Volume 2: Residence in the Capital Chapter 193: Nothing Can Be Told
Listen to the rain cottage!
Princess Yongping's face froze. Even for a noblewoman like her who lived in the palace, she had . And Zhang Shou not only went to that place himself, but also brought so many people with him, and even spoke out without hesitation? Is the usually stingy Zhu Ying so generous?
She couldn't help but stare at Zhu Ying, and sure enough, she saw Zhu Ying's face darken, and she asked unhappily, "It was so early in the morning, why did you take my second brother and them to a place like that?"
"Didn't Lord Weinan invite us to watch a Twelve Heavenly Demon Dance there last time? I thought they had nice figures then. Lu Sanlang happened to go to a bookstore these past two days and saw a collection of stories from the pre-Song Dynasty. He bought it and flipped through it and found it very interesting. I had a bold idea, so I made an appointment with Lord Weinan to talk about it at Tingyu Cottage and met the Twelve Heavenly Demons again."
Hearing Zhang Shou mention Twelve Rain in such a calm tone, the other girls, who were either surprised, angry or confused, suddenly became shocked. However, what they didn't expect was what Zhu Ying said next.
"What do you mean you think they have good figures? Last time the Duke of Weinan invited you, you just watched them dance for a few seconds. The rest of the time you were just tasting the food. You are so stupid that you don't understand romance. You even joked that they were singing with their necks bent to the sky. If those talented people who think they are fairies knew about this, they would hate you to death. It's better for me to go than for you to go!"
Although some people knew that Zhu Ying was spoiled by her elders, they still felt a little amused when they heard Zhu Ying say that Zhang Shou was unromantic. As for Princess Yongping, her face turned pale, thinking that Zhu Ying was so outrageous to speak so freely in public!
"Okay, okay, you are the one who pities me, I don't understand romance!" Zhang Shou smiled, and then said lightly, "The book that Lu Sanlang has in that bookstore tells the story of a group of guild leaders in Lin'an City at the end of the Song Dynasty. The book is very interesting, but I think it would be more interesting if Shi Er Yu acted it out, Lu Sanlang, don't you think so?"
Fatty Lu didn't expect that Zhang Shou and Zhu Ying would suddenly drag him into the conversation. After a moment of hesitation, he looked up quickly, but he didn't have time to think about whether his fiancée was upstairs. He coughed and said seriously, "Teacher is right. Weinan Bo happens to be familiar with Wan Yuanbao, so we went to talk about this. If you don't believe me, Miss, why don't you ask Zhang Chen?"
Lu Zhu, you are such a fool who is trying to bring trouble upon others. It is enough for you to explain yourself. Why do you have to drag me into this?
Zhang Chen was so angry that his nose was crooked. However, when he found that there was a girl next to Zhu Ying, although her appearance was not clear, her posture and demeanor seemed a bit like Princess Yongping, he suddenly thought of the lofty ambitions he had expressed in front of Zhang Shou, and he was immediately embarrassed. Although what he said before was purely angry, he was not willing to show his weakness in front of Princess Yongping.
"That's right. The young master told the story of several heads of the late Song Dynasty in Tingyu Cottage. It's different from the common stories of talented scholars and beautiful women under the moonlight. This story involves two countries fighting each other, treacherous ministers and incompetent rulers, and even benevolent people with lofty ideals. The situation is very different." When he said this, he finally felt that he couldn't continue to argue, so he immediately said, "Xiao Wu, you tell the story?"
Zhang Wu's scalp suddenly went numb. Lu Sanlang and Zhang Chen had said everything they could say, what else could he say?
Moreover, he heard the clear voices of girls upstairs, which were as sweet as the chirping of orioles. He was so nervous that he thought of the day when he bravely asked Zhang Shou for help. Now he didn't know whether they would meet each other in this situation, so he mustered up his courage and raised his head.
At this time, Zhu Ying suddenly asked, "Tingyu Cottage never opens its doors during the day, but they actually made an exception for you?"
Faced with this question, Zhang Wu had to rack his brains to explain: "Miss asked this question, but I don't know how to answer. Maybe it's the reputation of Weinan Bo, maybe it's the reputation of the second young master Zhu, maybe it's the reputation of the teacher, maybe it's that Wan Yuanbao who is famous for his business wants to hear the teacher and Lu Sanlang's ideas... As for us, we are just watching the fun from the sidelines."
"According to you, you are just here to make up the numbers?"
Seeing Zhu Ying snort, Zhang Wu said sincerely, "Yes, we just made up a few people. When the teacher was retelling the story, Shi Er Yu was still outside the door. Not to mention that we were curious at first and were deeply moved at the end, even they couldn't help but cheer when they were listening outside the door. The teacher even gave Shi Er Yu a paragraph and asked her to read it in front of us so that we could judge it."
Although she already knew that Zhang Shou was going to Tingyu Cottage when she went to see him, Zhu Ying didn't know that Zhang Shou's so-called new business was actually such a thing. When she heard Zhang Wu say this, she couldn't help but ask, "Why doesn't Shou judge it himself?"
