Chapter 144 Chapter 144 She later sought advice from Feng Shi many times...
There were letters from Ji Yanshou to his two younger brothers, letters from Yue Qing'e to Fang Ying and Gao, and even a letter from Fang Ying's father Fang Chengxun, which, of course, was addressed to Ji Yanlang.
When Fang Ying saw that there was no letter from Zhou Congshan, she thought that the letter she sent back did not reach her, or that she received the letter but did not have time to reply, so it could not be delivered this time.
It was not until they opened Yue Qing'e's letter and read to the end that they realized that it was not that they missed the trip, but that the Crown Princess only asked them to bring a box of new books.
Although Fang Ying hadn't seen the box yet, she had already guessed that half of the books were probably for the Feng family. After she met the Feng family's aunt and sister-in-law last time, she felt that they were different from ordinary girls in the boudoir. Giving them food and toys would be far less effective than collecting some new books for them, which would be more appealing to their tastes.
He took advantage of several times when he went out with Ji Yanlang to buy some newly printed poetry and prose collections, and saved them up and sent them to the Feng family. Sure enough, the servant came back and said that the two ladies were very grateful.
When she wrote to Zhou Congshan, she also mentioned this matter. It seems that Zhou Congshan felt that the book market in Bianjing was larger and there were more bookstores, so he specially ordered people to buy and send the books to her.
When the box arrived and I opened it, I found that every book had been bought in duplicate. I also found a wooden box in the middle, which contained Zhou Congshan's reply letter.
As Fang Ying guessed, Zhou Congshan did indeed order someone to buy this box of books because of what she said in the letter, but because she had never seen these books herself and had no way of distinguishing them just by looking at the catalogue, she asked Fang Ying to screen them and send the ones she thought were suitable to her aunt and uncle at Feng's house.
He also said that since Fang Ying had time to study, if she had any questions, she could ask her aunt and uncle, and they would definitely be happy to answer them.
"I've actually thought about this," Fang Ying said to Ji Yanlang after reading the letter. "But I haven't really read much, and I always feel like things I don't understand might not be difficult for someone who's actually read."
Ji Yanlang said: "How could it be? Your knowledge and conversation, let alone that of a woman, even compared with a man, is..."
Fang Ying shook her head. "It's not that kind of knowledge, but it's like the Three Hundred Poems. Without annotations, I might not be able to understand some of the poems even after reading them several times. If I were to ask for advice on this, wouldn't I be laughed at?"
"Of course not." Ji Yanlang answered and then asked, "Do you think those two elders are the kind of arrogant people who wait for you to seriously seek advice while they laugh at you behind your back?"
"I know it's not, but I just feel a little... embarrassed."
Ji Yanlang was puzzled: "Why?"
Fang Ying has always been neither humble nor arrogant in her dealings with others, and he has never seen her think like this.
"I can't explain it clearly." Fang Ying smiled and shook her head. "But you're right. There's nothing to be embarrassed about. The two elders won't laugh at me."
And this is also a great opportunity for both parties to get closer.
She checked the bibliography, flipped through the books she wanted to read, picked out a few, and then sent someone to the Feng family to tell them that she wanted to visit them and wondered if the two elders were free.
Wang and Feng accepted her kindness and replied that they had nothing to do at home every day and invited her to come and visit.
Fang Ying took the books and freshly made snacks from the kitchen and went to Feng's house.
During this meeting, the two sides became more familiar with each other. Fang Ying also brought new books with her. After the three of them exchanged greetings, Wang asked Fang Ying how old he was when he learned to read and what books he had read.
Fang Ying told the truth, and Wang was surprised: "I can't believe your wife is so kind-hearted. It's rare that she is willing to adopt a young orphan girl, and she can even hire a tutor to teach you how to read."
"Yes," Feng agreed, "I've long heard that Shu has a flourishing literary tradition. Now it seems the rumors are true."
When asked about the Ji family's wife's family background, Fang Ying smiled and said, "Our wife's surname is Li. She is the daughter of the former Princess Changning of Qi. It is said that she is related to the Zhou family's wife."
