discuss
"Come on."
The door opened slightly, and the ground was covered with withered and yellow leaves.
Taishi Zheng peered out the window and saw the neatly arranged rows of oxcarts parked outside. Her lips parted in surprise, and she saw two beautiful young women, each wearing a straight-collared, double-breasted jacket and with their hair in heart-shaped buns, getting off the carts and approaching her.
"The niece of Concubine Xian, Yi Zishi, has arrived to report."
"Qi Jiami, grandson of Prince Bei, has arrived to report."
Wow, it came so fast!
"Sister Yi, Eleventh Lady, come in quickly." Tai Shi Zheng didn't have time to think and hurriedly pulled people into the yard.
But someone behind them looked flustered and hesitated for a long moment. Finally, just before the three of them were about to enter, they boldly said, "I am the servant of Xia Buyu, the fifth son of the Right Guard General... I have come here on the orders of our master to greet the ladies."
The three sisters stopped and looked back at the same time.
Seeing this, Taishi Zheng couldn't help but ask, "Servant? What's going on? Why are you alone? Where's your Master Xia?"
The servant seemed to have something to say but was embarrassed and didn't know how to start.
However, upon hearing this, Qi Jiami pushed the gate open and walked inside laughing, leaving everyone confused.
"What are you laughing at, Eleventh Lady?" Tai Shi Zheng lowered her voice as she leaned against Sister Yi beside her.
Yi Zishi came back to his senses and sneered, "Who knows? When we were studying together in the palace, she was always talking nonsense. I thought she would set up a stall outside Xiangguo Temple. Leave her alone. Come on, Zheng, go in first."
"And that servant boy, since you are here on behalf of Bu Yu, come in with us."
"He is the servant of Xia Buyu, the fifth son of General Youwuwei." The servant answered in a clear and concise manner, but the others had already walked through the door and ignored him.
Seeing this, the servant hurriedly followed.
Arriving in the courtyard, Qi Jiami walked around the corridor with ease and headed towards Gaochunyuan.
The hem of her lavender dress was embroidered with golden lotus flowers. A noble, rich and regal. Even when she walked in the shade, she was radiant. "Alas, that servant. I was wondering if your Xia Sheren was still being hung in the ancestral hall by Xia Shibo right now?"
As soon as these words were spoken, Tai Shi Zheng seemed to have discovered something extraordinary and excitedly grabbed Yi Zi Shi's sleeve.
Yi Zi Shi naturally did not believe Qi Jiami's nonsense.
She was about to open her mouth to refute, but was interrupted by the servant's exclamation, "How do you know?"
Wow, it’s true!
Taishi Zheng instantly put Cui Zhijun's matter behind her. How could she not join in the fun at Xia Laowu's party? She leaned over and asked indirectly, "Eleventh Lady, what has Laowu done wrong? Hanging him in the ancestral hall is too serious a crime."
When Xia Bu Yu was mentioned, Qi Jiami just smiled.
She pointed at the servant and said, "Oh no, I want to laugh when I think of Xia Laowu. Let him speak."
"Me?" The servant pointed at himself in disbelief.
Taishi Zheng and Yi Zishi also cast their gazes over, and the servant had no choice but to reply, "To answer the questions of the ladies, our Wulang went to Yuanyang Tower last night and got drunk. On his way back home, he happened to run into Bai Chengzhi and my Alang discussing matters. So, my Wulang was dazed and... accidentally..."
"What are you being careful about? Tell me." Tai Shi Zheng stomped her feet anxiously because she couldn't hear the main point.
But the servant hesitated and refused to speak.
Seeing this, Qi Jiami took over the conversation, "His Wulang! He accidentally slapped Bai Chengzhi's butt."
What? !
Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha…
As soon as the words fell, laughter broke out everywhere. Only the servant blushed.
Xia Buyu was a dissolute man and was well-known in Tokyo.
It seemed that apart from these few friends, no one else was willing to look at him. Even the other people in the Xia residence were the same. But what kind of person was Xia Buyu? Why should others tell him?
He will always be Xia Laowu who will be scolded and punished for them.
"Wait, Qi Jiami. How do you know so much about Lao Wu?" Yi Zishi noticed something was wrong.
Qi Jiami laughed maliciously, "How do you know? Because it was my idea to tease Bai Chengzhi. In the past, when he was doing the praise reading, he beat me and Lao Wu with the stick. But Lao Wu was just a fool. I asked him to tease, not to slap Bai Chengzhi's butt. You don't know, Xia Shibo's face turned purple at that moment. He grabbed Lao Wu and went to the house, and I couldn't stop him."
"What? It turned out that you were the one who killed our young master!"
"Okay, you two are going out to drink behind my back again!"
