After getting up early in the morning, Shen Rui went to the yard to practice Xingyiquan, and his body became more and more relaxed. After a night's rest, the fatigue from the long journey had almost dissipated, and what was left was the memory of this ancient capital five hundred years ago.
curious.
Today, the capital city is within the Nine City Gate, where it will be located in the Second Ring Road in later generations, and the half-circle of outer city that extends to the south. The total area is only more than 60 square kilometers.
That is to say, the current capital city is only about ten miles from east to west, and about twenty miles from south to north.
Compared with the capital city of later generations, which had a population of tens of millions and its urban area expanded dozens of times, today's capital city is exquisite and lovely, and its population is not as dense as that of later generations.
According to Dingkou statistics in the early years of Hongzhi, the total population of Beizhili was 3.4 million, and the population of Beijing accounted for a quarter of it.
Although ten years have passed, the approximate population size should not have increased or decreased much.
The regional division of the capital is based on square units, and each square has several or dozens of large and small alleys.
The residence of the Shen family is located due east and north of the capital, called Renshoufang. It is only one square away from the root of the imperial city and is at the southeast corner of Andingmen Street.
Renshoufang is not too close to Liubu Yamen, but it is not too far either. The good thing is that it is not far from the Imperial College, and the people living nearby are all noble families. It is not like the southeast part of the city where all the palaces of princes and wealthy slaves are like clouds.
.
Mrs. Xu had given instructions last night, telling them not to get up early and go over to say hello, but to wait until they had breakfast before going over.
Shen Rui thought it was almost time and did not dare to let Shen Jue sleep again, so he called him up to freshen up.
The food boxes were delivered, Dong Xi took the lead in setting them up, and the two brothers sat down.
Taking into account that they both grew up in the South, this porridge snack is still based on the southern taste, but with the addition of two plates of small cream rolls. The baby's fist is big and looks soft.
Even Shen Jue, who was not used to eating pasta, thought this snack was delicious, and the two of them thoroughly enjoyed it.
After breakfast, the two of them walked out of the yard and saw Shen Qin and Shen Bao standing at the door of the yard next door.
The seven sons of the Shen family live in the guest courtyard and live in the east-west courtyard in front of the main house of Shen's house.
Among them, the two in the West Cross Courtyard are small triple courtyards, with only seven or eight rooms, next to the second master's house. Shen Rui, Shen Qin and four other young people lived in the same place, while the East Cross Courtyard is a small courtyard.
The smaller double-entry courtyard has more buildings. Shen Quan, Shen Zhu, and Shen Lin share the same building. There is also a locked corner door that can lead directly to the outside.
Seeing Shen Rui, Shen Jue come out, Shen Qin, and Shen Bao came over.
"Are the two brothers waiting for Brother Rui and me?" Shen Jue asked curiously.
Shen Qin said with a "hehe" smile: "I don't know if Brother Quan, Brother Zhujiu and others have gone to the upper room. Brother Bao and I were afraid that we would go early and disturb the uncle and aunt, and we were also worried that we would be disrespectful if we went late, so we
I thought I'd wait for you to come out and go there together."
Shen Jue waved his hand and said, "You are so careful. Uncle Cang and Aunt Cang are not the picky ones."
Even after saying this, everyone did not dare to delay any longer and went to the backyard to have sex together.
Shen Quan, Shen Zhu and others are not here, and neither is the great master.
Mrs. Xu invited everyone to sit down, and asked a few questions about whether they were adaptable to daily life, whether their diet was to their liking, and so on.
Everyone stood up and answered. Mrs. Xu nodded and said, "Don't be heretical. If you don't agree with me, don't talk to your mother-in-law." He then said, "Although many of you have brothers and elders in Beijing, there is no need to rush out. You are in Beijing."
When several of my brothers heard that you were coming, they had already sent people to inquire about it, and they will all come over this morning."
When Shen Jue heard this, she immediately felt happy.
Shen Rui couldn't help but hesitate. As soon as he arrived in the capital, he had to pay a visit to the Wang family. Today is the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month, so it was understandable that he would visit, but tomorrow would be New Year's Eve, so it would be hard to visit.
It would be disrespectful to say it after the New Year and too long a time interval.
"You three brothers have just arrived and followed the eldest master to the study in the front yard. You guys can go too." After Mrs. Xu spoke to everyone, she called a maid and led them to the study, and said: "Brother Rui, please stay one step ahead."
After Shen Jue, Shen Qin and others left, Mrs. Xu said to Shen Rui: "Write a post and I will arrange for someone to be sent to Wang Shilang's house later. When you meet the clan brothers, it will not be too late to go and visit Wang Shilang." Our mansion is in Baotaifang, which is not far from our home. It is only separated by a road. Even if we walk, it only takes two cups of tea."
Mrs. Xu did not let him go back. She had already ordered her maid to prepare pen and ink.
Shen Rui picked up the pen, thought for a moment, then wrote two lines of words, and finally signed: "Unworthy disciple Rui Dun bows down."
"Brother Rui is really good at calligraphy." Mrs. Xu, standing by, praised with a smile.
Shen Rui said hurriedly: "It's just that I don't want to be embarrassed. I don't dare to praise you as a mother-in-law."
Mrs. Xu sighed and said, "I don't know whether I am right or wrong. It is true that Wang Bo'an has great talents, but because of his father, he is mostly suppressed by the princes in the court. It is difficult to make any achievements if he stays in the capital. I want to go somewhere else. It will not be easy to turn around again. Unless there are major changes in the court, Wang Bo'an will find another way, otherwise it will be difficult to realize his grand plan."
