Zhenyi interjected, "And there's also the cost of my two brothers-in-law's hotel room."
Zhenshu couldn't help but exclaim, "I just gave Zhang Rui fifty taels of silver last time. He could stay at the Drunken World for ten days or so. Why should Mother pay for an inn for him?"
Madam Su said, "Isn't he still going to formally become a disciple, invite his master to dinner, and give his master a gift? Doesn't all of that cost money?"
Zhen Shu thought to herself: I'm afraid it's the most expensive thing to do, like going to prostitutes with Master.
She had no choice but to take out the fifty-tael note again, exchange it for the twenty-tael note, and lock it back in the cupboard. She stormed downstairs and saw Song Anrong spreading out Xuan paper and colors on a large table on the first floor, painting. Zhenshu went over and called out "Father." Song Anrong turned around, smiled, and asked, "Was Liu Family Village fun?"
Zhen Shu nodded.
Song Anrong slowly mixed the colors and said, "You've always loved wandering in the mountains and fields. I thought it would be a long time before you came back."
If it weren't for Yu Yichen, she might still be staying in Liu Family Village. Thinking of this, she couldn't help but feel ashamed.
Song Anrong continued, "When we were in Hanjiahe, Liu Zhang mentioned wanting the two families to become friends, but I thought it was too much trouble and didn't take the extra step. Now your eldest sister is in this state. I'm ashamed!"
That one step, no one took any extra steps.
Zhenshu went outside and saw Zhao He fiddling with wood carvings. She went over and asked, "Uncle Zhao, those wood carvings upstairs are very interesting. Why don't you paint them and we can put them out to sell?"
Zhao He shook his head and said, "This is a calligraphy and painting shop, why would we display those things?"
Zhenshu said, "That's not necessarily true. Anyway, they'll give them away as gifts. Once they've given away enough paintings and calligraphy, maybe other people will like wood carvings too?"
Zhao He nodded and said, "Okay, I'll give it a try."
Ultimately, this mounting shop prospered thanks to Yu Yichen. What they sold wasn't important; what mattered was that it was anything from the Song family's mounting shop. Zhenshu flipped through the account book from the days she'd been away, picked up the abacus, and began calculating rapidly with her fingers. Business with calligraphy and paintings slowed down after the New Year, only gradually picking up again in the second half of the year. Now was the off-season, sometimes earning only a few taels of silver a day. Zhenyuan had a large sum of money outside, her daughters had a large sum at home, and now Zhang Rui was about to finish his exams and would need another large sum. How could a small mounting shop possibly afford such expenses?
As Zhenshu was shaking her head and sighing, a familiar-looking servant entered from outside the door. She stepped forward, bowed, and said, "I am a servant of the Marquis of Beishun's household. The Fifth Madam has sent a letter to the Third Miss of the household."
Zhenshu, upon hearing that it was for him, quickly took it and asked the child if he wanted some tea. He waved his hand and stood at the corner of the door, saying, "Fifth Madam requests that Third Miss come to the mansion immediately; she is waiting."
Zhenshu took out the letter and saw that it contained only a few words: Come quickly, I have something to discuss.
She went inside to report to Song Anrong, and when she came out, she saw Zhao He standing there and asked, "Who is looking for you?"
Zhenshu knew he must be afraid that she would have to go see Yu Yichen again, so she unfolded the letter and said frankly, "It is my second sister who is married to the Marquis of Beishun. She invited me to come over immediately because she is afraid that something urgent has happened."
Zhao He saw her off and saw that the servant of the Prince's Mansion was driving a carriage, and Zhenyu's maid Jichun was waiting in the carriage. Only then did he believe it. He watched Zhenshu get into the carriage and drive away before entering the shop.
As soon as Zhenshu entered Fuyun Residence, she saw Zhenyu waiting in the corridor with a child in her arms. Upon seeing her come in, Zhenyu came over and bowed, saying, "Third sister, I am so sorry. I must apologize to you on behalf of her father."
