"Lооk аt me in this statе, dо уоu think I сan attend сlаss?" Cheng Хu pointеd аt his lеg, sреаking dismissively tо Da Su. "When you see Мr. Zhаng, just tell him thе truth—saу I wаs рunishеd by mу grаndmоthеr аnd cаn't walk proреrly, sо I'll only be аble to gо to the сlаn sсhооl in thе аfternoоn. Аlthough Мr. Zhаng is striсt, he's nоt unreаsоnable. Just gо аnd ask fоr leave оn my behalf; hе'll dеfinitеly аgree." Da Su still hеsitаtеd.
Chеng Хu urgеd, "Нurrу uр—clаss stаrts in anоther hаlf-hour. If yоu go tо аsk fоr leаvе thеn, аccording tо the clan schoоl rules, I'll still be markеd absent. Мr. Zhang аlwаys еnforces the rules impartially; he won't care why I'm asking for leave!"
Da Su was even more familiar with the clan school rules than Cheng Xu.
Not daring to delay, he could only reply "Yes" and rushed off to the clan school.
Huanxi, however, trembled with fear. "Young Master, are you really not going to the clan school this morning? If the Madam finds out, she'll surely throw me out..."
Cheng Xu glanced at him scornfully. "If you annoy me, do you believe I'll throw you out right now? No need to wait for the Madam to find out!"
"I believe it, I believe it!" Huanxi said with a woeful expression. "I'm just afraid the Madam will find out... So where should we go now? If we return to Duojia Pavilion, that maid Biyu will definitely report to the Madam. Once the Madam knows, the Grand Madam will know too. What about going to Chunze Pavilion? There are still guests at home, and the Second Branch's Old Ancestor loves that place the most. I'm afraid he might be entertaining guests there... Or maybe Tingsongfeng Pavilion? No, no, the Second Branch's Young Master Shi often goes there. If you go, the servants there will surely tell him, and he'll seize any chance to inform the Grand Madam... Where else can we go..." Cheng Xu slapped him irritably. "What nonsense are you talking? Of course, we're going back to Duojia Pavilion. If Mother hears I didn't attend class, she'll only worry about my leg. How would she think I skipped class? Even if Grandmother finds out, it doesn't matter. Don't be fooled by her stern face—she's actually the softest-hearted. If she knows I missed class because of leg pain, she'll definitely send someone to check on me quietly... The most dangerous place is the safest. You still have a lot to learn!"
"No wonder everyone praises Young Master for being clever!" Huanxi fawned. "My mother says that since I've been serving you, my mind has become sharper."
"Be careful not to flatter the wrong person," Cheng Xu laughed, then lowered his voice. "Hey, let me ask you—if you offend a young lady, how do you make her stop being angry with you?"
Huanxi was stunned.
He was half a year younger than Cheng Xu, and as Cheng Xu's attendant, the maids he encountered daily always greeted him with smiles... Offending someone? It was usually others who offended him.
Huanxi thought carefully; he really couldn't recall offending anyone!
Even if he had, who would dare show him a sour face?
Could someone actually dare to show Young Master a sour face?
Huanxi remembered what he had overheard outside Yuru's room a few days ago. Could it be that Young Master has truly taken a liking to the Zhou family's Second Miss?
Thinking this, he felt it made sense.
The Zhou family's Second Miss is so beautiful—who wouldn't like her!
He had even seen that distant relative from the Fifth Branch, Cheng Ju, secretly hiding in the woods to spy on the Zhou family's Second Miss!However, he truly didn't know how to win the favor of the Zhou family's Second Cousin Miss.
The Zhou family's Second Cousin Miss was a young lady of noble birth—she couldn't possibly be like Little Liu, the girl who swept the front courtyard. If he offended her, he could just spend five big coins to buy two packets of melon seeds, and Little Liu would be happily reconciled with him again...
Thinking of this, he tentatively suggested, "How about... you buy something for the Zhou family's Second Cousin Miss?"
This time, it was Cheng Xu's turn to be astonished.
