Chapter 645
The Military Intelligence Bureau's New Year's Gift
Chen Ji followed Xiao Man toward the main hall, where they could see it was brightly lit from afar.
As Xiaoman walked, she instructed, "Young master, please don't talk back to Madam. She's in a bad mood right now. Just let her scold you for a bit."
Chen Ji hummed in agreement.
Upon arriving at the main hall, the maids in the courtyard all bowed and greeted him: "Young Master."
Inside the room, Madam Zhang's voice, abruptly rising through the curtain, said, "Nuanchun, put this piece of kesi (silk tapestry) into the storeroom. I was mistaken; I thought that once someone entered the Zhang family, they were already family. Now it seems that this person is a great man who was once a viscount and has been flogged in court; he doesn't care about a few feet of cloth from the Zhang family. I'm afraid even if I go to ask him personally, I won't be able to persuade him."
Xiaoman muttered to herself, "Oh no... Young Master, you should go in by yourself. I'm not going in."
Chen Ji paused for a moment, then continued walking inside.
He lifted the curtain, slipped inside, and immediately put on a smiling face as he entered: "Mother, I'm back."
After entering the room, Chen Ji quickly looked around. Madam Zhang sat in a grand chair with a sullen face, while Zhang Xia stood to the side watching him with schadenfreude.
Nuanchun stood silently to the side, her eyes fixed on her nose, her nose reflecting her inner thoughts.
The two tailors, one old and one young, from the tailor shop sat on the right, looking up at the roof beams.
Chen Ji said with a smile, "Mother, I went there this afternoon..."
Madam Zhang coldly interrupted, "Don't bother making up lies to fool me. I have no right to discipline you. Where you go and what you do are your own business."
Chen Ji was silent for a moment: "Mother, Zhang Zheng went to the Eight Great Hutongs to fool around with Uncle Xu Shu last night."
Zhang Xia and Nuan Chun were both shocked and looked at Chen Ji in disbelief.
Madam Zhang asked in a deep voice, "Really?"
Chen Ji said with certainty, "My uncle said it himself. The two of them are catching up on sleep in the room right now, and the whole room smells of alcohol."
Madam Zhang got up and walked out, saying, "This is outrageous! There's not a single person in this family who's easy to deal with. They all ignore what I say!"
Zhang Xia nudged Nuan Chun with her elbow. Nuan Chun snapped out of her daze, took a fox fur cloak from the clothes rack, and chased after her, saying, "Madam, please slow down, be careful not to catch a cold."
Once the room quieted down, Zhang Xia glanced at Chen Ji and said irritably, "My brother is going to be in big trouble because of you!"
Chen Ji chuckled and said, "We can't worry about that now. It's good enough if we can keep ourselves safe. Besides, going to the Eight Great Hutongs was really wrong. Brother-in-law needs to change this habit."
After saying that, he looked at the tailor and said, "I would like to trouble you two masters to take my measurements as soon as possible. I can't really let my mother take the kesi back to the storeroom."
The old tailor responded with an "Eh," picked up a roll of wax-dyed cotton thread, and stood up: "Please stand up straight and open your arms... Have you had dinner yet?"
Chen Ji opened his arms wide: "I ate a bowl of noodles, what's wrong?"
The old tailor smiled and said, "There are rules to measuring clothes. There are methods to measuring, and it is better to be loose than tight. If it is too tight, it is difficult to correct, but if it is too loose, it can be adjusted. The waist measurement before and after a meal is different, so the clothes made will be different. Therefore, you have to ask clearly."
He carefully measured the traces, making marks with charcoal every now and then, and continued to ask, "Do you want a front-opening or a double-breasted style?"
"Interlocking jackets".
Do you usually ride a horse or travel by carriage?
"horse riding."
Do you usually use guns, clubs, or other weapons?
"make."
The old tailor asked about everything, big and small, and after Chen Ji answered, the young apprentice beside him silently wrote it down.
Chen Ji chuckled and joked, "Master, why are you asking such detailed questions?"
