The Dragon Boat Festival is approaching, and the officials have three days off, and relatives have also begun to send gifts to each other. The third wife and Sister Yu are still responsible for the family's internal affairs, and there are people outside. Xu ordered Shen Rui to come forward with the butler.
No matter what else, Shen Rui needs to show up in the ceremonies of the Beijing clan, the aunt He Xueshi's house, the Yang Zhen's house, the Yue family's Yang Tinghe family, and the Wang family of the master.
Although Shen Rui had not reached the title, he had already achieved fame and fortune, and his relatives treated him as an adult. There were only two people, Guo and Chen Li. It was okay in front of others, but there were many advices from behind, but he was still full of worry.
Guo is just a woman in the inner house, and she is concerned about Shen Rui's daily life. Seeing that he was sucking and his clothes were hanging on his body swaying, he was afraid that he would be bitter and had no appetite. In addition to keeping food, he was also He put two jars of side dishes from Songjiang to Shen Rui and prepared to ask him to take them away.
Sister Fu is eight years old and looks like a little girl. Because she has started to lose her baby teeth in the past two years, the girl is more shy and her mouth is tightly pursed. However, she is the old girl of the fifth wife of the eldest son and his wife. Both parents, brothers and sisters-in-law are spoiled, lively and cute, and they always open their mouths and reveal the situation when they accidentally open their mouths.
So childlike and cute, Shen Rui was so happy.
It is another scene when you come out of Chen Ying's house and go to Chen Li to take care of him.
In the past two years, although Chen Li has developed a relationship with the second house, he has not lost any exchanges during festivals. This is also the basis for the relationship between clans and relatives.
Although Shen Rui met him less often, every time Chen Li met him, he still asked him carefully, first asking about his daily life and then homework.
This meeting is no exception.
Shen Rui's life has always been regular. Chen Li has been with him for more than two years and has known it. After hearing Shen Rui talk about his recent daily arrangements from morning to night, Chen Li obviously found the difference.
Although Shen Rui was diligent before, he was very caring for his health. The time for the placement was arranged at the second day of the year, not to hurry up. Now I don’t say that I have more time to study tonight, but I have to wake up half an hour earlier, and a day I went down to sleep for less than three hours.
Chen Li frowned and disagreed with disagreement: "It is good to be ambitious, but it may not be a good thing for you to help grow like this. If you ruin your health for a temporary achievement, it will be a lifelong thing."
Shen Rui hurriedly said, "I have practiced boxing for half an hour in the morning, and I have eaten half a bowl of rice. My mother often asks people to send soup to the soup, and I dare not harm myself."
After hearing this, Chen Li frowned even tighter and said in a deep voice: "But Uncle Cang's body... what's wrong with it?"
In the past two years, Chen Cang was sick before the solar term changed. He had been diagnosed with the disease and remembered this.
When Shen Rui heard this, he felt sour and nodded, "My father's energy has declined in the past two years, and his body has become worse year by year... It's just my mother's place. When she was young, she thought too much and sat down with a headache. She forced herself to hold on in front of her. In the past two years, I have also started to use medicine to condition…”
Xu was too hard when he was young, so he could take care of it for a few years. The signs of Chen Cang's body were really unlucky. Now he was hiding it inside and outside, but Shen Rui often went up to the room and got along with Chen Cang and his wife. The more time he spent, the more he could not hide this matter from him.
Not only Chen Cang, but also the third master. Now that he is committed to his son, is he really not harmful to his body? It is just that he is young and has been recuperating for decades. Now he is diligent and restrained, and he is not yet showing any signs of his performance.
Whenever Chen Cang and Xu mentioned the body of the third master, they were very worried, but they did not mean to stop him from the imperial examination. With the current hot energy of the third master, even if Chen Cang and his wife wanted to stop him, they would probably not be able to stop him.
Chen Li showed concern on his face. He always respected Chen Cang, the uncle of the clan, who was also taken care of by the second wife when he first entered Beijing.
The previous distantness was just that seeing the court masters fighting more and more fiercely, they were so terrified that they were unwilling to pull the second wife closer to the quagmire.
