In the thirty-fifth year of Zhizheng·Xiaoman
It rains a lot in spring and the wisdom is like a qiao,
This year is still as defensive as last year.
The jade calendar came to know Xiaoman,
I also worry about the long-term overcast that prevents silkworms from sleeping.
Beijing, Tianshuier Hutong, Nancheng.
Early in the morning, Feng Xiaozhu took the fresh mulberry leaves bought by people on the street and fed them in the silkworm house.
In fact, with the current status of the Feng family, there is no need to do these things.
But she had nothing to do in her boudoir, and Feng Xiaozhu was tired of studying, so he bought one or two paper silkworms and raised them in a side room in the backyard.
Rather than raising silkworms to raise silkworms, it is better to say that she regards these silkworm babies as pets.
There are very few trees in Beijing, let alone mulberry trees.
These mulberry leaves are picked from mulberry trees in the mountainous areas in the northern or western suburbs of Beijing. They rush to the city early in the morning and sell them in exchange for some small money to supplement the family income.
After all the mulberry leaves were thrown in, Feng Xiaozhu looked at it boredly for a while and then walked out of the house.
Today, Fengfang Xiu Mu was resting at home. When he saw his daughter, he smiled and said, "Ping An, my father has a rest today and will take you out for a walk later. You haven't been out for a long time, so I just happened to buy some rouge and gouache from my daughter's house."
Feng Xiaozhu shook his head and said, "Dad, I don't want to go out!"
Fengfang's face, which had been smiling just now, suddenly paused.
This concubine of my own, hey...
Fengfang had a wife and a concubine in his early years, but only the concubine gave him a daughter.
So although Feng Xiaozhu is a concubine, he has always cherished this daughter.
Feng Xiaozhu has been very sensible since she was a child. Not only is she proficient in music, chess, calligraphy and painting, but she is also better at reading than men.
Therefore, Fengfang specially named his daughter Ping An.
Most people's daughters would be great if they had a name. Who has ever seen a woman with a name?
But the Feng family has it, and even Fengfang is afraid that his daughter will suffer hardship, so he has given her a foothold since she was a child.
In other families, girls either learned to sew or have their feet bound by servants when they were young.
However, this concubine of the Feng family was taught reading by Fengfang himself, and her knowledge put many scholars to shame.
However, as my daughter grows older, troubles arise.
The Feng family has an appointment with Xu Kui, the ancestor of the Xu family, and they have been married for generations.
But in this generation, the Feng family only had this apple in their eyes, and Fengfang was reluctant to let her marry far away, so he proposed to recruit a son-in-law. Fengfang had a smooth career in his early years. With his status at the time, although he could not get Xu Song's son, he It is more than enough for Xu Dai's son to be his son-in-law.
Things were indeed as Fengfang thought, and Xu Luan was finalized by the two families as a candidate.
Unexpectedly, Fengfang's official career was bumpy after that, and he had not been an official for more than ten years, but Xu Song actually became a third-rank official.
This resulted in the humiliation of Fengfang's detour to Hailing last time.
Later, Feng Xiaozhu came to the capital.
Fengfang also felt that as a young minister of Taipusi Temple, he no longer had to look at the Xu family's face, so he wanted to marry his daughter to Qin Que, the son of the chief assistant Qin Yan, as a concubine.
Originally, both parties had reached an agreement, but this matter was leaked out somehow, and the news that Feng Xiaozhu was Tianzu also leaked out. Now Qin Que not only regretted it, but also blamed him.
As a result, Feng Xiaozhu's reputation was completely ruined among the senior officials in the capital.
Fengfang wanted to help her find a husband several times, but when they heard that he was a concubine from the Taipusi Shaoqing family, they all shook their heads and refused.
At this moment, Xu Dai's letter arrived.
Xu Dai reiterated the marriage contract between the two families in the letter, and said that Feng Xiaozhu and Xu Luan would get married as soon as possible.
The Xu family even said they could send Xu Luan to the capital.
Fengfang sneered on the spot. Xu Dai was really interesting. He went up to the pole to ask for help. The father and son were sarcastic and pretentious.
Now that he is a dignified Taipusi Shaoqing, the other party has changed his mind again.
Fengfang wanted to humiliate the Xu family members on the spot.
But when I think about my daughter's current situation in the capital, I feel a little hesitant.
So he hastily sent the Xu family away, and the matter was brought up again.
Just when Fengfang and his daughter were having breakfast, there was a knock on the door.
After a while, a servant of the Feng family reported at the gate of the inner courtyard that the master of Taipu Temple, Bo Yiyong, had imitated the servant and handed the letter.
Yi Yongxue was a subordinate that Fengfang deliberately attracted in Taipu Temple. This person did not have a high official position, but he was of the same age in the court and was well-informed. He had always been one of the sources for Fengfang to grasp the trends of the court.
After a while, Fengfang took the letter in his hand and started reading.
Unexpectedly, he laughed out loud just after watching him: "This Xu Dai is really blinded by eating lard, and he dares to hook up with people in the palace behind his eldest brother's back."
When Feng Xiaozhu, who was eating next to him, heard the news from the Xu family, he immediately slowed down his chewing speed and listened attentively.
The news about Yi Yongxue came from Taipus Temple in Nanjing. Taipus Temple raised horses in various places. Taipus Temple officials in various places naturally became the source of information for this deserted yamen.
Although the situation in Hailing County was deliberately suppressed by Zhang Jingxian, there were so many smart people that the news had already spread to Beijing.
Here, when Fengfang read Yi Yongxue's letter and said that a young man named Xu He from the Xu family came forward to calm the matter, he turned around in surprise and asked his daughter: "Is this Xu He the one I saw in the teahouse that day?" Young man, I remember his name was Xu He!"
Feng Xiaozhu pursed his lips and said nothing.
Neither Xu Song nor Feng Xiaozhu told Feng Fang that he had lived in Xu He's home for so long.
Fengfang saw his daughter lowering her head and said nothing, so he smiled and said, "You are so shy."
"At that time, my father felt that this young man named Xu He was more than a little better than Xu Luan. Now it seems that my father's vision is still good!" Fengfang said proudly.
While reading the letter, Fengfang told his daughter about the salt farm.
Feng Xiaozhu didn't show much on the surface, but in her heart she seemed to be severely pinched.
This Xu He takes risks every time.
Scholars are afraid of getting involved in these dangerous things.
He seemed to be unafraid and would go wherever there was danger. He was really anxious to death.
Fengfang sighed while watching: "This Xu He is really talented, but it's a pity that he is only a boy. But it is said that he has won the first prize in the county examination and the government examination. In the future, a talented person will not be able to escape."
"Ping An, you said it would be great if this Xu He could be your husband, and that Xu Luan, hum!"
However, Fengfang shook his head the next second and said: "No, no, we have to wait and see about this matter. After all, the Xu family has caused such a big trouble. We still don't know the reaction of the palace and the cabinet. We can't put it into question." My daughter pushed into the Xu family’s fire pit! Right, she’s safe!”
At this time, Feng Xiaozhu, who was eating next to her, was blushing to her ears. She shook her father's hand holding the letter and said, "How can a father say these things in front of his daughter? Dad..."
This shout of "Dad" made Fengfang's bones grow softer. He gave his daughter a fake look: "You are just a person who doesn't care about your life!"
Feng Xiaozhu sighed softly in his heart, and then thought of the song sung by the young man standing on the shore when he left Hailing that day.
"At the end of the sky and at the corner of the sea, acquaintances are half scattered. Life is rarely about reunions, but there are many separations."
