Chapter 501 A Dream of Youth 33
The group walked through the covered corridor and entered a spacious hall. As soon as Xie Ning stepped inside, he felt a warm breeze. It was still a bit chilly, so a stove was burning in the room.
He Lanxue led Xie Ning around the screen, lifted the green gauze curtain, and saw a group of people inside. Sitting in the main seat was an old woman with gray hair, who should be the old lady He. Next to her was a lady in her twenties or thirties, and a woman who was slightly older than He Lanxue.
She wore her hair in a married woman's bun, so she must have been a concubine.
The room was filled with maids and nannies, and a faint fragrance wafted from the small room next door, indicating that tea was being brewed, and there was also the aroma of incense from a burner.
Madam Chen waved to Xie Ning, "Bao'er, this is Old Madam Lin."
Xie Ning had heard Chen mention the He family before; the old lady of the He family was from the Lin family.
"Greetings, Madam Lin."
With a smile, Madam Lin pulled Xie Ning in front of her, stuffed a red envelope into Xie Ning's hand, and said to Madam Chen, "I saw that Qi'er was a handsome young man before, and now your daughter is also lovely and intelligent."
The older lady was Zhao, the wife of Mr. He's fourth son, He Jie. The younger lady was Han, the wife of Mr. He's eldest grandson. Chen introduced them to Xie Ning in detail, along with others.
Everyone watched with smiles, feeling that the child was very well-behaved and obedient, and that they felt greatly respected for Chen's meticulous behavior.
"May Madam Zhao be well, may Madam Han be well..."
Xie Ning greeted everyone and received many red envelopes; she loved red envelopes!
While holding Xie Ning, Madam Chen continued to talk to Old Madam Lin. Xie Ning, however, made eye contact with a child about her age on the couch. That child was Zhao's youngest daughter, Baozhu.
The little girl's eyes were bright and she showed a few small teeth. She tried to crawl towards Xie Ning. The adults laughed when they saw this, and Madam Chen let go and put Xie Ning on the couch so that she could play with the little girl.
Xie Ning held the rag doll that the little girl had stuffed into her arms, feeling both amused and exasperated.
As they chatted, the topic turned to the education of their daughter. Zhao said that in a couple of years they would like to hire a female tutor to teach Baozhu to read and write, and to read things like the "Precepts for Women".
They also asked about Chen's plans.
Chen naturally changed the subject and brushed it off.
The examination was still underway at the waterside pavilion, but Xie Wangzhi was clearly more composed than Xie Qi, answering fluently and even expanding on the points he had learned, which made Mr. He nod in approval.
"Although you have been secluded for more than two years, you have not slacked off, which is very good. When autumn comes, you will be ready to compete."
Mr. He pondered for a moment, then continued, “Every seven days, you shall come to my place for a one-day lecture. If you have any other questions, you may ask me on that day.”
Xie Wangzhi stared at Mr. He for a moment, then bowed deeply.
He didn't wait three years for this exam, but six; his life was full of twists and turns.
"Alright, you've been calling me 'sir' for seven or eight years now, no need for such formalities. Please sit down." Two figures, one tall and one short, approached from afar. It was Xie Qi who had finished writing and was showing it to Mr. He.
"The handwriting is good, very neat." It has the style of Xie Wangzhi.
Then Mr. He gave Xie Qi a reading list, all of which he was to read. He also marked some of the books that needed to be memorized, saying, "You can read more of these books before the exam."
Xie Qi's vision went black when he saw it all—seventeen books in total! He had only read three or four of them!
Xie Ning, who had finished playing in the backyard and ran back, looked at Xie Qi with great sympathy, patted his bottom, and followed the two adults to have lunch.
When the group left, Mr. He's wife, Madam Lin, gave Xie Ning two small jade rabbits as a gift.
Because Mr. He did not expect Xie Wangzhi to bring his youngest daughter, he only prepared writing brush, ink, paper, inkstone and some book copies as a gift. Madam He felt this was inappropriate, so she had someone bring two jade rabbit beads to supplement Xie Ning's gift.
As for the red envelopes thanked for, they would naturally be given after meeting the person.
It was still early, so Xie Wangzhi took the two children to the bookstore to buy books. Xie Qi looked at the basket full of books and felt increasingly heavy-hearted. Although he didn't hate studying, he didn't really like it either, and he just sighed all the way.
When the carriage reached the alley entrance, Xie Qi twitched his nose and suddenly poked his head out of the carriage. "Dad, there's a place that sells braised food!"
Xie Wangzhi: ......
"Moqi, go buy two jin of braised food, order everything."
Xie Qi was satisfied and eagerly watched Mo Qi buy food by the window, while Xie Ning also stuck his head out to watch.
The person selling braised food was an old woman carrying a shoulder pole, and she was accompanied by a little girl of about thirteen or fourteen years old.
The little girl smiled sweetly at Xie Ning inside the cart before bending down to open the small jar in the carrying pole, instantly releasing a fragrant aroma.
Seeing that the small jar contained not only dried tofu, but also braised duck feet, duck necks, and braised chicken feet, as well as a trembling, large pork knuckle, Xie Qi was extremely tempted!
As the cart wheels rolled over the bluestone slabs, Xie Qi grabbed the bag and ran into the yard. Xie Ning, not wanting to be left behind, was also craving it.
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