Do you know: I am Xu Jiazi

Chapter 520: Lease and Repair [Thank you! Goodbye! I owe you 44k]

In Xingguofang,

The Duke's Mansion of Qi State,

backyard,

In the study room filled with the scent of ink,

The Duke of Qi stood in front of a table covered with precious rice paper, holding an ink stick engraved with exquisite patterns in his hand, and grinding the ink with his wrist above the moist inkstone.

Behind the table,

Princess Pingning rolled up her sleeves and wrote with a brush in her hand.

Duke Qi looked at Princess Pingning's handwriting and said softly, "Madam, are you restless?"

Looking at the words on the desk paper,

Princess Pingning smiled helplessly and said, "Sir, you should come!"

Duke Qi smiled, placed the ink stick next to the inkstone, and exchanged places with Princess Pingning.

"Madam, what were you thinking about just now?"

Princess Pingning lowered her head to grind ink and was speechless for a moment. Only the scent of ink filled the study.

"I was just thinking about what the official said to me when he got home."

"What about Gu's second son?"

"Hmm!" Princess Pingning nodded: "I wonder if our Heng'er has the same thoughts as Erlang of the Gu family."

Duke Qi smiled as he wrote a few words in one breath: "Heng'er has been sensible since he was young, and he is also a filial and good child!"

After looking at Princess Pingning, Duke Qi continued, "In Bianjing, how many children from noble families are as studious as our Heng'er?"

Princess Pingning stopped grinding ink and looked at Duke Qi: "There are quite a few right in front of us!"

Duke Qi raised his lips and said, "That's right! Madam, this is also what makes me happy! As the saying goes."

As he spoke, Duke Qi pointed at the seal on the table with his brush and said, "He who keeps company with vermilion becomes red!"

He pointed at the ink stick in Princess Pingning's hand and said, "A person who keeps company with ink will become black! With children from the Sheng, Xu, and Gu families studying so hard, how can Heng'er not benefit from it?"

"If it's the same as the Han family and the Lu family, will you be happy, ma'am?"

Listening to her master's explanation, Princess Pingning smiled and nodded repeatedly, saying, "Master is right."

Yongchang Houfu,

Backyard main hall,

Liang Han's servant was fishing in a cart, standing outside the door with his head bowed, wearing a cotton coat.

inside the house,

Yongchang Hou sat leisurely on the chair.
In the open space in front of the chair,
Mrs. Wu was holding a bamboo board in one hand and pulling Liang Han's ear with the other.
"Mother! Mother! Hiss~ Ouch! Let go!"

"My son is wrong, he is wrong, please let go!"

"Dad, save me!"

Ignoring Liang Han's shouts, Mrs. Wu swung the bamboo board.

"Pfft! Pfft!"

There were the sounds of bamboo sticks hitting thick clothes.

"Clap"

The bamboo stick was thrown on the table. Mrs. Wu panted and glared at Liang Han who was rubbing his buttocks, saying, "You rebellious son, look at Gu's Erlang, and then look at you!"

"Think about how neglected Madam Gu was when she first came to Bianjing! And look at her now! Ah!? What a sight! How impressive!"

"Puff! Puff!"

Mrs. Wu, who was questioning her son, slammed the table again.

"Gu Erlang went out to make meritorious contributions and ask for an imperial decree for his mother, but what about you? You are a student and all you do is fight cocks and walk dogs all day long!"

Listening to his mother's scolding, Liang Han continued to rub his butt. After looking up at Marquis Yongchang, he murmured a few words.

"Whatever you say, speak louder!"

"Mother, why do you always talk about me and not my brother, or father?"

After these words were spoken, the Yongchang Marquis, who had been watching the show leisurely, suddenly changed his expression. He stood up, glared at Liang Han and shouted, "This is really outrageous. How dare you say that I, your father, am not good!"

"I have a say in front of His Majesty!"

As he spoke, Marquis Yongchang turned his eyes to look for something, then grabbed the bamboo board on the table and walked towards Liang Han angrily.

"If you run again, I'll break your legs!"

Looking at the momentum of Yongchang Hou,

Madam Wu stood up quickly and grabbed the Marquis of Yongchang: "My Lord! My Lord! Liu Lang is still young, you, you should not argue with him!"

Subsequently,

"Clap!"

A sound completely different from the one heard by Madam Wu beating someone was heard. It was Liang Han's pants being taken off and his skin being beaten.

