After just three or five days of studying, Zhuang's wife, having packed up everything, asked the old lady if she could teach the three girls the qin a few afternoons each month. Old Lady Sheng initially resisted, fearing she would tire them out, but Zhuang's wife, with her chivalrous spirit, promised, and Old Lady Sheng agreed. Minglan, who was catching up on her nap in the pear blossom cabinet, overheard this and suddenly realized why Mr. Zhuang's tuition was so high; it was truly worth it—buy one, get one free.
However, the gifts given are not always good. Mrs. Zhuang is harder to fool than Mr. Zhuang. Mr. Zhuang does not require students to hand in homework or recite answers to questions. All they need to do is write a couple of articles when they have time. But Mrs. Zhuang is very determined. She puts a seven-stringed guqin in front of each girl, and teaches the girls one by one, and she also checks and tests them within a limited time.
The string of notes like Gong, Jiao, Shang, Zheng and Yu made Minglan dizzy and her ears ringing. She finally understood that she had no artistic talent at all. No wonder her teacher rejected her music elective in college. Rulan also suffered in the guqin class. She could not compare with Minglan in patience and could break the strings five or six times in the whole morning. Molan was a natural talent. She learned it right away and played it smoothly. After being praised by Mrs. Zhuang several times, she practiced more diligently. Within ten feet of Linqi Pavilion, even birds were startled.
However, the guqin is usually too highbrow for the masses. In this era, the ultimate goal of most ordinary people is just to have enough food and clothing. It is estimated that the number of ancient people who can understand and appreciate the guqin is no more than that of ancient pandas. Minglan weighed her status as the daughter of a sixth-rank official and smiled secretly thinking that her future husband would not be a loyal listener of Shiba Mo. How could she dare to ask him to understand such high-end music?
About a month later, Hualan sent her first letter home from the capital. Old Madam Sheng's eyesight was blurry and she couldn't read clearly, and Wang was illiterate. There were also some private matters in the inner house that were not suitable for the boys and maids to know. In the end, Rulan and Minglan worked together to read the letter haltingly.
This was a letter of peace, probably saying that her married life was very happy and Yuan Wenshao was quite considerate to her. However, the two original concubines in the house were maids who had served since childhood, which made Hualan feel very uncomfortable. However, since the marriage, Yuan Wenshao never paid any attention to them again. Her father-in-law, the old uncle of Zhongqin Mansion, liked this lively and lovable new daughter-in-law very much, but her mother-in-law was indifferent and only doted on the eldest daughter-in-law. Later, she found out that the eldest daughter-in-law was the daughter of the uncle's wife's cousin. No wonder she couldn't get involved. However, because Yuan Wenshao was quite successful outside, he was considered to be respected in that low-key uncle's mansion. The maids in the mansion did not dare to look down on Hualan, and her life was pretty good.
Minglan thought it was good as she read it. After all, her father-in-law was the real person in charge of the Bo Mansion. It was a good thing that he liked her. Generally speaking, as long as her father-in-law liked his daughter-in-law and didn't like her to go to Tianxiang Tower, it was a good thing!
Wang listened to everything and then let out a long sigh. She knew that Hualan was always picky and would only praise one point even if it was only three points good. Now that she said this, it must be that her life after marriage was quite comfortable.
"It's common for parents to rely on their eldest son, and it's even more common to value their eldest daughter-in-law. Tell the eldest girl not to take it to heart, just live your own life well, be filial to your parents-in-law, and serve your husband..." Old Mrs. Sheng couldn't help nagging.
Wang sighed and said, "I know that's the truth, but Hua'er has been the first child in the family since he was little, and no one has ever covered him. Now... well, it will be fine after the family is divided. After all, the uncle's mansion belongs to the eldest wife, and Hua'er and his wife can live well on their own. Besides, the son-in-law is also very capable."
Under normal circumstances, Old Madam Sheng would have said something like, "Don't divide the family while your parents are still alive," but she felt sorry for Hualan, whom she had raised since she was a child, so she let it go. "It's good for you to learn some rules from the elders. When you divide the family and live on your own, you'll have rules to follow. It's more important to get good news sooner rather than later..."
