Zhang Shou visited countless royal palaces, castles and mansions in various countries in later generations. Therefore, even if he walked in the Zhao Guogong's mansion with a deep courtyard, he could see only the servants who came and went in uniform, their actions were neat, and the houses were neat, but he didn't even pay attention.
He didn't blink, and turned a blind eye from beginning to end. Instead, he pondered Ah Liu's little problem with great interest in his heart.
However, Qi Liang and Deng Xiaodai are different. They are both from the countryside. Although one has taken the county examination and the government examination successively, and the other has been working as a clerk in Shuntian government office for more than a month, strictly speaking, he is better than Zhang Shou.
They had stayed in the capital for a long time, but it was their first time entering such a wealthy family, and their trembling demeanor could not be concealed at all.
At this moment, Zhan Jin and Liu Yin, who had been sent back by Zhu Ying earlier to pay their respects to Madam Tai, who were waiting at the Chui Hua Gate, took Yu Tang and Yu Lan, the eldest girls in Qing'an Hall.
Seeing Zhang Shou slowly riding over, Liu Yin raised his eyebrows proudly and said, "I didn't lie to you, did I? Look at Mr. Shou, he looks like he came from a small country place! There is no other person like this in the entire capital.
So dignified!"
Yutang and Yulan stared at Zhang Shou for a long time. Then they realized that they had lost their temper and hurriedly looked away. Yulan, who had always been friends with Liuyin, even pinched her hard and said angrily:
"You still say? When we asked Mr. Shou just now, you were talking nonsense!"
Zhan Jin also said in a low voice: "Looking at the two students who have studied with Mr. Shou for two years, they are obviously much more restrained. In the past, I always thought that what kind of environment and soil will bring up what kind of people, but now I really don't believe this.
.The second young master is still clamoring that the embroidered pillow is a bag of straw. If this is really the case, why does Lu Sanlang, whom he desperately wants the eldest daughter to marry, stay in Rongshui Village and not come back? "
Yulan said thoughtfully: "Young Master Shou must have outstanding arithmetic talent. It's a pity that he doesn't know the classics and history, so it will be difficult to get into the examination room. But it's okay. As long as the wife is here, the eldest lady can go to the palace to ask for anything.
Come……"
Mother Li and Mother Jiang, who had been to Rongshui Village before, took the lead and stood at the front, but turned a deaf ear to the whispers of the girls behind them. Until Zhu Ying and Zhang Shou were getting closer and closer, the girls behind them finally restrained themselves.
There was silence for a moment, and then they all took a step forward.
"The eldest lady is well! Mr. Shou is well."
Zhang Shou couldn't help but sigh when he saw Zhu Ying dismounting from the horse without saying anything, with a neat and unrestrained movement. He regretted that he didn't play with horses much when he was the most willful in his previous life. It would be wrong for him to make such an action now.
It was completely impossible. Fortunately, the person holding the horse was Ah Liu. When he turned over and dismounted, Ah Liu's support was quite good and he finally landed firmly on the ground.
He smiled and nodded slightly to the people who came to greet him. When he saw Zhu Ying abandoning him and rushing into the hanging flower door, a large number of orioles came forward and surrounded him in an instant. He just felt that he was now a newcomer.
Lin Daiyu of Rongguo Mansion was almost overwhelmed by makeup. He took a deep breath and finally did not move immediately, but decided to follow his own pace.
"Xiao Qi and Xiao Dai are my students, and Ah Liu has been following me for many years. Can I take them with me to meet the Madam?"
Faced with such a request from Zhang Shou, Li's mother and others were all caught off guard. Even more caught off guard were Qi Liang and Deng Xiaodai. Although they followed the Duke of Zhao's mansion, they were thinking about what happened after Zhang Shou met the concubine.
Maybe he would come to discuss with them about the government examination rankings. Who would have thought that he would immediately offer to take them with him!
Mother Li was the first to come back to her senses. Seeing Ah Liu's calm expression, she quickly smiled and said, "That's natural. Madam Tai likes the juniors to get together. She's older, who doesn't like a lively scene? The eldest lady is anxious first.
Come in, Mr. Shou and everyone will follow me."
Zhang Shou didn't know whether Mother Li had obtained permission in advance or was adapting to the situation, but since she let him go easily, he thanked her with a smile, then turned to Qi Liang and Deng Xiaodai and nodded slightly, but he didn't expect them to be able to do anything without it.
Nervous. As for the expressionless Ah Liu, he didn't think this kid would be nervous at all...
After passing the hanging flower gate, you are facing a row of five spacious main rooms. At dusk, the bright tile lamps in the yard have been lit up, illuminating the surrounding quaint houses. Zhang Shou followed the leader who led the way.
