Comrade Sheng Hong took office as a new official, and the new term brought new atmosphere. He was determined to create a good image of the first family in Dengzhou, to set a good example of a loving father and filial son and a harmonious family for the people of the whole state, and to contribute to the construction of a new Dengzhou with a good feudal social style. So after taking office and handing over the post, he chose a sunny morning, brought Wang, three sons and four daughters, and several maids and old women, and came to pay his respects to Old Lady Sheng in a grand manner.
After entering the main hall of Shou'an Hall, Sheng Hong and Wang paid their respects to Old Madam Sheng and sat on the square chairs on either side of the Luohan bed. They then asked a maid to lead the children to pay their respects one by one in order, starting with the three legitimate children and then the four illegitimate children. There were no concubines.
Minglan, Yao Yiyi's classmate, woke up early in the morning in a daze, not even having eaten breakfast, when she was carried out of her room and led by a maid about fourteen or fifteen years old to kowtow. She was second to last in the class, and when it was her turn to kowtow, she was already somewhat awake. As soon as she kowtowed, she immediately regained her consciousness and stammered, "Greetings to the old ancestor."
Having not spoken for a long time and fearing to say something wrong, Minglan spoke in a weak and incoherent voice, which immediately attracted a few sneers. Minglan turned her head and saw the little girl Rulan standing aside, gently covering her mouth. Next to her stood a little girl with delicate features, who seemed a little older. She was probably Miss Molan, the fourth child. She wore a pair of white jade rings with kingfisher feathers on her head and a lake green gauze with fine stripes. She stood in a proper posture with her head slightly lowered, looking gentle and respectful.
Sheng Hong frowned slightly and looked at Wang. Wang immediately glared at Rulan's mother, who lowered her head in fear.
Looking at Rulan and Molan, Old Lady Sheng sighed inwardly. She then looked at the dull-witted Minglan, who didn't even realize she was being laughed at. She just stood there foolishly, looking confused and bewildered. She calmly sipped her tea, her brows lowered. After the youngest, Sheng Changdong, had finished paying his respects, she said, "I'm used to a quiet life and don't like crowds. We're all family, so why bother with formalities? Just come and pay your respects every ten days as usual."
Wang's face flushed, probably because she slept well last night. "Look at what the old lady said. It is the younger generation's duty to be filial to you. In the past few years, I was ignorant and neglected my filial duties. The master gave me a lecture the other day. I have already admitted my mistake. I hope the old lady will look upon my stupidity and not argue with me. I apologize to you here."
As he spoke, he stood up and knelt before Old Lady Sheng. Old Lady Sheng glanced at Sheng Hong, who then followed suit, saying, "Mother, not only should she visit you morning and evening, but even serving you tea and water is her duty. If you don't allow me to do so, I will assume you are still angry with your wife. It is my fault that the Yu family is not well-governed. I will go before my father's spirit and confess my sins."
As she spoke, she knelt down before Old Madam Sheng. Wiping her face with a handkerchief, Wang said with red eyes, "Mother, I truly know I was wrong. Back when I was at my parents' house, I learned that filial piety is the most important virtue. Ever since I entered the Sheng family, I've let my greed cloud my heart, my temper has become unruly, and I've neglected my filial duties to you. Madam, just punish me, and don't take it personally. If you're worried about the noise from so many people, we can just come separately to pay our respects from now on."
As he spoke, he sobbed softly, and Sheng Hong's eyes turned red.
Minglan stood at the last seat on the left, looking ahead, wondering if this couple had rehearsed all night long. Their chorus and singing were so well-matched that tears welled up in their eyes. A suspicious glance drifted to their sleeves. Could it be onions? Just as she was thinking this, the three boys across from her and the girls here all knelt, pleading with Old Madam Sheng. Each one spoke earnestly, as if they would die of heartbreak if Old Madam Sheng refused to allow them to come and pay their respects. Little Rulan was a beat late, and, nudged by her mother behind her, she knelt as well. Minglan, seeing this, followed suit, though she didn't know what to say.
