Another month passed in the blink of an eye. On the second day of the twelfth lunar month, Xingxing finally returned to the capital. After entering the city gate, she lifted the curtain of the carriage and looked at the bustling streets, but she had no memory of this place.
After all, if it weren't for the sudden earthquake, the emperor wouldn't have been able to escape the palace with his harem. They spent most of their time in the palace and had no opportunity to go out and stroll around, so naturally they had no impression of the streets of the capital.
Tie Qingfeng invited Zhu Lin and his party to visit the Tie residence, but Zhu Lin declined, saying, "Thank you for your kindness, Young Master Tie, but we have our own plans and will not disturb you at the Tie residence."
Seeing that they really had no intention of going to the Tie residence, Tie Qingfeng did not force them. "This is a jade pendant that I always wear. If you encounter any trouble in the future, you can come to the Tie residence to find me with this jade pendant."
Zhu Lin didn't pick him up; he could handle his own affairs and didn't need to bother anyone.
It wouldn't do to let Tie Qingfeng keep handing over the jade pendant; he meant well, after all. Zhu Qiuyu gave Zhou Sanfu a look, and the latter stepped forward to take the jade pendant.
"Thank you very much, Young Master Tie," Zhou Sanfu said politely.
Tie Qingfeng lowered his eyes, concealing his emotions, cupped his hands and whispered his farewell before leaving with his servants.
"Shall we go to the inn now?" Xingxing asked.
“We don’t stay in inns; we have our own house,” Zhu Lin said softly.
Zhu Qiuyu then drove the carriage to a house in a slightly secluded area. The surrounding environment was quite nice, and the houses looked very grand, suggesting they belonged to wealthy families.
Zhu Qiuyu explained that this area was inhabited by prominent merchants from the capital, and they lived here as merchants.
The main gate of the house looks unremarkable, but once you push it open, you'll find a completely different world inside: exquisite pavilions and towers, artificial hills and strange rocks, and a pond in the courtyard, which seems to be used to raise fish and turtles. After passing through a long corridor, you'll find an arched hanging flower gate.
This is a five-courtyard house, with several smaller courtyards inside. It's a very large house; even a hundred or so people could live here without worrying about not having enough rooms.
The five brothers were so shocked that their mouths dropped open. How much money would it cost to buy such a big house? Xianwu Island must be incredibly wealthy.
No, when they came in, a door was opened. The eldest brother didn't use a key to unlock it and just led everyone in. However, apart from the gatekeeper we just saw, we didn't see any other servants after we came in.
Zhou Erfu asked directly, "Master, when did you buy this house? Is it really your house?"
"Of course it's true. There are a few elders from Xianwu Island in the capital. Before we came, I sent a message by carrier pigeon to tell them that we were going to the capital and asked them to prepare a house for us so that the young master wouldn't be wronged." These elders were naturally elders of the same status as Zhu Tianxin and the others before.
"Are all the descendants of those old people officials?" Zhou Sanfu asked curiously.
Zhu Qiuyu gave him a deep look but did not answer directly, "He does have some ability, at least he doesn't have to worry about money."
Seeing that he was unwilling to talk about it, Fu Ge and his friends did not press him further. They only asked how much silver it would cost to buy the house. Zhu Qiuyu said it would probably cost more than ten thousand taels.
"Wow, rich, incredibly rich." Fu Ge and his friends gasped in amazement, full of admiration.
The group quickly divided into courtyards. Zhu Lin and Xingxing moved to the East Courtyard, which was the main courtyard. The other senior brothers and sisters also each had a small courtyard, and Fu Ge and the others were also assigned to a courtyard to live in.
“It’s not good that the house is too big. With so few people, we have to give each person their own courtyard. If we want to see them, we have to go out and find them. Shouldn’t Xingxing be living in the same courtyard as us? Why did she end up in Zhu Lin’s courtyard?” Zhou Erfu was satisfied with the house, but he was very unhappy that everyone was living separately.
Zhou Sifu chimed in, "I've heard that this is how wealthy families are, with each person getting their own small courtyard. I didn't expect that you masters also like the way wealthy families behave. We're just not very knowledgeable."
"Stop talking nonsense. We've covered your food and lodging, what's there to complain about? Hurry up and tidy up your room so you can sleep well tonight." Zhou Dafu interrupted his brothers' rambling and ordered them to get to work.
However, once they entered their respective rooms, they found that the rooms had already been cleaned and were spotless. There was no need for them to clean them themselves.
"I don't know where the kitchen is, so we can cook. We can't just eat and live here for free without doing any work," Zhou Dafu said, frowning.
It was mid-afternoon, and as soon as Zhou Dafu finished speaking, a servant brought over some pastries, saying that they should have a small snack first, as dinner was already being prepared.
Does this mean that meals are prepared and delivered to you?
"How many servants do you have in this house? Why didn't I see any when I came in?" Zhou Erfu grabbed the servant who brought the pastries, trying to get something out of him.
The servant looked bewildered. "I don't know either. We all do our own thing and rarely see each other. We do whatever our master tells us to do. Young master, please don't ask. I don't know either."
As soon as he finished speaking, the servant ran off as if a demon were chasing him.
Zhou Erfu: "?"
"Why think so much? Let's eat our fill, take a nap, and talk about it later. I guess this is the rule of Fairy Mist Island, so let's mind our own business." Their mission was to protect the stars, although they didn't seem to play much of a role at the crucial moment.
In the main courtyard, Xingxing finished eating a large fruit, wiped the juice from the corner of her lips with a handkerchief, got off the chair, and began to stroll around looking at the room.
"Is this room for me? It's so beautiful."
Xingxing sighed silently. She hadn't been back to the palace for so long that she barely remembered living there. Looking at the elegant and luxurious decorations before her, she subconsciously compared them to the rooms in Yegou Village and realized that ordinary people really did live a simple life.
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