Volume 1 In the Countryside Chapter 7 Three People, Two Beds
This group of uninvited guests came and left in a hurry, but they left behind a rich daughter to the Zhang family.
When Zhang Shou was reluctantly planning to take Miss Zhu to visit his family's "luxury house" which was second to none in the village, he suddenly thought of a very urgent question: "How far is this place from the capital?"
Zhu Ying looked around, wondering why her father would place her "fiancé" here, since he was not the kind of person who despised the poor and loved the rich. After hearing this, she couldn't help but calculate carefully: "It's about a few dozen miles. They should speed up when they return to the city, otherwise the gates of the capital will be closed in the evening."
"So, the two maids you asked for are too late to be delivered today?" Zhang Shou looked at the young lady in front of him who still didn't understand, and sighed, "I don't have any maids in my family. Miss, can you really do it ?"
Zhu Ying didn't expect Zhang Shou to be concerned about such a question. She felt that she was looked down upon and was a little annoyed for a moment: "I have hands and feet, of course I can do it!"
Zhang Shou had to express his doubts about her stubbornness. Could a young lady from a noble family really be self-reliant?
If he can't dress, Wu can help him; if he can't comb his hair or wash his face, Wu can help him; but if he can't wash his feet or take a bath, does he really need his mother to serve him? This is not just a fiancée coming to the house, it's like a retired emperor coming!
Seeing that Zhang Shou didn't say anything, Zhu Ying immediately raised her head and chest and said, " From childhood to adulthood, there is nothing I can't do!"
Seeing this perfect match... no, it should be said that the perfect match was bickering, Wu finally smiled from her tense face. However, she still didn't know how to get along with Miss Zhu, who was born in the Duke of Zhao's mansion, so she quietly left and called Aunt Liu from the kitchen to go to the inner courtyard to clean up the house.
Although he was worried, Zhang Shou did not try to provoke the young lady and took people to tour his home. There were two courtyards, the east and west wing rooms in the outer courtyard were occupied by Old Liu and Aunt Liu, and Ah Liu. The hall was locked and closed at night. Zhang Shou lived alone in the main room in the inner courtyard for three years after he recovered from his illness, while Wu lived in the east wing of the inner courtyard, and the west wing was empty.
Because the place was so small, it only took a short while to walk around. As expected, he heard the young lady sigh in surprise: "Why is it so small..."
Zhang Shou couldn't help but laugh: "My home is simple, please forgive me, Miss. After all, compared to those villagers who work hard to farm, my home is already luxurious."
Seeing Zhu Ying fall silent, he added, "Of course, I can live in this house thanks to your father."
Zhu Ying was a little unhappy: "Are you planning to recite two poems and mock me for not knowing the suffering of the people, just like you did when you mocked Zhu Gongquan?"
Zhang Shou couldn't help but shrugged his shoulders. "It's easy to go from frugality to luxury, but it's hard to go from luxury to frugality. This is human nature. Your family's wealth is also earned by your father's life. Why should I mock you? However, it's okay if your girl doesn't come, but what about your clothes?"
If Miss Zhu was confident that she could overcome the maid problem, then when she heard about such a major issue that could not be compromised, she was suddenly a little dazed.
For ordinary people, not changing clothes for a day is not a big deal, but for her, it is absolutely unimaginable!
You know, sometimes she would change into several sets of clothes at home in one day! She had riding clothes, special clothes for going out to visit guests, and she had to change again when she went to the palace. She had home clothes at home, and even when she was feeding birds or rowing a boat in the back garden, she had to change into clothes!
What made her secretly angry the most was that Zhang Shou not only did not want to find a solution, but also made things worse and added insult to injury.
"Besides, my family doesn't wear silk clothes, only cloth clothes. You may not be used to them. Besides, you are tall and my mother is shorter than you. You can't wear her clothes. Why don't I ask Old Liu and Ah Liu to hitch a cart and send you after those people in your family?"
"Zhang Shou, are you so anxious to get rid of me?" Zhu Ying finally exploded at this time.
I stayed here to help you! If you stay in this rural area, won't you be looked down upon by guys like Zhu Gongquan? Is it easy for me to come up with such an excuse to stay?
