Chapter 111 The Female Teacher
"Do you recognize Minister Wei?" Chang Suining had just been "frank" with the other party, and now he asked questions without any scruples, without having to consider whether there would be any flaws in his words.
This feeling of relief made her somewhat regretful that she had not revealed her "illness" to Wei Shuyi earlier.
"Of course I recognize her." Wei Shuyi looked at the woman who got off the sedan chair and said, "This lady is the wet nurse of the prince mentioned earlier."
He paused for a moment when he said the word "Prince", and then, fearing that Chang Suining, who had a brain disease, would not understand, he whispered, "That is the deposed emperor earlier."
Chang Suining nodded in understanding.
The other party was the wet nurse of the deposed emperor Li Bing, and she naturally knew this identity.
But what happened after Li Bing was deposed?
Although the other party's clothes seem to be just ordinary and not gorgeous, from his demeanor, pace and spirit, you can tell that he is now quite famous.
After Li Bing was deposed, he was buried with the rites of a prince, but the wet nurse of the deposed emperor was still able to appear in public with dignity and was honored as "Madam" by Wei Shuyi. In addition to the "magnanimity and benevolence" of the current saint, I am afraid there is another explanation -
As expected, Wei Shuyi continued, "This lady is extraordinary... When the prince was still the emperor, this lady also enjoyed great fame, and even the concubines in the harem respected her to the utmost."
Chang Suining was not surprised.
Li Bing lost his mother at a young age and was brought up by this wet nurse. This wet nurse was never a soft-hearted person. When Li Bing was conscientiously being a tyrant, it was normal that most of the affairs in the harem were controlled by this wet nurse.
Wei Shuyi said: "No one would have thought that at that time, when the government was in chaos, the first person to come forward and ask for the dethronement of the 'saint' would be this lady."
"At the morning court, in front of all the officials, he risked his life to ask for the emperor to be deposed. Every word he said was full of pain and sorrow, and he wept as he explained the emperor's stupidity and crimes——"
This marked the beginning of the curtain on the abolition of Lee Byung.
"So that's how it is." Chang Suining didn't need Wei Shuyi to say anything more, he could guess what was going on: "For someone who is so righteous and concerned about the country and the court, it is reasonable that he would be praised and treated well afterwards."
This is within the realm of reason for the Ming Dynasty and for people all over the world.
I just don't know if the other party's overly courageous move of risking his life to depose the emperor was a move of judging the situation or was it guided by an "expert"? No wonder she looked at such a righteous person with a mean heart, because she had a little understanding of whether the righteous person had righteousness.
When she was young, she and Axiao had experienced the character of Li Bing's wet nurse.
In other words, the fact that he was able to bring Li Bing, who had been an orphan since childhood, alive to the end in those bloody battles among princes showed not only that Li Bing was indeed a loser and no one cared about him, but also that what he was best at was studying the way of survival - which, of course, was not wrong.
"That's right, he was praised by the saint and granted the first-class imperial edict, and he was also respected by the world." Wei Shuyi smiled and said, "After leaving the palace, he still served the deposed emperor and never left him until the deposed emperor passed away."
"This move was even more praised by people... and because she had lived in the palace for many years, she was a role model for women in terms of virtue, speech, appearance and achievements, so she was regarded as a teacher for women all over the world, and everyone respectfully called her Madam Jie."
"The teacher of all women in the world?" Chang Suining repeated, looking at the figure of the woman who had already entered the building, and said, "How did I disturb this Madam Jie?"
Wei Shuyi waved his folding fan with a smile: "I heard that Madam Jie is also fond of poetry, and often invites women from the capital to attend poetry gatherings. Maybe she came here to show her support?"
He dared to say the word "support", and Chang Suining seemed to believe it: "Very good, then my apprenticeship banquet today will be even more glorious."
Wei Shuyi smiled and pointed downstairs with his folding fan: "Aren't you going to greet them?"
Chang Suining nodded: "Such a person should be welcomed."
Wei Shuyi followed beside her, and as he walked down the stairs, he said with a smile: "You must know that in the capital, if anyone can get a word of praise from Madam Jie in front of others, his reputation will spread, and he will be able to get a higher position when choosing a son-in-law."
Chang Sui Ning does not make any comment.
She has no interest in choosing a son-in-law.
When she reached the second floor, she found her own seat and sat down.
Seeing her sit down, Wei Shuyi raised his eyebrows: "Not going down?"
"Haven't you come down from the third floor?" Chang Suining asked as she adjusted her dress, "Isn't this sincerity enough?"
Wei Shuyi remained silent.
For ordinary people, it is not enough.
For Madam Chang, it was even a bit too much.
So he nodded honestly: "Very enough."
Chang Suining looked downstairs.
More than two hundred people came today. If she went downstairs to greet each and every one of them, she would be exhausted to death.
