The First Uncle of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 51 Visiting Relatives and Friends
There are so many people here, and it's not good to be arguing outside, not to mention that Ma Xun hasn't returned home yet.

After Chang Wan and the others paid their respects, Ma Xun said, "Brother Chang, Sister-in-law Chang, we are not outsiders. I will go back first, and after I finish my family affairs, I will go to your house and have dinner at your place tonight."

Chang Lan immediately agreed, "That's great. I was thinking of inviting you over tomorrow. I'll go back and prepare now, and I'll go back and take care of my household chores and come over early."

Ma Xun smiled and said, "He is not a stranger, why do we have to wait until tomorrow!"

Chang Yuchun and Chang Lan immediately took the children back home. They were naturally happy that Ma Xun was not so polite.

As for the people waiting outside the mansion, they were helpless because the door was closed immediately after Ma Xun, the emperor's uncle, entered the mansion.

"Master is back!" Xu E was very happy and said immediately, "Master, please go to the main hall first. We should pay our respects to you."

Ma Xun readily agreed, but also added, "Get ready, I have to go out soon."

In fact, there was nothing going on in the mansion. All the people in the house were arranged by Ma Xiuying, so there was no doubt about their reliability.

Even if Ma Xun is not in the capital, there is nothing to worry about, as Chang Lan from next door often helps to look after him.

After the people in the mansion finished their greetings, they saw Ma Xun was about to leave, so Xu E asked, "Where are you going, Master?"

"Go to the Chief Censor." Ma Xun said, "My second brother asked me to bring a letter from home, so I have to deliver it quickly."

He Da volunteered, "How can we let the uncle go? I will go and deliver the letter."

Xu E immediately laughed and was too lazy to comment on the thoughts of He Da and other soldiers.

As for what kind of person their master is, Xu E and others naturally know it very well.

He is kind and benevolent, and knows more etiquette than ordinary nobles, but his manners are very limited.

Even some of the etiquette seemed to be ignored by the master. You could say he was free and easy, or that he didn't care about formalities, but he was always like this.

Chang Mao was standing at the gate of the mansion. He was very happy to see Ma Xun. "Uncle, have you finished your family affairs?"

"No, I'm going out." Ma Xun said immediately, "You can run errands for me later and go to Mu Ying, Xu Sima and others' homes. If there are children at home, bring them over tomorrow."

Chang Mao agreed immediately, saying that running errands was a small matter.

Ma Xun took He Da and the others away, and Chang Mao ran into the mansion, "Mom, uncle went to see aunt again."

Chang Lan smiled and said to Chang Yuchun, "I heard that the Chief Censor was not happy when he saw me. He said several times that I ran too often. He is such a smart man, but he pretends not to understand. I have to go anyway."

Chang Yuchun also laughed and asked, "Before, it was Mu Ying who didn't understand the art of war, and now it's Chang Mao who doesn't understand the art of war. Chang Mao, remember to ask your uncle if you don't understand the art of war, and let him take you to ask Mr. Liu."

Chang Mao wanted to say it was unnecessary, but then he realized, "I don't know the art of war anyway, I go to ask my uncle for advice every day!"

Ma Xun's thoughts are as clear as Sima Zhao's, but as long as he is thick-skinned, most people can't do anything about it, such as Liu Bowen.

Ma Xun looked at Liu Bowen and said, "My second brother asked me to bring a letter from home. He has to stay in the army to discuss military affairs."

Liu Bowen nodded slightly and said, "Thank you, uncle."

Ma Xun looked around and said, "I brought some Guanzhong tea, would you like to try it?"

Liu Bowen sighed and said, "Uncle, it's only been two months. There's no need to be like this."

"I just came back, so I had to come and see you." Ma Xun, the prospective son-in-law, spoke up confidently, "What has Shu Ning been busy with these days?"

Most sons-in-law are not so shameless. Only because Ma Xun is the king's brother-in-law, he does not look inferior at all.

Liu Bowen said, "I'm busy embroidering the wedding dress. Is that okay?"

"I also brought her some embroidery and sachets." Ma Xun said immediately, "The gift is small but the sentiment is great. Now that I have brought them back, let Shu Ning see if she likes them."

Not to mention Liu Bowen was speechless, even Liu Lian who was sitting next to him didn't know what to say. The uncle in front of him was really a contradictory person.

