This chapter is broken. Please report this on discord.
TL/Notes: “Cloud spare tires” refers to a single person who treats every member of the opposite sex in the same way as he or she treats his or her boyfriend (or girlfriend), and acts as a backup for many people. That is, the spare tire shared by multiple people.
For this Autumn Examination, Sun Shaozong didn’t enter his home for more than ten days.
After leaving the Northern Town of Dragon Guards, he was naturally eager to return.
He gallops the horse all the way.
At the gate of the Sun Mansion, he saw Wei Licai, the old housekeeper, and Zhao Zhongji, the second housekeeper, waiting outside the gate, but there was no sign of his Elder Brother.
Sun Shaozong was somewhat puzzled, so he hurriedly called Zhao Zhongji to inquire about it. Only then did he know that his Elder Brother had been transferred to look after the victims outside the city and had not returned home for six or seven days.
"I worked a little hard this time, but it was not in vain."
Zhao Zhongji said happily, "He has gotten more than a dozen beautiful women back. Everyone in charge of our Mansion has a share, and the Second Master's room was stuffed with eight at a time!"
This Elder Brother was really a thief!
But…
He clearly warned him not to let women pass by during Ruan Rong's pregnancy. Why did he make such a mistake?
Besides, didn’t he already have Xiangling?
With this in mind, Sun Shaozong was ready to go back to the backyard to see what was going on. If Ruan Rong didn't like the new arrivals, he would send them to another courtyard to settle down. If it doesn’t work, he can learn from the Jia family and simply ask someone to teach them to be an entertainer.
To his surprise, Zhao Zhongji ran after him again and said, "Second Master, in the afternoon, Uncle Xue sent an invitation to his home for dinner on the sixth day of September."
Sun Shaozong stopped for a moment and asked, "What is he inviting here?"
Zhao Zhongji was also not sure, "It was probably a celebration of moving to a new house because the address on the invitation was not Rongguo Mansion, but Xue Mansion on Zijin Street."
Celebration of moving to a new house?
In this way, the marriage between Xue Pan and the Wangs should have been finalized. Otherwise, there was no need to move out of Rongguo Mansion in such a hurry.
"Is there anything else? You might as well finish!"
"Yes, yes!"
Zhao Zhongji then said, "There is also the hometown of Jinling. Yesterday, they sent some local products."
Like the big four families of Jia, Shi, Wang, and Xue, the Sun family also came from Jinling. Otherwise, they would not have a relationship with the Jia family.
Like all the founding heroes, after the establishment of the Great Zhou Dynasty, the Sun family was separated from the Jinling Clan and set up a new base in the Capital.
However, they did not stop communicating with their relatives in their hometown.
During the years when the Sun family brothers were down and out, the Jinling family also sent people to take the brothers back to Jinling to take care of them.
Although Sun Shaozu didn't agree at that time, the favor was recorded.
Therefore, when it was said that it was from Jinling, Sun Shaozong naturally dared not snub him and asked, "Has the person left yet? If he hasn’t, call him and let me see first."
"Of course, he hasn’t left. He hasn’t seen the Elder Master or the Second Master, how can he report when he returns? He is in the east-wing guest room now. I'll go and call him."
Once said, Zhao Zhongji left in a hurry, and soon he returned with a strong man in his early twenties.
The man walked a few steps, knelt on the ground with a puff, kowtowed, and said, "Sun Xi, greetings to the Second Master!"
The names of the children of the Sun family were all three characters. Such single names were usually given by slaves raised from childhood.
"Get up."
Sun Shaozong stretched out his hand and gave it a false hand. After Sun Xi got up, he asked, "How are the Uncles and Brothers at home?"
"Thanks to the Second Master, the Old Master, and his wife are all well." Sun Xi smiled and said, "Especially in the past two years, several brothers in the Mansion were also talented in Jinling under the guidance of famous teachers. Five people in our family are taking the examination this autumn!"
Although Jinling was not like the branch of the Capital city, it could sit above the third level for three generations [the generation of Shao is the fourth generation], it has taken the road of cultivating and reading early. There have been two or three Jinling successful candidates in the highest Imperial Examinations intermittently, and the whole family has had successful candidates in the Imperial Examinations at the provincial level one after another.
Now that he has dared to spread the big story to the Capital, there must be some confidence.
In addition, Sun Xi mentioned the Imperial Examination as soon as they met, and it's not just a boast.
After a little meditation, Sun Shaozong suddenly said, "Do you want to try the spring festival next year?"
The generation of Shao in Jinling was about the same age as Sun Shaozu, so the so-called Elder Brothers were naturally the nephews of Sun Shaozong.
"No wonder the Second Master has gained a great reputation. You really hit the mark with a guess!"
Sun Xi picked up a big thumb and said with a simple smile, "When I went out, the Master and Madam told me to prepare a clean place for my brothers in the Capital first, and then let them go to the Capital to prepare for the exam before winter."
"There's nothing to prepare for. Our mansion has plenty of rooms to live in." Sun Shaozong immediately said, "Tomorrow, let Steward Zhao show you around to see if those yards are suitable. I'll make room for my nephews!"
Sun Xi wanted to be polite. Sun Shaozong waved his hand again and said impatiently, "Okay, I'm very tired of invigilating the examination in the Imperial Examination hall for a few days. I don't want to talk to you about it. It's settled."
He then said, "Steward Zhao, take Sun Xi down to have a rest. This month, he will receive another regular payment from our house, which is around your monthly salary."
Zhao Zhongji agreed and went forward to take Sun Xi down, who was so grateful.
After they left, Sun Shaozong went to the backyard by himself.
Ruan Rong had been waiting for a long time. It was not convenient for her to welcome him out, so she sent Xiangling as a representative and led a group of beauties to wait at the gate of the yard for a long time.
Most of them are strangers, they were the eight beauties Zhao Zhongji said.
But…
This was too embryonic, wasn't it?
The younger one was only eight or nine years old, and the older one was only eleven or twelve years old. Was it possible that his Elder Brother had prepared a group of cloud spare tires for himself?
Sun Shaozong was speechless when Xiangling welcomed him with joy and said with a deep salute, "Master, you are back. My sister has asked me more than a dozen times!"
"What about you? Do you miss me?"
Sun Shaozong smiled. Seeing Xiangling's pretty face, he couldn't help but want to hug her and make love to her.
But on second thought, he had just come out of the morgue and said, "Get me the bathtub ready. I want to wash up and get rid of the bad luck and mildew!"
After a pause, he said, "Go and report to Concubine Ruan. Tell her that I will go and see her after I finish washing."
The servant girls were in a hurry, so they put the bath bucket in the west wing room. Xiangling led two girls aged 11 or 12, to wait on Sun Shaozong to take a bath and change clothes. After his whole body was completely refreshed, she escorted him to the main room.
No wonder the ancients said that gentleness was the tomb of heroes.
That night, Sun Shaozong had a long talk with Ruan Rong in the middle of the night, talking about family affairs. In the second half of the night, he fought with Xiangling in the west wing until he was exhausted.
He forgot about the Autumn Examination, the murder case, and the bureaucratic strife!
Unfortunately, this gentleness could only escape for a while, not for a lifetime.
The next day, just after noon, Sun Shaozong was sleeping with Xiangling in his arms. He heard the servant girl report that Feng Xin paid a visit.