There was noisy outside, and Shen Rui had no idea that he was having a good dream, and the originally blurry scenes of his past life gradually became clear.
I don’t know whether it was Zhuangzi dreaming of butterflies or butterflies dreaming of Zhuangzi. Shen Rui felt like he was dreaming these past few days, but he knew that he was not dreaming, but that he had really gone back five hundred years ago, starting from the 26-year-old Shen Rui. Became nine-year-old Shen Rui.
The Songjiang Shen family is not famous throughout the ages, and the world may not know it, but it is no stranger to Shen Rui five hundred years later, because he himself is a descendant of the Songjiang Shen family. A few days ago, he accompanied his grandfather, who was over eighty years old, to Haicheng for an event. During the clan meeting, I went to the Shen family’s ancestral temple and kowtowed.
Seeing the ancient ancestral hall and looking at the bearded relatives from all over the world, Shen Rui didn't feel any closeness like blood connection, but felt it was very magical. The thick family tree, which has always been The continuous inheritance has not disappeared with the changes of dynasties. It sounds like other people's history, but it is the story of one's own ancestors.
The Shen family of Songjiang came from the Shen family of Wuxing. When Emperor Gaozong was crossing south, his ancestors followed the imperial court southward and settled in Songjiang.
In the steel city, there are very few traces of history. He was holding his mobile phone and taking pictures non-stop, more like a spectator.
Around the Shen Family Ancestral Hall, there is only one county bridge and the foundation of Jishan Hall. Next to the county bridge, there is a stone tablet, which introduces the bridge. This bridge was not called this name earlier, but "Wise Woman Bridge". Later, the Songjiang County Yamen moved to this area, and the bridge was called "County Bridge". The stone tablet did not mention the name of this "virtuous woman", but the descendants of the Shen family remembered it. Clear. Because this is clearly written on the genealogy of the Shen family.
The person who originally donated money to build roads and bridges was a wise woman from the Shen tribe in the middle of the Ming Dynasty.
Women in ancient times were not considered to have high status, and the Ming Dynasty was an era of strict etiquette, but some women became famous for doing good deeds.
Shen Rui was curious at the time. After hearing about this, he specifically begged his grandfather to take him to look at the genealogy and took a photo of the recorded page. Regarding the virtuous women in "Wise Women Bridge", there were only two records in the genealogy. Three lines: "The Sun family was the daughter of Sun Meng, a wealthy businessman in southern Zhejiang. She was born in the sixth year of Jingtai. She became the Shen family in the eighth year of Chenghua. She was the direct descendant of Shen Yuanyuan of Zhiqingtang. She died of illness in the tenth year of Hongzhi. She had good deeds in her life, and she was married to Luqiao Shan. The hall has benefited the people in the village, and the emperor has issued decrees to commend her, give her four-grade honorable people, and give her a memorial arch. The world calls her a 'virtuous woman of Shenmen'."
Benevolence, justice, propriety, wisdom, trust, gentleness, courtesy and frugality are the names of several branches of the Shen family. The branch in the capital where Shen Rui lives comes from the second-ranked Yiqing hall.
His grandfather told him about the origin of Yiqingtang. The ancestors of the four halls of Renyi, Lizhi and Renyi were all the sons of Shen Du, a great scholar in the early Ming Dynasty, the founder of Zhongxing of the Shen clan. Among them, the eldest son, the second son, the fourth son was the legitimate son, and the third son was the concubine. It is clearly written in the clan rules that small sects can be exterminated, but large sects cannot be extinguished. When Renqingtang, the direct sect, is cut off, the direct heirs from Yiqingtang and Zhiqingtang will be chosen to inherit the clan bloodline. Only when these two sects have no heirs can they be selected. Liqingtang; if all the males of the four halls are extinct, heirs will be chosen from Xinqingtang; if there are no heirs from Xinqingtang, appropriate legitimate sons and grandsons will be chosen from the other four halls.
Judging from the selection of heirs, we can see how ancient scholar-officials recognized blood kinship. The legitimate sons were identified first, then the concubines, then the younger brothers, and then the uncles. Although the genealogy records that the inheritance has been passed down for 800 years, in reality The Shen family of Songjiang was completely resurrected in the early Ming Dynasty by the two brothers Shen Du. It is reasonable that the family inheritance is dominated by the descendants of the two.
