Chapter 301: A Small Tour of the Qujiang River (Part 2)
The entire south bank of Qujiang Pool is dotted with more than 300 large and small garden houses, belonging to the royal family, relatives, Guanlong nobles, famous families, and those who helped quell the rebellion.
Guo Song was also rewarded with a garden house because of his great contribution in the Lu Sigong incident.
Gardens and houses are all rewarded by the emperor, but there are two types of rewards. One is public reward. Most of the gardens and houses are awarded to meritorious officials. For example, Guo Ziyi’s garden and house covers nearly 200 acres and covers a vast area. Li Guangbi, Li Siye,
Bai Xiaode, Ma Lin and other heroes who helped quell the rebellion were also rewarded with gardens and houses. The gardens and houses of Yuan Zai, Li Fuguo, Yu Chaoen and others all exceeded 300 acres. They have been recovered and are in the hands of the emperor.
The other is a private reward. The emperor Li Yu privately owned more than a dozen gardens and houses, which were awarded to Guo Song as the emperor's personal property. There was no record in the court.
Guo Song's garden house covers about forty acres. It is a relatively small house with access to land and water. The location is not bad. It was originally the house of the famous Prime Minister Zhang Shuo. It was sold by his grandson ten years ago and was purchased by Li Yu through the emperor.
Commercial agent Li An bought it back and became one of Li Yu's private properties. He gave it to Guo Song two years ago.
The garden house is a garden-style residence, with pavilions, famous rockery trees, and a gurgling river. It is extremely beautifully built. There is also an artificial hill surrounded by big trees. On the top of the three-foot-high hill is a white jade pavilion.
At the foot of the mountain is a small lake of about five acres, connected to the Qujiang Pond outside by a culvert.
Surrounding the lake is a circle of bridges and corridors, connecting the three main courtyards together. In the garden house, there are winding paths leading to secluded bamboo forests, as well as mountain pavilions that can be climbed up to look into the distance. Various buildings are exquisite and exquisite, changing the scenery as you move.
Xue Tao stood in the pavilion on the top of the mountain, looking at the surrounding lakes and mountains, the clear water like jade, and the distant peaks like black daisy. She couldn't help but dream of the mistress's dream. She wanted to rebuild this pavilion, and the second floor would be her home.
In the tea-reading place, she can light a burner of incense, make a pot of good tea, and grab a book she likes. She can spend most of her day here.
"Do you like it here?" Guo Song asked with a smile.
He has always been paying attention to this little woman he loves. He likes her fairy-like appearance, her unique literary flavor, and her generous character. He sees her like a happy bird, sitting by the lake for a while.
Watching the fish, and then pulling himself up to the top of the mountain to admire the color of the lake and water, everything comes from his heart's love, without any pretense, which makes Guo Song's heart full of joy.
Xue Tao turned around and said to him with a smile: "Guo Lang, I think this pavilion should be turned into a pavilion. You can lean out the window and look out into the distance. What do you think?
?”
Guo Song gently hugged her shoulders and said with a smile: "You are right, the wind is strong here and the pavilion is a bit cool. It should be made into a pavilion. You can sit in front of the window and read a book, play the piano, or draw a distant picture."
In the picture of mountains and rivers, I just sit aside and admire the beauty, not the beauty in the mirror."
Xue Tao pursed his lips and smiled, leaning on his shoulder gently, and the two of them enjoyed the beautiful scenery of the lake in the distance.
At this time, Guo Song suddenly heard a long cry above his head, 'chirp——'
Guo Song quickly touched the top of his head. His hat was gone. Xue Tao used his white handkerchief as a scarf to cover his bun. It looked good.
Mengzi's anger seemed to have dissipated, and he fell directly on Guo Song's shoulder, tilting his head and looking curiously at Xue Tao on the other side.
"Bad boy, let me introduce to you, this beauty will be your aunt from now on!"
"screw you!"
Xue Tao blushed and punched Guo Song twice on the shoulder with a small pink fist, "What kind of aunt am I?"
She also looked at Mengzi curiously and asked cautiously: "Guo Lang, will it bite me?"
"No! My nephew has always valued sex over friends. If you don't believe me, just hand him your palm."
Xue Tao thought for a while and slowly handed over his palm.
Mengzi turned his head and looked left and right at her curiously, then suddenly stretched out his sharp beak and gently pecked her palm twice.
Xue Tao chuckled, "Guo Lang, Mengzi really knows!"
"It is very intelligent and can detect the enemy's situation. Everyone in Fengzhou calls it the Scout General."
Guo Song immediately said: "Go! Find a big tree here and live here. This will be our new home from now on."
