There are two Wu mansions on Jinliangqiao Street, one is Wu Yu's prime minister's residence, and the other is Wu Chong's residence.
The two brothers originally lived together. Now that Wu Chong had moved to Shaanxi Prefecture, he also bought a house in Beijing, right next to Wu Yu's Mansion. After the completion, the two mansions will be connected together, so the children can move around freely.
Knowing that Wu Yu was unwell, all the officials and in-laws in Beijing came to visit. For example, although Wu Yu's eldest daughter and two daughters died young, his eldest son-in-law, Shangshu, a member of the Ministry of War, Wai Lang, sent Han Zongyan of the Third Division of Salt and Iron Gouyuan, the son of Han Yi, the famous prime minister, and his second son-in-law. Pang Ji's son Pang Yuanying always came to visit him.
The third son-in-law is Ren Yi, a doctor from Taichang, and his father is Ren Bu, the prince's young master. The couple are waiting on the side.
Wu had ten sons, but most of them did not live in the capital. Only the eldest son Wu Andu was in the capital, and he received guests. Without official status, Wu Andu could not control the scene. Wu Anshi and Wu Anchi from Wu Chong's residence also helped to receive them.
As for Wu Andu's wife, she was the daughter of Shangshu Zuocheng Fan Yong. As the eldest daughter-in-law, she received the female family members who passed through the palace.
Ouyang Xiu, Ouyang Fa and Ouyang Fa's wife Wu came to visit Wu Yu.
Ouyang Xiu was left to talk by Wu Yu. As for Ouyang Fa, he knew that the two of them had something important to say, so he and Wu left the yard first.
Ouyang Fa looked back at the endless stream of high-ranking officials in the courtyard, and said to Wu with emotion: "Dad said when he came here that none of Wu's ten sons who participated in politics passed the Jinshi examination. It was a pity."
"Andu Ben is the most outstanding one, but he didn't expect the examiners to favor him. He failed in the scientific examinations one after another. It seems that they have to wait for Yin Guan. It's a pity that high-ranking officials in this dynasty must have a Jinshi background. It seems that Wu will participate in politics in the future. The whole family has to rely on Lao Taishan."
Wu said: "My two brothers are probably useless. Let's not talk about this. I will go back to see my sister first. After a while, my father will leave the house and send someone to call me."
Ouyang laughed and said, "Young lady, you will go on your own. I will ask dad to go back later, and then I will come to Taishan Mansion to look for you."
Immediately, several old ladies and female envoys followed Wu out of the corner gate and went straight to her house.
When the old woman at the corner gate saw Wu, she came up and kowtowed excitedly.
After Mrs. Wu wiped away her tears, she walked into the mansion. When she was not yet married, Wu Chong had just bought a house on Jinliangqiao Street. Now, several years later, it became more and more unfamiliar.
After half a cup of tea, Mrs. Wu came to the inner house, walked to the corridor and saw a woman wearing an apricot-yellow shirt walking towards her. She couldn't help but said: "Seventeenth Mother."
The person who came was none other than Seventeen Niang.
When the sisters met, they had a heart-to-heart talk. They held hands and sat down in the corridor. The Seventeenth Mother asked, "Brother-in-law, why are you willing to come here alone?"
Wu smiled and said, "Uncle, I still have a lot to say to my father-in-law, so I'm here. As for your brother-in-law, there's nothing you can agree on."
The Seventeenth Mother smiled and said, "My sister is so kind. I treat you just like before."
"It's okay." When Mrs. Wu heard her sister say that her husband and wife were harmonious, she had a smile in her eyes, a high-spirited look, and felt a little proud.
Seventeenth Niang said: "Among the sisters in our Wu family, you and your wife are the most harmonious ones. I heard that my uncle's Fifth Niang is the same, but she is still not as good as my elder sister.
Wu smiled and asked, "Where's the fifteenth mother? Doesn't she live in the mansion now?"
The seventeenth mother said: "Now the family is preparing for the marriage with Mr. Wen. Dad said that the rules in the prime minister's house are no better than those in ordinary ministers' houses. They are more dignified in every aspect. The mother-in-law over there is a strict person, so the aunt said We invited several tutoring maids from the palace to teach Sister Fifteen so that no one can find fault with her. She has been learning some rules at Biyunxuan for the past half month, and I have not even seen her since I returned to Bianjing. Her side."
Wu sighed: "It's really hard on the fifteenth mother. There is no one in the world who can't be faulted at all. The prime minister's mother-in-law and aunt are so easy to deal with. This is just the beginning."
The Seventeenth Mother pursed her lips and smiled: "Sister seems not to be optimistic about the fifteenth Mother's marriage."
Mrs. Wu said: "I am a talkative but a soft-spoken person. Please remind her of my words so that she won't cry when she goes back to her parents' house in the future."
"Speaking of which, you and her are the smartest sisters in the family. They can learn everything at once. Now that the fifteenth mother is getting married, you have to make your own plans."
"Yes, why don't you go and learn with Fifteenth Mother?"
Seventeenth Mother smiled and said: "I just arrived in Bianjing and it was very tiring traveling and traveling, but I really want to be more relaxed and at ease."
Wu took a deep look at Seventeenth Niang and knew that although her mother seemed to be satisfied with a bowl of water, she was still biased at this time.
She changed the topic continuously and said: "My uncle is not in good health now, but I hope that there will be no setbacks in the fifteenth mother's marriage."
Seventeenth Mother smiled and said: "Stop talking about these unhappy things, go sit in my room."
Wu smiled and said: "That's good, I really have an interesting utensil to bring to you."
