"Third gentlemen, Minghua will go see your mother first. I'll see you at dinner." He said and bowed.
Mr. Long Yufei responded with a smile, Mr. Qu Shuhui and Mr. Li Zi looked calm; they said goodbye to each other, Minghua watched the three gentlemen follow the housekeeper, and then she turned and walked to the inner courtyard.
Enter the second courtyard and go straight to the second courtyard where Xiao Le lives.
"Mom, I'm back."
Xiao Leshi put down his work, stood up with a smile and waved to her, "Are you tired?"
"I'm not tired. I've been reading all day. The master is very attentive in answering questions for me and my senior brothers. Tomorrow I will go to Xingzhi Academy with the master to visit. The master plans to arrange for me to enroll in Xingzhi Academy. My two senior brothers are also in Xingzhi Academy. ." A soft smile appeared in Minghua's eyes, "I'll pack up a few sets of clothes and come out later. I don't know if I will go to school directly after the visit or if I have other arrangements."
"It's time to pack it up in advance. No matter what, you should be prepared." She felt relieved that her daughter could go to school. "Do you want mother to pack it up with you? Do you need to bring any jewelry with you when you go to the academy?"
Minghua shook her head, "No, mother, I'm going to study. It's best to get along with the students when you get to the academy."
Xiao Leshi felt a little relieved when she thought that her family, a girl, had to match the image of the male students.
"Does Xingzhi Academy also have a girls' academy?"
"I don't know yet." It should be no, otherwise, the two senior brothers wouldn't be so worried.
The smile in Xiao Leshi's eyes never fell. She raised her eyes and looked at the girl waiting beside her, "Go and bring some food and drink for the young lady."
"Yes." The maid exited the courtyard.
Minghua took her mother's hand and said slowly: "Mom, there are three gentlemen in the front yard. They were sent by my master. They are the gentlemen who teach me piano, chess, calligraphy and painting. I will study with these gentlemen when I return from Muxiu." , it’s a pity that brothers are not here. If they were here, they could learn the six arts of a gentleman one by one with me.”
Xiao Leshi sighed softly after hearing this and squeezed her daughter's hand, "There's nothing you can do about it. Who made your brothers fail? If you had passed the exam earlier, you wouldn't have been able to go to Beijing together. Now, the family is separated in two places. .”
It’s hard to even meet him.
"Brothers are already very promising. Like my eldest brother, he was born as a child at the age of twelve or thirteen. There are not many in Beijing, but the eldest brother has worked very hard." Minghua shook his head, feeling regretful after all, "If the eldest brother and the second brother If they can come to Jingzhong, they can learn these things in advance when the three gentlemen teach. I heard the two senior brothers and the master said that Jingzhong has very high requirements for scholars, and a gentleman must be proficient in the six arts. They will be tested in the palace examination. , if you are not proficient, I am afraid you will suffer a big loss."
In ancient times, the Six Arts of a Gentleman were a must-learn lesson for scholars. The rich and powerful young men could be frivolous, but they must be proficient in one of them.
"Zhou Li. Bao Shi" says: "To raise a country's sons with Taoism is to teach six arts: the first is the Five Rites, the second is the Six Music, the third is the Five Shooting, the fourth is the Five Control, the fifth is the Six Books, and the sixth is the Nine. number."
It is divided into big art and small art.
The great art is: rituals, music, shooting and imperialism.
Xiaoyi: number of books.
"After some time, senior brother will give me a riding and archery master. These are all things I need to learn."
Xiao Leshi looked at her daughter's regretful sigh and felt worried in her heart, "Otherwise, why don't we take your brothers over?"
"Is it okay? Will father agree?" After taking over, once the brothers take the scientific examination, they still have to return to their hometown to take the exam.
Therefore, Xiao Leshi has always said that it would be great if his two sons could be admitted to the Juren Examination as soon as possible. When they came to Beijing, they went directly to the college to study. They were so confident that no one said a word even if they went through the back door. When you come down, you will be admitted to Jinshi. You don't have to go back to your hometown to take the exam.
"Make it clear to your father in the letter that there were no conditions before. Neither you nor your two brothers have learned the Six Arts of the Gentleman. Now that your master has created conditions for you, your brothers cannot fall behind. Your father will understand. .”
Minghua felt that it was right. Parents in this life always thought about their children. As long as they did something good for their children, they were willing to do it.
"Then shall I repair a book now?"
"Wait a minute, it will be troublesome for your brothers to have no place to go to school." Don't relax your homework just to learn the six arts of a gentleman.
Minghua nodded, thinking of what her senior brother had said, maybe she should be faster.
During dinner time, two tables were set up for men and women separately, separated by a screen. Xiao Leshi was officially acquainted with the three gentlemen, but she only saw the appearance of the two female gentlemen, but not the male gentleman.
After meal.
After seeing off the three gentlemen, Xiao Leshi and Minghua sat together and talked, "You three gentlemen seem to be very knowledgeable people."
"If the knowledge is poor, the master will not recommend it to me." Music, chess, calligraphy and painting are only the subjects that they are proficient in, and they mainly teach her the subjects they are proficient in; she will also teach some if they are not proficient, but it will not mislead the students.
"Yes!" While happy for her daughter, she also breathed a sigh of relief.
After becoming a master, my daughter received too many benefits. "You must be filial to your master and master in the future, otherwise, my mother will be the first to spare you."
"Mom, you've said it several times, I know; it's necessary to be filial to your master." Xiao Leshi stopped talking after she had to resort to pushback, yelling, and coquettishness.
Minghua breathed a sigh of relief. She wondered if her mother was about to enter menopause. "Mom, if you have nothing to do, don't stay at home all the time. Take your maid and servant and go out for a walk; go shopping and see the scenery of the capital."
"It's okay. I can make more connections and I can exchange some money to supplement the family income. It's the same at home. I do housework at home every day and don't have time to go to the town. When I get to the capital, I really want to go out. It's not far from my house. The market is so wonderful." It's too prosperous, I don't have much money in my hand, and I feel panicked!
They brought two thousand taels with them when they came, and spent hundreds of taels on flowers on the way. Even though no money was spent on the house, the money was not enough to use the real flowers!
In the past few days after settling down, I have gone shopping for two or three hundred taels. Every day is an expense. In the future, the servants will also have to pay their monthly allowance, so there is no way to sit back and have nothing.
"Mom, don't worry about the money. I have a way. The book will get its dividends soon, and then I can make some money by doing some small business with my senior and second senior brothers." She didn't know what her mother was thinking. What do you think?
It's just that he was born in sorrow and died in happiness.
Every time she came back, she would see her mother doing manual labor, which made her feel at ease again.
"Stop working so hard. If you really have nothing to do, why not ask two female gentlemen to teach you calligraphy and painting? To cultivate your sentiments, when dad comes, you can still have a romantic relationship with dad. How wonderful!"
Xiao Leshi's heart was moved, and she was indeed a little moved; but she didn't have the face to put all the burden of life on her daughter.
"I'm just a village woman. I can't talk about romance. When we first got married, your father knew what kind of person I was, and I wasn't someone who could enjoy the literati atmosphere." Xiao Leshi refused simply and neatly, "Don't persuade me. Yes, I know what to do; you should study hard and don’t worry too much about money. Although our family is not rich, it is not that we cannot afford to eat."
