Chapter 15: Sister-in-law wants to save the country in a roundabout way

Jiang Si found that Xie Yunshuo's third sister was staring at her intently.

This little girl looks like General Xie and has a bit of heroic spirit.

A pair of neat sword-like eyebrows, a pair of heroic and clear phoenix eyes, but because the nose and lips are like Xia Rongyi, the whole face is softer, and the heroic spirit serves as an embellishment, which is just right.

Seeing Xie Qinghan's curious gaze at her was gentle, Jiang Si smiled at her.

She speculated that Xie Yunshuo and Xie Qinghan, a pair of siblings, were not like other families where "brothers were friendly and respectful to each other". The children were friendly and humble to each other. Otherwise, Xie Qinghan would have watched coldly like Xie Yunling and not been curious about her.

He even felt that she was redundant and a scourge to Xie Yunshuo.

The fact that her third sister Xie Qinghan likes her means that she has a normal relationship with her eldest brother.

She wanted to gain a foothold in the General's Mansion, and there was no hope for her to follow Xie Yunshuo's path, but she could start with Xie Yunshuo's parents and siblings, gain their trust and love, and become a part of this big house.

Regardless of whether Xie Yunshuo liked her or not, after all, she was his legal wife, brought home in a sedan chair carried by eight people, and his family was satisfied with her. Xie Yunshuo could not make any trouble.

She couldn't get out of Jiang Si's palm.

Having made up their minds, after finishing breakfast, the family rinsed their mouths with tea, and sat for a while after the meal was cleared away.

Jiang Si looked at Xie Qinghan and smiled, then asked her, "How old are you now, Third Sister? What are you reading?"

Jiang Si was talking to Xie Qinghan, and the others looked at them with gentle gazes.

The relationship between the aunt and the sister-in-law is good, so Xia Rongyi, as a mother, is naturally satisfied.

Although a bride becomes a member of the family after marrying into the family, not many couples can truly become a family.

The success of a relationship depends not only on whether the personalities of the two people are compatible, but also on whether the woman who marries into the marriage as an outsider is willing to sacrifice her dignity and the bride's modesty. Jiang Si's willingness to speak with her family shows that she has a good temper.

Xie Qinghan raised her head and replied, "Sister-in-law, I'm already ten years old. I'm studying at the family school of Master Wen's mansion, and I'm currently reading The Analects of Confucius. However, I don't like reading."

Xie Qinghan's grandfather, father and brother were all military generals. Influenced by her family, she has been a lively, active and energetic girl since she was young. She loves climbing mountains, riding horses, playing ball, and running outdoors.

Not only did she answer, she also added a heartfelt word, saying that she didn't like reading, which was an excellent start.

Jiang Si quickly realized from this sentence that Xie Qinghan did have some affection for her at first sight, otherwise she would have only needed to answer the first two sentences and would not have said this heartfelt statement.

Xie Qinghan's frank words caused Xia Rongyi's expression to change subtly. Her brows raised slightly, and she obviously disagreed with what she said.

Jiang Si answered calmly, as if she was just chatting casually.

"Not everyone is a scholar. Reading is for understanding reason, distinguishing right from wrong, and understanding the ways of the world. Men who learn martial arts can protect their country. Women who can fight in battle are just as brave as men. My third sister has extraordinary bones, perhaps she could be a heroine like Mulan or Mulan. Even if you can't go to the battlefield, learning martial arts can protect yourself and strengthen your body, which is quite good."

Xie Qinghan had heard too much dogma and discipline, so when she heard her elder sister-in-law say this, her eyes lit up.

"Sister-in-law is right. That's what I think. Why can my father and brother fight in battle and defend our country against foreign enemies, but I can't?"

The eldest family sat together, each with a different expression.

General Xie lowered his head and drank his tea.

For him, although he did not agree with his daughter's idea of ​​transcending the world, he was also relieved that a good father would have a good daughter.

