No matter what the background of the other party was, Fang Yingwu could be sure that this "uncle" came over to get married after hearing about Xie Yuan.
Compared with the closeness between this family and fellow villagers, Fang Yingwu had a flash in his mind and asked coldly: "Since I can remember when I was young, I have never heard of anything about my mother's family.
I wonder where you come from?"
When the middle-aged man saw Fang Yingwu, he just stood at the gate of the courtyard and questioned him. He didn't even offer to invite him in for tea. He felt unhappy and couldn't help but replied: "I'm from Cixi."
After that, he kept silent. He believed that Fang Yingwu was a scholar after all, and he should be able to understand something after hearing these words.
Fang Yingwu was stunned for a moment. He knew that his mother's surname was Hu, and he also knew that Cixi and Huaxi were in the same township. They were both villages belonging to Zitong Township. It was not an exaggeration to say that they were from the same hometown. However, Huaxi was in the mountains, and the place was smaller than Cixi.
remote.
There is nothing surprising about the surname Hu alone, nor is there anything surprising about Cixi alone, but the combination of the two words Cixi and Hu is worth noting.
Because Fang Yingwu had heard that there were nine major imperial examination families in Chun'an County, and the Cixi Hu family was among them. The current pillar of the Hu family, Mr. Hu Gongchen, was an orthodox Jinshi for four years, six years earlier than Shang Xianggong.
He is a Jinshi. He is currently serving as the minister of the Ministry of War and the admiral of Cao Jiang in Nanjing. He is a veteran and powerful official.
In addition, there are two rumors. One is that the imperial court will favor Mr. Hu to become the minister, and the other is that Cixi will be renamed Huxi to honor Mr. Hu. If Shang Xianggong becomes an official, then among the current Chun'an native officials,
This Mr. Hu has the highest official rank and the oldest qualifications.
Thinking of this, Fang Yingwu was very surprised. His uncle said he was from Cixi, and his mother happened to be named Hu. Could it be that her mother was born in the famous Hu family in Cixi?
In this way, my mother is really worthy of being called a noble lady. As early as the Song Dynasty, the Hu family produced three Jinshi scholars, father and son. Compared with the Hu family of eight generations of poor peasants, the Fang family of Huaxi cannot even compare to the Hu family of Cixi.
.
Fang Yingwu remembered again that there were several Jinshi archways outside the west gate of the county, the largest of which belonged to Mr. Hu Gongchen. He had been to the county several times and always looked at the archway for inspiration, but he never expected to be able to compare with him.
Get involved yourself.
Seeing Fang Yingwu absent-minded, the middle-aged man who claimed to be his uncle was slightly proud, and curled his lips slightly. A young man from a poor mountain village who had only studied for a few years, when he heard the name of the Hu family in Cixi, he was still embarrassed.
Frightened. Fang Qingzhi was like a nerd back then, and his son was probably about the same.
But Fang Yingwu was smart. Although he was still far from being able to do two things at once, he always had seven orifices. His eyes were not distracted as he thought about it, and the expression of the person opposite him was clearly reflected in his mind.
middle.
Is this coming with a condescending attitude? How could Fang Yingwu get used to this face? He raised his eyes, calmly pointed to the chair in the courtyard and said: "Please come in and sit down!"
After the guests and hosts were seated, Fang Yingwu spoke very rudely, "I have never known that my mother's house existed for many years, and I have no impression of it. As for your sudden arrival and calling yourself an elder, I have no way of analyzing it."
This tone is almost like a liar who comes to knock on the autumn wind... The middle-aged man said angrily: "Will our Hu family in Cixi cheat for such a thing? As for whether I am a member of the Hu family, you go
If you ask around, you will find out that both the left and right are from the same hometown, so it is very convenient to ask for information!"
Fang Yingwu continued to cross-examine: "I am speaking recklessly. But I dare to ask my uncle, it has been more than ten years since my mother passed away, and I have never seen any relatives of the Hu family. My mother's cemetery is behind the village, and I have never seen any relatives.
