Under the dim candlelight, Shen Ning finally asked the question that concerned her most, "Do you think there is anyone wrong over there?"
Wrong person?
Xing'er's heart skipped a beat and he suddenly felt very cold.
He knew what his wife meant.
But precisely because I know this, I am even more afraid.
“No…I didn’t notice.”
He did observe.
Because his uncle wanted to train him to be a manager, he had recently learned from Jiao University how to observe the terrain, people and so on.
According to Uncle Jiao, a qualified steward must be able to manage the household and accounts, as well as be able to ride a horse and kill the enemy. In short, he must help his master deal with all possible risks and even dangers in advance.
The old man just wanted him to remember everything he saw.
Xing'er was speechless for a while.
Uncle Jiao himself does not have the ability to remember everything he sees.
All of them didn't.
"The abbot looked more towards the master and the grandfather. There was also another one...who seemed to know some Kung Fu. When he heard we were coming, he came out of the woodshed with an axe in his hand and took a look."
“…”
Shen Ning pondered.
There must be people from the imperial court in Taixuan Temple.
There are also other forces that are secretly trying to win over people.
However, they should have been bribed after she and Jia Jing went there.
During those years, although the original body lived in a villa not far from the Taoist temple and sent people to the Taoist temple from time to time to deliver clothes, food and medicine, he seldom went into the temple himself.
But Jia Jing probably knew who was who among them, otherwise he would not have discovered something unusual in the study that year and set it on fire himself.
"The one you're talking about who knows some Kung Fu is Taoist Master Shou Jing. He's the one who collects all the firewood in the Taoist temple, and he also does all the heavy work."
Thinking of the Taoist Master Shoujing who used to do odd jobs and perform rituals for others, Shen Ning lost interest and said, "Forget it."
Even if she asked, she couldn't do anything.
Shen Ning sighed in her heart, "Is everyone in the Taoist temple in good health? Is anyone sick? Did you bring all the winter clothes and quilts?"
We are all poor people.
Although life at Taixuan Temple was originally hard, it was not impossible to survive.
It was the original body and Jia Jing's presence there that made things complicated.
The original body's way of dealing with things has always been to help them improve their lives and be nicer to them, in the hope that one day when something life-threatening happens, they will say less.
In fact, there are really no bad people in the Taoist temple.
The abbot knew a little medical skills. When he was busy, he would go to the fields to farm. When he was free, he would treat the farmers around him. Rich people would give him some money, no matter if it was a few copper coins, a handful of rice, an egg or something like that. If he met someone who was particularly poor, he would even give some to him.
The Taoist children he took in were either street kids picked up by Shoujing, or children born to families that didn't know where they came from and didn't want to raise them, so they sent them to him in the middle of the night.
Up to now, there are less than fifteen people in the entire Taoist temple.
The two elderly people there were the temple master and Shoujing's master. The other three Taoist priests with the name "Shou" were originally from Taixuan Temple, but life was hard back then, so they had to find a way to make a living by traveling.
They returned after Jia Jing and his wife left and the Taoist temple's life became better.
As for the others who traveled around to make a living and cheat people out of money...
Jia Jing didn't say anything, so she couldn't do anything about it.
"Everyone in the Taoist temple is having a good life."
Xing'er breathed a sigh of relief. "When we went there, the two old Taoist priests were still telling stories to the little Taoist children. They are in good health and can grow vegetables. They also asked me to say hello to my wife. As for winter clothes, quilts, rice, flour and so on, we brought a whole truck over, so there will be no shortage of them."
"Yeah!" Shen Ning nodded, "That's good, you can go down and have a rest too!"
"yes!"
Xing'er exited carefully.
Shen Ning looked at the sun outside, but couldn't fall asleep for a while.
She has already written the Jia family's recipe, but now...
"Prepare paper and ink!"
Qingzhu quickly got it done.
Shen Ning picked up the pen and started writing quickly.
Qingzhu silently thought in his heart, 'There are green mountains beyond the mountains and buildings beyond the buildings. When will the singing and dancing in West Lake stop? The warm wind makes the tourists drunk. Don't mistake Hangzhou for Bianzhou.'
Whose poem is this?
Qingzhu, who had never read systematically, couldn't remember it for a moment.
But Shen Ning's pen was still moving, and soon he wrote to Niujia Village in the eastern suburbs of Hangzhou, where two heroes were drinking white wine. One was called Guo Xiaotian, and the other was called Yang Tiexin...
She couldn't copy Jin Yong's The Legend of the Condor Heroes word for word, but she remembered a lot.
After all, many modern homes have a collection of Jin Yong's complete works.
As the saying goes, the greatest heroes serve their country and their people.
Although the world of Dream of the Red Chamber is not the real world, it is undeniable that the Western world here is also developing.