They say he doesn't know etiquette, but he is very sensible. They say he does his duty, but I don't know if he really doesn't know or is just pretending to know some details. He probably has no lack of righteousness and doesn't care about small etiquette.

Liu Shuning came to the main hall with a red face, "Meet the uncle of the emperor."

"I brought you some embroidery and sachets. See if you like them." Ma Xun said with a smile, "It's thanks to you that I got the amulet that I was able to travel safely this time."

Liu Bowen coughed lightly and said, "I still have some official business to attend to. Liu Lian will stay here to entertain the guests."

Ma Xun said quickly, "Zhongshi Zhongcheng, I really have no other purpose for coming here. It's mainly because Her Majesty the Queen asked me to come and ask for advice on how to be an official, and secondly, it's because my second brother asked me to bring a letter from home."

Liu Bowen calmed down and forced a smile, "Uncle, I haven't figured out the way to be an official yet, how can I explain it to you?"

"That's better than me. I have no idea what's going on in the court right now." Ma Xun told the truth, "Your Majesty asked me to go to the Grand Military Governor's Office and manage the Imperial College. I don't know what to do."

Liu Bowen became serious, and after a moment's silence, he said, "Then when I have some free time in the next two days, I will come over to have a chat with you, uncle."

Ma Xun immediately agreed, "Then I'll come tomorrow!"

Regarding Ma Xun's shamelessness, not only Liu Bowen felt that he had learned something new, but Liu Lian and Liu Shuning also felt that they had a new understanding.

After Liu Bowen left, Liu Shuning asked, "Uncle, this is my brother's first time on the battlefield. Is he having trouble adapting?"

"My second brother is better than me. I know nothing." Ma Xun said with a smile, "General Xu admires my second brother very much and has always stayed by his side to give him careful guidance."

Not to mention Liu Shuning, even Liu Lian's eyes lit up, that was General Xu!
However, Liu Shuning also reacted and said with a smile, "It was also because of the uncle of the emperor. My brother's little talent was not worthy of the general. The news spread all over the capital that the uncle of the emperor rushed to help at night to capture Qingyang."

Ma Xun enjoyed the girl's admiring eyes for a moment, but then he felt embarrassed. No one knew how military merit came about better than he, the person involved.

The so-called fame is all created by someone deliberately to make him famous.

But these are not important. Those who know know, and those who don’t know don’t know.

Liu Shuning looked at Ma Xun and asked, "Uncle, would you like to taste the tea?"

Ma Xun immediately refused, pointed at the teacup and said, "I'm used to drinking plain tea, not soup tea."

Liu Shuning breathed a sigh of relief, as she was being brought up as a lady from a wealthy family.

China's tea culture has a long history, but it has also been changing.

Not to mention the distant past, during the Tang Dynasty, it was popular to boil tea, which was done by putting tea leaves into a pot and boiling it with water.

In the Song Dynasty, it was popular to make tea by putting tea leaves in a tea bowl, adding a small amount of boiling water to make it into a paste, and then pouring in boiling water. Or, boiling water was directly poured into the tea bowl while stirring with a tea whisk. The tea leaves would float up and form a porridge-like texture.

During the Yuan Dynasty, people began to lose interest in tea tasting and brewing, and the art of tea began to develop in a simple and natural way.

Zhu Yuanzhang disliked the trouble of boiling tea, so he just started to brew tea by simply grabbing some tea leaves and throwing them into the teacup, which is not much different from the tea drinking method in later generations.

However, there are now tea balls, tea cakes, etc., and many wealthy families like the ancient way of making tea, which seems particularly stylish.

Liu Shuning naturally knew some knowledge of tea ceremony, and she also knew that Ma Xun liked to drink tea, but she had not yet mastered some of the techniques.

After sitting in Liu Bowen's house for a while and talking to Liu Shuning, Ma Xun had no choice but to leave.

We haven't gotten married yet, so how can we be together all the time?

Zhu Yuanzhang and Ma Xiuying in the palace both found it funny that their younger brother was really busy.

He ran to find his wife as soon as he got home, and then ran to Chang's house with a small package of gifts.

I feel uncomfortable in the palace, and I like to run around when I leave. But it's okay this way, I'm young, I don't need to be so steady. And I'm the uncle of the emperor, I have a noble and special status, I can do whatever I want.

(End of this chapter)