The end of the year in Bianjing is the time when officials and families send New Year gifts to each other.
In front of the Zhang family gate, which is located next to the Imperial College, there is now a lot of traffic.
It would be a big deal if an ordinary family had two Jinshi scholars, but the Zhang family had one No. 1 scholar and one provincial scholar.
This house used to be lively, but now that Zhang Yue has gone to Xizhou, it is even more lively than before.
A carriage stopped far away on the side of the road. A decent-looking person took a look at the lively scene in front of the Zhang Mansion and couldn't help but said, "Why are there more people today than yesterday?"
There was a beautiful woman sitting in the carriage, it was Wu Wuxiniang, the sister of Shiqi Niang.
The fifteenth mother said: "There is no need to wait, we all want to go in. Rather than pretending to meet by chance, it would be better to go in directly to show our sincerity."
After saying that, the fifteenth mother got off the carriage.
A woman from an official family would never walk into the front door to meet visiting guests, but would walk through the side door.
The small side door of the Zhang Mansion does not allow carriages and horses, so the carriages of the Prime Minister's Mansion can only park on the roadside, and the fifteenth mother has to show her face.
In the winding alley next to the Zhang Mansion, two strong women helped the fifteenth lady, who was wearing a veil, out of the carriage and walked for a while before arriving at the side door.
Everyone on the side said: "I don't know why Zhang Sheren still lives here like this. It's wrong for my wife to walk such a long way."
No matter what he said, he still acted like a steward of the prime minister's house.
The woman on the side smiled and said: "I heard that Zhangshe comes from a poor family. It is not easy for the whole family to support one or two scholars. After all, the family background is relatively weak. How can it be compared with our Xiangfu."
The woman on the other side smiled and said, "Yes, if you get married, you will have to endure ten years of hardship first. When the hardships are over, you will become a yellow-faced woman."
The two women were talking to each other, which made Fifteen Niang feel a little better, but she spat on her face: "Back then, my Wu family also farmed and studied to inherit the family. How could it be so difficult? Besides, my sister was married when she was married.
In the past tense, it was also ten miles of red makeup."
Among the five sisters, the seventeenth mother had the largest dowry, and the fifteenth mother also had a comparison in her heart. Although she knew that the Zhang family's family background was such that her mother's family provided more subsidies, she still felt unhappy in her heart.
The two strong women quickly said: "My lady is right."
After knocking on the door to announce, she saw Seventeenth Mother looking at her with a little surprise. Fifteenth Mother knew why her sister was surprised, so she smiled and said, "Sister, this is my first time here. Fortunately, I didn't go to the wrong door."
The seventeenth mother smiled and welcomed the fifteenth mother into the door and said, "I can't compare to my sister in this shabby alley."
The fifteenth mother looked carefully at the seventeenth mother, but saw that she did not put on any makeup and simply wore a ponytail, but her plain face was still rosy and rounder than when she was her daughter.
Judging by her complexion, one can tell that his sister has been doing really well in the Zhang family these past few years.
She knew this younger sister back then. She was quieter than her sisters on weekdays, but she just liked reading more. She just spent the whole day studying in her library. Some people laughed at her because her daughter's family didn't take the imperial examination, so why bother studying.
On the other hand, his father Wu Chong said that his daughter's family was good at studying and he could not use it, but it would always be useful for educating his children and grandchildren in the future.
Sure enough, his son Zhang Gen knew everything he heard and was a good reader. During the Chinese New Year, Wu Chong initially asked a few questions to test the next generation of the Wu family, but no one could answer them.
Later, Shiqi Niang brought Zhang Gen to see Wu Chong. Wu Chong asked the same questions, and the other party answered them fluently.
Fifteen Niang was very happy to hear that Wu Chong heard this, and gave Zhang Gen the inkstones she had kept for many years. This set of inkstones was the first time Wu Chong came to Beijing to seek advice from Ouyang Xiu as a student.
Ouyang Xiu rewarded Wu Chong very much and gave it to Wu Chong.
Wu Chong always cherished it. He had no use for it and did not leave it to the descendants of the Wu family. Instead, he gave it to Zhang Gen.
This shows how much Wu Chong loves his grandson.
However, I heard that Wu Chong also felt a little emotional. It was fine that none of his children could compare to Zhang Yue, but the same was true among his grandchildren.
The fifteenth mother looked at the house and said, "With my brother-in-law's current official position, it's not like he can't afford a good house. I've looked at several places in the inner city.
It’s a nice house, I’ll go check it out with my sister then.”
The Seventeenth Mother smiled and said, "Thank you very much, sister, but now that I just gave birth to a baby, I am too lazy to move around."
After hearing this, the fifteenth mother sighed quietly: "My sister's life is really good. She gave birth to two boys, which spread the incense to the Zhang family. It seems that I only have one girl, but I gave birth to several as a concubine."
The seventeenth mother said: "Then sister, please choose an obedient one from the concubines and educate him well. In the future, he will not be like his own son."
The fifteenth mother pressed her hand to the seventeenth mother and sighed: "We never thought about these things in our boudoir back then, but now when we marry, we have to plan everything for our husbands and our family. This is the destiny of our lives."
The place where you live."
Having said this, the fifteenth mother paused and said, "Today I brought snacks from Ruyifang. My sister and nephew will try some more."
The two entered the house and sat down to talk for a while.
The fifteenth mother held the seventeenth mother's hand and said: "In such a huge prime minister's house, you can only hear a few words of sincerity when you come to my sister... Now the eldest sister has gone to Yingzhou, the second sister and the third sister are in Xijing, and now they are also in Xijing."
Only you and I, sisters, can talk."
"To be honest, I asked my brother-in-law to come here this time because of my family's official affairs."
Although the Seventeenth Mother knew what she was saying, she was still surprised when she heard what the Fifteenth Mother said.
My sister has always been proud and arrogant. When they were in the boudoir, they were close in age, so they often competed with each other, but today...
The Seventeenth Niang was a little confused. She suddenly remembered that when she was a daughter's house, one day she and the Fifteenth Niang were together.
The Seventeenth Empress knew that the old woman was good at wine, so she took a few bottles of old wine at home and tricked the old woman into tasting it.
The old grandma got drunk, so the two of them secretly went to play in the pavilion in the middle of the lake at home. When they talked about the old grandma being drunk, they laughed so hard.
In the afternoon of that day, the sun was so bright, and Fifteen Niang's laughter was so light. The two rarely put aside their grudges and laughed together, and their moods were lifted.
The seventeenth mother looked at the fifteenth mother. The girl back then also had her soft hair tied up in a bun.
The seventeenth mother said to the fifteenth mother: "Sister, we are the closest among the sisters, and we grew up together. Although we were noisy back then, we had such a sense of superiority..."
Having said this, the Seventeenth Mother and the Fifteenth Mother couldn't help but smile when they mentioned this.
…
The new Transshipment Department and the Economic Strategy and Appeasement Department were discussed at the court, and it has been decided.
The Transportation Department is responsible for civil affairs, and the Economic Strategy and Pacification Department is responsible for military affairs.
After that, the two houses turned against each other. The officials were very excited and asked, "Did Wang Shao and Gao Zunyu discuss the reward? Have you seen it? What do you think?"
After a pause, the official continued: "Gao Zunyu was not the mastermind, but he also retreated to avoid trouble. He should not be ranked first! I know that you are ranking him first for the sake of the Empress Dowager. But let him
I think it’s too much to try to appease the envoy.”