Liang Han was in so much pain that he couldn't speak.

"mother!"

Liang Han, who was in his prime years, started crying.

The prosperous family in Jiying Lane,
Shouantang,
Sheng Hong, who was on duty at the yamen, was wearing his official uniform and sitting below the old lady, talking.

"Hong'er, so the ministers have been discussing this for a long time in front of His Majesty?"

"Yes, mother! I heard from Minister Li that several dukes are very unhappy about this matter!"

The old lady nodded gently: "You have made great contributions to Beizhou! When we evaluate the merits afterwards, we will naturally take more credit for myself!"

"But, no matter what, the ones who made the greatest contributions are Jing Ge'er, Gu Erlang and the others!"

Sheng Hong nodded, drank a sip of tea, and continued: "Mother, during the period before the New Year, my son's good reputation for filial piety will surely spread in Bianjing!"

Looking at the old lady with a puzzled expression, Sheng Hong talked about Gu Erlang's request for an imperial decree for his mother.

The old lady smiled when she heard this and said, "Gu's Erlang is a very thoughtful boy! If his reputation gets out, I think there will be one more candidate for the girls in the capital who want to be married."

"Mother is right. My son is off duty today, and a colleague who knows that Gu Erlang is studying in our house has been asking me about this child."

Knowing that Sheng Hong would be able to handle the matter properly, the old lady smiled and nodded without asking any further questions.

"Have you decided on the reward for Jing'er?"

Sheng Hong hesitated for a moment and said, "I heard from Minister Li that his martial rank has been raised a lot, and the palace has also sent him many rare treasures, as well as a house in Guangfufang!"

"Guangfufang is in the east of the palace, in the inner city?"

"Yes, mother! It's not far from Jingmingfang and Huihefang! I heard it's a house covering more than ten acres and with three entrances!"

The old lady pondered for a moment and said, "Well, a house with three entrances would cost about 20,000 taels according to the current price of a courtyard in Bianjing."

Sheng Hong nodded repeatedly.

The old lady continued:
"This area of ​​more than ten acres is almost as big as the racecourse of the Yongyi Marquis's Mansion. It can be considered as Jing'er's own earned property!"

"Mother is right! His Majesty also spoke to my cousin."

After Sheng Hong repeated the emperor's words about the 'ancestral hall' and 'plaque', he said, "Mother, what do you think His Majesty means by this?"

After listening to this, the old lady thought for a moment, took a deep breath, straightened up in the Luohan chair, and blinked thoughtfully.

"The Xu family might come up with one."

Listening to the old lady's words, Sheng Hong's eyes widened: "Oh my God! Brother Jing has to study hard!"

The first quarter of the evening (after 5 p.m.)

The sky is already dark,

Quyuan Street,
Yong Yi Hou Mansion,

The lantern hanging at the gate is huge and bright.
The steward boy of the Xu family's gatehouse, who had been blessed with good fortune and had received a reward, was sweeping up the debris from the firecrackers at the door with a smile on his face. Some of the debris floated onto the snow nearby and could only be picked up at daybreak.

In the courtyard of the Marquis's Mansion,

A low-key carriage was parked near the racecourse.
Near the stables,

There was a slender young horse that looked not very old, with its ears tilted back, and its fur was being licked affectionately by one of Xu Zaijing's dragon horses.

The pony has a graceful figure and occasionally lowers its head to eat a few bites of grass.

In the main hall of the backyard,
The heating was on and the hall was very warm.

Under the bright yellow candlelight,

Xu Minghua and Sun were teasing their grandson Hu Yanbi.
Next to the two of them were two children, Xingdai and Xingzhong, who had taken off their shoes. They stood on the Luohan bed and looked at their little cousin.

Xie and Hualan were busy preparing the dishes.

An Mei held her niece in one hand and helped Mrs. Xie put away a plate of food. She looked at Zai Zhang standing by the table with a smug look on her face and said, "Brother, I came earlier than my elder sister this time!"

Zai Zhang sneered and said, "That's because something happened at the Gu family, so it's hard for the eldest sister to come directly!"

An Mei: "That's because I came early!"

"Okay, you're early, okay?"

"Every time my eldest sister comes back, she helps my younger sister and brother-in-law to set the table, but when you come back, you just watch over them! You don't even notice anything."