With Chen Cang here, the second house can stand on its own; if Chen Cang falls down, Shen Rui will have to support his doorstep when he is so young, so his status as a student is naturally not enough.
"You can't blame me for being anxious." Chen Li sighed: "It's just that the official school teaches slowly. You are not a solution to work behind closed doors like this. Brother Liu can't help you. Just Shiwen can also give you a little more. In the future, every time I go to the world, I'll give you some more information. Xun, you sent someone to send a new article, I will change it and ask someone to send it to you. At the end of every month, you can come here in person.”
Speaking of this, he was a little angry: "Sixth brother really regretted not stopping you from becoming a disciple of Wang Bo'an. Otherwise, what would it be difficult to find a good teacher for you in the Hanlin Academy? As a result, you recited the name of your disciple in vain, but No teacher's guidance"
Shen Rui said embarrassedly: "Teacher is very talented. Although he returns to his hometown to recuperate, he often comes to write to me to teach me."
Chen Li said seriously: "I know he did a good job in strategy and had a true knowledge in his belly... But Brother Rui can follow Wang Bo'an to do research, but he cannot learn from his arrogance. If he had not been young and roaring in the capital, he would have been taboo by scholars. How can you waste all these years? A teacher who never forgets the past and the next thing is not a bad thing. But he reflects on himself at that time and does not have to be sharp."
Shen Rui stood up and listened, and replied, "Don't worry, brother Sixth, I only know how many shortcomings I have. Diligence can make up for my shortcomings, so how can I be proud?"
Chen Li shook his head and said, "Don't be arrogant, but you can't be without confidence in family background, fame, marriage, and appearance. You are not inferior to others everywhere, so why are you without confidence?"
Shen Rui smiled bitterly and said, "Since I was born in a family of scholars, studying and doing business is the foundation. With this, my brother became guilty and short of anger... Last year's children's exam was superficial, but it was nothing. Next year's provincial exam is the real touchstone. I I knew I had a weak foundation. I didn’t think about this subject before. I thought about it four years later, but I didn’t want it but it was time for me.”
Chen Li lowered his head and thought for a while, and said, "What is Brother Rui thinking? Even if he can pass the provincial examination next year, will he still be stuck in the annual meeting?"
Shen Rui was silent for a while, only to feel that the words on his lips weighed a thousand pounds.
Chen Li's face turned pale and said, "Uncle Cang's body is so bad? He can't hold on to the next subject.
Shen Rui drooped his head and sighed heavily.
No one told him about this, but he inferred from clues.
Chen Cang, Xu used to value the third master so much, but now he knows that he is not good at studying and preparing for the exam, but he is only worried in private and does not stop him. He is also pleased with the diligence of Shen Rui and Chen Jue and his brothers.
Both of these couples acted differently from before.
Whether it is the treatment of the Qiao family, the indulgence of Shen Rui's preparation for the exam, or the treatment of the Chen Yan brothers, they are all a bit impatient.
Compared with Shen Rui, they only have more and more worries about the future of the Shen family, so they will not stop the third master from taking the exam. They also hope that Shen Rui and Chen Jue will stand up as soon as possible.
However, Xu pushed all the housework to his third wife and sister Yu, but he was unmanned about the matters where Chen Cang was.
The old couple get along with each other a little more warm, but there is always something strange about this warmth, which makes Shen Rui, the onlooker, frightened.
How dare Shen Rui slacked off? He could only force himself more and more.
The second wife has been in Beijing for many years, but it really comes to the point that she is not close to the Songjiang house. Xu's mother's family has no biological brothers, only a brother who has passed away is in her hometown in Suzhou. She fell ill in her early years and is now the head of her nephew. Although there were many sisters, two older sisters married to Beijing officials back then, but they had already passed away one after another. Even though they had left their children and grandchildren, they were not returning to their original homes, but they were serving as officials. There was only the He family in the capital. The others are distant relatives.
