Ming Dynasty: My Father Zhang Juzheng

Chapter 98 If life were just like the first time we met

In mid-October in Huating, the temperature has completely dropped.

The cold sea breeze, mixed with a slight fishy smell, rushed into Huating County from the east. A few thunders exploded in the late afternoon last night, and a cold rain was pulled from the sky.

For a moment, the whole Huating was shrouded in mist and rain, and filled with water vapor.

The drizzle continued. The rain in the south of the Yangtze River was different from that in the north. The rain in the north was as heavy as thunder, coming and going quickly.

The rain in the south of the Yangtze River is like a girl, gentle and elegant, making people intoxicated by it with just a little taste.

Zhang Yunxiu got up early and admired the drizzle through the window.

It was already a white world outside, and the cold rain in the air mixed with the fragrance of soil penetrated into his nostrils.

He became interested, tightened his clothes, and pushed the door open to go out.

Originally, the Xu family was planning to go to pay tribute to Xu Jie today, but the weather was not good, so the Xu family simply postponed it for two days.

With nothing else to do, Zhang Yunxiu couldn't stay alone in the room, so he wandered to the back garden of Xu's house.

At this time, the pavilions, flowers, plants and trees in the garden became more and more beautiful after being washed by the drizzle.

Zhang Yunxiu took a few steps into a small pavilion, sat down on a stone bench, then rested his chin on his hands and immersed himself in this leisure time.

Now his relationship with the emperor should be considered good.

It’s not that the emperor needs him, but that he can help the emperor make money and help the emperor deal with his ministers.

Just like Yan Song, the powerful official during the Jiajing period, the emperor kept him because he could help him make money.

Of course, the Yan Party behind him was too arrogant and domineering, which led to this disaster.

Emperor Jiajing roared and yelled: "It's my own money, they took 2 million taels, and I took 1 million taels. Should I thank them?!"

Sometimes, when Zhang Yunxiu was alone, he would think about how much money he had to earn to be considered enough.

"Who are you? Why are you in the back garden of the women?" Just as Zhang Yunxiu was thinking, he suddenly heard a questioning voice coming from behind.

Looking back, I saw a woman holding an oil-paper umbrella slowly walking into the pavilion.

She was about fifteen or sixteen years old, about five feet tall, with an oval face, willow-shaped eyebrows, and fair skin.

He was wearing a pea green tight-fitting robe, and when he spoke, he seemed to have an inexplicable sense of superiority.

But according to Zhang Yunxiu's estimation, this woman was at most a concubine, or a maid of a higher status.

After figuring this out, Zhang Yunxiu became interested and decided to tease this little bean sprout.

He pretended to be flustered and said awkwardly, "I was in a hurry, so I ran to this place. After I was done, I forgot the way here. I saw the beautiful Feng Jing here, so I just admired it here."

Little Bean Sprout raised her lips and said proudly, "Of course, our garden was built by our old grandfather at a great cost, how can it not be beautiful? Okay, call me sister and I will take you out."

"How old are you?" Zhang Yunxiu asked jokingly.

"Fifteen, what's wrong?" Little Bean Sprout was unconvinced, "How can it be calculated by age? I am the young lady's personal maid, what about you? Whose servant are you from?"

"I am the eldest master's new servant."

"You?" Xiao Douya pouted and snorted, "The eldest master is a successful candidate in the imperial examinations. Does he still need a bookboy like you who can't even find the way?"

"believe or not."

Zhang Yunxiu smiled and shook his head, then turned around and sat back down. Little Douya was immediately furious when she was ignored. She put her hands on her waist, snorted and blew out two puffs of white air, and shouted, "Well, even if you are the eldest son's servant, you can't enter this back garden. This is a place for women to come!"

"so what should I do?"

"Call me 'sister' and I can pretend I saw nothing." Little Bean Sprout said with his neck tilted back.

Zhang Yunzheng was about to continue teasing the little girl, when suddenly, a pleasant voice sounded from behind him: "Luluo, are you bullying others again? I have told you so many times not to bully others!!"

Xiao Douya stuck out her tongue, turned around and made a face at the person who came, and said coquettishly: "Miss, I am not bullying others. I am just teaching this new slave the rules."

The person who came was none other than Xu Ruoxi.

At this time, Zhang Yunxiu also saw the person clearly. She had skin as white as cream, eyebrows like crescent moon, a small jade nose, and a slender and white neck.

There is always a faint smile on her pretty face.

Gulu.

At a glance, Zhang Yunxiu even thought of the name of their child.

There is no such thing as love at first sight, some people are just attracted by beauty.

Xu Ruoxi also noticed Zhang Yunxiu's presence. When she saw the man, she panicked at first, but then she realized that he was her fiancé. Although they were at a certain distance that day, she could see him clearly.

"Did he wait for me here on purpose? Or is this guy afraid that I'm ugly and came here to spy on my appearance in advance?" Xu Ruoxi clutched the hem of her skirt with both hands, her heart in her throat.

"Miss, it's this guy. He's said to be the eldest master's new servant, but he actually ran to the back garden." In silence, Luluo pouted and pointed at Zhang Yunxiu and said, "This unruly guy must be taught a lesson."

Book boy?

Xu Ruoxi was stunned.

"Oh yes, I am the eldest master's new servant." Zhang Yunxiu smiled and bowed to Xu Ruoxi.

Great, you still dare to lie!
Xu Ruoxi was so angry that her cheeks puffed up and she bit her teeth. The slight embarrassment she had when she first met her fiancé disappeared.

