Volume 4: Gathering of Sages Chapter 737: In Pairs
When Zhu Tingfang came in, he saw his grandmother and stepmother enjoying a pair of short swords. Zhang Shou and Zhu Ying stood beside them, and their happiness was beyond words. He knew immediately that it must be Hua Qi's early gift. Before he could stand still and speak, he heard Zhu Er's voice.
"Brother, Uncle Hua Qi gave Yingying and her brother-in-law a pair of daggers as a gift. What is he giving you and your future sister-in-law? Don't be stingy, show them to me!"
"I... haven't seen it yet." Zhu Tingfang said these words unnaturally. Seeing that Madam Tai and Jiu Niang were looking at him with a smile, as if they would not give up until today, he wanted to say that such a gift should not be opened on the wedding day. But what he didn't expect was that Zhu Er, who was talking about something else, actually interrupted again.
"Brother, are you waiting to watch it with your sister-in-law someday?" Talking dirty is addictive. When Zhu Er made such a joking remark, he saw Zhu Tingfang suddenly turn his head and stare at him. There seemed to be a murderous look in his eyes, which frightened him so much that he shuddered and hurriedly shut up. But before he could think of a way to get away with it, the lady also learned from him.
"Hua Qi was probably afraid that he would miss your wedding with Yingying if he went to Huairou, so he sent the gift in advance. Dalang, just like Erlang said, don't be stingy, let us see what Hua Qi sent."
Seeing Zhang Shou's smile, Zhu Ying was curious, and his stepmother nodded to him encouragingly. Zhu Tingfang suddenly regretted why he didn't learn from Zhang Shou and open the gift to take a look. You know, with Hua Qi's bad personality, it is entirely possible that he would have packed a book of erotic paintings in a brocade box as a gift to him!
If only Zhu Er and Zhu Ying were stirring up trouble, he could still refuse, but his grandmother and stepmother also acted like they just wanted to know, so he really couldn't get away with it. He looked down at the brocade box that was about the size of two adult palms, thinking to himself that if the thing was outrageous, he would definitely teach Hua Qi a lesson when he saw him later.
With this profound understanding and not very high expectations, Zhu Tingfang finally slowly opened the small brocade box in his hand. When he saw clearly what lay inside, he couldn't help but be stunned.
Zhu Ying, who was extremely curious, rushed forward. When she saw the contents of the brocade box, she couldn't help but exclaimed in admiration: "Uncle Hua would actually give me a jade pendant... Hey, this isn't a jade pendant, this isn't a carving, this is actually a natural pattern!"
The old lady and Jiu Niang were very suspicious of what Zhu Ying said, and although Zhu Er used to be afraid of his brother, today, since he had done something stupid, he simply sneaked forward boldly, snatched the brocade box from Zhu Tingfang, and presented it to his grandmother and stepmother in a flattering manner. As a result, when the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law saw the pair of disc-shaped objects in the brocade box, the old lady couldn't help but marvel at it.
On one piece of stone, one can vaguely see the word "red", while on the other piece of stone, one can vaguely see the word "jade".
"I thought it was something else, but it turned out to be agate! Ordinary agate is not as valuable as Hetian jade, but the ones with patterns on them are very popular among scholars and writers, and the patterns actually resemble words, which is even rarer. But the most rare thing is that the words on these two pieces can actually match. Hua Qi's gift is really... I'm afraid he put as much thought into it as Yingying's pair of swords."
Zhu Tingfang really didn't know what to say at this moment. In fact, he knew nothing about agate and jade. They looked like ordinary stones. But he had heard of how many wealthy people were obsessed with these stones.
Agate is not valuable, but after being polished, if the surface patterns can present landscapes, or various figures and animals, then it will be very popular among the scholars. The two pieces that Hua Qi sent were pure red, and the faint patterns on them were like wisps of black smoke, and only after careful observation could you find that they formed the characters.
The so-called "Zhu" naturally represents him, while the "Yu" is a character in the maiden name of his future wife.
It was not difficult for Hua Qi to find out this, but he didn't know whether it was a coincidence to find these two pieces of agate, or whether someone had urgently and painstakingly found them after his marriage was confirmed.
He was not like Zhu Ying and Zhang Shou who had been engaged since childhood, but never announced it until they met. Zhu Ying fell in love with Zhang Shou at first sight, and the matter was quickly finalized. His marriage was full of troubles, and it was even rumored that he was unlucky in marriage. He himself did not know who he would marry in the future, and it was even more impossible for Hua Qi to know in advance... But it was not necessarily the case. Based on the relationship between his father and Hua Qi, he might have told him in advance.
