Zhong Niangzi Wanfu

Chapter 9
一
Although Wen Shu did not believe what Zhang said, facts proved that Zhang did not "just talk".

Early on the third day, the invitation from the Zhang family was delivered to the Wen family.

Wen Yi and Shen Yan took a good care of themselves. After taking a bath and burning incense, they changed into clean Confucian white shirts, wearing a scarf on their heads, full of bookishness, and childish eyebrows. A bit energetic.

Mrs. Zheng sent the two young men out and told them, "This time I am going to meet your future husband. Listen more and speak less. Don't say the wrong thing."

She pointed at Wen Yi specifically: "Especially you, remember?"

Wen Yi was a little helpless: "My son knows."

"Brother Jie, please take care of him." Zheng smiled and straightened Shen Jie's clothes.

"Don't worry, Aunt Wen." Shen Feng responded with a smile.

The two men's clothes were too loose for riding, so Wen Shu prepared a carriage for them.The two waved goodbye to Zheng, Wen Shu and Zhong Lan and got into the carriage.

Zhang Mansion is not very luxurious, and its generous and simple vermilion door shows its profound self-cultivation.

The two got out of the carriage, and He Ming, who had been outside the gate of the mansion early in the morning, quickly stepped forward and saluted: "Young Master Wen and Young Master Shen are polite."

Wen Yi nodded, handed the invitation to He Ming, and saluted with Shen Feng: "Please pass the message."

"You two, you don't need to be too polite. My son specially asked me to wait for you at the door." He Ming smiled and accepted the invitation, and invited the two of them in.

The building of the Zhang Mansion is simple, with no overly fancy carved railings and jade inlays. It has standard steps and well-positioned platforms. The nanmu eaves and pillars support the top of the mountain. The corridors are full of Su-style paintings of mountains and rivers, which are transparent inside and out. It has a strong Confucian flavor.

As soon as we arrived at the corridor in the inner courtyard, Zhang Zhuo, dressed in plain clothes, came out and said, "Come with me."

Perhaps Wen Yi was intimidated by Zhang Zhai's solemn aura, so he restrained himself a lot, and he and Shen Feng solemnly thanked Zhang Zhai with the Confucian etiquette.

The three of them walked to the inner courtyard, passed through an arched door, and arrived at Cangsong Hall where Zhang Jue lived.

"Uncle is waiting for you two in the hall, please come with me." Zhang Tong smiled slightly and made a "please" gesture.

Wen Yi and Shen Feng arranged their clothes and entered the door a little nervously.

Sitting in the middle hall was a middle-aged gentleman wearing a Dongpo scarf and a silver-gray Taoist robe. His eyes were bright and he looked at the visitor without anger or authority.

When the three of them walked to the hall, Zhang Tong took the lead to salute: "Uncle, this is Wen Yi, the Erlang of the Wen family, and Shen Fian, the eldest son of the Shen family."

The two responded with a big gift from the scholar.

“Student Wen Yi, I’ve met Mr.

"Student Shen Yan, I met Mr.

Zhang Jue nodded calmly without any expression and asked the three of them to take their seats.

"This time the student is visiting, my mother specially asked the student to bring a good wild ginseng plant for him. I hope he will accept it." Wen Yi said with a smile.

Zhang Jue's expression changed, and he replied: "The Wen family is rich and Tao Bai, Wen Erlang's success in this election must be a glorious lintel."

"Mister knows me?" Wen Yi said happily.

"I've long heard that the Wen family held a flowing banquet for three days to congratulate the two of you on winning the imperial examination. It's so grand that I don't even want to know Wen Erlang's name." Zhang Jue gently picked up the tea cup in front of him and took a sip. If nothing happens.

Zhang Yun glanced at Wen Yi hurriedly when he heard this.

Shen Feng also coughed lightly.

Wen Yi also heard the meaning of Zhang Jue's words and stood up quickly: "Winning the election this time is actually Wen Yi's luck. Wen Yi does not dare to be proud; the Wen family is a merchant family, and they do not dare to get carried away."

"The grand feast of flowing water is just for the county magistrate Cai to inspire thousands of hard-working students in Yong'an with Wen Yi's humble body."

"Kuang Jiaci and my sister have always taught Wen Yi, 'If you work modestly, many people will follow you; if you are slow and arrogant, many people will leave you.' If you become arrogant because of a few achievements, it is really not a gentleman. Wen Yi will keep this in mind. Don’t dare forget.”