The old tailor said slowly and deliberately, "Sir, you may not know this, but when it comes to making clothes, it's not just about taking the body shape, but also about taking the temperament. As the saying goes, a young person who passes the imperial examination will stand tall with a protruding belly, and wear clothes that are longer in the front and shorter in the back. An elderly person who passes the imperial examination will be stooped and hunched over, and wear clothes that are shorter in the front and longer in the back. Fat people have wide waists, and thin people have narrow bodies. Impatient people wear short clothes for easy movement, while those who are slow-paced wear long clothes..."
Just then, Zhang Zheng's wailing voice came from the East Garden, which startled the old tailor so much that his fingers trembled.
Zhang Zheng cried out, "Mother, stop hitting me! It was my uncle who insisted on dragging me there!"
Xu Shu's furious voice echoed from afar: "What nonsense are you spouting? You're the one who said you have an old flame in the Eight Great Hutongs, and you haven't seen her in ages and miss her terribly! Sister, listen to me... Ouch, why are you hitting me too! Let me tell you, I'm from the Forty-Nine Heavens, I'm not afraid of you, stop hitting me, stop hitting me..."
Inside the main hall.
Zhang Xia sat in a chair, propping her chin up, and looked at Chen Ji: "I'm afraid my brother's monthly salary is going to drop again. It's all your fault for diverting the trouble."
Chen Ji smiled and casually probed, "I'll talk to Mother later and ask her to keep my brother-in-law locked up in the mansion for the next few days, what do you think?"
Zhang Xia glanced at him, then smiled and said, "Great, that'll save him from causing trouble."
Chen Ji then asked, "Do you have any plans recently?"
Zhang Xia glanced at him again: "I have to go to the Imperial Academy to substitute for my uncle."
At this moment, the old tailor finished taking the measurements and said, "Sir, you can put your arms down now."
Chen Ji turned to Zhang Xia: "By the way, I heard from Xiaoman that you didn't go to play polo today, but you didn't come back for a long time. Where did you go?" Zhang Xia smiled and said: "Why are you asking so many questions? Are you interrogating me like a spy from the Jing Dynasty? Have you forgotten the three rules?"
Chen Ji laughed and said, "Just asking casually."
Zhang Xia looked at the old tailor and suddenly asked, "Master, what should I press down on the hem of the clothes to keep them crisp and straight?"
The old tailor thought for a moment: "Ordinary people who wear linen clothes usually don't put down any coins, but wealthy families will put down a few copper coins. More particular officials and nobles will go to Panjiayuan to find a few Tongbao coins with auspicious meanings."
Zhang Xia changed the subject: "Do you have any gold-sewn sewers?"
Chen Ji raised an eyebrow.
The old tailor smiled and said, "It's rare to sew gold melon seeds; only extremely precious gifts would be made this way... Would you like to sew a few gold melon seeds for this gentleman, young lady?"
Zhang Xia said, "No need, I was just asking to see if anyone has ever done this before."
After saying that, she took out six gleaming gold coins from her sleeve and handed them to the old tailor: "Sew these six gold coins inside."
The old tailor took the coin in his palm, squinted and examined it carefully: "Taiping Tongbao... Oh, is this one of the gilded Taiping coins from the Taizu era?"
Chen Ji asked in confusion: "Peace Money?"
Zhang Xia casually explained, "When the country was founded, Emperor Taizu minted 6,000 gold coins. Thirty-six pure gold coins were bestowed upon the founding heroes and those who made the greatest contributions to the country, and were inscribed with the words 'Protecting the Nation.' Three hundred and sixty gold coins were inscribed with the words 'Expanding the Territory,' and were bestowed upon the meritorious officials who initiated the establishment of the Six Ministries and governed the country peacefully. There were also more than 5,000 gilded copper coins inscribed with the words 'Peace,' which were bestowed upon the generals and soldiers who made meritorious contributions such as being the first to scale the walls, breaking through enemy lines, beheading enemy generals, and capturing enemy flags."
