Volume 5: Fellow Traveler Chapter 766: Telepathy
"cannot!"
This was Zhu Ying's decisive answer to Zhang Shou. When the eldest lady said this, her attitude was also very confident. And what she said next made Zhang Shou's cold body gradually warm up: "We have only been married for a few days, and you want to spend the night outside. I can't be at ease!"
"Yingying, this is your dowry farm. Are you still afraid that someone will be bold enough to launch a night attack on me?" Zhang Shou was neither laughing nor crying. After making a joke, he suddenly noticed that Zhu Ying's two maids, Zhan Jin and Liu Yin, were shrinking back and laughing secretly. As for himself, he didn't know when, but Ah Liu had taken away the head of the farm who led the way.
Without waiting for Zhu Ying to speak, he held her hand and said with a smile, "If I had known you would come, I would have gone with you to see them off. I would have saved myself from listening to Zhang Chen and Zheng Yan's crosstalk on the way there, and having no peace and quiet in my ears. On the way back, I would have been so bored that I would have to sleep alone."
Zhu Ying was so happy with Zhang Shou's words that she immediately held Zhang Shou's hand and walked forward quickly with him, saying angrily, "It's freezing cold, let's go back to the room and talk! If I hadn't happened to be going to see Mingyue and other female teachers today, I would have gone with you! But, Ah Shou, what do you mean by crosstalk?"
Zhang Shou smiled and told her what Zhang Chen and the Fourth Prince had said to persuade her not to send him off in person. Zhu Ying knew that they were afraid that she would cause trouble, so she grumbled and said that they were sensible. However, she did not forget the crosstalk that Zhang Shou had not answered when she asked about it, so Zhang Shou had no choice but to make up a story that it was a form of street performer's performance.
However, Zhu Ying still refused to give up and insisted on getting to the bottom of the matter. Zhang Shou had no choice but to copy the classic stand-up comedy of the limerick.
However, it was a long story and he could not possibly tell it all, so he only said the first part. Zhu Ying heard the eldest brother say, "Get on the carved saddle when you go out," the second brother say, "Get on the horse and take the whip," and the third brother say, "Who will win this time?" She was wondering what the last sentence of the loyal and honest fourth brother mentioned by Zhang Shou would be, when she was caught off guard and heard the simple and direct word "we."
As a result, the eldest lady was stunned at first, and when she thought about it carefully, she almost laughed to death, and then the cold wind blew, causing her to cough a few times, and unfortunately, she burped. Fortunately, Zhan Jinliuyin reacted quickly and quickly brought the two into the room with a heated kang, and arranged for hot water. Zhu Ying took two big gulps and finally recovered.
"What's the latest trick of street performers? Do you think I'm one of those boudoir-dwelling girls who never leave the house? I can go to places like Tingyu Cottage. I've seen all kinds of restaurants and even street performers."
"You just made up a name and put it on someone else!"
Zhu Ying glared at Zhang Shou angrily, but he just smiled and said nothing. But after she finished, she recalled the joke again and couldn't help laughing again. She immediately forced Zhang Shou to finish it. However, no matter how good Zhang Shou's memory was, it was impossible for him to memorize the extremely long joke, so he could only recite a few of the four brothers' doggerel that he could remember.
As a result, Zhu Ying laughed even more uncontrollably, and in the end she couldn't help but lean on his shoulder, her shoulders twitching with laughter. She pressed her stomach with one hand and kept shouting that her stomach was about to cramp.
The biggest worry for couples is having nothing to talk about. Even if they are still an engaged couple, or in other words, before the engagement is finalized, they are very close and can talk about anything. But Zhu Ying knows that life before and after marriage is different.
Therefore, she was unwilling to be separated from Zhang Shou even for one night, and would rather leave Beijing in a hurry on this cold night and wait here early, just as Zhang Shou was willing to make her laugh after seeing her.
That night... to be precise, it should only be the second half of the night, Zhang Shou naturally had a perfect and complete night. And Ah Liu and the other guards, who had been tossing and turning for half the night, finally had a good sleep in the warm room and on the thick beds. However, the next morning, no one woke up late to catch up on sleep.
Zhu Ying always had the habit of getting up early to practice sword. Even though she was a new wife now, she had gotten up late for several days and missed the morning class. However, she lived in her own dowry farm and did not want to be gossiped about behind her back by the farmhands and servants.
