Do you know: I am Xu Jiazi

Chapter 817 Chai Family Shop [Thank you! Bow again! 9k words owed]

The fifth day of the fifth lunar month is the Dragon Boat Festival.

Early in the morning,
Quyuan Street,
On behalf of the Duke's Mansion.

As in previous years, a straw figure made of mugwort was hung on the Xu family's gate, and the surrounding area was decorated with peach blossom branches, sunflowers, cattail leaves, and other plants.

Inside the Xu family courtyard,

A horse-drawn carriage was parked beside the racecourse, with a wooden sign bearing the character "柴" (firewood) hanging in front of the carriage.

Backyard main hall

Lady Sun, the Duchess of the State, emerged from behind the screen with her two daughters-in-law, all smiles on her faces.

The Chai family steward and the maid carrying the wooden box, who were standing by the chair inside the house, quickly bowed and greeted the group upon seeing them: "Greetings, Madam. Greetings, ladies."

Madam Sun looked at the people in the hall with a smile, nodded and said, "Greetings, everyone. Please have a seat."

"Thank you ma'am."

After Sun and her two daughters-in-law sat down, Chai's mother and maidservant then sat down near the edge of the chairs.

Looking back at the maid carrying the wooden box, Chai's mother smiled and said, "Madam, eldest daughter-in-law, today is the Dragon Boat Festival. My lady ordered me to bring these colorful ropes over."

Seeing the Chai family maid stand up, Cui Chan, who was beside Hua Lan, quickly stepped forward to take the item and handed it to Dan Mama, who was beside Sun Shi.

After opening the wooden box, Dan's mother presented it to Sun.

Madam Sun looked at the contents of the box with admiration, stroked it, and nodded in praise, saying, "This colorful rope is really well woven."

"Thank you for the compliment, ma'am."

Madam Sun smiled and looked at Chai's mother, saying, "Since Jing'er hasn't left the manor yet, why don't you two help me pick out a colorful rope for him to tie on before he goes out?"

"Yes, ma'am."

As Chai's mother spoke, she turned and glanced at the maid, Yunmu.

Yunmu quickly got up, bowed to everyone in the room, and then walked up to Madam Sun and picked up one of the colorful ropes.

"Someone, quickly send this to Jing'er," Madam Sun said with a smile.

"Yes, ma'am."

A maid from the Xu family answered in the hall.

After the Xu family maid left with the colorful rope, Yunmu returned to his seat.

Looking at Chai's mother with a smile, Madam Sun explained, "A message came yesterday saying that the herd of horses allocated to the new army has arrived at the camp outside the capital. Jing'er can't stay idle, so he wants to go and see them today."

Chai's mother quickly nodded: "These horses are the cavalry's legs. It is only right that His Highness the Prince attaches such importance to them."

After exchanging a few more pleasantries, they started talking about the Chai family's business dealings with the Xu family.

Madam Chai smiled and said, "To be honest, Madam, the bed that my daughter brought with her as part of her dowry was transported from Hejian Prefecture to the capital two years ago."

Sun smiled and nodded.

Hua Lan and Xie Shi, who were sitting to the side, exchanged a meaningful glance.

It should be noted that wealthy families in the Great Zhou Dynasty have a long-standing custom of giving generous dowries to their daughters.

For a legitimate daughter of an extremely wealthy family like Chai Zhengzheng, the dowry items such as the bed and décor were probably prepared by the family as soon as she was born.

Needless to say, the bed is adorned with intricate and exquisite carvings symbolizing good fortune and well-being, and its size must be enormous.

Seeing Hua Lan's expression, Xie nodded and smiled at Sun, saying, "Mother, why don't we have Chai's mother and maid take a stroll to Wu Lang's courtyard today?"

"If anything in our house needs adjusting, we can have two days, right?"

Sun glanced at Chai's mother, who was nodding repeatedly, and said, "Alright! Go and call Qingcao here."

Xu Zaijing's courtyard
Under the veranda
Dan's mother and Chai's mother walked in front.