She motioned for Zhang Yunxiu to stand up, then sat down, stared at Zhang Yunxiu and asked, "Since you said you are a book boy, then tell me, what is your name?"

"Zhang Xiuyun." Zhang Yunxiu said without blushing or beating his heart.

Xu Ruoxi burst out laughing, but suddenly felt that she had lost her composure, so she quickly covered her face with her sleeves, laughing secretly. Luluo, who was standing by, didn't understand what was going on, and couldn't help but mutter, "Miss, this man's name is quite similar to our son-in-law's name."

what? !

This startled Zhang Yunxiu, and his cheeks instantly blushed.

This woman turned out to be his fiancée?
"Well, that young master wants to talk to me about something, so I'll take my leave now." Seeing that his true identity was exposed, Zhang Yunxiu said casually, picked up his robe and left in disgrace.

"Hey, you can run away from the monk but you can't run away from the temple. I will go to the eldest master to find you later!" Luoluo stomped her feet and shouted at Zhang Yunxiu who was running far away.

Xu Ruoxi, who was standing by, stopped her and asked, "How do you know he is a servant?"

"He has shifty eyes and acts sneakily. You can tell at first glance that he's not a good person." Luoluo pouted and snorted.

Xu Ruoxi smiled with her eyes wide open. Luluo didn't understand why the young lady liked to laugh so much today, so she asked, "Young lady, what's wrong with you today? Why do you keep laughing like this? Luluo is scared."

Are you afraid now?

What you are afraid of is still to come.

As her personal maid, Luluo would naturally follow her when she got married.

Moreover, there is a high possibility that you will have to help the mistress solve her problems, especially when she is in poor health.

If Luoluo knew later that the person she treated as a servant was actually her master, she would definitely be scared half to death.

Fortunately, although Zhang Yunxiu is a smooth talker, he probably doesn't hold a grudge.

"Luoluo, you must be careful with your words in the future. Don't take advantage of your status to bully the servants in your home. If there is a big shot hiding in there, you will be in trouble." After a moment of silence, Xu Ruoxi said earnestly.

Are there any big shots among the slaves?

Green Rose shook her head, not believing it at all. After thinking for a while, she grabbed the lady's arm and said coquettishly, "Miss, I don't bully servants casually. I just teach them the rules."

"If everyone can enter this back garden, won't our women be seen naked by these guys?"

Xu Ruoxi didn't comment, just turned her head and stared at the ripples in the pond in a daze.

That evening, after dinner, Xu Ruoxi sat in her room and gently played the guzheng. According to her habit, she would practice the guzheng for a while in her room every evening.

But today she was uneasy, her mind full of what happened in the garden during the day.

She knew that Zhang Yunxiu must have also seen through her identity, but neither of them said anything.

"Deng Deng." Because he had lost his mood, the strings began to become uncooperative.

Xu Ruoxi simply let go of the strings, held her chin with both hands, and stared at the door in a daze.

Suddenly, a beautiful figure walked in from outside with a smile. Xu Ruoxi came back to her senses and saw that it was her sister-in-law Zhu Ling.

"Sister-in-law, why are you here?" Xu Ruoxi stood up and asked.

"This is a gift from Master Zhang. We must give it to you." Zhu Ling said, raising the small red sandalwood box in his hand, "Ruoxi, it's not polite to forget what you have given. If someone gives you a gift, you should give one back."

"Yes." Xu Ruoxi blushed, took out the sachet from her waist, handed it to her sister-in-law, and said softly, "Please take the trouble to deliver this thing to Mr. Zhang."

Zhu Ling smiled and nodded, took it and left. Xu Ruoxi walked her to the door and then closed the door.

She carefully picked up the small box in her arms and gently pushed it open, her eyes full of anticipation.

This was the first time he received a gift from a man other than his father and brother.

"bang bang bang"

Her cheeks flushed, and she could even hear the sound of raindrops and drums in her ears, which was the sound of her own heartbeat.

Holding my breath, I opened the small box and saw that inside was not a jade pendant or a bracelet, but a folded piece of white paper.

Xu Ruoxi took it and looked at it, and saw a poem written in beautiful small regular script on it.

She couldn't help but read it out loud.

"If life is just like the first time we met, why should the autumn wind draw a fan sadly?

Waiting for leisure to change but the old people's mind, but the old people's mind is easy to change.

Lishan language stopped the night and half of the night, and finally did not complain.

How unlucky is the man in brocade to wish for the same day with wings and branches. "

Read it.

Xu Ruoxi's face turned ugly in an instant.

This poem is full of literary talent and quotations from classics, and can be regarded as a masterpiece.

However, the artistic conception of the poem, except for the first sentence "If only life could remain as it was when we first met", mostly describes the rift between the lovers thereafter.

If life were always like the first time we met, it would just be a beautiful wish.

Is he worried that I'll change my mind?
Xu Ruoxi wrote it crookedly, and read out such a mood from it.

On the other side, Zhang Yunxiu was lying flat on the bed with his legs crossed, holding a small red sachet in his hand.

Smelling the lingering feminine fragrance on the sachet, Zhang Yunxiu couldn't help but recall the scene of their first meeting today.

This feeling of being in love really makes one's heart beat.

Maybe the two will quarrel over trivial matters after marriage, but as long as they have had such beautiful memories, it will be enough to make people remember them for a lifetime.

(End of this chapter)