Lianhuanzhuang is located at the foot of Xiaotang Mountain, surrounded by shade trees, the scenery is beautiful, but unfortunately it is winter now, the trees have withered, only the bare branches remain, and even the nearby fields are also barren, scattered with a few farmhouses.

In this withered and withered world, the chain village with blue tiles and white walls is particularly conspicuous.

The Zhuangzi is huge, and the straight avenue stretches straight into the village, and the first thing that catches your eye is the residence of the Zhuang households distributed on both sides of the road. It is probably built uniformly, and it is also all white walls and green tiles, surrounded by courtyards of different sizes. The occasional Zhuang household, although not rich, is dressed neatly and cleanly, and is thick and warm enough, suggesting the wealth of this Zhuangzi.

Almost all the houses where the Zhuang households live are distributed in the periphery of the Lianhuanzhuang, but the house where the Guangping Wang's family lives is located in the north of the Lianhuanzhuang, close to the foot of the mountain, and the village is separated by at least one mile away. When the farmer is engaged in farm work, he will not disturb the nobles who live in the house.

The double-linked mansion is the destination of Zhao Xiu and his party today. At the end of the avenue is the main gate, and after entering the gate, there are smooth roads leading to the east and west villages.

Dongzhuang at a glance, not flowers and trees, is all kinds of glass sheds, if it is in the spring and summer, it must be lush, flowers, but now it has become a dead branch, only there is a piece of green in the depths, and the sharp corners of the mast are exposed in the green, that is the exquisite courtyard that the king of Guangping built for the princess in the year before last. The trees in the courtyard are warmed by hot spring water, and it is actually in this cold winter season. It is still verdant. But I don't know what the scene will be in the hospital?

Xizhuang is a little more complicated, with a four-foot-wide bluestone pavement that is very flat and winds into four or five forks that stretch in many directions. Access to large and small yards. Zhao Xiu just got off the carriage, and when he looked at it from a distance, he couldn't see what was going on in those courtyards, he only felt that there seemed to be big and small, but the wall was towering, even higher than the outer wall of Zhuangzi, and there were no panes left on the wall. You can't see the scenery inside.

The steward of Lianhuanzhuang had already received a letter and rushed over to greet him. He first greeted the serious little master Gao Zhen, the prince of Guangping, and then greeted the Zhang, Zhao Wei, and Zhao Xiu's ancestors and grandchildren, and said, "The prince will do it." The small ones immediately sent someone to clean up the yards, and the guests only had to choose according to their hearts. ”

Zhao Xiu was a little surprised: "Are there many courtyards to choose from?" ”

The steward replied with a smile: "Yes, in addition to the main courtyard, there are six courtyards in Xizhuang. There are springs in every yard. The scenery is different. Miss Zhao can choose according to her preference. ”

It was a pleasant surprise. Zhao Xiu only heard Wang Fulai mention that when the old county duke built this Zhuangzi, only one main courtyard and two partial courtyards were built, and he never expected that after so many years had passed, after the master in the palace repaired, so many courtyards were added to the west side of Lianhuanzhuang. She couldn't make up her mind, so she could only look at Zhang.

Zhang Shi sighed slightly: "The prince is also coming to avoid the cold." How can we occupy the main house if we only borrow it? Just choose one of the other six side courtyards. The two children don't have to live elsewhere either. Just stay with me. ”

The steward looked at Gao Zhen's expression, and said with a smile: "Then please ask the Duchess of the county, the marquis, and the eldest girl to move, go to the main courtyard to rest first, and then visit the courtyards in a while, so as to choose a suitable place to live." ”

The group went to the main courtyard again. The main courtyard is a traditional three-hall courtyard layout, the difference is only that the entrance is not in the southeast corner, but in the south, and the inverted seat room becomes the residence of the gatekeeper and the servants. The group went to the main house of the first courtyard, Gao Zhenxi was the master, beckoned the three ancestors and grandchildren of the Zhang family to sit down with tea and exchanged a few words. Zhang asked about the physical condition of King Guangping, Gao Zhen also answered one by one, it was not a big deal, but the weather was cold and his body was weaker, so he planned to live in the hot spring Zhuangzi for a few days, and he had already greeted the palace, and the queen mother and the emperor would not let people disturb King Guangping.

