"Get off - the sedan -"
With a long shout, eight bearers wearing blue shirts with the word "Zhang Mansion" printed on them skillfully stopped the big blue cloth sedan in the sedan hall of Zhang University's residence. An old attendant had been waiting respectfully for a long time. As soon as the sedan stopped, he immediately stretched out his hand to lift the curtain of the sedan door and shouted respectfully: "Master."
Zhang Juzheng, with a fair face and a beautiful beard reaching to his chest, slowly got out of the sedan chair and took a casual glance. All the servants and servants around him were respectful and no one made any unnecessary noise.
This is a common thing in Zhang Juzheng's mansion: as soon as he comes back, the huge Zhang Juzheng Mansion will become silent. After all, whether in officialdom or at home, Zhang Juzheng was famous for his unsmiling nature, and sometimes he couldn't see a trace of a smile on his face for half a month. Therefore, everyone in the Zhang family, from his sons to the servants, are very afraid of him.
Zhang Juzheng's academic residence is located in Dashi Yongfang, northeast of Xuanwumen. Exit Chengtianmen of the Imperial City, turn right, and walk to the opposite side of Longxiangwei Yamen. It's hard to say that it's only a stone's throw away from the imperial city, but it's certainly not far. Speaking of it, his residence is only diagonally across the street from Zhang Siwei's residence, which is obviously an excellent location among the capital.
Of course, such a good residence has some origins: in February of the first year of Longqing, when Zhang Juzheng was forty-two years old, he was promoted from a bachelor of the Hanlin Academy to a left minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs and a bachelor of Wuyingdian. In a few months, he was suddenly promoted from a fifth-grade noble civil servant to a second-grade important minister and the current court elder. The improvement in status was equivalent to riding a rocket, so the original residence suddenly seemed too shabby. So Zhang Juzheng asked someone to find this new residence.
This was originally the residence of a minister of the Ministry of Industry. The waiter was originally from Suzhou and was good at gardening. He made the mansion look like a Jiangnan garden, but because it was located in Beijing, it lacked some water color, which was a bit regrettable. This compound occupies an area of about ten acres and is divided into two courtyards as usual. The backyard is the residence of the family members and the front yard is a place for banquets and gatherings with friends. Separating the front and rear courtyards is a garden of approximately four acres. Pavilions, terraces and pavilions are all available. In this capital city where every inch of land is precious, it is truly a scenic spot for a home.
When Zhang Juzheng was looking for a house, it happened that the minister was about to return to his hometown in Suzhou. As a result, the two parties hit it off. The old minister was glad that the famous garden had an owner, and he was also happy to curry favor with the newly promoted senior minister, so he only asked Zhang Juzheng for 20,000 taels of silver.
According to the price in the capital city at that time, not to mention 100,000 taels of silver, this courtyard could definitely be sold for 80,000 taels in a blink of an eye. Selling at such a low price, Zhang Juzheng was quite worried about causing gossip, so he insisted on raising the price. However, the old servant was determined to do this favor, so he half-heartedly made the deal happen. After Zhang Juzheng bought the yard, he slightly repaired and tidied it up according to his hobbies, and then moved here to live in it. Unexpectedly, two years had passed.
There is also a courtyard between the sedan hall and the front yard. Although the Qingming Festival is approaching, if we were in the south of the Yangtze River, it would already be a scene of green willows and early yellow cauliflowers. But Beijing has gotten colder and colder in recent years. Today, the branches have just begun to turn green, and the old locust tree in the middle of the courtyard is only showing a little bit of the spring breeze. On the contrary, a spring plum blossom in the corner of the courtyard was in full bloom, and a faint fragrance filled the yard.
However, after the restoration of Gao Gong, the situation in the capital changed drastically and there were more and more troubles in the cabinet. Therefore, Zhang Juzheng was not in the mood to enjoy this scenery at the moment. With a sullen face, he lowered his head and walked through the courtyard and went straight to the backyard. Under the service of the maid, he took off his official uniform and official hat, changed into ordinary clothes worn at home, put a bright sun scarf on his head, and then Sitting down in the living room in the backyard, together with his wife, he accepted greetings from his four sons, Jingxiu, Sixiu, Maoxiu and Jianxiu.