Nannan was playing with a rattle drum in Zhenyu's arms. When she saw Zhenshu looking at her, she held out the rattle drum to Zhenshu. Zhenshu picked her up. The five-month-old baby was even more beautiful than the last time she was seen. She was round, tender, and pink like a peach, with a trace of drool at the corner of her mouth.
Zhenyu led Zhenshu into the room and poured her tea before saying, "He always likes to drink some slushies these days. He gets so arrogant after just a little bit of tea."
Zhenshu still held the child and played with him, saying sullenly, "Second sister spoils him too much. If he's drunk all day, it won't be good for the child to see that."
Zhenyu sighed, "Who can argue with that? I married him back then only for his looks, without really considering his character. Now that it's a done deal, I can only make do and move on. Fortunately, even though he's a bit eccentric, I still have him under my control."
After she finished speaking, she pointed at An'an and said, "Go to the inner courtyard and call your husband out to apologize to your third sister."
An'an agreed and went out. Zhenyu asked a few more questions about whether Zhenyuan was better, whether Zhenxiu was still angry with her, and how things were at home and in the shop. Just then, Dou Keming walked in wearing a robe. She quickly stood up and pushed him over, saying, "Quickly apologize to your third sister."
Dou Keming was probably sober today, but he still looked sleepy and hadn't washed his face when he got up early. He clasped his hands and bowed deeply, saying, "I apologize to my third sister. I was wrong that day."
Zhenshu didn't even look at him, still holding Nannan and playing with her, and said lightly, "I don't remember anything, but my second brother-in-law should also give up drinking alcohol that he doesn't need to drink, and spend more time with Nannan."
Dou Keming nodded and said, "Yes, definitely."
Zhenyu then pushed him away, saying, "Go wash up quickly, I don't want to see your rotten eye boogers."
Dou Keming then smoothed his disheveled hair, lifted his robe, and went out. Zhenyu sat down again and asked Zhenshu in her ear, "I heard from Dou Wu that you're associating with some very disreputable people these days. Is that true?"
Zhen Shu knew she was referring to Yu Yichen, but she pretended not to know and asked, "Who is he talking about?"
Zhenyu said, "He said that when you were in Liu Family Village last time, the person you brought with you was a eunuch named Mei Xun, who was under the command of the Grand Eunuch Yu Yichen."
Zhenshu shook her head and said, "I don't know who that person is. He's just a friend of my Uncle Zhao. Uncle Zhao had something come up that day, so he asked someone to deliver it to me."
Zhenyu was hesitant to believe it, but Zhenshu was always tight-lipped, so she couldn't get any information out of her. She still advised, "Who is Yu Yichen? Now, everyone in the court, except the emperor, hates him so much that they want to skin him alive. You should be careful."
Zhenshu shook her head and said, "I really don't know who he is, but since Second Sister has said so, I will be on my guard."
Zhenyu sighed again, "Now that Yu Yichen has deposed the emperor and become a puppet ruler who uses the emperor to command the princes. When the late emperor died, he left behind four regents, and now he has killed two of them. The only ones left who can still handle affairs in court are our Marquis and the Duke of Du, but they can't even see the emperor normally. If he is not eliminated, I'm afraid our Marquis's mansion and the Duke of Du's mansion will also suffer."
☆, Chapter 74 The Separate Courtyard
Zhenshu felt annoyed and didn't want to answer, but then Zhenyu said, "Although I've never seen her, I've heard Dou Wu say that she's incredibly beautiful. When the current emperor was still in the Eastern Palace, he rarely interacted with his concubines, but he kept her by his side from childhood to adulthood. People say that she's a favorite of the emperor and that she has an ambiguous relationship with him."
When Zhenshu heard someone say that Yu Yichen was a male favorite, she became even more annoyed. So she handed the child to Zhenyu and said, "I have to go back now. I'll come to see you another day."
Zhenyu quickly said, "I've prepared lunch here. Eat before you leave."
