Ming Dynasty: My Father Zhang Juzheng

Chapter 95: Meeting Too Late

The Xu family’s house occupies a vast area and is exquisitely decorated.

Especially the garden. As the saying goes, there is heaven above and Suzhou and Hangzhou below. The Xu family’s garden was designed by four or five garden masters from Suzhou.

The twenty-acre garden was made to look like "endless pavilions and endless flowing water." There are small bridges, flowing water, rockery and clear springs, and a scene every three steps. The combination of movement and stillness is a breathtaking sight.

There is also a five-acre lotus pond in the middle of the garden, which is full of koi carps.

Various rare and exotic plants are planted in the flower beds around the lotus pond. Although it is autumn, the flowers are still colorful.

Flowers and plants can still be vaguely seen standing on a few of the four-cornered eaves.

That is for people who enjoy the scenery.

Just after the Yin hour that day, there were drizzles of rain in the sky, the water vapor in the pond rose, and the whole garden suddenly became hazy.

In a small pavilion in the middle, the clear sound of the zither gradually resounded. The sound was melodious and plaintive, making people feel intoxicated.

Following the sound, I saw two women in a small pavilion on the left.

The one standing there was about fifteen or sixteen years old, wearing a long pea green silk dress.

The one sitting there was about eighteen or nineteen years old, with a petite figure, a gentle temperament, eyebrows like a crescent moon, skin like cream, and she was wearing an ink-colored tight-fitting long skirt with a whale carp pattern.

Just sitting there, you feel like a person in a painting.

It was Xu Fan's youngest daughter, Xu Ruoxi, who was seventeen years old and just waiting to be married.

I saw her delicate hands gently plucking the strings of the zither, and the pleasant sound came out along the strings like a dancing elf.

Sometimes it is rapid, sometimes it is melodious, making people hold their breath and concentrate for fear of disturbing the natural sound.

After just one song, the green-dressed girl beside her clapped her hands and shouted, "Miss, you are really playing better and better. I think those so-and-so masters in the martial arts world are not as good as you."

Although Xu Ruoxi was feeling proud in her heart, she said angrily, "Look at you, you are getting more and more outrageous. Those big names have spent decades in business to gain such a great reputation, and I am just a nobody."

The girl in green was still unconvinced, and she grumbled, "Miss, you are talented. Look at those who have achieved great things throughout history. Which one of them did it by waiting for a long time?"

"Gan Luo was appointed a high minister at the age of twelve, Huo Qubing was able to lead an army at the age of eighteen, and the famous Emperor Taizong of Tang was famous throughout the world at the age of sixteen or seventeen."

The Xu family is a family of scholars, so maids like her must have some knowledge.

Before Xu Ruoxi could answer, she heard a teasing laugh from behind her: "Great, Luluo, I didn't expect you to know so much."

The two looked back and saw a plump young woman walking in with an oil-paper umbrella.

This is Xu Ruoxi’s elder sister-in-law, Zhu Ling.

"Sister-in-law."

"Young lady."

Luoluo and Xu Ruoxi shouted respectfully almost at the same time. Zhu Ling waved her hand, signaling Luoluo to go away, and then sat on the stone bench next to Xu Ruoxi.

The two looked at each other, and Xu Ruoxi noticed her sister-in-law's fiery gaze, and her face immediately turned red. She said coquettishly, "Sister-in-law, what are you looking at?"

"Haha," Zhu Ling laughed so hard that she fell backwards, panting and jokingly saying, "You're embarrassed even when I look at you like this. You'll be even more embarrassed when you get married in the future."

"Sister-in-law!" Xu Ruoxi was anxious.

Zhu Ling didn't tease the little girl and got straight to business: "In two days, the Zhang brothers will be here. Your husband is Zhang Yunxiu, the fifth son of Zhang Gelao. He is two years older than you and just passed the imperial examination this year."

"Oh." Xu Ruoxi was so nervous that her palms were sweating, but she could only squeeze out one word "Oh".

Zhu Ling grabbed her little sister's hand, then stared into her eyes, smiled and comforted her: "Don't be too nervous, his family is the son of the Prime Minister, and my family is also the granddaughter of the former Prime Minister."

At this point, she blinked her eyes and lifted up Xu Ruoxi's increasingly drooping head: "Besides, our Ruoxi's looks, figure, and temper are not bad at all as a woman. Once we get married, I guarantee that the young man will be completely fascinated by her."

"Sister-in-law, please stop talking. You're making me sound like a vixen." Xu Ruoxi's cheeks flushed red.

"What's wrong with a foxy woman? Don't be fooled by the serious appearance of those scholars. There is no man who doesn't like a foxy woman.

Just think about it, the women in the brothels only need to beg and many men will throw money at them, that's how powerful they are."

"Sister-in-law, you are becoming more and more unruly the more you talk."

Zhu Ling was already a woman, and was not shy, so she continued, "But being coquettish is not enough, you also have to be dignified. A woman who is dignified in public and a little coquettish in bed is the kind of woman that men will never want to leave."

She originally wanted to say "be more naughty" in bed, but felt that was too explicit, so she changed her words.

Even so, Xu Ruoxi, a virgin, could not withstand such teasing.