After glancing at the main house in Xu Zaijing's courtyard, Chai's mother secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

She was genuinely worried that the bed her daughter was to bring as part of her dowry would be too big and wouldn't fit in the Xu family's bedroom.

Qingcao and Yunmu followed behind with smiles on their faces.

After glancing at the two mothers in front of her, Qingcao spoke softly to Yunmu.

Yunmu shook his head and smiled, not knowing what Qingcao had asked. "I didn't come to the shop that day; it should have been Fuyi or Ziteng who came."

"Oh!" Green Grass nodded.

At this time.

"arrive."

Dan's mother said with a smile from the front.

Upon hearing the commotion, Yunxiang and Huaxiang came out and quickly bowed to their mothers.

After glancing at the two sisters, Chai's mother smiled and nodded in return.

Then, the group went directly inside the house.

Looking at the sword rack in the hall, Madam Dan smiled and said, "These things will be moved elsewhere this afternoon."

Mrs. Chai smiled and nodded.

"Green Grass," Mother Dan called with a smile, "Lead the way."

"Yes!" Qingcao said with a smile, "Two mothers, Sister Yunmu, this way please."

Entering Xu Zaijing's bedroom,
The blue nine-patterned prince's robe was still hanging on the clothes rack by the bright window.

After bowing respectfully, the group continued walking inside.

Arriving at Xu Zaijing's bedside, Chai's mother glanced back at Yunmu.

Yunmu nodded and said, "Qingcao, you and your two younger sisters come and help out."

As he spoke, Yunmu took out a thin rope with a button attached as a mark from his waist.

Seeing four maids measuring the length and width around Xu Zaijing's bed, Chai's mother and Dan's mother laughed and said, "A good memory is not as good as having a rope."

"That's what you said."

Soon, Yunmu put away the thin rope, smiled, and nodded to Chai's mother.

Mrs. Chai laughed and said, "Look, we're overthinking it."

Dan's mother shook her head: "What are you saying! It's not that you're overthinking it. It's always good to think things through more thoroughly before a happy occasion."

"That's what you said."

"The matter is settled, shall we go?"

"please."

On the way back to the Sun family compound.

Pointing to the courtyards they passed, Dan's mother said, "These two courtyards used to belong to Ping'er and An'er, and they've been vacant for years."

"When the two concubines enter the gate, they will be temporarily ushered into these two courtyards."

Mrs. Chai smiled and nodded.

Northeast of Bianjing

Outside Yongtai Gate,

Between the Yellow River embankment to the north and the surrounding area, there is a large open space with a terrain quite similar to Maotuogang in the northwest of Bianjing.

This place has water and grass, making it quite suitable as a pasture for horses.

at this time,

Yellow dust rose and drifted in the wind from a high mound.

After a while,
Several skilled knights emerged from the dust, among them a particularly handsome black steed whose glossy coat still shone even after being covered in dust.

The handsome young man Xu Zaijing, riding on the back of the black horse, wore a jade crown and looked at the herd of horses with a happy expression.

The elite knight beside Xu Zaijing pointed to the herd of horses below the mound and said with a smile, "Your Highness, these horses below are all from the Northwest Horse Ranch, prepared for the heavy cavalry in the army."

Qingyun, standing to the side, laughed and said, "Liao Sanlang, I heard that the horse handlers at the horse farm have very high standards when selecting horses, even higher than Bai Gao's previous choice of Iron Falcon as a mount?"

Liao Sanlang and Liao Shuye nodded to Qingyun: "Exactly!"

Liao Sanlang was originally a cavalry general under the heir of the Duke of Ying. His younger sister was murdered by the Qi family, who were part of the dowry of Lady Kang.

He almost got himself killed in his attempt to get revenge, but Xu Zaijing stepped in and pulled him out, sending him to his elder brother's command.

Xu Zaijing, with his excellent eyesight, nodded repeatedly as he looked at the herd of horses: "These horses are truly magnificent!"

Yue Fei and the others, riding behind Xu Zaijing, all nodded in agreement.

After admiring it for a while.

"Let's go and look somewhere else."

