Volume 4: Gathering of Sages Chapter 661: Unromantic
Zhang Shou made up an excuse and asked Ah Liu to be responsible for considering and sending two gifts. He then tricked the young man into going to the Duke of Zhao's mansion to ask the lady for help and sent a smart and capable girl to assist. He was very confident that the lady would understand what he meant.
After all, he had good intentions. Ah Liu was about the same age as him, but with his stubborn personality and his eyes that turned a blind eye to beauty, if there was no external intervention, he would probably be alone in his life. Although Ah Liu seemed to obey Zhu Ying, even if there was another girl as beautiful and unique as Zhu Ying, the boy might not be tempted.
The reason why this young man with thick eyebrows and big eyes rebelled was because he was afraid that Zhang Shou would be alone forever. Since Ah Liu cared about him wholeheartedly, even if he couldn't arrange a marriage for someone, he could at least find a reliable person to help him make the match, right? At least it would help Ah Liu to open his mind!
So, under Zhang Shou's instigation, Ah Liu really went to see the lady in the middle of the night. The lady immediately understood Zhang Shou's intention and asked Mother Li to pick someone to "help" Ah Liu.
The best maids in the Zhaoguo Mansion always had a high opinion of themselves. Even if they had never thought of climbing into the bed of the master or the young master, it was a common idea to marry a capable steward, or to marry into a wealthy family outside after leaving the country. Therefore, for someone like Ah Liu, who was called a servant but actually often saw the emperor and the prince, he was naturally very popular with them.
The most important thing is that although Ah Liu is not as handsome as his young master Zhang Shou, he is very young. As for the fact that he is said to be a dull guy , no one cares about that - after all, being too good-looking and having a gentle personality means that he is likely to attract many women. What's wrong with being an honest man?
So, in two days, Ah Liu had four maids to go shopping with him, all of whom were the most clever and capable maids in the Zhu family of the Duke of Zhao's mansion - among them, Zhan Jin and Liu Yin who were with Zhu Ying were not even ranked. Although it was a good thing for a personal maid to marry a trusted follower in an official family, the lady planned to let other capable maids try more.
After all, Zhan Jin and Liu Yin had stayed in Rongshui Village for so long and had come into contact with Ah Liu a long time ago, so it seemed that they didn't have much fate.
However, facts have proved that no matter Zhang Shou's considerations, the goodwill of the lady, or those maids who were full of curiosity and wanted to know more about the famous Sixth Steward, when they met the blocky Ah Liu, it was not like steel meeting a softhearted person, but like a wink thrown at a blind man.
After visiting a lot of shops with four maids, Ah Liu quietly waited at the gate of Duke Zhao's mansion early in the morning. After waiting for more than an hour, he successfully intercepted Miss Zhu who was going out happily. When he suddenly jumped out, Zhu Hong and others who were accompanying him were all shocked, thinking that they had encountered an assassin.
But before they could react, Zhu Ying's reins were snatched away by the young man.
"Ah!" Zhu Ying was also startled and almost drew her sword. When she saw clearly that it was Ah Liu, she immediately said angrily, "Ah Liu, what are you doing? You almost scared me to death! If you want to see me, just tell me. Why did the cat suddenly appear here to scare people? Ah Shou doesn't seem to be in the palace giving a lecture to the prince today. He should be in the public school, right? Did he ask you to bring something to me?"
Ah Liu shook his head, but without saying anything, he pulled the reins and led Zhu Ying's mount forward. Although the eldest lady was confused, she let him do what he wanted. This made the doorman, who had received Ah Liu four times in two consecutive days, very anxious. He grabbed Zhu Hong and explained the reason for the incident to prevent Zhu Hong from being confused. Then he ran inside and sent someone to report to the lady.
Zhu Ying was led by Ah Liu on horseback for a while without any purpose. She found that the guards behind were far away and some were whispering, as if they knew something. She finally couldn't help asking, "Hey, little Ah Liu, if you have something to say, please say it. Did you do something wrong and dare not tell Ah Shou? No way, he trusts you more than he trusts himself..."
Before she finished her words, she heard Ah Liu's muffled voice: "The young master asked me to pick out gifts for the eldest lady's eldest brother's wedding, and also for the eldest lady's future sister-in-law. He asked me to find the old lady, and she sent four girls to help me. But I think it's a waste of time to take them to the store to pick things. I didn't buy anything after two days of shopping."