Upon seeing this, Old Lady Sheng sighed and no longer insisted. She waved her hand and asked the maid to help Sheng Hong and his wife up: "In that case, it's up to you." As she spoke, she glanced at the dazed Minglan again. The thin little girl was the last one to stand up by herself.
Sheng Changdong was too young and could not even stand steadily. After he kowtowed, he was carried away by the old woman. The rest of the people sat down in turn.
Minglan had never been clear about what paying respects meant before. Literally speaking, paying respects meant asking the old lady "how are you", and at most adding a few words like "will you die" or "are you ill". But after watching the little maids bring round stools to several young masters and young ladies, Minglan felt that she should correct her concept.
Paying respects was a very important activity in the inner house of ancient times. The daughter-in-law in charge would report the recent work situation to the mother-in-law, or ask for instructions on future work plans. If the child was raised by the mother-in-law, she would seize the opportunity to take a look at her own child, so as not to fail to recognize which child was born from which belly when she looked back. If the child was raised by her own side, she would take the child out to show to the grandparents, enjoy some family happiness, or talk about some family matters to make the elderly happy.
Unfortunately, Wang hadn't done this job for a long time, so it wasn't good for her to speak in a familiar tone or a strange tone. She also didn't know what to say to Old Madam Sheng, so today Sheng Hong specially accompanied her to pay his respects. In addition to acting as a peacemaker, he was also responsible for breaking the ice first.
"Mom, are you used to living here these days? The weather in Dengzhou is not as warm and humid as in Quanzhou." Sheng Hong said.
"It's a little cold, but it's no big deal." said Mrs. Sheng.
"I think Dengzhou is better than Quanzhou. It has big mountains and rivers, it's high and wide, and it's close to the sea and the climate is not dry. I think the master has got a good job, it's neither cold nor dry." Wang said with a smile.
"It's okay for an old woman like me, but I wonder how you little ones feel? Are you feeling unwell?" said Old Mrs. Sheng, looking at the grandchildren in the two rows on her left and right.
Wang's eager eyes immediately swept towards Sheng Changbai. Brother Changbai stood up politely and bowed slightly: "In reply to what the old lady said, grandson thinks it is very good."
End, twelve words, concise and clear, then sit down.
Old Lady Sheng put down the tea bowl, looked at Sheng Hong and Wang, and then looked at the remaining children. Sheng Hong didn't react. Wang seemed a little embarrassed and secretly glared at her son.
The next person to speak was Sheng Changfeng, who looked quite like his younger sister, Molan. A modest smile graced his round, fair face, and he spoke in a clear voice, "Quanzhou is gentle and warm, Dengzhou is grand and generous. Each place has its own merits. How could there be anything wrong with our kingdom? I read Du Zimei's poem a few days ago, 'How is Mount Tai? The green of Qi and Lu is endless, Nature is full of wonders, Yin and Yang are divided at dawn.' Shandong has produced sages, and it also has Mount Tai. It's a truly wonderful place. If our ancestors are interested someday, we can go and see the Fengchan Mountain."
His voice was clear and his pronunciation was distinct, which made Sheng Hong nod repeatedly with satisfaction in his eyes. Old Madam Sheng couldn't help but look at him a few more times and said, "Feng'er is very knowledgeable. Everyone says that Feng'er is very good at reading. His poems and articles have won praise from the teacher."
Suddenly the atmosphere in Shou'an Hall became harmonious. Sheng Hong was even happier, and the younger ones also breathed a sigh of relief. Only Wang's smile was a little forced. Minglan glanced at her and found that she was clutching the handkerchief tightly, as if she was choking Sheng Changbai's throat to make him utter a few more words.
Hualan glanced at Wang, then turned to the seated lady and said coquettishly, "Grandmother is always praising Third Brother, but she's looking down on us girls."