As Xu Zaijing spoke, he lightly nudged the horse's belly and spurred it down the hill.

After a cloud of dust, the group arrived at a hilltop and looked down at the open space.

The scenery here is different from elsewhere.

This was because, in everyone's sight, there were many people surrounding the herd of horses, and shouts of cheers and applause could be heard from time to time.

Among them were many riders holding lassoes, galloping around the herd of horses.

Every now and then, horses would get caught in lassos and be pulled out of the herd by riders. “Your Highness, those are all good men from good families in Xiangzhou, Tangyin, Daming Prefecture and other places in the north. They are very close to the capital and were the first to arrive.”

Liao Shuye pointed to the crowd below the mound and said with a smile.

Upon hearing this, Yue Fei's eyes lit up.

Seeing Xu Zaijing turn around and look at him, Yue Fei scratched his head with some delight.

Riding on his horse on Xu Zaijing's other side, Alan laughed and said, "Wow, it seems they want to tame the horses themselves? Tsk, that's their horse-taming ability."

As he spoke, Alan shook his head with a smile: "I still have a lot to learn."

Upon hearing this, the people around burst into laughter.

While everyone was speaking,
The respectable young men below the mound also noticed the group of people on the mound.

People would point and whisper at them from time to time.

The target of their pointing was mostly the large banner with the character "Xu" held aloft by Qingyun behind Xu Zaijing.

"Go down," Xu Zaijing said with a smile.

As they spoke, the group, amidst a cloud of yellow dust, ran down the hill.

When Xu Zaijing led his men to the vicinity of the respectable young men, both the horse-taming knights and the horse-training respectable young men were already lined up and standing at attention.

Xu Zaijing stopped his horse and stood still.

The respectable young men lined up bowed and clasped their hands, saying in unison, "Greetings, Prince of Wei."

Xu Zaijing smiled and nodded: "Please rise, everyone. There's no need for such formalities."

"Thank you, Prince Xie."

Xu Zaijing then dismounted and led a few men toward the respectable young men.

Looking at the several naked horses not far away, Xu Zaijing laughed and said, "Are you training horses?"

"Yes, Your Highness."

The young man at the head of the group cupped his hands in greeting.

Xu Zaijing nodded with a smile: "Haha, some people say that you still need to learn more about your horse training skills."

"Your Highness, who said that? Could it be Commander Liao?"

Upon hearing this, Liao Shuye kept a straight face and didn't say anything. After shaking her head, she raised her chin at Alan.

Alan wasn't intimidated by the fact that everyone was looking at him.

After glancing at Xu Zaijing's eyes, Alan stepped forward and said with a smile, "You all really have a lot to learn from him."

The respectable young men looked at the smiling Xu Zaijing, and one of them said, "Then, brother, please! Let us broaden our horizons and see just how amazing your horse-training skills are."

"Alright."

As he spoke, Alan walked toward a naked horse.

When Alan was training horses
Every now and then, respectable young men would come up to Xu Zaijing, introduce themselves, and exchange a few words with him.

There were several respectable young men among them. Xu Zaijing had even met and spoken with Yue Fei outside his house when he went to Tangyin in Xiangzhou.

Don't be fooled by the fact that these respectable young men don't show off. One of their uncles or great-uncles might be a cousin or even a relative of a high-ranking official.

For example, those young men from Zhujiabao were his cousin Zhu Qinghu's nephews or grandnephews who had not yet joined the army.

They talked for a while.

"it is good!"

After a round of applause, Alan rode over on his well-trained and obedient horse.

After watching the excitement for a while,
Xu Zaijing returned to the still somewhat empty military camp with everyone and had a meal there.

After dinner,

At the request of his future subordinates from good families, Xu Zaijing rode a black horse and performed a horseback archery demonstration in the camp.

At first, when Xu Zaijing was riding and shooting, the respectable young men cheered loudly.

Afterwards, everyone was stunned into silence by Xu Zaijing's archery skills.

About fifteen minutes later
Xu Zaijing rode back without even panting.

The respectable young men standing on the sidelines looked at Xu Zaijing with increasingly respectful and affectionate eyes.