The servant and Yi Zishi's eyes shot out at him like arrows. Qi Jiami looked around and cried out, "Not good!" She tried to escape, but was chased by the two men.
The three of them chased each other and started a "melee".
At that moment, Taishi Zheng stood there, watching the chaos in the courtyard, wondering to herself: No way! Why did they start fighting? Did I call them here for something? It was that Cui Zhi-something, that Zhi-jun... Oh, right. Cui Zhi-jun wanted to kiss, wanted to kiss!
"I say! Have you forgotten something—" Taishi Zheng hurriedly ran over to remind them. But the fight in the courtyard was so intense that no one paid any attention.
Just listen.
"Why did you want to harm my Wulang? Do you know how badly he was beaten last night? He was even disfigured!"
"Don't accuse him wrongly. He did it himself. It has nothing to do with me."
"Qi Shiyi, admit it honestly. This is the nth time this month that you've gone out for drinks without telling me—"
"Hey? Don't blame us for not taking you with you. It's really because you have a terrible drinking habit!"
"you!"
"you!"
"slightly--"
Three people were arguing around a leafless jujube tree.
Tai Shi Zheng, who was used to it, knew that he couldn't stop it, so he simply rested on a stone bench beside him and looked up at the sky.
Never mind, I can’t do anything about it!
But what should I do about this marriage? Should I just refuse it? And those four carrier pigeons that flew out only brought back three people, but my eldest sister has divorced now, so she probably won't come...
Although Zheng thought so, she was still looking forward to her elder sister coming.
Speaking of Shuyi Sikoujue, she was born into a wealthy family and was the daughter of the Vice Prime Minister. She was a leader among the noble ladies of Tokyo. Everyone loved and respected her, calling her "Big Sister."
When she was young and in the palace, Zheng liked to follow her eldest sister the most.
And my eldest sister’s favorite is the zheng.
Graceful and beautiful, virtuous and prudent. These words seemed to be engraved in the bones of the eldest sister.
But later, everyone gradually escaped from the "lonely city", but the eldest sister was the only one who was forced to wear shackles made of gold and silver, and live the life that the Sikou family had already planned for her.
Parents’ orders and matchmaker’s words.
If it is a blessing, it is beyond one's control. If it is a disaster, it will haunt one for life.
Perhaps it was from this point on that Zheng began to want to make her own choices in life.
Just as Taishi Zheng was lost in thought, someone suddenly shouted from a distance, "Silence!"
Zheng suddenly stood up and saw three or two eunuchs carrying a standing screen covered with gold cloth and stopping not far away. Shifting her gaze, she saw the Golden Book Book standing outside the corridor beside Si Kou Jue.
Everyone is here.
The missing person has arrived.
Tai Shi Zheng was overjoyed. She asked, "Mrs. Jin! Did my elder sister ask you to come?"
Jin Dianbu did not answer.
At that moment, the people in the courtyard heard the conversation and were stunned for only three seconds before they started shouting again. They seemed not to notice who the visitor was. The Golden Book Book then shouted loudly: "Madam Shuyi has arrived——"
"Shuyi?"
"My wife?"
“Here we are!”
The servant stopped, Yi Zishi let go of his hand, and Qi Jiami turned around.
But Taishi Zheng was already standing aside with a serious expression.
Seeing this, Qi Jiami stood beside Zheng, poked her waist with her hand, and scolded her: "Bad Zheng, why didn't you remind me?"
"I called you, and you have to pay attention to me."
The two of them whispered and made small movements. It was like when they'd been caught skipping class and made to stand at the back of the lecture hall. As they spoke, Jin Dianbu led the group toward the courtyard. Once they were in front of the group, she ordered them to put the standing screen on the ground.
But where is Madam Shuyi?
Tai Shi Zheng and Qi Jia Mi looked around but could not see any trace of their elder sister.
Jin Dianbu caught a glimpse of their expressions, then waved his hand to signal the eunuch to remove the golden cloth covering the standing screen, and said: "Shuyi has ordered that the embroidered screen be seen as if in person. Madam greets everyone——"
Everyone focused their gazes in silence.
Si Kou Jue, standing on the screen, looked just as he always had. Light and shadow shimmered, silk glittered, like a peony, breathtakingly beautiful.
Tai Shi Zheng was mesmerized by the image, his eyes filled with uncontrollable longing. Qi Jia Mi quickly replied, "Hey, hey. Everyone is well, except Old Five. Please ask Jin Dianbu to say hello to Big Sister for us."
The servant curled his lips, and Tai Shi Zheng quickly nodded in agreement.
Jin Dianbu looked at their bewildered expressions, then remembered Shuyi's instructions and smiled, waving his hand. "Alright, alright. Madam Shuyi has instructed that you all do as you please, and the young ladies don't have to be restrained. I wonder if we're late? Where are the matters that Madam Zheng was talking about?"