Old Madam Sheng smiled warmly, "What nonsense are you talking about, child? Master taught you how to read and write when you were little, and he even hired a tutor for you. Who would dare to look down on our eldest daughter? As Miss Hua grows older, she becomes even more mischievous."
Sheng Hualan was born at the best time. Wang and Sheng Hong were newly married, and they lived in harmony with Old Madam Sheng. Not long after, her younger brother was born. Sheng Hualan was beautiful and lovable. As the eldest daughter of a legitimate wife, she was truly the most pampered. She was also raised by Old Madam Sheng for a while, but because Wang was reluctant to let her go, she sent her back. However, she was already the one with whom Old Madam Sheng had the closest feelings among her grandchildren. In comparison, the birth of her half-sister, Rulan, was not as smooth as it could be.
"Father taught my sister? Then why didn't he teach me? I want to ask a teacher for help too!" Sure enough, Rulan jumped off the stool, ran to Sheng Hong, and acted coquettishly while pulling his sleeve.
Wang pulled Rulan to her side and scolded her, "Stop messing around! Your father is so busy with official duties right now, how can he play with you? You can't even sit still while copying red characters, so what's the point of inviting a teacher?"
Rulan refused, stamped her feet and pouted. Wang tried to persuade and coax him, but Sheng Hong's face had already darkened. Old Madam Sheng watched with a smile. Molan, who had been silent all this time, suddenly spoke: "Fifth sister is young, and tracing the red characters requires a lot of patience, so it's naturally boring. But it's good for her to learn some poetry and principles. I think there's no need to hire a teacher. Eldest sister is so knowledgeable, why not ask her to teach you? Isn't that just right?" After she finished speaking, she smiled with her lips pursed, looking gentle and innocent.
Seeing his daughter's thoughtful and gentle manner, Sheng Hong couldn't help but praise her, "Mo'er is right. Girls don't need to take the imperial examinations to pursue official careers, so there's no need to be so rigid in practicing calligraphy. However, reading some poetry and prose is a good way to cultivate one's character. Hua'er could teach Ru'er when she has time. As the eldest sister, it's her responsibility to teach her younger siblings."
Wang's face turned pale and she ignored him. Hualan was a little disdainful, but Old Madam Sheng was looking at Sheng Minglan, the only one who didn't speak. She was looking at Molan stupidly and sighing in her heart.
After chatting for a while, Wang slowly turned the topic to Hualan's coming-of-age ceremony. Before she had said a few words, Old Lady Sheng told her mother to set up breakfast here, with two tables, one in the main room for the three adults to eat, and one in the side room for the children to eat together.
Breakfast was served and it was unexpectedly simple. Even Minglan, who didn't know much about the situation, felt it was a bit shabby. A large porcelain plate was filled with white steamed buns and sesame oil flower rolls, plus clear porridge made from white glutinous rice and a few side dishes.
Minglan looked up and saw that her brother Changbai looked apologetic. Changfeng and Molan picked up their chopsticks and started eating as usual. Hualan and Rulan both pouted. Although the amplitude of their movements was different, the angles were exactly the same.
Minglan ate slowly, served by her maid, recalling the breakfasts she had had in the mistress's room over the past few days: lotus root honey cake, cream puff pastry, fried cake, pork floss and garlic flower rolls, honey sesame balls, jujube-cooked glutinous rice porridge, red rice porridge, steamed bacon and egg, bird's nest stewed egg, stir-fried beef jerky with dried bean curd, smoked pork shreds in sesame oil, and an assorted pickled vegetable box made up of sixteen different side dishes...
Rich families believe in not talking while eating or sleeping, not to mention that the six brothers and sisters came from three different manufacturers. They had not even spoken a few words before, and now the only sound was the gentle movement of spoons and chopsticks.
After breakfast, Sheng Hong hurried to the yamen, and Wang returned to her own courtyard. After eating, the children were picked up by different mothers. The mother in charge of Minglan had not arrived yet in the porch, so Minglan jumped off the stool and looked at the door. She didn't dare to walk around in an unfamiliar place, but it should be okay to take a walk along the corridor at the door.
