Top Scholar

Chapter 518 Beating the Autumn Wind

Xizhimen.

Zhu Shou finished his day's training and returned to the city surrounded by a large contingent of cavalry.

As he passed by Liu Jin's house, he suddenly remembered something and turned to look at Gu Dayong beside him.

Gu Dayong immediately moved closer, and then heard Zhu Shou casually ask, "How's the investigation going?"

He quickly lowered his voice and replied, "Young master, there has indeed been a constant stream of people sending gifts to Eunuch Liu. These past few days, from morning till night, his brother-in-law and Zhang Wenmian have been busy receiving gifts."

Zhu Shou smirked and cracked his whip: "Then let's not stand on ceremony with the eldest son, let's go!"

~~
Here, Eunuch Liu had just finished a day of hard work for the country and was returning to his residence in a sedan chair carried by eight men.

Two rows of servants in brocade robes had already lined up in front of the mansion gate, bowing in unison and shouting, "Welcome back, Master!"

His father, his brothers, his brother-in-law, his nephew... the whole family came out to greet him, their faces beaming as they ushered him into the hall, making Grandpa Liu feel the warmth of family.

In the hall, the maids and servants, all gentle and soft-spoken, handsome men and beautiful women, rushed forward to serve him upon his arrival. Some held spittoons inlaid with gold and jade, others carried gossamer-thin gauze robes, and still others knelt to remove his black boots and replace them with soft-soled cloud-patterned slippers. Their movements were fluid and seamless, perfectly coordinated, without interfering with Liu Gonggong's conversation with his family.

Liu Jin leaned back comfortably in the armchair covered with brocade cushions, accepted the Lion Peak Longjing tea offered by the maid, and took a leisurely sip. Only then did he slowly ask his elder brother beside him, "Has that boy replied?"

There has been a long-standing tradition of "finding a son-in-law after passing the imperial examinations." After passing the examinations, unmarried scholars who had achieved high rank in the imperial examinations would become the object of marriage proposals among the high-ranking officials and nobles in the capital. Liu Jin, who particularly wanted to elevate his family's cultural taste, set his sights on Dai Dabing, the highest-ranking unmarried scholar, and wanted to marry his grandniece to him.

Last month, the matchmaker went to propose marriage. Dai Dabing tried to decline, citing "marriage is a major event and must be decided by one's parents." But how could Eunuch Liu let him succeed? He sent an urgent message to Dai Dabing's hometown in Putian to obtain his parents' consent.

After a series of intimidation tactics, his family was forced to issue a consent form, which put the pressure on Dai Dabing...

His elder brother Liu Jingxiang's smile froze instantly, and he sighed, "Alas, don't mention it... I'm afraid that kid is not going to make it."

"Oh?" Liu Jin raised an eyebrow, her hand holding the teacup hovering in mid-air. This was her own teacup; she wanted to avoid breaking it. "Didn't he say he would obey his parents? If his parents agreed, would he dare to disagree?!"

“It’s not that we don’t want to agree, it’s that he’s gone mad!” Liu Jingxiang said with a bitter face. “Yesterday I sent someone to ask him, and we saw him rolling around in the yard with his hair all over the place, hugging a dog and shouting for gods. He would grin and talk nonsense whenever he saw people, saying that he was a dung beetle reincarnated. How can we marry Zhaodi to a man like that? Wouldn’t that be sending her into a fire pit?”

Upon hearing this, Liu Jin's face darkened, and he slammed his teacup down on the table, making a loud clanging sound: "This fool is clearly pretending to be crazy and hiding from our family!"

"You son of a bitch! Who do you think you are?!" Liu Jin's nephew, Liu Erhan, immediately flew into a rage. "Men! Tie that bastard surnamed Dai up! I'll skin him alive!"

"What are you yelling about?!" Liu Jin glared at him angrily. "That Dai Dabing is a newly appointed Jinshi, a student of the Emperor at the Dragon Tiger Academy. How dare you mess with him? Don't cause me any trouble!"

