Deep House
"It's a problem I brought from the womb."
Hearing this, Zhao Mingyan suddenly recalled what Tan Linshuang said on the day of her return home.
Every word is clear.
"Oh!"
She smiled, her words hinting at something else: "It's hard to imagine what my husband looked like when he was strong and muscular."
Ah Tao still didn't notice the strange look in her eyes and continued, "It was all so long ago, so long ago that I almost forgot the scene when the young master fought five people alone as a child."
"He's fighting one against five?" Zhao Mingyan immediately raised her eyebrows.
Ah Tao nodded enthusiastically, "Young Master was a formidable fighter when he was little, thanks to his martial arts training. While other kids would just swing their fists and kick their legs, he'd just stand in a horse stance and raise his hands. His mere display of power could intimidate even older kids, and when he did it, he was incredibly effective."
As she spoke, A Tao couldn't help but gesture a few times.
Tai Chi?
Zhao Mingyan speculated that the way A Tao cut the watermelon in half and I in half was because Tan Linshuang might have learned Tai Chi as a child.
Tai Chi was not yet popular at that time, and there were only the prototypes of some schools. It was not easy to learn, as it required the integration of mind, breath, and body.
Zhao Mingyan is an impatient person and doesn't have the patience. He still prefers straightforward boxing and kicking.
If Tan Linshuang had been practicing Tai Chi since childhood, her physical foundation should have been pretty good. How could she have ended up in such a state, and be rumored to not live past her twenties?
How did the saying "not surviving past the ripe old age" first spread? And who started it?
"Atao, there are rumors in the streets..." Zhao Mingyan tried to ask Atao.
Ah Tao was stunned and waved her hands quickly, "Madam, please don't believe the rumors. Although the young master is frail now, his condition is not serious enough to cause him to die young."
"It must be someone who has a grudge against our Tan family and is maliciously spreading rumors!"
Zhao Mingyan's eyes suddenly became sharp, "Does the Tan family have any enemies?"
It is inevitable for merchants to have conflicts of interest with their peers or buyers. It is possible to make enemies, but making enemies...that is not just a matter of conflict of interest.
Ah Tao hesitated, "I'm not too sure. It seems like there's a group of people secretly targeting our Tan family. They must have spread those rumors, which caused our young master's wedding to be delayed again and again... Well! Of course, good things come to those who wait. For our young master, being able to marry the young mistress is truly a blessing in disguise."
She finally changed the subject and started flattering Zhao Mingyan again.
Zhao Mingyan just smiled and said nothing.
Suddenly, she thought of another question.
"Didn't your grandfather take a concubine when he was alive?"
Since my grandmother always claimed that it was normal for a man to have three wives and four concubines, then why were there no concubines or illegitimate sons and grandsons in the huge Tan Mansion?
"some."
Ah Tao nodded. "When my brother and I were brought to the Tan Mansion, we met a concubine's old lady. The illegitimate master and daughter also met. Unfortunately, the master was always ill and died before he got married. The daughter got married not long after. After the master passed away, the concubine's old lady moved to the villa where the ancestral tomb is located, saying that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with the master."
I don’t believe it!
Zhao Mingyan said secretly.
Most likely, he was sent there by his grandmother to guard the tomb.
From this perspective, her concubine's fate was not bad. At least she didn't have to stare at the ancestors of the Zhao family all day long.
She continued to listen calmly.
"Later, the young lady's husband passed away due to illness. As she had no children, she could no longer stay in her husband's family. The old lady couldn't bear to see her suffer there, so she took her back."
"Brought him back? Why didn't I see him?" Zhao Mingyan was surprised.
She didn't know yet that there was a concubine named Tan Linshuang living in this mansion.
Ah Tao explained, "She didn't live in the mansion. She was sent to the Chastity Hall by the old lady. The old lady said that the women of the Tan family may be untalented or incompetent, but they must remain chaste. After their husbands die, they must remain chaste. If they can't serve their uncles and aunts, they must be alone."
Haha…how determined to remain loyal!
If I marry into the family after Tan Linshuang dies, I'm afraid my grandmother will nail me to the pillar of shame, right?
Pulling the corner of his mouth, Zhao Mingyan continued to ask calmly, "The Tan Mansion is so big, grandfather must have taken in more than one concubine, right?"
From what A Tao had just said, Zhao Mingyan guessed that there should be two or more concubines in the family.
The restrictions on the number of concubines that merchants in our dynasty could take were not as strict as those for officials. For example, a prince could take eight concubines, a duke could take four, a cabinet minister or a minister of one of the six ministries could also take four, while prefects, county magistrates and other middle and low-level officials could only take two.
But common people cannot be superior to the powerful and wealthy. Even if there is no limit on the number of concubines a wealthy businessman can have, the maximum number is two or three.
Ah Tao nodded and said, "There were three concubines in total. I heard from the elders in the mansion that when the master was alive, in addition to the two sons born to the principal wife, the third concubine gave birth to five sons and two daughters for him. Unfortunately, they encountered a great plague, and the family has been dwindling ever since."
Zhao Mingyan understood.
She knew more about the great plague that A Tao mentioned.
During those two years, many people did die in Fushun County, and even wealthy families could not escape the disaster.
After asking some more questions, Zhao Mingyan discovered that A Tao actually didn't know much. Although she had come to the Tan Mansion when she was about four or five years old, apart from witnessing the accident of Tan Linshuang's parents, she had never experienced many major events of the Tan family.
The major change in the Tan family should have started from the previous generation, perhaps because of the plague, or perhaps for some other reason.
