Chapter 6, the brother-in-law is tall and strong

Little Fennel walked over with a flushed face and tidied up the copper basin on the ground

Zhou Xuan displayed his muscles and then asked, "Is my brother-in-law strong?"

Xiao Huixiang walked to the moon gate in the back garden and took a look inside. Wow, the young master was washing himself completely naked. She did not dare to go in, so she asked Young Master Qin Xiaodi to deliver a summer shirt.

Xiao Huixiang, being quite gossipy, said mysteriously: "Young Master Zhou said that the woman in the painting is his fiancée, who followed him into exile overseas. Unfortunately, she drowned in the sea just before reaching our Tang country. Young Master Zhou said that this woman died to save him, and he is very saddened by it"

Qin Xiaodi approached while holding her clothes, hesitating and unsure how to address him. She had called him brother-in-law many times last night, but was scolded by her sister afterward, so now she dared not call him that.

Xiaodi responded promptly: "Big."

Xiao Huixiang took Zhou Xuan to the well by the back garden, where there was a square well platform surrounded by blue stone railings. Jiangzhou is a water town, and the underground water resources are abundant. The well water is very full, so there is no need to use a bucket; one can simply reach down with a wooden bucket and draw it up.

Zhou Xuan pouted and rolled her eyes

Zhou Xuan felt a surge of joy: "So Miss Qin Que is also here. Haha, I am curious to hear her opinion of me." Casually tucking the straight skirt-like garment into her loose waistband, she stretched her neck and peered through the gaps in the bamboo branches towards the well. There, she saw the silhouette of Xiao Huixiang in a green outfit, and another figure with hair elegantly styled in a high bun, adorned with two exquisite jade combs, dressed in a lake-green long dress. This figure was also a silhouette, significantly taller than the undeveloped Xiao Huixiang, with an exceptionally slender waist. She lifted the hem of her long dress, revealing her snow-white feet, as she trod in a wooden basin by the well.

The wooden basin exuded a refreshing aroma of herbs, while fennel occasionally added something to the basin.

Zhou Xuan said: "I have no clothes to wear, this one on me is too thick, and I can't wear the groom's robe every day. Also, I want to take a shower"

Miss Qin let out an "oh" and said: "If it is indeed his work, then his painting skills are no less than those of Gu Hongzhong, the court painter. However, the posture of the woman in the painting is overly lewd, and her expression is excessively alluring, resulting in a lack of artistic quality"

Zhou Xuan is 1.76 meters tall and weighs 69 kilograms. He enjoys exercising regularly, resulting in a well-proportioned and sturdy physique, with broad shoulders and a narrow waist, and he has no excess body fat

Qin Que had no choice but to take out a set of moon-white round-neck summer shirts for Xiao Huixiang to deliver, and Qin Xiaodi insisted on going along.

Xiao Di looked up and said: "High."

Zhou Xuan had no choice but to put on his trousers again; wearing long pants without any undergarments was certainly better than wearing a long shirt in the same state. He then fastened a belt that matched his summer shirt, from which hung a small pouch called "Bo Yu," suitable for holding some small items like loose silver coins.

Miss Qin said, "This is strange. If he was very sad, how could he have been so aggressive last night, insisting, insisting on—" Miss Qin Qiao hesitated to say the words "wedding chamber," pausing for a moment, "I believe this person's words are largely untrue."

Zhou Xuan said: "Yes, in order to enhance my physical fitness, I take cold baths throughout the year. This is to strengthen the body in a primitive way and to cultivate the spirit in a civilized manner"

In the backyard, there is a low yellow mud wall separating it. Beside the moon gate, there are several slender bamboo plants. Just a moment ago, when Zhou Xuan went to take a shower, he noticed that the bamboo poles were a bright yellow. After a while, as the morning sun rose, these slender bamboo plants surprisingly turned a vivid red, looking very beautiful

Miss, do you really think that young man is a prince

Xiao Di said: "Xiao Di does not speak"

Zhou Xuan smiled and asked, "Xiao Di, is your brother-in-law tall or not?"

Zhou Xuan felt very uncomfortable wearing the summer shirt, as it was not much different from a woman's dress; it was empty inside. It turned out that ancient people did not wear pants, only the so-called "leggings" that were worn around the calves. The Hu clothing featured wide trousers, but they were only popular in the military, as one needed to ride horses. Who could endure riding a horse without any covering!

Miss Qin's voice was soft and melodious: "Whether he is a prince or a beggar, it has nothing to do with me—Xiao Huixiang, do you want to go to Shouzhou with me?"

The new son-in-law has no clothes to wear, which is indeed a major issue for the Qin residence. Qin, who holds a doctorate, is half a head shorter than Zhou Xuan and is also much slimmer; therefore, Zhou Xuan's garments do not fit him.

Zhou Xuan spread his legs and pointed at the numerous little brothers hanging down from his crotch, asking, "Is this thing big, brother-in-law?"

Zhou Xuan said: "No need, is there a river nearby—never mind, where is the well?"

