Volume 4: Gathering of Sages Chapter 535 Marry Me
Although it was supposed to be a fall viewing for the couple, the addition of the third and fourth princes was a bit of a spoiler, but Zhang Shou knew that Zhu Ying looked cheerful and generous, but in fact she was still a little shy, so he didn't mind the addition of these two followers. Moreover, the two little guys who obviously didn't come to Wansui Mountain often were running around and shouting, which added a bit of joy.
Compared with competing with others in intelligence and strength, he prefers to stay in the small world of the Imperial College and torment those students who are trapped in the vast sea of questions as soon as they come into contact with a truly complete mathematical system. However, this relaxing leisure time is naturally more pleasant than being a teacher in Jiuzhang Hall. He even feels like he and Zhu Ying have children and are an old married couple.
It was not until he followed Zhu Ying and the cheerful Third and Fourth Princes to the top of the Wansui Mountain and saw the palaces below the mountain glittering in the bright sunshine that he felt relaxed and happy. In this era of imperial power, there are not many opportunities to overlook the palace like this, so take a look and cherish it...
But he was enjoying the feeling of looking down at the scenery when he heard a silver bell-like laughter. He turned his head again and was stunned. Last time he came here, he only noticed the pavilion on the top of the mountain overlooking the palace, but he didn't notice that not far from the pavilion, on a thick branch of a towering tree, there was a swing hanging.
At this moment, Zhu Ying was sitting on the swing. As for the two people beside her who were pushing the swing hard to swing high... who else could it be but the Third Prince and the Fourth Prince? These two guys should have some aura of a prince. How could they behave like flower girls at a wedding?
Zhang Shou was watching this scene and complaining, but he saw the Fourth Prince sneak up on the swing while no one was paying attention. Zhu Ying not only didn't care, but directly took him to her side and sat on him! Seeing this thrilling scene of a big and a small swing, he had to agree with the old lady's practice of never installing a swing at home and never letting Zhu Ying go to any house with a swing.
This bold girl is not afraid of anything happening!
Zhang Shou almost subconsciously wanted to hurry up, but he had only taken two steps, and before he could open his mouth to stop her, he heard a familiar voice: "I don't know how long the eldest lady has been talking to the emperor softly and hard, and only then did she install such a swing on Wansui Mountain, and even the madam didn't know about it. It's rare for her to indulge herself like this, so please let her have some fun, son-in-law."
Recognizing Hua Qi's voice, Zhang Shou was slightly startled and then smiled bitterly, "It turns out that Master Hua Qi, you are here to help at any time. I was worried for nothing."
Hua Qiren did not show up, but his voice still came over: "Son-in-law, if you have mastered martial arts, you can also be a hero and save the beauty at a critical moment. Didn't you learn the lady's swordsmanship from Ah Liu?"
"I just learned the tricks, Ah Liu learned the essence." Zhang Shou was not so nervous at this time. Even when he saw the third prince eager to get on the swing, and the three of them were playing there with all their heart, he remained calm. Since the emperor agreed to build this kind of swing on the top of Wansui Mountain, and then put a top bodyguard like Hua Qi on it, it would be unjust if something happened again.
Sure enough, he and Hua Qi were chatting in a random manner, and until Zhu Ying and the third and fourth princes had had enough fun, the swing finally stopped without any problems.
The swing would naturally stop if no one was pushing it. As for the guards hiding in the distance, they were probably just like him, wishing that this crazy swing would stop immediately, so there was no way they would help push it.
Zhu Ying jumped off the swing and ran over. She had a little sweat on her forehead, but she was obviously in a good mood. Before Zhang Shou could say anything, she stretched out her hand and grabbed him without saying anything: "Ah Shou, come swing with me!"
Swinging? Me? Zhang Shou was in a daze when he was dragged away by Zhu Ying. Immediately afterwards, he felt someone pushing him on the back and pulling his arm. Seeing that it was the excited Third and Fourth Princes, he suddenly felt like a parent taking their children to the park, but they were dragged by two little brats to play together.
He had been planning to put up a fight, but when he heard Hua Qi's instigation, which was obviously gloating, and felt a small stone hitting his waist lightly, he knew that if he didn't go, Hua Qi might show up and force "help", so he finally gritted his teeth and sat on the swing.