…
Time passed, and the Sheng Mansion remained peaceful. Old Madam Sheng gradually reorganized the house's rules, and Wang gradually took back control of the household. All matters were handled according to individual rank, and any uncertainties were referred to Old Madam. Sheng Hong was very satisfied with the orderly state of the mansion and the obedient servants. However, Lin Qige complained bitterly. Remembering Madam Kong's words, Sheng Hong forced himself to ignore Madam Lin. Even when Feng'er and Mo'er pleaded for mercy, he put on a stern fatherly face and scolded them one by one.
How could Aunt Lin give up? She had been used to the exclusive favor for more than ten years, so she used all kinds of means, sometimes she was sick, sometimes she was resentful, sometimes she cried, and sometimes she provoked. But Sheng Hong had slept with her for more than ten years after all. The same tricks were used over and over again, and even the best tricks would become old. Sheng Hong had developed a strong immunity to them. Instead, all the kindness that old lady Sheng had shown him when he was young came to his mind from time to time, and he felt more and more unfilial. Thinking of the reason why mother and son were estranged, a domino effect of emotions occurred, so he hardened his heart, treated Aunt Lin coldly, and poured all his enthusiasm into work.
He encouraged farming and weaving, and coordinated merchants. In just two or three years, Dengzhou under his rule became prosperous and paid a lot of taxes, achieving good political achievements. In addition, he was good at getting along with people, and he often took care of his acquaintances in local areas and the capital. At the end of his three-year term, he was again evaluated as having excellent performance, promoted to the fifth rank and re-elected.
With his successful career and career flowing smoothly, Sheng Hong paid little attention to the perpetually irritable Lin Concubine. Instead, he grew accustomed to the often ill-tempered Wang Shi, occasionally arguing with her. Since he was now a man of integrity, Wang Shi had no excuses. Whenever she made an inappropriate move, Sheng Hong seized upon it and stabbed her. He hurled accusations of "unfilial," "disrespectful," "disrespectful," and "unvirtuous," accusing Wang Shi of being powerless to fight back. Sheng Hong always emerged victorious. He would often visit the young and beautiful Xiang and Ping Concubines to jolt his mood and offer guidance on his children's studies and conduct, leading to a leisurely life.
When Aunt Lin saw that something was not right, she acted very gently and did not dare to ask for anything in return. It took a lot of effort to coax Sheng Hong back to his side, but he became much more obedient.
Minglan stayed in Shou'an Hall, playing with Old Lady Sheng. The old and the young got along very well, chatting and laughing. Every time Sheng Hong came to pay his respects, he felt that the atmosphere in Shou'an Hall was very comfortable and cozy, so he relaxed his mind and became more and more comfortable talking with the old lady. Sometimes she would take Minglan's failed embroidery works and tease her and pamper her. With Molan Rulan's help, Changbai and Changfeng also made progress in their studies, and his wives and concubines also controlled their tempers. At first glance, the family was harmonious, and Sheng Hong felt that the country was peaceful and the people were safe.
That afternoon, there was another guqin class with Master Zhuang's wife. Minglan had been feeling pain in her fingers since morning, but Mr. Zhuang kept talking on and on. If the class continued like this, there would be no time to rest at noon. She looked up with a sad look and found that except for her and Changdong who was practicing calligraphy, everyone else was engaged in academic discussions with great energy.
The hottest topic in the capital right now is the fight for the throne between the Third Prince and the Fourth Prince. The Third Prince has taken in many new concubines and works day and night, exhausted to the point of seeing stars, but he has sown a lot but reaped little rewards and has yet to give birth to a son. The palace is filled with Taoist priests and monks who burn incense and pray every day, causing many censors who were originally on the sidelines to feel uneasy. However, the Fourth Prince's only son is growing up healthily and has even begun to babble. The Fourth Prince is broad-minded and fat, and his temper has improved, and he is surrounded by more and more people.
The emperor's health was deteriorating day by day, and the debate over the succession candidate had become increasingly heated. Both sides had their own people waving their flags and shouting, quoting classics at every turn, and arguing with great pleasure.
