Chapter 63: Discussions on the Placement of Female Officials

Today's banquet ended hastily due to the arrival of several female officials, and several ladies even left without even having their meals.

"Sister Tian, ​​you stay busy now. There is a long way to go. As long as you don't mind us being a nuisance, we will come every day in the future."

"Sister Guan, what are you talking about? I've been waiting for this for a long time, but it won't come. I'll take you there."

Xu Nian also held Wang Pingting and Shen Yan's hands and said regretfully: "I haven't talked enough with the two sisters today. I will invite the sisters to come over in two days."

"Hmph, stop talking nonsense to me and don't forget our agreement."

Wang Pingting glanced at Mrs. Guan in front of her and whispered to Xu Nian.

Xu Nian smiled knowingly and made an OK gesture, which made Shen Yan and the others stunned. Xu Nian withdrew his finger awkwardly and said, "It's a deal."

After seeing off the guests, Tian returned to the hall to settle the two female officials. There happened to be a courtyard not far from Qingteng Courtyard, which was just suitable for the two female officials to live in. She planned to set up the imperial school in Xu Nian's Qingteng Courtyard.

Fortunately, there were many houses in Qingteng Courtyard, so it was possible to vacate two rooms to serve as scholars. After settling in, Tian transferred two maids to serve the two of them. Liuyun and Liuqin could also see the Xu family's restraint, so they agreed with Tian that they could have their meals in the courtyard in the future.

The Xu family members were having lunch in Shouzhu Courtyard.

"Have the meals for the two ladies been delivered?"

"Don't worry, mom. Everything has been arranged."

Wang finally felt relieved, but she was still worried and gave her eldest granddaughter a few words of advice.

"Big girl, you must learn well from the female official. If you really feel it is too hard, don't endure it by yourself. Tell grandma that we are not trying to climb up the social ladder, so there won't be so many rules and regulations."

Old Man Xu nodded in agreement. He thought the eldest girl was a good girl and it was not necessary for her to learn it.

Xu Nian nodded happily, "I'll listen to grandma."

Tian was worried and said, "I don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing. I observed the expressions of several ladies today. I'm afraid they want to send their daughters here, but they just can't bring themselves to ask for it at the moment."

"Is your sister-in-law worried that if she rejects the other party, it will affect her relationship with the other families?"

Tian nodded slightly. She had inadvertently learned some things while chatting with several ladies today.

The county magistrate is just like the Xu family before, without any roots. The chief clerk, on the other hand, has connections in the provincial capital. I heard from Madam Guan that he had spent a lot of money to use his connections to climb to the position of county magistrate.

What Mrs. Tian, ​​the tutor's family, learned was just some gossip. According to Mrs. Cui, Mrs. Zhu had been married for more than ten years but had not been able to get pregnant. She had several illegitimate sons and daughters. Her mother-in-law had always wanted her to register the illegitimate sons under her name, but Mrs. Zhu had never agreed. So Mrs. Zhu's situation in the mansion was not good.

There is another connection between Madam Guan and the Xu family. The chief secretary of the Zhenbei Palace is Madam Guan's cousin, and Xu Yaozu got the position of chief clerk based on the recommendation letter from the chief secretary.

Xu Nian didn't have these worries.

"Don't worry, mother. These are female officials from the palace. They all have ranks. It's not like the ladies can do whatever they want. As for whether the ladies have the intention to send their daughters here, can't we be sure? Even if they really have this intention, just ask the two female officials for their opinions."

Tian thought her daughter's words made sense, so she stopped dwelling on the issue.

The ladies of each family went back and talked with the head of the family about today's banquet.

After leaving the court, Chief Clerk Fu hurried home. Although he was working in the front court, the front court had also heard about what happened in the backyard. He heard that someone from the Zhenbei Palace had come. He really didn't expect that the new county magistrate was related to the palace.

When Fu Zhubo got home, he didn't even take off his official uniform. He hurriedly asked Madam Cui, "Today I heard that people from the Zhenbei Palace went to the Xu County Magistrate's house. Please tell me what happened."

Cui replied while helping the chief clerk change his clothes: "I heard that Miss Xu made a kind of tea that was very effective in curing the princess's injury, so she gave her many gifts and also left two female officials to teach her the rules."

Fu Zhubo paused for a moment and asked in confusion, "Does this Miss Xu know medical skills?"

"How would we know? Before we could even ask, Mrs. Guan took us to say goodbye."

Fu Zhubo sighed.

"In the future, spend more time with the county magistrate's wife."

"Master, I was wondering if we could send Wanling and Wanru to learn some etiquette from the female officials?"

"Let's talk about this later..."

County Magistrate Shen also asked his wife about what happened today.

Mrs. Liu explained it in much more detail.

"Master, I don't think the Xu family is without foundation. Whether it's the gift for Yan'er or the refreshments for the guests, they are not ordinary, not to mention the way the girls in the family dress. You also said that the Xu County Magistrate is usually very simple. The Xu family will not be able to stay here for long without a backer. What's going on now? Even people from the palace are here. I think you should stop wavering and do your job honestly."

"You are a person who keeps talking endlessly after I asked a question. Am I not willing to do my job properly? The previous county magistrate is a lesson. If I don't know the details of the new county magistrate, do you want me to take the blame for the second time if there is a mistake in the investigation? If it weren't for the prince's keen observation, you and I would both be in the underworld now."

Madam Liu also recalled those days of fear and couldn't stop crying.

"Okay, now that we know the background of the Xu family, we should have more contact with them in the future. Let Yan'er build a good relationship with the county magistrate's daughter. Maybe she can even have some contact with you."

Mrs. Liu opened her mouth but said nothing in the end. Shen Yan, who had wanted to show the woven rope in her hand to her father, put down her hand that was about to knock on the door and returned to her room dejectedly.

When General Wang Qian arrived home, he saw his daughter and wife quietly fiddling with a ball of string. They didn't even notice he had entered the room.

"What are you two doing?"

"Ouch! Why are you walking without making any sound?" Mrs. Guan patted her chest and scolded.

Wang Qian helped to clap twice, "You are just too focused."

Mrs. Guan's hand, which was as strong as an iron sand palm, almost caused trouble even though nothing was wrong.

"Pingting and Miss Xu learned rope weaving today, but they insisted on making trouble when they got home. Look how they ruined all the good ropes."

"It's just a waste, it's not worth anything."

"Hehe~ Dad, you're the best. You talk to Mom, I'll go back to my room and study it."

Mrs. Guan sighed as she watched her daughter run away.

"Just spoil her. Look at her. Whose girl walks like that at this age?"

General Wang Qian listened silently while changing his clothes. He did not dare to say anything back. After all, he was still being blamed for teaching his daughter martial arts.

"How was your visit to Xu's house today?"

Although Mrs. Guan knew that her husband was deliberately changing the subject, she still talked about the Xu family. After all, there was something she wanted her husband to help her with.