Mrs. Zhou smiled and said, "The one wearing the royal blue gown is Wang Yuan, and the one wearing the honey-colored gown is Wang Ze." Then she asked, "What do you think?"
The person Mrs. Zhou introduced was Wang Yuan, the nineteenth son of the Wang family.
He is the real master, so it's no wonder that he is a little reserved.
Eleventh Lady said implicitly: "Both gentlemen are handsome men."
In other words, I am satisfied with the appearance.
Mrs. Zhou smiled and casually mentioned Wang Zelai: "...He is a cousin. His father had asthma since he was a child. He can't carry anything with his shoulders or hands. He lives on the salary from the public office and his mother's needlework. Fortunately, he has been sensible and calm since he was a child. Not only does he help with most of the family affairs, but he also likes to help the aunts and uncles with anything. Therefore, everyone in the family likes him. This time he came to Ciyuan Temple on the 19th. My sister-in-law must be worried, so she specially asked him to accompany her."
Eleventh Lady was a little surprised.
Seeing Wang Ze being neither humble nor overbearing, and having a straightforward manner, she did not expect that his family was so difficult. It was rare for him to have such a magnanimous demeanor at his age.
"Young Master Sixteen looks like a suitable person," said Lady Eleven, praisingly. "No wonder he was invited to accompany us."
"It's a pity that he is dragged down by his family." Mrs. Zhou sighed, "He has not gone to the clan school since this year. Instead, he started learning how to manage household affairs from the housekeeper." She looked very regretful.
Eleventh Lady was a little surprised.
Seeing Wang Ze's skillful answers, she thought he had already started working.
Mrs. Zhou thought that Shiyi Niang was surprised why the Wang family didn't support Wang Ze to continue his studies. She explained: "Although our Wang family has many children, some of them have passed the imperial examination and become high officials. But it is the first time that we have seen two brothers like Shiliu who have both passed the imperial examination and become scholars at such a young age. How can we not hope that he can continue his studies and bring honor to our Wang family!"
"The Sixteenth Young Master is a scholar?" Eleventh Lady interrupted Mrs. Zhou in surprise.
Mrs. Zhou smiled bitterly and nodded: "He and his brother passed the imperial examination together last year!"
"Then..." Eleventh Lady realized she had said something wrong as soon as she opened her mouth.
Every family has its own problems.
If there were no special reasons, for someone like Wang Ze who passed the imperial examination at such a young age, and who passed the examination with his brother at the same time, there would be no reason for the Wang family not to support his studies.
She made amends by saying, "Zhennan Marquis's Mansion is really full of talented people!"
"You have to be able to read!" Madam Zhou said, "Because Sixteen didn't want to study, my eldest brother went to their house in person. He promised in front of my brother that he would take out forty taels of silver from his monthly allowance every year to support the two brothers' studies. But Sixteen insisted on not doing it. He said that he was the eldest son and his father was ill, so he should take on the responsibility of supporting his parents. He asked my eldest brother to help him find a job in the mansion."
As she spoke, Mrs. Zhou showed some helplessness.
"It's no wonder that the child has such thoughts. The annual allowance from the public school is not enough for my brother's medical treatment and medicine, let alone the daily expenses of the family. There are also two children's education, pens, inkstones, and teacher's tuition, which are all not small expenses, and not a penny can be spared. In the early years, my sister-in-law pawned some of her dowry, and with the help of her in-laws, she could still make ends meet. But since his grandfather passed away six years ago, his uncle has been in charge of the family. Seeing that my brother is a hopeless case, he gradually visited less. My sister-in-law was afraid of delaying the children's future, so she sewed all night, and her eyes were damaged two years ago, but she has been holding on."
Eleventh Lady remained silent.
It turns out that there are always such stories...
The lady couldn't stop talking about these family matters: "He didn't say this casually. First, he is the eldest son, the one who supports the family. He has the title of scholar, and no one dares to look down on him. Second, his brother is only thirteen years old this year. Instead of both of them starving, it would be better for him to go out and work. This can save a lot of expenses and can also fully support his brother to take the imperial examination."
I'm afraid there is a more important reason.
It is relatively easy to advance from a student to a scholar, but it takes more than three or five years to advance from a scholar to a Jinshi. The Wang family can support him for three or five years, but can they support him for ten or twenty years? Moreover, as the brothers grow older, they need to marry, have children, support their families, and take care of their parents. I am afraid that the 40 taels of silver is just a drop in the bucket and is far from enough. But if Mrs. Zhou's eldest brother is asked to pay a little more, what will the other relatives think? Will they also ask for the same treatment? Will they offend other relatives?
Eleventh Lady nodded slightly: "Sixteenth Master is a very insightful person."
Mrs. Zhou was relieved to see that she understood.
After all, no one wants to have a reputation as a harsh relative!
She thought about some things she heard when she returned to her parents' home a few days ago.
"It's a pity that his uncle is short-sighted." Mrs. Zhou said, frowning slightly, "When his grandfather was alive, he saw that Sixteen was smart, filial and sensible, so he wanted to marry his cousin to him. Later, the two families didn't visit each other much, and no one mentioned this matter. Last year, the two brothers both passed the imperial examinations, and his uncle brought up the matter again. At that time, one of my aunts was helping Sixteen to propose marriage, and the two families met and hired a matchmaker, waiting to exchange engagement letters. His uncle came to the house every day to talk about it, but my sister-in-law was thinking about it. "The marriage was naturally ruined because of the financial support from his maternal family." She said with disdain, "This year, at the beginning of spring, Shiliu accepted the job in the mansion. My sister-in-law cried a lot, thinking that he would not continue to study, and she couldn't treat her son unfairly in marriage. She scraped together a few hundred taels of silver and asked a matchmaker to go to his uncle to ask for marriage. But his uncle changed his tone completely, and didn't admit that it happened at all, and said that his daughter had been engaged a long time ago. My sister-in-law was so angry that she lay at home for several days. She didn't even go to the wedding banquet for her nephew's wedding two days ago."
