Chapter 559: Visiting Friends

After leaving the Old Madam’s courtyard, Zhu Ping’an suddenly remembered—

He had completely forgotten to bring up the matter of moving out of the Marquis of Linhuai’s Residence.

Still, after a moment’s thought, he decided not to worry about it for now.

Better to wait until Li Shu returned so the two of them could discuss it together before mentioning it to the Old Madam. In the meantime, this gave him a good opportunity to quietly look around for a residence and inquire about housing prices in the capital. He needed to see whether it would be better to buy a small courtyard house or simply rent one first.

Fortunately, housing prices in the Great Ming were nowhere near as outrageous as those in the modern era.

If he remembered correctly, historical records suggested that real estate during the Ming Dynasty was relatively cheap. There was one record from the thirteenth year of the Chongzhen era stating that a resident named Fu Shangzhi sold a courtyard home on Zhengyang Gate Street in the capital. The property included two southern rooms, one side room, two northern rooms, and a full courtyard—

and the entire thing sold for only thirty-three taels of silver.

In other words, even a hundred years later, one could still buy a siheyuan courtyard residence in the capital for merely a few dozen taels.

There was also a mention in The Plum in the Golden Vase, where Ximen Qing purchased a four-story building with two storefronts attached for only one hundred and twenty taels of silver.

Even allowing for exaggerations or discrepancies between fiction and reality, one thing remained certain:

Ming Dynasty housing prices were incomparably kinder than modern ones.

No need to rush.

One step at a time.

After returning to Tingyu Pavilion, Zhu Ping’an retrieved a money pouch and slipped it into his sleeve. He then took out the pickled cucumbers his mother had personally prepared back in Xiahe Village and divided them into two small jars. Even the two smoked rabbits he had been reluctant to eat during the journey were carefully split into equal portions as gifts.

Afterward, he informed the elderly servant woman on duty that he intended to visit friends outside the manor and that there was no need for the Marquis of Linhuai’s Residence to prepare his evening meal.

Only then did he leave the estate carrying the gifts.

From what the gatekeeper had casually mentioned earlier, Zhu Ping’an already knew that both Zhang Siwei and Wang Shizhen had returned to the capital long ago and had even visited the Marquis of Linhuai’s Residence looking for him.

Thus, his purpose in going out today was naturally to gather with the two of them and bring them a few specialties from home.

The fifty-day leave granted to newly successful jinshi scholars for returning home to visit family had not yet ended, meaning neither of them needed to report for official duty yet. It was rare for all three to have free time together. Meeting up for a proper gathering could not have been more fitting.

At the same time, he also wanted to learn more about the current situation in the capital from them.

Since neither of them was working at the moment, visiting their residences directly would most likely find them at home.

The capital was enormous. Traveling on foot from the Marquis of Linhuai’s Residence to their residences would take far too long, so riding a horse was the obvious choice.

The fine steed he had ridden from Xiahe Village all the way to the capital deserved a proper rest after such a long journey, so this time Zhu Ping’an rode the black horse instead—the one he privately nicknamed “Shamate.”

Compared to when he had left, the black horse had grown considerably fatter. Its saddle straps had loosened by two entire notches.

According to the stable boy responsible for caring for it, during Zhu Ping’an’s absence the gluttonous horse had not only eaten voraciously but also behaved outrageously. Whenever given the opportunity, it would flirt shamelessly with every mare in sight—

It had even managed to impregnate Young Master Zhou’s beloved snow-white prized horse.

Young Master Zhou had nearly exploded with rage over the matter. If not for the fact that the horse belonged to Zhu Ping’an, he apparently would have slaughtered it for meat already.

“So you’re this kind of horse…”

Zhu Ping’an cast the black horse a sinister sideways glance.

“Maybe I should have you gelded.”

The horse seemed to sense something dangerous from its master’s gaze. At the very least, it behaved exceptionally obediently throughout the entire ride, seemingly terrified of offending Zhu Ping’an and becoming a ruined eunuch horse.

Riding atop the plump black horse in fine robes, Zhu Ping’an departed the Marquis of Linhuai’s Residence and headed eastward through the capital streets.

Of the two friends, Wang Shizhen’s residence was closer to the Marquis of Linhuai’s Residence, so Zhu Ping’an chose to visit him first.

However, upon arriving at Wang Shizhen’s courtyard residence, the servant guarding the entrance informed him that Wang Shizhen had gone out visiting friends.

Most likely he had gone to Zhang Siwei’s place.

Thus, Zhu Ping’an turned his horse around and headed toward Zhang Siwei’s residence instead.

Compared to Wang Shizhen’s modest dwelling, Zhang Siwei’s residence was vastly larger—hardly inferior to the Marquis of Linhuai’s Residence itself.

