Chapter 638: Chapter 638: The Man Named Zhan Er
Old Master Zhan San saw his obedient nature and how he listened well, feeling quite honored and very happy. He complimented Master Xia by saying, "Your student is truly remarkable, Brother Changyuan must be congratulated on acquiring such an outstanding disciple."
Master Xia laughed heartily, welcoming the compliments without any hesitation.
Zhan Er saw Brother Cheng wrapped up like a cotton ball and disapproved. He took off Brother Cheng’s hat and began to peel off his clothes, saying, "What does the Gu Family young man need so many layers for? We scholars and madmen should cast off these superfluous worldly belongings during moments of playing the zither and singing. Come on, let Brother Zhan Er help you undress."
Achoo!
As soon as Zhan Er touched Brother Cheng’s clothes, Brother Cheng sneezed several times in a row, rubbing his nose until it was red, and said, "I caught a chill last night; undressing further will make me ill."
It’s you who are sick, stripping off clothes and singing and dancing in the dead of winter, but I’m not sick, please spare me, I’m still a child.
Zhan Er, startled, waved his hand magnificently, "What’s there to fear if you’re ill? Just take some medicine and it’ll be all fine. It’s rare that we meet; we should indulge in enjoyment to not waste these good times."
Brother Cheng: "..."
He really wanted to curse, but his elder brother wouldn’t allow him to use foul language.
Forget it, he’s a sane person; he can’t argue with sick people.
Brother Cheng then looked towards Da Tuan.
Da Tuan stepped forward, grabbed Zhan Er’s hand, and pulled him aside saying, "Young master, our Brother Cheng isn’t even eight years old. If he gets sick, he won’t be able to withstand it."
Children under eight are most prone to passing away prematurely, and Master Xia values Brother Cheng very much, treating him as the sole precious seedling; he couldn’t let him fall ill. He hastily said, "Xiao’er, Brother Cheng is still young, and it’s indeed too cold now. He really can’t catch a chill."
After hearing this, Zhan Er didn’t insist anymore and let the matter drop. However, he suggested to Brother Cheng, "Have you ever eaten roasted meat? We brought some venison; we’ve been eating it since last night, and there’s some left, just enough to roast for you to eat."
Gu Jinli runs a pharmaceutical workshop, and Brother Cheng, mixing with his Second Sister, also knows a bit about medicines. Venison is highly nutritious, and yet Zhan Er and his company have been drinking from last night till now, not resting, stripping off clothes, and dancing. Fine, they are bound to get sick; the matter is how severe it might turn out.
Brother Cheng thought that since Master Xia had taught him for three years, it would be wrong to let him be ’killed off’ like this. He said to him, "Master, I heard from Housekeeper Xia that you’ve been entertaining guests since last night; you must be very tired. You should go back to sleep first and have some flu-removing medicine afterward."
Otherwise, I’m afraid you won’t be able to endure and might pass away.
Quiet until now, Zhan San spoke up, "Uncle, Uncle Xia, what the Gu Family young man said makes sense. We have played until now; it is time for us to rest."
He himself could hardly bear it any longer, feeling very cold.
Old Master Zhan San glared at him and scolded, "Xiao San, you really know how to spoil the fun. Learn from your second brother, look at him—a night of indulgence and still in high spirits. That’s the true spirit of a madman."
Brother Cheng on the verge of tears, felt he was done for, wondering why his elder brother hasn’t come back to save him.
Seeing Brother Cheng’s distressed face, Master Xia smilingly asked him, "Are you cold?"
Brother Cheng quickly nodded, "It’s much colder today than yesterday. Master, your student will go to the study room to read; if you have any instructions, you can send Housekeeper Xia to notify me."
Time to make a quick exit; he didn’t want to play with these madmen.
Master Xia said, "Hmm, Brother Cheng, go ahead and read in the study, I will come after washing my face."
Brother Cheng, after receiving the message, paid his respects to Master Xia, Old Master Zhan San, and the Zhan brothers, then took Da Tuan and Xiao Tuan to the study in the front courtyard to begin reviewing his books.
Only half an hour later, Master Xia arrived and gave Brother Cheng a two-hour lesson, but before the lesson was over, he was overwhelmingly sleepy.
Brother Cheng felt a bit distressed and advised, "Master, why don’t we stop here for today? I want to let Master go back to rest; otherwise, I won’t feel at ease."
Master Xia loved hearing these caring words the most, and each time Brother Cheng spoke them, Master Xia would be very pleased and would agree to whatever he said.
Sure enough, Master Xia was very touched and said to Brother Cheng, "You are considerate, Brother Cheng. Since it is so, your Master will take the liberty to be lazy today and we will end class early."
After leaving Brother Cheng with some homework, today’s lesson was concluded.
However, just before Brother Cheng left, Master Xia instructed him, "If you want to establish yourself among the scholars and Madmen, or even lead these scholars and Madmen, you should blend in with them. Your Uncle Zhan San is right; your writing is too rigid, it should be more bold and unrestrained to attract the following of scholars and Madmen."
Brother Cheng frowned thoughtfully at the question he had long wanted to ask: "Master, why must scholars and Madmen be grouped together?"
Master Xia was taken aback, "What do you mean?"
Brother Cheng said, "Scholars are the readers of the world, most of whom are children from ordinary families. Besides studying every day, they also have to help with household chores, unlike Madmen."
Madmen, bluntly put, are just a group of rich people, full and idle, who turn crazy.
Hmm, according to what his Second Sister said, they could also be called drama queens.
They feel uncomfortable if they don’t stir up something every day, feeling like they can’t survive, believing that they don’t deserve the title of Madman if they don’t do something dramatic.
Master Xia was silent for a moment, then said to Brother Cheng, "Scholars are just ordinary readers, while Madmen stand at the pinnacle of scholars, revered and sought after by scholars. You shouldn’t just be a scholar; you should be a Madman, standing at the top overlooking all scholars."
The image that sprang into Brother Cheng’s mind was... him, hair disheveled, clothes unkempt, hands clasped behind his back, standing atop a tall mountain, looking down disdainfully at the scholars below who were calling him Master.
How terrifying, ┭┮﹏┭┮
Brother Cheng shuddered - forget it, forget it, he couldn’t do this, better to go home.
Brother Cheng, very astutely, did not argue further with Master Xia. He cupped his hand in the other before his chest to Master Xia and said, "I’ve learned a lot, Master. I’ll take my leave now. You should head back to rest earlier."
Having said this, he took Da Tuan and Xiao Tuan to make a quick getaway.
However, before he could successfully slip out of the Xia Family’s home, Lady Xia’s nanny came personally to invite him: "Young man, the Lady invites you to speak, please come with Nanny."
Brother Cheng roared inside, here it comes again; if he knew this would happen, he would have climbed over the wall and not taken the main gate.
Upon seeing Brother Cheng, Lady Xia’s first words were, "Brother Cheng, have you sent the invitation to Sister Xiu yet? Is she coming tomorrow?"
Worried that Jinxiu might not come, she added, "This time, I truly do have a reason for inviting Sister Xiu. The Zhan Family has brought an embroidery piece, which is also Luoxiu from the hands of Master Shuiju in the Capital, and I would like Sister Xiu to come and take a look at the embroidery; she will definitely like it."
In her life, Jinxiu’s favorite thing was embroidery, and as Master Shuiju was a top-tier embroidery master in Great Chu, Jinxiu would surely fancy his embroidery work.
Brother Cheng said, "Lady, I have already passed on your invitation to my eldest sister. However, our home has been very busy recently. We just finished the autumn harvest, and now we have to gather the Mingya Grass; my sister might not have time to come."