I heard that my mother-in-law’s family came to offer sacrifices to me. Forgive me for being stupid and confused, but what’s the reason for this?”
"Since your mother passed away, the two families have naturally lost contact..."
Judging from his vague expression, I was afraid there was something wrong here. Fang Yingwu was not a three-year-old child, so he could certainly feel that there must be some ancient secret. He then asked casually: "Why did uncle come to visit this time?"
Uncle Hu replied: "I heard that my brother-in-law won the honorary title, so I came here to congratulate him. Also, your grandfather wants to meet you, so he invites you to visit the Hu family."
Fang Yingwu pondered for a moment. Even though he was related by blood to the Hu family, he had not interacted with the Hu family for more than ten years and had no feelings at all. Moreover, he did not like his uncle's behavior.
Besides, I don’t know the reason behind this at all, and I don’t know why my father broke off the relationship with the Hu family. What if it was because his father was bullied back then? So if he, as a son, rashly went to admit it,
Dear, this is very imprudent behavior.
Another point is that the Hu family has not been in contact with each other for more than ten years. From the perspective of relatives, there is probably a feud, otherwise it cannot be explained. In this context, the aloof Hu family suddenly jumped out and asked Fang Yingwu to meet him. If
If you agree casually, it would be too lowly.
Although the Fang family is not as good as the Hu family, they have their own self-esteem. What's more, now that both father and son have fame and their own futures, there is no need to flatter the Hu family. The old man Hu Gongchen is in the history books
He is not a person who is like a thunderbolt. In the mind of Fang Yingwu, who can know five hundred years in advance and five hundred years in hindsight, and who is used to seeing the history of emperors, generals and prime ministers, it is just a symbol.
Besides, for a Jie Yuan family, in the fresh period when the rankings have just been released, they can only receive congratulations from others, so there is no reason to take the initiative to show off by going around. Wouldn’t that make people in the county look down upon!
After thinking clearly, Fang Yingwu cupped his hands and said, "I dare not agree without authorization. I will wait until my father returns home and ask for his permission before making any further calculations."
Uncle Hu frowned and asked accusingly: "If you are given a gift by an elder, you dare not resign; if you are asked by an elder, you dare not resign? Is this the principle of being a grandson?"
This lecturing tone aroused Fang Yingwu's resentment again - am I familiar with your Hu family? Is asking me to meet him a favor to me?
He began to speculate more and more. The Hu family probably looked down on his father back then and broke off contact with him because of something happened. Now that he heard that his father was a member of the Yuan Dynasty, he hurriedly came to marry him. Moreover, his father only cared about fame and other things.
The indifferent behavior may have been stimulated by the Hu family.
Fang Yingwu couldn't help but sarcastically said: "Before becoming a grandson, I was first a son in the Fang family. My father has not been in the Hu family for more than ten years. Naturally, my son will follow suit. How dare I do that?"
Unfilial and disobeying my father’s teachings?”
Uncle Hu could not tolerate the cynicism of Fang Yingwu, a young upstart, and said angrily: "Young people should not think that they can succeed in the world just by reading a few books. There are many truths in the world, and not all are written in books.
!I came to visit you out of kindness..."
Fang Yingwu interrupted his uncle's words, bowed his hands and said goodbye: "Since what you said is not interesting, please come back, uncle!"
Uncle Hu stood up with a flick of his sleeves and said angrily: "You only know how to study behind closed doors at home. You don't understand the world at all. Who can think highly of you! Without the help of my Hu family, I want to see how you can gain a foothold in the county!"
"
Fang Yingwu sighed, his uncle's language and appearance were completely inconsistent with each other. It is normal for a person to have some utilitarianism in his heart, but among scholars, who would talk about it nakedly at all times? Let alone use it to threaten others, then
It’s even more of a wait.
At this moment, someone outside interrupted and said, "Brother Fang refuses to join your Hu family because he has lofty ambitions. Who dares to look down on such integrity? It's just that you, the Hu family, have a grudge in your heart!"
"Who is it?" Uncle Hu turned around and shouted.