He tapped Huanxi on the head and said, "How did you know I offended the Zhou family's Second Cousin Miss?"
"This, this..." Huanxi couldn't very well say he had overheard Yuru and Biru's private conversation. In a moment of desperation, inspiration struck him, and he said, "I thought about all the young ladies in the household, and besides the Zhou family's Second Cousin Miss, I couldn't imagine you offending anyone else, could you?"
Cheng Xu knew he had probably heard some rumors.
As this thought crossed his mind, his mouth fell open.
Even Huanxi had guessed... Grandmother must have guessed too...
But Grandmother had told him to skip the evening greetings from now on.
That meant she was forbidding him from seeing Zhou Shaojin... What should he do?
Cheng Xu immediately felt as if sitting on pins and needles.
After some thought, he called out "Huanxi" and said, "Let's go to Fourth Uncle's place!"
Huanxi shrank back upon hearing this and said, "Go, go to Fourth Master's place?"
"Yes!" Cheng Xu murmured.
When Zhou Shaojin accidentally entered the Three Branches Pavilion, it was Fourth Uncle Cheng Chi who helped her out of the predicament.
His own feelings... Fourth Uncle must surely know.
Since childhood, he had greatly admired this Fourth Uncle of his.
While others were studying diligently by cold windows, he was out traveling through mountains and rivers, visiting Daoist masters and seeking immortals; while others were writing furiously in examination halls, he was indulging in unrestrained behavior, lingering in the pleasure quarters... Logically, in a family like theirs, Fourth Uncle should have been either expelled from the household or severely reprimanded, yet neither Father nor Grandmother seemed able to control him—they could only coax him with kind words. Even the Second Branch's Patriarch Cheng Xu had no way to deal with Fourth Uncle. Five years ago, when Fourth Uncle decided to take the imperial examinations, everyone thought it was laughable. Uncle Yi from the Third Branch even teased, "If Si Lang can pass the imperial exams with honors, then all of us who have studied diligently for ten years might as well jump into Mochou Lake!"
No one expected that in just three years, Fourth Uncle would advance from xiucai, to juren, all the way to the spring metropolitan examination, becoming a dual-list jinshi in the Renchen year of the Zhide era.
At that time, the family's jaws dropped in disbelief.
But what was even more surprising was that after Fourth Uncle passed the jinshi examination, he didn't even participate in the selection for the Hanlin Academy's Junior Scholar Candidates. After the Qionglin Banquet, he directly returned to Jinling City, as if he had taken the exams just to silence the Second Branch's Patriarch and others, so they would no longer restrain him.
Then, he continued doing whatever he pleased... For a period, he even wore his hair in a Daoist bun and dressed in Daoist robes, making Grandmother fear he might become a Daoist monk.
Such a figure, in Cheng Xu's eyes, was like a chivalrous hero from a chaptered novel, roaming the world with a sword, acting on grievances and favors with ease, open and unrestrained, making him yearn endlessly.
If he could persuade Fourth Uncle about his relationship with Zhou Shaojin, then with Father and Grandmother... it would surely achieve twice the result with half the effort!
Although since he began his studies, due to diligent preparation for exams, he had less contact with Fourth Uncle, he still remembered how Fourth Uncle often took him out to play when he was young... Fourth Uncle would definitely help him!Cheng Xu suddenly felt his future was once again filled with hope.
He immediately set off for Cheng Chi’s residence, "Hill of Clustered Cassia Courtyard," located east of Nine Prosperities Lane. As he walked, he remarked to Huanxi, "Why does Fourth Uncle live in such a remote place, and why is it called 'Hill of Clustered Cassia'? There are plenty of small hills made of Taihu stones, but I haven’t seen a single cassia tree. Could it be that there was once a grove of cassia trees here, and they were all cut down? But why would they cut them down? Qin Zi’an from our clan school—that tall, skinny fellow—is said to have over a hundred cassia trees planted at his home, making his family wealthy in their village. That shows cassia trees are quite valuable... Since the cassia trees were cut down, why not change the name? Who knows when this name was given or who chose it..."