Zhu Ying was stunned. It was normal for Ah Liu to talk a lot in front of her, but the thing Ah Liu said...why did it seem a little strange the more she listened? She asked Ah Liu carefully what Zhang Shou said at the time, and after she understood the whole story, she couldn't help but laugh out loud.
"You keep calling that Song idiot, Ah Liu, you little fool. Ah Shou has fooled you! He didn't ask you to think about how to give gifts to my eldest brother and future eldest sister-in-law. He is..."
"Master won't play tricks on me." Ah Liu turned around and frowned seriously. "I'm the housekeeper. I really can't leave all these things to my wife. But the girls that Madam sent to help me were often . Moreover, they didn't tell me what they should tell me, and asked about things that they shouldn't."
"So, I might as well just go straight to you, Miss, for help!"
Zhu Ying finally laughed so hard that she couldn't straighten her back. Finally, she laughed until tears came out. She saw Ah Liu staring at her with clear eyes, as if he was still a little angry. She quickly wiped the corners of her eyes, but moved forward a little, flicked a finger directly on Ah Liu's hat, and then smiled and said, "Okay, I'll help you. I know what Big Brother likes better than anyone else. But..."
Seeing Ah Liu's disappointed expression, she winked playfully and said, "But I have an appointment with someone else today, Zhang Chen. But he is not an outsider. After we are done, let him be our assistant and give us some advice as a reference. What do you think?"
Oh, I was originally going to take Zhang Chen to meet Ye today, but it would be nice to add Ah Liu. Zhang Chen, who always looked down on others, suddenly became anxious and worried because of what she said. The addition of the silly Ah Liu could ease the atmosphere. Of course, Ah Liu might make the atmosphere more tense, but wouldn't it be more fun?
The evil-minded young lady laughed secretly in her heart for a long time, then turned around and glared at the group of guards watching the excitement from behind, especially at Zhu Hong, and then said unhappily: "Why are you still watching the excitement? Let's go, it's getting late... By the way, where's your horse, Ah Liu? You are not going to follow us on your own two legs, are you?"
Ah Liu, who was leading Zhu Ying's horse, whistled without turning his head. A moment later, a horse trotted out from the corner, snorted when it ran in front of Ah Liu, and then tilted its neck slightly forward in a very human way, as if to greet Ah Liu.
Facing this scene, Zhu Ying felt that it was extremely rare. She immediately laughed and joked, "So it was you who let the horse go! Although there shouldn't be any thieves who dare to steal near my house, what if someone dares to steal it?"
"I have trained my and the young master's horses well." Ah Liu handed the reins back to Zhu Ying, and then raised the corner of his mouth, "For example, like this."
After he whistled very sharply, Zhu Ying saw that the horse, which had seemed extremely docile just now, suddenly kicked very abruptly. She was very sure that if someone approached from behind secretly, this sudden kick would definitely take away half of their life!
She gave the young man a thumbs up in appreciation, and after the young man got on his horse, she smiled and said, "It seems that I have been worrying for nothing. With you here, why should I worry about thieves? Okay, let's go to the Duke of Qin's mansion to pick up Zhang Chen!"
When Zhang Chen hurried out of Qin Guogong's mansion and saw that Ah Liu was among Zhu Ying's group, he couldn't help but be surprised. However, what made him even more uneasy was that Ah Liu looked at him in a very strange way. He was so nervous that he thought Zhu Ying had told Ah Liu about the blind date today. Who knew that after he bowed and asked Zhu Ying to step aside, he learned something unexpected.
Zhang Shou painstakingly asked the lady to create opportunities for Ah Liu to go on blind dates with the girls... or to simply create opportunities for them to get along with each other. But the result was that this guy took the kindness for granted and did not appreciate the good intentions at all. He really regarded it as a pure gift-picking opportunity, and even disliked the girls' absent-mindedness, so he simply abandoned them and turned to Zhu Ying for help!
"Why is this kid so stupid?"
Zhang Chen was filled with disappointment, but he patted his chest and promised, "Leave this matter to Ah Liu. I promise to let him see the good girls in Beijing!"
Seeing that this boy had completely forgotten that he was so hypocritical that he only thought that most of the young ladies in the capital were nothing but chickens and pot dogs, and he looked down on any of them, and now he was even putting on airs in front of Ah Liu, pretending that he was surrounded by beauties without getting a single leaf touched, Zhu Ying felt so angry that she waved her whip angrily and said, "Stop talking nonsense, boy. Go away. You can be arrogant again when others don't despise you anymore!"
