Daming Yuanfu

Chapter 118 Zhang Feng Gets Closer (Part [-])
"Fall - sedan chair -"

With a long yell, eight porters wearing green shirts with the word "Zhang's Mansion" skillfully parked the big blue woolen sedan chair in the sedan chair hall of Zhang Dashi's Mansion.An elderly attendant had been waiting at the side long ago. As soon as the sedan chair had stopped, he immediately stretched out his hand to open the curtain of the sedan chair door, and called out respectfully: "Master."

Zhang Juzheng, with a clear face and a chest-length beard, slowly got out of the sedan chair and glanced casually. All the servants and servants around him were respectful and respectful, and no one made any extra noise.

This is a common situation in Zhang Juzheng's mansion: as soon as he comes back, the huge Zhang University scholar's mansion will become silent.After all, whether in officialdom or at home, Zhang Juzheng was famous for his unsmiling manner, and sometimes he couldn't see a smile on his face for half a month.Therefore, all members of the Zhang family, from his son to the handyman, fear him very much.

Zhang Juzheng's University Scholars Office is located in Dashi Yongfang, northeast of Xuanwumen.Come out of the Chengtian Gate of the Imperial City and turn right, and you will arrive at the opposite side of the Longxiangwei Yamen.It's hard to say that it's only a stone's throw away from the imperial city, but it's not far. Speaking of which, his mansion is only across a street from Zhang Siwei's mansion, which is obviously an excellent location in the capital.

Such a good mansion, of course, has some origins: in February of the first year of Longqing, when Zhang Juzheng was 42 years old, he was promoted from a bachelor of the Hanlin Academy to Zuo Shilang of the Ministry of Officials and a bachelor of Wuyingdian.In a few months, he had suddenly been promoted from a fifth-rank noble civil official to a second-rank high-ranking minister and elder in the imperial court. The promotion of status was equivalent to riding a rocket, so the original residence suddenly seemed too shabby.So Zhang Juzheng asked someone to find this new residence.

It was originally the residence of a minister of the Ministry of Industry.The servant was originally from Suzhou, and he was good at managing gardens, so he made the mansion look like a garden in the south of the Yangtze River, but because it is located in Beijing, it lacks a little water color, which is a bit regrettable.This compound covers an area of ​​about ten acres, and is divided into front and rear courtyards as usual, the back yard is the residence of the family members, and the front yard is a place for banquets and meeting friends.Separating the front and back courtyards is a garden of about four acres.There are all kinds of pavilions, terraces and pavilions. In this capital where every inch of land is expensive, it is really a beautiful place to live at home.

When Zhang Juzheng was looking for a house, it happened that the servant was going back to his hometown in Suzhou when he became an official.So the two sides hit it off, and the old servant was lucky to have the owner of the famous garden, and he was also happy to curry favor with the newly promoted senior minister, so he only wanted Zhang Juzheng 2 taels of silver.

According to the price of the capital at that time, not to mention 10 taels of silver, 8 taels could be sold in a blink of an eye.For such a cheap sale, Zhang Juzheng was quite worried at the time that it would cause gossip, so he insisted on raising the price, but the old servant was determined to do this kind of favor, so he half pushed and half agreed, and the deal was made.After Zhang Juzheng bought the yard, he repaired it a little according to his hobbies, and then moved in. Two years have passed.

From the sedan chair hall to the front yard, there is another court.Although the season is almost Qingming, if it is in the south of the Yangtze River, it should already be a scene of tender green wicker and early yellow cauliflower.But Beijing has become colder and colder these years, and the branches of the tree have just broken green today, and the old pagoda tree in the middle of the courtyard is only slightly sifting out a little bit of spring.On the contrary, a spring plum blossom in the corner of the courtyard is blooming luxuriantly, and there is a faint fragrance in the courtyard.

But because after the restoration of Gao Gong, the situation in the capital changed drastically, and there were more and more troubles in the cabinet, so Zhang Juzheng was not in the slightest mood to appreciate the scenery at the moment.With a sullen face, he walked through the courtyard with his head down, and went straight to the backyard. Under the service of the maidservant, he took off his official uniform and official hat, changed into a normal uniform worn at home, and put a bright sun scarf on his head. Sitting down in the living room in the backyard, together with his wife, he accepted greetings from the four sons Jingxiu, Sixiu, Maoxiu and Jianxiu in turn.

