After dinner that evening, Xu Miao came to Peach Grove Cottage for a nighttime chat with Chen Caozhi, Liu Shangzhi, and Ding Chunqiu. When the brothers Zhu Yingtai and Zhu Yingting came up, Xu Miao said, "The farmhouse the Zhu brothers rented isn't far from here. In fact, it's the very one Chunqiu rented last year."
Ding Chunqiu said indignantly, "The Zhu clan of Shangyu is only an ordinary gentry clan, yet look at the lofty, overbearing airs Zhu Yingtai and Zhu Yingting put on. They strut about even more than Lu Qin and He Zhu. It's outrageous!"
Xu Miao said, "The Zhu brothers aren't comparable to Lu Qin and He Zhu. They genuinely have talent, and their gifts make them unrestrained, in the vein of Ji Kang and Ruan Ji. A little arrogance is understandable."
Liu Shangzhi laughed. "You're truly broad-minded, Xianmin, but you praise the Zhu brothers too highly. Can they really compare with Ji the Palace Counsellor and Ruan the Infantry Commandant?"
Xu Miao said, "The Zhu brothers are about the same age as Zizhong and me. Who can set limits on their future? Zizhong, what do you think?"
Chen Caozhi said, "They'll be studying alongside us from now on, so we'll have plenty of dealings with them. Let's wipe our eyes and wait to see."
The conversation turned to the Grand Zhongzheng of Yangzhou, and Xu Miao said, "My father said the newly appointed Grand Zhongzheng of Yangzhou is Yu Xi, the Neishi of Yangzhou. Yu Xi is the son of Yu Bing, the Minister over the Masses, and comes from an illustrious family. In his younger days, he and Xie Wan, the Inspector of Yu Province, were called the 'Twin Talents.' His temper is said to be violent and eccentric. Because he doesn't get along