The old tailor weighed the gilded coins in his hand and asked with a smile, "These are hard to find. Young lady, you must have searched all over Panjiayuan, right?"
Zhang Xia said nonchalantly, "It didn't take much effort, we just happened to run into each other."
The old tailor sighed, "It's no coincidence. These Taiping coins have been passed down for thousands of years, and there are very few left in existence. Shops in Panjiayuan treat each one like a treasure. It's said that these Taiping coins contain the national fortune that Emperor Taizu pressed into them, and they can bring peace of mind, calm the spirit, and ward off evil."
Zhang Xia shook his head: "The Taiping Tongbao doesn't have that ability. It's just for good luck. If you want to ward off evil and bring good fortune, you need the Zhenguo Tongbao."
The old tailor glanced at Chen Ji and smiled, "Anyway, it's the young lady who's very thoughtful."
Chen Ji belatedly looked at Zhang Xia and said, "You didn't actually have a polo match with anyone today. You just made an excuse to go out and try to find these peace money before you finish making the clothes?"
That's why they went directly to the outer city, since Panjiayuan is located in the southeast corner of the outer city.
Zhang Xia got up and walked out: "It was just a coincidence, believe it or not."
Chen Ji followed them out the door. As soon as he entered the courtyard, he saw Madam Zhang leading Zhang Zheng and Xu Shu towards him. When the two saw Chen Ji, they immediately pointed at him from behind Madam Zhang and mouthed curses silently.
Chen Ji pointed at the two people and said, "Mother, they are cursing me."
Madam Zhang turned around sharply, and Zhang Zheng and Xu Shu hurriedly composed themselves and lowered their heads.
Chen Ji cupped his hands to Madam Zhang and said, "Mother, let's go back and rest."
Madam Zhang glanced at him sideways and hummed in response.
Just then, a servant came running over with a wooden box and said loudly, "Young master, there are some things here that you need to take a look at."
Chen Ji asked in confusion, "What is that?"
Zhang Xia also stopped and turned around.
The servant came to Chen Ji and explained, "Many people came to wish you a Happy New Year during the day, and many left gifts and left. As instructed by Madam, we put the New Year's gifts away in the backyard, and only when we were counting them did we find this box. We don't know what it is."
"Let me take a look," Chen Ji said, lifting the wooden box a crack. His pupils contracted sharply, and he quickly closed the box again.
The wooden box contained a layer of black granules, with a smooth and slightly shiny surface; it was clearly the batch of gunpowder stolen from the Shenji Battalion.
Chen Ji looked at the servant: "Who brought this? How old are they? What do they look like?"
The servant took a letter from his pocket and handed it to him: "There are too many people wishing you a Happy New Year, I can't remember them all... Oh right, there was also a letter sent with the box."
Chen Ji did not read the letter until he returned to the main house in the West Garden, where he opened it.
By the light of the candle, one could see the brushstrokes were sparse and clear, with the sharpness concealed within:
"Jingchao Military Intelligence Bureau Chief, respectfully bows to Viscount Wuxiang."
"Hearing of your recent marriage, I offer this small gift as a token of my respect. I have seventy catties of gunpowder, and I would like to present one catty of it, which is of excellent quality, as a special congratulatory gift."
"I have another piece of advice for you: Your talent is unrecognized by the Ning Dynasty. Now you live as a son-in-law in the Zhang family, suffering the cold treatment of your mother-in-law every day. The officials in the court regard you as a remnant of the eunuch faction, and the common people call you a treacherous villain. What is the purpose of enduring such humiliation? Why not come north and join us in building a great cause?"
As the year draws to a close, the lamp burns on your desk while I face the wind and snow outside my wall. With this New Year's greeting, I wish you a long and prosperous life together.
"Zhang Qian".
"The eleventh day of the twelfth month of the thirty-second year of the Jia Ning era."
At this moment, Zhang Xia walked to the desk: "What did the letter say?"
Chen Ji snapped out of his daze, abruptly clenching his fist to hold the letter tightly in his palm: "It's nothing, just some auspicious New Year's greetings." (End of Chapter)