"A Tao, I've been married into the Tan family for so long, and I haven't even had a proper tour of the Tan Mansion!"
Zhao Mingyan suddenly changed the subject and, taking advantage of the fact that the three masters of the Tan family were not at home today, asked A Tao to take her and Xiao Zhu to visit the backyard.
"Wow! I didn't expect that there is such a hidden gem in the backyard of the Tan Mansion."
Leaving the north courtyard and passing through a bamboo forest in the house, the scene in front of him suddenly became clear, which amazed Xiaozhu.
It is also a quadrangle courtyard, but the Tan family, who make their living from bamboo forests, has a backyard full of the "cold, clean and green" style. The dug pool is winding and the water bamboo is reflected.
Unlike the Zhao Mansion's backyard which is decorated with lanterns everywhere, the Tan Mansion's backyard has a relatively simple color scheme, with green and gray as the only colors. However, the dullness is hidden through exquisite carvings. Beautiful carvings can be seen everywhere on the screen wall, flower wall, doors and windows.
"How do you feel?" Zhao Mingyan asked Xiaozhu in a low voice, glancing at A Tao who was leading the way in front.
Xiaozhu covered her lips and said, "The Tan family is richer than I thought."
Zhao Mingyan rolled her eyes in response.
Xiaozhu added, "If our Zhao family is a beautiful girl from a small family, then the Tan family is definitely a lady from a big family."
"That's all?" Zhao Mingyan looked at her.
Xiaozhu scratched her head and thought for a moment, then her almond-shaped eyes widened and she smiled slyly, "If you can outlast those three Tans, you'll be incredibly wealthy, Miss... Ouch!"
Before he could finish his words, Zhao Mingyan slapped him on the back of his head.
"You're so outspoken!"
After a stern rebuke, Zhao Mingyan held his head high and said, "There's no need to outlast them. With my own abilities, I can become wealthy."
"Hehe!" Xiaozhu rubbed the back of his head with a wry smile.
Zhao Mingyan pulled her closer, quickly glanced at Ah Tao, who was still walking ahead, and said to her in a low voice, "Don't you think the structure of the Tan Mansion's backyard is very easy to hide secrets?"
Xiaozhu blinked and took another close look at the Nanzhai where she was.
It is also composed of a patio, a main courtyard, a servants' courtyard, a study courtyard, a back garden, etc. Apart from the interlaced bamboo forests, there is nothing special at first glance. But after hearing what Zhao Mingyan said, Xiaozhu suddenly realized that this place seemed to be very soundproof. After entering, he could not hear any movement outside.
Not only that, the dense bamboo forest also forms a natural barrier, and the bamboo forest is also unfathomable.
"It must be scary to walk through here at night. Fortunately, we don't have so many bamboos planted in our north yard." Xiaozhu patted his chest.
Zhao Mingyan smiled meaningfully, "This is what a truly wealthy family looks like."
After touring the backyard, Zhao Mingyan returned to the north courtyard and took out the Mingyuezhai account book that he had asked his mother for last time from the room. He took it to the study and read it carefully.
Before she got married, she was the one who kept the accounts. After the marriage was decided, this matter was handed over to Li Yuzhu.
Li Yuzhu's father was a private school teacher, so Li Yuzhu was not only literate but also knew mathematics, so there was no problem with the accounts.
Zhao Mingyan breathed a sigh of relief, closed the account book, and opened a picture album.
This is a booklet with yellowed pages, filled with drawings of lantern designs. From the Song Dynasty to the Ming Dynasty, it records the changes in the shapes of lanterns in Mingyuezhai, and also shows the evolution of lantern styles with the change of dynasties.
During the Song Dynasty, new styles such as the zoetrope and Aoshan lantern appeared. Mingyuezhai followed suit and made zoetrope lanterns with gilt and enamel. They also painted story scenes such as "The Phoenix Seeks the Phoenix" on the lantern surface, which made them famous in the capital and they presented lanterns to the imperial palace.
During the Ming Dynasty, there were many improvements in the shape, including flowers, birds, fish, insects, human figures, landscapes... Mingyuezhai also had rich and varied styles.
But no matter how it changes, the core remains the synthesis of techniques of splitting bamboo, building frames, pasting and painting. There seems to be no breakthrough in the core techniques of making lanterns.
However, Mingyuezhai was always inferior to others in terms of style renewal, and eventually disappeared from the Lantern Festival market in Beijing...
"What kind of lantern can make a big splash?" Zhao Mingyan frowned.
After a moment, she ground the ink, picked up the brush, and drew the outline of a lantern on the paper.
"The lights are like neon clothes..."
Then, she used colorful colors to dye the lantern.
"Something's missing."
She blew on the paper, and a round colorful lantern appeared before her eyes, but she was not very satisfied.
"The form is beautiful, but the spirit is lacking."
She remembered what her father once said: when making lanterns, one must also have both form and spirit.
Immediately, she picked up the pen again and drew a silhouette in the lantern, a silhouette of a tall and majestic figure.
"The lantern shines on people, and the bright moon chases their shadows."
She smiled and put down the brush with satisfaction.
"Haha... I didn't eat much snacks today, so I feel sleepier than usual."
She yawned and fell into a deep sleep on the desk.
She seemed to have a dream. She dreamed that the figure in the painting was moving in the lantern and was calling her softly.
"Madam...Madam..."
“Hmm…”
Zhao Mingyan opened her eyes slowly and saw Tan Linshuang's face right in front of her.
Seeing that she had regained consciousness, he pointed to the painting beside her and asked jokingly, "Madam, are you planning to lock me up in a lantern?"
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