After she finished speaking, someone brought in a whole table of dishes and placed them on the dining table. Seeing this, Zhenshu couldn't very well leave, so she had no choice but to sit down and have lunch with Zhenyu. After listening to Zhenyu talk about some things in the court and the hatred that people in the court had for Yu Yichen, she couldn't help but argue, "Since he is just a eunuch, how come not a single person in the entire court can control him?"
Zhenyu sighed, "Now he's not just a simple eunuch anymore. Not only does he control the Imperial Palace, but he's also a General of Martial Might. Duke Du feels somewhat guilty because of Du Yu's affair, so even having him as a military supervisor is a constraint. The Marquis used to manage the Censorate and the capital region, and now he's in charge of Yingtian Prefecture, so his actions are also controlled by him. I heard that the mandarin fish in the lower reaches of the Grand Canal were very plump, so the Marquis sent people to catch some to make soup for my daughter to enjoy. But he blocked the Grand Canal and all the official roads outside the capital. By the time the fish arrived after waiting for half a day, they were all dead. How could we enjoy any of their freshness?"
Sure enough, there was fish soup on the table. Zhenyu asked the wet nurse to hold the baby, and she took a soup spoon and scooped up the soup, blowing on it as she fed the baby.
After finishing her meal, Zhenshu bid farewell to Zhenyu and left the Marquis's residence. She declined the carriage that insisted on taking her back to the East Market and walked alone on the street, feeling inexplicably sad. Suddenly, a horse rushed up behind her, but abruptly swerved to the side just before reaching her. Zhenshu raised her eyebrows, about to get angry, when she turned around and saw Yu Yichen waving at her from inside the carriage, lifting the curtain.
She stood there glaring for a long time, but finally couldn't resist the gentle smile on his face. She lifted her skirt and reached out for him to pull her into the carriage. As soon as he lowered the curtain, he pressed down on her, kissing her lips and tongue until he had his fill before letting go, and asked, "Little shopkeeper, did you miss me last night?"
Zhenshu stood up and covered her clothes, saying, "No. How could I think of such a bad person as you?"
She then added quietly, "Everyone says you're a bad person."
Yu Yichen pulled her into his arms and rubbed his nose against her forehead, saying softly, "But you said you happen to be a bad person too."
Zhenshu broke free and asked, "Aren't you a eunuch? Don't you have to go to the palace to serve? Like, serve those ladies?"
Yu Yichen smiled and said, "I was originally in the palace, but when I heard that the little shopkeeper had run away and was wandering around outside, I had no choice but to rush out."
Suddenly the carriage stopped, and Yu Yichen jumped down and carried Zhenshu down. Zhenshu looked around; this wasn't the Yu residence, but some unknown narrow alley. One end was a dead end with a wall, and the other end had no houses, only a small door open, where Sun Yuan stood. Yu Yichen led her into the courtyard. Passing through the screen wall, the courtyard was spacious and clean, with several simple and elegant houses. Further on was a narrow passage, with courtyards on both sides. Yu Yichen led Zhenshu into the courtyard on the right, where a neat and elegant southern-style building stood. The interior was very similar to the small building in the backyard of the Yu residence, only the courtyard was smaller and didn't have a large flower garden.
Beyond this courtyard lies a large flowerbed, where only tender buds remain on the various flower branches. Walk to the right from the flowerbed until the end, then turn onto another small gate on the other side. There you will find the courtyard that was just to the left. It is a square courtyard, with buildings on the north side. There is a heated kang (a traditional Chinese bed-stove), a bed, a living area, and a resting area, but none of them are furnished.
Yu Yichen led her all the way back to the small building they had just left, and then asked Zhenshu, "Is this place nice?"
Zhenshu nodded and said, "Small yet complete, simple and quiet, are there still such comfortable places in the capital?"
Yu Yichen put his arm around her shoulder and sat down, saying, "After we get married, we'll live here, okay?"