The Xie family is full of loyal, brave and righteous people.

As a mother, Xia Rongyi knows that life is not easy for women, and she hopes that her daughter can be like herself, well-educated, beautiful and intelligent, learn to manage the household, keep the accounts, take care of the inner house, and in the future, take care of the husband and children, and become a famous mistress of a wealthy family in the capital.

Therefore, she felt dissatisfied when she heard what Jiang Siying and Xie Qinghan said.

But because he had decided to win over his daughter-in-law, he did not show it, nor did he deny her.

She just looked at Jiang Si inconspicuously.

I have heard of Jiang Si's name, but I have never heard anyone praise her talent, which shows that she is not good at poetry and literature.

She said this just now, not necessarily just to please Xie Qinghan, but because she thought so too.

The words sound nice, but in fact they are just excuses for not wanting to read and write.

In today's peaceful and prosperous times, it is nothing like the era of Mu Guiying. It is nonsense to say that we need a woman to lead the army.

The more Xia Rongyi thought about it, the more dissatisfied she became. She simply picked up the teacup, lowered her head to sip the tea, and hid her expression.

The aunt and sister-in-law continued this topic and talked about what a woman could do if she didn't read.

When they read, they only read the Thousand Character Classic, "Rules for Disciples", "Rules for Women", "Instructions for Women" and the like, and some poems of whining. They cannot learn how to govern a country, do business, or learn about history and military strategies.

If you can really read something useful, and learn how to govern a country and bring peace to the world like a man, without being confined to the four directions of the sky, then it is worth reading.

Xie Yunshuo listened silently, surprised that Jiang Si could actually chat with his third sister.

Xie Qinghan was unlike other girls. When she was only a few years old, she wanted to go to the pasture with him to race horses. Her mother was afraid that it would be dangerous for her to go, so he had no choice but to refuse her. After so many times, Xie Qinghan felt resentful and was not close to her brother.

I always feel that it is unfair that he can do something but doesn't let her do it.

Therefore, apart from calling him a few times, she never talked to him much at home.

But today Xie Qinghan had a lively conversation with Jiang Si, whom she had just met, which surprised Xie Yunshuo a little.

What was even more surprising was that Jiang Si spoke clearly and frankly about the principles of female strength.

It can be seen that she is not the kind of person who is suitable for the three obediences and four virtues and who devotes her whole heart to her husband and children.

As she said these words, her face was full of smiles and her eyes were bright and shining.

Inexplicably, Xie Yunshuo suddenly realized that he actually knew very little about women.

He had thought about what kind of wife he wanted to marry, but because of the existence of Jiang Si, she opposed him and caused him to repeatedly run into obstacles, so he sought a virtuous and kind woman.

But in fact, there are not many women like Jiang Si. The majority of women are gentle, docile, well-educated and well-mannered.

But he had never had any dealings with people like that, and his interactions with other women were not even half as great as his interactions with Jiang Si.

Not to mention the women who were related to Liu Weining, in fact, with Xie Yunshuo's status and position, there were many women who were close to him, but he had no impression of any of them.

I didn't take those nodding acquaintances and a few greetings seriously.

So he didn't know that if he didn't marry Jiang Si, there would be many candidates for his desired wife in the capital.

But whether he could have a conversation with her, and whether they could be in harmony with each other as described in the poem, was another matter.

Xie Yunshuo looked at Xie Qinghan again.

He knew that if she was trained well, Xie Qinghan would definitely be a heroine.

When she touched a bow for the first time at the age of five, she was able to pull a small bow of one bucket, and her first arrow even grazed the edge of the straw target five steps away. She was much better than her second brother.

It’s a pity that she gave birth to a girl.

Their mother wanted to teach her how to read, write, embroider and play the piano. As her brother, she could not help, so she could only cooperate with her mother and not take her out to play, and let her be a lady who never left the house.

