Wu Mansion.

The eldest wife of the Ouyang family, Mrs. Wu, is returning to her parents’ home today.

Now Wu Chong has been promoted to the position of transit envoy to the west of Beijing and is in Luoyang, not in Bianjing.

Wu Anshi and Wu Anchi both got Yinguan. Without Wu Chong's restraint, Wu Anshi was often away from home, but Wu Anchi took care of the Wu family's relations in Beijing.

 Mr. Wu had a chat with her mother, Mrs. Li, and her eldest sister-in-law, Mrs. Fan, and then came to the seventeenth mother's boudoir.

Seventeen Niang was leaning on the railing reading a book. When she saw Mrs. Wu, she smiled and said, "Sister, finally came to see me?"

Wu smiled and pulled Shi Qiniang to sit down and said, "You're still reading!"

“Yes, I have seen my mother and sister-in-law come here? Why didn’t you ask me to go?”

Wu said: "The reason why I don't ask you to go is because I have a few words of personal experience that I want to tell you."

“But what about my brother-in-law? It’s okay to take the exam again in the next subject.”

 Wu sighed: "It can't be that easy. In the future, it's up to you whether I will be in Beijing or not."

 “Why do you really want to go to Yingzhou?”

"My father-in-law has discussed this. He is becoming more and more powerful now, but there are really many people in the court who are wary of him. Now he only has the official family members here, but in the future, instead of being a thorn in the side of the capital, it is better to return to Yingzhou.

go."

"No matter what, my father will take care of me. Even if my father-in-law goes back, my brother-in-law can stay in the capital. Is he really not going to take the exam?"

Wu didn’t say anything after hearing this, and Seventeen Niang said: “Sister, it’s good to go to Yingzhou, and Linbian is not too far away.”

Wu Shi smiled and said: "Okay, how are your life-long affairs discussed at home? I heard that my brother has been advocating for Liu Ji, who is now studying in Taixue, but dad doesn't allow it."

Seventeen Niang said: "It's my turn to make the decision on this matter, I just didn't ask."

Wu sighed: "Yeah, it's not our turn to make the decision. We have been taught since childhood that yang is noble and yin is low, and yang is high and yin is low. Men have no wells inside and outside, no common bathing, no common toilets, and no common sleeping mats.

“If a woman does not peek at the middle door for no reason, but if she goes out of the middle door for a reason, she must cover her face and use a candle when walking at night. If there is no candle, she will stop. A man should not talk about what is inside, and a woman should not talk about what is outside. She must not be a jealous and aggressive wife."

“But after being taught so much, we just listen to our parents at home and our husbands when we get married. We are not allowed to make the decision on anything, including marriage. Do you know why your second sister-in-law is not liked by your mother?”

 “Why?”

Wu said: "It's because she is well-informed and able to show off herself."

The Seventeenth Mother glanced at the book in her hand and thought to herself, the second sister-in-law Wang's poems are really good. She wrote a poem to her father Wang Anshi, "The west wind does not penetrate the small window screen, the autumn mood should pity me and recall my home. Looking across the country and thousands of mountains."

It’s a pity that I still see the yellow flowers with tears.

This poem was highly praised in Bianjing as soon as it was published. Wang Anshi often sent letters to sing with his daughter.

However, this poem made my mother-in-law, Mrs. Li, unhappy, "I still look at the yellow flowers with tears." When you say this, doesn't it seem that your life in my Wu family is not good, and the letter has been spread all over the capital.

 Hence Li's comment: "Knowing the book and being reasonable will make it easier for you to show yourself".

"The second sister-in-law's father and brother are both famous scholars in the world. It is reasonable that the second sister-in-law is more noble and has a higher vision. It is said that the second brother is not living up to expectations and unwilling to make progress. It cannot be entirely blamed on the second sister-in-law." Seventeenth mother defended Wang.

A few words.

Wu said: "You can't say that. My eldest sister-in-law also comes from a scholarly family, but she has always been cautious in front of her mother. She even stopped writing poems. Your second sister-in-law! I'm afraid you are the only one who can interact with her at home.

Well spoken."

Seventeen Niang said: "I usually only talk about poems and articles with my second sister-in-law."

Mrs. Wu said: "My mother doesn't like my second sister-in-law, so you must not get too close to her."

“I understand. If I were born from my mother’s womb, there would be no such suspicion.”

Mrs. Wu said anxiously: "Your life-long affairs are in the hands of your mother. You need to be very careful at this time. You must know that your marriage will be almost decided by this time next year."

"Don't imitate me. When my father and father-in-law were in good terms, we decided to get married. When I first got married, I was filled with joy and thought I was the right man. But after I got married, I found out that your brother-in-law likes to play with gold and stones, collect ancient books, and study some laws all day long.

As the story goes, he is talented, but he is not enthusiastic at all when it comes to taking the exam. He usually just puts on a show to fool my father-in-law."

"When my father-in-law retires from office in the future, he will not be able to settle down in Bianjing and will have to go back to Yingzhou. Even if the officials are merciful, he will not be determined to pursue an official career if he is shady. In choosing a husband, only talent and ambition are indispensable.

"After seeing so many people under my father-in-law's sect over the years, Zeng Zigu deserves the most praise."

Seventeen Niang asked: "Zeng Zigu? Yes, his articles are very good, especially policy theory."

 Wu glanced at Shiqi Niang and said, "Seventeen..."

Seventeen Niang smiled and said: "Sister, I know, you don't have to use your own affairs to warn me. I already have a sense of proportion in my heart!"