The Jia family’s self-ringing clock, pocket watch, dressing mirror, etc. are clear evidence of this.
She had never seen the missionaries' muskets, but Shen Ning was afraid that their muskets were better than Dazhao's.
Although Jia Lian is already in the Armory, she can influence him slowly, but she still wants to use Jin Yong's book to inspire more patriotism among the people.
Those hundred years of suffering are so sad.
Both Shen Ning’s modern hometown and her hometown in the world of Dream of Red Mansions are in Anhui.
There are 160,000 memorial facilities across the country, including more than 29,000 martyrs' cemeteries, of which more than 22,000 are in Anhui.
When I was a child, we were not allowed to turn off the lights during the New Year and other festivals. My grandmother said that it was to guide the souls of the heroes who died outside to return home...
The words written by Shen Ning took shape quickly one by one. Qingzhu ground the ink carefully, not daring to disturb him at all.
Time passed little by little, until the sky turned pale, and she had only finished writing the ninth chapter, The Seven Eccentrics of Jiangnan.
It felt like her wrists weren't her own anymore.
Shen Ning put down the pen and said, "I want to sleep for a while today. Don't let anyone disturb me."
"yes!"
Qingping, who was on duty, quickly responded.
"Keep the manuscript away and don't let anyone else read it."
"yes!"
Qing Ping put the last piece of paper that had been dried, "Madam, soak your feet again!"
The story is very interesting.
When it was time to take turns, Qingzhu was reluctant to leave.
She originally wanted to scold Qingzhu for not persuading her and letting her mistress stay up late like this.
But when she read it, she realized that she was reluctant to let her wife stop writing.
"Okay!"
Shen Ning yawned.
She has always been taking care of her health, and suddenly changing her schedule is not a good habit.
"Get another basin of hot water so I can soak my hands, too."
She also had to find someone to write for her.
Find someone quick.
Otherwise, she would have to write it all by herself with a brush...
Just thinking about it, Shen Ning felt that the future was bleak.
Qingping's movements were very skillful. She started out as a maid, so she was very familiar with the job now.
When Jia Zhen woke up and wanted to look for his mother, he heard Qingzhu say that his mother was so sad that she didn't sleep all night and was still catching up on her sleep.
For a moment, his heart... felt hot, sour, and soft.
Jia Zhen couldn't bear to disturb them, so he went straight to the ancestral hall.
"Jane?"
Seeing Jia Zhen, Jia Zheng's heart suddenly became excited, "Can I go home now?"
Wang also looked at it eagerly.
Although they had already eaten the sweet-sweet rice in the morning, both of them felt that they could still eat another chicken.
"I'm afraid not!"
What? Jia Zheng was immediately furious. "Tomorrow is the fifteenth day of the eighth month, Zhen'er. We have been uncle and nephew for so many years, can't you be flexible for just one day?"
“…”
Jia Zhen ignored him, walked forward slowly and burned incense to his ancestors first.
"It is precisely because of the relationship between uncle and nephew that I am implicated by you, Second Uncle Zheng."
Implicate?
He? How could it be possible?
Jia Zheng didn't believe it.
Wang was somewhat looking forward to it.
But wasn’t Jia Zhen’s position just an honorary one?
I don't have to go to court, so why would I get involved? "...How did I get involved with you?"
Jia Zheng also thought about it, but couldn't figure it out, so he had to ask him.
Of course, when he asked this question, his confidence was a little lacking.
"I went to the temple to see my father yesterday."
Jia Zhen looked back at him and said, "Of course, we have to tell him about family matters. Tell me, if my father knew about what you did, what would his attitude be?"
Jia Zheng: “…”
There was an involuntary look of panic on his face.
So does Wang.
Although her life was very hard now and Jia Zheng was always with her, that was Shen's punishment for her.
As a woman, Shen is still generous.
No matter how angry she was, she still mainly scolded Jia Zheng.
But my uncle...
Wang knew very well that the old lady hated her even more.
I hate her for bringing trouble to Jia Zheng, and I also hate her for bringing trouble to her grandchildren.
It would be fine if Jia Jing didn't stand out normally, but if he did...
"He...didn't he become a monk? He has escaped from the secular world, so why would he still care about the family affairs?"
Wang's tone was unnatural.
For some reason, she felt that if Jia Jing punished her, she would be worse off than in the ancestral hall.
At least in the ancestral hall, she still had hope of getting out.
"So Second Aunt wants my father to become a monk so much?"
Jia Zhen was angry.
Others don’t know why his father became a monk, don’t they know either?
His father became a monk out of necessity.
Pretending to be a monk is just for show to others.
Although his father took away his only three thousand taels of private silver, his life was given by his parents, so what was a little silver?
