For many days, many nobles or visited the door, or invited Xu Hao to the banquet, all in order to find out the candidate for the crown princess first, and many people hoped to send their daughters to the palace. When I asked in a hurry, I said that the prince's marriage to his daughter-in-law is not under my control, and I should find who to find.

It's made everyone slanderous, you don't care who can take care of it? The Holy Empress may not have consulted you first? Fortunately, complaining is complaining, and they all know that this matter is very important, and it is impossible for Xu Hao to confide even a trace of rumors without the emperor's consent.

Only the emperor and his wife and Hu Shanggong knew the secret, so naturally no one would say anything to the outside world. Therefore, everyone thinks that the popular candidate for the crown princess will be Sun Wangyue from Shandong, and it is quite interesting that Hu Shanxiang is also from Shandong.

For a time, Sun Zhong, who served as the chief bookkeeper in Yongcheng, attracted much attention, and the family was full of guests, so it was not lively. Soon gossip spread in the capital, and it is said that Sun Wangyue's mother gave birth to her on a ridge when she was working in the fields, and tens of thousands of birds were singing around her.

The historical version is tens of thousands of crows making noise, which is really intriguing. It is rumored everywhere that Sun Wangyue was born as beautiful as a flower, smart and clever, famous inside and outside the county, not long after entering the palace, he won the queen's appreciation, and fell in love with the prince.

Even General Zhang Yu, who was seriously ill in bed, was worried about sending his granddaughter to the palace, just for the safety of future generations. Of course, the old man didn't expect his granddaughter to be the queen, just be a concubine, and after all these years, he still can't forget to marry the royal family.

It didn't take long for Zhang Hui's young daughter to enter the palace. Xu Hao was overwhelmed, so he simply closed the door under the pretext of illness. On this day, Xu Qingtang was recommended by Xu Yingxu to write a letter and hired a Shaoxing Master Wei, who was personally sent to Xu's mansion by the local prefect who went to Beijing to report on his work.

This Master Wei sat in a carriage and looked at the façade of the Xu Mansion from the car. The secret passage is the yamen of the political envoy, and it is not so tall. In front of the door, a large light wall, made of terrazzo bricks, carved flowers up and down, and there are eaves dripping water, covered with the glazed tiles of the imperial gift, about three zhang more than high, seven zhang more wide, worthy of being a first-class national mansion.

In front of the door, there are a pair of large stone lions, more than eight feet tall. The main gate is wide open, of course, if you want to go to the main gate, you have to weigh your identity first, there are nearly 100 captains with helmets and armor standing side by side, and there are not many officials who come in and out, it is completely a shogunate atmosphere.

Looking at the door, about a stone's throw away, there are towering trees on both sides of the wall, lined with a corridor in the middle, and it is vague to see the second gate. Can not see clearly.

In the sheds on both sides, many people sit in a regular manner, and there is a dismount monument erected in the middle of the road.

The person who was in the matter went in for half an hour. Only then did he come out and say, "Please! ”

The prefect had already accompanied Master Wei to get out of the car, and the two walked on foot, and were led by the steward to the second gate. Seeing a group of officials coming out, there could be twenty or thirty people, and a few stepped forward and asked, "Is this the newly invited master?" ”

Master Wei nodded hurriedly. After some introductions to each other, he approached the second gate, and it was a long road, and it took more than a hundred steps to reach the hall.

The steward led the way, and turned the hall, which was surrounded on all sides by a cloister, with a balustrade zigzag and a square in the middle. Entering a courtyard, there are flowers, bamboos, spirit stones, and layers of rockery and flowing water.

Xu Qingtang was in the study of the inner house, so the prefect regretfully gave up his hand and said goodbye to Master Wei.

Master Wei didn't squint, and walked to the door of the hanging flowers, in front of the door stood all women in silk and satin, most of the younger ones were graceful and beautiful, Master Wei quickly lowered his head.

Entering the inner house, as he walked through the hall, suddenly Master Wei only felt that he was in the painting, stacking pavilions everywhere, painting carved beams, green tiles and glass, reflecting the sky and the sun, he had never seen such a tall and gorgeous mansion in his life, and he was very afraid in his heart.

The daughter-in-law in charge said, "Please go to the West Flower Hall and sit down, and the master will come out in a while." ”

Master Wei walked for a long time in a daze, and when he arrived at the door of a flower moon, he stopped, and four young scholars came out of it.

The scholar was very well-behaved, and invited him into the courtyard without humility, Master Wei looked up and saw that it was a small garden, with a delicate and clear Taihu Lake stone on one side, and a crystal clear pond water below, and he could see two golden carp swimming out of the stone when he leaned over.

After walking dozens of steps, Master Wei was already exhausted and out of breath, and secretly said that this country mansion was too big.

After climbing several jagged stone steps, I walked over a flat stone bridge. After crossing the bridge, it is a pavilion, under the pavilion, it is blocked by the rockery again, through the rockery, I saw a flower hall, and then passed by a few pavilions, everywhere the green trees are thick, and the birds are crisp.

The front of the court was full of all kinds of flowers, and the white cranes and peacocks walked around leisurely, Master Wei was so tired that he couldn't stand it, and said breathlessly: "Little brothers, let's rest." ”

A scholar smiled and said: "This is still on the edge of the inner house, fortunately the master did not let the master into the garden, otherwise even we would have to get lost, if no one answers, we may have to be trapped in the gossip array for a day." ”

"It's so spacious." Master Wei couldn't help but smile bitterly.

