His father had been disappointed and helpless with him, had glared at him, had taught him patiently, but had never walked away from him.
Xu Sizun stood blankly in the middle of the room, his hands and feet cold. He didn't know how long it took before he came to his senses and staggered out the door.
"Fourth Young Master, what's wrong with you?" Wang Shu hurried forward to help him.
"It's okay, it's okay!" In the sunlight, his face was as pale as paper.
Wang Shu didn't dare to ask more questions and helped him back to the house.
Jiang was about to give birth. With her big belly, she and her personal maid Baozhu were packing up the small clothes and quilts that they had made for her unborn child a few days ago.
"Take it out to dry in the sun while the weather is nice these few days." Her eyes and eyebrows were filled with the joy and peace of being a mother. "Just don't let it get directly exposed to the sun, otherwise it will get hot and the child will get a sore throat."
Baozhu giggled: "That's what my wife said!"
The "wife" she was referring to was Jiang's biological mother. Her daughter was about to give birth, and it was her first child, so she was very worried and wrote to her every now and then, giving her instructions.
"You are the one who knows so much!" Jiang said cautiously. She was not angry, and there was a hint of joy at the corners of her mouth.
For some reason, Xu Sizhun suddenly felt a little afraid to face such a child.
He did not disturb Jiang and turned to go to Xu Sijie.
Xu Sijie is in class and hasn't come back yet.
He went straight to Xu Sijie's study.
The maid Xier hurriedly brought tea and snacks.
"You guys go down!" Xu Sizhun waved his hand, "I'll wait for my fifth brother here."
The two had always been close, and Xu Sizhun had an easy-going personality. Xier responded with a few words and then left with the maid.
Xu Sizhun looked around the room.
There was a big kang next to the window, covered with a half-new red cushion with five bats holding a longevity symbol, and a black lacquered kang table. There was only a set of sweet white porcelain teacups on the kang table, and books piled on the kang table. There was a sky-blue plum vase on the windowsill, with one or two half-withered osmanthus flowers inserted diagonally. In the middle of the room was a large black lacquered desk with a pattern of ten thousand characters. On the left hand was the Four Books and Five Classics, and on the right hand was a brush washer and inkstone. Only a space the size of two elbows was left in the middle to lay out the pen pad for writing. Behind him were four multi-treasure cabinet shelves as tall as a person, filled with books. They were not neatly arranged books, but some had half-broken bookmarks, or were placed crookedly. It was obvious at a glance that the books on the multi-treasure cabinet shelves were often read, not just for display.
Xu Sizhun casually took a book and lay down on the drunkard chair under the moonlight window. But something was placed on his waist. He turned his head and saw that there was a copy of "Four Books Annotations" on the drunkard chair.
He turned around and wanted to put the book on the small black lacquered table beside him, but there were also several books like "Annotations to the Great Learning" on the small black lacquered table.
Xu Sizhun laughed and lay down on the Drunkard's Chair.
The drunkard's chair began to shake, and when he looked up, he saw a pot of magnolia flowers on the flower table in the corner. The crystal clear petals were trembling, and they were blooming at the right time.
What a great place!
Xu Sizhun couldn't help but sigh.
Why didn't he notice before that Xu Sijie's study was decorated so comfortably and elegantly!
As the thought flashed through his mind, he lost interest in reading and closed his eyes. His body rose and fell with the Drunkard's Chair, and his heart also sank and floated with the Drunkard's Chair.
His father must be very disappointed in him, right?
He didn't expect his father to attach so much importance to Dafenghao. He thought that as long as Dafenghao paid back the money on time, it would be fine. As for when it was paid back, it didn't matter at all. Although he didn't manage the general affairs during that period, he would ask Bai Zongguan every day if there was anything special... His father also said that we should learn to focus on the big things and let go of the small things. He just needed to focus on Bai Zongguan, why did he have to do everything himself?
Thinking of this, he became a little irritated.
I feel like this drunkard's chair is shaking and making me dizzy.
He stood up suddenly and shouted "Wang Shu" loudly, "Has the Fifth Young Master not come back yet?"
The door curtain was lifted up with a "swish" sound, and Xu Sijie's smiling face appeared in front of Xu Sizun: "Why didn't Fourth Brother stay at home to accompany Fourth Sister-in-law, but came to me?" He teased Xu Sizun.
Since Jiang became pregnant, Xu Sizhun has been with her most of the time.
Being teased by his younger brother, Xu Sizhun smiled a little embarrassedly: "I stay at home every day, and I want to come to your place for a meal. Why? You are not welcome!"
"Nothing!" Xu Sijie smiled and told Xier to get more food from the kitchen, "Fourth brother, eat here."
Xier responded with a smile, but when she reached the door, Xu Sizun called her: "Do you have any wine? Bring me some Jinhua wine!"
Xu Sijie and Xier were both a little surprised. Xier even advised: "It's only noon, and the Marquis is in the mansion again..."
Before Xier could finish her words, Xu Sizun said in a frustrated tone, "Forget it, go down and prepare lunch."
Xier was at a loss as to what to do, so she looked at Xu Sijie.
The smile faded from Xu Sijie's face.
He waved to Xier, indicating for her to leave.
"Fourth brother, what happened?" Xu Sijie pulled Xu Sizhun to sit on the big kang by the window and asked him with a serious expression.
Xu Sizhun looked at his brother's still childish face, but couldn't say anything. After holding it in for a long time, he asked Xu Sijie: "How are your studies?"
Xu Sijie was a careful child. The more Xu Sizhun didn't want to say it, the more important he felt this matter was.
