Chapter 1022 Chen Fulin
Mr. Zhuang waved to his three disciples, then helped Bai Erlang sit back in his chair. He smiled at Mr. Jiang and the others and said, "The tea Mr. Jiang brought today was really good. I didn't expect you to get drunk after just a few cups."
Mr. Jiang glanced at Chen Fulin, and seeing him with his eyes downcast and silent, he couldn't help but burst into laughter and said happily, "This is the first time in my life that I have seen someone drunk on tea. Come on, come on, Brother Zhuang, have another cup to sober up."
Mr. Jiang handed it over, and Mr. Zhuang actually took it and took a sip, praising it, "Good tea."
Everyone: ...So is this real Zui Cha or fake Zui Cha?
But at this moment, everyone looked at Mr. Zhuang with a calm expression, and then looked at Chen Fulin who was staring at Mr. Zhuang, and everyone figured out what was going on. It seemed that the relationship between these two fellow townsmen and classmates was not very good.
After they finished talking, Chen Fulin smiled and said to Mr. Zhuang, "I haven't seen you in many years, Brother Zhuang. How about we make an appointment to catch up?"
Mr. Zhuang smiled and said, "I think it's better to do it today than to wait for a day. Why not do it today?"
Chen Fulin was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, "That's too hasty. How about I host a banquet at Zhuangyuan Building some other day and invite Brother Zhuang to have a drink. I remember Brother Zhuang used to love drinking."
Mr. Zhuang said sadly, "Yes, drinking makes things difficult, so I have already given up."
The three disciples looked up at their teacher together and thought: No way, he obviously still likes to drink so much, it turns out that the teacher's mouth is deceiving.
Chen Fulin didn't believe it either. Wasn't he drunk the last time he ran into him in Zhuangyuan Building?
Mr. Jiang asked with a smile, "So you are not drunk on wine now, but drunk on tea?"
Mr. Zhuang nodded seriously, "Yes."
Mr. Chen, who had just had a drink with him a while ago: ...
Chen Fulin paused, then said, unwilling to give up, "I wonder where Brother Zhuang is staying after arriving in Beijing. How about I visit him tomorrow to reminisce about the past?"
"My humble room is humble, and I'm afraid I'd be disrespectful to Master Chen. I dare not invite you in." Mr. Zhuang pointed casually, not caring where it was, and said with a smile, "Master Chen and I have something to say. Why don't you lend me the convenience of being your host today?"
Mr. Jiang clapped his hands and smiled, "That's more casual, Lord Chen and Mr. Zhuang are old friends, so there's no need to be so polite. Just as Mr. Zhuang said, today is worse than tomorrow. Well, I think there's no need to go anywhere else. This place is perfect. We'll make room for you."
After that, he called out to everyone, "Let's go to the courtyard and see what good poems have been produced during this year's Mid-Autumn Festival."
Everyone had come to their senses long ago. Looking at the two people's attitudes, it seemed that there was no old affection, but there might be old grudges.
Everyone smiled politely and left with Mr. Jiang.
Peng Zhiru and Lu Xiaofo hesitated, glanced at Bai Shan, and then followed Mr. Jiang. Mr. Chen, who was about to catch up, turned back and saw Bai Shan and the other two standing still. He couldn't help but call out to them, "Let your husband speak. Come on, you just came from the courtyard, right? Take us over there and have a look."
The three of them turned their heads to look at their husband. Mr. Zhuang nodded slightly to them. The three of them looked at Chen Fulin again and thought that he looked only a little younger than their husband. Even if a fight broke out, their husband would not be at a disadvantage for a while, so they turned around and left together.
However, they refused to go to the courtyard. They found a slightly higher place to lean on and looked over there quietly. In case a fight really broke out, they could go to support as quickly as possible.
Seeing that they had all left, Mr. Zhuang extended his hand and said, "Master Chen, please take a seat."
Chen Fulin smiled bitterly and said, "Xunmei, do you really have to be so distant from me?"
Mr. Zhuang raised his eyes and looked at him calmly.
Chen Fulin slightly shifted his gaze, not looking into his eyes, his face still with the same sincere expression, "You, why are you in Beijing?"
"When people get older, they tend to reminisce about the past. As they think about it, they want to revisit places they've been before, so here they are."
Chen Fulin nodded and sighed, "Yes, I often think of the days when I was studying in Yizhou. I am one year older than you, but I still needed you to take care of me a lot. How long do you plan to stay in the capital this time?"
Mr. Zhuang poured himself a cup of tea and smiled faintly, "It's uncertain, maybe three to five months, maybe three to five years."
Chen Fulin clenched his fists, then relaxed after a moment. He asked with a smile, "Are those three young men your disciples? Are they coming to Beijing to study and planning to take the Imperial College entrance exam next year?"
Mr. Zhuang smiled but said nothing.
"I've heard before that you opened a school in Mianzhou and recruited disciples. I didn't expect you to have such excellent disciples. They seem to be quite young. How confident are you that you can pass the exam next year?"
Mr. Zhuang drank his tea, put it down, and said with a smile, "They don't need to take the exam anymore. They are already in the Imperial College now."
He laughed and said, "One is in the Imperial College, and the other is in the Imperial Academy. Their treatment is much better than what we received from the provincial academy back then. I remember that if we were lucky enough to be selected and recommended by the provincial academy, we could only enter the Four Gates Academy, right?"
"By the way, didn't Master Chen come from the Four Schools?"
Chen Fulin swallowed, glanced at Mr. Zhuang, then looked away and said with a smile, "That was also Xunmei's decision. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to enter the Imperial College in the last year."
Mr. Zhuang raised his lips and said nothing.
Chen Fulin said softly, "Xunmei, after you left the capital, I asked my classmates to find you and recommend you to Tongzhou as a county magistrate. As you know, my uncle was the governor of Tongzhou back then. If you had gone there, with your ability and my uncle's help, you would have been promoted to county magistrate in no time. Unfortunately, after you left the capital, we lost contact. I heard that you returned home and took your sister-in-law and nephew with you. Sigh... why did you do this?"
Mr. Zhuang looked at his kind face and suddenly felt annoyed. "Master Chen, just say whatever you want to say."
Chen Fulin shook his head. "Xunmei, you misunderstood me too deeply. I know that you wouldn't believe me even if I explained everything back then. But you have to believe that we have a bond. What happened back then was not my original intention. The last time I ran into you in Zhuangyuan Building, I thought it was you, but then I was afraid it wasn't you, so I sent servants to look for you..."
"I know," Mr. Zhuang said with a faint smile, "I know someone is following me in a car."
Chen Fulin choked.
Seeing Mr. Zhuang looking at him coldly, Chen Fulin raised his hand and swore, "Xunmei, I swear, I mean no harm. We are both so old, half buried in the ground, what else can I hide from you? I swear, whether it was more than 20 years ago or today, more than 20 years later, I have never thought of harming you."
Mr. Zhuang looked at him for a long moment, then nodded and said, "Okay, I believe you."
The name was wrong in the last chapter, I have corrected it. It is Chen Fulin, not Zhang Zheng. Zhang Zheng is Zhang Jinghao's grandfather.
The next update will be around 9:30 PM
(End of this chapter)
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