Not far ahead is Zhu Shenzui's home.
This is just an ordinary small courtyard.
There are many descendants of the old Zhu family. Although Zhu Shenzui is a member of the Jin clan, his relationship with the current Jin clan is far away. Even his ancestor, King Jiaocheng, has passed five generations.
The beauty of a gentleman will be cut down in five lifetimes.
After the fifth server, the relationship between relatives has long since faded.
Moreover, their lineage of Jiaocheng kings had long been extinct. In the 26th year of Jiajing, the last Jiaocheng king, Zhu Biao, assisted the generals of the country and entered the feudal state. He inherited his elder brother's title from his younger brother, surrendered himself and assumed the title, and stopped attacking. In the fourth year of Longqing's reign, he died.
After the King of Jiaocheng was expelled, Zhu Shenzui's family returned to the jurisdiction of the Jin vassal, but their lineage had been separated for hundreds of years. Although they were still considered relatives, relatives were also close to each other, right? What's more, the Prince of Jin's palace is in Taiyuan, and Zhu Shenzui is in Pingyang. According to the clan regulations, Zhu Shenzui cannot go to Taiyuan at all, let alone meet the contemporary King of Jin, his nominal grandson Zhu Qiugui.
Mr. Zhang is busy in the courtyard. The courtyard is not large and is no different from an ordinary farmyard.
Hearing the sound of the door opening, Zhang looked up and saw Zhu Shenzui coming back. Mrs. Zhang quickly put down her work and stood up.
"Sister-in-law!"
"Uncle is back..." Mrs. Zhang said. Seeing snowflakes falling on Zhu Shenzui's body and mud on her feet, she quickly greeted him into the house.
Zhu Shenzui sighed and patted the snowflakes on his body twice before entering the house. It was much warmer inside than outside.
There is a baby lying on the kang, sleeping soundly. This is Zhu Shenzui's eldest brother's daughter and his niece Zhu Qiao'er.
After receiving the hot water that Zhang poured for him, Zhu Shenzui thanked him, took the water cup and put it aside. He reached into his arms and took out a money bag, which contained a few taels of silver and a large bunch of skins. Money (money made from other provinces) is placed on the table.
Seeing this, Mrs. Zhang's face suddenly showed a touch of joy. She was still worried today. Seeing that the day was getting colder and colder, the food at home was almost gone, but there was no money at home. If there was no more income, this winter How to survive?
"This...where did this come from...?"
"Sister-in-law, please accept the clan salary." Zhu Shenzui said with a smile.
"Is it issued by Prince Jin's palace? Why is it so neat this time? Isn't it usually... No, uncle, didn't you go to the government office again...?"
"Haha, please don't spread this matter. I got it with great difficulty. Just understand it and keep it carefully." Zhu Shenzui gave Zhang a knowing look. Zhang immediately understood what he was talking about and picked up the money. Turning around and getting on the kang, there was a box placed inside the headrest of the kang. Zhang opened the box and carefully hid the money in the innermost part of the box.
Zhang was the wife of Zhu Shenzui's eldest brother Zhu Shenyi, but his eldest brother Zhu Shenyi and his father Zhu Xinyan were gone, just before Zhu Shenzui came to this era. As for Zhu Shenzui's mother, Wang, she passed away when the two brothers were still young.
Zhu Shenzui also has an eldest sister. The eldest sister Zhu Xiuer got married a few years ago. After his father and brother passed away, only Zhu Shenzui, his sister-in-law Zhang, and a niece under two years old were left in the family.
Zhu Shenzui is only nineteen this year, and his sister-in-law Zhang is not very old either. She is one year younger than Zhu Shenzui.
In this era, women obeyed the three virtues and obeyed their husbands when they got married. It was very difficult for a young widow to remarry, especially when Zhu Shenzui's family still had the name of the clan on their heads, and it was even more impossible for them to be as casual as ordinary families.
