TL: Hua
Chapter 20: House – “Not leaving without seeing each other.”
“My Lord, I promise that you will not lose money if you rent this small courtyard!”
In the evening, the broker led the “master and servant” to walk around Lanyin Street and finally stopped in front of an empty courtyard. He pointed to the ancient courtyard gate and introduced it passionately: “Lanyin Street is the closest street to the imperial palace. All the officials live here. Look at the neighbors on the left and right. They are all lords from the Longhe Division. Outsiders dare not come to this place, how safe it is to live here.”
It’s really quiet here, without even a peddler. Even if it’s just a wall away, he could sleep in, undisturbed. Pei Xiting signaled the broker to unlock the door and said, “Outsiders dare not come, but do criminals dare to come?”
The broker lowered his head to unlock the door and said, “Anything is possible! But you can build a good relationship with your neighbors, so even if you encounter someone who is robbing your house, you can howl and find ready-made guards around you, all of whom are skilled.”
The gate opened, revealing a spacious and clean courtyard, which was obviously often used. The left corridor was the kitchen and two utility rooms, the middle was the front hall, dining room, and tea room, and the right corridor was three bedrooms.
The broker gestured and said, “The master bedroom has a small study with complete furnishing.”
Yuan Fang saw that Third Young Master Pei, who had rejected the first seven houses for seven reasons, finally had no intention of turning around and leaving, so he went to check the house and secretly prayed that Third Young Master Pei would make a decision quickly, because he was starving to death!
–Next time he goes out with Pei Xiting, he must prepare dry food in advance. This is too much for a stroll.
Pei Xiting walked to the right and saw a wall of seasonal roses, pink and white with peach red. He couldn’t help but stop and murmured, “‘Suddenly startled, the red glaze bloomed into a thousand color.'”
The broker saw that Pei Xiting liked it and hurriedly said, “You have such a refined taste! This rose wall is in great shape, but it also needs to be cultivated; therefore, this courtyard remains empty. The lords of Longhe Division are busy with official duties, so how can they have the time to spare?”
Yuan Fang jumped out of the kitchen and nodded to Pei Xiting, his eyes clearly showing: It’s really good, rent it, rent it.
Pei Xiting also thought it was good, mainly because he liked this rose wall. He asked, “How much?”
“If you really want to rent it, I will give you a reasonable price, nine thousand coins per month, how about it?”
Pei Xiting didn’t respond, so the broker hurriedly said, “You two, you know the housing prices in Yejing, let alone Lanyin Street. If it was put up for sale, this courtyard could fetch no less than two thousand taels.”
“The same size of land, but the neighbor on the left rents for six thousand, the neighbor on the right rents for seven thousand, while I’m being asked for nine thousand.” Pei Xiting looked at the broker with a smile, “Do I look like a fool with too much money and nowhere to spend it?”
Yuan Fang nodded silently: You really do.
The broker scratched his head and said with a smile, “You really came prepared. Alright, I will tell you the truth. Your neighbor on the left is Left Commissioner You, who saved my boss from the knife of the bandits, and your neighbor on the right is Doctor Su, who cured my boss’s hidden illness. These are all great favors. What’s the big deal about charging them less? If it weren’t for their refusal, our boss would have given the courtyards away long ago! We have good land in our business, and the price is definitely not cheap, but we will never deliberately cheat you, so you can rest assured. As for this courtyard, I’ll be honest with you, if you want to rent it, you’d better hurry up. Before you came, there was a young master who came straight to this courtyard to inquire. Judging by his demeanor, his origin is definitely not simple.”
“The neighbor on the left is Longhe Commissioner You.” Pei Xiting grasped the key point and glanced at Yuan Fang. The other party nodded to indicate that it was not a problem, so he said, “Alright, I’ll rent it.”
“Great!” The broker took out the lease contract from his bag and placed it on the stone table in the yard. He took out a brush, dipped it in ink, and handed it to Pei Xiting while smiling, “When will you move in? I can ask someone to clean up the place for you.”
Pei Xiting read the contract, signed his name, and said, “I’ll move in tomorrow.”
He took out a silver ingot from his purse and threw it to the broker, saying, “You have walked with us for most of the day today, so you must be tired. You can keep the remaining money to get a foot massage.”
The broker smiled happily, “Of course, of course, as long as you two can rent a satisfactory courtyard.”
After signing the contract, the broker went to find someone to clean up the courtyard. Pei Xiting and Yuan Fang had a bowl of fried chicken noodles on the street and went back to pack up.