Xie Qinghan is a sensible child. She has not cried or made a fuss in the past few years. She has obediently attended the clan school and learned needlework. However, those regrets are still buried in her heart, quietly sprouting.

After talking for a while, she and Jiang Si felt like they had known each other for a long time, and they even talked about the small whip her father gave her on her seventh birthday.

Xie Qinghan was a little excited: "Sister-in-law, if you have time, I will take it to you to see."

Xia Rongyi coughed lightly.

Xie Qinghan realized that something was wrong and immediately changed the subject, saying, "There are also two lines in the poetry collection I recently wrote that I didn't grasp well. Sister-in-law, please help me appreciate them."

Although everyone knew that Xie Qinghan didn't like these things and that this was just an excuse, she was able to change her words and was willing to cooperate, so Xia Rongyi was willing to turn a blind eye.

After all, she is not that kind of arbitrary and overbearing mother. As long as her children are generally right, it is not a problem for them to have some little thoughts of their own.

After all, Xie Qinghan is only ten years old now, and she still has four years to go before she reaches the age of marriage. The time she has left in her boudoir is getting shorter and shorter.

Xia Rongyi planned to teach her some profound truths when she was older. Now, as long as she could stay in her boudoir peacefully and sit down quietly to read a book for an hour, she would be satisfied.

If she likes this sister-in-law and is willing to stay with her, Xia Rongyi doesn't mind.

After all, the daughter of the Jiang family is a descendant of a civil official. She is generous and graceful, and has some good qualities.

After just half an hour of conversation with Xie Qinghan, Jiang Si had already gotten a general idea of ​​the situation of the Xie family's eldest branch.

Don’t say that every family has its own problems. At the moment, it seems that the Xie family is not difficult to get along with.

Jiang Si knew that her mother-in-law was not very satisfied with her, but she probably had some concerns and was determined to treat her better.

She can take advantage of this favorable situation and be a good eldest daughter-in-law.

Her mother-in-law is a little aloof and arrogant, but she is not a bad person.

Originally, Jiang Si was most worried about Xia Rongyi, but now, in less than half a day, she had a basic idea of ​​what was going on.

In particular, she has a lively younger sister-in-law, and they get along well.

Jiang Si has always been open-minded, and now the future is even more promising.

Thinking of this, she followed Xie Qinghan's words and deliberately told her mother-in-law.

"I am the eldest sister in the family, and I often take my younger sisters to read, write, arrange flowers and embroider. If the third sister is free, you can come to Xian Yi Ju often, and we two sisters-in-law can keep each other company."

Jiang Si only said half of what she said, picking out the good parts.

She was smart and quick at reading. She was only interested in writing and drawing at home. She could play the piano and compose music, but she hated embroidery.

What I said just now was just to say something nice to save face, and to let my mother-in-law hear it.

Besides, she wouldn't lie. If Xie Qinghan really brought an embroidery frame to her room, they could work together for a quarter of an hour.

Any more and it won’t work.

In Jiang Si's mind, what was the point of sewing? Men were out leading troops on the battlefield or traveling for business, while women were cooped up in their homes, sewing on a piece of embroidery cloth, which would only damage their eyesight.

It would be better to read a few more fantasy magazines to broaden your horizons.

At this point, she felt a little sorry for her third sister. She was born in a family of military generals, had such a good master, bows and arrows, weapons, and a martial arts field, but she was confined to the room.

It was said that a whole martial arts training ground was built in the northwest of the general's mansion, with private soldiers inside and grasslands outside. Despite such unique conditions, Xie Qinghan was buried.

Fortunately, she is sensible and obedient. With Jiang Si's personality, she could not do that.

After Jiang Si finished her high-sounding words, she caught a glimpse of someone staring at her in a strange way out of the corner of her eye.

Turning around, I saw that it was none other than Xie Yunshuo.

The look in his eyes made it clear that he knew what she said was not credible.