Chapter Nine: The Guest Arrives

  On the second day, early in the morning, Zhao's family had just finished breakfast when a servant girl came to report that Zong Fangyu, the old master of the main house, had arrived and requested to see Zhang Shi and Zhao Zhuo.

  The Zhang family mother and son were not very close to the ancestral house because of Old Lady Qian's sake, and they had been living in Beijing for many years. The ancestral house was in Fengxian, and it would take several years to see each other once. If it weren't for Duke Gong's funeral, Master Rong wouldn't have come all the way from afar to Beijing. However, he usually got along more with Xiaolongfang, and rarely came to talk to Zhao Zhuo. Therefore, he made a special visit today, which surprised both Zhang Shi and Zhao Zhuo.

  "Take the child to her brother's place, let the siblings play together," Zhang instructed his daughter-in-law. Mi nodded and picked up Zhao'er, walking away with her wet nurse following closely behind. Zhao'er was very reluctant in her heart, gazing longingly at her grandmother, wanting to stay and listen in on their conversation. These adults usually didn't avoid talking about things in front of her, so she could hear a lot of inside information, and wouldn't be left completely in the dark when something happened.

  Unfortunately, Zhang's and Zhao Zhuo's full attention was on the visiting Grand Master Yu, completely ignoring the affectionate glances Zhao sent her way. She could only be ruthlessly dragged away from the main hall by her mother.

  This is her first time leaving this room after crossing over.

  She had seen the scene in the yard through the window before, but only after walking out did she see the whole picture.

  This is a slightly old-fashioned courtyard in the Jian Nan Hou Fu, the place is not small, but the overall layout is not a regular one main house and two wing houses. On the north side is the main house with three rooms, on the east side are two wing houses with a small ear room, while on the west side is overgrown with weeds, with a row of trees that have not been trimmed for some time, making them look somewhat unsightly. On one side of the trees, near the rear of the west side, there are two small rooms where the servants live. Behind the small rooms is the wall, and on the other side of the wall can be seen the warehouse attic where miscellaneous items are stored, as well as the row houses where the servants gather.

  There is a stone-paved path in the courtyard, and outside the path is all yellow mud ground. Originally, it was full of weeds as tall as half a person. After Zhang's family moved in with his son, daughter-in-law, grandson, and granddaughter, he ordered someone to slightly tidy up the yard, remove the weeds, pick up broken bricks and stones, and sweep the floor clean before it could barely be seen. Zhang also had people move several pots of beloved flowers from their previous residence to the empty space under the windows of the main house. In the crisp autumn air, the osmanthus fragrans was in full bloom, the chrysanthemum began to bud, and many other unknown flowers were in full bloom, adding a few colors to the courtyard.

  Mrs. Mi carried Zhao to the east wing, where Zhao Wei lived. They walked down the steps and bowed their heads in greeting as they passed by Old Master Yu, who was walking towards them. Old Master Yu's face was full of kindness, and he even reached out to touch Zhao's small face: "I heard that you were ill a few days ago, but now it seems like you've fully recovered. It's truly the blessing of the Duke." Mrs. Mi remained silent with her head bowed, while Zhao shrank away from his hand. This man, who was supposedly her uncle, looked more like a grandfatherly figure - he was plump and pale, with smooth skin on his hands that didn't even have calluses from writing. It was clear that he had been pampered and indulged all his life. However, his cloudy eyes lacked any genuine warmth or kindness, making people uncomfortable to look at him.

  Wei Da Lao Ye wasn't really trying to coax the child into liking him, so he didn't care if the child hid or not. He chuckled twice and went inside. Mrs. Mi frowned at him a few times, then carried Zhao into the east wing of the house.

  Zhao Wei was writing under the east window, saw his mother carrying his sister over, very happy, about to jump down from the kang, but his wet nurse did not allow: "Brother, this page of words has not been written yet, the second master has ordered, must write finish before playing."

  Mrs. Mei was somewhat displeased: "How could Wei's brother be lazy? He just knew the rules of courtesy, seeing that I brought his sister along, he hurried to pay his respects. Could it be that you want him to ignore me, his mother?"

