Volume 3: Dragon and Snake Movement Chapter 459 Good Times
The full moon of Mid-Autumn Festival has not yet appeared. At this moment, the weather in Zhang Garden is sunny and the scenery is just perfect.
The gardener who was temporarily transferred from the Duke of Zhao's mansion has brought new life to this former royal garden. Although the flowers, plants and trees in the garden have grown well under the careful care of the royal family, they are always less lively without the owner's house, even with regular repairs and maintenance. But now when Zhu Ying walks in it, she feels that the flowers, plants and trees are very lively and complement the architecture.
It was already the afternoon, and the sun was gradually moving westward. Compared with the hot days a few days ago, the sun was obviously much less hot, and the air was a little cooler. Therefore, when she wandered in the garden, she naturally walked around briskly until she found that the lotus pond was full of lotus leaves, and the summer lotus flowers were long gone. Then she felt a little bored.
Moreover, after walking around the garden for such a long time, she only saw green grass, tall trees, and colorful flowers, but it seemed that she was the only one left in such a large place, so the young lady naturally lost interest. She looked around and wanted to go back to the pavilion she passed by before to sit for a while, but suddenly remembered that when Zhang Shou told her about the gift he gave her, he mentioned that he hoped she would stop and look at the scenery.
"You're just keeping us in suspense. What on earth is it that needs to be so mysterious?"
Zhu Ying muttered something, raised her eyebrows, and turned back. When she was about to see the small and unique pavilion, she found Zhang Shou standing there with a smile under a towering tree that was at least a hundred years old. Next to him, there was something covered by oilcloth, and the true shape could not be seen.
She rushed over like a gust of wind, glanced at the thing with interest, and immediately asked with a smile, "Ah Shou, is this the gift you said you would give me? What is it?"
Although he didn't like to keep people in suspense, especially in front of Zhu Ying, Zhang Shou couldn't help but want to tease her this time, and immediately asked with a smile: "What do you think?"
"I guess..." Zhu Ying really liked this little guessing trick. She tapped her chin seriously with her finger. Suddenly, her eyes lit up and she looked up at the lush and tall tree in front of her. Then she smiled and said, "Is it a swing?"
Zhang Shou was stunned for a moment: "Swing? Why a swing?"
Zhu Ying didn't notice Zhang Shou's strange expression, and continued to talk to herself, "Because the last time I came to your garden, I felt that something was missing. Just now, after walking around for a long time, I finally thought of it. If I hang a swing on this tree, I will be able to swing very high, and it will also be very stable."
Unable to help but glance at the oldest tree in Zhang Garden, Zhang Shou suddenly realized a ridiculous but important question: "This tree is tall, and the horizontal branch is tall and strong, so the swing can swing high, no problem, but what do you mean it will be stable? I remember you are quite skilled, can you still fall?"
Zhu Ying's eyes flickered at Zhang Shou's question. "Whenever I'm on a swing, I can't help but swing as high as I can. When I was a kid, I was naughty and swung the swing too high . I almost fell off the swing, but Uncle Hua caught me. Since then, wherever I am, there are no more swings. Even when I go out to visit friends."
Whenever she went out, her grandmother would specifically ask people to remove the swings within their sight, otherwise she would never let her go out, even after she grew up. It was so infuriating!
Zhang Shou didn't expect Zhu Ying to be so resentful of the swing, and smiled. A beautiful girl swinging on the swing in the garden while laughing and talking is indeed a very beautiful picture, but if she falls or there is a problem with the rope, it will become a thriller or horror movie. Well, the situation that Zhu Ying described is very necessary to prevent, and Zhang Garden must not install a swing!
Otherwise, if she wants to swing in the future... will Ah Liu be watching her all the time? Even if Ah Liu is watching him, he still feels uneasy! What's the matter with being ready to jump and save her at any time? How can I let my wife be hugged by others!
As Zhang Shou thought about it, his thoughts went astray, but his gentle and amiable smile made Zhu Ying's eyes sparkle. She couldn't help but recite softly: "There is a swing inside the wall, and a road outside the wall. There are pedestrians outside the wall, and the beauty inside the wall is laughing. Her laughter gradually fades, and her voice becomes quieter. The affectionate one is annoyed by the heartless one..."