Mengzi flapped his wings and flew towards the tallest tree. There was a big bird's nest on the tree. Guo Song suddenly lost his temper. When can this guy change his habit of occupying other people's properties?
"Lao Wu!" Zhang Lei's shout came from the bottom of the mountain.
"It seems that senior brother is calling us, let's go down!"
"Um!"
Xue Tao nodded obediently, took Guo Song's arm and walked down the mountain.
"My father said that a garden house is a symbol of status and status, and ordinary people cannot get it no matter how rich they are. How did Guo Lang get it?" Xue Tao asked curiously.
Guo Song smiled and said: "This house was established by me after I solved Lu Sigong's problem and prevented tens of millions of wealth from falling into the hands of the vassal town. In addition, I participated in the annihilation of Li Fuguo, Yu Chaoen, Yuan Zai and others.
Merit, the reward specially given to me by the emperor, is his personal reward, not the merit of the court. According to the merit of the court, I am indeed not qualified to get this house."
"When did it happen?" Xue Tao asked again.
"Two years ago! The last time we met in Luoyang, I came back from completing a mission. Soon the emperor rewarded me with this garden house."
"Last time...where was the little maid who followed you?"
It has to be said that the focus of women's attention is always hard to guard against.
"Are you talking about Xiaoyu Niang? She is in Fengzhou. I didn't bring her back this time."
"Is she your little maid, or..." Xue Tao asked again.
"She thinks she is my little maid, but I regard her as my sister. When I meet a suitable family in the future, I will marry her off, and I will also prepare a dowry for her."
Guo Song briefly told the story of how he and Xiaoyu Niang met.
Xue Tao was a little surprised. That little girl didn't look amazing, but she was actually an assassin from the famous Hidden Sword Pavilion.
The two walked down the hill quickly and saw Zhang Lei and his wife standing in front of an open space. Xue Tao quickly let go of Guo Song and stepped forward to hold Li Wenyu's hand. The two women commented on the house with great interest.
"Junior brother, your sister-in-law and I have differences about this open space. She said we can build a separate courtyard. I think we can grow vegetables, just like the two plots of land behind our Qingxu Temple. We can grow some radishes. What do you think?"
Guo Song looked at the open space, which was two acres in length. It was very smooth and even without weeds. It was surrounded by stone strips. He thought about it and said with a smile: "If this land is not used temporarily, it can be used."
It can be used to grow flowers and vegetables for the time being, and if the house is not enough for living in the future, it can be used to build a house."
Zhang Lei rolled his eyes. Such offending words were in vain. Forget it, he patted his stomach and said, "I'm hungry, let's go eat!"
Guo Song looked at the sky and saw that it was almost noon. He nodded, "How about we go to Qujiang Restaurant?"
"You are a promising kid, okay? If you want to eat, of course you have to go to Qingqiu Island. I sent someone to make a reservation yesterday. Let's go!"
The junior brothers were leading the way, and the two women were walking behind arm in arm. Zhang Lei asked in a low voice: "Are you really planning to marry the young lady of the Xue family?"
Guo Song smiled and asked: "Do you think she is not suitable for me?"
Zhang Lei hesitated and said: "Brother, there is something in my heart that only my brother can tell you. If you don't listen to me, don't be angry."
"Say it! I'm not angry."
Zhang Lei quickly glanced back from the corner of his eye and saw that the two women were some distance away from them, then he whispered: "For you, getting a wife is a matter of future. With your conditions, you can definitely marry a noble or a nobleman."
The daughter of a famous family, Mrs. Xue is a nice person, but her family background is still a little low. I sent someone to find out. Although her ancestor is Xue Daoheng, a famous scholar from the previous dynasty, her father is a concubine of a side branch of the Xue family.
, basically you have no background, if you marry Xue Xiaoniang, you will lose the opportunity to get to the top through marriage."
Guo Song smiled lightly and said: "I believe that I have a deeper understanding of marriage than the average person. It is really not easy to meet a woman who makes me attracted. Senior brother, although you have good intentions, please don't persuade me anymore."
"Nonsense! You have a shitty experience with marriage, and I don't know about it? You are just a chick, you have never even touched a woman..."
"Senior brother——" Guo Song lengthened his voice unhappily.
"Forget it! Forget it! In fact, Miss Xue is also very good. It's better than marrying some Huihe princess or Princess Sijie in the future."
At this moment, Zhang Lei suddenly figured out that he was just a businessman. If his fifth brother really married a daughter of a Guanlong noble, he would definitely look down on him. He might as well just marry Xue Xiaoniang.
Considering her own interests, Xue Xiaoniang is indeed the most suitable for her junior brother.
Zhang Lei stopped talking. He got on the boat first and let it dock. This time everyone got on the boat and the boat sailed towards Qingqiu Island in the middle of the lake.