However, two people flashed out from the gate of the courtyard. One was Mr. Hong Songhong, whom Fang Yingwu knew first at the county poetry meeting and then visited Shanghuaxi Village. The other was very unfamiliar.
But this person can travel with Hong Song. Fang Yingwu estimates that he is Mr. Xiang who accompanied Hong Song to Shanghuaxi Village last time, but was rejected by him. This person has unlimited praise and unlimited imagination.
, Fang Yingwu was deeply impressed...
Hong Song smiled and cupped his hands and said, "Senior Hu, long time no see!"
"So it's you!" Uncle Hu snorted coldly, returned the gift casually and left.
Fang Yingwu watched with cold eyes. Anyone with a discerning eye could see that there seemed to be a conflict between Uncle Hu and Mr. Hong. They dared to despise the Hu family and made his uncle unable to fight back. It seemed that the family status of these two young masters was not bad.
He suddenly realized that the only famous Hong family in Chun'an was the Jinxi Hong family, which was also one of the nine major imperial examination families. Could Mr. Hong be from this family? If the other one had the surname Xiang, then he might be from the same family as the Hong family.
The Xiang family in Jinxi.
These two seemed to be well-connected people, and maybe we could get some information about our father's past from them. Fang Yingwu stepped forward to salute Hong and Xiang, and said, "It's been a long time since we saw you two distinguished guests! I was here last time because I
I was preparing for the county examination, and I was focused on nothing else and didn’t dare to be distracted in the slightest, so I was very slow to deal with it. I would like to apologize here and ask the two seniors to show their understanding."
Fang Yingwu became the leader of the county examination, and was destined to become a county student scholar, so he was qualified to call others senior. Otherwise, as a schoolboy, he would not be qualified to call others senior.
Hong Song only smiled slightly, but Mr. Xiang said before him cheerfully and generously: "It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter. If not, how would you know how good this little brother of the Fang family is."
Fang Yingwu asked the two of them to sit down again, and said hello to Sister Lan in the room, "A distinguished guest has arrived. Let's serve tea!"
Hong Song did not exchange greetings. He directly took out a letter and handed it to Fang Yingwu, saying: "The two of us went to the provincial capital last month to take part in the Jinke Provincial Examination. We met your father, a senior in the exam, and he asked me to bring a letter from home to him.
you."
Fang Yingwu was overjoyed when he heard this. This was the first time since time travel that he had direct communication with Shenlong's father, who had neither head nor tail. He stood up and bowed, "Thank you both for your kindness!"
Of course, Fang Yingwu would not be stupid enough to ask them how they did in the provincial examination. Seeing how they came back so quickly and still had time to come to Huaxi to deliver the letter in person, there was no need to ask. It is estimated that both of them have fallen into disgrace. In fact, this is not unusual. Thirty
The provincial examination with the highest elimination rate is one of the examinations with the highest elimination rate. Failure to pass is a normal phenomenon.
Fang Yingwu immediately opened the letter and read it in one breath: "My son, seeing the letter is like meeting him..."
The content of the letter is nothing more than three points: first, his father asked him to study carefully and not to neglect his studies; second, to be harmonious with his neighbors and not to be arrogant and arrogant just because his family went out to understand the Yuan Dynasty;
As time was tight for the national examination competition, my father set off directly to the capital to prepare for the examination and would not return to Chun'an for the time being.
After reading the letter, Fang Yingwu thanked Hong Song and Xiang Chengxian again: "I have not heard from my father for a long time, and I have so many thoughts in my heart. I would like to thank you both for sending me this letter, which gives me some comfort."
"It's a small effort, but it doesn't matter! What's more, it's an honor for us to be trusted and entrusted by Fang Jieyuan." Hong Song said politely.
He changed the subject and talked about Fang Qingzhi again: "Your father is well-known in the provincial capital, and he has earned a lot of face for me, Chun'an. You know, it was Nanjing Wang Zhongcheng who personally wrote the letter of guarantee for him to enter.
Really!"
Hearing the name Wang Shu, Fang Yingwu was shocked. This was another political celebrity he had heard since time travel. How did his father hook up with him?