As for Zhang Shou… He had slept well in the carriage before, and after the night, the yin and yang were balanced, so he felt even more refreshed when he woke up early. Moreover, it was still a long way to go back to Beijing, so instead of sleeping in here, he might as well get up early and go back to Beijing early, have a good lunch at Zhang Garden, and take a nap in the remaining time.
What, is it taking a nap alone, or playing like mandarin ducks...is there any need to say it specifically?
When Zhang Shou arrived last night, it was so late that one could only get a rough idea of the people under the lantern. When Zhang Shou and Zhu Ying washed, changed their clothes, had breakfast and were ready to leave, the village head, who had hurriedly gathered everyone to see them off, could not help rubbing his eyes when he saw Zhang Shou and Zhu Ying leaving together.
When he saw his eldest daughter last time, he felt that she was like a fairy from heaven, and he always wondered what kind of man could marry her home. When the news came from the capital, he was still a little unconvinced, but unfortunately he was just a village head, and the year was coming to an end, and he had to collect the rent, so he had no time to go to the Duke of Zhao's mansion to take a look at his son-in-law.
When he saw her last night, he thought she was good-looking. Today, he finally saw clearly... She was a perfect match for Zhu Ying! Now he knew what a truly handsome man was! She was more eye-catching than any beautiful woman!
Those who came to see her off were all people with positions in the manor, including a few maids. Zhu Ying usually went to Haidian Zhaoyuan more often, so they rarely saw her. Now that the manor was given to Zhu Ying as a dowry by the Duke of Zhao's mansion, they couldn't wait to come forward and say a bunch of flattering words.
But if they were so eloquent, they wouldn't have to work only on the farm, so even if they racked their brains, they could only repeat the same few sentences. Even the head of the farm who went to the Duke of Zhao's mansion several times a year, his wrinkled face seemed to be about to smile, but he kept saying "a match made in heaven, a happy marriage"... just like going to congratulate someone on their wedding.
Zhu Ying, who was in a rare good mood, did not take it too seriously. Even when the elderly head of the village and the maids kept saying similar compliments to her, she always smiled in response. Only after she pulled Zhang Shou into her carriage did she lean into their arms and tell them what was in her heart.
"If it were in the past, I would have lost my patience a long time ago, but since you are here today, I just put up with it after thinking about it. Otherwise, if I scolded them in front of you, they would feel wronged behind their backs, thinking that they were scolded even though they said something nice. But listen to what they say, they are talking nonsense about generations of nobles, the descendant of the literary star, and the inevitable number one in the imperial examination... Do you care about nobles or number one in the imperial examination?"
Zhang Shou laughed out loud, stopped her and said softly: "It's rare. But I can't pass the exam to become the top scholar. As for the duke, I can't become one without any military merit. In this case, it's not bad to listen to their good words."
That's why I'm angry! You're smiling at all these irrelevant compliments. If I start to scold people, won't people say that the son-in-law is kind and the young lady is too powerful? Zhu Ying was really angry, but Zhang Shou just hugged her gently and patted her back like coaxing a child. She felt ashamed and angry for a moment, and suddenly wanted to bite this man.
After being together for such a long time, she was almost always led by the nose! Zhang Shou was good at coaxing people!
Although she was annoyed, she hadn't slept for half a night, waiting for Zhang Shou to come back. In addition, the carriage was warm, not as cold as the wind blowing on her face during the ride. The sun gradually came out and shone on the carriage, making it even warmer. Therefore, Zhu Ying fell asleep unconsciously. When she heard someone calling her in a daze, she was still reluctant to open her eyes.
As a result, the next moment, she felt herself flying into the air. She came to her senses with a start, only to find that she was wrapped in a thick cloak and was held in Zhang Shou's arms.
She was so frightened that she was about to struggle to get down when she suddenly heard Zhang Shou's low voice.
"Yingying, don't move. I'm not strong enough, and my hands are even less powerful. If I loosen my grip and you fall, we'll both lose face!" After Zhang Shou scared Zhu Ying, he saw that she really held his neck obediently and dared not move. So he held her and walked a few steps with her in his arms, as if he was struggling to support herself. Then he bent down and put her on an oil cleaning truck parked not far away.
After Zhu Ying sat down hurriedly, he patted his shoulders and back, smiled and nodded to the driver, and immediately , he held the curtain with one hand, smiling at his wife who was still in a daze, and said in a friendly manner, "I wanted to rest at home for a day, but something happened unexpectedly."