As for the second wife's in-laws, the Qiao family was already in decline, and the third wife's in-laws, the Tian family was a scholarly family and had no high-ranking clan members at all. Fortunately, there were two Yang families, He family, and Chen Li. Even if the Shen family had major changes, they would still be Not helpless.
However, it is better to beg for yourself than to ask others. Relatives can take care of you for a while, but not for a lifetime. If the third master, uncle and nephew of Shen Rui and others do not stand up, the second wife will leave.
"Although I know that Uncle Cang is in poor health, I think Uncle Cang can last for ten years." Chen Li sighed.
After ten years, not to mention anything else, even Chen Zhou, who was released, should have completed his qualifications. As long as he finds an opportunity to return to Beijing, he will either be Xiao Jiuqing or the Minister of the Secretariat. At that time, the Shen family will have another pillar.
Seeing Chen Li worrying about the second wife so much and thinking about the changes in Zhengde's early years, Shen Rui thought for a while and said, "Does the Sixth Brother often go to the East Palace to talk about?"
Although Chen Li didn't understand why Shen Rui asked about this, he still replied truthfully: "Everyone wants to get to the East Palace, and the people around the East Palace do have a lot of knowledge... I have little experience, and even if I often go to and from the Imperial City, I am just In front of the emperor, the time to speak."
Chen Li was the top scholar in Hongzhi for the third year, and now it is the sixteenth year of Hongzhi. This so-called low-income experience depends on whom. Those who can be arranged to give lectures in front of the Eastern Palace are all the civil officials who are trusted and valued today. Most of these civil officials are He entered the Eastern Palace at the end of Chenghua, and now he is either in the Grand Secretary or in the Shangshu position.
However, there is one advantage of Shenli, that is, he is young, and now he is only in his thirties. In fact, according to the rule of nine years of upgrading to two levels, Shenli should have been upgraded to two levels last year, but he didn't want to leave Hanlin Academy. Hanlin The transfer of official positions to Zhan Shi's Mansion was an excessive amount, but the people who had just replenished the full amount after the "Beijing Inspection" two years ago were one carrot and one pit.
"I heard that the cabinet masters seem to be calm now, but there is an undercurrent below. The ups and downs of officialdom. Have you ever thought about how the sixth brother would deal with it if Xie Ge Lao returns to his hometown one day?" Shen Rui said .
Chen Li smiled when he heard this: "It seems that Brother Rui has really grown up and is still concerned about the current affairs of the court... When it really comes, I will be at ease to prepare books in the Hanlin Academy. I have been studying in the Hanlin Academy for decades and cannot be promoted. There are many seniors here, and compared with them, I can still afford to wait..."
Listening to his quiet tone, he also focused his attention on the next emperor.
Once the emperor and his ministers were replaced, these old ministers have retreated one after another, and they have enough age and qualifications, and they can be the backbone.
Shen Rui didn't know why Brother Shou was so strict about going out to play. Half a year has passed, and he never heard of his calm appearance. It must be the emperor who took action.
Shen Rui originally wanted to persuade Chen Li to find a foreign position and avoid the chaos of the change of new and old in two years. However, the Ming Dynasty has a heavy official position, and the Hanlin Academy is the most precious yamen in the capital. If you really want to discuss political achievements, you can participate in the Hanlin Academy. A few books compiled are no less than a guide. Among the officials in Beijing, those with low rank are better, while high-grade Beijing cities are all popular hot cakes. Before the vacancy came out, they were attracted by the attention of all directions and many people were waiting.
It is easy to release the law now, but when Xie Qian lost power, it is not easy for him to transfer back to the capital.
Although the top scholar is the leader among scholars, one in three years, and six or seven top scholars are common in the court, it is really not rare. Among them, although there are those who have been appointed as prime minister, there are also many defeats and confrontations in the officialdom. Retired and returned home
Just as Shen Yan went to deliver festival gifts everywhere, Changshou took Shen Rui's post and an address note and found Nancheng.
It was one hundred years since Shen Rui met with Chen Yan's brothers. Shen Rui weighed the situation and sent Changshou to send the invitation. After the Dragon Boat Festival, Chen Yan went to the teahouse for tea...