The next day at noon, Pei Xiting reported to the Longhe Division office on time. You Zong had not slept all night, but he was in good spirits. He took him to the document office and said, “You don’t have much to do. Documents and files are supplementary, and drawing wanted portraits is the main thing… This is the chief clerk, Lu Mang, your superior.”
Behind the mountain of files was a sleeping person. Half of his face was fair and handsome, but the drool at the corner of his mouth wasn’t very elegant.
You Zong took out a handkerchief, folded it into a square, and skillfully put it under Lu Mang’s mouth, saying, “If the document is dirty, it will have to be rewritten. At that time, we need to call on at least five people to stop Chief Clerk Lu from jumping into the river to commit suicide… I suggest you bring your own drool bib.”
“Thank you for your advice. I don’t drool when I sleep.” Pei Xiting followed You Zong inside. “Does Chief Clerk Lu often work all night?”
“Weekdays are very idle, so Chief Clerk Lu often works half a day and goes to the East Palace to help His Highness collect books for half a day—it’s not that His Highness is exploiting him, but he covets His Highness’s collection of books. Of course, when he’s busy occasionally, he may not be home for a few days.” You Zong said, “You came at the right time. Chief Clerk Lu should have been busy these days. Otherwise, he should be hanging his head from a beam and piercing his thigh with an awl[mfn]头悬梁，锥刺股. Some scholars back then did this to prevent themselves from dozing off while studying. It is also an idiom used to describe the spirit of hard work and study.
[/mfn] by this time.”
Pei Xiting breathed a sigh of relief when he heard this and followed You Zong to tour the document building. After going out, You Zong said, “You and your yiniang don’t have to worry. If you work hard, no one in the office will bully you.”
Pei Xiting asked, “My yiniang?”
“She wrote a letter entrusting Aunt Leng from the Dance and Music House. Last night, Aunt Leng came out of the palace to find me and asked me to take care of you.” You Zong said.
Pei Xiting was a little surprised. “She knows people in the palace?”
“Back then, Bu Suying of Xianyin House had superb dancing skills. Aunt Leng was the best dancer in the palace, but she was defeated by that wisp of water sleeves. That competition was Bu Suying’s last dance, and soon after, she became Bu-yiniang. But her appearance back then is obviously unforgettable to Aunt Leng; otherwise, she wouldn’t be willing to owe me a favor for it many years later.” You Zong tilted his head to look at Pei Xiting, paused, and said, “Pei-wenshu[mfn]Clerk. Decided to keep the pinyin since it sounds smoother than Clerk Pei.[/mfn], don’t let Bu-yiniang down.”
Pei Xiting heard the warning behind the gentle tone and didn’t mind at all, saying, “Don’t worry, my lord, I just want to be a free and idle person. You have asked permission from His Highness to take me in, so I will naturally fulfill my duties and live up to your trust.”
You Zong nodded and said, “I heard you’re moving, so go back and pack up today and come to work tomorrow.”
“Thank you, sir. I’ll leave first.” Pei Xiting hummed a song and returned to his new home. The courtyard door was open. Yuan Fangzheng stood in the courtyard with his arms folded, directing the servants to move things. There were not many things moved from Wangchun Courtyard. Most of them were new items bought from various shops on the way back yesterday and some things that Pei Jintang forced into the carriage last night.
With a rustling sound, Pei Xiting glanced to the left and saw two servants driving towards him.
The carriage stopped in front of him. A servant came down and saluted, saying, “I am from Duke Wen’s Mansion. The fourth young master has gone out of the city to Baoci Temple today and cannot come in person, so he specially asked the servants to deliver some furniture to congratulate Third Young Master Pei on his housewarming.”
Another servant said, “The fourth young master said that the carriage is full of things you need for painting, such as easels and the like. Please don’t mind, young master.”
Sifan wasn’t afraid that he would mind, but afraid that he wouldn’t accept them. Pei Xiting understood and said, “I will thank him in person another day.”
“Then we will help you move them in.”
Pei Xiting nodded and was about to go in when another carriage came over. The coachman jumped off the carriage and saluted to him, “Are you Third Young Master Pei?”
Pei Xiting nodded, and the coachman said, “I’m here to bring you some things on behalf of Qingge’er. There are some bedding and curtains for summer and some clothes and jewelry that Qingge’er picked for you. He said that by giving these things, he will clear up his grudges with you. In the future, you two will be strangers. Please don’t get involved with him!”