"The teacher went outside to discuss something with Weinanbo." Zhang Lu finally found an opportunity and quickly came out to clarify with a serious face, "He talked with Weinanbo for about a quarter of an hour outside and just came back."
Seeing the girls beside the bamboo curtain looking at each other in bewilderment, Zhu Ying rolled her eyes and said, "You guys came out from there in the middle of the day. Could it be that Wan Yuanbao, the richest man in Beijing, is so reluctant to even give you a lunch?"
This time, Zhu Er, who had never found a chance to speak, quickly spoke up, "Wan Wanbao is naturally hospitable, but Weinan Bo seems to have other important matters, and Dr. Zhang also said that he has other things to do, so of course we came out together... Yingying, everyone is starving now. Since you have booked this Yangzhou teahouse, can you leave this floor for us to eat?"
"You wish!" Zhu Ying glared at her second brother. "Princess Yongping and Princess Deyang are both upstairs, how can we accommodate you downstairs? Are you afraid that there won't be a place to fill your stomach on this Xuanwumen Street? If it was just Ah Shou, it would be okay, but with so many of you, you can only solve this lunch by yourselves!"
Seeing Zhu Ying issue the order to expel the guests without hesitation, Zhang Shou smiled, waved goodbye and rode away. As he left, the others hurriedly followed, and Zhu Er heard that there were two princesses upstairs who he could not afford to offend, so he could only follow him in dismay.
Seeing them leave, Zhu Ying stared at Zhang Shou's back for a long time, and only came back to her senses when Princess Yongping coughed. But she was not embarrassed at all, she glanced at them and said slowly: "A Shou and the others have left, isn't it time for you to leave too?"
"Do you think I want to stay?" Princess Yongping sneered in anger, and then sneered, "Early in the morning, Dr. Zhang brought a few students to Tingyu Cottage and found so many excuses. It's really fresh! I didn't expect that you, who have always been stingy, would be so generous this time!"
"You don't need to be sarcastic. If Ah Shou and his friends really went to Tingyu Cottage to have fun, they could have easily fooled us with any other excuse. Why bother telling me the truth? He has always been a kind and honest person. What he says is what it means. If you want to judge others by yourself, then it's up to you!"
Princess Yongping was immediately furious after being mocked by Zhu Ying, and left in anger. When she left, the other silent girls immediately returned to their chattering nature. Liu Qing was the first to speak up, "I've heard of the Twelve Rains, who are so famous. To be honest, I'm really curious about what story they are going to act out!"
"Yes, but I haven't heard that Shi Er Yu can sing opera! How could it be that they are not talented scholars and beautiful women? Could it be that the mistress of the house loves people's talent and helps her husband, so she married the brothel boss as a concubine. Is she another Nie Shengqiong?"
Although the family education in each house is different, most of the girls who were invited here by Zhu Ying today were not well-behaved and virtuous girls. Their families might not have performed plays like The West Chamber, but they must have read the book. So they were all curious and talked about it non-stop. Some even mentioned the story of Nie Shengqiong, a famous prostitute in the Song Dynasty, which showed that the scholar had read a lot of notes.
As the girl suddenly realized what she had said and quickly covered her mouth, someone familiar with her immediately went up to tease her, and the others laughed even more happily. Regardless of the official rank of their fathers and brothers, whether they were legitimate daughters or concubines, even if the heads of the elegant courtyards like Tingyu Xiaozhu looked glamorous, they were still far behind them.
Therefore, no matter whether the story Zhang Shou told would make those famous prostitutes more famous, to them, they were people from two different worlds. As for whether their future husbands would linger among them... none of them would think about it. If there is no cat, there is always a dog. Nowadays, even their fathers and brothers are the same. Why worry about the future?
Princess Deyang found an opportunity to come to Zhu Ying and whispered, "Yingying, don't take what Third Sister just said to heart. I think Dr. Zhang might just be looking for an excuse. He actually went to see the Earl of Weinan on purpose, otherwise they wouldn't have left alone for such a long time."
Zhu Ying was stunned at first, then she laughed: "Sister Deyang, do you think I would be unhappy? If he really wanted to secretly look for Weinan Bo, why did he bring so many people with him, including my second brother? And he told lies one after another, so that there was no loophole? So, I believe that a group of people just went there to sit, talk about something, and watch the fun."
Princess Deyang then breathed a sigh of relief, but immediately after hearing what Zhu Ying asked, her face turned red with embarrassment.
"The ones who went with me today are the students that Ah Shou is closest to. Besides Lu Sanlang, Zhang Chen is the son of Duke Qin, and Ah Wu is also known as Zhang Wu, the son of Marquis Nanyang. The Zhang Lu who spoke last is the son of Marquis Huaiqing. Then there's my second brother. What do you think of their character and appearance?"
After a long while, Princess Deyang finally whispered, "Zhang Chen will inherit the title of Duke of Qin in the future. He is a flamboyant person. With my personality and the fact that I am a princess, I am afraid I am not a good match for him. Not to mention your second brother, the Madam would not want her nephew to marry a princess. Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu... from what I saw just now, one is mature and the other is smart. I don't know about the others."
After all, it was just the first glance, how could she see anything? However, there were too many smart people, so honest people were rare...
