After the whole family was swept away, I lay down flat

Chapter 936 Wu Family Old Place
The Wu family owned a large piece of land in Mingshifang. Their mansion was not granted by the emperor, but a private residence passed down from their ancestors. Therefore, many years after it was burned down, the Wu mansion is still a ruin, and no one occupies it, even though it has an excellent location and a large area.

Xie Wenzai still remembers that when he was young, he had just arrived in the capital with only a servant named Xie Zhong, a few savings, and a scholarship from his aunt, Hai Xie. At that time, he was not sure whether he could pass the imperial examination, so he wanted to seize every opportunity to review his lessons before the exam. In order to reduce the time spent on the road, he rented a house in Mingshifang, where the Imperial Examination Hall was located.

It was a small house with two entrances. He lived in the study in the front yard, and Zhuangshi lived in the back yard. The two of them shared the living room and kitchen in the front yard and got along quite harmoniously.

At that time, the Wu family often held literary gatherings in the garden. His family's mansion had a layout of three entrances and five roads, and there was a large garden next to it. There were more than ten small courtyards built outside the garden, some with one entrance and some with two entrances. The people living in them were either relatives and friends who came to rely on the Wu family, or the families of staff and confidants, or the disciples of Wu Wen'an. The garden had a back door, and it was very convenient to enter from the back door, without having to pass through the mansion in front. Whenever there was a literary gathering, the back door of the Wu family garden was open. Xie Wenzai and Zhuang Shitong received the letter. They only needed to change into a slightly more decent set of clothes and bring their newly written articles, and they could go directly to the Wu family garden to participate in the literary gathering. At the literary gathering, famous scholars would comment on their articles and point out their shortcomings. They could also meet new friends and have a delicious and sumptuous meal.

They knew a poor scholar who had shamelessly packed meat, vegetables and snacks from a literary conference and took them home to eat for two days. The Wu family's master and servants would not say a word, and a clever servant would take the initiative to help find the utensils for packing. If this poor scholar had a good article, the young master of the Wu family would take the initiative to send someone to send him his favorite cakes, and also give him a few pieces of good fabrics and four treasures of the study, so that he could maintain his dignity in front of others.

When Xie Wenzai passed the imperial examination and became a student of Wu Wen'an, he was arranged by his mentor to live in the small courtyard behind the garden. He remembered that he had a small courtyard all to himself, with three main rooms, one east and one west wing, as well as a kitchen, a clean room, a firewood room, etc. There was an osmanthus tree planted in the courtyard, and the fragrance of flowers filled the courtyard in autumn. His neighbors were all newly-appointed Jinshi favored by Wu Wen'an. They were exiled two years later than him. One of them died of illness before arriving in Chang'an, and the other was infected with an epidemic in Ganzhou. Looking back on the time when the three of them often gathered to drink, talk about poetry and essays, it was like a dream.

Xie Wenzai sighed, Cao Gengyun and Lu Bainian also felt lost.

Xie Wenzai was a student of Wu Wen'an, and the two of them were his subordinates. But they had participated in Wu's literary gatherings in their early years, or were invited to Wu's banquets. They also remembered the beautiful scenery of Wu's garden and the delicious food of Wu's literary gatherings. But more than 30 years later, everything at that time seemed to have become blurred. They even forgot what the wine they drank and the snacks they ate tasted like.

Cao Gengyun looked at Xie Wenzai and said, "I originally wanted to go over and take a look, but my children and grandchildren advised me not to go, saying that the area has become a ruin and homeless beggars will not go there. Only stray cats and dogs will stay in the garden. I felt so sad when I heard that, so I didn't have the heart to go."

Lu Bainian said nothing. These days, he had been busy asking about family matters and contacting old friends, and he really had no time to think about anything else. The old land of the Wu family was not that important to him. Anyway, there were only two children left in the Wu family, and it was impossible for them to live in the ruins.

Xie Wenzai sighed, "To be honest, I wandered around for a few days after arriving in Beijing. I not only met up with some old friends, but also visited old places. I went to see the ruins of the Wu Mansion myself."

The fire at the Wu family burned down the main building complex of the Wu mansion, which was basically the area where Wu Wen'an and his family lived. The residences of the servants, the residences of the relatives, friends and students who depended on the Wu family, and the garden area were actually only affected but not burned. However, after the fire, the Sun family sent people to clean up the area around the Wu family. Not to mention the relatives, friends and students who depended on the Wu family and the servants of the Wu family, even the old servants who had long left the Wu family did not escape. That piece of house had long been empty, and even the garden was abandoned, the house was damaged and overgrown with weeds. Xie Wenzai saw wild cats running out of the abandoned house with his own eyes, and heard some suspicious sounds in the ruins, but he did not dare to approach. He was not sure whether there was no one inside. Anyway, even if the orphans of the Wu family wanted to return to their old home, they could not live there without renovation.

The three old men imagined the scene and sighed at the same time.

Lu Bainian whispered, "The streets in that area are probably deserted. When Jiashu returned to Chang'an from the capital, didn't he tell us that he went back to the place where his parents used to live and saw that there was no one on the street. The people nearby had moved away if they could. Even if they couldn't move away, they were very careful when going in and out and never dared to speak loudly. At night, the whole street was empty as soon as it got dark. There were also rumors that the Wu family's old residence was haunted by ghosts."

Of course, the so-called ghosts were probably wild cats and dogs causing trouble, or they might be homeless refugees who came to "stay" here because they saw that the abandoned house still had tiles and walls to shelter them from the wind and rain.

Cao Gengyun asked, "Old Xie, you often go to Tao Nanshan's place. Have you heard where the Wu brothers and sisters are? Before we left Chang'an, they had already set out for the capital. They only said that they would hide their whereabouts until the late emperor issued an order, and then they would show up in public. They should have arrived by now, right? I don't know where they are? Have they returned to their old home?"

Xie Wenzai had inquired about this matter. "They arrived in the capital last month, two days earlier than us, but they have been living in the Cheng'en Marquis's Mansion and have never announced it to the public. Tao Nanshan said that the late emperor refused to see them before he died, but left a will to grant them marriage and return the Wu family's old house and property. But now that the country is in mourning, they have no time to care about anything else. They are still staying in the Cheng'en Marquis' Mansion. After the new emperor's coronation ceremony is over, they will return to their old house to discuss how to renovate the house."

This is not an easy task. The Wu brothers and sisters do not have much money, and they have relied on the Zhou family for support over the years. Although the late emperor has returned the old house and property, the old house is just a ruin, and the property is unknown. It may not be possible to raise much money in a short time. The Wu family's old house covers such a large area that it is impossible to renovate it without tens of thousands of yuan. Even if there are tens of thousands of yuan, considering that Wu Ke and Wu Qiong are both of marriageable age, they may not be willing to spend all the money on renovating the house for the sake of future marriage and living expenses.

Anyway, there are only two brothers and sisters left in the Wu family. When Wu Qiong gets married, how big a house can Wu Ke live in alone? It would be enough if the main courtyard of the main house can be built.

"What a pity." Cao Gengyun smacked his lips, "It's such a large piece of land! And it's close to the Imperial Examination Hall..."