After hearing this, Zhang Jue's expression softened a little and he nodded slightly: "'He who empties himself will advance to the foundation of virtue'. It is valuable for you to understand this at such a young age. Sit down."

Wen Yi breathed a sigh of relief and sat back.

"But I have also read your article. Although the words are gorgeous and the contrasts are neat, it still lacks charm. In this regard, you are not as good as Da Lang of the Shen family who is ranked behind you this time. You happen to live with him as a classmate, so you have to Always learn a thing or two from him.”

"Students can save it." Wen Yi nodded slightly and said with a smile.

On the other side, Shen Yan got up a little uneasy: "Mr. is too good."

"Sit down." Zhang Jue seemed to have no good impression of Wen Yi, but his tone when talking to Shen Feng was much kinder.

"The article Shen Dalang wrote for this exam was unique in conception. Although it didn't catch the examiner's eye, I liked it very much."

Shen Feng was flattered and quickly thanked him.

Half a day passed, and Zhang Jue had a pleasant conversation with the two of them, especially Shen Feng.

Near noon, Wen Yi, Shen Feng and Zhang Jue said goodbye and left.

"Wen Er," Zhang Zhuo sent the two of them out of the house and stopped them when they were about to get in the car. He said a little embarrassedly, "My second uncle is a stickler for rules and has some prejudice against merchants. Don't pay attention to what I say today. .I will definitely try to persuade you from time to time later.”

After hearing this, Wen Yi quickly waved his hand: "It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter. My temperament has always been disliked by those great Confucian gentlemen. Brother Zhang, you don't have to be so concerned."

After finishing speaking, Wen Yi smiled and put his arms around Shen Feng's shoulders: "But my brother Feng's calm temperament has been appreciated by my husband, so I am very happy."

Shen Feng smiled and secretly stabilized Wen Yi's figure.

What Zhang Jue just said did not sound good to Zhang Zhu, who never cared about family status.

Seeing Wen Yi's relieved and carefree look, he couldn't help but feel even more guilty. He pursed his lips and said, "Don't worry. My father has allowed me and my second uncle to study with me and live and eat with the students. This time you go to the county to study. I will take care of you."

two

"So, sir, he had a pleasant chat with you the first time he met you?" Ms. Zheng and the clerk asked Wen Yi, who finished his story with a red face and put down the tea cup in his hand.

In order not to make them worry, Wen Yi deliberately said that he was the same as Shen Yan, which was appreciated by Zhang Jue.

The chopsticks in Wen Shu's hand froze for a moment before she gently put them down. "The master said that my brother and I have done a good job, and we are talented people." Wen Yi said with joy, and handed over the bottomed out job to the servant Yun Lang, "Go and help the young master, I will fill another bowl of rice." .”

"Brother Feng, are his words true?" Wen Shu obviously didn't believe it.

Shen Yan looked at Wen Yi, who was busy winking at him, and responded softly with a smile.

Wen Yi became even more proud: "Sister, am I awesome?"

"It's amazing, it's amazing." Wen Shu boasted perfunctorily.

Zhong Yan couldn't help laughing, and raised the refreshing tea in his hand: "Then congratulate us Mr. Wen and Mr. Shen."

"Thank you, Sister Lai." Wen Yi smiled and raised his teacup to touch it with Zhong Lai.

"You two will go to the county school soon. My mother and I have prepared some clothes for you in the past few days. After you have finished eating, go and see what is missing and what else needs to be purchased." Wen Shu He also took a sip of tea.

"Thank you mother, thank you big sister!"

"Thank you, Aunt Wen, and sister Shu."

After eating, Zhong Lan and Wen Shu returned to the room.

"Why are you laughing?" Wen Shu noticed that Zhong Lan had been looking at her with a smile since she finished eating.

"It's nothing." Zhong Lan sat on the soft chair and crossed his legs. "I just think that Mr. Zhang is different from what you said before. Maybe he is different from those smooth and sophisticated people?"

"And this time I heard from Brother Yi that my husband is interested in him. Maybe the Zhang family will be able to help Wen Yi in his career in the future. In this way, will you have less worries?"

Zhong Yan paused, observing Wen Shu's expression: "You said before that the Wen family is walking on thin ice, why don't you find Zhang's family as a backer to support your family and forget it."

Wen Shu didn't speak after hearing this.

When Zhong Lan saw that Wen Shu was silent, he thought she was interested, so he said excitedly: "I see that Mr. Zhang is sincere, he doesn't care about family status, and he is handsome. Doesn't it suit your taste?"