Zhen Shu hadn't thought much of it because he'd confused her, but now she came to her senses and remembered some things. Pointing at Yu Yichen's nose, she said, "When we left the capital, there were no boats or people on the official road or the canal. Did you block all those travelers?"
Yu Yichen nodded slightly and said, "Yes."
Zhenshu angrily said, "Do you know that there are family members in there who are in urgent need of a doctor, night travelers who have traveled far away at night, and doctors who have obtained medicine to save lives? Everyone has their own urgent business. You are blocking them there and making them anxious. Those who want to go back to the city cannot go back to the city, and those who want to go home cannot go home?"
Yu Yichen listened with a smile, and after a while said, "I just don't want people to see you with me and gossip about you, making you feel embarrassed."
Zhenshu said, "As long as they don't say it to my face, I don't care if they say it behind my back. Even if they say it to my face, I have the nerve to spit it back. Since I'm going to marry you, what am I afraid of?"
Yu Yichen noticed the stray strands of hair around her eyebrows, which he had messed up earlier. Seeing her looking down at him with anger and resentment in her eyes, but even more so with deep love and concern, he couldn't help but brush away the stray hair and pull her into his arms, saying, "If people say something unpleasant, perhaps you won't want to marry me."
Zhenshu shook her head and said, "What nasty things haven't I heard? Back in Huixian, I caused such a big commotion, and both counties were laughing at me. I could still walk down the street with my head held high. What am I afraid of?"
Yu Yichen lowered his head and smiled, "Really?"
Zhen Shu also smiled and said, "Of course. And it wasn't necessarily all bad. Back then, there was so much filth and slander. My father had no choice but to sell our land and courtyard and our family left Huixian. We had only reached Wenxian and hadn't even crossed the Wuling Mountains when the Tartars burned Huixian to the ground. Many women with thin feet who couldn't run were killed or abducted by those Tartars. If it weren't for those rumors, I might be a charred skeleton in the fields of Huixian now, or a lost soul on the road north."
Yu Yichen covered her head with his chest and sighed, "I'm sorry!"
Zhenshu thought he was sighing because he was afraid that she would really marry him and couldn't bear the gossip, so she hugged him tightly and said, "I'm not afraid of anything. If you come back from the palace, I'll take you to buy groceries and cook for you tonight. Let anyone laugh if they want to laugh, let them criticize if they want to criticize. Big things happen in the capital every day. One day, we won't be anything new anymore. People won't even bother to mention us or laugh at us anymore, and we'll get used to it. Now that we're husband and wife, what's there to fear?"
Yu Yichen cupped her face and kissed her all the way to her ear, sighing, "My little shopkeeper is a heroine among women, no one else can compare."
Zhenshu pushed him away and said, "But we can't get married yet. My two younger sisters are still unmarried. Although I'm not afraid of gossip, they still have to get married. If they can't get married because of me or are bullied in their husbands' homes, how can I be at peace? So, if you can wait three years until I've married both of my younger sisters, then we can get married, okay?"
As Zhen Shu spoke, Yu Yichen's face gradually hardened, and after a long while, he asked, "What if I can't wait any longer?"
Zhenshu turned her back and said, "Then go find someone else."
Yu Yichen asked from behind her, "Who else can I turn to?"
Zhenshu stood up, walked a few steps away, and shouted, "Go find whoever you want, what's it to me?"
Yu Yichen's face turned pale with anger, his hands clenched tightly in the air. Zhenshu, however, was looking out the window and didn't see it.
Zhen Shu never revealed that Zhao He and Zhen Yu both said he was the emperor's favorite concubine. She stood by the window for a long time, when Yu Yichen wrapped his arms around her from behind and whispered in her ear, "Who else but you would want someone like me?"
Zhenshu turned around and hugged Yu Yichen, crying, "I don't know why I was willing to marry you, and I don't know why you came to me. I am willing to marry you, but I have to think about them. They can't be as thick-skinned as me, and they can't run as fast as me. I hope they can all marry well, be respected by their in-laws, be loved by their husbands, and have a peaceful and ordinary life."