What's more, she had no connection with this uninvited Mrs. Jie, and it was still unknown what the other party's purpose of coming here was.
…
"Madam, please stay."
The servant boy in front of the poetry desk on the first floor bowed and stopped Mrs. Xie, who was nearly sixty years old.
"Today's seats in the building are full, and no guests have left yet, so it is inconvenient to receive you any more. I hope you can forgive me."
Mrs. Xie remained calm and her expression did not change.
A maidservant beside her raised her eyebrows and asked, "You are about to refuse my wife entry. Have you asked the host of today's apprenticeship banquet?"
The two servants were only about twelve or thirteen years old, and they didn't recognize the person in front of them. After hearing what was said, they looked at each other, and one of them said, "Madam, please tell me your identity, so that I can go up and ask, and then I will reply to you."
The maid said with a serious expression, "My wife is Madam Jie from Daoshengfang."
The servant boy was slightly surprised, as he had heard of it before. He bowed and went upstairs to ask.
There were many people and a lot of noise upstairs, so the servant boy found Chang Suining who had just come down from the third floor to ask him something, then went back downstairs, which took him half a quarter of an hour.
"Madam, Mrs. Chang invites you in." The servant boy bowed.
Looking at the empty stairs behind the servant, the maid beside Madam Xie frowned slightly.
After waiting for such a long time, Mrs. Chang heard that her wife was coming, but she didn't even come downstairs to greet her in person? You must know that her wife's status and reputation are so high that even those first-class ladies who asked her to teach the girls in their families the rules and etiquette would come to her door in person to ask her.
The maid was unhappy: "Madam..."
This lady from the Chang family is so rude and disrespectful!
I've heard recently that this girl is acting arrogantly and now it seems to be true.
Mrs. Xie showed no strange expression. She just glanced at the thick stack of poems on new paper on the poetry table in front of her.
The book boy hurriedly said, "Mrs. Chang has told you that you don't have to write any poems, you can go in directly."
Mrs. Xie nodded slightly and walked upstairs.
Her appearance was obviously unexpected, and many women came forward to greet her.
In addition to the Duan mother and daughter and Yao Xia and others who were invited earlier, the female relatives who came today also included those who came later. Among them, there are those who truly like poetry and those who want to make friends.
But the female relatives were a minority after all, accounting for only a few dozen of the more than two hundred people. The commotion at this moment was far less than the sensation when Master Chu suddenly appeared an hour ago.
But Duan did not come forward to greet him.
Wei Miaoqing frowned secretly.
Two or three years ago, her mother took her to attend a poetry reading organized by Mrs. Xie. She was thirteen or fourteen years old at that time. While chasing a butterfly, she accidentally fell into the flowers and injured her palm, which caused Mrs. Xie to scold her.
He said with a stern face that although she was the legitimate daughter of the Duke of Wei, her temperament was too unruly. If she was not restrained, she would not be able to be the wife of a wealthy family in the future.
Amidst the seemingly tactful and well-intentioned chorus of agreement, the mother said in confusion, "No, it's not even summer yet, why are there cicadas and flies making so much noise?" Then, ignoring Mrs. Xie's gloomy face, she turned around and left, pulling her.
On the way back, my mother said an eight-character maxim: If I had known this would happen, the dogs wouldn’t have come.
Since then, Mrs. Xie never invited her mother to poetry gatherings again, and she and her mother would usually avoid this know-it-all Mrs. Xie.
But I didn't expect to run into him here today.
As soon as she saw him, Wei Miaoqing's mind flashed back to the day when she was reprimanded in public. She was ashamed and angry: "Mother, shall we go back?"
"Why should we go back?" Duan glanced at Mrs. Xie, who was a generation older than her, and said, "We are honored guests who came with an invitation. Why should we avoid these uninvited people?"
Wei Miaoqing thought about it and realized it was right, so he sat up straighter.
She is known as the teacher of all women in the world, and her reputation is very great, but Chang Suining specially gave her mother an invitation, but did not think of giving one to Mrs. Jie!
As Wei Miaoqing thought about it, she subconsciously looked at Chang Suining, and suddenly she felt that the other person was much more pleasing to the eye.
Seeing someone coming, Chang Suining also stood up and walked to Madam Xie. While bowing, he said, "I have heard of Madam Xie's great name for a long time."
Madam Xie looked at the girl in front of her calmly. This was almost her habit after leaving the palace. She would look at and even examine every female member who appeared in front of her, and then give an evaluation in her heart.
Compared with the many women she had seen before, the one in front of her was quite different, and also different from what she had imagined.
Her imagination came from what she heard——
She is arrogant, fond of showing off, restless, and the most beautiful woman in the capital.
Her appearance and looks were indeed rare beauties, but she did not spend too much time on her clothes and attire, and there was not even a trace of makeup on her face, and she was completely unadorned.
The hands raised during the salute had no nails and even had some light calluses.