The scholar saw that he was indeed tired, so he said, "Qingsong, you go make a bowl of herbal tea, let's rest and leave." ”

"Thank you, thank you." Master Wei wanted to raise his hand to wipe his sweat, but realized that it was not elegant, so he took out a handkerchief from his sleeve.

After drinking herbal tea and resting for a while, Master Wei got up and continued walking, and soon came to a flower hall. In front is a carved railing, on both sides are five-color glass windows, and in the middle hangs a curtain of crimson yarn and silver thread.

The scholar hung the curtain on a whisker dotted with emerald silver butterflies, and entered the flower hall, where the floor was covered with a duck green velvet blanket, and the top was made of fragrant nan wood into a boat-shaped beam, carved with delicate flowers and plants.

In the middle, the flat door is engraved with the cursive script of Xie Jin, and a large kang is a paving of ancient brocade. There is a treasure tripod on the kang table, which is fragrant and fragrant. The walls on both sides are pasted with white flowers, on one side is the landscape with Wang Youcheng's eight green edges, and on the other side are two Bogu kitchens, and some Nanmu boxes are placed on them, thinking they are ancient books.

All the tables, stools, and chairs are carved with red sandalwood, and the colorful brocade is paved. It's a dazzling place.

Master Wei sat on the chair and waited for two teas, when a scholar came in and said, "Master is not feeling well today, please come to the East Garden to meet with all the masters, choose a place to live, please come with me." ”

Master Wei got up and said, "Please say hello to the master and the lady for me." ”

The boy agreed, "Yes! ”

At that moment, he followed a scholar to the East Garden, and re-walked the pavilions and corridors that twisted and turned, and there were people waiting for them everywhere. According to the rules of the Xu Mansion, there is a steward at each gate, and everything in and out must be recorded.

Anyway, Master Wei walked for a long time, and he couldn't remember how many courtyards he had passed and how many people he had seen. Coming out of the inner house, there was an alley on the east side, and he felt that it was half a mile long, he sighed deeply, and walked on his legs and feet, which were getting heavier and heavier, and he was covered in sweat.

Dizzy into a door, another garden, this garden is not small, there are pavilions and platforms, there are mountains and rivers, flowers and trees into forests, the scenery is very good.

The scholar gave an account to the people in the garden, and he did not go in, but someone from there came out to pick him up. Entering the spotted bamboo hedge, there are more than a dozen elegant rooms everywhere, and some side rooms, which are Xu Qingtang's guest residences.

Xu Hao's people are Xu Hao's people, and they are clearly separated from Xu Qingtang's people and don't live together. There are four masters and two guests here, four of whom are family members who don't live here, and come over to sit and wait for the summons during the day.

The two doormen, one old and one young, were both lonely people who had not started a family, and when they learned that Master Wei was newly recommended, they accompanied him to talk. Master Wei saw that he was very handsome when he was young, and he was a talented person in his twenties, a native of Hangzhou. He is good at painting characters and architecture, and many of the pavilions and pavilions of the Xu family are from his handwriting, named Zhang Xiaomei.

The eldest is about forty years old, named Gu Qingyun, an old friend of Xu Qingtang, good at ink painting and calligraphy, good at handwriting, and part-time pen and ink chores. The rest of the masters have their own responsibilities, and most of them have been hired in the past year.

Master Wei said: "The younger brother is valued by the grandfather of the country, and he is recruited by the door, but he has no choice but to lead the knife and socks, and he is powerless, and everything depends on the lessons of the gentlemen." ”

Everyone said: "It's easy to say, it's easy to say, the owner invites Mr. to come, naturally he is a person with a good name, and we all have to ask for advice." ”

"Don't dare, don't dare!" Master Wei said repeatedly.

Gu Qingyun said with a smile: "Mr. Wei was personally recommended by the third master of the family, and he was the nephew of Master Li, the secretary of the Criminal Department, who was very capable in Shaoxing, and he was also the best friend. At this moment, the newcomer to Fuzhong is not familiar with any qiē, we all have to carry it, and we will all be a family in the future, don't be divided. Mr. Wei, let's walk around and see which one you want to live in? ”

Accompanied Master Wei for a walk, and chose two rooms in the east as the study and bedroom, and the empty one in the middle was a place to meet guests. Gu Qingyun instructed his family to bring in the luggage and asked the servants to lay it out.

At this moment, someone came in and said, "The third master has sent a table of banquets, please accompany Master Wei for a drink." The third master said don't be surprised, the old man is not feeling well today, and it is inconvenient to see people, so he gives Master Wei a lack of explanation. ”

How could Master Wei not know Xu Hao? Pleasantly surprised, he hurriedly stood up and thanked him respectfully, and now everyone ate and drank in the middle room, each other's identities were quite unrestrained, and the wine was very happy.

Master Wei saw that this table of banquets was full of dishes, with no less than 40 kinds of good dishes in large bowls, medium bowls, large plates, and small plates.

Everyone drank until the second watch, which can be regarded as picking up the wind and washing the dust for Master Wei. In the second half of the night, Master Wei took the initiative to talk to Gu Qingyun for a long time and inquired about the personnel relations in the mansion.

The next day, Master Wei visited the male chief and steward of the mansion everywhere, as well as large and small officials, school captains, Xu Hao's henchmen, as well as those account offices, secretaries, chefs, Simas, treasurers, etc., all those with status were seen one by one.

It is Hou Men who is like the sea, the newcomer Master Wei can't figure out anything, the whole person is very restrained, and he doesn't even dare to say a word, but sometimes he is always cautious and compliments others. (To be continued......)