After a long silence, Yu Yichen said, "Alright, I'll wait for you, for three years. If they are still not married after three years, you must marry me no matter what. If you are unwilling to marry me or find another man, I will kill him and take you back."
Zhenshu was both annoyed and amused by these words. She punched his chest with both fists and said, "Can you please stop always threatening to hit and kill me? And don't provoke those stinking Confucian ministers in the palace. Just do your job well. Are we really going to wait three years in peace? Besides..."
Her cheeks flushed, she pursed her lips, glanced at him, and then smiled as she looked down, saying, "Whenever I have time, I'll always find an excuse to come out and see you."
Yu Yichen was aroused by her, so he lowered his head and gently bit her lips, biting and releasing them repeatedly. He used the tip of his tongue to tease and stir her tongue, kissing her until she was aroused. Then he whispered in her ear, "No matter what, you must come to my residence on the third and eighteenth of each month before I can agree to your request."
The third and eighteenth days of the lunar month were his days off.
Zhenshu mumbled a vague "okay" from her throat before he picked her up and threw her onto the bed.
This might be the most absurd and bizarre love story in the history of the world, the most ridiculous joke, yet she truly loved him—a castrated eunuch whom even an emperor trusted and entrusted with serving his concubines. She blossomed in his fingers and lips, knowing full well how absurd and laughable it was, yet unable to extricate herself.
When Zhenshu returned to the framing shop that evening, the doors had already been removed. Like a thief, she tiptoed to the back gate and saw Zhao He standing there with his hands behind his back. Knowing she couldn't avoid him, she could only go up and call out, "Uncle Zhao!"
Zhao He turned around and saw that it was her. He asked, "Why didn't the Marquis's carriage bring you here?"
Zhenshu saw him staring at her and knew he had guessed what was going on. She suspected he might have even seen her from afar, so she didn't lie, but simply pursed her lips and lowered her head. Zhao He sighed and asked softly, "Are you still determined to marry him?"
Zhenshu nodded, then shook her head and said, "Not now. We'll wait three years until Zhenxiu and Zhenyi are both married before we get married."
Zhao He sighed and shook his head, then pushed open the door and said, "Let's go upstairs quickly."
Zhen Shu, feeling as if she had been granted a pardon, skipped upstairs in a few steps. Zhao He sighed outside and said to himself, "Anyway, it's better not to do it now. Let's just postpone it one day at a time."
After speaking, he went into the courtyard and back to the front pavilion.
In two days, the imperial examinations would begin. Countless candidates from various prefectures and counties had arrived in the capital, waiting outside the examination hall. The examinations lasted three days, and each candidate was confined to a small cubicle, unable to move. Each person had to prepare simple bedding, dry rations, water, writing brushes, ink, and a spittoon for emergencies before entering. Although in recent years, due to new policies, there were fewer people taking the exams for others or smuggling in cheat sheets, the pre-examination checks were still essential. The soldiers would meticulously inspect each person's blankets and cotton-padded clothes, break down their rations, and remove all their clothing, even their open-crotch pants, for inspection before allowing them into the examination hall.
Chapter 75 Prefect
Tong Qisheng and Zhang Rui, having acknowledged the chief examiner Wang Canzhi as their teacher, considered passing the imperial examination a piece of their minds. Therefore, they didn't care whether they entered the examination hall early or late, standing far away outside and laughing at the clueless country bumpkins. Madam Su, along with Zhenxiu and Zhenyi, carried their luggage to see them off. Madam Su, with tears streaming down her face, kept giving Zhang Rui instructions, and Zhang Rui nodded repeatedly, comforting her, "Mother, your son will definitely pass. Yes, definitely. I'll have a blanket, I'll eat the rations, I promise, everything will be fine."
Zhenxiu pulled Tong Qisheng over and stood on tiptoe to ask, "Brother Tong, are you sure you'll pass?"