Wu arrived at Seventeenth Mother's boudoir, but saw that it was still simple and elegant. She knew that when her two younger sisters married into the residences of the two prime ministers, Lu and Xia, they brought a lot of dowry gifts and displayed them all over the house, hoping that everyone in her husband's family would see them. The daily life is luxurious, the mats are changed every three days, and the bedding is thrown away when it is old, which is a bit of a burden to the sisters-in-law.
On the other hand, the Seventeenth Mother's house is simple, and the things used are all new and not old. This is the magnanimity of the house of a lady's daughter.
Mrs. Wu thought to herself that the fifteenth and seventeenth mothers often had a bad relationship because they grew up together in Wu's house and were both top-notch among the sisters.
The fifteenth mother was a direct descendant, so she was careful to be superior to others. After seeing her two elder sisters marrying into the prime minister's house, her parents looked so proud. From then on, she also devoted herself to marrying into a high-ranking official's house. She had to learn everything and wanted to do everything. Compare with others. She and Shi Qi Niang were usually comparing each other, so the relationship between the two sisters was not very good.
Having said this, Wu took out a seal and said, "What do you think of this?"
Seventeenth Mother picked up the seal and looked at it: "This is the Shoushan Stone. This is the first time I've seen someone use it to carve a seal."
Seventeenth Mother looked at the formation again and said: "This does not look like it was carved by a craftsman. The carving skills are lacking, but the strokes of the seal characters are clearly visible. It must have been carved by the literati themselves."
Wu smiled and said: "Sister Seventeen, your eyes are too poisonous, that's right."
Seventeenth Mother said: "This man is so ingenious that he actually came up with the idea of using Shoushan stone, which is very soft, to engrave characters. In this way, he can engrave his own seal without the need for a skilled craftsman."
"But it is a stone seal after all, not as dignified as a jade or gold seal. But the seal characters are really good, regardless of the carving work. It can be seen that the calligrapher's vision and artistic conception are in it. It seems a bit familiar... Thank you sister for giving me such a gift. ."
Wu smiled and said, "As long as you like it."
The seventeenth mother thought about it and said with a smile: "My father-in-law and brother-in-law both like this kind of gold and stone. I wonder why they are willing to part with it? Or are there still many such seals in the house?"
Wu smiled and said: "Okay, you have other ideas. The government originally sent five coins in total. It was a gift from a scholar named Zhang from Fujian. His husband is Zhang Boyi, the master of seal script today."
"Your brother-in-law said that he is good at writing seal script. As for this engraving, he did it easily, but it is already extraordinary."
"It's really him." Seventeenth Mother's eyes were confused for a moment, and she looked at the seal in her hand again.
Seeing the strange expression on Seventeenth Mother's face, Mrs. Wu couldn't help but ask, "What do you mean it's really him?"
The Seventeenth Mother held the seal in her hands, and then said: "He came to Beijing from Pucheng to take the Imperial Examination, so he went with his brother. This man has extraordinary knowledge and an innocent heart. I want to share my experience with my brother-in-law." We must be able to talk and speculate."
"Your brother-in-law really hit it off with him, but it's rare to see you compliment someone like this." Mrs. Wu looked carefully at Shiqi Niang's face.
The Seventeenth Mother laughed and said: "No, I often say that my brother-in-law is good!"
Wu smiled and thought, does Shi Qi say this because he wants to introduce this son to officials?
Wu said: "Brother-in-law does like this seal, but I asked for it knowing that you liked it more. Don't let the fifteenth mother know about this. Otherwise, you should say that I am partial."
The Seventeenth Mother smiled and said: "Okay, but the Fifteenth Sister is busy with getting married now, and she has no time to vent her anger on me. By the way, did Mr. Ouyang write a poem?"
"My father-in-law has so many poems, who knows which one?"
"It's the song 'Xiu already knows you, but you still don't know how to be ashamed'!"
After visiting Wu Yu, Ouyang Xiu and Ouyang Fa returned home.
In the middle of the night, Ouyang Xiu called Ouyang Fa to the study.
Ouyang Xiu is fifty-two years old this year, but he is well-maintained, with deep eyes and a profound bearing.
He met Ouyang Fa and asked, "How is your homework going lately?"
Ouyang Fa replied cautiously: "My child has always worked hard."
Ouyang Xiudao: "I was deeply touched when I went to the Wu family today. The Wu family has one father, four sons, and five Jinshi. However, when it comes to the grandson's generation, no one has reached the top. Do you know why?"
Ouyang Fa said: "The children of the Wu family often interact with each other, and they are good people."
Ouyang Xiudao: "He is a good person, but he lacks a little enthusiasm for studying. Do you know why the Han and Lu families have been winning in the court for decades? That is because they have produced Jinshi for generations."
"That's why some people say that all the scholars in the world come from Lu if they don't come from Han. The children of other families never point to benevolence and beautiful officials, so it is easy for them to be arrogant and indulge in pleasure and not to make progress."
"Yes, the child should remember his father's teachings."
Ouyang Fa said: "You are the eldest brother, you should set an example for the younger brothers! If you don't want to study, just go back to Yingchuan and live as an apartment owner. Don't embarrass me in Bianjing!"
After Ouyang Xiu said this, Xun asked again: "Yes, Zhang Boyi, how are Zhang Wangzhi's disciples settling in?"
"The child gave him money and silver and asked him to live there first."
Ouyang Xiudao: "This person has come all the way to Bianjing and brought gifts and letters. You must treat him carefully and never be rude."
"Now I'm busy with official duties, and Wu Shenzheng is ill, so I can't get away for a while. You can entertain me well, and when you have some free time, you can let him come over."
Ouyang Fa couldn't help but said: "Dad, Mr. Zhang Sanlang is a rare talent. I think it's better to take the time to meet him."
"oh?"