The architecture of the north is simply different from that of the south. The tall, broad columns and square stone benches aren't as refined and elegant as the Quanzhou mansions, but they're also grand and bright. Minglan leaned on the wall as she walked, looking around. She didn't know how many corners she turned, how many rooms she passed, but the more she looked, the more she shook her head. The houses here were spacious and simply furnished. Apart from the necessary furniture, there were no gold, jade, or antiques. The servants and maids were mostly elderly, with only a few young maids doing the sweeping and washing. They looked more shabby than those in other places. The courtyard was bare of flowers and trees, simply pruned, and the entrance was quite desolate, like a cold and miserable kiln.
Minglan thought to herself: It seems the rumors are true.
The old lady of the Sheng Mansion was born in the Yongyi Marquis Mansion. She was arrogant by nature and looked innocent when she was young. She loved to make trouble in her early years. It is said that she offended both her husband's family and her own family. Later, when the old man of the Sheng Mansion passed away, she became a widow and changed her personality. After Sheng Hong grew up and got married, she did not keep any of the Sheng Mansion's property but handed it all to Sheng Hong, but she did not have much money left for herself.
She chanted Buddhist scriptures and ate vegetarian food, living in isolation from the world. All the servants in Shou'an Hall also became nuns with her. Their meals were simple, their jobs were unprofitable, and their lives were dull. For a while, even the gate to the courtyard was closed, as if they were completely isolated from the bustling world. The servants were unwilling to suffer in Shou'an Hall, so the servants here were all the old people who had come with the old lady as a dowry.
Minglan concluded: It is an unpopular unit with low efficiency, meager benefits, unenterprising leaders and lack of enthusiasm among staff.
Walking to another corner, Minglan suddenly smelled a familiar fragrance. She was stunned for a moment. The smell seemed to come from the deepest part of her memory, the past that she had planned to forget. She followed the fragrance to the door of a room, pushed it open and entered a small room. Opposite was a long rosewood table with only a few volumes of scriptures on it. To the left were two square stools with Ruyi patterns, and next to them was a rosewood square table with Ganoderma lucidum patterns. Going further in, Minglan saw a small Buddhist shrine with an autumn-colored black gold cloud embroidered gauze curtain hanging above it, and below was an incense table with a white jade four-legged double-eared Pixiu lying tripod in the middle, with incense slowly burning in the tripod. It turned out that what Minglan smelled was sandalwood. There was an incense table on each side, and a cushion in the middle. It turned out that this was an internal Buddhist hall.
A small, white jade Guanyin statue sat on the incense stand. Minglan looked up and saw it, dignified and solemn, yet compassionate, as if witnessing the suffering of the world. Suddenly, tears welled up in Minglan's eyes. She remembered how her mother, Yao Yiyi, had bought a jade Guanyin pendant before she left for the countryside, had it consecrated at a temple, and had earnestly instructed her to wear it, hoping it would bless her with a safe journey. At the time, Yao Yiyi had been impatient to listen to her mother's nagging and had hurriedly climbed into the car. But now, even if she wanted to listen, she could no longer.
Looking back now, she vaguely remembered someone prying open the car door outside before she lost consciousness. It seemed their rescuers had arrived. She wondered if the old judge and her colleagues had been rescued. Was she the only one who had died in the line of duty? This thought suddenly filled her with grief and indignation. After the grief and indignation, she felt numb, and after the numbness, she felt passive. She had no particular desire to live.
She believed that fate had wronged her. If death was inevitable, she should be reborn in a better body. Why did Hualan, Rulan, and even Molan enjoy such pampering, while she had to start her life anew? She had to navigate this unfamiliar world and curry favor with Wang, who was not her biological mother. She probably had to endure humiliation and some grievances. She had to learn to read people's expressions and relearn the survival skills of ancient women.
