Chapter 14, Gongsun's Guest

  The Gong Sun family's convoy was proceeding along the stone road of Bei Guo Ting when most of the households around Bei Guo Ting had their heads stretched out to take a look. Seeing the dignified young men from the Zu family surrounding a luxurious convoy, this kind of solemn scene wasn't something that could be seen every day. Several elders from the Zu family gathered at the main gate of the manor to welcome them, and among the guests visiting the Gong Sun family, apart from Gong Sun Zhi and Xun Yu Pei, there were also some relatives following along, even seven or eight young people of the same age as Zu Zhao.

  The horse carriage stopped in front of the gate, and Zu Zhao subconsciously glanced at the people on the second horse carriage. This horse carriage carried three people: a young master who was only twelve or thirteen years old, and two maidservants. The young master wore a brocade jacket with a brocade hair tie, his skin as white and tender as jade, with a hint of baby fat, and a pair of big black eyes that seemed to be curious about everything, with long eyelashes that made him look like a girl.

  The young master saw Zu Zhao staring at himself, and a flush of red appeared on his pale face. He quickly hid behind an older maid. Zu Zhao couldn't help but find it somewhat amusing, and then accompanied several uncles to escort Gong Sun Lao Ren and Chun Yu Pei into the front hall. The close relatives of the Gong Sun family followed behind, along with a few elder sons from the Zu family. The servants were led directly to the side courtyard to rest.

  Zu Zhao's grandfather, Zu Ju, and the three elders of the clan were waiting in the central courtyard to greet them. Although these seniors' official ranks before their retirement were not as high as those of Gong Sun Taishou, they were still elderly people with seniority and experience, and it was not necessary for them to go out of the city or out of the door to welcome them like young people did. After Gong Sun Lao Ren and Chun Yu Pei had exchanged formal greetings with the elders of the Zu family, they went into the central hall and took their seats as host and guest.

  This time, the hospitality was warm and thoughtful. The interior and exterior of the main hall had been carefully arranged in advance. All members of the ancestral family with a certain status were present at the banquet. As the eldest son, Zu Zhao naturally did not miss it, and he sat at the end of the upper seat next to his elders. The rest of the younger generation who could not sit down helped out on the corridor outside the hall first. Only after the banquet began could they take their seats in the open-air seats in the courtyard.

  The whole village of Zujiashan was bustling with excitement, only lacking lanterns and decorations to make it seem like a grand festival.

  In the central hall, Old Man Gong Sun exchanged brief pleasantries with Zu Jue and then introduced all the relatives who had accompanied him on this trip.

  Gongsun Wang had only one son, but unfortunately he fell into the water and died while traveling by boat last year. Now there are only three daughters left in the family. The eldest daughter got married at the beginning of the year, and the youngest is not yet ten years old. This time, many young people who came to visit Xu Wuyi County were close relatives of the clan, on the one hand, they could take care of each other along the way, and on the other hand, it was also lively with more people, so as not to let others misunderstand that the Gongsun family had few people.

  Among the young people in the Gongsun family, the first one should be Gongsun Wang or his nephew Gongsun Lingxian. He was just at the age of weak crown and had some talent and reputation in Xuantu County.

  Zu Zhao did pay attention to the young master, but strangely, after introducing all the relatives, Gong Sun Zhi deliberately avoided mentioning the young master, as if he was just an insignificant side branch.

  Zu Jie also introduced all the people in his family, especially emphasizing his eldest grandson Zu Zhao.

  Sun Quan smiled and said: "Yesterday in the county town, I mentioned this young hero who with more than twenty riders repelled over a hundred barbarian cavalrymen. It was truly exhilarating."

  Zu Ju's face was filled with joy, and he couldn't help but say: "Zhao Er is just a young child, yet he has made great achievements in defeating the Hu bandits. How dare these insignificant Hu bandits invade our territory? The mighty Han dynasty will not tolerate such petty thieves!"

  Everyone echoed with laughter for a while, and Zu Zhao, who was at the end of the seat, had an attitude of humility, slightly lowering his head.

  He raised his hand and said, "Honorable guests have come from afar, let's first take a meal for lunch, then wash away the dust of travel and rest for a while. In the evening, we'll formally hold a banquet until drunk, how about that?" This speech was sonorous and powerful, revealing the majestic momentum of his military career in the past.

  The Gong Sun family naturally had no objections, and so Zu Jie relayed the message to the kitchen to start serving the banquet.

  Although Zu Jixiang claimed that the lunch was not a formal banquet, as more than a dozen servants brought up all kinds of wine and dishes, none of the guests at Gong Sun's house felt anything but rich. A luxurious lunch is already so grand, tonight's formal banquet will surely have even more exotic delicacies, even the personal attendants of the county governor are now all looking forward to it, showing that the Zu family is a wealthy and generous aristocratic family.

  In an instant, the atmosphere thickened, and on the grand hall of Zhongtang, a scene of wine cups clinking and drums, zithers, shengs, and xiaos playing together suddenly unfolded.

  The people of the ancestral home and the guests of the Gongsun family pushed each other to drink, putting wine and words together in joy. Many initial awkwardness disappeared quickly under the impact of fine wine and delicious food.