After hearing this rare graceful poem by the bold and unrestrained old Dongpo, Zhang Shou came to his senses: "You actually like this "Dielianhua"? This poem sounds fresh and graceful, but in fact it has a kind of melancholy of late spring. I thought you would never like it."
Zhu Ying made a face at Zhang Shou, then smiled and said, "When my mother was still practicing in the temple, every time I went to see her, she liked to teach me to recite poems, but I am not that girl Yongping, who always did things perfunctorily. Moreover, my mother liked this poem "Dielianhua" by Lao Dongpo the most! Especially the line "The willow fluff on the branches is blown away, and there are fragrant grasses everywhere in the world."
"Later I learned that after my aunt passed away, my grandmother saw that my eldest brother and second brother had lost their mother and my father had no one around him, so she was worried and asked around for a suitable girl, hoping that my father would remarry. Later she chose my mother. But my father was stubborn, so she didn't dare to tell him earlier, and waited for more than a year before mentioning it to him."
"My father was very resistant at first, but one time, he passed by the back wall of my mother's house and heard a few girls swinging on the swings inside. He also heard a clear laughter, so he finally agreed to meet each other. After that meeting, my father found that my mother was the girl with the clear laughter. After a few more contacts, he gradually understood my mother's personality and finally agreed."
"My father always felt that my mother was wronged at first. She was a young girl but married an old man like him, so he always treated her well. In the first few years of their marriage, the relationship between the two was really sweet. And my mother was also very good to my grandmother and my eldest and second brothers. But even after getting married, my mother still liked to swing."
When she said this, Zhu Ying showed her usual bright smile.
"Whether my mother likes "Dielianhua" because of her late spring worries or because of the complicated relationship with my father, I don't like the first stanza anyway. I like the second stanza. What I like is the beauty inside the wall who cannot be affected by strangers outside the wall, whether they are secretly in love with her or feel melancholy. The beauty should not care about what outsiders think and enjoy herself!"
Such a powerful logic...
Hearing Zhu Ying's distorted interpretation of the second half of "Dielianhua", Zhang Shou burst out laughing, but then he smiled gently: "That's a coincidence. When I was reciting poems, I also liked this "Dielianhua". But you guessed wrong. If I really wanted to give you a swing, it should be installed on the tree now."
Seeing Zhu Ying looking at him with some confusion, Zhang Shou lifted the oilcloth and revealed the true appearance of the thing underneath. As expected, he saw Zhu Ying was slightly stunned and asked with a puzzled look on her face: "Isn't this... a recliner?"
"No, it's called a rocking chair. Although it's more suitable for the lady, I thought about it and thought it would be suitable for you. Because a lively girl like you probably doesn't have time to sit quietly for a while."
As Zhang Shou spoke, he lifted the backrest slightly, motioning Zhu Ying to sit on the quaint rocking chair that was handmade by Zhang Guanqiu and two young apprentices from Rongshui Village, and was only coated with a layer of varnish. Seeing that she sat down in a daze but did not lean on the backrest immediately, he suddenly gave a wicked smile and actually let go of his hand that was originally holding the backrest, and even pressed it down for fear that the force was not enough.
As a result, Zhu Ying, who was originally in the front, was caught off guard, screamed, and fell on the backrest. If someone else did this, she would definitely jump up and teach them a lesson the next moment, but out of trust in Zhang Shou, she just tried to balance her body after screaming, but then she found that she couldn't balance at all, because just as Zhang Shou said, this is a rocking chair!
Although the swing was not as large as a swing, the rocking chair was still rocking all the time, but gently and slowly, not as violently as a swing. Moreover, the backrest of this rocking chair was very low, so she was almost lying down instead of sitting.
The scenery in the garden seemed to be swaying gently in front of her, the blue sky and clouds were swaying in her sight, and even the afterglow of the setting sun was flashing in front of her. At the same time, the birdsong echoed in her ears and the fragrance of flowers lingered at the tip of her nose, which was indeed something she could not experience when she walked or sat down in the past.
At this moment, Zhu Ying vaguely understood what Zhang Shou meant. She was always in a hurry and seldom had such leisurely and quiet time. Even if she did have it, she would be standing, sitting, or even riding on a horse... The experience of talking to Zhang Shou while half lying down was indeed very strange, but it was also quite embarrassing, even though she never cared much about the rules of walking, sitting, and lying down.
"A Shou..."