Zhang Juzheng has six sons in total, besides these four, there are five-year-old Yunxiu and three-year-old Jingxiu.After asking a few questions about the studies of the sons, they had dinner together.

After the meal, Zhang Juzheng went back to the study in the front yard to have tea. When tasting tea, he asked the book boy to call the butler You Qi over as usual.After a while, a middle-aged man in his forties walked into the study.

The figure of the visitor is similar to that of Zhang Juzheng, but his face is very different, with light brows and small eyes, and a long face like a horse. There is a pea-sized cinnabar mole on the right corner of his mouth, and a thick one on the mole. black hair.He was wearing a dark coat with a light blue base and black trim, a pair of cloth shoes with leather gold lining on his feet, and a square scarf on his head. He didn't look like an ordinary housekeeper, but he looked like a scribe, but his whole body was shabby. There is a sense of shrewdness, like a merchant.This person is You Qi.

You Qi and Zhang Juzheng are from the same hometown, both from Jiangling County, Jingzhou Prefecture. Zhang Juzheng returned to his hometown after taking a sick leave in Jiajing 33, and returned to Beijing three years later to resume his official position. He brought You Qi to Beijing to be his housekeeper. It has been 14 years in a flash.You Qi and Zhang Juzheng have some distant relatives, so they should be called Zhang Juzheng's cousin, but You Qi adheres to the status of master and servant, and never regards himself as a relative. Whenever he sees Zhang Juzheng, he only calls him "Master".

This You Qi also likes to read poetry and books since he was a child. He originally wanted to take part in the provincial examination to gain fame, but after joining Zhang Juzheng, he put that mind on hold.Zhang Juzheng not only liked Zhongyou Qi's elegance, but also felt that he was smart in handling things.Let him be the housekeeper, he manages all the family affairs in an orderly manner, and he is very measured in handling people and things. Sometimes he helps Zhang Juzheng with some things, and he never makes mistakes, so he is very trusted by Zhang Juzheng.

At this moment, Zhang Juzheng was sitting on the bamboo couch covered with brocade silk cotton cushions, You Qi stood beside the bamboo couch with his hands down, Zhang Juzheng motioned You Qi to sit down.You Qi moved a chair and sat in front of the bamboo couch.

Perhaps seeing You Qi's tired face, Zhang Juzheng said: "The court is busy these days, and I seldom ask about family affairs. You have worked hard."

"It's an ordinary thing, not hard work." You Qi replied respectfully, "Master, you should pay more attention to your body."

Zhang Juzheng raised his head slightly and asked, "What's wrong?"

You Qi said cautiously: "It feels like a small one, the master has lost weight in the past two months."

"Perhaps." Zhang Juzheng sighed and asked, "Is there any major event at home during this time?"

"The old man wrote a letter, saying that he would go to Yidu to pay homage to the ancestral tomb on Qingming Festival, and explained that the expenses were not enough. The old man was busy, so the younger one asked his wife for instructions, and asked someone to bring 200 taels of silver to the old man."

When Zhang Juzheng heard the word "Qingming", he groaned, and couldn't help feeling homesick.Since his sick leave in the 33rd year of Jiajing, he returned home for three years and has not been back to Jiangling for 16 years, nor has he seen his parents.Although there are frequent exchanges of letters, the capital is three thousand miles away from Jiangling, separated by Guanshan Mountains, family love is hard to find, not to mention serving soup and medicine, and even such important events as worshiping ancestors, I have no time to participate.Thinking of this level, I felt dispirited, and said, "Isn't 200 taels too little for such a big event as worshiping ancestors?"

You Qi hesitated for a moment, then lowered his head and replied: "With the status of the master, it is indeed a little less to take home this silver tael, but..."

"Just what?"

You Qi lowered his head: "The cost of the family is a little tight in the past two months."

(End of this chapter)