"Sigh..." Liu Erhan could only retreat dejectedly, saying, "That kid got lucky..."

"Then what should we do about the marriage?" Liu Jingxiang asked.

"They've already arranged the marriage with their parents and the matchmaker, so what should we do?" Liu Jin snorted and said, "What we want is a son-in-law who has passed the imperial examination, not some big or small guest. Whether he's really crazy or pretending to be crazy, we don't care!"

At this moment, his brother-in-law Sun Cong also laughed and said, "Second brother, this method is brilliant. Let's see how long he can pretend to be crazy?"

"We're going to turn the tables on him." Liu Jin sneered, "Little punk, trying to play these tricks on us? You're still too green!"

"Alright, alright, let's eat." Liu Jin's father, Liu Rong, was already eighty-eight years old, and all he cared about was eating.

"Let's eat, let's eat." Liu Jin nodded and, surrounded by the crowd, entered the main hall.

The main hall was even more extravagant. In addition to the coral screen, the nine-dragon-holding-pearl lamp, and the expensive Persian carpet that Jiao Fang had seen before, everything on the tables was a priceless antique. Even the fruit plate for cherries was made of pure gold.

The feast had already been set out. Old Master Liu, being of advanced age, couldn't tolerate strong flavors, so the golden goblets and jade platters were filled with rare and exotic delicacies. The bamboo shoots stewed with shrimp balls were incredibly tender, the steamed shad was fragrant with oil, the cherry meat was coated in amber-colored syrup, and the fresh water chestnuts stir-fried with chicken head rice carried the refreshing aroma of the lake. The chilled wine was invigorating… even the chopsticks and soup spoons were carved from ivory.

As soon as Liu Jin sat down, two handsome young servants knelt before him, each massaging one of his legs. The court musicians kept in the manor began playing the lively "Picking Mulberry Leaves," and dancers, draped in light veils and holding fresh flowers, gracefully danced…

Just as the banquet at the Liu residence was about to begin, a panicked announcement came from outside.

"Father-in-law, come out quickly to greet the emperor!"

Before he finished speaking, Zhu Shou, dressed in a bright red robe and holding a horsewhip, swayed into the courtyard.

Upon seeing that familiar crab-like gait, Liu Jin's heart skipped a beat. He quickly got up and went to greet him, his face plastered with a fawning smile: "Your Majesty... Young Master, are you coming from the western suburban military camp? I'm afraid you haven't had your meal yet?"

"Yeah, I was just passing by and thought I'd stop by for a meal." Zhu Shou nodded, casually tossing his riding whip to Liu Jin before stepping into the magnificent main hall: "I've been busy training troops all day and haven't had a proper meal... I hope I haven't caused you any trouble?"

"Look at what you're saying!" Liu Jin bowed deeply, his old face beaming with joy. "It's a great honor for this old servant that you would grace us with your presence, young master! Please, take a seat!"

As he spoke, he hurriedly ordered his family in a deep voice, "What are you all standing there for? Quickly tell the kitchen to prepare a few more hearty dishes. I don't like bland food!"

"Hey, hey." Liu Jingxiang quickly went down to make arrangements, and he and Sun Cong also pulled Liu Rong and Liu Erhan away.

“I haven’t eaten yet,” Liu Rong protested.

"Go down and eat, go down and eat," Liu Jingxiang urged, pulling and persuading him.

Zhu Shou didn't think anything was wrong. He sat down in the main seat with an air of nonchalance, and his gaze was immediately drawn to the tableware on the table. He picked up a bowl inlaid with gold and jade and exclaimed in admiration, "Oh my, your gold bowl is so exquisite, just like the ones used in the palace."

"Really? This old servant didn't notice." Liu Jin was caught off guard and had no time to hide his valuables, so he could only pretend to be stupid.

"These were all gifts from others. I'm just a rough old man, and I thought they weren't worth much."

“Hey, this whole thing must have cost you…” Zhu Shou shook his head, but he couldn’t estimate the price either. After a long pause, he said, “A fortune.”

