When Shen Rui said he had an appointment with a "classmate," he was not lying, but it was true. However, the agreed time was tomorrow, not today. There was a classmate from Fu Xue who had to leave Beijing for family matters. , I took a long vacation from the government school, and everyone made an appointment to have a drink tomorrow to practice it.
After leaving Qiao's house today, Shen Rui saw that it was getting late, so Shen Rui went home without going anywhere else.
The young man had to go to Xu's place to report it first. Shen Rui did not mention Qiao Yongde's rudeness, but only said: "The preparations there were almost complete, but my son couldn't bear the excitement, so he hid first."
Mrs. Xu didn't ask what happened, but she knew that Shen Rui would never come out early for no reason. There must be some negligence in the Qiao family.
When Shen Cang came back from the Yamen, Ms. Xu couldn't help complaining to her husband: "The Qiao family is very rude. They send me the post in a hurry, but they still treat Brother Rui so slowly... It's really hard to get close. It's better to stay away from each other in the future." .”
Shen Cang frowned and said, "Maybe it's just to express my anger. From what Qiao San said, I was expecting you and me to come over."
Marriage is done at dusk. Nowadays, weddings are usually carried out in sedan chairs at dusk. Even if Shen Cang is not on holiday but on duty at the Yamen, if he wants to go there to have a wedding banquet, he can leave the Yamen in advance.
If he hadn't been expecting Shen Cang or Xu to come in person, Mr. Qiao San wouldn't have made two trips in person.
When Mrs. Xu heard this, she became even more unhappy: "I just want to use the master as a banner. There are still two years until Xiaoman is born. Is this because I rely on the master?"
Shen Cang said: "It's for the sake of my second son, and I have to help him more. Besides, there are others watching."
This is not the only in-law relationship in the Shen family, but the Qiao family is the first in-law family due to two generations of in-laws. If the Shen family is indifferent to the Qiao family, it will be a problem in the eyes of other relatives.
Mrs. Xu sighed and said: "What is this? Since you are begging for help, you should act like you are asking for help. However, you still have to show off your dignity and look down on this and that. In the past, the Qiao family treated the third uncle and the third aunt too much. I am picky. In the past two years, I have been showing off in front of Brother Rui and Brother Jue. One by one, my eyes have grown to the top of my head. Even relatives have no reason to interact like this..."
The couple were chatting here, and Shen Jue also got the news and knew that Shen Rui was back and took Shen Huan to Jiuruju.
"Why are you back so soon? Can you see the groom?" Shen Jue asked curiously when he saw Shen Rui.
Shen Rui nodded and said: "I didn't wait for the banquet. When I saw the wedding sedan arriving, I came out... I saw the bridegroom. The sedan chair was neatly packed with gongs and drums. There were only eight groomsmen who accompanied me. Quite impressive...
Shen Jue nodded and said: "Shen Yan is older than the third brother Quan. This year he is either twenty-two or twenty-three. He should have married a long time ago...I heard from Sister Yu that the eldest cousin in the third room of the Qiao family looks very good. Very good and gentle..."
Shen Rui smiled lightly and said nothing.
Nowadays, what the scholar-bureaucrats pay attention to is "good wives and beautiful concubines." Since Xiao Qiao is the concubine of Mr. Qiao San, her appearance is naturally the same. However, since she is a concubine and has the pressure of her aunt, it is difficult to be unruly even if she wants to.
It's not that Shen Rui is biased, it's just that with Mrs. Qiao and Mr. Qiao in front, Shen Rui is really not optimistic about the character of Mr. Qiao.
Shen Huan hesitated and said: "After all, they are the same...the same surname. They are also in-laws in the future. Do they have to interact with each other?"
Shen Jue shook his head and said: "Although marriage is a good marriage between two surnames, Shen Yan is the son-in-law of the Qiao family, so it is natural that the people he associates with are also the Qiao family... We have gone a long way here, and we meet someone who is willing to nod and chat. It’s okay to just say hello. If you don’t want to just say hello, it’s okay…”
"But the third brother is going to Nancheng Academy, doesn't it mean that the two brothers Shen Yan are also there? We have to look up and see you when you look down, right?" Shen Huan said.