Today, Mr. Zhuang was discussing "The Analects of Confucius: Questions from Gongxi Chi of Quli," which contains the line "When Gongyi Zhongzi's legitimate son died, he enthroned his younger brother." As a good teacher, he typically combines theory with practice to explain the text. Given his uninhibited and unrestrained nature, he raised this topic for the students to discuss: should the eldest legitimate son be enthroned? Or should the most capable be enthroned? Which is better?
At first, Changbai and Changfeng objected, believing that discussing state affairs would bring disaster. Mr. Zhuang waved his hand and said with a smile, "That's fine. Even teahouses in the capital often discuss this these days, not to mention the nobles and high-ranking officials. There's nothing wrong with discussing it behind closed doors. Besides, our discussion today is about establishing a legitimate heir and a virtuous one, not to mention state affairs. Let's discuss it together!"
This proposition is also of practical significance in the Sheng Mansion. Since the teacher said so, the students immediately joined the discussion enthusiastically. The two sides of the debate were very clear. Changbai and Rulan were the natural eldest sons, Changfeng and Molan were the instinctive virtuous people, and below them, Minglan was slacking off and Changdong abstained.
Changbai first implicitly brought up the example of Qin Ershi Hu Hai, the first emperor to suffer a rotten fate, as a demonstration of how failure to adhere to primogeniture could ruin a successful dynasty. Changfeng quickly countered with the example of Emperor Wu of Han—Liu Xiaozhu was ranked more than tenth among Emperor Jing's sons. Changbai, a more thorough reader of the classics than Changfeng, immediately and succinctly pointed out that even when Emperor Jing favored Liu Xiaozhu, he first made Concubine Wang empress, smoothing things over according to etiquette and law before legitimately elevating Xiaozhu to the crown prince's throne. This perfectly illustrates the principle of primogeniture.
Chang Feng's heart skipped a beat. Mo Lan took over and gently brought up the famous fool Emperor Hui of Jin, saying softly, "...Everyone in the court knew that Emperor Hui was stupid, but they still enthroned him because they wanted the eldest son. This led to the subsequent tyranny of Jia Nanfeng and the Rebellion of the Eight Princes. If a different young prince had been enthroned, the Jin Dynasty wouldn't have been forced to live in peace in the south. Big brother, what do you think?"
Rulan lacked theoretical weapons, but her strength was her aura. "How many fools are there in the world like Emperor Hui of Jin? Could it be that Fourth Sister thinks all legitimate eldest sons in the world are fools?"
On one side, they cited the extremely bad example of Emperor Yang of Sui who deposed the eldest son and enthroned the youngest, and described with great sorrow how much disaster Emperor Yang's tyranny had brought to the people. On the other side, they immediately counterattacked with the example of Li Shimin, and proudly praised the prosperous Zhenguan era, saying that the second son was not necessarily inferior to the eldest son. The two sides argued fiercely and were evenly matched, but with Mr. Zhuang calming them down, there was no harm in the relationship. Everyone spoke politely, but there were constant undercurrents.
After talking for a long time, everyone was thirsty and found that Minglan was still leisurely on the side. They immediately focused their fire and asked Minglan to express her position. Minglan's eyelids twitched. This was asking her to take sides! But if she pretended to be timid at this time, she would gradually be automatically eliminated from the equal ranks among her brothers and sisters. Miss Yingchun has already well interpreted the ending of being too cowardly and not daring to stand out and being timid everywhere.
Of course, this didn't suit Minglan's character. After a moment's thought, she smiled and said to her siblings and Mr. Zhuang, "I have a plan in mind, but I'm not good at expressing it. How about I act it out for everyone to see and have some fun? But for a while, no one is allowed to speak."
Mr. Zhuang was the most nosy and nodded happily. The others were also indifferent. Minglan immediately called Danju in and whispered some instructions in her ear. Danju agreed. After a while, she came in with three maids with double braids. One of them was Yancao, who was newly assigned to Minglan, and the other two were Ruolan and Molan's maids.
The three little maids stood timidly in front of the hall, kowtowed to their master, and then stood there stiffly, looking at each other in confusion.