Zhang's heart was a little calm, and he asked again: "I don't know when the prince will come?" Our ancestors and grandchildren also went to greet each other and thanked the prince for his generosity in borrowing the village. ”

Gao Zhen smiled slightly: "The old lady doesn't have to be so polite. My father once said that you are an elder, and he should come to greet you. It's just that my father has difficulty moving, and now he rarely sees outsiders, so he has to be cheeky to avoid this festival, and I hope you don't be surprised. ”

"The prince is too polite." Zhang hurriedly said, "If you want to work for the prince in person, it is the sin of the old body." ”

The number of rites between the king of Guangping and the Zhang family is really hard to say, the Guangping throne is respected, the Zhang family is older, and the two families have many relationships, the former has saved the life of the latter's grandson, and the latter's grandson has saved the former's only son, plus the Zhao family can be said to be the meritorious hero of the two generations of monarchs, so naturally they cannot simply define each other by the courtesy of the monarch and the minister. The king of Guangping could not accept that the elder of the Zhang family would come to visit him, and the Zhang family could not accept the blind nobleman of the king of Guangping to visit him, and the best way was for the two to make an appointment to meet in another place, but that was inconvenient for both parties, so they simply did not forget it. Of course, for their juniors, there are not so many worries. The Zhang family has secretly made a decision that they must let their grandchildren go to greet the prince.

Zhang Shi felt a little tired, her health has not been very good recently, and after walking dozens of miles, she also has some backache, and she really can't wait to find a comfortable bed to lie down immediately. But there are so many yards to choose from in Xizhuang, she hasn't chosen it yet, and it's hard to say that she should go and rest now. But when she thought of such a big Xizhuang, she had to walk around the yard one by one to choose one, and she felt tired. Originally, King Guangping made it clear that if he lent Xizhuang to the people of Jiannanhou's Mansion to live, he would only live in Dongzhuang. Zhang originally thought about it, just live in the main courtyard, but as soon as she came in, she found that in the main house of this main courtyard, there was a royal pen plaque of Emperor Taizu, as well as many royal things, even the curtains, which were all made of ochre yellow, which could only be used by princes and princes, but she didn't dare to say this anymore, and felt that it was better to choose another side courtyard.

It was about that Zhang's tiredness was too obvious, and Gao Zhen got up and retired very brightly, saying that he was going to go to Dongzhuang first to inspect how the place where King Guangping was going to live was being cleaned. When I got up and walked out. Zhao Wei stepped forward to send him off, and he lowered his voice and said to Zhao Wei: "Let your grandmother choose to fall into the Plum Courtyard." And then he left.

Zhao Wei was a little puzzled, and looked back at his grandmother's tired face. So he asked the steward: "My grandmother is tired, and I am afraid that she will not have the energy to visit Zhuangzi, so she has to choose another time." I don't know where the temple is? ”

The steward smiled: "It turns out that Master Hou knows about Luomei Courtyard? It's very close to here, just on the side, two in front and back, and it's a very elegant place. The prince has always come to the village and lived there. However, this time when I accompanied the prince, I had to change to Dongzhuang so that I could serve nearby. Luomei Courtyard lives in the Duchess of the County and Miss Zhao, and it is nothing. But there are not many houses, and Hou Ye is afraid that he will have to choose another place to live. ”

It turned out to be the courtyard where Gao Zhen lived. Zhao Wei's expression was relieved, knowing that the place where the little master of the palace used to live would definitely not be a bad place. He smiled and said, "Then put my grandmother and sister there." "He doesn't care about himself.