Hill of Clustered Cassia Courtyard was situated at the border between the eldest and second branches of the family, at the northernmost part of the garden, separated from the back street of Nine Prosperities Lane only by a wall.
He rambled on, but no one responded.
Cheng Xu turned around and saw Huanxi following him, trembling with fear.
"What’s wrong with you?" Cheng Xu asked curiously. "You look as if your parents just died."
Huanxi muttered with a pained expression, "If my parents died, I’d just have to arrange the funeral... What’s there to be afraid of?"
"What do you mean by that?" Cheng Xu stopped walking and frowned at him.
Huanxi felt a chill run down his neck and said, "You know very well—last time, Duofu, who served Fifth Branch’s Master Wen, used the Cheng family’s name to lend money at high interest on behalf of Master Wen. When the matter reached Fourth Master, Fourth Master beat Duofu half to death right on the ground. Master Wen didn’t dare say a word in Duofu’s defense and even had to force a smile while standing nearby. Afterward, he even had to invite Fourth Master to a meal..."
"What does that have to do with you? He didn’t beat you, did he?" Cheng Xu said with slight annoyance. "Besides, Fourth Uncle manages the family’s affairs. If such people aren’t beaten half to death as a warning to others, would we have to wait until someone reports it to the authorities before cleaning up Uncle Wen’s mess?"
The problem was that afterward, Fourth Master had summoned him and asked, "I heard Huanqing is your elder brother?" Then he was left standing in the study... for nearly two hours before he was allowed to leave.
If it weren’t for Nanping, Fourth Master’s senior maid, who reminded him, "If this matter hadn’t involved someone close to the young master, our Fourth Master wouldn’t have bothered with it," he wouldn’t have realized that Fourth Master was warning him!
Huanxi had never dared to tell Cheng Xu.
At the time, Duofu had approached the personal attendants of several branches, asking them to contribute a share so they could all profit together. His older brother Huanqing, who managed carriages and horses in the outer courtyard, had contributed in his name without even informing him...
He hadn’t even known about it, but Fourth Master did.
For the past few years, it felt as though a sword was hanging over his head, scaring him into behaving obediently without daring to break any rules.
Now that they were about to see Fourth Master, he didn’t know if Fourth Master would remember what happened back then...
Huanxi’s calves trembled as he followed Cheng Xu to Hill of Clustered Cassia Courtyard.
Fourth Master’s residence was not a place just anyone could visit.
The last time Huanxi came, he was filled with anxiety, and when he left, he was still trembling with fear. He hadn’t even noticed what Hill of Clustered Cassia Courtyard looked like. This time, with Cheng Xu leading the way, he felt slightly more at ease and dared to take in the surrounding scenery.As Eldest Master Cheng Xu had said, the Hill of Clustered Cassia Courtyard had many Taihu rocks piled into hills—clusters here and there, each with its own distinct form. Some were delicate, some imposing, some light and graceful, some simple and unadorned. Towering trees and wild grasses grew among them, with clear springs murmuring through the grounds. Anyone unaware might think they had wandered into some remote mountain forest, yet not a single cassia tree was in sight.
They had just stepped onto the courtyard’s bluestone path when Qing Feng, the page serving Fourth Master, appeared on the path dressed in a blue Daoist robe.
“Eldest Master!” He bowed to the two of them. “What brings you here? Please come to the flower hall for tea. I’ll go inform Sister Nanping at once.”
Cheng Xu halted and asked, “Is Fourth Uncle not here?”
Otherwise, why would Nanping be the one to receive guests?
Qing Feng smiled and replied, “Fourth Master and Sixth Master Gu have gone to Rooster Crow Mountain and said they won’t return until the day after tomorrow.”
Cheng Xu was greatly disappointed. “Very well. When Fourth Uncle returns, send someone to let me know. I have important matters to discuss with him. I won’t go in today.”
Qing Feng smiled and acknowledged the request, then escorted Cheng Xu and Huanxi out of the Hill of Clustered Cassia Courtyard.
※
The weekend arrived again in the blink of an eye.
Wishing everyone a pleasant weekend!
Oo~
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