"The teacher and Mr. Liu, the chief priest of Lu, sent a message saying that they wanted to discuss the lecture with me, so I had to go."
When he said this, Zhang Shou's tone was obviously a little heavier. Seeing Zhu Ying's eyes widened in anger, he simply moved closer and said word by word: "So, I'm going to the Ge Mansion now. Yingying, you don't have to wait for me to come back."
At this point, he paused again and winked at the man: "If you must wait, remember, then it's a good time."
When the car curtain was lowered, Zhu Ying was so angry that she was fuming. This was really unbearable for her life. It was ok that the wedding leave was only three days, but there were still one thing after another!
Even though I still wanted to enjoy my time as a couple and was not in a hurry to have children, and Zhang Shou even taught her many remedies for avoiding pregnancy that made her blush—purely physical, and she herself had things to do, she still felt that troublemakers were extremely hateful. Especially those who desperately tried to make a gathering of the wise men through their wedding, which might make Zhang Shou even busier!
Even if it's Grandpa Ge, that won't work! But what did Zhang Shou mean by what he just said? What does it mean that if you have to wait, even if it's a good time? Zhu Ying was puzzled until she heard a voice from outside saying that they had arrived. She got off the car with a gloomy face wrapped in a thick cloak. When the cold wind blew on her forehead, she suddenly realized it in her drowsy state.
Since Zhang Shou has already expressed that he has to go, then he wants her to calculate the time and find a way to disrupt the situation so that he can get away earlier?
If it was another man, Zhu Ying would not be so sure, but Zhang Shou's temperament was different from most people she had met, and it could even be said that he was the opposite. She knew that Zhang Shou might not be interested in this occasion, which was said to be a gathering of talented people and where many people hoped to be recognized and praised as much as possible.
This was just like when Ge Yong asked Zhang Shou to receive the astronomical talents who were summoned to discuss the compilation of the calendar and astrology, Zhang Shou was obviously perfunctory. As for how she knew... of course Zhang Shou told her. Zhang Shou clearly told her that he only knew mathematics, not astronomy at all, and was still a long way from being proficient.
Zhang Shou also said that if anyone wanted to discuss mathematics, he would welcome it, but if they insisted on discussing the twenty-eight constellations with him, or when there would be a solar eclipse, he would want to stay as far away as possible. Especially those who held a handful of abacus sticks and earnestly told him that the numbers promoted by Emperor Taizu betrayed the classics such as Zhouyi and Jiuzhang Suanshu, he didn't want to pay any attention to them.
Thinking of this, Zhu Ying, who was a little confused before, suddenly woke up. She threw down the cloak outside and grabbed Zhan Jin who was busy making the bed, intending to let her catch up on her sleep.
"I won't sleep anymore! Go see if Ah Shou has left. If not, tell Ah Liu a few words for me."
To see if the son-in-law had left, but the person to whom he was delivering the message was Ah Liu... If Zhan Jin had not known Zhu Ying's style of doing things very well, he would have definitely thought of something wrong. Sure enough, after she nodded, Zhu Ying whispered something to her.
Even though she was greatly frightened, Zhan Jin saw Liu Yin showing a helpless expression towards her and then slipping away, she still had no choice but to bite the bullet and agree, and hurried out. At this time, she could only pray silently in her heart that Zhang Shou had not left and she could find Ah Liu, otherwise... she was very worried that the eldest lady would directly send her to the Ge Mansion to deliver a letter!
Fortunately, God heard her prayers. When she learned that Zhang Shou had not set out yet and Ah Liu was feeding the horses in the stable, she immediately went there. Although there was a not-so-pleasant smell even if it was cleaned every day, she still endured the slight discomfort and searched through the place like a gust of wind, and finally found Ah Liu rolling up his sleeves and watering the horses in the corner.
In terms of good looks, Ah Liu was far inferior to Zhang Shou, but in Zhan Jin's opinion, the boy with strong forearms and a happy smile on his face was the cutest person in the world. She wanted to cheer when she thought that she could complete the task as long as she passed on the young lady's words! So she walked up quickly and called him "Sixth Brother" directly.
While Ah Liu turned his head to look at her, she quickly looked around and quickly told him what Zhu Ying had told her. When she finished, she saw Ah Liu's eyes smile and he simply said, "Okay, I got it!"