"I'm sorry to disappoint you, but my father is still in the observation stage and can only be considered half a Taoist priest. Even if he becomes a Taoist priest, he is still my Jia Zhen's father and the eldest cousin of my second uncle Zheng."
"Don't... don't listen to her nonsense."
Although Jia Zheng was panicking, the reverence he had developed since childhood was ingrained in his bones. "Zhen'er, just tell me how Big Brother is going to punish me?"
If you stick your head out, you will be killed. If you hide your head, you will still be killed. There is no way to avoid it.
In that case, come earlier! Tomorrow is August 15th, and Yuanchun will be married in just ten days and become the wife of the Marquis of Xinping.
No matter how much you respect your elder brother, you should at least give him some face, right?
Jia Zheng held on to a one in ten thousand hope and waited for Jia Zhen to tell him the punishment.
"Tomorrow, I will gather all the male members of the clan together to offer sacrifices to the ancestors. I will beat you with forty sticks and I will beat me with twenty sticks."
Jia Zheng: “…”
His legs were shaking uncontrollably.
His complexion changed between red and white, and finally turned pale.
Jia Zheng stood there with shaking legs, his mouth slightly opened and his lips trembling, but he seemed to be speechless and could not utter a single sound.
The whole clan...
Brother Jing didn't want to give him a chance to live! Although he had thought about returning to Jinling a long time ago, that was based on the affairs in Beijing, and his hometown didn't know about it.
But once the whole clan is informed...
If his sons had to watch him get beaten, how could he stay in this world? "Uncle Zheng, from now on, you will stay at home and cultivate your character!"
Jia Zhen had no sympathy for him at all. "At least you are alive, and Zhu'er and the others are all fine, but my uncle and his family... only Cousin Lan is left."
According to his father, this punishment couldn't be any lighter.
"My father said that when Cousin Lan comes back, as long as she wants to, the Jia family will unconditionally cooperate within thirty military sticks."
Jia Zheng: “…”
His body went limp and he sat down on the ground.
Sitting here, his breath was flowing, and he was finally able to speak again, "Wang~" Jia Zheng turned his head, his eyes red, "Are you satisfied now?"
Wang: “…”
She really wanted to be satisfied with this.
Although Jia Zheng is thinner now, he has always taken good care of himself, and dozens of beatings would not kill him.
If you take care of it, you will be able to grow it back.
It would be even better if they could beat Jia Zheng and leave the ancestral hall.
"And Second Aunt..."
When she looked over, Jia Zhen said mercilessly: "Since you are a wife of the Jia family, you must bear all the responsibilities you should bear."
Wang: “…”
Her heart was trembling too.
If she was beaten in public like Jia Zheng...
It would be better to die.
"My father said that he would build a small Buddhist temple for you in Lixiangyuan. You don't have to go out no matter whether it is a festival or not. From now on, you can eat vegetarian food and chant Buddha's name there to atone for your sins."
Wang: “…”
Jia Zheng: “…”
The couple didn't know for a moment which punishment would be more severe.
"Yuanchun is getting married."
Wang had no choice but to fight for herself.
She eats vegetarian food and chants Buddhist scriptures on the first and fifteenth day of every month, and even on special days, she does not eat meat.
But that kind of vegetarianism and chanting of Buddhist scriptures is definitely different from Jia Zhen’s every porridge and dish.
Wang was afraid that it was the wild vegetable porridge that reminded her of the bitter past.
And we can’t go out during the New Year holidays…
That means that all matters concerning their second wife will no longer be her responsibility.
"You can't do this to me."
As she spoke, Wang's tears began to fall like beads from a broken string.
"If it gets out, her parents, a marquis' wife..."
"Everyone in the court knows about my second uncle's affairs."
Jia Zhen interrupted her.
Who doesn't know that his second uncle is a fool now? He is used by the Wang family and looked down upon by the Wang family? The daughters of the Wang family's direct lineage are all married. Otherwise, the things that the second aunt did would be enough to prevent them from getting married.
Even Lian's second brother's wife, who used to be an impetuous person, has become much more calm and steady in recent times, fearing that if something goes wrong, she would be caught by someone.
This is the person that the old lady, his mother, and his second brother Lian all like.
The lives of the other daughters of the Wang family..., according to Jia Zhen, must have been even more difficult.
"Just lock you up in the ancestral hall. If the children of the Jia family follow your example, they will be the laughing stock of the world."
So, they can't escape?
Wang's legs went limp and she also sat down on the ground.
She and Jia Zheng watched Jia Zhen walk away with his sleeves swung, and their vision went dark.
I thought that I couldn't live like this anymore, but I didn't expect...
Wang covered her face and cried bitterly. (End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