 “Proportion?”

Seventeen Niang said: "I admire the two mistresses in Beijing most. One is Xie, the wife of Mei Gong (Mei Yaochen). Whenever her husband talks to guests, she eavesdrops behind the screen, waiting for the guests.

After leaving, Mr. Xie and Mr. Mei once again appraised people and distinguished between the good and the foolish. Mr. Mei not only did not criticize him, but praised his wife for her clear nature and understanding of reason."

“There is another one who is my sister’s mother-in-law. The minister once wanted to talk to Duke Ouyang and talked to her, but she said, how dare a woman interfere with this court matter, and the Duke has never talked about state affairs with his wife.”

 Wu asked: "What's the difference between a person who talks about things and a person who doesn't talk about things?"

“Speak if you can; don’t speak if you can’t.”

 Bianjing cold snow.

 It’s almost the end of the year.

 At this time, the officials will issue an imperial edict to give fuel to the military squads.

 As for the Tai students, they have no salary.

 In fact, since Hu Yuan left, the imperial government's subsidies to Taixue have been much less than before.

Li Gou is now in charge of Gou Taixue, although he has also talked with several doctors and directly used money to supplement the meals of the students.

However, Li Gou did not have Hu Yuan's appeal, and his salary was not as good as that of Hu Yuan. He was not on good terms with Wu Zhong, who was the judge of the Imperial College, so that the poor students in Taixue became more and more miserable.

This year Taixue has no way to pay for firewood, so we have to find ways to supplement the expenses.

Taixue Jinshi has ten fasts, and every fast has Guangzhai money. After a Taixue student is released as an official, he must send a sum of money to his Zhai.

 At this time, each person will use his light money to subsidize and buy some fuel to support his daily life.

 As for fasting houses that don’t have enough fasting money, there are also ways to generate income, such as setting fasting rules, and anyone who violates the fasting rules will pay a sum of money.

 Firewood is one expense, and another item is winter vegetables.

 Meat is scarce at this time, so vegetables are particularly important. There is a saying that vegetables are inferior to grains.

There won’t be any vegetables in Bianjing after winter, and the Taixue restaurant has no money to buy them for Taixue, so if you want to eat winter vegetables, you have to find a way to eat them yourself.

At each fast, you need to buy some spicy ginger and spicy radish and store them in the sauce jar of the fasting house.

 The chief of the restaurant, whose name was changed from Liu Ji to Liu Hui, and many old men were busy with next spring and had no time, so the task of buying firewood and winter vegetables fell on Liu Zuo.

Liu Zuo's family was engaged in business, and he was very smart and capable. He also failed the imperial examination, so all the purchasing and financing fell on him.

But purchasing is a waste of time.

In the last life, Zhang Yue was only focused on his studies, and was too lazy to bother with these things. He just pushed it aside. Now things have changed a bit.

When it comes to purchasing, at least two people must go together, and no one person can take the initiative. Liu Jiyan was more and more plain, so he and Liu Zuo were asked to go buy charcoal and winter vegetables.

　　Zhang Yue agreed. Now he is not very enthusiastic, nor is he unable to save face. He is just doing something within his power in the studio. Anyway, Zhang Yue has a lot of time to study every day, so he does not have to worry about delaying his homework.

 Zhang Yue went shopping with Liu Zuo, and often took Xiang Qi with him.

 Xiang Qi is of course not enthusiastic, he is just Liu Zuo's follower.

  Usually Liu Zuo took Zhang Yue and Xiang Qi to the streets to eat bowls of water, water and rice. When they were extravagant, they would even eat bowls of tripe soup, but these would never use the money purchased in the studio.

However, the owner of the charcoal shop would also give the three of them some cooked pancakes, but Liu Zuo did not refuse and shared the meal with Zhang Yue and Xiang Qi.

 The matter of purchasing is inconspicuous, but the access to it is not small.

For example, Liu Zuo's family was doing business in Bianjing, and they could be said to be well-off. They would not appreciate the small favors from these shops.

However, when it came to buying winter vegetables, Liu Zuo had to go far away from home every time, so he took Zhang Yue around a few streets to buy in the west city of Bianjing.

 In Liu Zuo’s words, this place is close to the royal West Garden.

Some people from the palace often bring winter vegetables here to buy, so that we can eat the good food that Shangguan's family eats.

When Xiang Qi kept saying that there were so many good winter vegetables here, Zhang Yue also ‘believed’ them.

When talking about Liu Zuo, we have to talk about Xiang Qi. He came to Taixue three years earlier than Zhang Yue. His family was very poor, so he got a lot of benefits from his friendship with Liu Zuo.

What impressed Zhang Yue the most was that one day when they were eating at a street stall, the stall owner seemed to be neglecting him. Zhang Yue and Liu Zuo didn't say anything, but Xiang Qi scolded the stall owner with a ferocious face. And Xiang Qi was worthy of it.

As a scholar, every sentence is not repeated.

 Zhang Yue did not expect that Xiang Qi, who was always so talkative in the studio, would have such a cruel side. Seeing this scene, Zhang Yue missed Senior Brother Guo even more.

However, Xiang Qi passed the exam and will go to the Spring Festival next year, but Liu Zuo failed. It is hard to say what will happen to the two in the future.

 Zhang Yue also asked Liu Zuo where he got the jasmine tea. Liu Zuo said that someone else had given it to him.

Liu Zuo did not say directly who sent it.

 After the onset of winter, the weather in Bianjing becomes colder day by day.
To be continued...