After noon, Cheng Wanwan came out of the palace.
She had just experienced a palace fight. On the surface it was a struggle between women, but in reality it was the pull of all forces.
The queen's position is stable, Concubine Lin relies on the Lin family, Concubine Xian and Concubine Shu each have sons, and Concubine Yun dominates the fifth prince... There are also some girls under twenty years old who do not have a strong family and no children around them. She was pregnant, so she attached herself to a powerful palace concubine, hoping to gain the emperor's favor in order to conceive a dragon...
The harem is a battlefield for women, and every woman on the battlefield is a pitiful person.
Cheng Wanwan was extremely lucky, she was far away from the harem, she had a free and broad sky, she was much happier than these women.
The queen sent Aunt Zhou to escort Cheng Wanwan out of the palace in person, and led people to help Cheng Wanwan move everything to the newly arranged courtyard. This courtyard was very close to the palace. Although it was not a big courtyard with three entrances and four entrances, it was small and small. It is exquisite, with rockeries and running water arranged, and large areas of bamboo planted with fluttering bamboo leaves, adding a lot of artistic conception.
The queen arranged for four maids, two nuns, and four eunuchs to come and take care of her. They were well taken care of, inside and out, and Cheng Wanwan didn't need to worry about anything.
Cheng Wanwan sent someone to tell Cheng Zhao that she had changed her residence.
On the second day after moving in, people kept coming to deliver invitations and greetings.
Mrs. Qi walked in with the post: "After An Ren was called into the palace, he moved into the house under the Queen's name. The ladies in the capital couldn't sit still. The ladies with lower grades asked to visit. The ladies of slightly higher rank sent invitations one after another to invite An Ren to go to the lake to enjoy the flowers. I received eight or nine posts this day, so An Ren can take a look."
Cheng Wanwan put down her foreign language book and opened the posts one by one. The people requesting a visit were some official family members of the seventh and sixth grades. The ladies who invited her to go to the lake to enjoy the flowers were of the fifth and fourth grades, the highest status. That is Mrs. Zhao, the wife of Dr. Guanglu of the third rank.
The surname is Zhao, this can be regarded as the main family.
Presumably, what happened to her in the Queen's Palace has been spread, and everyone in the circle should know that the Queen punished Concubine Yun in order to protect her. She was the mother-in-law of the fifth prince who was extremely favored. She was grounded. Since she was grounded, her status as a Sui'an person has been greatly enhanced.
Although she was only a sixth-grade woman, she worked for the emperor and was protected by the queen. Naturally, the ladies with sensitive senses of smell in the capital came to show her favor.
She is not a person who likes to be high-profile, but when things have developed to this point, she can't even keep a low profile.
Another thing is that she has offended that concubine Yun. If she continues to be as low-key as before, she doesn't know when she was plotted by concubine Yun.
It's better to take advantage of this opportunity to achieve what you want.
Cheng Wanwan pulled out the post from the Zhao family and said, "Go there in person and tell Mrs. Zhao that I will definitely be there for the flower viewing tomorrow."
Mrs. Qi took orders to do it.
Cheng Wanwan sat in the yard, thought for a while and then said: "Mrs. Yang, prepare some gifts. Tomorrow I will go to the Zhang Mansion to visit Mrs. Zhang."
Since it was Mr. Zhang who kept her in the capital, she had no choice but to take action against Mr. Zhang before doing this.
Early the next morning, Cheng Wanwan took a carriage to the Zhang Mansion. The carriage she was riding in was not the one she brought from Dahe Village, but one specially prepared by the Queen. It had a low-key appearance and luxurious interior. It was extremely comfortable to sit on, as well as lying down. It was almost the same on the bed. She immediately asked Cheng Jia to modify her own carriage according to this carriage.
The carriage quickly arrived at the gate of Zhang Mansion.
Because someone had been sent over to hand over the greeting card a long time ago, there was an old lady in her sixties standing at the foot of the steps of Zhang's house. It was Mrs. Zhang who went out to greet her personally.
"Oh Sui'an people, I've finally seen you, old lady." Mrs. Zhang took Cheng Wanwan's hand affectionately, "That old man in our family has troubled you a lot, don't blame him, he serves as Hong Mr. Lu Si has never made any political achievements in all these years. Now that he has seen hope, why don’t he just ask you to do everything for him? Don’t worry, our Zhang family will not treat you badly..."
"What are you talking about, old lady? Mr. Zhang is doing things for the imperial court, and I am also sharing the worries of the imperial court. They are all part of the job." Cheng Wanwan said with a smile, "This time Dayu Dynasty and Assab have reached a trade agreement. After cooperation, this is political achievement, and Mr. Zhang will definitely be rewarded by the emperor... It is not difficult for men to achieve political achievements, but it is really difficult for us women to do something for the court..."
"Women in the capital gather and compete all day long. How many of them really want to do something for the people and the court?" Mrs. Zhang shook her head, "In the past few hundred years, you are the only one from Sui'an. What he did to the people, to the country, and to the Dayu Dynasty are all worth learning from us women... We can’t learn from you as well, but it’s good to learn a little bit."
"Actually, I came today to discuss something with Mrs. Zhang." Cheng Wanwan sat down, took a sip of tea and said, "My nephew and I plan to open a reading pavilion in the capital to provide a place for poor students to read. , now the Reading Pavilion will be open in more than 20 days. After the opening, a merit wall will be built, and the names of those who have contributed to the Reading Pavilion will be written in calligraphy, framed and hung on the merit wall. Mr. Zhang once donated books One hundred volumes, he is currently the person who has made the greatest contribution to the Reading Pavilion. Master Zhang’s name will be the first, and every scholar who walks in will know Master Zhang’s merits..."
Madam Zhang was a bit shy, but she said unforgivingly: "When did this little old man donate so many books? I don't know at all."
"These books donated by Mr. Zhang belong to the Zhang family and are also the merits of the old lady." Cheng Wanwan coughed and said, "Men can strive for fame wherever they go, but we women have no place to use our abilities. I I just thought, why not write the old lady’s name on the merit wall..."
Mrs. Zhang put down the tea cup and rolled her old eyes. Not to mention, she was really moved.
As I get older, I don’t have to worry about food and clothing. I have a good official position, I won’t be looked down upon by others, and I don’t have to be involved in partisanship. I used to think that my life was very complete, but since I have a Sui’an person, I feel that my life is perfect. I always feel that I have done too little for the people. After my death, I will be buried in the earth, and no one will mention my name except my children.
But if she has a reputation among scholars and is passed down from generation to generation, doesn’t she also have merit?
Seeing Mrs. Zhang's expression, Cheng Wanwan knew that she had come to the right place.
She could tell from the attitude of people in the capital towards her that many high-status women wanted to make a name for themselves. Now that there was such a good opportunity to make a name for themselves, no one would be willing to miss it.
Taking Mrs. Zhang as an entry point, I believe many ladies will donate books, but I don’t know if they can reach the required amount.
"I can't take advantage of this merit in vain. The old man donated a hundred volumes, so I will add another three hundred." Mrs. Zhang said, "Sui'an people, if you need anything else in the future, just come and tell me. I fully cooperate."
Cheng Wanwan stood up, knelt down and solemnly thanked her: "Then I will first thank Mrs. Zhang on behalf of the vast number of students from poor families and poor scholars."