"My performance is over, it's your turn," Xu Zaijing said with a smile.

Upon hearing this, everyone looked troubled.

With Xu Zaijing's masterpiece preceding them, their performance was nothing short of a joke.

Only after Xu Zaijing offered a prize did people ride into the arena to demonstrate their skills.

During this time, a young nobleman came to Xu Zaijing's side and spoke to him.

"The Yao family of the Duke of Qian, Yao Shisilang?" Xu Zaijing repeated the sentence with a look of recollection, then smiled and said, "I've met him a few times before."

"That young man is quite old, but he can hold his liquor quite well."

After Xu Zaijing finished speaking, the young nobleman beside him nodded with a smile: "Your Highness, the Fourteenth Prince is my cousin. My mother is..."

After listening, Xu Zaijing smiled and said, "Oh! I see."

In the afternoon, Xu Zaijing finally prepared to lead his men back to the capital.

The people in the camp stood at the main gate, watching Xu Zaijing leave.

As Xu Zaijing walked away, he turned back and waved to signal everyone to return to camp. Someone exclaimed, "I thought this top scholar and prince would be unapproachable, but I didn't expect him to be so approachable."

"Look, we've come to the right place! We're sure to have a comfortable life from now on."

"Yeah yeah!"

Listening to the surrounding chatter, Liao Sanlang, exuding a sharp and capable aura, crossed his arms and revealed a cryptic smile.

Liao Shuye served in the military for many years and had many superiors.

He knew very well that the more approachable a general was like Xu Zaijing, the stricter he would be when training his men.

In particular, Xu Zaijing had previously served as a scout in the Western Army and had made meritorious contributions.

If you can stand it, stay; if you can't, leave.

Watching the crowd still waving goodbye to Xu Zaijing, Liao Shuye thought to herself, 'This is going to be interesting.'

Then, Liao Shuye shook his head and turned back to camp.

The day before the wedding
morning,

Quyuan Street,
The courtyard gates, walls, and tree trunks along the street are now adorned with "double happiness" characters or red ribbons, creating a festive atmosphere.

On the street,

A dozen or so flatbed horse-drawn carts, fully loaded with various goods, were lined up outside the Xu family's gate.

All the items on these carriages were secured with red ribbons.

The horses pulling the cart also had red silk flowers tied to their heads.

It was immediately obvious that it was the Chai family's caravan delivering items for the Xu family's shop.

suddenly,

Bihu, a servant boy from the Chai family with a red silk sash around his waist, hurried out of the Xu family's gate, which was covered with red silk.

As they walked from the front of the line to the back, Gecko said, "Everyone, the steward has spoken. Our carriage carrying the bed will come out first. We'll enter the Duke's mansion first, and the rest will wait."

The grooms readily agreed.

Soon, several carriages from the convoy turned out and followed the gecko toward the gate.

The sun rises and sets.

In the afternoon,

The dozen or so carriages then left the Xu family's residence.

The servants and maids sitting in the carriage were all smiles, clearly very satisfied with the reward money given by the Xu family.

Some of the servants and maids even had flushed faces because they had drunk some wine.

The backyard of the Duke's Mansion
Xu Zaijing Academy,

Many red ribbons, after being fixed to the grape trellis, were pulled away to other places, casting red shadows in the sunlight.

A large "double happiness" character was pasted on the clean fish tank under the grape trellis.

At the entrance of the main house,

Zifeng, Chai Zhengzheng's personal maid, with a red silk ribbon tied around her waist, stood with several other maids from the Chai family in front of the tightly closed door, which was decorated with the character for "double happiness".

Behind the tightly closed door,

The outer room was covered with a thick carpet, and newly changed curtains hung around it. Long, thick red wedding candles were placed on the table.

In the bedroom,
The exquisitely crafted and beautifully carved daybed has been assembled, wiped clean, and adorned with fine bed curtains and soft wedding bedding.

On the heavy dressing table not far from the bed, inside the open dressing case, lay various exquisite gold and jade jewelry, quietly awaiting the arrival of tomorrow.

(End of this chapter)