Zhang Juzheng has six sons in total. In addition to these four, there are also two sons, Yunxiu, who is five years old, and Jingxiu, who is three years old. After asking a few sons about their studies, they had dinner together.
After dinner, Zhang Juzheng returned to the study room in the front yard to have tea. While tasting tea, he asked the book boy to call the housekeeper You Qi as usual. After a while, a middle-aged man in his forties walked into the study.
The visitor's figure is similar to Zhang Juzheng's, but his face is completely different. He has light eyebrows and small eyes, and a long face like a horse. An inch from the right corner of his mouth, there is a cinnabar mole the size of a pea. There is also a thick cinnabar mole on the mole. Black hair. He wore a dark coat with a light blue background and black edges, a pair of leather-gold-lined cloth shoes, and a square turban on his head. He didn't look like an ordinary butler, but rather like a scribe, but he was dressed like a scholar. There is an air of shrewdness about him, like a businessman. This person is You Qi.
You Qi and Zhang Juzheng are from the same hometown, and both are from Jiangling County, Jingzhou Prefecture. Zhang Juzheng took a sick leave and returned to his hometown in the 33rd year of Jiajing. Three years later, he returned to Beijing to resume his official duties, so he brought You Qi to Beijing to manage his house. In a flash, ten years have passed. Four years. You Qi and Zhang Juzheng are slightly distant relatives, so they should call Zhang Juzheng cousin. However, You Qi strictly adheres to the status of master and servant and never considers himself a relative. Whenever he sees Zhang Juzheng, he only calls him "Master".
You Qi also liked reading poetry and books since he was a child. He originally wanted to take the provincial examination to gain fame, but after he followed Zhang Juzheng, he put that thought aside. Zhang Juzheng not only admired Zhong Youqi's elegant demeanor, but also felt that he was clever in doing things. He was asked to take care of the house, and he kept all the affairs at home in an orderly manner. He also treated people and things very appropriately. He sometimes helped Zhang Juzheng with some social affairs and never made mistakes, so he was trusted by Zhang Juzheng.
At this moment, Zhang Juzheng was sitting on a bamboo couch covered with brocade and silk cotton cushions. You Qi was standing next to the bamboo couch with his hands hanging down. Zhang Juzheng motioned for You Qi to sit down. You Qi moved a chair and sat in front of the bamboo couch.
Perhaps seeing the tired look on You Qi's face, Zhang Juzheng said, "I'm busy with things in the imperial court these days, and I rarely interfere with family affairs. Thank you for your hard work."
"It's all normal things. It can't be said to be hard work." You Qi replied respectfully, "Sir, you should pay more attention to your health."
Zhang Juzheng raised his head slightly and asked, "What's wrong?"
You Qi said cautiously: "I feel like I have lost some weight in the past two months."
"Maybe." Zhang Juzheng sighed and asked, "Is there anything big going on at home during this time?"
"The old man wrote a letter, saying that he would go to Yidu to pay homage to his ancestors' graves during the Qingming Festival, and explained that the money was insufficient. The old man was busy, so I asked my wife for instructions and asked someone to bring two hundred taels of silver to the old man."
When Zhang Juzheng heard the word "Qingming", he shouted, feeling homesick. He went home to live in leisure for three years since his illness in the 33rd year of Jiajing. It has been sixteen years since he returned to Jiangling, and he has never seen his parents. Although there were frequent correspondences, the capital was three thousand miles away from Jiangling. Barred by mountains and mountains, it was difficult to find family ties. Not to mention serving soup and medicine, I had no time to participate in such major events as ancestor worship. Thinking of this, I felt sad and said, "Isn't two hundred taels of silver too little for such a big event as ancestor worship?"
You Qi hesitated for a moment, then lowered his head and replied: "With my status as a master, it is indeed a little less to take this amount of silver home, but..."
"Just what?"
You Qi's head lowered: "The expenses of the house have been a bit tight these past two months."