Of course, if you are handsome, but you are the kind of vulgar person who flatters me as soon as you see me or know that I come from the Duke of Zhao’s mansion, I will not stay either...
Wu was just coming out of the main room in a hurry. She happened to hear Zhang Shou and Zhu Ying talking loudly. Especially when she saw Zhu Ying's aggrieved look, she thought they were arguing. After she went up to ask what was going on, she smiled.
"A Shou had two sets of summer clothes made for him, both made of silk. I prepared them specially for his birthday. I didn't have time to tell you can wear them for now, Miss. I think the Duke Zhao's Mansion will definitely send all your clothes to you tomorrow."
Zhang Shou had worked so hard to create an atmosphere that made it impossible for the young lady to stay, but it was completely destroyed by Wu, and he almost collapsed.
Zhu Ying was overjoyed. Just because of Wu's words, Zhang Shou was speechless. She could finally stay without worry, and she had to thank her! Although Zhu Gongquan's name for Wu flashed in her mind, she suppressed it in an instant.
With a roll of her eyes, she smiled and said, "Okay, I'll listen to Aunt Wu! By the way, I'm living in your house now, so don't call me Miss. Grandma and Dad both call me Yingying!"
Wu was still feeling upset after being hurt by Zhu Gongquan's words "you are not a proper mother-in-law". When she heard the eldest lady, whom she thought was unruly and willful at first, saying this, she was surprised and happy at the same time. She had just said "how can that be" when she saw Zhu Ying seemed unhappy, so she immediately changed her words.
She suddenly had an idea and pointed at the smiling Zhang Shou and said, "Then Yingying, you should do the same as me and call him Ah Shou!"
Zhu Ying saw Zhang Shou's face turn bitter immediately. She was obviously overjoyed, but she had to pretend that nothing had happened: "Then I will follow Aunt Wu and call him Ah Shou!"
She didn't think so before, but now that she called it like this, she really felt that the name was quite vulgar. It was like a nickname deliberately given by a wealthy family who was worried that their child would die young...
Seeing the eldest lady smiling and calling him Ah Shou twice, Zhang Shou suddenly felt helpless. But his own mother was holding him back, what could he do?
However, what he didn't expect was that Wu suddenly came up with another suggestion that surprised him: "Ah Shou, you can sleep with mother tonight."
"Absolutely not!" Zhang Shou objected without hesitation.
Seeing Zhu Ying's face full of doubt, Wu couldn't help but explain a little embarrassedly: "There are empty rooms in the house. In the past, Ah Shou slept in the main room in the backyard, and I slept in the east wing. The west wing was also empty, but now it is easy to vacate the main room, but there are never guests at home, and there are only two suitable large beds. There are two beds in the front yard... but it would be too rude to move them in to entertain guests."
Zhang Shou glanced at Zhu Ying and saw that the beautiful young lady was obviously shocked. He couldn't help but shake his head and sigh.
You wanted to stay in my house. Now you see that the conditions in the countryside are difficult, right?
However, it was impossible for him to completely regard himself as Wu's biological son, so how could he sleep with her?
Thinking of this, knowing that it was impossible to drive Zhu Ying away now, he thought of a solution in a hurry, slowed down his tone and said to Wu: "Mother, she has just arrived and is in an unfamiliar environment. We don't have a maid to serve her yet, she must not be used to it. Why don't you take her to sleep in the main room, so that she can be taken care of if something happens."
"As for me, I can sleep alone in the east wing! Miss, don't rush to refuse. The countryside is different from the city. There is no one to keep watch. The wind howls in the middle of the night, like ghosts howling and wolves howling. Who knows, wild boars, wolves and other ferocious beasts may even run out."
Hearing this, Zhu Ying almost backed out. But when she found that Zhang Shou still refused to call her name, and thinking about her own firm promise to stay, she felt that it would be too embarrassing to go home, so she gritted her teeth and snorted.
"You don't have to scare me. Since there aren't enough beds, Aunt Wu and I can just sleep together! I'm very good at archery. If there really are these ghostly things, I can shoot them away with one arrow. No one in this village can beat me!"