After he was firmly seated, he pulled the rope beside him and found that it was made of fine steel rings connected together. He was sure that this thing was indeed very stable. However, no matter how stable it was, it could not compare to Zhu Ying's sudden push from behind, and then she jumped up lightly.
Zhang Shou didn't even know how this girl managed to sit next to him, especially when the swing swung to the highest point in front and he could almost see clearly what was happening at the foot of the mountain. The only thought in his mind was this ridiculous question: who would Hua Qi save if the chain tied to the swing broke?
When he once again came to the highest point in front from the highest point in the back, he heard Zhu Ying's cheers and looked down again in shock, only to find someone at the foot of the mountain looking up. Even though they were far away, he felt that someone saw him. The reason was simple. He had recognized that person. It was Ah Liu who did not follow him to climb Wansui Mountain.
When the swing was swung up for the third, fourth, and Nth time, Zhang Shou felt something was wrong. The Third and Fourth Princes were still young, so how could they have so much strength to push the swing?
Although he was a little afraid of heights, when the swing reached the highest point, he still tried his best to look back. This look almost made him angry. The man who rolled up his sleeves and pushed the swing hard under the excited cheers of the third and fourth princes, who else could it be but Hua Qi? No wonder someone had just whispered to him to go up!
However, Zhu Ying, who was just having fun, was very excited. She held the iron chain with one hand and held Zhang Shou tightly with the other, saying loudly: "Ah Shou, this is the swing I begged the emperor to install on Wansui Mountain after my birthday on August 15th, hoping that I could ride it with you one day! Ah Shou, I like you. From the first time I saw you, I felt that you were the one I wanted!"
Zhang Shou didn't expect to hear Zhu Ying's confession in such an occasion - although they had already made an engagement and had already expressed their love for each other, he was still a little surprised that Zhu Ying said such words so brazenly in this occasion where not just the two of them were together.
"So, it doesn't matter if the wedding date is delayed by a few days, a few months, or even a few years. As long as I have you, it's enough!"
At this moment, Zhang Shou finally understood that Zhu Ying was probably still upset about the postponed wedding date. He turned his head to look at the girl with a beautiful face and fiery eyes, and suddenly smiled and said, "In fact, the family temple in Zhang Garden has been almost repaired and will be completed in November. We will hold the wedding after your eldest brother, Yingying, marry me."
Hua Qi, who was just reaching out his hand to push the swing hard, had very good hearing. Although the Third Prince and the Fourth Prince were laughing and talking happily, he was still stunned when he heard the words and missed the opportunity to push the swing.
Without his huge pushing force, the swing's forward momentum was suddenly greatly insufficient and it fell down in a moment.
However, Zhu Ying completely forgot about this, and her ears were buzzing with Zhang Shou's words just now.
She said this to Zhang Shou at this time and place, firstly to express her feelings, and secondly to let the third and fourth princes tell the emperor, and let Hua Qi tell her grandmother and parents. But she was caught off guard by Zhang Shou's words, but also surprised.
Therefore, before the swing came to a complete stop, she grabbed Zhang Shou's hand and jumped down. Hua Qi, who had been in a daze for a while, finally came to his senses and hurriedly grabbed the swing to prevent the heavy thing from hitting the couple. But when he saw Zhu Ying dragging Zhang Shou away and leaving him and the third and fourth princes to rush to the pavilion on the other side, he couldn't help but sigh.
Then, he heard the Third Prince's voice: "Did the teacher just say that Sister Yingying should marry him as soon as possible?"
"Third brother, you must have heard it wrong. The teacher clearly said that we should wait until Sister Yingying's elder brother gets married before holding the wedding." The fourth prince refuted confidently, "Sister Yingying's elder brother has never been engaged. How long will it take for him to get married? If it were you, Father should just marry Third Sister to Sister Yingying's elder brother. Wouldn't that be a perfect match?"
"Really? Fourth brother, you are so smart, why didn't I think of it!"
What cleverness! This is really the innocent words of a child! At first glance, this marriage is indeed a perfect match, with a talented man and a beautiful woman, but Princess Yongping dared not marry, and Zhu Tingfang dared not marry her! God knows if they are brother and sister!
Hua Qi was almost choked by the two naughty kids with strange ideas. At this moment, he could only stare at the two little princes who were watching curiously and even wanted to sneak over to watch the fun up close. Until he keenly noticed that there seemed to be a figure flashing by not far away, he couldn't help but laugh after taking a casual glance.