The steward took Zhao Wei and his party to the neighboring Luomei Courtyard. It was very close to the main courtyard. It's just a few dozen paces away. The courtyard is not big, but the wall is very high, the door is open on the east side, after entering, there are hand-copying verandahs on the left and right, but the verandah is equipped with wide glass windows on both sides, walking in it, not afraid of cold, wind and snow. It's much warmer.

The verandah wraps around the entire front yard, connecting the north and west wings to the south. The west wing room is a small pavilion surrounded by windows on all sides, and the south room is a row of four rooms, which is the residence of the next person. There are several plum blossoms planted in the courtyard, some red, some pink and some white, and a few plum trees are planted under the window of the north house. Presumably this is the origin of "Rakumei-in".

There are five rooms in the north house, where the main house is located, one of the halls, the left and right are warm pavilions, the same pattern, there is a big kang under the south window, the living room of the second room is connected with the bedroom of the big kang between the pins, and the middle is only separated by a multi-treasure grid. The room is spacious, the windows are bright and clean, and Zhang and Zhao Xiu liked it at first sight.

There is a door in the main hall leading to the back of the house, and there is a long corridor, still equipped with wide glass windows, and thin bamboo curtains on both sides are rolled up, which can be lowered and blocked at any time. In the middle there is a passage leading to the two wooden houses in the backyard, which are the soup houses. The verandah of the entire backyard is distributed in the shape of "work", and the two small courtyards on the left and right have a cave. The small courtyard on the left is built with a sun room with glass, a bamboo frame is erected, and some fresh melons and vegetables are planted, and the small courtyard on the right is open-air, and a few red plum blossoms are planted in the corner of the wall, which are blooming brightly. There are small doors on the left and right of the passage leading to two small courtyards, whichever one you like.

The layout of the soup house is also very distinct, the left and right two large pools, are made of a dark gray rock, I don't know what material, in the winter, it will not freeze your hands, but it is warm, with heat, and there is no feeling of hard cold. There is a hot and cold water sluice on the side of the pool, so when you need to soak in the hot water, open it and add water to it, and adjust the temperature by yourself. The large window facing the pond on the east side is four feet square, it is glass, and it is usually covered by a very thin bamboo curtain, through the curtain gap, you can faintly see the plum blossoms in the courtyard, but if you want to see it clearly, you have to roll up the curtain.

Imagine rolling up the bamboo curtains when it snows, and you can enjoy the snow and plum blossoms while soaking in the hot springs, and then have a glass of wine. Of course, there is also the risk of being seen bathing by others, which can be said to be quite bold.

Zhao Xiu was amazed, but also a little in a trance, thinking that what he saw was a modern hot spring resort. It is rumored that Emperor Taizu liked to use glass as windows very much, and he also liked to build glass houses, and it was true. Zhao Xiu once again suspected that this Emperor Taizu might really be her hometown.

Zhang couldn't help but blush when he saw the window facing the pond soup, and covered his mouth and said, "This is where the prince lived when he was young, right?" The boy doesn't need to be too particular, but we can't be like him. Tell someone to put the curtain in place, preferably with another board. ”

Zhao Wei smiled and said, "Grandmother, that curtain seems to be specially made, and you can't see the inside from the outside." Zhao Xiu also nodded yes, and when he came over, he thought it was a wall.

Zhang shook his head and said, "Don't be careless, after all, we are a guest house, and we can't be as casual as at home." ”

Zhao Xiu had no choice but to tell the girl, remember to find a few more curtains for a while, and hang them in front of this window, so as to completely isolate the sight from the outside and cut off the good scenery that can be enjoyed in the soup house.

There is no hot spring water in the pool, but the whole house is much warmer than the outside, and it seems to be hot air coming from under the feet. Zhao Xiu noticed the comfort in the house, so he smiled and said to Zhang, "Grandmother is tired, right?" Do you want to lie down and rest first? After the rest, eat some food, and then open the pool water to soak for a while, to see if the famous hot spring water of this small soup mountain is worthy of its name? ”

Zhang's heart moved: "Okay, my back is very sore, and I want to take a break." They said that the kang in the warm pavilion outside was already hot, so I would lie down on the kang for a while. The meal is so that they don't have to bother too much, I see that there are fresh melon vegetables here, just make two lighter side dishes and porridge. ”

Zhao Xiu agreed, helped her back to the north room in front, and let her grandmother rest there because the layout and decoration of the East Warm Pavilion were obviously more luxurious.

