The autumn is bleak and the Confucian Temple is dilapidated.
The Confucian Temple is in a semi-abandoned state and the temple keeper is nowhere to be found. Mr. Yang pushed the door open and heard the rising and falling sounds of weaving. The bluestone floor of the temple was swept clean, and half-dried vegetables were drying on the floor.
Under the eaves, a white-haired old woman was weaving, and the loom made a creaking sound. Mr. Yang looked dazed, as if he saw his deceased mother.
When he was young, his mother wove cloth under the eaves every day to support his studies in a private school.
"Old man, are you here to burn incense?" Mother Shen stopped weaving. "The temple keeper is not here, you can burn incense on your own."
Mr. Yang lived a simple life and dressed very plainly. He looked like an ordinary old man.
Mr. Yang did not reveal his identity. He nodded calmly: "Yes, I came to burn incense for Confucius."
He walked slowly into the main temple, where several statues of saints, though worn out, were wiped clean. After Mr. Yang finished burning incense, he caught a glimpse of several old books drying on the window frame and a dozen sheets of rice paper covered with handwriting.
The book cover is torn, the paper is yellowed, and there are signs of repairs in many places. Mr. Yang opened a book at random and saw the notes in the book.
The handwriting is neat, the notes are clear and organized, and the author has a keen eye. Mr. Yang picked up another piece of rice paper. The quality of this rice paper was very poor, and the ink would easily smudge when he wrote. The large piece of rice paper in Mr. Yang's hand was filled with essays on "The Emperor's Politics".
It criticizes current social ills and is easy to understand. Although it has some flaws, it is generally very good. The last words written on the rice paper were "Chen Xiuming".
"He is quite insightful." Mr. Yang stroked his beard.
He put down the rice paper and books and strolled in the Confucian Temple. The Temple of Literature is very small, with only five small rooms besides the main temple building. Mr. Yang walked to a small room which was full of old books. A young scholar was sitting at a desk, carefully flipping through a yellowed book in his hand.
The book was old and yellowed, and he turned the pages very gently, for fear of tearing it apart.
Mr. Yang coughed a few times deliberately, but it didn't alarm Shen Xiuming who was reading. Shen Xiuming read for a while and suddenly felt thirsty. He stared at the book and reached for the teacup next to him with his left hand.
He mistook the ink for tea and actually drank two mouthfuls of the ink without noticing and continued to study hard.
Mr. Yang smiled and slowly left the Confucian Temple.
After returning to the carriage outside the Confucian Temple and waiting for a while, Qinghe, the round-faced servant who had gone out to inquire about the news, came running back.
"Master, I have heard about it. The mother and son living in the Confucian Temple are both from the south. Oh, the old lady weaving in the Confucian Temple is so pitiful. Her eldest son died in battle at the border, her eldest daughter was just divorced and sent home, her youngest daughter sold herself to a high-ranking official as a concubine, her youngest son studied hard in the Confucian Temple, and the old lady made ends meet by weaving."
"This old lady is very kind. She has a hard life herself, but she will help her neighbors when they are in trouble."
Mr. Yang stroked his beard and fell into deep thought.
...
...
Two days later.
The autumn is cool, and the osmanthus flowers in the yard are blooming with rice-grain-sized flowers, filling the yard with elegant sounds. Shen Wei was sitting in the pavilion in the garden, with a thin wool blanket draped over her knees, looking through the account book sent by "Qixiangzhai".
Rong Mama walked into the pavilion with a cup of hot tea and whispered, "Master, there is news from the Confucian Temple that Mr. Yang has accepted Master Shen as his student. Master Shen was overjoyed and knelt down in front of the statue of the saint."
"Mr. Yang's wife, Mrs. Luo, went out to enjoy the osmanthus flowers yesterday, and the scar on her cheek was completely covered up."
Shen Wei breathed a sigh of relief.
Everything was going according to her plan, which was great. The purpose of letting Mr. Yang Xuanji be Shen Xiuming's teacher was, firstly, to tutor him for the Spring Examination, and secondly, to pave the way for Shen Xiuming.
If Shen Xiuming enters officialdom in the future, he will have someone to rely on with Yang Xuanji as his backer.
Chen Wei calculated that her due date should be in March of next year, which is the day when the Spring Examination begins. After the baby is one month old, the list of successful candidates in the spring examination will be announced.
Shen Xiuming became a tribute scholar and was directly granted an official position, completely leaving his agricultural status and crossing the class line. Even if she was just a ninth-rank official of a small rank, Shen Wei could be considered to have an official background.
If Shen Xiuming was capable and was lucky enough to get into the top three in the palace examination, he would be at least a seventh-rank official, and Shen Wei would have almost nothing to worry about.
Next, Shen Wei will focus on the child in her belly. She had to make all the necessary preparations to ensure the baby was born safely.
...
Time flies, days go by, and Shen Wei's belly grows bigger day by day.
Autumn passes and winter comes. After the first snow, the entire city of Yanjing was covered in silver. Chen Wei was afraid of the cold, and as her belly grew bigger, she became more and more reluctant to move. Apart from maintaining basic daily exercise, she spent most of her time in the warm room eating and drinking, looking at account books, making winter clothes for King Yan, and studying delicious pastries with Li Yao.
The room is warm. In the small square copper stove with carvings, green charcoal was burning. This kind of "Rui Tan" is exclusively supplied to the royal family. When it burns, there is no flame, only red light, and the smell is not pungent. King Yan specially sent a large box to Shen Wei.
Li Yao carefully picked up the pancake on the charcoal fire with chopsticks and said happily: "Auntie, the plum blossom pancake is ready!"
Plum blossom scones are a type of scones that Shen Wei recently created. The method is very simple. Pick fresh plum petals, wash them, mix them with the dough, and knead them into pancakes. Roast it on charcoal fire and eat it after both sides are cooked. The elegant plum blossom fragrance mixed with the burnt aroma of the roasted dough has a very unique taste.
"Aunt, let's send some plum blossom baked cakes to Aunt Zhang. She loves to eat!" Li Yao looked at Shen Wei eagerly.
Shen Wei thought about it and nodded happily: "Okay."
She had been lying down for most of the day, so it was time for her to go out and walk around to relax her muscles. Pregnancy is hard work, and with a heavy belly, Shen Wei's legs gradually became swollen, and she needed daily massage or walking to barely reduce the swelling.
Li Yao put the five baked plum blossom cakes into the food box and walked out of the Glazed Pavilion with Shen Wei.
It had just snowed and the palace was covered in white. Shen Wei took good measures to keep warm. She wore a white fox fur hat, a thick plain velvet and gold satin cotton jacket, a white satin brocade cloak, a hot water bottle in her hand, and woolen leather boots on her feet. She looked like a furry ball.
Cailian and Caiping followed Shen Wei closely to prevent her from falling accidentally.
Li Yao ran and played happily in the snow. Passing by the palace's garden, Li Yao suddenly saw two snow-white figures in the yard.
It was Liu Ruyan and her maid Xuemei.
Liu Ruyan was wearing a white fox fur cloak and standing under a white plum tree. Xuemei was holding a bamboo basket in her hand and squatting on the ground picking up the fallen white plum blossoms.
"Aunt Liu, how are you?" Li Yao greeted Liu Ruyan happily. "Aunt Liu, what are you doing?"
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