Shen Jue smiled and patted Shen Huan on the shoulder and said: "Brother Huan underestimates Nancheng Academy. Since it is one of the best academies in the capital, is it still like our Shen family and only needs such a big place? Nancheng Academy covers an area of thirty acres. Even if we are in the same academy, it is not easy to meet."
Shen Huan widened his eyes and said, "Isn't it said that it is a private school run by the third aunt's family? The teaching conditions are limited and the number of students cannot be accepted? Why is it so big?"
Although Shen Jue has not yet entered Nancheng Academy, he is somewhat proud of it now, saying: "How else can I compare with Chunshan Academy? In terms of qualifications, Chunshan Academy is even better. Chunshan Academy is only two." In thirty years, the history of Chunshan Academy has already turned into a century. Nancheng Academy is the same as Chunshan Academy. Although it occupies a large area, it has limited teachers and limited the number of students. Otherwise, the scale would have doubled."
Shen Huan puzzled: "Since Nancheng Academy is outside the city, how can it survive a hundred years? It is said that when Emperor Yingzong was hunting in the north, the Mongolian troops came to the city, burned, killed and looted, and not a single tile remained outside the city?"
Shen Jue's face was heavy as he said: "Rebirth from the ashes is nothing more than this. Back then, the Mongolian cavalry came so fast that countless people in the city's square had no time to enter the capital... At that time, the students of Chunshan Academy wanted to let the old, young, women and children enter the city. , eight Tian family descendants and sixty-four disciples were also stranded outside the city. Although they were weak scholars, in the face of the Mongolian cavalry and long bows, no one surrendered to the enemy. In the end, they were slaughtered by the Mongols... If it weren't for the Tian family's grandchildren She was still young and stayed in the old house in the city with her family, so there was no current Tian family..."
Shen Huan was a little dumbfounded when he heard this: "God, this sounds like a script..."
Shen Rui added: "It was only over fifty years ago, and now the Tian family's grandpa is the Tian family's grandson. He was only ten years old at the time, and there are several younger cousins under him. This has kept the Tian family's bloodline from being passed down." .After the battle to defend the capital, the imperial court honored the righteous people among the people, including the Tian family's ancestors and grandchildren and the students of Nancheng Academy. They built tombs and erected monuments. The people in the capital called them the "Seventy-two Sages of Yanjing." In order to show the loyalty of the Tian family's ancestors and grandchildren, The imperial court also bestowed a plaque with the title "Master of all ages." Now the imperial pen hangs in the lobby of Nancheng Academy.
Even though Emperor Yingzong was restored later and destroyed Emperor Jingtai's political decrees, he did not recover the rewards from the Tian family. He only took back Emperor Jingtai's imperial pen and gave him a new imperial pen.
The story of the Tian family is indeed like a storybook, but in addition to the loyalty of the men, there is also the loyalty and fidelity of the Tian family wives.
After the battle to defend the capital, three generations of the Tian family died in vain, leaving a family full of orphans and widows. There were also fiancées of the Tian family's eldest and grandsons, who came in with memorial tablets, leaving the family with seven widows. Except for the older Confucian scholar, he was honored by the court because of the loyalty of his children and grandchildren. Except for this, the other six people have been chaste throughout their lives and have received the chastity arch.
This is also the reason why even if only the old, young, women and children were left in the Tian family, no one would bully them.
What Confucianism only values is loyalty, filial piety, benevolence and righteousness. The Tian family's ability to occupy a place in Beishilin is inseparable from the loyalty, loyalty and righteousness of their ancestors.
After Mr. Tian grew up, he rebuilt the academy. After decades of hard work, it has reached its current situation.
Shen Huan was speechless and said: "Although it is the glory of our ancestors, it is also extremely tragic..."
Shen Jue glared at him and said: "When you encounter foreign barbarians, you are not loyal and serve your country, but you lose your backbone and surrender to the enemy?
Shen Huan shrank his neck and said sarcastically: "I didn't mean that, I just think it's so respectable that it's okay to be out of reach. There's nothing wrong with being a commoner as long as you're mediocre... How can anyone be able to do this? of?"
