Chapter 134: House-Hunting at the Marquis’s Mansion

Chapter 134: House Hunting at the Marquis's Mansion

The next morning, the family of four went together to find the official broker.

Having paraded through the streets just yesterday, Gu Chaoning's face was highly recognizable. When the broker saw him, he immediately recognized him as the new Zhuangyuan. All six brokers, upon seeing the handsome young top scholar approach, crowded over to speak with him.

Two women and a married man pushed to the front, eyes bright as they looked at him.

Upon hearing that Gu Chaoning was looking for a livable residence, everyone was happy to tag along. In the end, the married man won out, taking the keys and leading them out.

"From what Lord Gu says, he wants a small two-entry or a large one-entry compound, and a slightly more remote location is fine—that's easy to handle."

Though the capital was incredibly expensive, with every inch of land at a premium, Lord Gu wasn't the type to pay little and demand proximity to the imperial city.

"Yes," Gu Chaoning replied. "As long as I can reach the imperial city within half an hour on horseback."

His official rank was still low, so he didn't need to attend court; he just needed to check in at the Hanlin Academy on time. Half an hour was manageable for him, except for the harsh winter months.

The broker mentally ran through the properties that fit the criteria, then clapped his hands with a smile: "Oh, Lord Gu is in luck! Just a few days ago, the official brokers listed a property—a small two-entry compound with a persimmon tree in the courtyard. You can enjoy sweet persimmons in autumn!"

The only drawback was the distance—riding to the imperial city would take just about an hour. Someone had come to view it a few days prior but passed on it due to the distance.

Chen Youyan and Gu Muan immediately took a liking to the place upon hearing about the persimmon tree, since their home in Xiaohe Village also happened to have one.

Gu Wen felt the same way as his husband and son, though Gu Chaoning showed nothing on his face. But the broker was sharp—just from the looks on Chen Youyan, Gu Wen, and Gu Muan's faces, he knew they liked it.

He then said cheerfully, "It just so happens to be nearby—only a quarter-hour's walk from here..." He stopped mid-sentence when he spotted the Gu family's carriage. No need to walk—even better.

Driving the carriage meant going slower for pedestrians, but it would still take half the time of walking.

The location was in the West Market.

The West Market was where the capital's common folks lived, along with some of the poorer officials. Overall, it was a lively area, with everything for daily life—food, clothes, furniture, livestock—all right there.

In short, if they moved here, anything the new house was missing could be bought at the West Market.

Chen Youyan and Gu Muan had been happily looking around left and right since the carriage entered. They both loved lively spots like this. As Gu Muan put it, being able to walk out the door and grab good food was what made life worth living.

They passed the busiest streets and headed deeper into the residential area.

The carriage stopped, and the broker pointed to the middle property: "Here it is."

Two rusty copper locks hung on the door. The broker opened it, and the heavy wooden door creaked open.

Since it had just been listed, it didn't look run-down at all.

Walking inside through the first courtyard, they looked to the west and saw the large persimmon tree. It was still spring, so the tree only had thick, shiny persimmon leaves.

The tree was quite tall—probably at least ten years old.

Passing through the hanging-flower gate into the second courtyard, they found flower beds in all four corners, each planted with trees. But unlike the persimmon tree in the first courtyard, these were ornamental flowering trees with much slimmer trunks and branches.

From the hanging-flower gate beside the eastern wing, they went on to the back courtyard.

The back courtyard was rather bare, containing only a latrine and a small pavilion for enjoying the view.

Gu Chaoning figured this open space could be turned into vegetable plots—giving his grandfather and grandmother something to enjoy before they could buy farmland outside the capital.

The whole tour of the place took about half an hour. The broker could tell they were barely hiding their satisfaction, so he was happy to show them around thoroughly.

The first place won everyone over, and they went to see three more.

Two more were in the West Market, and the last one was at the far edge of the East Market.

Overall, the East Market one was the worst and priciest. The broker explained that the East Market was where nobles and big shots lived, so it cost more—twenty-five taels a month.

The other two in the West Market were both big one-courtyard homes. The first looked like it used to belong to a scholar, and it was in a fairly quiet part of the West Market.

The courtyard was full of flowering trees and blossoms. Even though it was just a one-courtyard home, every corner was nicely designed, and with all the flowers and trees, it felt as good as a two-courtyard place.

It was also closer to the imperial city than the others, and it cost the same as the small two-courtyard place—twenty taels a month.

The last one was a totally ordinary one-courtyard home, the cheapest of the four at just seventeen taels a month.

For Gu Chaoning's sake, Gu Wen and Chen Youyan preferred the quieter place, but Gu Chaoning turned it down, saying he was an official now and didn't need to study day and night, so he picked the first place.

That one was bigger, cost the same as the quiet one, and he'd seen how happy his family was with it during the tour. Why spend the same money on a smaller place?

Gu Wen and Chen Youyan didn't argue with Gu Chaoning, but after the decision was made, they were clearly thrilled. Gu Muan especially—the little guy was so happy he jumped right up.

With the place settled, they needed to stock the courtyard with supplies. For the rest of the day, Chen Youyan had the servants clean and tidy up, while Gu Wen took Gu Chaoning and Gu Muan out shopping.

That evening, the family of four headed back to their temporary place all smiles, and moved in the very next day.

