Chapter 1479: Chapter 1455 Origin
The chaotic times, naturally, were quite a mess.
Even the royal Li clan, which came from a family of nobility, caused quite a stir when they entered the capital, with all sorts of cases continuously arising.
There were too many seizing accomplishments, gold and silver, land, women, and houses.
The military generals, noble families, and prestigious clans were engaged in all sorts of struggles, even the royal family personally got involved.
The late emperor was generous, simply reclaiming most of the estates and then re-granting them.
Every time there was a change of dynasty, the owners of the inner-city residences at the foot of the imperial city were replaced, and hardly any were bought with money; most were seized or awarded.
State Duke Zhao once seized several estates, some of which he gave to his subordinates, others to the national treasury, from which the late emperor then re-awarded them to various meritorious officials, but one was accidentally left out.
Then the late emperor granted him another estate, and when the current emperor ascended the throne, he gave him an even larger one, so this hidden estate was forgotten.
It wasn’t until the seventh year of Da Zhen that State Duke Zhao’s back residence was unstable. In a drunken slip, he said he wanted to give the estate to his third son, but the third son was an illegitimate child.
Aunt Zhao was displeased, fought with State Duke Zhao, and went to the palace to cry to the Empress.
At that time, it happened that the Empress had a bout of illness, and the Crown Prince, being in his fiery youth, didn’t like these matters disturbing his mother. Moreover, he was closer to Aunt Zhao’s youngest son, Zhao Silang, so he simply took Zhao Silang to his uncle, intending to seize the estate for him, so his aunt wouldn’t need to bother his mother.
In the end, as he praised the plum blossoms in the garden, intending to say, “It really suits my cousin’s temperament”, the troubled State Duke Zhao seemed to find a solution and immediately gifted the estate to the Crown Prince.
This was the only estate in Chongyuan Courtyard. Since he had five sons, aside from the legitimate eldest, giving it to any of the others was inappropriate; so he simply gave it to the Crown Prince.
This farce even led to State Duke Zhao being impeached by a censor at that time.
Two charges, the first being disruption at home;
Second, seducing the Crown Prince.
State Duke Zhao was of military origin, and he meant to end the family farce by giving the estate to the Crown Prince, who didn’t really want to accept it either.
As a result of the impeachment, both of their stubborn tempers flared.
State Duke Zhao thought, what’s wrong with gifting my nephew an estate? If I wished, I could give ten of them.
And the Crown Prince thought, what’s wrong with accepting an estate from my uncle? How is that seducing?
So one insisted on giving, the other stubbornly insisted on accepting. The uncle and nephew were willing parties, but went to court to mock the censor, making him ill with anger, and the emperor found a reason to exile him out of the capital.
Thus, this matter became famous.
Lord Tang laughed and said, “State Duke Zhao has many sons, including illegitimate ones; not all support the Crown Prince wholeheartedly. The estate on Daze Road is nice; if State Duke Zhao were to divide his family in the future, the living arrangements will be quite significant, apart from the legitimate eldest son.”
Because of this estate, several sons in State Duke Zhao’s residence are displeased with the Crown Prince. If they find out Manbao accepted the estate and intends to sell it, they would certainly be upset.
In the capital, the nobility, noble families, meritorious officials, and humble officials all have their own places to congregate. Where you live represents your social circle, and sometimes human psychology is just that delicate.
For example, the meritorious officials led by State Duke Su live next door in Yongchong Courtyard, not very far away;
Back then, His Majesty, to annoy Wei Zhi, deliberately granted him a residence next to State Duke Su’s mansion when awarding him an estate, placing a loudmouth and a remonstrating official together, angering Wei Zhi to the point that he later rented a residence in Anle Courtyard.
The humble officials from the clan of origins love to gather and live in Anle Courtyard.
Only when Wei Zhi’s grandchildren increased, and the family couldn’t fit in the space, plus he had calmed down, did he return to live in the emperor’s granted estate. But that was a matter of the past two years, and that estate stood empty for seven or eight years.
As for the nobility, like the princess mansions and princes’ residences, they were scattered in Changle Courtyard, Xingning Courtyard, and several other places.
Chongyuan Courtyard was mainly inhabited by noble families, besides Guangde Courtyard nearby; anyway, birds of a feather flock together, and the fact that the Crown Prince granted this estate to Manbao, it’s uncertain whether it was to promote her or to spite those he wanted to provoke.
Lord Tang often visited their home in Changqing Alley as a guest, knowing that the family was free-spirited and less concerned about formalities, he therefore laughed and said, “When you move in, don’t feel obliged to invite many people to warm the house, just invite some friends and have a casual meal.”
Yang Heshu also nodded, “Send us an invitation by then.”
He also thought it inappropriate for Manbao to get too close to the families in the neighborhood at this time, as it might not be good for their future.
Noble families value etiquettes, but sometimes those etiquettes aren’t easy to uphold.
Bai Shan was well aware of this; although he had little memory of Longzhou, he vaguely remembered certain behaviors adhered to as a child.
After coming to the capital, Old Madam Liu didn’t let him live with her, actually meaning not to restrain him. But in reality, Old Madam Liu has become more lenient; if they were still in Longzhou, where the whole clan lived together, Bai Shan wouldn’t have moved in and out with just Daji.
Knowing that the estate couldn’t be sold, Manbao began to actively plan for the move.
Of course, she was busy, and everyone else was occupied as well, so they could only go clean up Daze Street after Bai Shan and the others finished school in the afternoon.
Manbao, being the host, decided after everyone’s polite deference, to live in the main courtyard. Of course, she wouldn’t live there alone; she invited Zhou Lijun and Zhou Liru to stay with her.
The two sisters agreed happily, choosing rooms they liked for themselves.
Mr. Zhuang looked around and felt it best to reside in the front courtyard’s study. The whole courtyard, with the main room as a study and two spacious side rooms, could easily have one as a bedroom and the other as a tea room or a classroom, offering both spaciousness and comfort, as well as a convenient lifestyle.
Thus, whenever Daji had time, he began moving beds and shelves over, all things they had previously purchased.
Manbao also invited Old Madam Liu and the Bai brothers to move in with them.
Manbao said, “There are too few people; this estate is so large, it’s livelier with more people.”
She added, “Fortunately, each courtyard has a small kitchen, and once the doors are locked, everyone can live independently.”
Zhou Wulang and the others had no objections because they would still eat at restaurants even if they moved in, with no worries at all.
Zhou Lixue and the others could cook simple meals themselves; as long as there was rice and vegetables, the children of the Zhou family wouldn’t go hungry.
Bai Erlang, however, was bewildered and asked, “What about my brother and me? We don’t know how to cook.”
Old Madam Liu couldn’t help but say, listening to them discussing who would cook and who would wash dishes on which days, “You all have tight schedules, with reading, medical studies, and transcribing books daily; how can you have so much time for these chores?”
She smiled and said, “Leave the kitchen matters to me; let’s continue eating together as one.”