No matter what she did, she couldn't persuade her mother, so Minghua had no choice but to give up for the time being.
Early the next morning, after breakfast, Minghua sat in the courtyard waiting for the master to come. She waited for a stick of incense before a servant came to report that the master was already outside the door. She quickly stood up and called Xiao Mei to pick up her luggage and follow.
When I arrived outside the mansion, I saw the carriages of Ji's Mansion, Cui's Mansion, and three carriages of Xu's Mansion.
Ji Jin and Cui Changhe were waiting outside the carriage. When they saw her coming out, they stepped forward with a smile, "Little junior sister, how did you sleep last night? Did you eat well earlier?"
"Very good, thank you two senior brothers for your concern." Minghua responded with a sweet smile, "Where is the master?"
"The master is in the carriage. Are you going to the master's carriage or coming with us?" Ji Jin looked back at the first carriage in the Xu Mansion and signaled that Xu Chief Fu was inside.
Minghua took a look and said, "I'll go and pay my respects to the master first."
"Go ahead."
Ji Jin and Cui Changhe walked with her to the first carriage in Xu Mansion and listened.
The servant brought a short stool for Minghua to get on. Minghua thanked her with a smile and stepped on the stool to get on the carriage. She opened the curtain and looked inside, and saw that not only the master was inside, but also the eldest grandson of the head of the Xu Mansion.
"Good morning, master."
She got into the carriage. She was short in stature, but she could still move freely after entering. She smiled and bowed, and greeted her master.
Xu Shoufu gave him a hand and nodded gently, "No need to be polite, get up."
"Yes." After Minghua stood up, Xu Shouxu pointed to the seat next to him, "Come and sit here, I just want to give you some instructions."
Minghua tapped her chin and took a seat next to Xu Shoufu.
Ji Jin and Cui Changhe heard voices outside the carriage, and they looked at each other and returned to their carriages.
Everything was ready, and Xu Shoufu's carriage opened the way. Xu Shoufu did not speak at the beginning; but when he left the capital, he opened his eyes and glanced at his eldest grandson.
"Shilin, where are your etiquette?"
Xu Shilin was obviously taken aback, and then looked at his grandfather in disbelief. In the past, his grandfather would not care about this. Could it be that his grandfather really valued Xiao Minghua, his young apprentice, so much?
No matter what he thought in his heart, Xu Shilin still stood up to greet him.
"My nephew has met my aunt. Good morning, aunt."
"Good morning, nephew, no need to be polite, just sit down and talk." She accepted the gift generously, and she understood clearly; this was the master telling her that she could discipline her grandchildren, and also wanted to suppress the arrogance of her eldest grandson.
Xu Shilin sat back down sideways.
Xu Shoufu shook his head silently. It was impossible not to be disappointed with his eldest grandson's attitude. Fortunately, it was not that he couldn't change. Let's try it first. It was really hopeless.
Minghua pursed her lips and smiled, "Master, which gentleman are we visiting this time?"
"He was the dean of Xingzhi Academy. He was ranked high among the Jinshi. He once entered the officialdom, but because he was too upright and devoted himself to being an upright and upright official and spoke straightforwardly, he offended most of the officials in the Manchu Dynasty at that time. He had to become an official. , my teacher helped him at that time and arranged for him to go to Xingzhi Academy; so far, no more than three people know about this matter, and now there are two more of you. Remember, keep your mouth shut and don't talk about it. "Xu Shoufu focused on taking care of his eldest grandson.
Minghua, a child who has not been with her for long, knows that she is a well-measured child. On the contrary, the grandchildren are spoiled and spoiled. They lack the polish of life and are really not as good as Minghua in some moral and demeanor.
Xu Shilin:..........
Shouldn't I be telling Master Sister? Why do you need to warn his grandson?
"Got it, Grandpa."
Only then did Xu Shoufu nod with satisfaction and said: "You entered Xingzhi Academy, firstly because the dean is upright and upright, and secondly because Xingzhi Academy is relatively fair; the competition is not as unbalanced as other academies."
Xu Shilin was not deeply aware of this point. He studied at Xingzhi Academy from the beginning; he had never seen the competition model of other academies. He was blessed but did not know the blessings.
Minghua thought thoughtfully, "Master, are there any students from poor families in Xingzhi Academy?"
"Yes, students from disadvantaged backgrounds receive much better treatment at Xingzhi Academy than at other academies; therefore, more students from disadvantaged backgrounds go to Xingzhi Academy in recent years." When students go to Xingzhi Academy, students from other academies are bound to be affected. Influence; For this matter, the competition between several academies has been quite fierce in recent years, and the conflicts have been obvious.
Xu Shilin said: "Grandpa, there are not many students from poor families in Xingzhi Academy."
Xu Shoufu glanced at him, unable to sigh when facing his great-grandson whose emotions were written on his face; once he died, the Xu family would not even have anyone to support the head of the family, so it would inevitably fall!
Minghua pursed her lips and said nothing; speaking now was equivalent to slapping the master in the face.
Xu Shilin didn't know what he said wrongly. He looked at his grandfather with a blank expression, and then went to look at Xiao Minghua.
"Grandpa, at Xingzhi Academy, students from poor families account for less than half. It's really not that many."
"Then what counts as too much?" Xu Shoufu asked.
Xu Shilin's lips twitched a few times, but he couldn't tell the reason; Xu Shoufu's heart was even more disappointed, "You brothers have been spoiled by your mother since childhood and don't know the sufferings of the world. In the whole Dazhao, how many students from poor families can be upright?" Enrollment in the Eight Classics, or even gaining fame?"
"I don't know." Xu Shilin shook his head.
Xu Shoufu asked again, "Have you seen the number of poor students in other colleges?"
"No."
"Then have you ever visited the actual affairs of the people? Have you learned about the life of the people?"
"No."
Xu Shoufu closed his eyes and opened them again after a while. His eyes were dull and calm, "Minghua grew up among the people and knows more than you. Minghua, tell me."
"There are only more than thirty students from poor families in our county who can actually enroll in school; including my brothers and me. I don't know much about other academies at the moment, and I don't think there are too many." Minghua continued: "And to pass the exam There are even fewer people with fame and fame. It is a great fortune for three out of thirty students from poor families to be admitted as scholars; life in the city is very poor. A family can spend two taels of silver for a year, while our county school has only one student. The annual repair is five taels."
"There are even fewer families who can afford it and are willing to grit their teeth and send their children to study; some even drop out of school because they have no money to pay for studies. I have seen many such cases in the county."
"Sometimes I also think about how lucky I am to be reborn next to my parents; as a woman, I can enjoy the same educational resources as men." Therefore, she cannot live up to her parents' expectations.
For yourself and for your parents.
The Xiao family has hope of rising, and her parents know it better than anyone else; this hope of rising lies with her and her brothers. If her brothers progress slower, she will move faster. Among the old men in the clan, who doesn’t hope that the Xiao clan can truly rise to the imperial examination and become a Jinshi again?
Xu Shilin was not happy when he heard this, "How is the family situation of my aunt's family?"
"My family is neither good nor bad; because my father works as a teacher in the county school and has income every month, we can have enough food and clothing. However, in the countryside, many of my compatriots still struggle to have enough food and clothing. on-line."