The Tian family has a low-key temperament and does not like publicity. Shen Rui and Shen Jue, even though they knew that Nancheng Academy was famous before, they thought it was because of the Tian family's reputation as a great scholar in the capital and did not know this history.
It wasn't until Shen Yan and Shen brothers entered Nancheng Academy last year, and Shen Cang ridiculed Shen Yan for having a "speculative heart", that Shen Rui knew that the Tian family was more famous in Shilin than imagined. Almost gold plating.
Shen Jue now chooses Nancheng Academy instead of Chunshan Academy. In addition to liking the relaxed teaching atmosphere of Nancheng Academy, she also sincerely respects the heroes and martyrs of the Tian family.
Shen Huan has always been very curious. Even though he was glared at by Shen Jue just now, he still couldn't bear the curiosity in his heart and said: "The Tian family comes from a scholarly family and has such a good reputation. I must have a daughter who is wanted by hundreds of families. Why did the third aunt agree to give it to me?" third uncle
Shen Jue frowned and said, "Third uncle, what's wrong with the young man's promotion?"
Shen Huan hurriedly waved his hands and said: "I'm not saying that the third uncle is not good. That's not it. Isn't it that the third uncle's body is not good?
Shen Jue knew that he meant what he said and said: "Master, the old lady went early. The third uncle is the eldest uncle and was raised by the aunt's mother. Even the second brother and I have to give the third uncle a stone's throw at home. Brother Huan can do it ten thousand times." Don't show this intention in front of uncle and auntie, uncle, auntie must be taboo about the words that third uncle is not in good health..."
Shen Huan has been in Beijing for six days, and he can also see that the second house is harmonious and close, and there is no common intrigue among other people. And because Shen Cang and the third master are almost twenty years apart in age, the third master and his wife are extremely in front of his brother and sister-in-law. Submissive, not like a younger brother or a younger sister-in-law, but more like the eldest son and eldest daughter-in-law.
After hearing Shen Jue's words, he was not surprised. He nodded quickly and said: "I know, I know, I'm just saying something in front of the second and third brothers Rui, I'm not a fool..."
In order to understand Shen Huan's curiosity, Shen Jue still told the reason for the marriage between the Shen and Tian families: "The marriage was originally ordered by the parents and the matchmaker, but when the third uncle discussed the marriage, both the grandfather and the old lady were deceased. The eldest uncle chose the bride for the third uncle. As for why they became a match, it may be that the Tian family and the eldest uncle’s family have an old relationship..."
Chengxiafang, Tianjia Academy.
Mr. Tian was calm and composed, holding a bowl of Guzhu purple bamboo shoots and tasting them one bite at a time. Opposite him sat a middle-aged man, Mr. Tian Shanchang, the second son of Mr. Tian.
"But you are optimistic? Are you afraid of being blinded? Shen is just a student now, and the Nanzhili Provincial Examination is unusual." The old man said calmly.
Tian Shan said: "If you have a simple and pure temperament, you have talents, and you study diligently, it will only be a matter of time before you are named on the gold medal list..."
Mr. Tian still showed some disapproval and said: "After all, my background is more complicated... Why bother to make it so troublesome and offend my relatives? The fifth sister is young and there are still a few years before she will be a hairpin..."
Tian Shanchang said: "I was afraid of trouble before, thinking that if I wait another two years, the fifth sister around me will not be very old... But the prince is getting older, and there are rumors about the prince choosing a concubine. I really can't wait any longer. Looking at my sister-in-law Normally, I don’t have any hatred for the Shen Yan brothers. The Qiao family is also an in-law of the Shen family, and they can marry off daughters, so it shouldn’t be a problem..."
The daughters of the Tian family are ranked together with their brothers. The fifth sister is the eldest daughter of the eldest son of Tian Shan. She is thirteen years old this year and happens to be the same age as the prince.
In the Ming Dynasty, concubines were common people, and the concubines were selected in the capital. The Tian family came from a scholarly family, and even if there were children who became officials, they were still minor officials and were being selected.
At that time, Tian Shanchang's sister got married hastily and married Shen Run, a young man who was not in good health, just to avoid the crown prince's selection of concubines in the last years of Chenghua...