Volume 4: Gathering of Sages Chapter 739: Beauty Whip
There were a series of shocking news in the capital. The Second Prince's shipwreck, there were rebellions in the capital, and then the First Prince committed suicide after causing a farce that the rioters supported him at the Huairou Imperial Farm. It was suspected that both of them died, and the deposed Queen also passed away. At this time when people from top to bottom were in turmoil, the marriage of Zhu Tingfang, the eldest son of the Duke of Zhao's mansion, was undoubtedly one of the rare happy events in the capital in recent times.
As for those who had spread the word that the Zhu family might postpone the wedding date to avoid suspicion because of the death of the two princes because Zhu Tingfang spent all day in the Wucheng Bingmasi, after seeing the Weinan Earl's Mansion sending a large group of people to deliver the dowry the day before, and then seeing the huge wedding procession of the Zhaoguogong Mansion that afternoon, they shut up and instead accused the Zhu family of being extravagant.
But this mentality of saying that grapes are sour because they can't eat them was naturally ignored by most people. At this moment, countless onlookers were looking forward to the groom who was leading the wedding procession of Duke Zhao's mansion.
Some people felt sorry that Zhu Tingfang, who had originally been handsome, had a scar on his face, which disfigured him; some people envied the eldest son of the Duke of Zhao for his wealthy family and successful career, and now he was going to marry the daughter of a famous family. However, some people retorted that the Earl of Weinan was a surrendered minister, and his married daughter was a concubine, who was not worthy of the honor and wealth of the Duke of Zhao's Mansion, nor was she worthy of Zhu Tingfang, the eldest son.
Of course, more people were attracted by the gorgeous clothes and tall horses of the wedding procession, discussing the cost of this grand wedding, the dowry of the daughter of the Weinan Earl the day before, and talking about which family made money and which family lost money. However, the focus of the young girls and wives was why Zhang Shou didn't accompany Zhu Tingfang to the wedding, so that they could have a glimpse.
The future son-in-law Zhang Shou, who they were talking about, was helping to welcome guests at the Duke of Zhao's mansion, smiling so hard that his cheeks were almost sore. Even though the wedding hadn't started yet, his smile had already turned into a standard fake smile, because he really couldn't smile anymore. Especially when he usually came here, he never saw any relatives of the Zhu family visiting, but today it seemed like a bunch of them appeared out of nowhere.
This one claimed to be Zhu Tingfang's uncle, that one claimed to be Zhu Tingfang's uncle, and a bunch of cousins of his future father-in-law Zhu Jing also came, making him dazzled... Even though he could still recognize faces and remember names, he was a little overwhelmed by so many people passing by him one after another.
The only thing to be thankful for is that although these relatives of the Zhu family will stay until Zhu Ying gets married, they will only attend the banquets held by the Zhu family and will not go to Zhang Garden. He will not have to go through the embarrassment of remembering their names again on his wedding day.
At this moment, he couldn't help but miss the fourth prince who was known for his photographic memory - if he had a naughty kid around to help him, maybe he could save some effort. At this moment, he heard a dry laugh, and then Zhang Chen appeared in front of him in a swagger.
Seeing that the steward following Zhang Chen tactfully avoided them and took a few servants to the steward of the Zhu family to deliver the gift list, Zhang Shou took a look at Zhang Chen's clothes and couldn't help but teasing him.
"Usually you wear either royal blue, scarlet, or emerald green. I thought you would wear bright red today to compete with the groom, Mr. Zhu. I didn't expect you to be so low-key and wear a stone blue suit!"
I'm not trying to stand out from Boss Zhu, I'm not complaining that I haven't lived long enough! Zhang Chen complained in his heart, but his face looked very arrogant: "I'm not wearing this for those guys who judge people by their clothes. Of course I can wear whatever I want. I can wear red anytime, why do I wear it today? I'm not competing with Boss Zhu for beauty! But you, young master..."
Zhang Chen glanced at Zhang Shou with a strange expression, and said with a sly smile, "You usually wear all kinds of green, but today you are wearing a crimson purple robe. Wasn't it prepared by Miss Zhu for you? Is it because you don't want to steal the limelight from Boss Zhu?"
You know that and you still say it?
Zhang Shou laughed unhappily but did not respond. Instead, he said slowly, "But you have already made a bet with Zheng Yan, but you are actually quite carefree. Did you know that Zheng Yan is not coming today? He asked Xiao Huasheng and Xiao Cheng to accompany him. The three of them went to a poor area in the capital to conduct a survey on the living conditions of school-age children."