Feng was young and didn't know about the events of the previous Qi Dynasty, but Wang quickly realized: "The surname is Li, so it must be Li, right?"
Fang Ying nodded: "Our wife is Duke Deng's sister."
"No wonder."
Wang Shi understood, and seeing that her aunt was still confused, she said bluntly, "Duke Deng is the last ruler of Shu."
"I see."
Seeing that Feng hadn't spoken since she finished her response, Fang Ying didn't want to talk about the affairs of Shu any more. He continued to talk about studying, "It's a pity that I only studied at the prefecture for a little over a year before returning home. Now I want to pick up my studies again, but it always feels a bit difficult."
When Wang asked her what book she found difficult to read, Fang Ying told her that she had read "The Analects of Confucius" from Selected Poems during her pregnancy, and Zhou Congshan also sent her books such as "The Book of Songs" and "Chu Ci" that she had read before. She did not mention reading the Art of War with Ji Yanlang.
"When you first learned to read, did you learn Jijiupian and Qianziwen?" Wang asked.
Fang Ying said he had studied it, so Wang asked, "What about Meng Qiu?"
"I hadn't learned it at the time, so I just memorized a little bit after I got home."
Feng said, "The ancient allusions mentioned in 'Meng Qiu' need explanation; memorization won't do. But are you reading to relieve boredom, or to learn how to write poetry and essays? Or something else?"
Fang Ying thought for a moment and replied, "I haven't really thought about this. If I have to say anything, it's probably because I want to avoid being ignorant."
Feng said, "Then there's no shortcut for you. You can only take it one step at a time." She stood up and said, "Wait for me."
Fang Ying was shocked: "You are..."
"I'll go find some old books for you."
Wang smiled and explained for her aunt: "Her books are not allowed to be touched. You have to find them yourself."
Fang Ying was stunned for a moment. Only after she saw Feng disappear through the doorway did she come to her senses. "Aunt Feng, are you going to show me the books she read when she was little?"
"She must have written her own notes," Wang said with a smile. "I told her the stories about the characters in the book, and she wrote them down for fear of forgetting them."
"The shortcut Aunt Feng mentioned..."
Wang said, "She meant that since we women can't take the imperial examinations, we can just read the Confucian classics like the Analects. If you just want to pass the time, you don't even need to study the Mengqiu Sutra, just pick out the ones you like. If you love poetry and prose, you can focus on reading famous works, and read other works when you have spare time."
Fang Ying suddenly realized: "Yes, I've been looking around here and there without a set plan, so I'm really getting half the result with twice the effort."
"You are still young. If you have some spare time, it would be better if you could lay a solid foundation from the beginning."
The two chatted for a few more minutes before Feng came in with a maid she had never seen before. The maid was holding a stack of books. Feng asked her to place them in front of Fang Ying. She sat down beside Fang Ying, picked up a book, and opened it. She said to her, "This is my own annotation. Take it back and read it slowly. If you don't understand anything, come and ask me."
Fang Ying saw these notebooks. The paper was old, but there was no peculiar smell. They had been carefully preserved, and the handwriting was very neat. She couldn't help but thank them repeatedly and joked, "Auntie, you are so generous in teaching me. Shouldn't I become your disciple and give you a proper gift?"
Feng immediately waved her hand and said, "What I have memorized is what my sister-in-law taught me. If I really want to be her disciple, then she should be my sister-in-law."
Wang laughed and shook her head: "I want to be your disciple, why are you dragging me out here?"
"Maybe you are afraid that I am dull and will bring disgrace to the family. I'd better wait until I have a glimpse of the skills before asking you to accept me as your disciple." Fang Ying was just joking, but afraid that Feng would not be able to respond, he changed the subject himself.
Feng said seriously, "I've only studied a few years longer than you. How can I dare to call you sir? As you call me, I'm at most a senior."