  After a round of drinks, Gong Sun Zhi showed signs of intoxication and said with a smile: "Zi Zheng Gong's hospitality is truly generous, I am deeply grateful. Today, outside the city, I met the young master for the first time, and I must say that his literary and military talents are quite impressive, it can be said that he surpasses his father."

  The old man raised his wine cup and was just getting into the swing of things when he heard Gong Sunzhi's words, and burst out laughing. He knew that Gong Sunzhi was very satisfied with his eldest grandson, and implied that he also looked favorably upon the marriage between the two families. After taking a breath, he stroked his beard and said: "This child has been an orphan since childhood, but he is self-aware and diligent in his studies, which really puts people's minds at ease. Not long ago, County Magistrate Chen came specially to visit and said that he was willing to recommend him for the imperial examination this year, and will be going to the county hall in a few days to meet with the elderly officials."

  Gongsun's elders, along with Sun Yupei, all nodded in agreement. Gongsun Zhi exclaimed in surprise: "The young master is so highly respected by the county at such a young age, this kind of behavior will surely become a legendary tale."

  Sun Yu smiled and said, "In my opinion, if the Flying General of Longcheng were here, he would not allow the barbarian horses to cross the Yin Mountains. Such heroic words can be compared to the great literature of our time, and will be passed down for generations to come."

  Zu Chao still didn't speak, maintaining a low-key and humble smile.

  When the elders had finished speaking and laughing, the youngest among them, Young Master Gong Sun, suddenly spoke out in a loud voice: "But if the Flying General of Long City were here, he would not allow the barbarian horses to cross the Yin Mountains. These two sentences are indeed majestic and well-matched, but they sound as if they are not independent chapters. I wonder if our ancestor had any preceding or following words."

  Gongsun Ling had a refined and elegant demeanor, with an air of a scholar about him. His words revealed a hint of teasing and provocation.

  The atmosphere in the hall changed slightly, and Gong Sun Zhi subconsciously gave Gong Sun Ling a glance. The elders of the ancestral family still had a harmonious expression, treating it as a temporary impulse between young people.

  Zu Zhao did not intend to speak much at the banquet, just following the elders' conversation and agreeing with them casually. He didn't expect that among the guests of the same age as Gong Sun's family, there would be such enthusiasm, and they would deliberately involve themselves. "But make the dragon city fly general in, don't teach Hu horse to cross the Yin mountain" is a seven-character poem, and naturally, there are two more sentences before it. However, since the poetic style of seven-character poems was not popular at that time, he didn't want to add unnecessary details.

  He smiled lightly and said, "Brother, please don't laugh at me. These two sentences were just a momentary impulse, a careless remark from the bottom of my heart. I wouldn't dare call it an article."

  Gongsun Ling first raised his wine cup, slowly and elegantly took a sip, and smiled as if he was being polite: "Zu Gongzi is too modest. I often hear people say that Zu Gongzi is good at literature and martial arts, with bravery and ferocity driving away the Hu bandits, known to all. Why not let Longcheng Fei Jiang's heroic words be perfect and beautiful, truly achieving a timeless masterpiece? Wouldn't it be even more convincing to match his reputation?"

  If previous words were just a momentary impulse, then the current remarks are enough to reveal a hint of gunpowder.

  Zu Jie and other elders of the Zu family gradually changed their expressions, very displeased with Gong Sun Ling's arrogant words. Although Zu Zhao was humble and courteous, he had already fulfilled his duties as a host, and even if this Gong Sun young master was a guest from afar, he should have had the demeanor of a guest, how could he be so ungrateful and domineering? This gathering of the two families was precisely for the first-class great matter of uniting the two powerful clans through marriage, aiming to further consolidate their power in Youzhou. The main event had not even been discussed yet, but already signs of discord had appeared, really chilling people's hearts.

  Gongsun Zhi, with a drunken air, sternly rebuked Gongsun Lingyu: "Wen Juan, you are being presumptuous."

  He turned to Zu Zhao and said with a smile: "My younger brother is not used to drinking, today he's excited, had a bit too much, that's why he spoke nonsense just now, Master Zu please don't take it to heart."

  Zu Zhaoming knew that this young master of the Gong Sun family was a typical bookworm, who was still in his youth and had many things he couldn't tolerate. Since the other party insisted on picking a fight, he might as well accompany them to the end and see how much ink was in this young master's belly. He smiled calmly as usual and said slowly: "Since Brother Wen Xun is interested in poetry and literature, I am willing to sincerely ask for his guidance. Firstly, we can make friends through literature, and secondly, it can also be used as a conversation starter. I wonder if Old Master Gong Sun and the elders would agree."

  Gongsun Ling saw his ancestor, Zhaoyang, directly challenging him. He immediately made up his mind that even if the elders present did not agree, he would have to compete with Zhaoyang to see who was superior and what abilities this "overhyped" young man really had.

  Gongsun Zhi and Chun Yu Pei exchanged a glance, then immediately turned their attention back to Zu Jue in the upper seat.

  Zu's expression calmed down for a moment, and he gradually smiled as he pushed the cup and said: "It's great that young people have such elegant interests." This brief sentence obviously meant that Zu had tacitly agreed to Zu Zhao's proposal.

  The bustle in the hall subsided a little, and many people cast their eyes on Zu Shao and Gong Sun Liang.