Doctor Wu had had enough of Zhan Er; it had been less than ten days since his arrival, and he had already suffered three incidents. The first was falling ill, yesterday he was beaten, and today he fainted due to excessive sexual activity and emotional agitation.
Doctor Wu sighed, "These young n from noble families and those of high-ranking officials are like this; they can never suffer the slightest inconvenience."
Master Xia’s face looked quite unpleasant. Although he did not see anything wrong with sleeping with maids, Zhan Er had just t Gu Jinxiu yesterday and was infatuated with her to the point of being lovesick. Yet he still slept with a maid—couldn’t he endure just one night without it? Would he die?
Master Xia was feeling disappointed with Zhan Er. Looking at Zhan San, he even considered brokering the marriage with Zhan San instead. At least the Gu Family did not dislike Zhan San as much.
Old Master Zhan San did not see any issue with his nephew sleeping with maids; after all, everyone did it, and he had taught Xiao’er since he was young to be a Madman—follow one’s heart and not be shackled by worldly norms. Therefore, Old Master Zhan San did not care about such matters. His only concern was, "When will Xiao’er wake up? Fainting like this, could it affect his future offspring?"
Doctor Wu replied, "Your nephew has an exceptionally good constitution. Unless there’s an unforeseen issue, he should wake up by evening. His progeny will not be affected, but it would be best for him to rest quietly for a while to recuperate his vital energy."
Zhan Er was a noble son whose childhood was spent clad in silk, nourished on countless tonics, and who inherited ancient customs by learning horseback riding; his physique was indeed excellent. As long as he did not indulge excessively, he wouldn’t fall sick.
Upon hearing this, Old Master Zhan San finally relaxed.
Doctor Wu administered acupuncture to Zhan Er, prescribed dicine, and left with a consultation fee of a hundred taels of silver.
These noble families were very extravagant, and visiting doctors were always handsoly rewarded with considerable consultation fees.
After ensuring his nephew was alright, Old Master Zhan San said to Master Xia, "Brother Changyuan, may we step into the study for a talk?"
Master Xia nodded, "Please, after you."
The two went to Master Xia’s study and continued their conversation. Old Master Zhan San inquired, "Brother Changyuan, seeing how infatuated Xiao’er is, the Eldest Miss Gu must be quite exceptional. However, the Gu Family People were rather domineering today, especially Brother An. If he does not agree, how should we proceed with this marriage?"
Like Master Xia and his wife, Old Master Zhan San had little regard for Gu Dashan, considering him nothing more than a lowly farr who, by chance, married Mrs. Cui and had several children; his only role being to father Mrs. Cui’s children.
Moreover, in their eyes, this didn’t even count as a contribution; they even felt that Gu Dashan had tainted the children’s bloodline.
But Gu Jin’an was different; he was Mrs. Cui’s eldest son, and traditionally, the eldest son would inherit the family business. If Gu Jin’an disagreed, the marriage arrangent would indeed be troubleso.
After expressing these concerns, he looked at Master Xia with evident anxiety, "Brother Changyuan, are you really leaving this place? If you cannot continue to teach Brother An and Brother Cheng, it would truly be a loss and quite unfair to you."
There was also that temple master, Master Hu; Old Master Zhan San had no idea who she was.
Upon hearing this, Master Xia felt sowhat comforted, knowing that his friendship of over thirty years was not in vain. However, he said, "Brother Zhan need not worry; although Brother An made severe threats, he is not the Lu Family Master after all. He doesn’t have the power to dismiss as a teacher."
Old Master Zhan San, upon hearing this, asked, "Brother Changyuan, could it be that you already have a plan to deal with this situation?"
Master Xia sat down, glanced at the boiling tea on the clay stove, lifted the lid of the teapot to let the fire keep burning, and after keeping everyone in suspense, he slowly smiled and said: "I, Xia Gu, am not a nobody. I have so status within the Lu Family, and only the Lu Family Head can decide my comings and goings."