Compared with these external appearances, what caught her attention more was the girl's temperament and attitude.
When he saw her coming, he felt no fear, no joy, and no uneasiness.
Nothing at all.
Madam Xie retracted her gaze and looked at the noisy scene of scholars around her. She smiled and said, "I heard that Madam Chang from the General of the Cavalry Mansion is holding a poetry gathering here today. I came here uninvited. I just hope I didn't spoil the guests' interest."
If she were an ordinary "sensible" young lady, how would she respond to this? She would simply apologize for not sending out an invitation.
In other words, these words were thrown out to give Chang Suining the opportunity to follow up with a sentence like this, which made both sides respectful. She gained the respect of being respected by the younger generation, while Chang Suining gained the respect of being sensible and humble as the younger generation.
But unfortunately, Chang Suining never believed that unconditional self-deprecation and humility were virtues worth spreading.
If she ever belittles herself and is humble, it must be fake and for profit.
"It was originally just a banquet to pay respect to the teacher, but by chance it became a poetry gathering—" Chang Suining turned around and told a servant, "Take Madam Jie to take a seat."
The servant responded "yes" and made a "please" gesture to Mrs. Jie.
Seeing that Mrs. Xie was invited to take a seat and Chang Suining returned to her seat, Wei Miaoqing was quite surprised: "She actually left him aside?"
"They invited us here as an exception and treated us politely. How can that be called being left out in the cold?" Duan said, "By this logic, aren't all the guests in this building left out in the cold today?"
Wei Miaoqing whispered, "But Mrs. Xie's brain is different from that of ordinary people... Isn't she surrounded by the host family wherever she goes?"
"Then there's nothing we can do." Duan sighed softly, "No one asked her to come."
When Mrs. Xie sat down, she glanced at the figure of the girl, and a trace of displeasure flashed in her eyes - it was indeed consistent with the rumors, and she was not wronged.
When he looked at the little girls who were following Chang Suining and chattering non-stop, he frowned slightly.
At this moment, the maid beside her lowered her voice and asked, "Madam..."
Mrs. Xie's eyes looked slightly cold and she nodded slightly.
She had not intended to resort to such a desperate measure, but such an eccentric girl would obviously not be disciplined by anyone, and if she continued to behave in such a blatant manner, it would surely disrupt the moral customs of women in the capital.
…
Inside the Ganlu Hall in the palace, Emperor Shengce also heard about the grand occasion at Dengtai Tower today.
"There hasn't been such a lively poetry gathering in the capital for a long time. This is not a bad thing." The Emperor of the Holy Ce said as he put down his red brush while sitting behind the dragon desk.
There are grand occasions in prosperous times, so she is naturally happy to see them.
But it also depends on what kind of grand occasion——
If the person who organized this poetry gathering today was an official in the court or a member of the royal family, she would naturally not be happy about it.
A young lady's apprenticeship banquet made this poetry gathering a success, and it just avoided everything that she was superstitious about.
It's not that she herself is a woman, but she despises women, ignores women, and does not use women as a threat - it is precisely because she is a woman that she knows better how difficult it is for women to act.
Even though she has come this far, the road ahead is still unknown.
She got to this position by not only taking every step carefully, but also by having the right time, right place, and right people...
Every step she took along the way was something that no other woman could ever try to imitate.
Even if an exceptionally outstanding woman appears, she can no longer become her true enemy.
Therefore, she could have viewed this rather inclusive poetry reading with an appreciative attitude.
"It is a rare event that all the scholars gather together. Luo'er, please go and see if there are any good poems or articles today." The Emperor of the Holy Ce told Ming Luo: "Don't make it public, and don't use my name to avoid disturbing the scholars."
Ming Luo understood and responded: "Luo'er understands."
The pen in the hands of a writer can often be a knife.
When my aunt ascended the throne, she borrowed this knife.
Those who have used it know to be more vigilant.
Poetry gatherings are a good thing, but if something annoying that damages the majesty of heaven is spread, it can no longer be called a grand event - if there really are such people who don't know what's good for them, they will not have a good ending.
And the person who facilitated this poetry meeting will inevitably be implicated.
Ming Luo concealed his eyes and thought before leaving Ganlu Palace, then changed into his official uniform and left the palace.
…
The fireworks had died down, and suddenly a burst of crying and shouting was heard outside the Dengtai Tower.
Good night everyone.
(Today I discovered another benefit of raising a cat: Yesterday my mom and her family came to visit me at home, and my great uncle accompanied them to drink. He was a drunkard. In the middle of the night, he felt sick and ran to the bathroom to vomit, but he couldn't vomit. It was very painful. Afterwards, he told me that he suddenly had an idea and went to the cat litter box to smell it (now this lazy cat has evolved to have no shame, and cat feces are not buried at all). So, after smelling it, my great uncle got what he wanted...
(End of this chapter)
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