Zhang Chen's eyes widened immediately. What school age... survival... what investigation? He couldn't connect these words together, so he was a little confused. But soon he woke up with a start and flew into a rage. It was agreed that the bet would last for a month, but those three damn guys dared to sneak away!
Before Zhang Chen could question the fairness of this, Zhang Shou laughed and said, "Don't worry, didn't I tell you that this gambling fight will not be held in the capital, lest you feel it's unfair when there's a winner or a loser. However, Zheng Yan and those two guys know that they need to investigate and gain experience first. Is it really okay for you to wander around so leisurely like this? Don't lose later..."
"Stop!" Zhang Chen decisively interrupted Zhang Shou, and then complained, "This is not even a competition, young sir, don't encourage others and destroy your own prestige! I just didn't expect those three little guys to be so treacherous! Humph, today is Boss Zhu's wedding, and I can't be like them and not even show up. Starting tomorrow, I will also investigate thoroughly."
By the way, he would find a place where poor kids gathered and give a lecture first to try... He didn't believe that he was not as good as those three boys!
After watching Zhang Chen go inside, Zhang Shou continued his duties as a best man. Of course, he was not the only best man that day, but compared to Zhu Er and the others, the guests who arrived earlier were more inclined to chat with him. But he was no longer in a state of being serious when meeting important people, and he had seen the emperor many times, so although he could handle it easily, he felt tired.
What's going on? These guests left Zhu Er and the others there with nothing to do but slack off. Could they at least not be so obvious?
On an occasion like today, no matter how carefree Zhu Ying was, she couldn't come out to accompany Zhang Shou. But she was worried and annoyed by being surrounded by a bunch of female relatives, so she simply stood up and sat next to the old lady, whispering softly to the grandmother.
There was no way to deal with Zhang Shou's pestering, so the lady had to send Mother Li out to check. When she learned that Zhang Shou was being pestered so much that he didn't even have time to drink water, she sighed.
Soon, Madam Li came to the gate with a smile and said that the lady said that the ladies wanted to meet the future son-in-law, and politely invited Zhang Shou to Qing'an Hall. At this moment, Zhu Er and the other bridesmaids, who had just had enough of slacking off, looked at each other in bewilderment. Although they were not as tired as Zhang Shou, they had stood for most of the day anyway!
Zhu Er immediately received the collective attention of others. You, a decent son, are not as good as Zhang Shou, the son-in-law. You are such a loser!
Zhu Er glared back angrily.
If your family had a son-in-law like Zhang Shou, I guarantee that your parents would be so disappointed with you sons! Besides, I am a poor man who not only has a brother-in-law like Zhang Shou who is too powerful, but I also have a big brother who is not a human being!
As soon as Zhang Shou followed Mama Li into Qing'an Hall, he was almost dazzled. Although the unmarried daughters were ordered by the Madam to temporarily take shelter in the back hall, there were still quite a few people sitting around the Madam, including a group of ladies of different ranks.
Looking around, Zhang Shou saw only the golden-embroidered Zhaiyi and the gold-and-jade-inlaid hairpins shining brightly under the light of countless candles, so that even the faces of the people looked exactly the same. So he had to start another round of recognizing relatives and people, while accepting compliments and praises from others, until his ears almost got calluses and his cheeks were sore from laughing.
Finally, Jiu Niang was forced to step forward again due to Zhu Ying's repeated complaints. She made an excuse to let Zhang Shou go out to continue receiving guests, but secretly asked someone to vacate the small porch behind Qing'an Hall so that Zhang Shou could rest there temporarily, which gave him some relief.
Zhang Shou finally had time . He hadn't been sitting there for long when he saw the door curtain lifted. It was Zhu Ying who flashed in. The eldest lady was wearing a bright red silk phoenix pattern jacket and a red pleated skirt with orchid pattern piping. She looked extremely beautiful. It was unknown whether it was because of the floor dragon in the room or because she was happy about Zhu Tingfang's marriage.
The man walked forward with a smile on his face, but folded his hands and said, "Fortunately I went to rescue you, otherwise, Ah Shou, you would have escaped those guys at the door, but you couldn't escape these ladies who like to ask questions the most."
"Yeah, I wasn't this tired when I was helping to welcome guests at the door just now. These ladies are really the most terrifying people in the world." Zhang Shou wiped his forehead with lingering fear, and then laughed.