Hearing Zhu Ying's lazy and somewhat confused voice, Zhang Shou coughed and said, "Actually, I've been thinking about what to give you. A few days ago, Ah Liu took the opportunity of patrolling the outer city to visit various shops and gave me a lot of ideas. But I think the gifts you have received since you were a child must have piled up like a mountain. I want to be creative, but I can't do anything."
As he spoke, he pushed the rocking chair, which was about to stop, to continue to rock slowly. He then continued, "It just so happened that I drew a bunch of messy drawings for Guan Qiu. He had no idea about some of them, such as clocks, but he unexpectedly figured out other things with some things. So, when I found his latest achievement two days ago, I decided to give you this."
"It's the same for you and me. If you are tired, you can not only sit down, but also lie down and look at the scenery and sky that have always been ignored. Maybe when you look back, you will be able to do the next thing with a hundred times more energy."
Zhu Ying was smiling originally, and after hearing what Zhang Shou said, her smile deepened. She completely forgot about the swing, the past, and Butterfly Love Flower.
She found Zhang Shou coming from behind her and looking at the handsome man, she felt extremely satisfied. On August 14 last year, they encountered a thrilling encounter in the bamboo house in the back mountain of Rongshui Village. The rebels entered the village and then planned to kill them. Then, Zhang Shou comforted her by saying that they would share the beauty of the moon from a thousand miles away and that her father and brother would definitely return safely.
Now her father and elder brother have indeed returned safely from the battlefield, and Zhang Shou is no longer the respectful distance he had when he first met her, then he was ambiguous, and later he gradually developed a liking for her... They have already signed a marriage certificate, and will soon be a family. The most beautiful thing in the world is not to find someone you like, but to find someone who is liked by her and likes her.
It wasn't until the rocking chair stopped again that she finally managed to sit up straight and then stood up.
She stood in front of Zhang Shou, looking straight into those bright eyes, and suddenly took another step forward. This time, she was completely close to Zhang Shou, and could even see every hair on his face and every eyelash on his eyes. The next moment, she suddenly moved forward and kissed Zhang Shou on the mouth like a dragonfly touching the water.
Immediately afterwards, Zhu Ying took several steps back. Seeing Zhang Shou's stunned expression, she knew that her face must be incredibly hot at this moment, so she looked at him coquettishly and said, "This is today's birthday gift!"
Such a return gift... I really didn't expect it! Should he say that she is indeed a creative young lady?
Zhang Shou couldn't help but touch his face, but seeing that Zhu Ying had already moved away like a fluttering butterfly, he could only shout angrily: "You ran away after eating, Yingying, don't tell me you were planning to give me this!"
"Indeed, I was planning to give you this!" Zhu Ying smiled until her eyes narrowed. "Gorgeous clothes, luxury cars and houses, gold and silver treasures, shops and businesses... these are all very vulgar and unworthy of you. As for the four treasures of the study and various ancient books and classics, it's okay for Grandpa Ge and the others to give them to you, but they are not suitable for me. As for giving myself to you, it's too early!"
Seeing Zhang Shou was stunned at first, as if he was about to get mad at her, the eldest lady immediately made a face again: "Okay, I have to go back. Otherwise, it doesn't matter if it's grandma and mom, but dad will definitely hold me over for a long time. I'll ask Zhu Hong and the others to come and move this rocking chair. Hehe, I'll definitely show off to a lot of people later!"
Zhang Shou laughed immediately, but his smile was a little mischievous: "Then starting tomorrow, imitations of this thing will be everywhere."
Before Zhu Ying could say angrily that if anyone dared to copy it, he would smash his sign, he said with a smile: "Actually, I have some other interesting things here, but some of them can only be used after we have children in the future."
No matter how generous Zhu Ying was, and even took such an active action just now, when she heard Zhang Shou's extremely explicit words, she couldn't help but be stunned for a moment, and then the red color that had been spreading on her face like a fever immediately occupied her entire face.
Just when the young lady was about to explode, a voice finally came from outside that eased her embarrassment: "Master, young lady, someone has come from the palace, and has specially sent you a scroll of imperial decree, saying that the emperor has promoted you, posthumously honored your parents, and approved the establishment of a family temple!"
Faced with this timely news, Zhang Shou was slightly stunned, and then he laughed. It turned out to be a double happiness!