"I understand what you said. If Zhang Zhu is really what you said, he is indeed a good backer." Wen Shu took a sip of tea and rubbed the teacup quietly.

Seeing that she rarely agreed with him, Zhong Lan felt a little relieved.

"But it's better to rely on yourself than to rely on others. Zhong Lan, can you be more realistic?" Wen Shu held the lid and looked at Zhong Lan with a frown as if he were an idiot.

Zhong Lan sighed, looked at Wen Shu calmly, and said with some regret: "Why do you always like to toss your love? Are you a girl, or do you actually like girls?"

"Zhong Yan, can you say it again?" Wen Shu looked at Zhong Yan with her arms folded across her chest, put the teacup back on the table, and raised her fist with a smile.

"Am I wrong?" Seeing this, Zhong Lan hurriedly hid behind Chang Huan, "When you were eight years old, you fell in love with the third son of the Xin family. You led me to run three streets and climb the wall to see him. It turned out that he had a hard time. I’m interested in you, so I’ll send someone to bring you cakes.”

"Zhong Yan!" Wen Shu stood up and reached out to grab Zhong Yan.

"And what about you?" Zhong Yan hid behind Chang Huan, "You see, he likes you. After all, the Lu family is considered an aristocratic family. It's too cheap for a son of an aristocratic family to fall in love with a merchant's daughter, so you just taunted Xin Sanlang. Sent people away.”

"Zhong Lan, what do you want?" Wen Shu couldn't cure Zhong Lan, who was able to dodge easily, and asked impatiently.

"Memories." Zhong Lan pursed his lips and smiled, looking as if he was going to piss Wen Shu off. "There was also the eldest son of the Sun family when he was ten years old, and the seventh son of the Chi family who he fell in love with when he was 12 years old."

Wen Shu, who couldn't catch Zhong Yan, simply sat down and ignored her.

"When will you get married? I think you will have children already." Zhong Lan rubbed his belly and laughed non-stop.

"Child?" Wen Shu, not to be outdone, sneered, "Who are you going to have your child with? Do you have a man you like?"

Zhong Lan was so proud that he naturally did not want to suffer a loss: "Of course there is."

"You can pull me down. When you first came to my house, you were hugging me and crying. You said that You Hanting was a bastard and that you would never bother with men again." Wen Shu said with a funny look on her face, "After arriving at my house I haven’t seen many men in total.”

"Who do you prefer to go? Do you like Wen Yi? Or Shen Feng?" Wen Shu retorted quickly.

Zhong Lan was speechless for a moment and couldn't laugh anymore.

"Cough." A slight cough came from the door.

The two of them looked out the door and saw Wen Yi and Shen Feng standing at the door, having a clear view of what they were doing in the room.

Zhong Lan glanced at Shen Feng, who had a gentle and calm expression, quickly turned his head and sat down on the soft chair without saying a word.

"Sister Lai, what are you doing?" Wen Yi said with a bad smile, "Are you settling old scores with my sister? Then I can talk about it for three days and three nights."

"Are you asking for a beating?" Wen Shu flew away with a dagger in her eyes, "What are you doing in my courtyard?"

"Brother Feng and I are short of two inkstones. Mom asked you to pay me." Wen Yi replied with a smile.

"I know, I'll ask Yun Le to take it to you later." Wen Shu rubbed her temples, "You will be weak in two or three years, and you will have to be notified when you enter our hospital in the future. Do you understand? "

"Don't worry, big sister. Brother Feng and I won't tell anyone." Wen Yi whistled and pulled Shen Feng away.

After the two left, Wen Shu realized that Zhong Lan had not spoken and said, "Tell me, why don't you continue? My aunt will fight you to the death today."

Zhong Lan looked unconvinced, but didn't know how to argue. She had rarely won the argument with Wen Shu since she was a child.

"What's wrong? Do you feel guilty when others hear your nonsense? It's not like Wen Yi has never seen you like this..." Wen Shu's voice became smaller and smaller, and she was suddenly stunned and quickly held Zhong Lan's hand.

"Tell me the truth, are you really attracted to Shen Fie?" Wen Shu has always been very sensitive.

Zhong Lan was stunned and quickly argued without thinking: "Shen Feng? No way! He should have followed Wen Yi and called me 'sister' no matter what. Don't make random guesses."

Wen Shu was annoyed and waved her hand: "Just kidding, forget it."

After that, she took Yunle to pay Wen Yi.

Zhong Lan breathed a sigh of relief.

(End of this chapter)