Great Song Super Scholar

Chapter 154 The Zhu Brothers
When Zhu Yuanfu heard that Fan Ning was visiting, he was overjoyed and went to greet Fan Ning at the gate of the courtyard himself.

"Congratulations to Fan Shaolang for winning the No. 1 boy solution test!"

Fan Ning bowed deeply, "Thank you for your concern."

Zhu Yuanfu patted him on the shoulder and smiled, "It's very lively over there in Mudu Town! It's a pity that I'm not there, so I can't celebrate for you in person."

Fan Ning was a little moved by Zhu Yuanfu's concern as always, and he said apologetically, "I should have come to see the old man a long time ago."

"You must not come!"

Zhu Yuanfu pretended to be exaggerated and said: "When you come, I will think that you are here to return to the mountains and rivers, and my life will be difficult."

Fan Ning couldn't help laughing, "It seems that the old man likes that stone very much."

"Of course I like it, I put it in the study, and put it together with the map of traveling in mountains and rivers."

Zhu Yuanfu spoke with great interest, and said happily, "Let's go! I'll show you some famous stones in my collection."

Wujiang Zhu's Mansion is twice as big as Mudu Zhu's Mansion, and there are so many houses, like a huge maze, there are even signposts on the wall, indicating that everyone will get lost.

Fan Ning followed Zhu Yuanfu around and around, and he was confused for a moment.

Walking through a small door, Fan Ning suddenly found himself in a garden of Taihu stones, covering an area of ​​at least [-] acres, like a lion forest, with various Taihu stones everywhere.

Zhou Lin's collection of Taihu stones was placed in a large warehouse, and Zhu Yuanfu had a lot of space to squander, and built a garden specially for his collection of Taihu stones.

"This Taihu Lake stone is called the Wave Stone!"

Zhu Yuanfu pointed to a wall-like Taihu stone, "This is the first top-quality Taihu stone I collected. I bought it by the side of Taihu Lake 40 years ago."

Fan Ning took a closer look, and found that this three-meter-long stone was not a wall, but a wall-like Taihu stone layered on top of each other. Looking closer, it looked like a big wave rushing on the sea.

"Do you know how much I spent at the time?"

Zhu Yuanfu said triumphantly: "It only cost thirty pennies, even Zhou Lin is envious of my luck."

"It's not luck, it's the old man's foresight!" Fan Ning flattered him in a flattering way.

Zhu Yuanfu couldn't help laughing smugly. Compared with this stone, Zhu Yuanfu prefers others to praise his vision.

"Let's look at this Taihu stone again, it's called the Lonely Fishing Cold River Stone, do you see if there is such an artistic conception?"

Zhu Yuanfu took Fan Ning to stroll in the garden for more than half an hour. He was a little tired, so he took Fan Ning to the inner hall and served tea.

"Old man, did my two cousins ​​come here two days ago?"

Fanning took a sip of tea, moistened his lips, and then turned the topic to serious business.

"You are explaining benevolence and Mingli!"

Zhu Yuanfu smiled and said: "Those two twin brothers are very intelligent in business, I like them very much, Aning, they highly respect your plan, but is there really a market for this kind of Tianhuangshi?"

Fan Ning was taken aback, "Does the old man disapprove?"

Zhu Yuanfu shook his head, "That's not true. I agreed with your plan to let a supervisor with experience in mining accompany them to Fuzhou. It's just that I have some doubts."

Fan Ning pondered for a while and said: "Although I don't know much about business, I always think that it is better to develop the market than to compete for it."

"Then it depends on what to do?"

Zhu Yuanfu stroked his beard and said slowly: "For example, shochu is a successful example. Although its refining methods have spread, it just shows that everyone has a strong demand for it. But, will Tian Huangshi have this effect?"

Fan Ning said calmly: "Mr. Zhou and I both think it is the most precious treasure among stones, but Song people don't know it, but as long as we guide it well, I believe Tian Huangshi will shine brightly and become a treasure among stones."

Zhu Yuanfu was not convinced, he still smiled and said: "If people like it, first of all what is its practicality? If it is just for viewing, I think it is not as good as Taihu Stone. Besides, there is a jade stone in front of it. The mountains are blocking."

Of course Fan Ning knew where the most precious thing about Tian Huangshi was?
He pondered for a while and said: "It is the best material for making seals. I believe that every literati will long for a seal carved from Tianhuang stone, and it is very rare. I believe it will become rare and expensive in a few years." .”

Zhu Yuanfu finally had a hint of interest in his eyes. He nodded and said, "Okay! I hope what you said can become a reality."

Zhu Yuanfu stopped talking about the stone, and changed the subject with a smile, "Let's talk about your imperial examination. How do you plan to prepare for the exam in the next three months?"

Fan Ning did not spend the night in Zhu's Mansion. After dinner, he took a boat back to Wu County overnight. Taking a night boat has this advantage. After a deep sleep on the boat, he will arrive in Wu County when he wakes up.