Zhang's husband died and she still had a nursing child. It was impossible for her to return to her parents' home. At that time, Zhu Shenzui was only eighteen years old. The family was not separated when his father was around. With the backbone gone, half of the house has collapsed.
If he stayed in the Zhu family, at least Zhu Shenzui would be able to survive on his status as a member of the clan. He would not be able to survive without her and her newborn daughter. In this way, Zhu Shenzui, Mrs. Zhang and her niece lived together, struggling to survive.
Since Mrs. Zhang can marry into the clan, her appearance is naturally good. Although she is not that gorgeous, she is dignified and attractive. She is not old, she is only eighteen now. In future generations, girls of this age will still be in college. .
After giving birth to her niece, the young woman gained a bit more of the charm of a mature woman. Mrs. Zhang, who was lying on the kang hiding money, moved her back slightly towards Zhu Shenzui's delicate body. Zhu Shenzui, who glanced away inadvertently, couldn't help but feel a little hot. He couldn't help his throat twitching slightly, and he swallowed hard, but his eyes remained motionless and stared at the round ball within reach.
There was a soft click, and seeing that Mrs. Zhang had hidden the money, Zhu Shenzui struggled to look away from Mrs. Zhang's back, calmed down, picked up the hot water on the table, and took a sip of it in disguise.
After hiding the money, Mrs. Zhang put a smile on her face: "The food at home is almost finished. I will buy some tomorrow. It is also cold today, so I will add more firewood and charcoal at home..."
"Sister-in-law, you can take care of the things at home. If you need to buy more, you have to buy more. I will find a way to get some salary back in a few days." Zhu Shenzui nodded and said.
Just after he finished speaking, he suddenly remembered something and took out another oil paper bag from his arms and handed it to Zhang. Mrs. Zhang took it and opened it. There were actually two sesame cakes inside. These sesame cakes were full of ingredients and had the aroma of sesame seeds on them. It smells tangy, because it has been hidden in Zhu Shenzui's arms, and it is still warm to the touch.
"One is for Qiao'er, and the other is for you." Zhu Shenzui said with a smile, and at the same time explained that these two sesame cakes were taken by him when he went to the government office today to ask for his salary, and no one saw it anyway. If you don’t take it, you won’t get it.
"You, you are so childish even though you are an adult!" Ms. Zhang couldn't laugh or cry after hearing this.
"What's the point? You're hungry to save face. The biggest thing in the world is eating. How can this world be so important?" Zhu Shenzui said nonchalantly.
Although she complained about Zhu Shenzui, Mrs. Zhang also knew in her heart that the family could survive thanks to Zhu Shenzui.
After the unexpected death of her husband and father-in-law, if it hadn't been for Zhu Shenzui, the family would have collapsed long ago, and it would have been a big loss to this brother-in-law. Otherwise, Mrs. Zhang and her children would not have known how they could have survived.
Although sesame cakes are a common thing, they are rarely eaten in the Zhu family's daily life. Mrs. Zhang carefully re-wrapped the sesame cakes, put them aside and said that they would share the porridge with the three of them. Zhu Shenzui waved his hand and said no. He told Mrs. Zhang that he had already used some at the magistrate's office and would not eat it at night. He would just let her and the child eat.
While talking, Mrs. Zhang suddenly remembered something, got up and went to get an old robe. She said it was getting cold, so she tidied up at home today and found this robe. This robe was left behind by his eldest brother during his lifetime. Mrs. Zhang mended it and made it suitable for Zhu Shenzui to wear. She asked him to try it to see if it fit. If there was anything that didn't fit, she would change it.
After trying on the robe, Zhu Shenzui's current figure is similar to that of his eldest brother when he was alive, and the clothes are suitable. Looking at Zhu Shenzui, who was wearing an old robe and whose face looked very similar to that of her late husband Zhu Shenyi, Zhang looked a little lost in thought. After a moment, she came back to her senses, feeling a little sad.
After thanking Mrs. Zhang and talking in the room for a while, Zhu Shenzui got up and went back to his room. Mrs. Zhang did not hold back, but only sent Zhu Shenzui out and told him to rest early.
