(The repeated Chapter 36 has been corrected; it now contains new material. [No pop-ups..] Only an editor can change the chapter list, though. There's nothing I can do about that. Please forgive the inconvenience...)
Tang Changsheng exchanged a few modest words, then said the journey had tired him and he would like to rest.
Zhang Bancheng immediately had someone lead Tang Changsheng to a courtyard by the river. Slender bamboo grew there, Qing and lovely, making the place all the more quiet and elegant.
"This is the Green Bamboo Retreat, my master's favorite place. Whenever he's at the estate, he comes here every few days to spend half a day or more reading or listening to music..." the quick-witted servant leading the way told Tang Changsheng.
He wanted Tang Changsheng to know how highly his host regarded him!
Tang Changsheng merely smiled. He was not surprised.
Zhang Bancheng looked rather fat and foolish, but he was a man of refined tastes. Tang Changsheng had talked with him about everything under the sun on the way here, and they had found plenty to discuss. He knew Zhang Bancheng was not a man to judge by appearances; both his learning and his experience ran deep.
His taste in living quarters was certainly not vulgar. There was not a trace of the nouveau riche about it.
Then again, Zhang Bancheng had not built his fortune from nothing. The Zhang Family's wealth had reached its third generation with him.
Tang Changsheng glanced at Little Pearl, who had spent the whole journey in a daze. Ever since entering the estate, she had been like Granny Liu entering the Grand View Garden, overwhelmed by everything she saw. None of her usual quickness remained.
That did not mean Little Pearl was less clever than the servant. She