Chapter 49

As Cheng Zhicai and Lady Cheng were talking, his three younger brothers, Zhiyuan, Zhixiang, and Zhiyi, also came down from the boat... They were the same three who had been riding horses on the street in Meishan the other day, and who had been shouting and yelling just now. Seeing their elder brother and the elders talking, the three of them did not dare to come closer, but instead gathered around the Su family siblings, chattering away.

"Cousin, why didn't you let us know earlier? Otherwise, we could have traveled together and saved the boat fare," Cheng Zhiyuan said, holding a fan and imitating his elder brother by gently waving it. "And our Cheng family's large boat is far better than this coal-carrying old boat."

"Thank you for your kindness, Cousin," Su Baniang replied with a gentle smile. "Sister will remember next time."

"Zhong, do you have any new works?" Cheng Zhixiang patted Su Shi's shoulder affectionately and said, "Your last poem, 'How swift the sun and moon, how cramped the world,' was highly praised by my friends."

"I do have some new ones," Su Shi replied with an unguarded smile. "I wrote two on the way here."

"Quick, let us hear them." Cheng Zhixiang immediately had a servant bring paper and pen, and he crouched down to take notes. "One is called 'Viewing the Mountains from the River.'"

Su Shi cleared his throat and recited with a rhythmic cadence. Meanwhile, the youngest of the Cheng brothers, Cheng Zhiyi, approached Su Xiaomei with a notebook, his face full of anticipation. "Cousin, this is my latest essay. Please give me your corrections."

Su Xiaomei couldn't refuse, so she steeled herself, took the notebook, and read it through, trying to hide her discomfort.

"How is it?" Cheng Zhiyi asked eagerly. "I put a lot of effort into it, Cousin. Please give me your evaluation."

"Bring me a pen," Su Xiaomei said with a radiant smile.

"Quickly, bring a pen!" Each of the Cheng brothers had a servant, and upon hearing the call, Cheng Zhiyi's servant hurriedly brought the pen and ink. Su Xiaomei took the pen, dipped it in ink, and wrote two lines of elegant cursive script on the back of Cheng Zhiyi's essay.

"Two yellow orioles singing in the green willows, a line of white egrets ascending to the blue sky..." As she wrote, Cheng Zhiyi read aloud, but then looked puzzled. "Isn't this Du Fu's poem? What does it mean?"

"This means your essay is clear and beautiful, with lofty ideas," Su Xiaomei explained, her face serious as she handed the pen back to the servant.

"I've never received such high praise from you before!" Cheng Zhiyi was overjoyed. "It seems I'm making rapid progress and will soon catch up to your brother."

"My brother can't compare to you," Su Xiaomei said with a smile, her eyes narrowing into crescents. "They could never write such an essay in their entire lives."

"Too much praise, too much praise..." Cheng Zhiyi scratched his head and laughed, but he didn't notice the strange expression on Su Zhe's face.

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Cheng Zhicai warmly invited the Su family to stay with them, but Su Xun firmly declined: "We have already found a house and paid the rent."

Who would want to live under someone else's roof if they had a choice?

"Is that so..." Cheng Zhicai, though disappointed that he couldn't get closer to his cousin earlier, was even more unwilling to live under his aunt's watchful eye. He said with a regretful look, "Then we can only meet more often in the future."

"That would be good," Su Xun said with a stern face. "It's getting late. Let's each go our own way."

"Very well," Cheng Zhicai agreed, eager to distance himself from this future father-in-law with a peculiar temper. He bowed to Baniang and said, "Cousin, come visit me often."

"..." Su Baniang blushed and lowered her head, bowing without a word.

Seeing her bashful demeanor, Cheng Zhicai felt a thrill and laughed loudly. "Let's go, let's go! Until we meet again!" He then called his brothers to mount their horses and leave... The Cheng family had sent a boat to escort the four young men, and when they disembarked, there were over twenty maids, old ladies, and servants, as well as four tall horses.

This grand procession naturally drew the attention of the Qingcheng residents, who asked each other about the identity of these important visitors. The Cheng brothers were used to such attention and left with a show of arrogance.

"Ah..." Su Xun looked at his wife and sighed, stopping himself from speaking.

"Who doesn't have a reckless youth?" Lady Cheng, who had been married for many years, understood his thoughts and spoke up for her nephew. "After experiencing some things, he will naturally become more mature."

"Let's hope so," Su Xun exhaled deeply. "Let's go."

The group followed three large carts and left the East Gate dock.

Walking down the bustling street, Su Zhe, who had been quiet, finally couldn't hold back and asked Su Xiaomei, "Xiaomei, what did your comment really mean?"

"Guess," Xiaomei said with a curious look at the shops along the road, smiling.

"Two yellow orioles singing in the green willows, does that mean 'nonsense'? And 'a line of white egrets ascending to the blue sky,' does that mean 'getting further off track'?"

"You guessed right," Su Xiaomei giggled, her voice like a silver bell.

"Ah, you," Lady Cheng turned around, half scolding and half indulging, "how can you say such things about your fourth cousin?"

"Mother, why don't you scold them?" Su Xiaomei pouted. "They show off and embarrass themselves everywhere."

"What can a married aunt do to them?" Lady Cheng shook her head.

