Huyan family mansion at night, letting her sleep with her eldest sister-in-law Xie Shi.

Early the next morning,

the sky was already bright,

waking up from a dream, looking at the somewhat unfamiliar ceiling, Anmei recalled for a while before remembering that she was at her maiden home.

Looking at her sister-in-law lying on the side looking at her with a smile, Anmei smiled: "Sister-in-law, when did you wake up?"

Xie Shi smiled: "Just woke up; thanks to you, younger sister, I can sleep a bit more! Mother told me last night not to rush to her place for a meal this morning."

Anmei smiled somewhat bashfully: "Sister-in-law, you, you must be hungry, right?"

Xie Shi smiled: "Not really!"

Anmei, in the Huyan family, is rarely managed by Da Niangzi Pan; morning and evening greetings are basically non-existent, so naturally, she wouldn't have the habit of waking up early.

When holding her niece and taking her son and nephew to Sun Shi's courtyard for a meal,

Anmei looked at the chair where Xu Zaijing should have been, looked at Sun Shi, who was wearing a solemn hairstyle and preparing to enter the palace, and said: "Mother, has Little Five already gone to school?"

Sun Shi nodded: "You don't know what your younger brother is like?"

"An'er, do you wake up at this time in the Huyan family too?" Sun Shi asked.

Anmei pursed her lips, her eyes not daring to look at her mother, Sun Shi.

"Mother, what daughter returning to her maiden home doesn't sleep in!" Hualan said with a smile on the side.

"Hualan is right; when I returned to the Xie family, I wouldn't get up until the sun shone on the window!" Xie Shi smiled.

Sun Shi shook her head, looked at Anmei, and said: "If I find out that you have treated your mother-in-law poorly, you'll have a hard time!"

Anmei said sheepishly: "Oh, I know, Mother!"

Si hour (10 AM),

Sheng family,

outside the school,

Scholar Zhuang was wearing ear muffs and taking a walk in the courtyard,

Xu Zaijing and Gu Tingye were following on the left and right.

Scholar Zhuang stopped, looked at the two students, and said with emotion: "This trip to the North, your teacher already knows quite a bit about what happened! You, you are good!"

Xu Zaijing and Gu Tingye hurriedly bowed: "Thank you, Scholar, for the praise!"

Scholar Zhuang, however, bowed to them when they raised their heads and said: "If something had happened in Beizhou, how much of the people's wealth would have turned to ashes; I should bow to you instead!"

By the time Xu Zaijing stepped forward, Scholar Zhuang had already finished bowing.

Xu Zaijing and Gu Tingye hurriedly bowed again: "Scholar, we, we cannot accept this."

Scholar Zhuang waved his hand: "You can accept it. Let's go, let's go back."

On the way,

Scholar Zhuang continued: "Do you know how the participating soldiers were rewarded?"

Gu Tingye and Xu Zaijing exchanged a glance and said: "Scholar, they said they were rewarded with sixty thousand bolts of silk and sixty thousand guan of silver from the Beizhou Great Warehouse."

Scholar Zhuang nodded.

Two days later,

Chai family, Qiusheng Garden.

Chai Zhengzheng, who was busy looking at the account book, suddenly raised her head: "Miss Yun Mu, what did you say?"

"Da Niangzi, this servant heard the Madam say that the mansion that Fifth Brother Xu obtained for his merit is going to be rented out!"

"Has it been rented out yet?"

"Not yet, Wu Daniang's invitation was just sent!"

"Go, bring my petty cash book, and hurry and tell Wu Daniang that our family will rent this courtyard!"

"Yes!"

After Miss Yun Mu went out, Chai Zhengzheng looked at the wisteria on the side and said: "Go, send someone to ask the Li family and see if their craftsman team is busy! Say our family has a mansion that needs repairs!"

Fuyi, on the side, watched Zizhu walk out quickly and said softly: "Da Niangzi, didn't we hear that the courtyard was well taken care of? Why does it still need repairs?"

Chai Zhengzheng smiled: "It needs repairs!"

(End of chapter)