Where were we?
It never started!
Zheng smacked her lips, thinking that if her elder sister hadn't summoned Jin Dianbu today, the situation would have been out of control before sunset. Glancing at everyone with a resentful look, Taishi Zheng replied, "The matter... hasn't even begun..."
"Hasn't started yet?" Jin Dianbu sat down on the stone bench in surprise. "Then sit down and talk quickly, so I can return to the palace and report to my lady."
Things were finally back on track. The three of them looked at each other and sat down quietly before leaving. The remaining servant stood aside on behalf of Xia Buyu.
"Who will go first?" Jin Dianbu spoke, but they fell silent at this moment.
Several people looked at each other in silence, and finally Qi Jiami took the lead.
She stood up, pulled out a crookedly written scrap of paper from her sleeve, and read stiffly, "Cui Zhijun, the only legitimate son of the eldest branch of the Earl of Pingkang's mansion. Tsk, he's an only child. Will he be foolishly filial? Won't it be difficult to deal with my mother-in-law? Not good."
"He's five and a half feet tall, a decent height. Much better than that crippled dwarf from the Qingyuan County Duke's family last time."
"She's twenty years old, three years older than Zheng. And she's still unmarried!"
"Fair skin, clean complexion, and handsome appearance. What do you mean? A pale-faced scholar? Then I prefer dark skin, preferably with unparalleled martial arts skills."
Qi Jiami was busy on her own.
Yi Zishi couldn't stand it and retorted, "Qi Shiyi, who asked you that? Just study hard and don't talk nonsense."
Qi Jiami retorted, "Go away, what do you know? This prince is helping Zheng analyze things rationally. Stop interrupting me. Zheng, ignore her and listen to me continue reading. I got this news from my seventh brother, who used to be a classmate of Cui Zhijun. It can't be wrong."
Tai Shi Zheng held her face in her hands and nodded obediently.
Yi Zishi seemed to be completely confident in the information he had, and was quite disdainful of Qi Jiami. "Alright, I won't interrupt you. Let's see what else you can come up with."
Qi Jiami was also a stubborn person. She turned her head and tutted before continuing, "I'm calm and reserved, and I'm gentle and polite in my dealings with others. I'm well-read and well-educated. What? After all this talk, I'm just a bookworm who's not good at speaking!"
"Let me look at this fine print again."
"This person doesn't drink, isn't lustful, isn't picky about food, and isn't normal. Weird! How can this be true? How can there be such a person? Is Seventh Brother really reliable—"
The slap in the face came too quickly.
Qi Jiami was so angry that she crumpled the paper in her hand, and Yi Zishi couldn't help laughing beside her.
She took the opportunity to stand up and hold Qi Jiami's face, pushing her aside and mocking her, "You believe in Qi Shaoyan, but you might as well believe in the sorcerer outside Xiangguo Temple. Okay, what she said is not important. Zheng, you should listen to me."
Tai Shi Zheng looked up at Yi Zi Shi.
Qi Jiami deliberately walked behind Taishi Zheng and covered her ears. This time, Zheng's cheeks tightened, and even the corners of her eyes could not help but turn up a little. Without waiting for Zheng to break free, Qi Jiami said in a naughty tone: "I won't listen to it, I won't listen to it."
But Yi Zishi has his own way of dealing with her, "Time Tower, five pots of green light. Let go."
Qi Jiami didn't respond. Yi Zishi upped the ante, "Plus a jar of Thousand Days Spring from the Zhongshan Garden Shop. No wait after the expiration date." Knowing when to quit was Qi Jiami's greatest strength. She immediately moved her hand to Zheng's head and rubbed it. "Zheng, be good. Listen to your sister Yi. She has the worst ideas."
Looking at Taishi Zheng, she covered her head with her hands and dodged again and again, "I know, I know. Sit down quickly and stop touching me."
Qi Jiami finally calmed down after being bribed by the wine.
Yi Zishi took advantage of the situation and spoke, "Since Qi Shiyi has already pretty much explained Cui Erlang's situation, let me talk about the Cui family. Zheng, do you know why Cui Zhijun, despite his excellent conditions, is still unmarried even at the age of twenty? He doesn't even have a concubine?"
Tai Shi Zheng shook his head.
Qi Jiami continued, "Could this person have some hidden illness?"
Yi Zishi glanced at the distracted Qi Jiami, then turned and spoke softly to Zheng, "It's not that Cui Erlang is ill, but rather that his family has complicated relationships. And the mistress of that family, Cui Zhijun's biological mother, has a very bad reputation."
"Well, complicated? How complicated? Bad reputation? How bad can it be?"
