Volume 2: Residence in the Capital Chapter 235: Take the Fifty Strings of Cash
Zhang Shou had not counted how many loving couples in his previous life turned against each other and their marriages fell through after a renovation, but he had heard of countless negative examples. So, when Zhu Ying looked at three houses today but was not satisfied with any of them, and finally proposed to build a house, although he was very excited, he was also very troubled.
What excites him is that the layout of houses nowadays does not conform to his aesthetic standards as a modern man. He really wants to design a house that is more in line with his living habits. However, what bothers him is that Zhu Ying is obviously a very tasteful young lady, but her values are probably very different from his. If they disagree and argue while building the house, wouldn't that be shooting himself in the foot?
More importantly, building a house is a waste of money, effort, and time! Nowadays, it is not uncommon for a wealthy family to spend three to five years to build a house; ten to eight years is also common. After all, the various wooden components plus the carvings are truly a slow and meticulous work.
Therefore, he could only smile bitterly and tell Zhu Ying that he would have to think about it, and then he got in the car to take Zhu Ying and the other two back to the Duke of Zhao's mansion. However, just as they were about to get in the car, Ah Liu, who had taken them to the three houses and said nothing after a brief explanation, suddenly said, "There is actually another house. But I didn't mention it just now because it's not so auspicious."
"Unlucky? Is it a haunted house? Or has someone who was demoted lived there?" Zhu Ying completely forgot that she had just requested that the house must be auspicious, and asked with interest, "A Liu, why did you suddenly think of it and say it now?"
"Because the young lady was not satisfied with the three houses before." Ah Liu explained very patiently, "and that house is very big. It has not been sold for many years. The Feng Shui master said that the Feng Shui layout is very good. But the previous owner died in unclear circumstances."
This time, Zhang Shou also understood the mystery and asked thoughtfully, "Did he die in an unclear way? Was he framed? Or was he guilty of corruption? Or..." Before he could finish his words, Zhu Ying interrupted him and asked curiously, "Or was he conspiring for treason, so he was sentenced to death and his house was confiscated and sealed? That's why no one dared to buy it?"
As she spoke, she smiled and said, "A Shou, you don't know. I just told you not to buy the houses of those officials who were dismissed from their posts. I just said that casually. But the capital is full of officials. The better houses have even changed owners many times. Maybe there is a demoted official, so the taboo is not that big. But there is only one kind of person whose house is a bit troublesome, and that is the house of a treasonous person!"
Zhan Jin and Liu Yin couldn't help wanting to hold their foreheads with their hands. Miss, I know you are fearless. You just said that you don't want to demote the officials who left their posts. That was also for the future of your son-in-law. But don't make treason and rebellion sound like eating and drinking water!
Ah Liu said expressionlessly: "Although the original owner of the house did not make his rebellion known to the public, he was definitely a traitor."
Zhu Ying hesitated for a moment: "This kind of house is certainly cheap, but I don't know if the emperor will , and I don't know if it will inherit the bad luck of the previous owner. So unless the emperor gives this kind of house to someone, it will generally be left empty until it becomes a deserted house... But for someone who is capable of treason and rebellion, even if his house is confiscated and the door is sealed, the house must be pretty good. Let's go and take a look!"
Zhang Shou couldn't help but laugh when Zhu Ying described visiting the house that had been confiscated and sealed off as being as simple as taking a leisurely outing. However, Ah Liu's words also revealed a message, that is, although the house had a bad omen, at least there had not been a large-scale massacre due to the rebellion. As for the dead... Haha, how could there not be deaths in the houses in the capital these days?
What's more, even this capital city was probably built on a pile of dead bodies.
He asked directly, "Ah Liu, don't keep us in suspense. Who was the original owner of the house?"
Ah Liu glanced at Zhu Ying, and then said seriously: "It was Prince Lu. That house is not Prince Lu's mansion, but a separate courtyard of Prince Lu, so Prince Lu did not die in it."
These days, Zhang Shou has also gained an in-depth understanding of the past events of the dynasty. Although most officials are very secretive about some things, and he is not a historian and has no place to inquire, he has at least heard of the title of Prince Lu, because he is the only younger brother of the current emperor and one of the only two princes of Ruizong.