Shen Rui was surprised when he heard about this prosperity.
It was not because of Wang Shouren's situation, but because of Xu's clear understanding of the current affairs of the court and his forward-looking prophecy.
Later, Wang Shouren's official career was ups and downs. He really found a new way to use civil servants as military officials. He also caught up with King Ning's rebellion and was able to establish the country's stability.
However, considering that the Xu family was born, lived in the capital for a long time, and was the matron of the Shen family, it is reasonable to have some discernment.
Just listening to the meaning of these words, Wang Shouren can accept him as his disciple, and there is still a connection between the two families.
"Auntie, the teacher accepted my nephew as a disciple, but I asked the teacher to ask for help?" Shen Rui asked.
Mrs. Xu shook her head and said: "It's not me, it's your uncle. Wang Shilang and your uncle are good friends. It was your uncle who heard that Wang Bo'an took refuge in Songjiang Zen Temple and asked Wang Bo'an to teach you something. He didn't mention it at the time. Become a teacher and accept a student. Wang Boan was able to accept you as a student later because he valued your qualifications."
Shen Rui was stunned and said: "My nephew thought he was a brother from the Sixth Clan..."
Mrs. Xu nodded and said: "Brother Li did ask Wang Bo'an to do it, but the Wang family boy is too lazy. If it weren't for Wang Shilang's pressure, I'm afraid he wouldn't have the patience to teach you carefully."
Doesn't that mean that the second wife started paying attention to him three years ago, but for some unknown reason, he didn't show up.
How could this favor be so owed? Three years ago, he was only nineteen years old and had a reputation for being naughty.
Mrs. Xu said that she did not mention the matter of apprenticeship, but as long as she has the status of teacher and student, even if she cannot be listed on the door wall, she should still regard Wang Shouren as her teacher in the future, and regard Wang Hua as the master and disciple of the number one scholar.
Even if Wang Hua was suppressed by the princes in the court and was not allowed to join the cabinet, it would not have much impact on Shen Rui at his age.
Those bachelors were all in their 60s, and when Shen Rui grew up and entered the court, they would all be about the same.
When that time comes, it's a good thing that Wang Hua can join the cabinet. Even if he can't join the court, he still has a lot of disciples from the court who can serve as a network of connections. But there is a generation difference in the middle, so the relationship is far away after all; and as a teacher, Wang Shouren, because his sharpness was exposed in his early years,
Being jealous may not actually be that helpful to Shen Ruizai.
Therefore, Mrs. Xu said she didn’t know whether it was right or wrong to ask Wang Shouren to help teach Shen Rui.
Unless you choose to pursue an official career through the imperial examination, the teacher-student relationship is the greatest support besides family members in your career.
However, looking at Shen Rui's current appearance of stability and good calligraphy, it can be seen that this greeting is still good. As for Shen Rui's stubbornness in his early years, Mrs. Xu didn't believe it at all. Mrs. Sun was a sensible person.
, how could you possibly teach your son to be an ignorant brat?
After the greetings were received, Mrs. Xu took a gift list and handed it to Shen Rui: "It's your first time to pay a visit to the guru's door. It's hard to be empty-handed, so my aunt went on to help Brother Rui prepare it. Brother Rui will see if anything needs to be added or subtracted."
."
"Excuse me, I'm sorry to spend money..." Mrs. Xu prepared so thoroughly, Shen Rui felt a little embarrassed.
Since he had known that he would visit the Wang family after arriving in Beijing, Shen Rui was naturally prepared. However, the things he prepared seemed too shabby compared to what Xu had prepared.
It's not that Shen Rui is stingy, but because of his age and status, what he can sell is limited.
It’s just that in addition to antiques and antiques, how come there are also women’s items such as silks and satins on this gift list, as well as pairs of furnishings and the like?
Shen Rui looked at it, eyes widened, and said: "Auntie, teacher, he... remarried?"
Why didn't Wang Shouren mention this matter in his previous letter? Or did he feel that apart from academic homework and political revenge, he didn't want to mention such family and private matters with his students?
But as a disciple, if the teacher really remarries, Shen Rui, as a disciple, should prepare a wedding gift for the teacher.
Mrs. Xu smiled and shook her head and said, "It's not your teacher who remarried, but Wang Shilang who married his second wife this spring."
Shen Rui was silent, Wang Bo'an was in his third year, and Wang Hua was said to be in his fifties. Marrying a step-brother at this age... was really a pear blossom over a begonia.
However, it is normal for a widower in his fifties and a minister-in-waiting to remarry, but it would be abnormal not to remarry.
"The population in the Shilang's Mansion is also very simple. In addition to your master and the new master's grandmother, there is also a girl from your teacher and his previous stepmother. You don't need to pay attention to the others." At this point, he thought of his own family again.
, Mrs. Xu then said: "Our family has a small population. In the early years, your uncle and I promoted several concubines in order to have children. However, we failed in the end and later gave up the idea. Those concubines had intercourse with each other.
Then he also asked his uncle to marry him. In addition to your second aunt, there are also two concubines at your second uncle's house, both of whom are from good families. One is Sister Yu's biological mother, and the other, although not happy, has become quite popular with you in recent years.
The second uncle cares about me, but I am just a concubine. I have no place on the stage, and I have no right to get in front of you. I just know it in my heart and don’t need to pay attention to it. Your third uncle, because of his poor health, has been telling him to cultivate his moral character and live in peace since he was a child.
Come here, except for your third aunt, I don’t have any other favorites..."