Minglan said to the three of them gently, "Mr. Zhuang was lecturing us just now, and he was commenting on the three of us sisters. Mr. Zhuang has only been in the mansion for a short time, and we can't boast about ourselves, so I'm going to ask the three of you who are good at speaking to me. Whoever speaks well will have a reward from the master!"
Yan Cao looked up at Minglan in surprise, while the other two looked at their mistress. Seeing the three young ladies nod, they believed it. Minglan smiled and glanced at the audience, then said sternly to the three maids, "Tell me first. Among the three girls, Fourth Sister, Fifth Sister and I, who is the most virtuous, intelligent and good-tempered?"
After all, the little maids were still young and not very sophisticated, so they started talking about everything. One said that Rulan practiced calligraphy every day and was filial to her parents; another said that Molan composed poems and essays every day, with the style of a master; Yancao said that Minglan practiced embroidery day and night, and was often doing this and that. At first, they were more reserved, but they could not withstand Minglan's desperate encouragement, who occasionally picked a few words and increased the reward. So they talked more and more excitedly, and began to get anxious as they talked, and gradually their faces turned red. They pointed at each other and said that the other party was talking nonsense, and even turned to personal attacks among the maids.
Minglan quickly waved her hand to stop them before they started arguing, and asked again: "Let me ask you again, who is the oldest among our three sisters?" The three little maids had no objection now. After a while, they all murmured that it was Molan. Minglan heard a noise behind her, but ignored it and asked again: "Then among our three sisters, which one was born to the lady?" This time, Ruolan's maid said loudly: "Of course it was our daughter." The others could not make a fuss.
Minglan turned around and smiled at everyone. Mr. Zhuang showed a hint of approval in his eyes and nodded slightly at her. Minglan knew that this was a compliment. She turned around happily and suddenly saw Brother Changbai looking at her. When their eyes met, Brother Changbai smiled at her like a fairy from outer space. Minglan was immediately shocked.
Sheng Changbai is an outlier in the entire Sheng family. He is taciturn by nature, behaves properly and strictly, and is mature beyond his years. Whether studying or working, he always considers himself experienced. He is completely different from the talkative, cheerful and versatile Sheng Hong. It is said that he looks more like the long-deceased grandfather of the Wang family. It is said that he often looks like his biological mother, Wang, as if her mother has died.
I guess even her younger sister Rulan hasn’t enjoyed this smile today. Minglan held her cold neck tightly.
At this moment, Changfeng couldn't help but speak up, "Sixth Sister, this is inappropriate." Everyone looked at him, only to see Changfeng raise an eyebrow and say, "These little girls have only just arrived and haven't learned all the rules yet. How can they tell who is virtuous, intelligent, and good-tempered? Naturally, they're arguing over protecting their master." Changbai remained silent, only the corner of his mouth curled up slightly. Minglan said, "Third brother has a point. Let's move on to someone who's easier to tell apart."
Then she turned around and asked the three maids, Minglan said seriously, "You are young and don't know the rules, but you all have eyes. Let me ask you, among the three girls here, which one is the most beautiful, the most beautiful, the most charming, the most beautiful, the most charming, the most beautiful as a fairy? Can you give me the overall score?"
Minglan finished speaking in one breath, and everyone burst into laughter. Mr. Zhuang held onto the table and laughed until he was shaking. Everyone else burst out laughing, and Changbai also smiled and shook his head. But among all the noises, there was a soft laugh that obviously didn't belong here. It came from behind the screen behind Mr. Zhuang. There was a back door there. Could it be that some ignorant servant had gone in?
After a brief laugh, everyone looked at the screen in confusion. Changbai asked in a deep voice, "Who's behind this? How dare you come here?"
The next moment, a young man walked out from behind the screen. He was wearing a lake blue cross-collared long gown embroidered with silver thread and plain round patterns, and a light blue jade belt around his waist. On the belt was a moon-white gourd-shaped purse with a blue edge, decorated with a shiny blue tourmaline bead as a buckle. The young man seemed to have just come in from outside, with some pink peach petals on his shoulders, and his crow-feather-like black hair was loosely fastened with a jade crown.
When Mr. Zhuang saw him, he smiled and said, "Yuanruo, why are you here? Where is your master's wife?"