As he spoke, he glanced around again, pointed to the coral screen that was taller than a person, and exclaimed, "Good heavens, I've never seen such a big coral before."

"This, this was also a gift from someone else..." Liu Jin's forehead was already beaded with sweat. "Since you like it, young master, this old servant will send it to the palace tomorrow."

"Don't worry about it." Zhu Shou twirled the ivory chopsticks and looked at Liu Jin with a smile, saying, "Just use them without worry. I'm happy to see you living a comfortable life."

"Old servant, old servant..." Liu Jin knelt on the ground with a thud, tears streaming down his face, and said, "Thank you for your kindness, young master. I can never repay your kindness in my next life."

"Get up, get up." Zhu Shou tapped his head with ivory chopsticks and teased, "You've served the Emperor for so many years, what's wrong with enjoying yourself a little?"

"Hey, hey..." Liu Jin was about to express his loyalty when Zhu Shou abruptly changed the subject, saying in a low voice:
"But the Emperor isn't so comfortable. He only has eight hundred taels, which isn't even enough for a set of your tableware."

Liu Jin felt a chill run down his spine and quickly patted his chest to assure him, "Don't worry, young master! This old servant has already raised the funds through various means. At most one or two months, no, by the end of next month, we will definitely see the income!"

As he spoke, he tried to call the servants to serve the dishes, attempting to change the subject.

Zhu Shou didn't respond. Instead, he tapped the golden bowl with his chopsticks and said slowly, "Distant water can't quench immediate thirst. Why don't you help the Emperor first?"

Each knock was like a heavy hammer blow to Liu Jin's heart, nearly scaring him to death. He hurriedly replied without hesitation, "Everything this old servant has is given to him by His Majesty!"

He then prostrated himself and kowtowed heavily, shouting, "I can have my house emptied right now!"

"What are you saying? Don't you want to make a living?" Zhu Shou was very satisfied with his statement, but was a little embarrassed and said, "I just want your help to get out of this emergency. Ten thousand or eighty thousand taels will be enough."

Liu Jin's face paled instantly. He mechanically opened his mouth, as if to say, "I really can't come up with that much silver," but meeting Zhu Shou's hungry gaze, he swallowed his words back and nodded tragically, "Fine, since you've asked, this old servant will sell everything I own to raise the money!"

Zhu Shou was even more satisfied now, and even a little embarrassed: "Not forcing me?"

"No, no, no!" Liu Jin hurriedly waved his hands, cold sweat trickling down his cheeks. "It is this old servant's duty to share the Emperor's burdens!"

Zhu Shou finally burst into laughter, patted him on the shoulder, and praised, "Excellent! You are indeed the Emperor's most loyal minister!"

"That's right, this old servant knows nothing, but the word 'loyalty' will always be in my heart!" Liu Jin secretly breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that he had passed this hurdle again.

"Get up quickly and tell them to serve the food." Zhu Shouxian picked up a piece of shad with his chopsticks. "This stuff is delicious, but it has too many bones. If I weren't starving, I wouldn't even touch it."

As he spoke, he put the tender white fish meat into his mouth, feeling its rich, sweet flavor melt on his tongue without any resistance. He couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, "Wow, how come this shad has no bones?!"

"My servant has a cook at home who has honed his skills all his life by deboning shad," Liu Jin hurriedly explained with a smile.
"I heard that the raw fish is processed and placed in an ice tray to chill, allowing the flesh to tighten and separate from the fine bones. Then, silver tweezers are used to carefully pick out the tiny bones, each one as fine as a hair. The amazing thing is that in addition to the exquisite skill, one also has to remember the location of all the fish bones."

"You really know how to enjoy life!" Zhu Shou exclaimed sincerely, finishing the entire plate of shad with his rice.

P.S.: Please vote for me!
Also, I'd like to recommend a book: "The Emperor Who Impersonated the Ming Dynasty," you might be interested in taking a look.

(End of this chapter)