At the end of the year in Bianjing, it is the time when officials and families send New Year gifts to each other.
The front gate of the Zhang family, located next to the Imperial College, is now busy with 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 was parked far away on the side of the road. A decent-looking man glanced 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's no need to wait, we all have 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 go through the side door.
The small side door of the Zhang Mansion did not allow carriages and horses, so the carriages of the Prime Minister's Mansion could only park on the roadside, and the fifteenth mother had to show her face.
In the winding alley next to Zhang's 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 Mansion.
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 provide one or two scholars. After all, the family background is a little thin. How can it be compared with our Xiangfu."
The woman on the other side smiled and said, "That's right. If you get married, you will have to suffer for ten years 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 hard? Besides, my sister was married In the past tense, it was also Shili Hongzhuang."
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 subsidized more, she still couldn't help but feel unhappy in her heart.
The two strong women said quickly: "My lady is right."
After knocking on the door to announce, he saw Seventeenth Mother looking at him with slight surprise. The 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 at the seventeenth mother carefully, 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 well in the Zhang family these past few years.
She knew this younger sister back then. She seemed quieter than her sisters on weekdays, but she just liked reading more. She just studied in her library all day long. 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 if his daughter’s family is good at studying and he doesn’t need it, he will always need it to educate 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 inkstone and pen she had hidden away for many years. This set of inkstones and pens was the first time Wu Chong went to Beijing to seek advice from Ouyang Xiu as a future 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.
It can be seen how much Wu Chong loves his grandson.
However, I heard that Wu Chong also felt a little emotional. It was just 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."
What a nice house, I’ll go check it out with my sister then. "
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 has a good life. She has given birth to two boys, which has spread the incest to the Zhang family. It seems that I only have one girl, but I am a concubine and have given birth to several."
The seventeenth mother said: "Then sister, choose an obedient one from the concubine, and educate him well. In the future, he will not be like his own son."
The fifteenth mother pressed the seventeenth mother's hand 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 for 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 this huge prime minister's house, I only heard a few words of self-interest when I came 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 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 Mother was a little confused. She suddenly remembered that when she was her daughter's house, one day she and the Fifteenth Mother were together. Neither she nor the 15th Niang liked this. That day, the 17th Niang Niang knew that the old woman was good at wine, so she tricked the old woman into tasting a few bottles of old wine at home.
When the old grandma got drunk, the two of them quietly went to play in the pavilion in the middle of the lake at home. When they talked about the old grandma being drunk, the two of them burst out laughing.
In the afternoon of that day, the sun was so bright, and Fifteen Niang's laughter was so light. The two of them put aside their grudges and laughed together, which made their mood soaring.
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..."
At this point, the Seventeenth Mother and the Fifteenth Mother couldn't help but smile when they mentioned this.
…
The newly established Transportation Department and the Economic Strategy and Appeasement Department discussed it in the court and it has been decided.
The Transport 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, and the officials were very excited and asked, "Did Wang Shao and Gao Zunyu discuss the reward for me? 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 have been ranked first! I know that you are ranking him first for the sake of the Empress Dowager. But let him To appease the envoy, I think it is too much."
