Chapter 136: The Meeting

Wu Anchi was not particularly eloquent, but his sincere desire to extend the invitation was unmistakable.

Seeing Zhang Yue hesitate slightly, Wu Anchi could not help asking, "Third Lang, is there some conflict?"

Zhang Yue smiled and said, "Many thanks to the Second Young Master for your gracious invitation, but I have been suffering from an upset stomach these past few days."

Zhang Yue had originally intended to use "catching a cold" as an excuse, but that phrase had been thoroughly worn out in the Imperial Academy, and using it now would make him appear insincere, so he changed it to an upset stomach.

Zhang Yue even rubbed his abdomen to make it look entirely convincing.

Wu Anchi changed expression and said, "Oh dear, what is to be done, Third Lang... I have already..."

Seeing Wu Anchi's expression, Zhang Yue switched to a smile and said, "Rest assured, Second Young Master, after taking a few more doses of medicine, I will definitely attend the day after tomorrow."

Zhang Yue thought to himself that since his original goal was to meet Wang Anshi, there was no reason to go back on his word.

Besides, from beginning to end, the one in the wrong was his own second brother; why should he be the one with a guilty conscience? Acting all coy and too shy to face people was no different from a woman.

Seeing Zhang Yue's demeanor, Wu Anchi realized he was only joking. He immediately patted Zhang Yue on the shoulder and laughed, "Third Lang, you mustn't joke like that. Otherwise, my brother would surely think I mistreated you in some way at the Imperial Academy, and he would definitely blame me for it later."

Zhang Yue chuckled and said, "How could that be? If I failed to go, your elder brother would feel we are growing distant."

Both of them laughed heartily.

The next day, Zhang Yue had to consider what attire to wear to the banquet.

To be fair, Zhang Yue had brought plenty of clothes from the Fujian region, but there was one thing he hadn't fully considered: at fourteen or fifteen years of age, he was still growing taller.

Consequently, the clothes he had brought previously were now much too short. However, one didn't need to be particular about such attire for daily life at the Imperial Academy, but wearing them to a banquet would be entirely inappropriate. As for his formal scholar's gown, it could be worn outside on ordinary days, but one certainly shouldn't attend a banquet dressed in "school uniform."

Fortunately, the wadded robe gifted to him by Liu Ji was a perfect fit, and Zhang Yue liked it immensely. As Bianjing grew rather chilly after entering autumn, wearing a cotton-padded robe actually kept out the wind much better than ordinary clothing.

Zhang Yue borrowed an iron from his dormitory and smoothed out the new robe Liu Ji had given him until it was thoroughly crisp and neat.

He also washed and polished the boots he had bought just two months prior.

Do not underestimate the trouble one must go through regarding attire; we cannot simply show up at someone else's home in a plain linen tunic and straw sandals to pull off the stunt of a "wine-intoxicated eccentric scholar."

As the saying goes: "Words and attire befit a gentleman, fine garments overwhelm a petty person."

Except for a very few individuals, most people still judge their attitude toward you based on your attire. Showing up in a linen tunic and straw sandals would be nothing short of intentionally picking a quarrel with the host's servants.

Of course, this does not mean one should wear all their wealth on their back.

An ancient proverb states, "There is no shame in a wadded robe," meaning it when compared to silk or brocade robes. For a student of the Imperial Academy, wearing a wadded robe on ordinary days was quite sufficient. For someone who was not from an official's family to wear fine silks and brocades would appear somewhat pretentious.

Upon leaving the Imperial Academy, Zhang Yue immediately hired a carriage to head toward the Wu residence.

Sitting in the carriage, Zhang Yue traveled out of Straw Alley, passed the Imperial Street, then proceeded straight west along West Avenue, heading west until he crossed Wheat Song Bridge and turned north.

The carriage continued all the way north, passing the bustling and lively Xuanqiu Gate, then skirted northward along the inner city wall of Bianjing, finally arriving at Jinliang Bridge Street.

Even by carriage, the journey took nearly half an hour. He and Tang Jiu had actually visited Jinliang Bridge Street, where the Wu residence was located, once before. However, back then, it was just a hurried meeting with Wu Anshi, and he had not entered the estate.

Today, however, was a formal visit as a guest.

Though Jinliang Bridge Street, where the Wu residence stood, was in the outer city and lacked the bustling atmosphere of the inner city, he had heard Wu Anshi mention in casual conversation that its advantage lay in its spaciousness and peaceful living environment.