  The wet nurse bowed her head and retreated to one side: "I dare not, Second Mistress is being too serious."

  Mr. Mi coldly hummed a tune, then put his daughter on the kang and sat down at the table with his son, before softly laughing and saying: "Wei Ge continues to write, finish writing and then play with your sister. Big sister also needs to listen obediently, don't disturb brother's important work."

  Zhao nodded slightly, and Mrs. Mi couldn't tell if she had understood or was just being polite, but smiled and patted her head: "Good girl."

  Zhao Wei was extremely excited and wrote the remaining words enthusiastically, finishing them in no time. He blew dry the ink and quickly put it aside, then crawled over to his sister's side: "Sister, sister, what do you want to play?"

  Zhao: What's there to play with? She's not really a one-year-old, she pounced on the desk, pulled over the textbook on top, saw that it was "Youthful Learning", and looked at her little brother. Zhao Wei cleverly understood his sister's meaning, smiled and said: "Sister wants to learn characters? I'll teach you!" He spread open the first page of the book and taught her to read the words: "Volume One, Heaven and Earth. The primordial chaos opened, the universe began...".

  Zhao? studied very diligently. Although she had already graduated from university before crossing over, the writing in this era was all complex characters and formal written language was classical Chinese. With her limited language proficiency, she wouldn't be able to keep up, and might even be mistaken for an illiterate person. So, taking advantage of her young age, she decided to pick up classical Chinese again and study it properly. At least in the future, she would be able to gain a reputation as "knowing books and etiquette".

  Mrs. Mi saw that the siblings were getting along well, and although the little girl didn't seem to understand what her brother was saying, at least she looked obedient and quiet, which was a good thing. She turned around and instructed Zhao's wet nurse, Pearl: "You stay here and take care of them, serve them carefully." Pearl quickly responded, and Mrs. Mi left the east wing.

  What's the purpose of Master Rui's visit, she has been wondering. Perhaps it's related to sending the soul back to their hometown for mourning. Her husband will take the imperial examination in the future, which must be held in the capital. What if he returns to his hometown but can't come back? This matter cannot be taken lightly.

  Mi left, Zhao ? and Zhao Wei brother and sister were teaching and learning, seemingly very serious. Pearl aunt sat down beside them, took out her needlework bag and thought to knit a simple lace for Zhao ?, when Zhao Wei's wet nurse gave her a signal with her eyes, indicating that she should go out to talk. Pearl aunt didn't understand, but the two of them were still on good terms, so she followed them out after seeing that there was nothing going on with the young masters here.

  There was no one in the courtyard, Zhao Wei's wet nurse glanced around and turned back to ask Pearl in a low voice, "I heard that our old lady and Second Master are going to send the spirit back to their hometown in the south, is that true?"

  Pearl didn't dare to casually discuss the master's family affairs: "How would I know about this kind of thing? If it's true, we'll find out sooner or later."

  Zhaoyi's wet nurse pursed her lips: "I know you're tight-lipped, but the rumors outside have already spread to everyone. What's the use of hiding it again? I won't ask much, just one question: if Old Lady and Second Master want to return to the south, what arrangements will be made for us servants?"

  Pearl didn't understand: "What arrangements?" What other arrangements could there be? Of course, it's following the master.

  Zhaoyi's wet nurse stomped her feet in anger: "What are you pretending to be stupid? We were all born and raised in the capital, although we have become slaves for others, but we also have a big family of relatives and friends here. If we really follow our master's family back to the south, won't it mean separating from our flesh and blood? Of course, we must make plans ahead of time!"

  Pearl's sister hesitated, actually she was also worried about this matter. The people of the husband's family would definitely follow their master, but her natal family was hard to say. Maybe her father and mother were fine, but what about her brothers, sisters-in-law, and nephews? What about her aunts, uncles, and cousins? If the masters only separated and still lived in Beijing, it wouldn't be difficult for them to meet each other. But now that the marquis wanted them to return to their hometown to observe mourning rites, looking at the marquis's situation, she was afraid that once they left, it would be very hard to come back.