"Uncle Hua, this gift is really thoughtful. When I get married, I also want a pair of agates like this!"
Zhu Er couldn't help yelling, but what he got was Zhu Tingfang's deep eyes and Zhu Ying's resentful eyes. When he saw Zhang Shou looking at him with a half-smile, and his grandmother and stepmother looking at him with a look of watching the fun, he immediately thought that he had just offended his eldest brother. If he aroused his sister's resentment now, he would definitely be in trouble, so he hurriedly wanted to make amends.
But before he could put this remedy into action, he heard Zhu Tingfang's cold voice: "The wedding is the day after tomorrow. I heard that you, my second brother, helped me practice before? I want to ask for your advice tonight to avoid any mistakes. Second brother, you must teach me carefully."
Hearing the last four words "teach me with all your heart" with a more emphatic tone, Zhu Er secretly complained. But he looked around as if asking for help, but no one came to his rescue. Zhang Shou even smiled and said, "Brother Zhu Er, you have to work hard tonight. Brother Zhu will definitely thank you."
I don't want him to thank me properly! Besides, he didn't thank me at all, he just took the opportunity to torment me!
Zhu Er wanted to cry, especially when Zhu Tingfang dragged him out without saying anything. He couldn't help but dance and shout, "Grandma, help me! Mother, help me! Yingying, help me! Brother-in-law, don't gloat over my misfortune. I am your student. There are so many good things waiting for me to grow in the future. Can you bear to see me fail in my business... Ugh!"
Before he could finish his words, Zhu Tingfang covered his mouth. At the same time, he heard his elder brother's angry warning: "How dare you use the famous quote from "The Memorial to the Emperor on Leaving the Capital" indiscriminately? If you keep talking nonsense, you will be my sparring partner for the next month!"
Zhu Er was in tears. Being a sparring partner for his elder brother? What a joke! Even the guards in the mansion were afraid of being a sparring partner for Zhu Tingfang, not to mention his small body.
I’m afraid that by then, his end will be as miserable as those little guys in Zhang Garden who were trained by Ah Liu to cry for their parents!
Wait, there’s also Ah Liu!
Zhu Er, who was forcibly dragged by Zhu Tingfang to Qing'an Hall, felt like he had grabbed a life-saving straw and shouted in panic: "Sixth brother, Sixth brother, help me! Didn't you also specially prepare a gift for my eldest brother? Uncle Hua has already sent it in advance. You are Uncle Hua's apprentice, so you can also send it in advance. It's better to do it today than to wait for a day!"
Zhu Tingfang was stunned, and his hands loosened involuntarily, and Zhu Er escaped from his grip. Of course, with his ability, it would be easy to catch Zhu Er again. However, when he saw that the familiar boy really showed up because of Zhu Er's words, and Zhu Er even hid behind him and used him as a shield, he was still angry and amused.
The next moment, he saw Zhu Er being grabbed by Ah Liu. Then, with an expressionless face, Ah Liu grabbed Zhu Er's collar and brought him back to him as if he was holding a rabbit by the scruff of the neck. Seeing his brother's sad face, looking like he was watching a tiger fight and failing, he was too lazy to pay attention to this funny guy, but looked at Ah Liu thoughtfully.
Ah Liu felt very uncomfortable when Zhu Tingfang looked at him. Finally, he cleared his throat and said, "The eldest lady helped me pick the gift. I can't give it to you until the day after tomorrow."
Zhu Tingfang didn't care about what Ah Liu said, nor did he care about the gift. Instead, he remembered that Zhang Shou had sent someone to visit him when he was "injured in an assassination attempt", but Ah Liu took it for granted and went to the pharmacy to buy the best four-color tonic and sent it to him. As a result, it was seen by Master Kong Jiu, and the rumor that he was seriously injured spread throughout the capital. This unexpected effect helped him a lot.
He immediately smiled at Ah Liu and said, "Thank you."
These two simple words stunned Zhu Er, who was brought to Zhu Tingfang by Ah Liu, and Ah Liu himself was also surprised. Because he didn't think he had done anything to deserve the other party's thanks. Therefore, the usually cold boy frowned in embarrassment, remembering that Zhang Shou often said this to him, he said uncertainly: "You're welcome?"
But as soon as he said these three words, he felt that it was inappropriate, so he quickly and seriously said, "Well, I wish you and the future young lady a happy marriage and a son soon."