Zhang Yue pondered the likely meaning of this remark: it was equivalent to not being able to afford a large villa within the third ring road, but still being able to buy one outside the fifth ring road.

When Wu Chong purchased the property back then, his elder brother Wu Yu, as the eldest, naturally lent a helping hand and contributed a considerable sum of money.

Later, as Wu Chong served as an official for two decades, he continuously added exotic rocks and flowers, renovated pavilions and courtyards, and furthermore, with the grand mansion areas of the Wu family's eldest and fourth branches now connected, it was renowned as one of the most famous gardens among the princes and high ministers of Bianjing.

Of course, for the Wu brothers, the one minor flaw of owning such a grand estate was that the commute to court had become much longer.

What puzzled Zhang Yue, however, was that Wu Yu had passed away less than half a year ago. Logically speaking, it was hardly appropriate for the Wu residence to host such a banquet.

What, then, was the true intention of the Wu family?

Soon, the carriage came to a halt, and the driver asked, "Sir, should I stop here?"

Zhang Yue lifted the carriage curtain to see two massive stone lions standing facing the street, behind which were three large doors of ebony painted in bright red, and on the stone steps sat several brightly dressed, imposing servants.

It truly was a family of high lineage and official prominence. Although Wu Chong's official rank was not as high as Ouyang Xiu's, this foundational heritage clearly surpassed the latter's.

Ouyang Xiu's father, Ouyang Guan, passed the imperial examinations at age forty-nine, and Ouyang Xiu was born while his father served as a judicial official in Mianyang, but Ouyang Guan passed away from illness shortly thereafter. Not only did Ouyang Xiu's family fortunes decline, but his social connections were also entirely lost. In his youth, he had no money to buy paper, leaving behind the heartwarming tale of his mother "drawing in the sand with reeds to teach her son."

Consequently, in historical records, both Ouyang Xiu and Fan Zhongcheng could only be regarded as coming from impoverished scholar backgrounds.

The father of Wu Yu and Wu Chong, Wu Daiwen, also came from a humble background in his youth. Back then, he visited the senior statesman and fellow townsman Yang Yi several times to seek instruction in scholarship.

However, Yang Yi's students looked down upon Wu Daiwen's humble origins. Yang Yi instead told his disciples: "The honors he will enjoy in days to come are not something the likes of you can hope to match."

Later, Wu Daiwen indeed passed the imperial examinations in the third year of the Xianping reign, served as the county defender of Wanshou County in Yingzhou, and eventually retired with the rank of Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites.

Wu Daiwen's three sons—Wu Yu, Wu Jing, and Wu Fang—passed the imperial examinations simultaneously in the fifth year of the Tiansheng reign. Among them, Wu Yu even became the only scholar in the history of the founding of the Song Dynasty to place in the highest third tier of the imperial special examinations.

As for Wu Chong, he passed the imperial examinations in the first year of the Baoyuan reign. From then on, the Wu family achieved the distinction of "five jinshi graduates from a single household."

Although none of the third generation of the Wu family had yet attained a jinshi degree, the imperial court would grant them hereditary privileges sooner or later. Therefore, calling them a three-generation official family and a lineage of distinguished caps and sashes was no exaggeration at all.

In response to the carriage driver's inquiry, Zhang Yue looked at the plaque of the Wu residence and nodded, "This is indeed the place."

Zhang Yue paid the carriage fare, and as soon as he stepped down from the carriage, the servants waiting at the mansion gates hurried forward.

Zhang Yue produced the invitation card, and the other party smiled and said, "So it is the young gentleman of the Zhang family. Our two young masters have been awaiting your grand arrival for a long time."

The main front gate remained closed, and the servant led Zhang Yue inside through the left side gate.

As Zhang Yue stepped inside, the servants stationed at the front of the Wu residence whispered among themselves.

"In a simple wadded robe, yet he came riding in a carriage?"

"He is a scholar; what does it matter if he wears a wadded robe?"

"That is true."

"The master often instructs us not to judge people by their clothes."

Zhang Yue followed the Wu residence servant inward. Everything within view could not quite be described as "jade halls and sculpted walls, embroidered carriages and jade trees," yet it certainly surpassed the imagination of a youth who had once lived in an "urban village."