The ancestors of Shen Rui's branch moved to the capital during the Tianshun period, and their descendants studied and became officials. They continued in the Ming, Qing, and Republic of China, and had many generations of eunuchs.
Not to mention the distant past, Shen Rui's great-grandfather once served as a minister in the Beiyang government, and his great-grandfather joined the G Party, but died during the Liberation War and became a hero. The Shen family did not become the center of power after the founding of the People's Republic of China. Perhaps it is because of this Because of this, the Shen family escaped unscathed. Not only did they not be affected by the turmoil, but because of the shadow of their fathers, they received many mentions from the public. My grandfather started out as a clerk. Although he experienced the ups and downs of officialdom, he was still safe. After retiring at the deputy state level, some of his uncles also reached high provincial and ministerial levels.
Shen Rui's father was a young son, and his mother died when he was born. Therefore, he was loved by his father and brother. His personality was innocent and romantic, and he did not pursue an official career like his father and brother. As one of the first batch of students to study in Hong Kong after the reform and opening up, he was fortunate to worship at that time. A disciple of Mr. Zong, who served as professor and chairman of the Chinese Department of the University of Hong Kong, not only became Mr. Zong’s close disciple, but also later married Mr. Zong’s granddaughter and became Mr. Zong’s grandson-in-law.
Zong Lao and Xian Lao, known as "Southern Zong and Northern Xian" by the world, are involved in history, archaeology, literature, classics, education, calligraphy and painting, and are among the best Chinese masters in the world.
Although Shen Ruirui lives in Xiaogang City and the capital, because his parents are both scholars, he is more affected by the atmosphere of the clan. Shen Ruirui and his sister both memorized the "Three Character Classic" for enlightenment, and they cannot be said to be proficient in music, chess, calligraphy and painting. Proficient, but also somewhat enthusiastic. When they grew up, the sister and brother chose to study in the Chinese department where they were taught at home.
Sister Shen went all the way to get a doctorate in literature, while Shen Rui had a loose personality and stayed at the school as a teaching assistant after finishing graduate school.
An ancient woman spent all her dowry on doing good deeds, and even the emperor issued a decree to praise her. No wonder the Sun family could record this in their family tree.
Shen Rui only heard about it as an anecdote, and after returning to Beijing, he mentioned this ancestor to Sister Shen.
Sister Shen was working on her doctoral thesis at the time, which was initially titled "An Examination of the Control of Property Rights of Women in Ancient Times". After hearing Sun's story, she seemed to be touched. She checked the national map for half a month and read through information on similar deeds, and finally came up with this The conclusion is that the Sun family must have no biological children, or the biological children died in infancy, and Shen Yuan has a concubine. Otherwise, who can be so selfish as to not leave any cents to his children and grandchildren, but donate all the dowry. Even if he does not have a biological child, choose Even if you have an heir, you won't lose even a little bit of affection between mother and son. When Sun passed away, she was already in her forties, and at that time she was already full of children and grandchildren.
A woman who grew up under feudal ethics can choose to donate all her dowry only if she has no biological children or heirs, her husband has a concubine, and she is unwilling to let her concubine and concubine take advantage of her.
Although Shen Rui had read the Shen family tree, he only paid attention to the anecdotes about famous people in the family. He didn't pay attention to the detailed genealogies of each clan. He really didn't know whether the Sun family had any biological children or heirs. .
But hearing his sister so plausibly attributed Sun's charitable deeds of donating dowry money to "having no children" and "wives and concubines fighting over each other", it seemed like she was fabricating a family drama, and he didn't take it seriously. Maybe Sun was the one. Five hundred years ago, Bill Gates had a really open-minded vision, which is why he did not leave any wealth to his descendants. It would be unfair to the ancients to attribute Sun's good deeds to selfishness based on mere inference.
As a scholar, Sister Shen had the drive to get to the bottom of things. She booked two train tickets for the weekend and wanted to take Shen Rui south to read the genealogy and confirm this matter.