Seeing Hualan's angry eyes, Zai Zhang stopped talking. Looking at her henpecked brother, An Mei said, "Brother, please speak! Why don't you speak? Humph~"

After saying that, An Mei kissed the busy Hua Lan's face, then hugged her niece and turned to walk towards Xu Zaijing who was sitting below her parents.

On the table next to Xu Zaijing, in addition to the teacup, there was also an exquisite long wooden box made of fine materials.

"Xiaowu, let me take a look."

An Mei stretched out her hand towards Xu Zaijing and said.

After Xu Zaijing smiled at his niece in An Mei's arms, he turned sideways to open the wooden box and handed a folded piece of paper inside to An Mei.

"Help me unfold it."

Xu Zaijing unfolded the paper as instructed.

An Mei took it with one hand and looked at it for a few seconds: "Wow, this Guangfufang is a great place! It's a three-story house! I don't know what the condition of the yard is like, and whether it needs repairs!"

Hearing her little daughter's words, Sun turned her head and said, "His brother-in-law's family sent someone to say that the yard has always been taken care of and it's still very good!"

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An Mei nodded.

"Sister, if you like, just move to that yard." Xu Zaijing said.

An Mei shook her head: "My house is great, no need to move!"

Zai Zhang, who was not far away, said, "Oh, now people are asking which part of my house is yours?"

An Mei glared: "They are all my family!"

"Brother! You. Humph!"

After looking at Hualan, An Mei didn't say what hurt her. After all, her younger brother had earned a fortune on his own, but her brother Zai Zhang was only thinking about running to his father-in-law's house!

No longer care about Zai Zhang,

An Mei sat on another chair, feeling a little tired from carrying the child, and said, "Xiao Wu, I see that the row of houses facing the street are shops?"

Xu Zaijing nodded: "Yes, there seem to be six in total, and there are merchants in them!"

"What about the rent?"

After Xu Zaijing rummaged through the wooden box, he said, "This year's rent is all here."

"Hiss, Xiaowu, it's less than a month before the Chinese New Year. Have you paid this year's rent?"

"Well! It seems so!"

While the two were talking, Xie smiled and said a few words to her mother-in-law, Sun.

Subsequently,

Sun stood up and said, "Okay, let's all take our seats!"

on the table,

When everyone was eating,
After Xu Minghua had a few glasses of wine,
He asked a few questions about Xu Zaijing's situation in Beizhou.

"Father, I heard from the rebellious Du Qinxia that if my son had entered the water gate one hour later that night, the water gate would have been blocked."

Sun, who was listening to the conversation between father and son, looked at Xu Zaijing with distressed eyes and said, "Jing'er, the river water on that winter night must be very cold! We need to find someone to take a look at you, so you don't get sick!"

Xu Zaijing smiled and shook his head, "Mother, your son has thick skin and doesn't feel the cold. He should be fine!"

Zai Zhang, who was sitting next to Xu Zai Jing, patted his brother's thick shoulders with emotion and raised his glass, saying, "Xiao Wu, come on, I'll toast you!"

The two clinked their glasses and drank. Xu Minghua asked, "In the city, Jing'er, how did you decide to attack the bandit leader?"

After Xu Zaijing explained, Xu Minghua held up his wine glass and nodded, saying, "On the battlefield, sometimes opportunities are like this, fleeting!"

"If we are not careful, we won't be able to open the city gates and save the military supplies at the same time, which is a rare best of both worlds!"

Zai Zhang nodded repeatedly as he listened, and said, "Father, you rarely talk about battles at home, why don't you..."

Xu Minghua smiled and shook his head, saying, "Zhang'er, battles are a matter of life and death. As your father has said, if you have not experienced it, then it is just empty talk. Talking more will only do harm and no good."

"Yes, father!"

Zai Zhang bowed and said.

Xu Minghua: "Well! Jing'er, now your mother and I are here, and we haven't split up. What should we do with that house? Do you have any plan in mind?"

"Father, I plan to rent it out." Xu Zaijing said after swallowing the food in his mouth.

Hearing this,

Mrs. Xie, who was standing by, glanced at her father-in-law and mother-in-law and said, "Isn't it a bit... to rent out the house that was given as a reward?"

As she spoke, Xie and Hualan looked at each other again.

Sun said nothing, just looked at her husband.

Xu Minghua, the Marquis of Yongyi, pondered for a moment and said, "If Jing'er has already started a family, even if we haven't separated, he should live in that house!"