Although the two of them have lived under the same roof for so long, after all, one is the sister-in-law and the other is the uncle. They still need to pay attention to the etiquette. Besides, it is getting dark today. If you continue to stay here, you will be found out. There will inevitably be gossip.
Zhu Shenzui lived in the east wing. Logically speaking, after his father and brother left, Zhu Shenzui became the head of the family. Since the family was not separated at the beginning, Zhu Shenzui should move into the main house.
But Zhu Shenzui didn't do that. After all, his sister-in-law and niece lived in the main house when his eldest brother was here. It's really inappropriate to change them now. Why is there such a need when they are all one family? Even though Mrs. Zhang mentioned it several times in private, Zhu Shenzui refused because he was used to living in the east wing.
After entering the house, Zhu Shenzhui closed the door, got on the kang and sat cross-legged. His expression was no longer as light and gentle as he had been in front of Zhang just now, but on the contrary, there was still an indelible sadness.
He went to the prefect's Yamen today. The purpose of going to the prefect's Yamen was naturally to ask for money.
As a member of the clan, Zhu Shenzui's family has a very difficult life. After several generations, their family now has no real estate and no shops. They live on a salary. Moreover, after experiencing changes in the years from Hongzhi to Wanli, Every year the salary available is getting smaller and smaller.
No matter how little it is, it’s still an income! If the salary can be paid on time, it will not be a problem to support Zhu Shenzui, his sister-in-law Zhang and his niece's family of three. However, the salary discount is not included in the salary discount, and it is often in arrears. Zhu Shenzui does not know about other families, but his family alone has defaulted on two salaries. The salary of each generation adds up to a huge sum of money.
The imperial court now has a permanent quota, which leaves too many monks and too few people. What's even worse is that in name, the permanent quota is allocated internally within the clan, but in fact this power is in the hands of local officials. If the local officials don't allocate the money, how can the clan members distribute it? Moreover, the Ming Dynasty's management of clans was extremely strict. Although clans may sound good in name, in fact many clans live worse than ordinary people.
At least ordinary people still have the opportunity to make changes, such as farming, doing business, studying, etc. Farmers can support themselves by working, and those who do business can make money by doing business, not to mention studying. Everything is inferior. Only if you study well, you can be a scholar, pass the imperial examination, and be a Jinshi, and then rise to the top and become an official. These days you can always see to hope.
But the clan is different. The clan is destined to live this life from the moment they are born. According to the clan regulations, the clan cannot do anything. No matter how good you are at farming, no matter how business-minded you are, or even full of knowledge, you will never be able to get ahead in this life.
You can't do any of these jobs, it's against the rules, and the scope of activities of the clan is also restricted. For example, Zhu Shenzui's home is in Pingyang Mansion. According to the rules, clan members like Zhu Shenzui can only move around in Pingyang Mansion on weekdays, let alone go to Pingyang Mansion. No other place, not even leaving the city.
Some people think that in ancient times people moved very freely, moving from one place to another as they pleased. But this is not the case at all. Zhu Shenzui did not know about other dynasties, but the Ming Dynasty had very strict household registration management. Ordinary people had the Lijia system and the Yellow Register system to complement each other. If you want to leave the place where you live and go to other places, you don’t have to leave. If you are able to leave, you must apply in advance, stating the reason, time, location, etc., and then be guaranteed by someone. You can only travel with your household registration certificate and official permission (letter of introduction).
Every time you go to a place, you have to check it. If you don't have these things, you are a refugee. Refugees have no personal rights at all. If they are caught, they will be reclassified or sold into slavery. If they are not lucky, they will be taken to the mines to work and die. No one there knows, even if you encounter ruthless officers and soldiers, they will treat you as a Mongolian Tatar and directly chop off your head to kill a good person and take credit for it.
The common people are like this, let alone the clans who have stricter control. The stories in novels about traveling to the ends of the world with swords are simply nonsense.
