Chapter 101 Li Yang's Reunion with Relatives: Zhou Chengli's Teacher Appreciation Banquet
The imperial examinations begin in March, and talented scholars from all over the country flock to the capital to take them, which unexpectedly boosts the business of teahouses.
Li Yang happily counted the silver, "Sister Ziyan, I've noticed that the business these days is all thanks to you. Tea is one thing, music is another. Why don't you teach me how to play the zither?"
Ziyan put away the guqin and said mischievously, "He's not the most impatient with music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, but now he's willing to compromise for money. I wonder how Young Master Zhou did on the exam this time."
"Don't worry, with Young Master Zhou receiving instruction from renowned teachers, he's sure to win the imperial examination." It was Youfeng who spoke.
Everyone in the shop knew that Youfeng's father had gone to the capital to take the imperial examination and never returned to the town, which was why she and her mother were struggling to make ends meet.
Li Yang smiled and said, "In my opinion, nothing beats money. Youfeng, this is your monthly allowance."
She had always loved money, so she assumed that everyone in the world loved money. Her way of comforting people was simple: give them a handful of silver and they'd cure all ills.
This sum of money was a fitting remedy for Youfeng's sorrow.
"Thank you, boss." Youfeng waved happily, "Boss, boss."
Seeing the people coming and going in the store, Li Yang was momentarily stunned. "Oh, what's wrong?"
"After Young Master Zhou finishes his exams, shouldn't we host a banquet to thank his teachers? I heard people say the other day that banquets to thank teachers are popular in the capital."
Youfeng's suggestion immediately caught Liyang's attention. How could the Bai family restaurant not host a banquet to thank teachers?
Not only should we hold a thank-you banquet for Zhou Chengli, but also for many, many other teachers. "Brother Chengli, hehe, thank you in advance!"
-
Time passed, the imperial examination ended, and on the day the results were announced, Zhou Chengli indeed ranked first.
Zhou Huiyuan's banquet to thank his teachers was held at Baijia Restaurant. In preparation for this day, Baijia Restaurant posted a notice three days in advance that it would be closed for one day.
Congratulations, Zhou Huiyuan!
"Congratulations."
"Zhou Huiyuan is quick-witted and will surely become the top scholar in the imperial examination."
"Chengli," a hoarse male voice rang out.
Zhou Chengli looked up and quickly greeted him with a smile, "Teacher!"
She pulled the group of visitors to sit down and said, "Teacher, this shop is run by a friend of mine in Songshan Town. Don't let her appearance fool you; she even received a calligraphy inscription from the Emperor himself at the town's teahouse."
"Oh?" The visitor asked with a hint of curiosity. "I have also heard that His Majesty passed through Songshan Post Station during his last southern tour. He was delighted and bestowed inscriptions and rewards, of course. But I heard that His Majesty praised the Chen family, the salt merchants. Could it be the friend you mentioned?"
"The Chen family of salt merchants?" A young woman beside the old man suddenly looked up and asked, "Is it the leading merchant Chen Junbai? Then is your friend the young mistress of the Chen family?"
"Reporting to Prime Minister Zhuang, Miss Zhuang is indeed the young mistress of the Chen family." With that, Zhou Chengli sent someone to inform Li Yang to come and greet her.
“Brother Chengli.” Li Yang rushed over, wiping his hands. “You…”
She looked up and saw an elderly man sitting before her, with an extraordinary bearing, a broad face and a kind expression, dressed in an ochre brocade robe. Beside the old man sat a young woman, wearing an orange brocade jacket with peony patterns, and her hair adorned with a red and gold hairpin with peach and white peach patterns and bat motifs, and pearl earrings.
Li Yang stared intently at the person in front of him, unable to believe his eyes, and stammered without being able to utter a sound.
Zhou Chengli urged from the side, "Zhaozhao, this is Prime Minister Zhuang, and Miss Zhuang."
Li Yang's eyes widened, and his lips trembled as he asked, "Mother?"
