Chapter 117 Visitors from Jinling
Because of this autumn examination, Sun Shaozong was unable to return home for more than ten days.
After leaving the Northern Pacification Office, he was naturally eager to return home.
Galloping on horseback all the way.
When he arrived outside the Sun Mansion, he saw the old butler Wei Licai and the second butler Zhao Zhongji waiting outside the door, but there was no sign of his adopted brother.
Sun Shaozong felt a little puzzled, and hurriedly called Zhao Zhongji to ask about it. Only then did he know that his cheap elder brother had been transferred outside the city to look after the disaster victims, and had not returned home for six or seven days.
"It was a bit hard this time, sir, but it was not in vain."
Zhao Zhongji said with a smile: "We have brought back more than a dozen beauties. Everyone in charge of our house has a share, and we have stuffed eight into the Second Master's room at once!"
This cheap brother is really a thief who never leaves empty-handed!
but……
I clearly warned him not to introduce any other woman to him while Ruan Rong was pregnant, so why did this happen?
Besides, doesn’t Xiangling already exist?
Sun Shaozong thought so and prepared to go back to the backyard to see what was going on. If Ruan Rong didn't like the newcomers, he would send them to other courtyards first - if that didn't work, he would learn from the Jia family and simply hire someone to train them into actors.
Unexpectedly, Zhao Zhongji caught up with him and said, "Second Master, this afternoon, Master Xue sent you an invitation, inviting you to a banquet at his home on September 6th."
Sun Shaozong paused and asked in confusion, "What kind of guests is this guy inviting?"
Zhao Zhongji was not sure either: "It's probably a housewarming celebration, because the address on the invitation is not Rongguo Mansion, but Xue's Residence on Zijin Street."
Happy housewarming?
In this case, the marriage between Xue Pan and the daughter of the Wang family should have been finalized, otherwise, there would be no need to move out of the Rongguo Mansion in such a hurry.
"Anything else? Just tell me all at once!"
“Yes, yes, yes!”
Zhao Zhongji added: "Also, some local products were sent over from my hometown in Jinling yesterday."
Like the four major families of Jia, Shi, Wang and Xue, the ancestors of the Sun family also came from Jinling, otherwise they would not have been related to the Jia family.
Like all the founding heroes, after the establishment of the Great Zhou Dynasty, the ancestors of the Sun family separated from the Jinling clan and set up a separate branch in the capital.
However, I did not cut off contact with my relatives in my hometown.
During the years when the Sun brothers were in dire straits, the Jinling clan even sent someone to bring the two brothers back to Jinling to take care of them.
Although Sun Shaozu did not agree at that time, he still remembered the favor.
Therefore, when he heard that the person was from Nanjing, Sun Shaozong naturally did not dare to neglect him and asked hurriedly: "Has the person left? If not, call him over so that I can see him first."
"Of course he didn't leave. How can he explain if he didn't see the eldest and second masters? He is now staying in the guest room in the east wing. I will go and call him over."
But Zhao Zhongji left in a hurry, and after a while, he brought over a strong man in his early twenties.
The man walked in a few steps, knelt on the ground with a plop, and kowtowed, saying, "I am Sun Xi, and I am honored to meet you, Second Master!"
The names of the Sun family members are all three characters long. Those with single names like this are usually family slaves who were given surnames and raised since childhood.
"Get up."
Sun Shaozong extended his hand to support him, and after Sun Xi stood up, he asked, "How are your uncles and brothers at home?"
"Thanks to the Second Master, the Master and his wife are all doing well." Sun Xi smiled and said, "Especially in the past two years, several of the brothers in the mansion have been taught by famous teachers and have become somewhat famous in Jinling. This year, there are five people from our family taking the autumn examination!"
Although the Jinling branch was not like the Beijing branch, where three consecutive generations had been able to hold the third rank or above [the Shao generation was the fourth generation], they had early embarked on the path of farming and studying to pass on their family traditions. There had been two or three Jinshi (imperial examinations) and even more Juren (juren) in succession.
Now that he dares to spread his boast to , he must be quite confident.
in addition……
Sun Xi mentioned the imperial examination as the first thing they met, and I'm afraid it was not just bragging.
Sun Shaozong pondered for a moment, then suddenly realized, "Could it be that my nephews want to make a final effort and try again in the next spring exam?"
The Shao generation in Jinling are about the same age as Sun Shaozu, so the so-called brothers are naturally Sun Shaozong's nephews.
"No wonder the Second Master has such a great reputation, he really guessed it right!"
Sun Xi gave him a thumbs up and said with a simple smile, "When I left, the master and his wife told me to prepare a quiet place for you guys in the capital first, and then let you guys go to the capital to prepare for the exam before winter comes."
"What's there to prepare? It's not like we don't have a place to live in our house." Sun Shaozong said immediately, "Let Butler Zhao take you around tomorrow to see which courtyards are suitable. I'll make room for my nephews!"
Sun Xi was about to say something polite, but Sun Shaozong waved his hand again and said impatiently, "Alright, I've been supervising the exams in the Imperial College these days and I'm really tired. I really don't have the energy to talk to you. This is settled."
Then he called out, "Butler Zhao, take Sun Xi down to have some rest. Starting this month, he will receive another allowance from our house, and the amount will be higher than your monthly allowance."
Zhao Zhongji agreed and walked forward to take Sun Xi, who was thanking him profusely, away.
After the two of them left, Sun Shaozong went to the backyard by himself.
Ruan Rong had been waiting impatiently for a long time. It was inconvenient for her to come out to greet them herself, so she sent Xiangling as a representative, leading a group of beautiful girls to wait at the gate of the courtyard for a long time.
Most of them were unfamiliar faces, obviously the eight beauties that Zhao Zhongji mentioned.
but……
Isn't this a bit too embryonic?
The youngest one is only eight or nine years old, and the oldest one is only eleven or twelve - could it be that the cheap big brother has prepared a group of 'cloud spare tires' for himself?
While Sun Shaozong was speechless, Xiangling came up to him happily, bowed deeply and said, "Master, you are finally back. I have asked you about this more than a dozen times!"
"What about you? Do you miss me, Master?"
Sun Shaozong chuckled, and seeing Xiangling's pretty face blushing, he couldn't help but want to go up to her and hug her intimately.
But then he thought about it and realized that he had just come out of the morgue, so he hurriedly said, "Hurry up and prepare a bathtub for me, Master. I want to take a good bath to get rid of the bad luck and mold on my body!"
After a pause, he continued, "Go tell my aunt that I'll go see her after I finish washing up."
The maids were busy for a while and then placed the bathtub in the west wing. Xiangling led two little maids, about eleven or twelve years old, to help Sun Shaozong take a bath and change clothes. After he was refreshed from head to toe, they escorted him to the upper room of the main hall.
No wonder the ancients said that the land of gentleness is the tomb of heroes.
That night, Sun Shaozong spent the first half of the night having a long chat with Ruan Rong, talking about trivial matters of family and children; in the second half of the night, he and Xiangling were in the West Chamber, fighting until they were exhausted and the day was about to dawn.
He forgot all about the imperial examinations, the bloody incidents, and the infighting in official circles!
Unfortunately, you can only avoid this land of peace and tranquility for a while, not forever.
Just after noon the next day, Sun Shaozong was sleeping soundly with Xiangling in his arms when he heard the maid report that Feng Xin was visiting.