Mother Li was walking leisurely on the bluestone corridor, occasionally glancing at the lush and towering tree in the yard, and a completely unrelated thought came to her mind.
There is a saying that planting trees in the courtyard means one is sleepy. The lady is really not a taboo person, but it is hard to say. Maybe planting trees inside the door means one is free?
There was a girl holding a curtain in front of the main house. After Zhang Shou entered the house, he found that it was different from the darkness of most houses these days after nightfall, but was extremely bright. The light came from the glazed lamps on the top and around.
, although it was still difficult to illuminate this huge room like daylight, it made him, who used to like bright lights the most, feel at ease and comfortable.
To be honest, what I am most uncomfortable with after traveling through time is that it is so dim at night that I can’t do anything serious...
And because of the bright light, when he bypassed the central partition and came to the back room, Zhang Shou could clearly see the old woman sitting in the main seat. Zhu Ying was originally wearing a royal blue men's suit, and her gorgeous and gorgeous temperament hit her face.
came, but even so, the old woman next to her who was obviously already gray-haired was still eye-catching.
She sat there quietly, holding Zhu Ying's hand with both hands, with a smile on her lips, and the warmth of an older person in her eyebrows, but her extremely quiet and gentle demeanor gave him the feeling of a sword hidden in a sheath.
.However, when his eyes met hers, he clearly felt that those originally scrutinizing eyes suddenly changed.
"Ah Shou, this is my grandmother!"
Zhu Ying's reminder pulled Zhang Shou out of his doubts. He quickly stepped forward, bowed deeply and said, "Zhang Shou has met the Madam."
However, compared to Zhang Shou, Mrs. Tai finally came to her senses after a moment. She showed a somewhat forced smile, actually let go of the hand that she had just held on Zhu Ying, stood up from her seat, and stepped forward to hold the hand in person.
Zhang Shou helped him up.
Not counting this, she pressed Zhang Shou's arms gently with both hands, as if she was facing a junior close to her, looked at his face again and again, and finally said softly: "After so many years, I don't want you to be alone anymore."
Now that you have grown so big, I dare not recognize you. Before, they came back and told you how handsome you were, how you had outstanding conduct, and how you were proficient in arithmetic... But these are nothing compared to what I saw with my own eyes."
Zhang Shou could clearly feel that the force pressing on his arm was getting stronger and stronger, which seemed to indicate the madam's agitated mood. When they met for the first time, he thought about it again and again, and finally decided that it would be better to say less.
So I just smiled at her.
"The Madam is so complimentary."
These simple six words, coupled with Zhang Shou's clean and clear smile, made the wife startled again. It wasn't until Zhu Ying stepped forward to hold her arm and act coquettishly that she shook her head at her granddaughter in annoyance,
Then he looked at Zhang Shou again.
"Yingying has always been spoiled by me and her father. It was thanks to you mother and son taking care of her before. She has caused you a lot of troubles with her willfulness. Even the rebels are because of her relationship with those dudes.
"
Zhang Shou saw that Mrs. Tai had already returned to her seat with Zhu Ying's support, while Mother Li had spread a cushion on the next chair. He knew it was for him, so he stepped forward and sat down happily.
"Originally, I just sent the folks from the village to the city to sell grain. I went back after meeting the teacher and the wife, and didn't plan to stay any longer. As a result, when I left the teacher's place, it happened to be the time when the results of the government examination were released. Xiao Qi, who I had taught for two years, unexpectedly
It’s on the list, ranked seventh.”
As Zhang Shou spoke, he waved to Qi Liang and Deng Xiaodai. When they both stepped forward to salute the wife, he suddenly realized that Ah Liu was missing. But when he looked sideways, he saw only this elusive boy.
I don’t know when it actually appeared behind me!
"Seventh in the government examination, the future generations are to be feared!"
Mrs. Tai nodded and signaled to Mother Li and Mother Jiang to help Qi Liang and Deng Xiaodai up. She was saying words of praise. The beads in her hand were also turning one by one, but her eyes suddenly narrowed: "Listen to what Yingying said.
, you went to see Taishi Ge before, but you met a lot of people at the door asking for academic papers? "
"Yes. That little matter has been solved." Zhang Shou did not say much about how he solved it, but said calmly, "Although Xiao Qi got some guidance from the teacher and read a lot of books in recent days, his foundation is quite weak.
, after Xiao Dai entered the government office, I didn’t give them any lectures. I want to ask Mrs. Tai shamelessly to leave them here tonight and I give them a lecture. How about it? "
The madam looked at Zhang Shou in surprise, and then she smiled so much that her eyebrows stretched out.
"For such a trivial matter, do you need to ask for help? The rooms on both sides of my Qing'an Hall are empty. The three of you... no, I should say four, will stay in my east and west wing tonight!"