Su Xun had intended to find an inn for his family to rest, but the interruption by the Cheng brothers made him forget to tell the cart driver. As a result, they were taken to the front of the Chen family residence on Wenxing Street.

Before he could speak, the cart driver shouted, "Mr. Chen, your relatives have arrived!" Su Xun and his wife were embarrassed and had to change their plans.

Soon, the front gate opened, and Chen Xiliang, dressed in short clothes and sweating profusely, came out. Seeing the Su family, he was both surprised and delighted. "Weren't you supposed to arrive tomorrow?"

"Fearing to trouble you, we came a day early," Su Xun said with a smile, bowing.

"Please, no formalities," Lady Cheng said, leading her children to bow to Chen Xiliang.

"Please, no need for such formality," Chen Xiliang returned the bow and instructed the cart drivers, "Please push the carts to the north gate."

He then closed the front gate and led the Su family around to the north side of the residence. The north side also faced a street, though not as grand as the front, it was still more impressive than an ordinary home.

"Brother and sister, don't laugh at me for using public resources for personal gain," Chen Xiliang said, unlocking the door and smiling. "I bought this place in a moment of foolishness, and the back courtyard has always been unused. This time, when Brother Laquan asked me to help find a house, I had an idea. Better to keep it in the family."

As he spoke, he opened the courtyard gate and removed the threshold to let the cart drivers push the carts inside.

The back courtyard, which was supposed to be the living area, had a large north-facing house with five rooms, two rooms on each side, and a covered walkway connecting the main house and the side rooms. The courtyard had crabapple trees, wisteria, a fish pond, and a rock garden. For privacy, there was a screen wall behind the moon gate, dividing the front and back courtyards into two separate worlds.

Since they hadn't expected the Su family to arrive a day early, there were still workers in the courtyard, washing the ground with buckets.

"Stop cleaning the courtyard and help move the luggage inside!" Chen Xiliang instructed the workers and tried to pay the cart driver, only to find out that Su Xun had already paid.

After the cart drivers left, Chen Xiliang led Su Xun and his wife into the house and sat them down in the official hat chairs. "The back courtyard has been renovated, and everything inside is new. I hope it meets your approval."

Su Xun and his wife had already liked the courtyard, and upon entering the house, they saw the finely crafted brickwork, bright windows, and elegant furniture, which made them hesitate. They exchanged a glance, and Lady Cheng said, "This house is excellent, but dividing it in half might inconvenience you."

"The back courtyard has always been locked," Chen Xiliang waved his hand and smiled. "We five are more than enough for the front."

"But you will remarry, won't you?" Lady Cheng smiled. "And your second son will need a wife soon. By then, you'll need the back courtyard."

"To be honest, I have no plans to remarry," Chen Xiliang shook his head and sighed. "The relationship between children and stepmothers is difficult, and it could strain the father-son relationship."

"Then wait until the children are older," Lady Cheng smiled. "What about your second son?"

"Second son has vowed not to marry until he passes the imperial exams," Chen Xiliang said seriously. "As a father, although I hope for more children, I must support his ambition."

"Then..." Su Xun understood that they had to rent the house and interrupted his wife. "The 500 coins you mentioned in your letter, how can that be enough?"

"Brother Laquan knows that we are not short of money. The main reason is to avoid leaving the house idle," Chen Xiliang said, smiling at Lady Cheng. "There is also a personal reason."

"What is it?"

"Another imperial examination year is coming. If everything goes as planned, Brother Laquan and I will have to go to the capital again, which will take at least a year," Chen Xiliang sighed. "To be honest, I am very worried about those boys." He paused. "Second son is better, but the other three, without any constraints, will surely run wild, neglect their studies, and pick up bad habits!" He stood up and bowed. "Your reputation for raising children is well-known. Please help me with this!"

"Uncle, you flatter me. I will treat them as my own," Lady Cheng stood up and returned the bow, accepting the task.

"Thank you, sister..."

"The children will have a teacher, and I will only supervise their studies," Lady Cheng covered her mouth and smiled. "This is not a good deal for you, Uncle."

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By noon, Wulang led three servants from Laifu to the house... Chen Xiliang had already sent his son to inform Laifu that they had guests today.

In no time, various exquisite fruits and hot and cold dishes filled the table.

Lady Cheng came from a wealthy family, and Su Xun was also well-traveled, but neither of them recognized the main dishes. The same went for Baniang and the four Su siblings.

Fortunately, the Laifu servants were热情周到，每道菜都报上菜名，什么“狮子头”、“雪蛤蒸鱼唇”、“菜炒螺丝肉”、“桂花烘鳝糊”、“红烧青鱼划”……听都没听说过。

－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－分割－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－

难怪昨天难受，原来是热伤风，躺了一天，晚上好些了，赶紧发一章……

继续写，争取再发一章哈……

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The Laifu servants were热情周到, reporting the names of each dish, such as "Lion's Head," "Snow Frog Steamed Fish Lip," "Vegetable Stir-Fried Snail Meat," "Osmanthus Glazed Eel," and "Braised Bluefish Fillet"... They had never heard of these dishes.

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No wonder I felt so bad yesterday; it was a heat cold. I lay in bed all day and felt better in the evening, so I hurried to write and post a chapter...

I'll keep writing and try to post another chapter...

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