This reality...
Eleventh Lady couldn't help but ask, "What does Sixteenth Young Master's uncle do?"
"They just live on the few acres of land passed down from their ancestors." Madam Zhou said indifferently, "They are one of the most wealthy families in Gu'an Prefecture. They think that having a Lian Mei who is the commander of the Wucheng Military Department makes them high-ranking officials."
Eleventh Lady couldn't help but laugh when she heard her contradictory words.
Mrs. Zhou also knew that she was venting her anger. She laughed for a while. Then she asked the maid to bring a table of vegetarian dishes: "...It's been a while since I came to Ciyuan Temple to eat vegetarian food." The topic turned to Wang Ze again: "Such a commotion only ruined a good child like Sixteen - their family is originally a branch, and there was a scholar who had achieved success and was just looking for a marriage. Now that they don't take the exam, those with a little wealth may think that their family is too poor. If they find someone from a poor family, Sixteen is at least a scholar with a degree, it's a pity."
Eleventh Lady nodded, thinking of Twelve Lady whom she had always missed... She was in a similar situation. Mr. Luo was now unemployed at home, and Sixth Lady was born a maid. If she had a family with money, they would dislike her being born out of wedlock. If she didn't have money, the Luo family would probably not agree to it for the sake of face.
In the flash of fire and lightning, she couldn't help but move forward and leaned forward slightly to ask, "Sister Zhou, I wonder how old the Sixteenth Young Master is this year?"
Madam Zhou was slightly startled and said, "She is sixteen years old this year."
"What happened to the marriage between the Sixteenth Young Master and his cousin?"
Madam Zhou had a vague feeling and said, "Of course it didn't work! Otherwise, how could I say that I implicated Sixteen?"
Eleventh Lady thought for a moment and said, "I have a younger sister, whom Sister Zhou has also met. She played with Fang Jie'er and the others in Liufangwu on March 3rd. She is eleven years old this year, and it is time for her to discuss marriage. The Sixteenth Young Master is from a noble family, handsome, and well-educated. I don't know if this is our destiny..."
Mrs. Zhou clearly understood.
Her mind raced.
That Twelve Lady is very pretty. Although the eldest master Luo is now idle at home and is a concubine's son, the second master of the Luo family is a councilor in Shandong, the third master is a scholar in Sichuan, the eleventh lady is the wife of the Marquis of Yongping, the tenth lady is married to the Duke of Maoguo, the eldest master Luo is a scholar, and has a nephew-in-law who is a third place winner...
Mrs. Zhou's eyes showed a hint of excitement. Before Eleventh Lady finished speaking, she smiled and said, "The Luo family is a family of scholars and officials for generations. Miss Twelve is outstanding in appearance and virtuous. If she can take a fancy to our Sixteenth, it will be a blessing for our Sixteenth in her previous life."
Both of them understood what they meant and couldn't help but smile at each other.
Mrs. Zhou said, "I will go back to my parents' home in the next few days."
Eleventh Lady also needs to discuss this matter with Luo Zhenxing.
She smiled and nodded: "I want to go say hello to my sister-in-law too."
"That matter about Nineteen..."
Eleventh Lady blushed: "Besides talking to the Marquis about this matter, the Madam..."
Mrs. Zhou also knew that Wang Ze was different from Wang Yuan, and Twelve Niang could not be compared with Zhen Jie'er. She said straightforwardly: "Then let's do it one by one!"
Eleventh Lady hurriedly smiled and said, "Then I'll trouble Sister Zhou!"
"What's the use of bothering me?" Mrs. Zhou said with a smile, "Just remember to make me a pair of matchmaker shoes yourself. I heard from our sister Fang that you made a pair of red parrot-shaped peach slippers for sister Zhen. They were very beautiful."
"As long as Sister Zhou likes it!"
Eleventh Lady and Madam Zhou were chatting and laughing when the vegetarian dishes arrived.
After they had their meal, they returned home.
The lady took Shiyi Niang's hand and asked, "How is it? Does Prince Wang still like her?"
Eleventh Lady told the lady dowager about the situation.
The lady nodded as she listened and said, "Then send someone to ask Mr. Han to find out how Mr. Wang's studies are going."
A thought flashed through Eleventh Lady's mind, and she thought of Ziwei, who was beside Fifth Lady... It seemed that she was given to a Hanlin named Han as a concubine!
She pondered and said, "When the Marquis comes back, I will go and ask immediately."
When the lady heard her son mentioned, she said worriedly, "He's been gone for three or four days, and he didn't even send a message home..."
How can it be so fast!
Eleventh Lady hurriedly smiled and changed the subject: "Guess what our Madam Zhou said in Ciyuan Temple today?"
Seeing her bright eyes twinkling and her rare playful look, the lady-in-law deliberately flattered her. She took a breath and jokingly said, "Hmm, it smells like alcohol... and you came back so late... Could it be that the two of you are together to criticize mother-in-law?"
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It may be a little late to update today, so let’s get up tomorrow and read it!
O(∩_∩)O~