...
When everyone came to their senses, they saw that Miss Zhuang's eyes were also red, and she was trembling as she helped herself up by Li Yang's arms. "Zhao Zhao, it's Mother."
It turns out that Li Yue's mother is Zhuang Shutong, the eldest daughter of the Prime Minister.
In her early years, Zhuang Shutong was exceptionally beautiful and a renowned beauty in the capital. However, she looked down on the imperial family and nobility and fell in love with a guard. The Zhuang family disapproved of the marriage and intended to find Zhuang Shutong another suitable husband. However, this young lady of the Zhuang family was bold and decisive. She immediately wrote a letter with her lover and left home.
The two ran to Songshan Town and settled down, and that's how Liyang came to be.
Upon hearing this story, everyone turned to look at Prime Minister Zhuang. For the Prime Minister's household, this matter was hardly honorable; countless stories in tales depicted powerful families sacrificing their own children for the sake of their family's reputation, sending chills down one's spine.
Ziyan said, "Zhaozhao only knew herself as an orphan in Songshan Town. It is her wish to see her mother this time. However, if it is inconvenient to acknowledge her relatives, Zhaozhao is still the wife of the salt merchant, and General Manager Chen can protect her."
Upon hearing this, Zhuang Xiang chuckled softly, "And who is this?"
"This humble woman, Ziyan, greets Prime Minister Zhuang."
"Miss Ziyan has been quite protective of my granddaughter. I imagine you two have been looking after each other regularly these past few days." The old prime minister pleaded earnestly, his tone solemn. "When Shutong left home, it became a deep sorrow for my wife and me. Her mother, longing for her daughter, passed away several years later. Now, I am determined not to let that tragedy repeat itself. In any case, Zhaozhao is first and foremost my Zhuang family's granddaughter, and only secondly his salt merchant's wife."
"Zhaozhao, your grandfather is asking you, did the salt merchant treat you badly, which is why you went to the capital alone?"
The old prime minister had keen insight. If a couple were truly harmonious, what young lady would willingly abandon her husband and home to come to the capital alone? Could the Chen family, the salt merchants, be so poor they couldn't even afford to eat, that they needed their granddaughter, a farmer's daughter, to put herself in public?
“Grandpa…” Li Yang was in a daze. He used to call Zhang Maolin by the same name as Chen Junbai, but now the person in front of him was his maternal grandfather.
"Oh, my dear, call out again." Zhuang Xiangguo doted on his granddaughter who had returned home halfway through the journey, and his previous seriousness vanished instantly.
A banquet to thank teachers turned into a family reunion.
After this incident, Zhou Chengli finally understood that there was such a hidden reason behind his initial visit to the Prime Minister's residence with his invitation.
He came from Songshan Town, because Zhuang Xiang's daughter had once stayed in the town, and another daughter was stranded in Songshan Town.
Why doesn't Miss Zhuang find her daughter?
"Mother, why don't you come to find me?"
After the banquet, Li Yang asked Zhuang Xiang to take her home. In the study, she looked at her mother with her beautiful eyes sparkling.
Zhuang Shutong shook his head and said, "Your father disappeared suspiciously back then. The next day, on my way to find him, I had someone bring him back to the capital. Later, I learned that your maternal grandfather's people had been keeping an eye on our family's activities in Songshan Town all these years."
But even after returning to the capital, I still couldn't find any trace of your father. Your father was a royal guard back then; he was highly skilled in martial arts. Anyone who could take him away so secretly must be no ordinary person. I was afraid that you would run into trouble in the capital, so I thought I would wait until things in the capital were resolved before bringing you back.
I knew you were having a hard time, so I asked the Taoist priest to look after you. But then he sent word that you had married into the Chen family, a salt merchant family. The young master of the Chen family is of upright character, so I postponed my plans to bring you back to the capital. Why are you going to the capital alone now?”
Li Yang was surprised, "Taoist priest? Is that the charlatan from the Xiahai Temple?"