Qi Jiami was disdainful.
"My eldest father has five sons, six daughters, eighteen grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren. Is there any family in Tokyo City more complicated than our Beiwang Mansion?"
"Even dogs dislike Xia Laowu, so whose reputation could be worse than his?"
At this point, Taishi Zheng also felt strange, "Yeah, is it more complicated than Eleventh Lady's family? Is it worse than Fifth Lady's reputation?"
Yi Zishi folded his arms and asked, "Let's not talk about anything else for now. Zheng, let me ask you, according to the old customs of this dynasty, if a grandfather passes away, does the family split up?"
Tai Shi Zheng nodded.
Yi Zishi turned to look at Qi Jiami again, "Eleven, let me ask you, if a family like yours were to have a quarrel, would you go to Kaifeng Prefecture to seek justice?"
Qi Jiami shook her head. "A wealthy family wants to save face, so how can they air their dirty laundry in public?"
Yi Zishi clapped his hands when he got the answer, "So, the result is obvious."
Everyone was still confused, so she explained the situation. "The old earl passed away, and the Cui family didn't follow the old custom of dividing the family. They said the old lady was still alive, and the two brothers lived in harmony and filial piety. But in reality, they were all excuses. It was all about the family fortune."
"Dongjing City has a large population and limited land. Aside from those of us who received gifts and have inherited property, most officials in the capital rent houses. The Cui family's ancestors were upright, leaving behind such a tiny ancestral home. How could they have two separate branches? With over twenty people crammed into such a small house, how could there not be trouble? Furthermore, the Cui family's mistress has a fiery temper. She even went to Kaifeng Prefecture to argue with the second branch about the unfair division of the family property. Isn't that shameful for such a large family?"
"Tsk tsk, shameful, really shameful."
Qi Jiami listened with great interest and didn't forget to ask, "So how did this matter end?"
"How else can this end? I'll stop talking about this. To save face, the Cui family suppressed this matter in the name of loyalty and filial piety."
"No need to separate."
Yi Zishi shook his head helplessly after saying this.
She had heard all this from her mother. The Cui family's troubles had long been a laughing stock among the wealthy women of Tokyo. However, when Yi Zishi asked about Cui Zhijun, her mother's answer was a simple four-word question:
He is a good son-in-law.
This is a very high evaluation, but marriage is definitely not something that can be represented by just these four words.
Yi Zishi cast a complex gaze at Taishi Zheng. After a moment's deliberation, she spoke truthfully, "Zheng, if you ask me about this marriage, it's certainly not a good one. But if you ask me about Cui Zhijun, I'll tell you, as my mother would say, that he'd make a good son-in-law. Zheng, you have to make your own decision and weigh the pros and cons. No matter what, we respect you."
"Yes, Zheng. Although the Cui family is quite complicated, Cui Zhijun is someone that even our seventh brother can't find fault with. However, you think about it yourself, we support you." Qi Jiami also responded.
Tai Shi Zheng remained silent, as if she had something on her mind.
At that moment, Qi Jiami suddenly remembered the servant standing behind her. She turned her eyes and said, "Hey? You! We've talked so much, why don't you say a word? Since you came here on behalf of Xia Laowu, don't you have any news to report? Laowu is so well-informed, he must know something."
The words fell on the servant, who without a word took out a small jar of the wine that Xia Buyu had drunk in Yuanyang Tower and placed it in front of everyone, "To be honest, our servant is still drunk from last night. After I reported the letter from Miss Zheng to him, he was drunk and asked me to bring this jar of leftover wine as a gift, and then he passed out..."
"So, I'm here to deliver wine today."
"Take it! Go away!"
The three of them spoke in surprisingly unison.
"Oh, okay."
The servant quickly took the wine jar off the table and left with an apology.
Jin Dianbu, who had been watching from the sidelines, smiled at the crowd, moved by their friendship, but sighed as she thought of Si Kou Jue. She finally spoke, "Now that everything has been said, let's see what our Shuyi has brought for Miss Zheng."
Jin Dianbu clapped his hands, and the eunuchs held the two ends of a scroll and slowly unfolded it for Taishi Zheng.
The young doctoral student from the Imperial College is dressed in a green robe and looks very elegant.
This was the first portrait Cui Zhiyun had created after entering officialdom. Zheng saw the figure in the painting as full of vigor and vitality, like the bright moon and the gentle breeze. Not a trace of the taint of worldly influences remained. Looking back at the figure before her, Zheng felt a feeling indescribable.
Where fate begins, destiny meets.
Her gaze finally settled on the signature of the painting. Zheng pondered, "Golden Book, Sister Yi, Eleventh Lady. I agree to this marriage. But let me ask one last question: is this Cui Erlang really—"
“Not picky about food.”
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