When Yin Hongxue heard the news, he sent over housewarming gifts. There were a few others too.

One was from Yuan Wenbin, now a secretary in the Ministry of Rites, and another from Guo Yunhe, a shujishi at the Hanlin Academy.

There was also one from a friend he'd made at Donglin Academy—that lucky young man in blue robes, Meng Chengyi, who had ranked in the upper-middle of the second tier.

This time, when the others returned to Chuan Yang Prefecture, he didn't plan to go back. He wanted to stay in the capital to study for the exams and become a shujishi at the Hanlin Academy.

Speaking of Meng Chengyi, it was through him that Gu Chaoning had gotten to know He Feiguang, the son of the Chuan Yang Prefecture magistrate.

He Feiguang kept saying Gu Chaoning looked familiar when they first met, and the second time they ran into each other, his expression changed noticeably.

Gu Chaoning figured he'd realized that he was one of the refugees from Tong County. But since He Feiguang never asked, he never said anything, and if He Feiguang did ask, he'd deny it.

Anyway, over the years, they'd managed to get along fine.

But just one day after settling in, Chen Youyan and Gu Wen were already itching to visit the Marquis's mansion.

Normally, if Yin Hongxue weren't the Marquis's son, it should have been Song Tuo, the Marquis Anding, who came to visit the Gu family.

But there was no way around it—Song Tuo was the Marquis Anding, and Yin Hongxue was his son. So they couldn't follow convention; they had to go to the Marquis's mansion themselves.

They also had to keep it low-key. Lots of people in the capital knew Yin Hongxue had grown up in a village, but few knew he'd been raised in the home of the current Zhuangyuan, Gu Chaoning. So they had to be quiet about it.

Visits required sending a visiting card in advance. After sending it the day before, the next day Gu Wen, Chen Youyan, Gu Chaoning, and Gu Muan loaded up the carriage with things to give Yin Hongxue and headed to the Marquis Anding's mansion.

The Marquis's mansion was in the East Market, just a quarter-hour's walk from the imperial city.

When they arrived, Yin Hongxue was already waiting outside the gate. Seeing Chen Youyan step down from the carriage, he immediately rushed over.

"Dad, Dad, Dad!"

Gu Muan came after Chen Youyan. Gu Wen had meant to help him down, but the boy was mischievous at this age—he refused the stool and insisted on jumping down from the side.

After landing, he caught sight of the steward beside Yin Hongxue and only then remembered he was at the Marquis's mansion, not at home.

Xue-ge felt a bit awkward, but was quickly pulled over by Yin Hongxue.

The steward and the servants of the Marquis's mansion were somewhat startled to see Yin Hongxue so delighted. They were also surprised at how close their young master was with the Gu family.

Seeing Gu Chaoning and Gu Wen lagging behind, the servants quickly followed the steward to pay their respects.

Once inside, the Marquis had purposely stayed home and not gone out.

But with the Marquis present, both Chen Youyan and Gu Wen were nervous. After the two sides exchanged greetings and chatted for a while, the Marquis eventually called Gu Chaoning out.

Gu Chaoning: "..."

He knew what the Marquis meant—the Marquis was bored staying inside, and if he remained here, he'd only make his dad and his adoptive dad nervous, so he might as well call Gu Chaoning out to keep him company.

But the problem was, he had nothing to talk about with the Marquis either!

Yin Hongxue, being sharp, naturally caught on as well. Seeing Gu Chaoning glance over, Yin Hongxue couldn't help but secretly smile.

The young man's beautiful eyes curved, just like the fiery red fox Gu Chaoning had seen in the Natural Garden of the eldest prince, Qi Yuanzhou.

He paused, then stepped out to follow the Marquis.

When he walked out into the courtyard, the Marquis was seated in a pavilion in the corner. As he got closer, he could see a chessboard on the stone table in the pavilion. Seeing this, Gu Chaoning breathed a little easier.

At least it wasn't just sitting around making awkward small talk.

He sat down directly across from the Marquis, who said nothing and simply made the first move.

They played three games in total. The Marquis won the first two, but in the third, Gu Chaoning analyzed the Marquis's playing style and managed to just barely win.

Gu Chaoning let out a sigh of relief, picked up the teacup beside him, and took a sip.

The Marquis smiled and finally spoke the first words between them since they had come outside.

"You're fond of Xue Geer, aren't you?"

"Pfft... cough, cough, cough..." Gu Chaoning nearly spat out his tea, choking halfway. Realizing the person across from him was the renowned Marquis Anding, he forced himself to swallow it down.

The Marquis Anding remained perfectly composed, setting the chess pieces back in place and pouring himself a cup of tea.

Once Gu Chaoning had composed himself and stopped coughing rudely, he looked at the Marquis Anding and asked, "Why would the Marquis say that?"

Why would he be fond of Yin Hongxue? Wasn't he tired of being teased by Yin Hongxue?

Even though Yin Hongxue no longer teased him in this life and even called him Chaoning Ge, still... but, but he regarded Yin Hongxue the same as he did Gu Muan.

True, his family had taken Yin Hongxue in under the guise of a child bridegroom, but that was only because the situation at the time was dire—it was a temporary measure.

Gu Chaoning stared at the Marquis Anding in shock, stunned by the question.