Ah, they’re still role-playing this show. Pei Xiting sighed as if very sad and said dejectedly, “I understand… move them in.”
The coachman said, “Yes.”
After bustling about, the small courtyard was rejuvenated. Pei Xiting sent gifts to each person, and when everyone left happily, the two stood in front of the kitchen, silent.
After a while, Yuan Fang put forward his own opinion, “Let’s hire a cook?”
“Is there a cook who can kill people with a kitchen knife?” Pei Xiting said seriously, “Otherwise I’m afraid he’ll be implicated by me and die in this small courtyard.”
Yuan Fang said, “Where can I find such a cook?”
“Forget it, let’s go out to eat.” Pei Xiting made the final decision, “Once you leave the alley, you’ll see the street, where food is sold everywhere. It’s not expensive to eat anything normally.”
Yuan Fang said restrainedly, “Fine, then let’s…”
“Walk,” Pei Xiting said.
The two went out and ate a bowl of tofu soup. Yuan Fang loved carbs, so he also ate two chicken buns.
On the way, Pei Xiting bought a small basket of plums and strolled back.
“I really haven’t seen a single person after walking for a half a day… What’s going on?” At the corner, Pei Xiting was interrupted by a raised hand before he finished speaking.
“There’s someone in front of the door.” Yuan Fang said softly.
This person should be someone more powerful than that fat and thin duo. Pei Xiting signaled him to stay put, hooked the basket, and stepped out of the corner to meet the person standing at his doorstep. The moon was clear and cold, and the man’s dark clothes swayed lightly. His forehead, eyebrows, nose bridge, and lips were undulating gracefully, which was very attractive.
“Rare guest, distinguished guest.” Pei Xiting walked over and saluted, “The land in front of my door was stepped on by Your Highness, so the rent will have to double next time.”
The Crown Prince tilted his head to look at him, saying, “Your hands and feet are quick enough.”
Pei Xiting was stunned for a moment before he understood and pointed at the courtyard, saying, “Was it your man who inquired about this courtyard the other day?”
The Crown Prince was silent. Pei Xiting smiled and said, “I’m really sorry. But if you wanted to, you could have bought it offhand. The reason you hesitated and let me take advantage of the situation must be that you weren’t satisfied enough.”
If it were someone else, he would have wanted to give the key to the Crown Prince immediately to show his filial respect, but he didn’t have this intention at all. It’s not that he wasn’t “sensible,” but that he didn’t have this idea at all. The Crown Prince said casually, “This courtyard is decent enough, but if I rent it, the two people next door will always be worried.”
“It’s rare for the superior to worry about the subordinate.” Pei Xiting said, “I’ve already tidied up the courtyard today. If you don’t mind, you can come in and sit in the courtyard anytime you want to relax. In any case, this courtyard wall is equivalent to nothing for you.”
The Crown Prince was silent for a moment. “What do you mean?”
When he looked at people, his eyes were like black jade, rich and deep, and one could only see the surface, not the core. Pei Xiting was inexplicably quiet before coming back to his senses: “I will share your worries anytime and anywhere—am I not hugging your thigh?”
“You’re honest.” The Crown Prince said, “Aren’t you afraid of me?”
“To be in the monarch’s company is tantamount to living with a tiger. I’m definitely afraid, but if I don’t talk to you because of fear, how can I flatter you? Besides,” Pei Xiting played with a plum while openly admiring the Crown Prince’s face. “I think you are usually easy to talk to. For example, you didn’t ask me to kneel down to answer you. Your authority is even less than that of a sesame official.”
“Seeing others kneeling to talk to me doesn’t make me happy or content. After all, it’s easy to make a person kneel down and crawl.” The Crown Prince said calmly, “If you think I’m easy to talk to because of this, you don’t understand me.”
“When I say ‘easy to talk to,’ I mean that you don’t put on airs and are easy to communicate with. I don’t mean that you are soft-hearted like a bodhisattva who would grant any wishes. I don’t really know you well enough, but how can I know everything after just one meeting? I’m not a god.” Pei Xiting expressed his thoughts. “But if you meet me more often, won’t I become better at hugging your thigh?”
The Crown Prince did not comment and said, “Looking at the weather, it will rain a lot in the next two days.”
Pei Xiting: “Ah?”
The Crown Prince said, “Tomorrow evening, go to Mount Chaohua and paint a picture of the world in the rain for me.”
Although it was an order, Pei Xiting treated it as an invitation and smiled, “As you command. Tomorrow at Mount Chaohua, not leaving without seeing each other.”
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