But this is not a world suitable for women to survive.
A long time ago, when watching "Autumn in My Heart", my friends all cried bitterly for Eun-xi's ups and downs of fate, but Yao Yiyi only sympathized with Xin'ai. Under the law of the heroine, Eun-xi seemed so beautiful and kind, while Xin'ai was scheming and mean. Everyone's emotions were towards En-xi, but everyone overlooked one problem: Xin'ai should have been the eldest daughter born in a wealthy family. She was born to belong to that warm and comfortable family, while Enxi would have grown up in that dirty and shabby little shop, bullied by her brother, and endured her mother's temper.
Yao Yiyi felt that Xin'ai had been treated unfairly. If Xin'ai had grown up in a warm and caring environment, she might not have developed such a petty and harsh temper. Because of this unfortunate experience, even after returning to her parents, she felt a rift with her mother, unable to share the closeness they had enjoyed as biological mothers. Who could Xin'ai hold accountable for this?
Seeing that both the hero and heroine died in the end, Yao Yiyi even thought maliciously that Enxi seemed destined to go to that family to collect the debt. She was bound to die because of leukemia. Not only did she get more than ten years of happy life that did not belong to her, but she also took her adoptive parents' only son with her to the underworld. In the end, the child who stayed with the adoptive parents to fulfill his filial duties was left with only the beloved one who had never been loved.
Of course Eun-hee is pitiful, but isn’t Xin’ai pitiful too?
The same is true for Yao Yiyi now. Her originally happy life was stolen and replaced by the life of a poor girl. If she was reborn as a pampered girl, she might feel guilty, but after being hypocritical for a while, she would accept it. However, the current situation is a historical regression.
Although she originally lived a life without maids and old women to serve her, her life was free at that time. She had survived the college entrance examination and job hunting. The first difficult hurdle in her life had passed. She had a good job and a warm family. I remember that two days before the mudslide, Yao's mother called and said that there was a good guy waiting for her to go back for a blind date. As long as there were no bloody events such as mistresses, terminal illnesses, and car accidents, she would live an ordinary and fulfilling life like most ordinary girls.
As for Minglan, her biological mother was a concubine and is now deceased, likely waiting to be reincarnated. Her father has three sons and four daughters, and doesn't seem particularly fond of her as a concubine. She also has a stepmother who has no intention of being a saint. The good thing is that she doesn't have to take exams for civil service or professional titles. The bad thing is that she has no say in the choice of her future husband. Her future life will be a matter of luck. If there is domestic violence, she can't call the police; she can only apply safflower oil. If there are mistresses, she can't make a fuss. She has to be virtuous and treat them like sisters. If her husband is bad and despicable and she can't live with him anymore, she can't take it to court.
Oh, yes, there's something worse. She might not even be able to become the main wife. A concubine's daughter has always been a good material for being a concubine.
How could Yao Yiyi be willing to live such a challenging life?
But she had no choice but to accept it.
She imitated the way her mother worshipped Buddha, kneeling respectfully in front of Guanyin Bodhisattva, clasping her hands together, and praying sincerely, wishing her mother and brother in that world to be safe and healthy, and not to worry about her daughter; from today on, she would also care about food and vegetables, rivers and mountains, and work hard to live her life.
Hot tears welled up in her eyes as she sobbed silently. The tears flowed down her slightly thin face and dripped onto the light green cushion. Some of them seeped into the cushions and disappeared, while some rolled to the ground and mixed with the dust. The early morning light shone into the Buddhist hall through the mauve gauze window, shining brightly and softly.
Minglan's small body lay on the cushion, her heart feeling unprecedented tranquility and peace. She prayed devoutly in a low voice from the bottom of her heart, wishing that Guanyin Bodhisattva would have mercy on her, see that the five aggregates are empty, and save her from all suffering. She wished that her heart would be free from worries, no hindrances, no fears, and she would be far away from upside-down dreams and finally achieve Nirvana.
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