This was the auspicious words he had intended to say on the wedding day of Zhang Shou and Zhu Ying. He said it out loud for some reason, and said to himself that it was just a rehearsal before the next formal speech. However, as soon as he said this, he heard a burst of exaggerated laughter. When he looked again, he saw that Zhu Er, who had just been brought to Zhu Tingfang by him, had squatted down with laughter.
Zhu Er had never seen anyone dare to say things like "Have a baby soon" in front of his elder brother - in his opinion, his elder brother had not yet gotten married, and neither his grandmother nor his parents urged him to get married. It was not because they were letting him go, but because they were afraid that the things that happened after his previous engagements would put too much pressure on his elder brother.
Even after getting married, they probably wouldn't be like other parents and elders who look forward to the birth of their grandchildren, and put pressure on their eldest brother and future eldest sister-in-law by various explicit and implicit urging. When he was helping his grandmother and stepmother rehearse, he heard them tell the ladies who were invited to the ceremony to omit the words "early birth of a son".
But now, these four words were spoken directly by Liu as if it was a matter of course!
Anyway, he had done it so many times today, so he might as well laugh to his heart's content first. And this time, no one paid any attention to him who was laughing like a madman, because Ah Liu looked confused, Zhu Tingfang looked dazed, and Zhang Shou and Zhu Ying, who came out after hearing the noise, were both amused and embarrassed, and did not step forward immediately.
Noticing that the atmosphere had not eased for the time being, Zhang Shou coughed and was about to interrupt by saying that Ah Liu couldn't speak, but Zhu Ying came forward briskly, walked around Zhu Tingfang and Ah Liu, and then said with a smile: "I didn't know that Ah Liu could say such auspicious words. How long have you practiced? Did you intend to say it to Ah Shou and me?"
Without waiting for Liu to answer, she winked at Zhu Tingfang and said, "But the gift I helped him and Shou pick for Big Brother also has this kind of good intention, so don't blame Liu for saying it without thinking. To be honest, I am looking forward to seeing what Big Brother's children will look like in the future, and how you will teach them when the time comes."
At this time, even Zhu Er, who was laughing so hard that he squatted on the ground, couldn't help but tilt his head to imagine how his elder brother taught his son. But when he imagined it, it seemed as if a child who was exactly the same as his elder brother appeared in front of him. The father and son stood opposite each other, and their serious expressions were like a boss and a subordinate... So, he couldn't help but sigh for his unborn nephew.
Being the eldest brother's son, it seems... no, it should be said that it will definitely be tiring!
Not to mention that Zhu Tingfang was just in a daze and didn't want to get angry. Even if he wanted to get angry, he was helpless because of Zhu Ying's teasing. He stretched out his hand, wanting to touch Zhu Ying's head like he did when he was a child, but in the end he just landed on her shoulder. After all, she was no longer a little girl with two buns on her hair.
"I am sending this back to you verbatim. You have been spoiled by our family since you were a child. I really want to see if you will spoil your children as much as you do when you have them!"
"I'm not spoiled. Ah Shou always says I'm a good person!" Zhu Ying held her head high and straightened her chest. Seeing Zhu Tingfang looking behind her with a strange expression on his face, she seemed to want to see from Zhang Shou's face whether this was true or not. However, she smiled as if she was not worried at all, "Ah Shou said that from now on, the son will be taken care of by him and the daughter will be taken care of by me! She said that it would be best if my daughter was like me!"
This time, even Zhu Er couldn't help but look back at Zhang Shou, wondering if his brother-in-law was just kidding. It was scary to have one Zhu Ying at home, but if there was another little Zhu Ying who enjoyed torturing others, it would be doubly scary, a disaster! Besides, wouldn't it be too unlucky to be the future brother of little Zhu Ying?
The lady who sat on the Diaoyutai without going outside to watch the excitement was very sharp-eyed and could hear the conversation outside clearly. She couldn't help but smile. Jiu Niang also laughed softly and said, "We didn't dare to urge him, others urged him for us, and Dalang was choked by Yingying's words. This is a rare scene! I just hope that after the wedding, he and Miss Yu from Weinan Earl's family can really get along well."
Zhu Tingfang's marriage was a source of great worry for the old lady. When she heard her daughter-in-law say this, Zhu Ying outside was chattering and teasing Zhu Tingfang, Zhang Shou would occasionally chime in, and with Zhu Er who had obviously gone too far today, the situation was such that everyone was besieging Zhu Tingfang. When she thought about the future, she couldn't help but feel that it was bright.
"Within half a year, all three children's weddings were held, and the family was completely lively!"
