Volume 2: Residence in the Capital Chapter 151: Watching Zhang Lang on the Street
At night in the capital, when most civilians, tired after a busy day, went to bed and enjoyed the warmth of their beds, in many streets and alleys, a new day had just begun. The wine shops and restaurants that had been doing mediocre business during the day were now filled with customers, the casinos that had been closed during the day were reopened to welcome customers, and the romantic places that were deserted during the day were also rejuvenated.
However, the ban on officials sleeping with prostitutes was still in place, so those famous places often had heavily made-up, gorgeously dressed women and bands being picked up in carriages to perform at various mansions. Only those elegant places that claimed to never engage in sexual activities were flocked to by countless literati and poets, and it was said that nine out of ten of them were talented.
When Zhang Shou followed Lu Sanlang and Zhu Er out of the car, he saw a quiet and elegant courtyard gate, white walls and black tiles, a quiet courtyard, without any worldly air. There were no gaudy red lanterns hanging in front of the gate, but two lanterns covered with green gauze hung high, and inside, one could hear the sound of a piano playing the sound of high mountains and flowing water.
There was no noise or human voices around, which was in stark contrast to the busy places along the way.
Zhu Er was completely confused after getting off the car. His future brother-in-law actually came to Tingyu Cottage? What a joke! Even though this place never allowed men to stay overnight and was known as an elegant place, who didn't know what it was like? Most importantly, Zhang Shou came to Tingyu Cottage and dragged him along. What did this mean?
Zhang Shou saw two servants in green clothes approaching, holding two lotus lanterns. Seeing Lu Sanlang approaching and talking in a low voice, he asked Zhu Er beside him, "Do you know the origin of the name of this Tingyu Cottage?"
With Zhu Er's pitiful wealth, he could not afford such an expensive place, and he dared not pretend to be a frequent visitor in front of Zhang Shou. After all, if Zhang Shou told Zhu Ying about it, he would be in trouble. So, he wanted to ask Zhang Shou what he was doing here, but he could only pretend to be a fool who had never been here before.
"This kind of pretentious place must have used some poem as an allusion to show off."
Lu Sanlang had just told the doorman that he was here to meet the Weinan Marquis, and as soon as he turned around, he heard Zhu Er pretending to be contemptuous. Even though he only got 40% of the shares, he couldn't help but sneer: "Even when several university scholars held birthday banquets, they invited girls here to sing and dance to entertain them. Let's not talk about other ministers. If you have the ability, try to pretend to be elegant."
Zhu Er was stabbed by Lu Sanlang, and all of a sudden, new and old hatreds came to his mind. But before he could retaliate, he heard Zhang Shou say thoughtfully: "The bamboo grove is dust-free and the water is clear, but my longing for you is far away across the city walls. The autumn clouds do not disperse, and the frost flies late, leaving the withered lotus to listen to the sound of rain. Li Yishan's poems have always been known for their obscure beauty. I wonder if this poem is the source of the two words 'listening to the rain'."
Having stayed at the Grand View Garden without the Yihong Courtyard before, and now at Tingyu Cottage, Zhang Shou's first reaction was Lin Daiyu's favorite line, "Leave the withered lotus leaves to listen to the sound of rain." He couldn't help but bring it up to stop Zhu Er and Lu Sanlang from arguing with each other like children. As expected, Lu Sanlang and Zhu Er looked at each other, but neither of them could continue the conversation.
Li Shangyin wrote many poems, but Lu Sanlang only remembered the famous "Jinse". As for Zhu Er... he couldn't remember any of them. How to continue?
At this moment, a hearty laugh came from inside the door: "Dr. Zhang has revealed the true meaning of the words 'listening to the rain'. It's rare! No wonder after the news of your coming spread, all Twelve Rains said they must come and dance for you!"
Zhang Shou looked up and saw that the person who came out to greet him was not some gorgeous young lady, but an old man with a big heart and a fat body, at least twice as big as Lu Sanlang. Although he was fat and looked quite old at first glance, he did not look bloated at all, but walked briskly.
He felt that it should not be Zhang Kang, the Weinan Earl that Lu Sanlang had mentioned to him. Even if he was a barbarian before, he was still an Earl now. How could he condescend to greet him? To put it another way, Zhang Kang was the real owner of Tingyu Cottage, and few people knew about it. Even if he really condescended to greet him, he would not act like the owner.
Therefore, the fat and big-eared old man in front of him could only be Wan Yuanbao, the richest man in Beijing mentioned by Lu Sanlang.
It is said that there are only wrong names, but no wrong nicknames. But for this richest man in Beijing, even his name is shining with gold and full of wealth.
As expected, the fat old man introduced himself as soon as he came up. He was the richest man in Beijing, Wanyuanbao. Then, Wanyuanbao greeted him very enthusiastically, "Mr. Lu San said that he invited you, Dr. Zhang. I didn't believe it at first, but I didn't expect it to be true. This humble place of mine is really a great honor. Come in!"
Zhu Er had always thought that Zhang Shou was lucky to have a relationship with his own Zhaoguo Mansion, and the so-called engagement was nonsense. But now seeing Wan Yuanbao, an old sly man who was popular with the dignitaries, actually had such an attitude towards others, he thought that he had only been invited to Tingyu Xiaozhu twice, and he felt that the world was extremely unfair.