"But Jing'er hasn't gotten married yet, and hasn't separated from his family yet. If he doesn't go to live there, no one can say anything!"

"Moreover, this house is the reward for Jing'er's meritorious service. It's not all a reward, so we can be more flexible in how to deal with it!"

Hearing this, everyone from the Xu family at the table nodded.

"If you feel uneasy, you can go to the palace and ask the Queen."

Sun nodded repeatedly.

After dinner,

It was already late, so Sun did not let An Mei rush back to Hu Yan's house at night, and let her sleep with her eldest daughter-in-law Xie.

Early the next morning,
The sky is bright,

Waking up from her sleep and looking at the unfamiliar roof, An Mei thought for a while before she remembered that she was at her mother's house.

Looking at her sister-in-law lying beside her and smiling at her, An Mei said with a smile: "Sister-in-law, when did you wake up?"

Mrs. Xie smiled and said, "I just woke up. Thanks to my sister, I can sleep a little longer! Mother told me last night that I don't have to rush to her place for dinner this morning."

An Mei smiled shyly and said, "Sister-in-law, you must be hungry, right?"

Xie smiled and said, "That's not the case!"

An Mei is at Huyan's house. Madam Pan seldom takes care of her. There is basically no morning and evening visit for her, so naturally she has no habit of getting up early.

When I was holding my niece, taking my son and nephew to the Sun family courtyard for dinner,
An Mei looked at the chair where Xu Zaijing was supposed to be, and at Sun Shi who was standing beside her with her hair tied up neatly, preparing to enter the palace, and said, "Mother, has Xiaowu gone to school?"

Sun nodded: "How is your brother? You don't know yet?"

"An'er, you are at Huyan's house, and you also get up at this time?" Sun asked.

An Mei pursed her lips and didn't dare to look at her mother, Sun.

"Mother, it's inevitable that a girl who goes back to her parents' home won't sleep in!" Hua Lan said with a smile.

"Hualan is right. When I returned to Xie's house, the sun was shining through the window and I just got up!" Xie said with a smile.

Sun shook her head and looked at An Mei and said, "If I find out that you treated your mother-in-law badly, you will suffer the consequences!"

An Mei said shyly: "Oh, I see, mother!"

Si Shi Zheng (10:00 a.m.)

Sheng family,

Outside the school,
Zhuang Xuejiu was walking in the courtyard wearing ear protection.
Xu Zaijing and Gu Tingye followed behind, one on the left and one on the right.

Zhuang Xuejiu stopped and looked at the two students, saying with emotion: "I have learned a lot about things during this trip to the north! You guys are great!"

Xu Zaijing and Gu Tingye quickly bowed and said, "Thank you for the compliment, Master!"

When the two raised their heads, Zhuang Xuejiu bowed to them and said, "If something happens to Beizhou, how much of the people's money will be turned into ashes. I should bow to you!"

When Xu Zaijing stepped forward, Master Zhuang had already finished bowing.

Xu Zaijing and Gu Tingye hurriedly bowed again: "Scholar, I, we can't bear it."

Zhuang Xueji waved his hand and said, "You can bear it. Let's go back."

On the way,

Zhuang Xuejiu continued, "Do you know how to reward the soldiers who participated?"

Gu Tingye and Xu Zaijing looked at each other and said, "Scholar, it is said that the reward is 60,000 pieces of silk and 60,000 strings of silver from the Beizhou warehouse."

Zhuang Xuejiu nodded.

Two days later,
Chai family, Qiushengyuan.

Chai Zhengzheng, who was busy looking at the account book, raised his head and said, "Yunmu, what did you say?"

"Miss, I heard from Madam that the house that Xu Jia Wulang got for his meritorious service is going to be rented out!"

“Can it be rented out?”

"Not yet, Madam Wu's invitation just arrived!"

"Go, get my change book, and quickly tell Madam Wu that we have rented this yard!"

"Yes!"

After Yunmu left, Chai Zhengzheng looked at Zi Teng and said, "Go, send someone to the Li family to ask if their craftsmen are busy! They said my family has a house that needs to be repaired!"

Fu Yi, who was standing by, looked at Zi Teng who was walking out quickly and whispered, "Miss, we heard that the yard was well maintained, why does it need to be repaired?"

Chai Zhengzheng smiled and said, "It needs to be repaired!"

(End of this chapter)