After coming out of the old lady's yard, Zhu Pingan remembered that he had forgotten to inform the old lady about moving out of the Marquis's Mansion.
Forget it, wait for Li Shu to come back to discuss it, then it won't be too late to mention it to the old lady. During this period of time, I can also look for a place to live, inquire about the housing prices in Beijing, and see whether to buy or rent a small courtyard.
The housing prices in the Ming Dynasty were not as outrageous as they are today. I have the impression that the housing prices in the Ming Dynasty recorded in history seemed to be relatively low. There seems to be a record that in the 13th year of Chongzhen, Fu Shangzhi, a resident of Zhengyangmen Street in the capital, sold his house. The property was a quadrangle with two rooms in the south, one wing room, two rooms in the north, and a courtyard. He sold it for a total of 33 taels of silver. In other words, a hundred years later, the housing prices in the capital could buy a quadrangle with dozens of taels of silver. There is also another record about real estate, in which Ximen Qing bought a four-story building with two storefronts, and he only spent 120 taels of silver.
Even if there are errors between the two records and reality, at least housing prices in the Ming Dynasty were much cheaper than modern ones.
Don't worry, take your time.
After returning to Tingyuxuan, Zhu Ping'an took out the purse and put it into his sleeve. He divided the pickled cucumbers made by his mother that he brought from Xiahe Village into two portions and put them in small jars. He also divided the two smoked rabbits that he didn't want to eat on the road into two portions as gifts.
Zhu Ping'an told the old maid on duty that he was going out to visit a friend and that there was no need to trouble the mansion to prepare a meal for him today. Then he took his things and left the mansion.
From the words of the doorman when she entered the house, she could tell that during the time she was home, Zhang Siwei and Wang Shizhen had already returned and had even come to Linhuai Marquis Mansion to look for her.
Therefore, Zhu Ping'an went out this time to meet the two of them and bring them some local specialties. Now that the newly promoted Jinshi's 50-day family visit holiday has not yet ended, the two of them don't have to go to work in the capital. It's rare that everyone has time, so it's best to get together and learn about their current situation from them.
Since they are not at work, just go directly to their residence and you will most likely find them.
The capital city is very big, and there is a distance from the Linhuai Marquis's Mansion to their residence. Walking is too slow, so they have to ride horses. The horses they rode on the way here have been running all the way from Xiahe Village to the capital city, and it's time to rest, so this time they rode a Shamatte black horse.
The Shamatte black horse was much fatter than when it left, and the saddle was two buttons looser than usual. According to the time when the stable attendant was away, this fat horse was not only greedy but also dishonest. Whenever it had the chance, it would flirt with mares everywhere, and even got Master Zhou's favorite Snow-Treading BMW pregnant... Master Zhou was furious, and if it wasn't for his son-in-law, he would have slaughtered it for meat.
I didn't expect you to be such a horse. Should you be castrated? Zhu Ping'an glanced at the Shamatte black horse with ill intention. The Shamatte black horse seemed to realize something. In short, it was unusually obedient along the way, fearing that it would offend its master and become a useless horse.
Riding a fat horse and wearing a light fur coat, he left the mansion and headed east.
The courtyard where Wang Shizhen lived was close to Linhuai Marquis' Mansion, so Zhu Ping'an went to visit him first. After arriving at the courtyard where Wang Shizhen lived, the servant on guard told Zhu Ping'an that Wang Shizhen had gone to visit a friend.
That probably meant he went to Zhang Siwei's place, so Zhu Ping'an then went to Zhang Siwei's residence.
Zhang Siwei's residence is much larger than Wang Shizhen's, and not much smaller than Linhuai Marquis Mansion. The Zhang family, who came from a family of salt merchants, are not short of money. This should be a mansion of the Zhang family in the capital.
I heard from Zhang Siwei that there is a martial arts training ground in this mansion. Shanxi merchants have a tradition of letting their children strengthen their bodies. Generally, large families will have a martial arts training ground, and the Zhang family's mansion in the capital is no exception.
Zhang Siwei is good at talking about military affairs. In addition to being greatly influenced by his uncle Wang Chonggu, it is probably also related to this tradition of Shanxi merchants.
Zhu Ping'an came from the modern era. He had read a lot of military magazines and visited various military forums. He could be considered a senior military enthusiast. In his spare time, he had argued a lot with Zhang Siwei about military affairs. He would always bring out various conclusions he had read on the forums before, and then debate with them several times, which would always amaze Zhang Siwei.
Wang Shizhen was not interested in military affairs, and whenever Zhu Ping'an and Zhang Siwei debated, Wang Shizhen would sneer at them.
When they arrived at Zhang Siwei's house, Zhu Ping'an asked someone to pass the message. A moment later, Zhang Siwei came out wearing a long gown and laughing, "Hahaha, Zihou, you are back."
"Brother Ziwei, how are you?" Zhu Ping'an bowed with a smile.
"Come on, let's go to my house and have a drink together and talk."
Zhang Siwei shook his head and smiled, then he put his arm around Zhu Ping'an's shoulders and walked into the mansion together. He then ordered the servants to warm the wine and prepare tea, and set up a banquet in the study.
After chatting with Zhang Siwei, I learned that Wang Shizhen was not with Zhang Siwei. This morning, Li Panlong, the head of the Ministry of Justice, hosted a poetry and wine party and invited Zong Chen, Xu Zhongxing, Liang Youyu and others to attend. Wang Shizhen also attended the party. Zhang Siwei had just been training in the martial arts field. When he heard from his servants that Zhu Ping'an had arrived, he did not have time to put on his clothes and came out.
"Why didn't Ziwei go with Wensheng?" Zhu Ping'an asked curiously.
"Lord Li insists that literature must be from the Qin and Han dynasties, and poetry must be from the Han and Tang dynasties... I can't get along with them." Zhang Siwei shook his head and laughed.
"Well, I know from chatting with Wensheng in the past that he has always advocated retro style, which coincides with Lord Li's opinion." Zhu Ping'an nodded.
"Wensheng and I originally went to the Ministry of Justice to inquire about your memorial. In the process, we also met Lord Li once. As for Wensheng's acquaintance with Lord Li, it was just a coincidence." Zhang Siwei explained.
"So it was because of me. Ping'an is ashamed. A memorial to the emperor has caused Ziwei and Wensheng so much trouble." Zhu Ping'an then understood the reason why Wang Shizhen and Li Panlong were so close. For a moment, he was very moved by Wang Shizhen and Zhang Siwei.
Zhu Ping'an also knew about Li Panlong. He had a close relationship with Wang Shizhen in history. Li Panlong was a Jinshi in the 23rd year of Jiajing, seven years earlier than himself and others. In history, Li Panlong successively formed a society to discuss poetry with Xie Zhen, Wang Shizhen, Zong Chen, Xu Zhongxing, Liang Youyu, Wu Guolun and others. He and Wang Shizhen were both leaders of the "Later Seven Masters" of the Ming Dynasty and were praised as "masters of the Zonggong".
Wang Shizhen originally went to the Ministry of Justice for his memorial, but he accidentally met Li Panlong. The wheel of history rolls forward, and it is indeed difficult to change. It seems that the "Later Seven Masters" will soon be on the agenda.
"There are three of us, so why should we talk about each other? If you have something to do, how can Wensheng and I just sit there and watch?" Zhang Siwei smiled and shook his head, then looked at Zhu Ping'an seriously and said, "Zihou, do you know that your memorial stirred up the lake in the capital?" 8｝ ( )