Zhuang Shutong smiled and nodded.
"It turns out that the Taoist priest had been communicating with my mother all these years. No wonder I was never caught sleeping in the temple..." Li Yang recalled to himself, "Then he would trick me with those words every month and even charge me copper coins!"
Zhuang Shutong chuckled, "You still haven't told your mother why you came to the capital alone? Is it because you're not on good terms with that General Manager Chen?"
Zhuang Xiang snorted, "A mere salt merchant dares to bully my grandson. If you've been wronged, tell your grandfather, and I'll beat that Chen family brat to a pulp."
Thinking of Chen Junbo's flustered state, Li Yang chuckled, "Grandpa, Mom, he treats me extremely well."
To be fair, Chen Junbo treated him very well, but there were always times when they couldn't understand each other.
"I wanted to see if I could run the business successfully, so I came to the capital on a merchant ship, hiding from him."
Upon hearing this, the two dealers were extremely surprised. "You're incredibly bold!"
The three generations of the family talked by candlelight, and Li Yang recounted everything that had happened in the town: the embroidered ball, the teahouse, Madam Zhang's scheme, and Lin Yihuai's thorough investigation of the salt industry in Lianghuai.
After a long silence, Zhuang Xiang said, "He is still considered to care about the people and deserves to be called my Zhuang family's grandson-in-law."
Zhuang Shutong looked worried and puzzled. "Father, they have now fallen out with Zhang Youdao. They are related to the Ji family by marriage. If this continues, I'm afraid something bad will happen."
"What's there to be afraid of?" The old prime minister stroked his beard. "The Ji family's time has come."
-
The news of Li Yang's reunion with his relatives spread like wildfire throughout the capital, eventually reaching the Chen family's salt shop in Songshan Town.
Bi Fang was stunned when he received the letter. He read the letter three times, inside and out, and after confirming that Xiao Lu had not misspoke, he was so surprised that he couldn't close his mouth.
“Bi Fang, the steward,” Liu Yitong said, having nothing better to do than come to the Chen family to freeload. Ever since Chen Junbai boarded the ship, he had been coming to the Chen family every now and then to bully Bi Fang. “What are you looking at?”
He peeked out and was stunned, as if struck by lightning. "What? That little girl is the Prime Minister's granddaughter?"
With a loud shout, half the people in Songshan Town knew that the wonton lady who had been hit by the embroidered ball from the salt merchant Chen family was actually the granddaughter of the prime minister who had been living among the common people.
"Tsk tsk tsk, it must be because the Chen family ancestors burned incense that they were able to climb up to the Prime Minister's mansion."
"That's right. Who would have guessed that when that girl was selling wontons, she wouldn't give a single penny on credit?"
"Shh, keep your voice down. You don't want to live anymore? You're taking a penny from Lai Xiangguo's granddaughter."
"Alas, I've heard that the mother-in-law of the Chen family is not easy to deal with. I wonder how she is doing now."
The news leaked out and sneaked into the Zhang family's old residence. Upon hearing this, Zhang Lingshuang was slightly taken aback. "The granddaughter of Prime Minister Zhuang?"
The servant nodded silently; it was not proper to comment on the affairs of her master.
"So she's the prime minister's granddaughter. No wonder she has such an air about her." Zhang Lingshuang shook her head with a wry smile.
If she had known her status was so noble, she would have gone mad rather than have tried to harm her.
Now that things have come to this, although Ruqing and Liu Rufang have paid for that fatal blow, she no longer knows what awaits her ahead. And what does it matter? Her life has been like this: what she desires is always out of reach, and no matter how hard she tries, it always seems to go in the opposite direction.
Her slender hands swiftly rubbed the prayer beads, and the young woman chanting sutras felt even more devout.
Memories are fleeting, and who knows what will happen next?
The maidservant gently closed the door to the Buddhist chamber from the outside, and light streamed in through the latticework, causing dust motes to dance in the light.
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