Not long after Fan Ning left, Zhu Yuanjun, Zhu Yuanfu's second brother, came to his elder brother's courtyard.

The five brothers and sisters of the Zhu family, the eldest daughter Zhu was conferred the title of noble concubine during the reign of Emperor Zhenzong, and the Zhu family has since become relatives of the emperor. Concubine Chen has a very good relationship. Concubine Li Chen was suppressed by Empress Dowager Liu several times, and Concubine Zhu Guifei tried her best to protect her.

Zhao Zhen was very grateful, and after the death of Concubine Zhu Gui, he showed great favor to the Zhu family.

Concubine Zhu's mother was revered as the Taijun, and she was given the title of Mrs. Yipin. The eldest son, Zhu Yuanfu, was given the title of Duke of Wujiang County.

The second son, Zhu Yuanjun, became an official, from the official to the deputy envoy of the Privy Council.

In addition, Zhu Yuanfu also has a second sister who married another wealthy family in the south of the Yangtze River, the Shen family in Huzhou, at the age of 16. She is still alive and has become the ancestor of the Shen family.

The three brothers of the Zhu family married wives and took concubines, each gave birth to five or six sons, and the sons gave birth to grandsons. The Zhu family became the most prosperous family in Wujiang.

Zhu Yuanjun, as the second person in the family, has a huge influence in the family, and he is also a high-ranking official in the court.

He is not only in charge of the development of the Zhu family's official career, but also the Zhu family's students, that is, all kinds of talents cultivated by the Zhu family. For example, Gao Fei, the county magistrate of Wu County, is a student of the Zhu family.

Zhu Yuanjun is currently keeping filial piety for his mother at home as Ding You. When the filial piety ends at the end of the year, he will return to the court and continue to serve as a senior official.

"This time, the students of the Zhu family did well in the exam. Eight students got four in the exam. This is the best class in ten years!" Zhu Yuanfu said with a sip of tea and a smile.

Zhu Yuanjun shook his head, "Actually, I'm not satisfied. Zhang Chao should be in the top three, but he didn't do well in his argumentative essay. He only took No. 7, which really disappointed me. The other three were all in the bottom [-]. I am very worried about the provincial test, I am afraid that the four of them will be wiped out."

"It's not just the four of them taking the provincial exam, there are several other outstanding students! A total of twelve students will take the provincial exam, and one or two will always pass the exam, so you don't have to worry too much."

"I heard that Fan Zhongyan's grandson is here today?" Zhu Yuanjun asked after a moment of silence.

Zhu Yuanfu took a quick look at his second brother, probably this was the reason why his second brother came to him.

Zhu Yuanfu said with a smile: "I spent a long time with that kid when I was in Mudu. I like this kid very much. This time he passed the No. 1 boy exam, so he came here to tell me the good news."

"I heard from Liu Ran that this kid is competitive and afraid of losing money, even if the boat stops. In order to be the first to get to the pier, he scratched a large piece of skin on Liu Ran's arm."

Zhu Yuanfu smiled faintly, "According to my many years of experience, it's best for my second brother not to just listen to one side of things."

Zhu Yuanjun's face sank, and he was dissatisfied immediately: "Brother, do you mean that Liu Ran will lie to me? I watched this kid grow up. I know who he is. He didn't want to say it at first, but I discovered him." There is an injury on his arm, force him to speak out."

Zhu Yuanfu shook his head, "Why should my second brother care about such a trivial matter?"

Zhu Yuanjun was silent for a while and said: "I have no other intentions. I just want to remind my elder brother that Fan Zhongyan is still a controversial figure in the court and is very sensitive. It is best for my elder brother to be more cautious when contacting the Fan family."

Zhu Yuanfu smiled, "I see, thank you for reminding my second brother."

Speaking of this step, it is difficult for Zhu Yuanjun to continue. After all, Fan Ning is not a student of the Zhu family and has nothing to do with the Zhu family. How the eldest brother interacts with him is the eldest brother's private matter, and it is not up to him to dictate.

If it wasn't for Fan Ning's arrogance today, which caused Liu Ran's arm to be scratched, Zhu Yuanjun would not have been able to resist coming to his elder brother. Fan Ning's arrogant personality really made him very dissatisfied.

After a moment of silence, Zhu Yuanjun said slowly: "A Pei will be talking about marriage in a few years, right? Brother, didn't you think about setting her up with someone early?"

Zhu Yuanfu gave his brother a stern look, "Have you forgotten your mother's last words?"

Before her death, the old lady left three last words, one is to be buried in the same cave as her husband, the other is to continue to offer lamp oil to Lingyan Temple every year, and the other is to make her own decisions about the marriage of her granddaughter Zhu Pei.

Of course, the last last words were not left by her intentionally, but what the old lady said when she stroked her head when Jupe held her hand and wept.

Everyone saw this scene, Zhu Yuanjun smiled wryly and shook his head, "This is just what my mother said to comfort Ape, it shouldn't be counted as last words!"

Zhu Yuanfu sighed softly, "In my opinion, this is indeed my mother's last words."

(End of this chapter)