"But the guest I received at the door today was really interesting. Someone even stood up for me, saying that it was really too much for the Duke of Zhao's Mansion to let the future guest help out as a bridesmaid at the door. Then he boasted about his daughter in front of me and asked me to introduce her to him later."
"Who is so bold as to set his sights on you?"
Seeing Zhu Ying's eyebrows raised immediately, she was very angry, so he smiled and said, "Yingying, why are you so anxious? I haven't finished talking yet! That person said that his daughter has a gentle personality, but is too shy. He heard that you and Princess Yongping are now making trouble for that girls' school, and he hopes you can bring his daughter with you. I don't ask for you to be as generous and cheerful as you, but I just hope that you won't be so shy when dealing with people ."
"ah!"
Zhu Ying finally woke up from her dream and realized that Zhang Shou was teasing her... or teasing her! Although the more she spent time with him, the more she realized that Zhang Shou was not the kind of gentleman who was as elegant as bamboo, she couldn't help but get angry after being teased like this. She immediately waved her fist and said, "How dare you tease me, Ah Shou, you are so mean!"
"Are you really too tired to do anything, so you can only talk nonsense?"
Zhang Shou blinked innocently, but collapsed on the bed without any manners. Although Zhu Ying didn't know what Ge You's lying posture was, she would not mistake a person's exhausted posture, so she hurriedly went forward and sat down next to him, and her slightly exasperated tone suddenly became softer.
"Then I...I'll get you a beauty's club?"
Even Zhang Shou had not expected Zhu Ying to say this, and was stunned on the spot. However, seeing Zhu Ying floating away as lightly as a butterfly, and then reappearing in front of him, she was holding a beauty club in her hand - just watching her juggling this small thing in her palm like a circus, Zhang Shou had no doubt that this thing in Zhu Ying's hand would hurt.
Therefore, he raised his hands and wanted to surrender and say that he was just teasing him, but he didn't expect that after Zhu Ying sat down next to him, she pushed him to bend over without saying anything, and then gently tapped his waist and back. Made of cork, with thick silk cotton wrapped in the middle and the outer layer of the beautiful woman's beauty hammer, hitting his muscles, he couldn't help but think of the four words "beauty is heavy".
But this charming thought was only fleeting, because Zhu Ying suddenly playfully tapped his thick thigh hard, and then laughed: "Apart from my parents and grandmother, I have only tapped my eldest brother's back. My second brother is not so lucky! If it weren't for the fact that you have worked so hard for my eldest brother today, I would not have let you off so easily!"
"Okay, okay, Yingying, you are the best!" Zhang Shou found that the beauty hammer had hit several places on his back like a dragonfly skimming the water. The beating that initially relieved the sore muscles had now turned into a tickle. He quickly said, "I will also hit you in the future, okay? Put it away quickly, don't let others see it..."
"What's wrong with that? I just asked Mother Li for this beauty club!" After Zhu Ying finished speaking, she found that Zhang Shou's whole body seemed to be stiff, so she smiled and said, "Anyway, I will marry you in a few days, so what are you afraid of? No outsiders will come in here..."
However, as if she was too full of herself, a cough was heard from outside, followed by Mother Li's voice: "Miss, Mr. Shou."
Seeing Zhu Ying was stunned, Zhang Shou, who had just been sitting awkwardly, sat up straight, got off the bed, walked to the door, opened the curtain to the outside room, nodded and smiled, "Is it Brother Zhu who is back to pick up the bride?"
"Yes." Mother Li did not look up to see what Zhu Ying was like inside, and of course she would not say that she had heard all the teasing and joking clearly while she was guarding outside. She lowered her hands and head to hide the smile on her face, and said calmly, "Since the eldest master has returned to pick up the bride, although the second young master and his family have enough manpower, Mr. Shou must go there."
Zhu Ying immediately dropped the beauty club in her hand in annoyance, thinking that it was because those ladies were talking too much that Zhang Shou didn't get a good rest, and she had just been playing with him and didn't hit him well. But her eldest brother's marriage was a big deal, so she could only watch Zhang Shou turn his head and smile and nod at her, and then he went out.
At this time, Mother Li came in and saw that her eldest daughter was looking unhappy. She smiled and said, "Miss, you should also prepare to go to the bridal chamber. The eldest young mistress just came in. If you, the younger sister-in-law, don't go, those women who are flocking to the bridal chamber might say something unpleasant, which would be really boring."