  Zhou Wei's wet nurse had already spoken her mind: "I don't care about loyalty or not, I have a family to take care of here and can't follow you. I've thought it through, the young master is already five years old and doesn't need my milk anymore. The second master and mistress have been displeased with me these past few days, so I'll just find an excuse to resign and ask for another assignment."

  "Where has it come to this? You must think carefully, your brother is older than you, in the future when he makes a name for himself, you will be a rare respectable person, but if you leave now, everyone will scold you!"

  Zhao Wei's wet nurse sneered: "Whether the young master will make something of himself I don't know, but what I do know is that by the time he does, many days will have passed. I advise you not to be stubborn, big sister is almost at the age where she can stop breastfeeding, you should plan ahead!"

  Pearl's aunt was at a loss for words. However, after the Marquis said a few words, neither Old Madam nor Second Master had responded yet, but those below were already disheartened to this extent. It has not been four months since the Duke left, how could things have changed completely?

  In the main house, Master Rui had just finished a long speech and finally had time to catch his breath and drink some tea to soothe his throat. Being a matchmaker was indeed not an easy task.

  What he said is actually not difficult to understand, and there are three main points:

  Firstly, the newly appointed Viscount of Jiannan, Zhao Jiong, went too far in his actions. As a member of the imperial clan, he could not agree to it, so he stepped forward and advised him, causing Zhao Jiong to back down. The coffin of the old Duke was sent back to his hometown in the south for burial, and Qian Lao's wife could be buried with him, but she could not be buried in the main room, and had to enter the earth as a concubine. The old Duke and Madame Qin were buried together, leaving a space on the right side for Madame Zhang to use in the future, thus fulfilling the distinction between legitimate and illegitimate offspring.

  Secondly, the Zhang family and Zhao Zhuo's family are supposed to observe filial piety, whether in the capital or at their hometown, it doesn't make much difference. Why not just follow along and return south? Firstly, it has been many years since they have seen their relatives, so they can reconnect with each other and update the family tree for the two children; secondly, this branch of the family is not as strong as before, what if Zhao Zhuo agrees verbally but changes his mind at the gravesite? There isn't a single person in the entire Zhao clan who can control this Lord Hou, but with Zhang Shi, the stepmother, around, he won't dare to act recklessly.

  Thirdly, it was Old Master Rui's own idea that Zhao Kuang's division of the family property was unfair. According to the laws of our dynasty, when dividing up the family property, apart from the ancestral estate, all sons should receive an equal share. Not to mention that Zhao Kuang was born out of wedlock, while Zhao Jiong was the legitimate heir. However, demanding that Zhao Kuang divide all his assets equally is also unrealistic. It would be better to take a step back and only ask for half of the 10,000 mu of good land in the old family home. The properties in the capital can remain as part of the clan's property and not be touched. This way, it will be easier to explain to outsiders. Zhao Kuang has already verbally agreed to let Zhang Shi and Zhao Jiong's family return home, and now they just need to finalize this matter, so that Zhao Kuang won't try to cheat them with some inferior land.

  Zhang and Zhao Zhuo's mother and son were both surprised after hearing this. The eldest master should have been closer to Zhao Zhuo, so why did he suddenly think of them today? Zhao Zhuo hesitated and asked: "Elder brother's idea is good, but I don't know... why are you so enthusiastic?"

  Yu Da Lao Ye forced a smile: "I also have no choice but to do so. Our family has always been weak, and we have to consider the faces of your two families in everything. But as the head of the clan, I have some things that I cannot ignore. Whether it's messing up the order of birth or not respecting one's stepmother and brothers, every word is a great sin. Zhao Jiong may be in a high position and can afford to ignore it, but our clansmen see it with their own eyes. What if they all follow his example in the future? Wouldn't our Zhao family become chaotic? I cannot abandon my duties for personal reasons and bring disaster to my descendants!"

  The words reminded Zhang and Zhao of the great mistake made by Rui's father, Zongfang Old Master.