The chief steward of the hot spring Zhuangzi saluted in the main hall and introduced them to a woman in her thirties, saying that she was the steward of this Luomei Courtyard, known as Mei Gu, which happened to have the same word as the name of the courtyard. Aunt Mei looks average, but she is down-to-earth and generous, and she can see that she acts quite neatly. She claims to be a gardener, mainly responsible for taking care of the flowers, fruits and vegetables in the yard, and has two mothers-in-law who are responsible for daily sprinkling. They all live in the South House, and if Zhang, Zhao Xiu and the others don't call, they won't come to disturb them.

Zhang smiled and accepted Aunt Mei's gift, let Xia Lu reward her purse, and then reward the other two mothers-in-law with a penny, and sent them away. She was too tired, and it happened that the second big kang in the East Warm Pavilion was covered with a thick leather mattress, which looked quite warm, so she leaned on the pillow here to take a nap.

Zhao Wei saw that his grandmother had settled down, so he went to find the manager to discuss the meal with Aunt Mei, and also found a place to live for himself, while Zhao Xiu took the girls to pack their luggage quietly. Pack up Zhang's first, and then pack up her own. Since the Zhang family lives in the East Warm Pavilion, she is naturally the West Warm Pavilion.

The furnishings of the West Warm Pavilion are similar to those of the East Warm Pavilion, but it looks like the style is much more concise and neat, and it is not as luxurious as the East Warm Pavilion. The furnishings, chairs, pillows, mattresses, etc., are all dark blue satin, and the embroidery patterns are also very simple. There are large bookshelves in the second room, which are full of all kinds of books, and in the kang cabinets on both sides of the big kang under the window, there are also a full set of four treasures of the study. Zhao Xiu casually took out a book of poems and flipped through it, and found that there were notes on it, and the handwriting turned out to be Gao Zhen's, and suddenly her heart moved, and she opened the kang cabinet to see the four treasures of the study inside, which happened to be the same as what she saw when she went to Gao Zhen's study last time.

Yes, the manager just said that Gao Zhen used to live here, and he lived in Luomei Courtyard, and it is really normal to have his things in this courtyard.

In the bedroom, Bi Han whispered to Bi Lian: "There is also a futon in this room, I don't know whose it is, it looks really good, light and warm, better than what our girls usually use." Do you want to ......?"

Bi Lian glanced at her: "Don't talk nonsense, we didn't bring the girl's bedding, how can we use other people's things?" Quickly fold the original bed cover and put it in the cupboard. Be careful, this is the Zhuangzi of the palace, don't break other people's things. ”

Zhao Xiu heard it outside, and couldn't help muttering in his heart: Is that Gao Zhen's cover? But isn't he going to live with the prince in Dongzhuang? Why did this Luomei Courtyard prepare all his bedding again?

Just thinking about it, Zhao Wei has returned. She hurriedly greeted her: "Where does my brother live?" ”

Zhao Wei nodded: "There is a small courtyard in the southwest, there are two entrances in the front and back, and there is also a soup house in the backyard, which is quite quiet and close to here." I heard that only the son of the Zhong family had lived twice in the past, and there was no one at other times. I saw that there were still a lot of books in the study, many of which I was reading now, so I didn't have to bring them from home. ”

After speaking, he looked up at the sky: "It's almost noon, I want to go to Dongzhuang to find the prince and have dinner with him." He didn't know if he would stay overnight tonight, and if he didn't, he would probably have to go back to the city after lunch. He recommended this yard to me privately, and you and my grandmother liked it, and I should thank him. ”

Zhao Xiu bit his lip and grabbed his brother's sleeve: "I'll go with my brother, I can live in such a good place, I also want to thank him." (To be continued......)