If one truly wished to capture the atmosphere of wealth and nobility—

Zhang Yue remembered someone once saying that "using gold, jade, and brocade to describe wealth only reveals the poverty of a poet's imagination; far better is the line 'Songs and flutes return to the courtyards, lanterns descend from the terraced towers' to truly evoke the grand splendor of wealth."

And at this very moment, Zhang Yue felt precisely like "songs and flutes returning to the courtyards, lanterns descending from the terraced towers."

Between the towers and courtyards, the sounds of flutes and strings genuinely drifted over, resembling the light plucking and gentle singing of women, sounding like the soft dialect of Wu or the sweet, tender notes of southern songs.

Zhang Yue thought to himself that since Second Young Master Wu lived in such a place, it was no wonder he ordinarily looked down upon his peers at the Imperial Academy.

And furthermore... Miss Seventeen of the Wu family—although he knew she was born into a wealthy household, he had never imagined such staggering opulence.

How should he put it?

Zhang Yue felt a tiny thought instantly cross his mind, only for him to ruthlessly extinguish it.

Zhang Yue suddenly recalled how, in his previous life, he had asked a senior fellow apprentice: "When meeting a girl you don't like on a blind date, how should I behave so she loses interest in me?" The senior had stubbed out his cigarette, patted him on the shoulder, and said with profound earnestness: "Just act normally."

Speaking of his senior apprentice, Zhang Yue couldn't help thinking of Senior Brother Guo at that moment. He must already be at the Directorate of Education in Nanjing by now.

I wonder whether he is missing his wife or Third Lady Miao more at this moment, and which one occupies more of his thoughts?

He and his own second brother were both disciples of the school of "die before you admit it."

And now, the time had come for his own "normal performance."

Just as Zhang Yue was deep in thought, he heard someone laughing and saying, "Isn't this Third Lang?"

Zhang Yue looked back and saw it was none other than Liu Ji.

Liu Ji looked Zhang Yue up and down and smiled, "Third Lang, this robe is a remarkably good fit!"

Zhang Yue smiled and, just as he was about to speak, saw that Liu Ji was dressed in a lavish brocade robe, which rather overshadowed his own attire. However, he remembered that Liu Ji clearly also came from an impoverished background; perhaps he had bought a brocade robe after placing second in the Directorate of Education's provincial examinations, which was entirely understandable.

Back then, after Ouyang Xiu placed first in the provincial examinations, didn't he also commission a custom "top scholar's robe" for himself?

Zhang Yue said, "Many thanks to the Academy Superintendent for the gift; it is a perfect fit. Since I happened to be attending a banquet today and had no other fine clothes, I wore the one bestowed by the Superintendent."

Liu Ji laughed and said, "It was merely a trivial effort, why thank me? As long as Third Lang likes it. It's just that since Third Lang was coming to the Wu residence as a guest, you didn't give advance notice; otherwise, the two of us could have traveled here together in the same carriage. Ah yes, I recall Third Lang is not yet married, correct?"

Zhang Yue replied, "Indeed not yet. Why does the Superintendent ask about this? By the way, the Superintendent is not yet wed either, though I heard in the dormitory that your family back home once arranged a childhood betrothal with a maiden of a good family through your parents' commands, is that so?"

Liu Ji smiled and said, "Third Lang is certainly well-informed, but that was many years ago. Our two families ceased contact long ago, and I have no idea whether it still counts."

"So that's how it is." Zhang Yue nodded in understanding.

"Let's go! I will take you to meet several of the young talents currently in Bianjing."

At that moment, the soft singing of flutes and strings drifted over once more, sounding so divine that the two of them involuntarily paused to listen.

When the music subsided slightly, Liu Ji said to Zhang Yue, "This must be the music and dance of the Wu residence. Let us go and take a look together."

"Very well!"

Zhang Yue and Liu Ji walked side by side through the artificial mountains and water pavilions, winding past several covered corridors and courtyards, passing through multiple gates and across several arched bridges until they finally reached a pavilion sheltered by a bamboo grove.

Looking up at the upper level of the pavilion, some people were performing with drums and wind instruments, while several singing girls plucked their strings and sang.

Several scholars below were standing with their hands behind their backs, appreciating the performance.

Zhang Yue caught sight of an exceptionally tall man among the group, causing his footsteps to halt instantly and his heart to skip a beat.

Zhang Yue rubbed his eyes and looked again.

He saw the man turn his head to exchange a few words with someone beside him, revealing his face clearly.

There was no mistake; he had not seen wrongly. This person was none other than his own second brother, now known as Zhang Dun!