But we can't force Xu Sizun, right?
"Not bad!" Xu Sijie was talking to Xu Sizhun while carefully observing his expression. "Mr. Chang asked me to put more effort into writing the article." He smiled and said, "He said that my words were too ornate or too elegant, so that the article lacked some simplicity among the flowers and flowers, and people were confused about the main and the secondary." There was a sense of helplessness, "Now I don't know how to write."
"Everyone has their own preferences." Upon hearing this, Xu Sizhun hurriedly comforted Xu Sijie, "Don't be discouraged. You may meet an examiner who likes an article like yours!"
Talking about something that had been worrying him for a long time, and the person listening was his brother whom he depended on, Xu Sijie had no scruples: "You can't say that. What if I meet an examiner who is as good as Mr. Chang? After the exam, I can't just take luck as a bell. Besides, Mr. Chang also said that if the article is well written, a whip will leave a mark, a slap will draw blood, and it can be a poem or a fu. It shows that I still need to spend some time on my article." As he spoke, his brows were a little excited, "I think hard work can make up for lack of talent. I will now re-copy all the articles that Mr. Chang revised for me, and then compare them with my original articles, and list the parts that Mr. Chang thought I wrote poorly, so that I will know where I wrote poorly. Mr. Chang praised my method when I saw it last time."
Xu Sizhun didn't expect him to say such a thing, and he looked at him with a serious look: "Fifth brother has grown up!"
Xu Sijie smiled sheepishly: "I can't let my mother worry about me all the time!"
Xu Sizhun didn't say anything.
Xier brought in the kang table.
The two of them ate quietly. Xu Sijie arranged for Xu Sizhun to rest in the study, and Xu Sizhun soon fell asleep.
When he came over on his way to school, Xu Sizhun was still sleeping. Xu Sijie told Xier to "take good care of him" and tiptoed to Tingtao Pavilion. But before his footsteps faded away, Xu Sizhun's eyes opened.
He lay there not wanting to move.
After a while, Xu Sizun heard Baozhu's voice: "...Thank you, Sister Xier. Since the fourth young master hasn't woken up yet, I'll wait here for a while!"
"Come sit in my room!" Xi'er's voice was thick with laughter. "Let the little maid guard here. If the fourth young master makes any movement, we will come over."
Baozhu smiled and thanked him.
There was no sound under the eaves, and the room seemed empty.
* * * * * *
"Did Guan Qing really say that?" Jiang looked at Baozhu, who had a cautious look on her face, and her expression seemed a little solemn.
"That's exactly what he said." Baozhu whispered, "At that time, Guan Qing's family was about to deliver food to the fifth young master. Seeing that I was there, she asked casually. Although it was just a few words, I couldn't have heard it wrong. In the morning, the Marquis called the fourth young master over for a sum of money from Dafenghao..." and told Jiang what happened in the morning.
Guan Qing's family member is called Amber, and she is the most capable person around my mother-in-law. Anyone who can do this job is not an ordinary person. I met Baozhu by chance, and I presumptuously told her what happened in the study room in the outer courtyard... I couldn't find out no matter how hard I tried, but I knew everything without any effort. No matter how I thought about it, it was a bit strange!
The thought flashed through her mind and Jiang was shocked.
Or maybe, Guan Qingjia was just following her mother-in-law's orders to remind her.
Thinking of this, Jiang could no longer sit still.
"Let's go and see the Fourth Young Master!"
* * * * * *
Eleventh Lady sat on the kang, smiled and leaned over Xu Lingyi's shoulder: "What? Are you still angry?"
Xu Lingyi turned his head and saw a pair of eyes that seemed to be smiling but not smiling.
He reached out to pinch her nose, but she tilted her head and dodged.
"I don't even know what he's thinking." Xu Lingyi took a long breath. "Wang Shu, Huo Qing, and Yin Zhen, who are beside him, are all smart, capable, and clever. But he actually went to the shop to supervise the workers himself... Really," he shook his head, "He doesn't care about the things he should be in charge of, and he cares about things he shouldn't be in charge of." He added, "I don't know how many evil servants have bullied their masters. When they saw that their masters didn't have anyone in charge, some of them not only robbed their masters' property, but also sold their masters to human traffickers, and they became lowly people for the rest of their lives."
"Zhun'er, it's because the person in charge is Chief Steward Bai, the one you trust the most. If it was someone else, how could he be so careless?" Eleventh Lady laughed, "According to what you said, he remembered the accounts clearly. He knew you wanted money, and he didn't even hesitate to tell you how much money he had, and let you take it directly... It seems that he is not as bad as you say!"
Xu Lingyi stopped talking.
Eleventh Lady pursed her lips and smiled.
It's not a serious problem, but it's not a problem, but it will cause a big problem at the critical moment. This is probably why Xu Lingyi is so annoyed!
Otherwise, she would not have asked Amber to give a tip to Jiang and ask Jiang to help persuade Xu Sizhun.
"Oh right," when she said this, Eleventh Lady remembered the matter of Prince Yong borrowing money, "...Is there something else going on over there? Could it be that the Emperor doesn't agree with Prince Yong building a courtyard? Wouldn't the Emperor be unhappy with you for doing this?"
※
I’ll post a draft first to make up for the extra update on September 4th!
O(∩_∩)O~
PS: I used to write half a chapter in the morning and half a chapter after get off work. Now I have to write more in the morning. If I have something to do at work in the afternoon, the update in the evening will be a bit problematic... I'm afraid the update today will have to be postponed to around 21:00...⊙﹏⊙bSweat!