The Zhang family came from a wealthy salt merchant background. Money was never a concern for them. This residence was likely one of the Zhang family’s private estates in the capital.

Zhang Siwei had once mentioned that the estate even contained a martial training ground.

Among Shanxi merchant families, there was a longstanding tradition of training younger generations in physical conditioning and martial discipline. Large clans generally maintained private practice grounds for this purpose, and the Zhang family’s capital estate was naturally no exception.

Zhang Siwei’s fondness for discussing military affairs was heavily influenced by his uncle Wang Chonggu, but it likely also stemmed from this merchant-family martial tradition.

As for Zhu Ping’an—

Having come from the modern era, he had devoured countless military magazines and spent endless hours browsing military forums online. He could more or less be considered a veteran military enthusiast himself.

Back during their leisure hours, he and Zhang Siwei often had long, purely verbal battles over military affairs. Zhu Ping’an would casually bring up various theories and tactical analyses he had seen online in his previous life, and after several rounds of argument, Zhang Siwei would invariably end up astonished by his insights.

Wang Shizhen, on the other hand, had little interest in military matters. Whenever Zhu Ping’an and Zhang Siwei started debating warfare, Wang Shizhen would usually sneer dismissively from the side.

After arriving at Zhang Siwei’s estate, Zhu Ping’an had a servant announce his arrival.

Not long afterward, Zhang Siwei himself emerged laughing loudly, wearing only a loosely draped outer robe.

“Hahaha! Zihou, you brat, you’ve finally returned!”

“Brother Ziwei, I trust you’ve been well.”

Zhu Ping’an smiled and cupped his hands in greeting.

“Oh, enough with the formalities.” Zhang Siwei laughed as he threw an arm around Zhu Ping’an’s shoulder. “Come. We’ll drink together in my residence and talk to our hearts’ content.”

He immediately ordered the servants to warm wine, prepare tea, and set a banquet in the study.

Only through chatting with Zhang Siwei did Zhu Ping’an discover that Wang Shizhen was not actually here after all.

Earlier that morning, Li Panlong—currently serving as a Secretary in the Ministry of Justice—had hosted a poetry and wine gathering, inviting figures such as Zong Chen, Xu Zhongxing, Liang Youyu, and others. Wang Shizhen had gone to attend the gathering as well.

As for Zhang Siwei, he had just been exercising at the training grounds when he heard Zhu Ping’an had arrived. He had not even had time to properly dress before hurriedly throwing on his robe and rushing out to greet him.

“Then why did Brother Ziwei not go together with Wensheng?” Zhu Ping’an asked curiously.

Zhang Siwei shook his head with a laugh.

“Lord Li insists that prose must emulate the Qin and Han, and poetry must follow the High Tang… I just can’t piss in the same pot as that crowd.”

Zhu Ping’an nodded knowingly.

“I’ve heard Wensheng speak before about advocating literary revivalism. In that regard, he and Lord Li are indeed kindred spirits.”

“The two of us originally approached the Ministry of Justice because of your memorial,” Zhang Siwei explained. “We wanted to inquire about the situation. We happened to meet Lord Li there, and Wensheng becoming acquainted with him was honestly pure coincidence.”

Only then did Zhu Ping’an fully understand how Wang Shizhen had come to know Li Panlong.

For a moment, genuine emotion welled within him.

“All this trouble… because of my memorial.” Zhu Ping’an sighed softly. “Brother Ziwei, Brother Wensheng… Ping’an is truly ashamed for making you both worry so much.”

As for Li Panlong, Zhu Ping’an naturally knew who he was.

Historically, Li Panlong had indeed shared an extremely close relationship with Wang Shizhen. He had obtained his jinshi degree seven years earlier, in the twenty-third year of the Jiajing reign. In history, Li Panlong would go on to form literary circles together with Xie Zhen, Wang Shizhen, Zong Chen, Xu Zhongxing, Liang Youyu, Wu Guolun, and others. Together with Wang Shizhen, he would become one of the leaders of the Ming literary movement known as the “Later Seven Masters,” celebrated as a grand literary authority of the age.

Originally, Wang Shizhen had only gone to the Ministry of Justice on Zhu Ping’an’s behalf regarding the memorial.

Yet by sheer coincidence, he had ended up meeting Li Panlong.

The wheels of history truly rolled onward with unstoppable momentum.

Some things, it seemed, were impossible to alter.

Presumably, the formation of the “Later Seven Masters” was not far off now.

“You, me, and Wensheng are brothers,” Zhang Siwei said, shaking his head with a smile. “If something happens to you, how could the two of us possibly stand by and ignore it?”

Then his expression gradually turned serious.

“Zihou…” he said slowly, looking directly at Zhu Ping’an, “do you realize that your memorial has stirred the waters of the capital completely?”