It is said that in the year he was born, which was the tenth year of Yongchen, Prince Lu died suddenly of a sudden illness during the turmoil started by the commoner Ye, the emperor's uncle, Prince Ye. However, the word "sudden illness" is always associated with various conspiracies in the capital, because behind the sudden illness without any reason, there are always all kinds of devilish details that are not worth humanizing.
But at this moment, Zhang Shou was relieved that Prince Lu did not die in the villa. Not only him, Zhu Ying also shouted with joy: "It turned out to be Prince Lu! Yes, he died in Prince Lu's mansion, and it had nothing to do with the villa. But it is said that the villa was his favorite place, nothing else, and he even stole it from the emperor, so no one dared to buy it after it was sold!"
As Miss Zhu spoke, she showed a determined expression: "Ah Liu, you are really great. You actually thought of that place! Come on, Ah Shou, let's get in the car and go look at the house. You don't know, I heard that the villa of Lu Wang has a nice view, and there is also a century-old peony garden with all kinds of rare species. If my grandmother and father hadn't refused to give me money, I would have wanted to buy it a few years ago!"
Zhang Shou couldn't help but glance at Ah Liu suspiciously. His first reaction was that this guy had known that Zhu Ying liked that part of her, so he had delayed bringing it up until the last minute. However, when he saw Ah Liu's equally surprised expression, he felt that he was wrong.
After thinking about it, he said cheerfully, "Ah Liu, since Yingying is interested, let's go! We should finish looking at the houses before evening, otherwise we will be late for dinner!"
However, when the carriage set off for the former Luwang Mansion, Zhang Shou regretted why he said anything to Ah Liu that would delay dinner - this kid only took the small roads, and sometimes drove at full speed, sometimes slowed down, and the route was so fast and slow that he almost got carsick.
What was even more terrifying was that during the first few times of accelerating or turning, he and Zhu Ying actually crashed into each other, while Zhan Jin and Liu Yin on the other side were able to sit still. After several incidents, he had to grab any protruding part that could stabilize his body, but he was already convinced in his heart that Ah Liu, who was driving outside, was definitely doing it on purpose!
Zhu Ying was surprised at first, but then she found it interesting and novel. In addition, Zhang Shou tried his best to look like a gentleman, and she smiled more and more. When the carriage finally stopped, she saw Zhang Shou got out of the carriage and scolded Ah Liu, so she quickly called Zhan Jin and Liu Yin to help her comb her messed up hair.
"Fortunately, you are wearing men's clothes today, otherwise after all the trouble along the way, I wouldn't know how to comb your hair back." Zhan Jin complained in a low voice while deftly combing Zhu Ying's hair back.
Liu Yin saw that Zhu Ying looked relaxed and not angry at all, so she immediately glanced at Zhan Jin, hinting him not to continue the topic. It was obvious that Ah Liu outside had deliberately created that opportunity, but Zhu Ying was happy with it. As for Zhang Shou who was scolding someone outside, it was not necessarily true that he was unhappy.
Sure enough, when Zhang Shou's voice came to an end, the master and servants in the car heard Ah Liu's indifferent voice: "It was you, Master, who asked me to speed up so as not to miss dinner. Besides..."
"Stop talking. Do you have the key? If you do, go open the door!" Zhang Shou's stern words were meant to show that he was not taking advantage of Zhu Ying, but he did not intend to let Ah Liu really make his obvious intentions clear. He glared at the boy in annoyance, then looked around at the wall in front of him that clearly retained its old appearance.
The walls were still painted white, and the black tiles on top looked new. Since no one lived inside, it was obvious that this place had been regularly renovated. For someone to pay so much attention to a confiscated villa, it was obvious that someone above had given the order, and that person was either the emperor or the empress dowager. No wonder no one dared to take advantage of it, lest they be punished for no reason.
Zhu Ying looked at the wall of the house with a strange look in her eyes. "I heard that this villa was designed by the famous garden master Hu Anshan from Jiangnan. He personally supervised the construction. Unfortunately, I was born too late and never got to see it. If it weren't for Ah Liu today, I wouldn't have found the opportunity. Ah Liu, did you get the key? If not, let's climb over the wall!"
“…”
Zhan Jin and Liu Yin didn't know what to say. Did the eldest lady really think that He Shou was already regarded as a son-in-law by everyone in the Duke of Zhao's mansion, so they were so familiar with each other that they didn't care about the details? When they couldn't help but look at Zhang Shou, they only saw Zhang Shou looking up at the wall, as if he was measuring the height and deciding whether to really climb over it.