Finally, Sister Shen missed her train due to being summoned by her teacher, and Shen Rui got on the train by herself.
He just took a nap in the car, and when he opened his eyes again, Shen Rui had become Shen Rui, the legitimate son of the fourth room of the Shen family in Songjiang. His father was Ming Yuan and his biological mother was Sun. His mother was mourning and he was living in another hospital to "recuperate".
Opening his eyes again, Shen Rui felt regretful in his intestines. If he could turn back time, he would never say a word about the "Shen Clan Wife" and talk to his sister about it. No matter if she has a biological child or not. Son, what does it have to do with him whether he gives a dowry or not?
Where is the medicine for regret in this world?
The bed curtains have been changed. Although they are plain white, they are brand new. They look not thin. The temperature in the room is no longer as cold as it was a few days ago. The quilt on the body feels soft and thick, and the mattress under the body feels soft and thick. Also choose soft and thick.
Although Shen Rui was exhausted, he still sat up. He lowered his head and looked at his body. He had already put on a fine cloth jacket. Looking at the wrinkle marks on it, he realized that he had been lying down for a long time after falling asleep. There was something in his stomach before he fell into coma. Kong was so panicked, and now that he woke up, he was even more hungry and panicked.
The Songjiang Shen family, five hundred years ago, and his ancestors, when he remembered the connection between the past life and the present life, he felt an inexplicable sense of belonging in his heart.
Shen Rui raised his head and saw that the room was not the same as before. It was much more spacious and bright. On the Arhat couch in the south window, a middle-aged woman sat with her head lowered and sitting sewing. There were two maidservants standing at the door, one wearing mourning clothes and the other wearing... Plain clothes.
Hearing the movement on the bed, the woman hurriedly put down her needlework, stood up and walked over, her face full of concern: "Thank God, Brother Rui finally woke up."
This woman is in her forties and looks a little haggard. She is dressed in plain clothes and has a silver hairpin in her hair. She is dressed differently from the mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law I have seen. According to this owner's memory, it is Guo, Shen, the eldest daughter-in-law of the fifth room. Rui whispered: "Auntie..."
Shen Rui's face turned into a ball because his voice was hoarse and his throat hurt.
The woman was Guo, and she had been taking care of Shen Rui for the past two days. When she saw Shen Rui in pain, she couldn't bear it. She sat hurriedly by the bed, caressed Shen Rui's back and said, "Since my throat is uncomfortable, Second brother, don’t speak for now, wait until your throat is moistened and you feel more comfortable before you speak.”
Shen Rui nodded slightly, with a hint of gratitude on his face.
Although he didn't know how long he had been asleep this time, he still clearly remembered the "treatment" he received in the past few days. His situation was really worrying. If Shen Rui was really loved by someone in this family, he wouldn't be in despair.
In "A Dream of Red Mansions", Jia Baoyu calls his slaves and maids, and he is the legitimate son of the Shen family, but he is worse than an ordinary concubine.
Because his memory of his past and present life was a bit confusing when he first woke up, he also speculated whether his life experience was a bitch and he was not a descendant of the Shen family, which was why he was treated so harshly. Now he remembered that it was recorded in the genealogy of later generations that the Sun family used their dowry money to do good deeds, and that Lao An was The reason why he treats his grandson like this is probably because of this. Although he doesn't know why Sun has such determination, Shen Rui can also see that with the cruelty of Lao An and Shen Juren towards his direct grandson, even if Sun The dowry is still there, but it may not be in my hands.
But since Sun's dowry was not there, the person who was offended must be Sun's biological son.
It would be better if this little body was bigger, but he is only nine years old. Even if the rich young master doesn't want to do it, why should he go out to be a beggar? To put it bluntly, even if he wants to be a beggar, he may not be able to do so. After all, in this world
There is also the profession of human trafficker and the business of selling people for profit.
As for what was said in the novels of later generations, about taking away the belongings around you, running away, buying a house and land to start a new life, that is just a conjecture. The household registration policy in the Ming Dynasty was very detailed and detailed. Without the road guide issued by the Yamen, it was impossible to go out.
A land of hundreds of miles.
"Gurgling, grunting", his stomach felt like a drum, dispelling Shen Rui's worries...