As soon as the words ’head of the family’ were uttered, Old Master Zhan San stood up in shock, his voice trembling as he asked, "What do you an by that, Brother Changyuan? Could it be that..."
"Brother Zhan, don’t be agitated; I haven’t said anything," Master Xia interrupted Old Master Zhan San before he could continue and instructed: "So things, because of our good relationship, I share with you. But you must understand, often in the world, it’s better not to know about many things."
Old Master Zhan San hurriedly nodded: "You are right, Brother Changyuan... I entrust the matter of Xiao’er to you."
Old Master Zhan San was so excited that he couldn’t control the slight trembling of his hands and feet. If the Lu Family Head were still alive, he could rally all scholars by just issuing a call when Great Chu is in decline, indeed...
The Gu Family’s marriage must be settled, even at death’s door!
However, thinking of Gu Jin’an’s words from today, he felt worried and tentatively asked Master Xia, "Second Miss Gu hasn’t gotten engaged either, right? I see she’s also at the age suitable for marriage. My second brother’s Xiaosi is fifteen this year, the sa age as her. If the marriage between Xiao’er and Eldest Miss Gu doesn’t work out, is it possible to arrange for her to match with Xiaosi?"
Although Gu Jinli is quite fierce, she is extrely attractive, and Xiaosi, who fancies beautiful girls, would surely like Gu Jinli.
Master Xia frowned, not agreeing imdiately, but simply said: "Let’s first match Xiao’er with Eldest Miss Gu, and if it truly doesn’t work out, then we’ll discuss further."
Xiaosi from Zhan Family is the legitimate son of a secondary line; even though he is a legitimate son, he is still from a secondary line. How could Gu Jinli marry a legitimate son of this secondary line? Once they branch out, they would beco a sideline family.
Moreover, Master Xia felt it’s a loss for Gu Jinxiu to be matched with the eldest son of the main line, Zhan Er. Had Eldest Young Master Zhan not already been married with children, Gu Jinxiu should have rightfully been matched to Eldest Young Master Zhan and beco the Zhan Family’s Matriarch.
After hearing this, Old Master Zhan San knew that Xiaosi’s status was sowhat too low and felt inwardly frustrated. He could only hope that Xiao’er could marry Gu Jinxiu, who is after all the legitimate daughter of Mrs. Cui, a position almost similar to that of a legitimate eldest son.
Master Xia rembered Gu Jin’an’s words and advised Old Master Zhan San, "Have Xiao’er calm his mind during this ti. If he wants to keep a maid, wait until after he’s married and has a legitimate son; otherwise, Good Brother An might cause trouble."
Old Master Zhan San was also wary of Gu Jin’an, who was truly of Lu blood – fierce enough to rebuke him without him being able to talk back.
"Don’t worry, Brother Changyuan, I’ll sell that maid tomorrow and keep an eye on Xiao’er. I’ll make sure he won’t cause any trouble before the marriage is settled."
Alas, just as Old Master Zhan San made this promise, the next day when he woke up to sell Yue’er, he learned that she was serving in Zhan Er’s room.
Old Master Zhan San was furious and rushed to Zhan Er’s room, only to listen to so indecent noises coming from inside just as he arrived at the door. His Xiao’er was in the midst of battle inside, which angered him so much that he trembled all over. Seeing two servants guarding the door, he pointed at them furiously and scolded, "You two curs, it must have been you who released that cheap maid to wreak havoc!"
The two servants hurriedly knelt down protesting their innocence, "It’s a misunderstanding, Old Master Zhan San! We advised the young master, but he wouldn’t listen. He urgently needed Yue’er to relieve his desires, couldn’t wait even a mont, and had us bring her over in the middle of last night."
"Last night, you brought her over?!" Old Master Zhan San almost collapsed to the ground upon hearing this. Rembering Doctor Wu’s words, he feared Zhan Er would die on a woman’s belly and shouted into the room: "Xiao’er, you fool, have you gone mad? Stop right now and open the door for your uncle!"
But Zhan Er was at a critical point and did not respond to Old Master Zhan San, continuing his fervent battle instead.
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