Could it be that having a good-looking face can attract men, women, young and old? Otherwise, Zhu Ying fell in love at first sight, Zhang Chen, Lu Sanlang and so many other noble children were all conquered, Ge Yong told everyone that he had accepted a gifted disciple, and even the two children of the third and fourth princes kept saying what the teacher said?
Now even Wan Yuanbao is only concerned with currying favor with Zhang Shou. This world is totally unfair!
Zhang Shou responded calmly to Wan Yuanbao's enthusiasm : "I am only invited to the party, how dare I be greeted by Master Wan himself? Others who come here only talk about love and romance, not business, but I only talk about business, not love and romance. Singing and dancing are fine for entertainment, otherwise, in addition to Lu Sanlang, I also invited Master Zhu Er to accompany the guests, and he might overturn the table."
Zhu Er was so angry that he cursed in his heart. It's a rare opportunity to come to Tingyu Xiaozhu, so of course I have to do the whole thing! I'm not my sister, it's strange that I would flip the table! However, when Wan Yuanbao looked at him with a smile, he immediately laughed out of guilt.
Wan Yuanbao also laughed and said, "That's right, Shi Eryu and the others admire Dr. Zhang's style, how dare they have any improper thoughts..."
Lu Sanlang followed Zhang Shou and walked leisurely under the flattery of Wan Yuanbao. When he saw the winding path, he suddenly saw women standing in groups of three or four at several corners, and he couldn't help but feel a little puzzled. Because of Zhang Kang, he came here quite often for a while, so he recognized that some of them were not yet famous, but also the maids around the top star Twelve Rain.
At first, it was just peeping, but gradually, these women simply stood there openly, with their fiery eyes all focused on Zhang Shou's face, as if he and Zhu Er didn't exist at all. And even in such a gaze, he found that Zhang Shou was not in a hurry from beginning to end. Although he looked around from time to time, he was chatting and laughing with Wan Yuanbao most of the time.
Lu Sanlang couldn't help but think of the first time he was brought here after saving Zhang Kang. Although he didn't really have sex, his small body suddenly faced so many beauties, and his nose bled all over the floor, and Zhang Kang laughed at him.
It was not until he came here more often that he realized something was wrong. In such a place, people talked about music, poetry, life, wine, songs, and romance... Anyway, no matter whether they were men or women, no one expected to find true love in such a place.
But Zhang Shou, although it was his first time here, seemed to have a good grasp of it... Was it because he had seen too many of the stunningly beautiful Miss Zhu, so those mediocre women looked like chickens and pottery dogs to him? But that was because the slender and beautiful Twelve Rains had not appeared. If they had really appeared, if they had really smiled and flirted with you, or even thrown themselves into your arms, would Zhang Shou still be able to control himself?
Zhang Shou had long discovered that this section of the road seemed a little longer. To be more precise, although he didn't know how big this Tingyu Cottage was, it was certain that Wan Yuanbao had deliberately taken him around in a circle. There were always women watching from both sides, some exchanging glances, some singing softly, some with their faces half covered... But for him, who had seen countless scenes, it was like watching a play.
It was not until they finally entered a small building in the middle that all those eyes were blocked outside the curtain. Zhang Shou glanced around and his eyes fell on the man who was getting up. He had gray hair on his temples, but more black hair, and his facial features were quite tough. The first impression he gave was that he was intimidating without being angry, and his momentum was so fierce that people would involuntarily ignore that he was at least sixty years old.
Wan Yuanbao, who led him into the house, bowed and said with a smile, "Master, I have brought your distinguished guest! Just now on the road, everyone stopped and lined up to see Zhang Lang. If it weren't for the last bit of reserve, I'm afraid Shi Er Yu would have come to join in the fun. Do you want me to go down and tell them to prepare their best performances?"
Weinan Earl Zhang Kang did not answer Wan Yuanbao's words. He gestured to Zhang Shou and Lu Sanlang Zhu Er to take their seats. Then he smiled and said, "Haha. Let's wait a little longer. Otherwise, if Miss Zhu comes knocking on the door while we're singing and dancing, it will be awkward for everyone."
"Oh? I didn't expect that Lord Earl, who is in a high position of power and in charge of the Military Equipment Bureau, would be so afraid of Yingying?" After Zhang Shou happily sat down, he saw Lu Sanlang coming up to pour him a glass of wine, so he asked back with a smile.
Zhang Kang was stunned at first, then he laughed and said, "Not to mention me, even the princes have to give way to her. How can we not be afraid? She has restrained herself in the past two years. Otherwise, with her previous temper, those censors would criticize the Duke of Zhao and she would dare to come to him with a whip to argue!"
As if he didn't notice Zhang Kang's teasing look, Zhang Shou raised his glass and touched his lips, then said calmly, "But I think Yingying is impulsive but righteous, domineering but reasonable. If she picks up a whip to cause trouble to someone, then it must be that person's own fault! If she really came to our house today, maybe it's because there's something wrong with Tingyu Cottage?"
When these words came out, even Zhu Er looked at them sideways. You two haven't even gotten married yet, and you are going to such great lengths to speak up for her?
Lu Sanlang laughed out loud. But the next moment, he couldn't laugh anymore, because a very familiar voice came from behind the screen: "Weinan Bo, I said that Ah Shou is the one who knows me best. Even if I'm not around, he would never say bad things about me! Unlike my second brother, he says one thing to my face and another behind my back!"
Seeing Zhu Ying coming out from behind the screen in high spirits, Zhu Er was almost crying. I didn't provoke you today, did I? Why did you target me as soon as you came out?