Her neck suddenly turned red, she stood up and tried to run away. Zhu Ling grabbed her and said with a smile, "Why are you ashamed? You will have to go through this sooner or later. It's better to know it earlier than later." "Sister-in-law, you are so shameless that you can actually say such things." Xu Ruoxi pouted and said angrily.

"What's the big deal? Husbands and wives should be close to each other." Zhu Ling waved her hand nonchalantly, and then reminded, "Don't act pretentious. The more you act pretentious, the more disgusted a man will be. If you are left alone in the empty room, you will be the one who suffers."

"It's still early. There are still two years left. It's too early for sister-in-law to say this."

"Then you have to prepare early. What if your innocent daughter goes to someone else's house and makes a fool of herself? That would be really embarrassing."

"Who said I'm a blank slate? Luluo is a very smart girl. With her by my side, I won't be fooled."

Seeing that she was looked down upon, Xu Ruoxi pointed at Luoluo and retorted loudly in dissatisfaction.

Zhu Ling smiled and shook his head like a peddler's drum, jokingly saying, "Girls like you who never leave the house, I guarantee you'll be sold within a day if you go out."

After these words were spoken, Xu Ruoxi's face was full of dissatisfaction and she was still trying to explain.

Suddenly, a servant came to report that the eldest son had already picked up the Zhang brothers and was now coming to our house.

"So fast?" Zhu Ling was startled.

Xu Ruoxi's cheeks were flushed, her hands were clenched, and she bit her cherry red lips tightly.

"Let's go and meet your future husband." Zhu Ling smiled, took Xu Ruoxi's hand, and gently advised, "The most important thing for us women in this life is to find a good husband and marry ourselves off."

"Yeah." Xu Ruoxi nodded slightly and agreed.

On the other side, the brothers Zhang Yunxiu and Zhang Jingxiu, accompanied by Xu Yuanchun, slowly walked to the living room and sat down.

Because the three of them are of the same generation, they are not so restrained.

After they each bowed, Zhang Jingxiu leaned over and said comfortingly, "Brother Zhengfu, Grand Tutor Xu passed away suddenly. I know you are sad, but the dead cannot be brought back to life. Please accept my condolences."

"Thank you, Lord Zhang, for your concern. Thank you, Brother Siwen and Brother Yunxiu, for your condolences." Xu Yuanchun returned the greeting.

Then he turned his head and smiled at Zhang Yunxiu, "Brother Yunxiu is indeed a handsome man. Now he has passed the imperial examination and often walks around the palace. His future prospects are limitless."

Zhang Yunxiu clasped his fists and bowed: "Brother, thank you for your praise. I am not very knowledgeable and I am afraid I cannot bear such flattery."

"My dear brother, you are too modest." Xu Yuanchun waved his hand and continued, "I heard that you went to Korea in the summer and gained a lot from it, which shows that you have great strategies in your mind."

After hearing this, Zhang Yunxiu was no longer sleepy, and asked directly: "Brother, you have lived in Songjiang for a long time, so you should have a lot of ships under your command, right?"

Songjiang Prefecture is almost all of today's Shanghai, as it is located at the mouth of the Yangtze River Delta and has a unique geographical location.

In just one or two hundred years, it became one of the most fertile and prosperous places in the south of the Yangtze River.

The biggest boost to this was his prosperous business.

Xu Yuanchun was stunned at first when asked by Zhang Yunxiu, and then replied: "There are quite a few ships, but most of them are small boats. If you want a big ship, I'm afraid you will have to ask someone to build it."

“What is the existing size?”

"The big one is fifty feet long and thirty feet wide, and the small one is thirty feet long and fifteen feet wide." Xu Yuanchun told him everything.

Zhang Yunxiu calculated that the boat was not too small, and the big boat could barely be used. After figuring this out, Zhang Yunxiu smiled and said, "Then I will shamelessly ask you to borrow some boats."

"It doesn't matter whether you lend it or not. Just take it if you need it." Xu Yuanchun was quite generous. He added, "If you still want ships, we can make connections and send people to buy you some larger ships."

Sure enough, someone is easy to do.

As the local tyrant in Jiangnan, the Xu family has been rooted here for decades, and their way of speaking is different.

"Don't worry, brother. I won't take your boat for nothing. If you have any trouble in the future, I will never refuse." Zhang Yunxiu smiled and returned the favor.

"Hey, why are you saying this? We will be a family in the future, and it would be awkward to say this." Xu Yuanchun smiled, looked at Zhang Jingxiu, pointed at Zhang Yunxiu and joked, "Look, our brother-in-law still doesn't treat us as his own."

Zhang Jingxiu laughed and shook his head, saying, "Haha. This brat is now obsessed with making money. He reeks of money. Brother Zhengfu, don't let him influence you."

"Brother Siwen, what you said is wrong. I hate those so-called pure scholars and hypocrites the most in my life. They say all sorts of things, but in fact they exploit the people behind their backs and want to squeeze blood out of stones."

"Tell me, if they don't show any filial piety, who can they support with their salary alone?" Xu Yuanchun said with a smile.

Zhang Jingxiu was not angry at all because of this "stab". Instead, he smiled even more: "I thought so. It turns out that you two are obsessed with money. No wonder you hit it off right away and look like you met too late."

"Hahaha"

Zhang Yunxiu and Xu Yuanchun looked at each other and laughed out loud with tacit understanding.

(End of this chapter)