How could Zhang Chen dare to test the law... Zhu Ying's whip was merciless, so he quickly took a few steps back to join his followers. After getting on his horse, he glanced at Ah Liu meaningfully, but he didn't expect to see the man's deep pupils staring at him. He was so scared by the stare that he couldn't help but ride closer.
"Hey, Ah Liu, why are you looking at me like that?"
"You still need the young lady to pick you up? You really have a lot of face."
Hearing Ah Liu's dry words, Zhang Chen instinctively felt his whole body tense up, and then hurriedly explained: "It's not what you think, Yingying was afraid that my clothes wouldn't fit me, so she said she would come over. If she's not satisfied, she'll send me back to change again!"
Seeing Ah Liu staring at him with disbelief, and muttering the word Yingying with a chuckle, his scalp suddenly tingled, thinking that Zhang Shou was not jealous, but the young man in front of him seemed unhappy. He could only quickly explain: "It's not what you think. Yingying is helping me to make a connection and introduce a girl today!"
"oh……"
This time, Ah Liu dragged out the words, and it was obvious that he had heard Zhang Shou say this. However, Zhang Chen was almost choked to death by Ah Liu's casual words: "You are a famous playboy in the capital. Can a girl who hates evil really like you?"
Although Zhang Chen thought he had turned over a new leaf, Ah Liu's knife had stabbed him deeply and fiercely. Facing the boy's meaningful gaze, he could not help but feel ashamed and annoyed. He wanted to snort in response to the boy's teasing, but he felt too weak. In the end, he could only say angrily, "It's better than you. Others have been kind enough to help you, but you don't appreciate it!"
"What matchmaking?" Ah Liu couldn't help but widen his eyes slightly, and then he saw a whip suddenly flying from behind Zhang Chen, and it magically circled around Zhang Chen's neck, and then dragged him away forcibly.
When Zhu Ying brought Zhang Chen over again with a smile on her face, Ah Liu saw that Zhang Chen was so honest that he didn't even dare to raise his head. Of course, he couldn't continue to ask questions.
However, although Zhang Chen only said half of his words, he was not stupid. He was just misled by Zhang Shou before and did not think about it carefully. He was thinking about it while walking along the way, and threatened Zhu Hong. Finally, he suddenly woke up and his mood was extremely complicated.
Why did the young master care so much about his lifelong affairs? The madman had said long ago that a lone wolf like him could have women, but not a wife... because they could indulge themselves occasionally and leave quietly, but if they opened their eyes at dawn and there was someone sleeping in the same bed with them, they might accidentally kill them! He had once made an excuse to Zhang Shou that he wanted to find someone who was better at fighting than him!
Ah Liu, who was rarely absent-minded, did not notice that the group had gradually walked out of the inner city along Xuanwumen Street, and he did not notice that Zhu Ying had begun to tell Zhang Chen something. In a daze, he suddenly felt like a thorn in his back, and then he heard Zhu Ying suddenly call out "We're here". When he came back to his senses, he found that he had arrived at Xinglong Tea House!
Thinking of the strange feeling just now, his eyes suddenly turned sharp and he looked intently. Although there was no ghost in front of the window, his brows were tightly knitted. The next moment, he heard Zhu Ying's crisp voice: "Okay, Ah Liu, don't be in a daze! This is where we met. After all, it's quiet and there are few people. I have informed Weinan Bo that the second floor will not receive outside guests today!"
Ah Liu then hummed softly, and when he followed the shopkeeper into the first floor, he saw him approaching. He suddenly asked, "Is there someone upstairs already?"
When this was said, not only Zhang Chen, but even Zhu Ying was surprised. The appointed time had not yet arrived, and there was no carriage or horse parked downstairs, so how come someone had already arrived upstairs? The eldest lady glared at the shopkeeper, but the shopkeeper hurriedly bowed and said, "Eldest lady, I dare not let guests upstairs without permission. The person you invited has already arrived."
Zhu Ying was extremely surprised at this moment, but her eyes blurred, and she saw Ah Liu had already rushed out from beside her, and went upstairs in two steps. She was unable to stop him, and her heart skipped a beat. When she was about to tell Zhang Chen, she saw Zhang Chen also rushed upstairs. She thought that the man was too impatient, but she didn't expect that Zhang Chen had just chased Ah Liu upstairs, and there were two bangs upstairs. She recognized that it was the sound of fists and feet fighting, and she was immediately stunned. Why did it sound like a fight?