Ah Liu must have noticed the thrilling swing that Zhu Ying and Zhang Shou had just taken, so he climbed up the mountain, right? Although this Wansui Mountain is not high at all, but to have rushed up in such a short time, this kid must have used some of the designs he left behind on Wansui Mountain and climbed up in a straight up and down manner...
Hua Qi watched out for the two little followers who might spoil the view, but he didn't expect that Zhu Ying and Zhang Shou didn't show any affection after they sat down in the pavilion not far away. There were no flowers or moon at this time, but there were red leaves all over the mountain and the palace reflecting the sun, which had its own mood. However, the scene of Zhu Ying counting her dowry on her fingers was particularly funny to Zhang Shou.
"All of my mother's dowry belongs to me. She told me that the family loved her so much that they gave her a small estate of 600 acres. My grandmother also gave her a shop on Qianmen Street, and a lot of jewelry. Unfortunately, my grandparents are gone, and my uncles have been officials away from home for many years. I haven't seen them much. I must thank them in the future!"
"My grandmother has loved making jewelry for me since I was a child. The Empress Dowager and the Emperor have also given me many gifts. In addition, people know that I like those luxurious things, so they give them to me during festivals. I think I have several boxes. I will sort them out later. I will keep the beautiful ones and melt the ugly ones into gold and silver ingots. They will come in handy when you are in urgent need of money!"
"My grandmother and father said that they gave me the Zhao Garden in Haidian as a dowry, but I feel so sorry for my elder and second brothers. Ah Shou, can we not give up the Zhao Garden? We can build a garden in Haidian and call it Rongshui Garden. It's a nice name!"
"But I took over the farm that my grandmother and father gave me. It's a cotton field. Although it's not in Cangzhou or Xingtai, and it's scattered, it still has 2,000 acres in total! Aren't you and second brother thinking about improving the cotton variety? It will definitely be useful in the future!"
"I still have a lot of fabrics, but I don't have time to make clothes. I still have seven or eight boxes of clothes that I haven't worn yet. I don't know if they will be suitable for you when you marry me. It would be a pity to waste them. But if I give them away, they might take them with a smile and then throw them away! Liu Qing would accept them, but her body shape is slightly different from mine. I can't give her two big boxes of clothes, can I?"
"Ah Shou, do you think I should have someone secretly send those unworn clothes to a pawn shop? I heard from Mama Li that if I pawn them, I can probably get 60% to 70% of the value of the clothes, depending on the material and whether they are new. Then they won't be wasted."
Zhang Shou listened thoughtfully at first, but gradually, he couldn't help laughing and said, "Yingying, am I so poor in your eyes? Do you want me to melt down my jewelry and sell it as clothes to get money?"
"You're not poor!" Zhu Ying blurted out these four words without thinking, and then said confidently, "But I'm used to spending lavishly, so I have to prepare more in advance. Besides, my grandmother, my parents, and my elder brother have all agreed to give me more dowry, and I felt embarrassed, but in the end, they still decided to give me 50,000 taels of silver. Besides, what's mine is yours, and what's yours is mine!"
Hearing this last sentence, Zhang Shou could not help but feel emotional. He laughed and did not insist, but said with a smile: "Your kindness really makes me wonder what to say to you. Mother said that you will be the head of the family in the future. But I am really not as poor as you think. In addition to tricking the eldest prince and getting a small amount of money, those cotton fields and spinning and looms have also made a lot of money."
"Most importantly..."
Zhang Shou paused for a moment, then said with a smile: "I was right about Guan Qiu. He is very talented in mechanics, and he has already made something very rare."
Seeing Zhu Ying was surprised, he smiled and said, "This thing is different from a spinning machine or a loom. Maybe it can help me get rid of poverty and become rich."
"Really?" Zhu Ying's eyes sparkled. Seeing Zhang Shou nod slightly, she was immediately delighted. "Don't worry, I will find a way to help you sell it at a good price. Even if I can't stop the counterfeiting, I will make those unscrupulous merchants be nailed to the pillar of shame! If anyone dares to steal your money, I will..."
She abruptly stopped the words "take his life" from coming out of her mouth, but then she saw Zhang Shou said with a half-smile: "This thing is different from a loom or a spinning machine. It is rare and valuable. Of course, I can't let anyone copy it easily. Just like you said, if anyone dares to steal my money, I can't take his life, but I will make him lose a layer of skin!"