Six-year-old Xiaodi was staring at her brother-in-law's naked body

After finishing breakfast, Zhou Xuan felt something was amiss with his backside as he stood up, as if something was missing. When he touched it with his hand, he realized that the harmonica he had been keeping in his back pocket was gone. He hurried back to his room to search for it, but it was not there. He thought to himself, "It must have fallen by the well in the backyard," and then headed towards the backyard.

Zhou Xuan was still twisting her hips and neck while washing. Upon hearing someone approach, she turned around to see Qin Xiaodi, who had her hair styled in a high bun. She smiled and said, "Xiaodi, good morning. Why don't you call me brother-in-law?"

Xiao Huixiang was still waiting outside the moon gate when she saw Zhou Xuan staggering out. His summer shirt fit him well, but his short hair was too conspicuous, so she quickly found a round-brimmed gauze hat for him to wear

Zhou Xuan's sweat was streaming down, and Miss Qin is not easily fooled

Zhou Xuan laughed heartily while getting dressed, and reminded, "Xiaodi, you must not tell your sister about the things your brother-in-law just asked you, remember that?"

During breakfast, Zhou Xuan looked around but did not see Qin Que's figure, wondering if she was deliberately avoiding him. Zhou Xuan thought to himself: "How big can this inner courtyard be? I refuse to believe that you can hide in your room all day. Hehe, we will inevitably run into each other sooner or later. I still have a bit of confidence in myself. The current issue is that I don't know when her cousin will arrive; that guy is a threat. I must seize every moment and act swiftly."

Doctor Qin said to his wife: "My dear, please go and tell Que'er to find the summer shirt prepared for her cousin and give it to Young Master Zhou, for he has been kind to our Qin family."

Only Xiao Huixiang responded, saying: "Of course, I will follow my young lady. Wherever the young lady goes, I will go too. However, that Young Master Zhou is quite pitiful. Young lady, you may not know, but the bag I picked up from the carriage yesterday belongs to Young Master Zhou, and the beautiful woman on it was drawn by Young Master Zhou himself"

Madam Qin then spoke to Qin Que, who initially refused. The Qin doctor advised, "Dear Que, this time we owe it to Young Master Zhou for his generous assistance. Otherwise, you would have to participate in the selection of palace maidens. With your looks and character, you would surely be chosen, which means you would have to serve in the palace for three years. You are seventeen this year, and in three years, you will be twenty. Your cousin may not wait for you for three years. Just think about it; Young Master Zhou is so magnanimous, willing to endure hardship, yet you are reluctant to part with even a single garment. If Young Master Zhou were to leave in anger, we would be in serious trouble. This would be a grave offense against the emperor."

On the morning of the day after the summer solstice in the twenty-eighth year of the Tang Dynasty, Zhou Xuan woke up feeling quite well, refreshed and invigorated. It was only upon getting out of bed that he realized he had no clothes to wear. The trousers could barely be worn for another day, but the T-shirt was overwhelmingly odorous with sweat and needed to be washed

Zhou Xuan secretly laughed: "Children are just like this; the more you advise them not to speak, the more they insist on speaking. It's truly embarrassing. I am indeed too shameless, so despicable!"

Xiao Huixiang said: "Then the maid will go and ask someone to prepare the bathing water for the young master"

Moreover, without mentioning Zhou Xuan's meticulous cleaning here, let us first discuss the matter of Xiao Huixiang finding clothes for the new son-in-law

Xiao Di nodded and said: "Strong."

Qin Que frowned and said: "We can go to the ready-to-wear shop to buy some. These few outfits were all personally sewn by my daughter for her cousin. How can we give them to that person!"

Xiao Huixiang asked, "Son-in-law, do you bathe here?"

Zhou Xuan lowered his head and saw that he was indeed a bit shocking, essentially naked. After all, this is ancient times; just look at how it scared the young girl away. He hurried back to his room to put on the new groom's red robe and came out calling for Xiao Huixiang: "Xiao Huixiang, Xiao Huixiang, it's all right now, I have put on my clothes."

At that moment, Zhou Xuan heard Xiao Huixiang speaking by the well in the garden

Xiao Di saw Zhou Xuan's smile and felt a deep sense of familiarity, instantly forgetting her sister's warning, and happily called out: "Brother-in-law"

Zhou Xuan walked over and touched the bamboo pole with his hand. His eyes swept down to see a piece of pink cotton fabric beneath the bamboo. Picking it up for a closer look, it resembled a straight skirt or a pencil skirt from a thousand years later, yet it lacked a waistband; the upper part only had a few clasps. Bringing it to his nose, he detected a faint fragrance.

"Hmm, good, brother-in-law will take you out to play later." Zhou Xuan wiped the water droplets off his body with a cloth.

Dr. Qin said: "There is no time to go to the tailor shop; the tailor shop requires measurements for custom fitting. Young Master Zhou is already waiting in the bath. Your cousin has a similar build to Young Master Zhou, and those garments will fit perfectly."

Xiao Huixiang only saw the barbarism of the new son-in-law and did not see any civility. She said, "I will go and ask the master if the clothes for the son-in-law are ready."

Zhou Xuanguang emerged from his room bare-chested, wearing a tight and bulging pair of briefs. Xiao Huixiang was bringing him water for washing up, and upon seeing him, she was so startled that she dropped the copper basin in her hands and turned to flee.