In the afternoon of the next day, Jing Shao sent his Wang Fei to Hui Wei Restaurant and asked Zhou Jin to take him to the monthly male wives' gathering in the capital. Zhou Jin did not wear brightly colored clothing today, and his dark blue changpao made him appear much more settled.
"Elder Brother Zhou, I'll be entrusting Jun Qing in your care." Jing Shao cupped his hands in salute to Boss Zhou.
"Don't worry, Wang Ye." Zhou Jin conducted himself in a very candid manner, and he was also older than all of them. After becoming familiar with him, even Mu Hanzhang followed along calling him Elder Brother Zhou.
Mu Hanzhang looked at Jing Shao, who was being as long-winded as if he were really entrusting a child to him, and smiled helplessly: "Wang Ye can be at ease when heading back, it's not like I'll get lost, right?"
Jing Shao scratched his head and mounted his horse. Most of the male wives attending the gathering in the capital were from high-ranking and distinguished families, but since Jun Qing was so intelligent, he shouldn't suffer any grievances. Thus, feeling reassured, he left the carriage and Yunzhu behind, and rode Xiao Hei by himself to find his elder brother for tea.
* * * * *
The scenery in the south of the city is good. Many aristocratic families had gardens built here. The monthly gatherings are mostly in the Mo Garden of Duke Mao's household.
It is an unwritten rule for second sons and bastard sons to marry male wives, though not necessarily to always obey it. However, Duke Mao's household has always established this as a family rule. Even if they didn't like men, any bastard sons must marry a male wife. Therefore, the number of male wives in Duke Mao's household is the largest among all the aristocratic families in the capital.
After entering Mo Garden, one could hear the sound of a Sizhu. After walking through the layer upon layers of ink bamboo, an expansive waterside pavilion appeared. There were tables and chairs placed on the pavilion as well as tea and refreshments. On the shore, there were women performing music, one zither and two bamboo pan pipes, the sounds faintly entering one's ear, nothing more beautiful could be imagined.
"This place is quite elegant." Mu Hanzhang looked at the several people sitting quietly on the waterside Pavilion listening to the music. His original worry of a lively scene like when women came to visit each other's homes did not appear. He could not help but feel relieved.
"Elder Brother Zhou is here." Seeing Zhou Jin, several people got up in succession and politely cupped their hands in greeting.
"Who is this?" A man dressed in a light blue long gown who led the rest on the pavilion asked. He was about 25 or 26 years old, similar to Zhou Jin, his facial features were elegant, though having very deep lines between his eyebrows, likely caused by frequent frowning.
"This is the Cheng Wang Fei, Mu-Gongzi." Zhou Jin introduced him to everyone with a smile. Male wives usually didn't like other people to call them Fu Ren, or Young Mistress, so between them, they addressed each other as "Gongzi".
"Greeting Wang Fei." Hearing this, several people looked at each other, and came forth to make their salutations.
"On this kind of occasion, everyone needn't be so polite." Mu Hanzhang humbly and politely let everyone rise.
"I've heard that Wen Yuan-Gongzi has a remarkable bearing, seeing it for myself today, indeed his reputation is well-deserved." The man in charge smiled gently and let them in.
"It was but just a false reputation obtained from a poetry gathering, in my frivolous youth." When Mu Hanzhang heard this man call him by previous "title", he felt as if he had returned to his former days, the time when he attended the poetry gatherings of scholars, and his mood could not help but become cheerful. Towards this person in front of him, he also felt a little closer.