The young man walked to Mr. Zhuang's desk, bowed, stood up, and said clearly, "Master, how are you? After not seeing you in the capital, I'm honored to see you again today. My mistress asked me to wait outside, but no matter how long I waited, the teacher never finished the get out of class. I became impatient and sneaked into the back hall without permission. I hope my fellow students will not mind."
As he spoke, he bowed to all the children of the Sheng family. The young man had a gentle smile, red lips and white teeth, bright eyes and beautiful eyebrows, and his figure was as graceful as a bunch of tall green bamboos. He had the demeanor of a famous flower that could captivate the whole country. When people saw him, they all said, "What a handsome young man!"
【Author has something to say】
In ancient times, the system of primogeniture was implemented. Don't think that this system is ridiculous. In fact, it is a lesson learned through blood. The primogeniture is very clear, but it is uncertain whether he is wise or not. You say he is wise, and I say he is more wise. How to compare the wise and the unwise? There might even be a fight. Finally, the scholar-official class learned from their mistakes and concluded that the primogeniture is safer (there are still exceptions).
From the Han Dynasty to the Tang, Song, and Ming dynasties, primogeniture was generally practiced (though there were many exceptions). By the Song Dynasty, primogeniture had become the de facto standard (with few exceptions). The Ming Dynasty, inheriting the Song Dynasty's rituals, also firmly enforced primogeniture, though there were still exceptions, the first of which was the iron-blooded Yongle Emperor (Zhu Di).
But after that, in the Ming Dynasty, unless there was no son, the eldest son would inherit the throne, without exception. The most classic example was the tragedy of Emperor Wanli.
When he was young, this guy casually had sex with a humble palace maid, but he didn't take it seriously and forgot about it afterwards. Unexpectedly, the palace maid was very fertile and gave birth to a son. Later, Emperor Wanli met Concubine Zheng, whom he really liked. Concubine Zheng was better than the palace maid in terms of family background, appearance and favor. The Prince Fu born to her was also the apple of Wanli's eye.
Due to this huge contrast, Wanli struggled desperately for twenty years under the resistance of the powerful civil service group, but still failed. In the end, he reluctantly made the palace maid his concubine, and with tears in his heart, he made the palace maid's son the crown prince, and sent Prince Fu to be a vassal king in another place.
The court officials' reason was simple: the queen had no children, so whether they were imperial concubines or palace maids, they were all considered concubines. As for the two illegitimate sons, whoever was the eldest would be the heir.
Even the emperor cannot break this rule!
However, the system of primogeniture, which was popular in many dynasties, was not seriously implemented in the Qing Dynasty.
First, the first few Qing successions were all abnormal. Nurhaci, then Huang Taiji, died suddenly, the cause of death unknown, and his accession to the throne was questionable. Huang Taiji, then Fulin, was said to have had XXXX with Dorgon and Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang, but I won't go into details. Fulin, then Kangxi, was the third son, but the only one to have had smallpox, and his mother was of the highest birth (a concubine). Then came the unprecedentedly brutal Nine Dragons' Battle for the Crown Prince. I won't go into details about this either, as I guess you all can recite it by heart. (Contribution from Qing Dynasty writers)
After Yongzheng ascended the throne, he was still haunted by the brutal struggle for the throne, so our extremely clever fourth brother came up with a secret decree to pass on the throne, namely, "the emperor in power does not appoint a crown prince" (the unfortunate child Yinreng was the only crown prince in the entire Qing Dynasty). This way, he could avoid the princes fighting for the throne and choose the heir he liked.
The specific method was as follows: the emperor would write the name of the ascended prince on the imperial edict. Two copies were made. One copy was hung high behind the "Zhengda Guangming" plaque in the Hall of Supreme Harmony, while the other copy was kept secret by the emperor himself and given to a trusted minister (or perhaps the empress dowager or empress) before his death. After the emperor died, everyone would take out the edict behind the plaque and read it. If anyone had any questions, they would compare it with the other copy. Starting with Emperor Yongzheng, the Qing dynasty's accession to the throne was generally peaceful.
Fourth brother is very inventive. He came up with the idea of the Flying Guillotine and the Grand Council. So smart! (^_^)
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