Fortunately, at this moment, Ah Liu gave them an answer that made them feel relieved: "Of course I have the key."
Under Zhang Shou's suspicious gaze, Ah Liu took out a bunch of keys from his arms, then walked forward and fumbled to open the door one by one. Seeing this, Zhang Shou, who originally felt that the man was unreliable, felt even more nervous.
Why did he feel that Ah Liu was like a petty thief who was trying to pick the locks one by one to see which master key could open the door?
However, Ah Liu was very quick. He opened the lock with a click after trying the third key. When he pushed open the door, Zhu Ying said thoughtfully, "This house has been empty for more than ten years. How come there is no sound when I push the door?"
"Maybe someone oils the door locks and hinges regularly." Zhang Shou said this, but he invited Zhu Ying to come in. The gatehouse of this villa is quite impressive, but once he entered the gate, he found that the layout seemed a little different from the square front hall and back yard of the Duke Zhao's mansion.
Behind the huge courtyard is a five-bay hall. On the plaque above the hall, there are no words like those in other houses, which represent beautiful things or words from various poems and allusions. Instead, there are only two sharp words: "Untitled". As for the signature and date, haha, they are completely non-existent.
And Ah Liu came forward with a bunch of keys like a butler. This time, he was so skilled that he opened the door of the Untitled Hall in just two breaths.
As the two doors slowly opened, Zhang Shou discovered that if there was no harsh friction sound from the outer door, it might just be a coincidence, but the tables and chairs in the locked lobby were spotless, and the floor was covered with wooden floors, which was definitely abnormal. You know, a house is for living in. Once there is no owner and lacks popularity, the house and furniture will decay quickly!
Zhu Ying was not interested in this typical hall. After a casual look, she came back and grabbed Zhang Shou's wrist: "A Shou, there's nothing to see here. Let's go see the peony garden!"
Without waiting for Zhang Shou to speak, she shouted to Ah Liu, "Ah Liu, since you've been here more than once, please lead the way and show us the garden. We'll come back and see these houses, each with its own unique features!"
Ah Liu glanced at Zhang Shou and saw him looking down helplessly at Zhu Ying holding his hand tightly. He immediately agreed. Then, he opened several doors . When he pushed open two round moon doors, he heard Zhu Ying's happy shouting from behind: "Ah Shou, look, this is the Peony Garden!"
Just as he came in, he saw that everything was obviously well maintained, so Zhang Shou was naturally prepared for what he was about to see in the peony garden. Sure enough, even though he saw the peony garden in winter, there were no weeds, the branches had been trimmed, and many places had obviously new flower pots, which showed that there were gardeners taking care of this place recently.
Therefore, while Zhu Ying loosened her grip on his hand and asked Zhan Jin and Liu Yin to go for a stroll, he looked at Ah Liu with a half-smile and said, "Who asked you to bring Ying Ying and me to see ?"
Ah Liu looked Zhang Shou straight in the eye with an expression that said, "Why are you asking this when you already know the answer?"
Zhang Shou understood immediately. No doubt, just like the last time when Ah Liu was appointed by the emperor to a well-paid job - to be Zhu Er's martial arts teacher, this time he presented the new spinning machine blueprint and promotion plan to the emperor, in exchange for this former Luwang Villa in front of him.
However, since it was not a legitimate gift from the emperor, it must at least be something of value. He immediately asked, "How much does the emperor intend to pay me for this house?"
Seeing Ah Liu slapping him without saying anything, Zhang Shou burst out laughing: "The emperor really calculated the money I got from the eldest prince. Five thousand strings of cash is really not expensive to buy such a large villa."
But the next moment, he saw Ah Liu shaking his head: "Not five thousand strings of cash."
"That's 50,000?" Zhang Shou was stunned for a moment, but as soon as he said it, he knew he was thinking wrongly. The emperor was obviously giving compensation, how could he give a price he couldn't afford? He immediately said with some teeth aching: "Could it be 500 strings of cash?"
As if he didn't notice Zhang Shou's ridiculous expression, Ah Liu said calmly, "The emperor said that if I sell it to someone else, I'll get ten thousand taels of gold, but if I sell it to you, you'll get fifty strings of cash, and more than ten kinds of rare and valuable varieties from the peony garden as a gift."