Although Fang Ying had only met them twice, she had already discovered that Feng was straightforward and her words came from the heart, so she no longer mentioned the idea of becoming their disciple.
But she later sought guidance from Feng many times, and within just a few months, she felt she had benefited greatly. She couldn't help but have other thoughts: "You said I should ask Aunt Feng to come to our house to teach the young ladies. Would my mother and sisters-in-law agree?"
Ji Yanlang said, "Go and tell Mother and Second Sister-in-law, why wouldn't they agree? As for Third and Fourth Sister-in-law, they're not happy about it and won't let the children follow suit."
"You're right." Fang Ying was a little happy, but then she became worried. "I'm afraid Aunt Feng won't agree."
"There's no rush for this. Our Hong'er is still young, and my second brother and his wife can't come to Luoyang until the capital is truly moved."
"That's right. The Feng family would definitely be in mourning by then."
By then, Wang will be marrying off her daughter, and her son will be of marriageable age and need to continue his studies, which will require a lot of money. If for no other reason, Feng will not refuse outright just to help share the burden of Wang and the Feng family.
Although the mansion newly granted by the government has been handed over to them, they still have to build mountains and pile stones, and plant trees and flowers. It will take at least the end of the year to complete it. Li will also have to wait until after the Mid-Autumn Festival to return to Bianliang from Zhenzhou. What Fang Ying thought of was indeed a little early.
She put her mind back on the present and arranged a Mid-Autumn Festival family dinner with Gao. After the Mid-Autumn Festival, she went to Mangshan with Ji Yanlang and Hong'er to enjoy the autumn. They climbed Cuiyun Peak on the Double Ninth Festival. The days always passed very quickly when they were happy, and winter was coming in the blink of an eye.
Fang Ying had all the persimmons picked from the trees, sent a basket to the Feng family, and filled another basket to send back to Bian Jing. The rest were still not eaten, so he asked the servants to dry them into persimmon cakes.
Li had already returned to the Bian Jing Mansion, and more than a dozen people from the third branch went back with her. Yue Qing'e wrote to say that after Sanlang was dismissed from office, he did nothing serious and took in several concubines in succession, two of whom had given birth to children.
"Third sister-in-law can actually tolerate it." Gao sighed.
Fang Ying felt strange: "Why didn't they tell us that the third branch had a niece and nephew?"
Gao said, "Maybe he just landed not long ago?"
"Then let's make the long journey back to Bianjing together?"
Fang Ying still found it strange. When Ji Yanlang returned to his room, she brought up the matter. Ji Yanlang snorted and laughed, "Father has chilled his heart, so he just doesn't want to talk about it."
"What? Did Third Uncle make Father angry again?"
Ji Yanlang just found out about it after reading his second brother's letter. He was still a little angry at the moment, so he told Fang Ying everything.
It turned out that although Ji Yanchang was beaten with twenty sticks when he returned to Zhenzhou, the sores from the sticks would eventually heal. As he was such a grown-up, Ji Guangting could not keep him locked up in the mansion forever. So Ji Yanchang began to go out and sleep with prostitutes, and his behavior became more and more outrageous.
Although he had lost his official position, he was still the son of a military governor. People flattered him everywhere he went and respectfully addressed him as "Yanei". Some people then took advantage of the fact that he was tired of playing with prostitutes and tried to lure him into hooking up with a married woman.
"My third brother didn't realize he'd been tricked. The third time, he had the woman's husband catch him in bed and extort a hundred strings of cash from him."
"Only one hundred strings of cash?" Fang Ying was surprised.
Ji Yanlang sneered, "Yeah, how could one hundred strings of cash possibly settle this matter? Just two months later, the married woman's husband started making trouble again, saying that his wife was two months pregnant with my third brother's child."
“…”
There's no way one of those two children is... Before Fang Ying could finish her thought, Ji Yanlang saw what she was thinking and shook his head hurriedly: "That woman is not pregnant. She lied to Third Brother."
Ji Guangting's move naturally led the couple to quickly admit that they had colluded with others and deliberately deceived Ji Yanchang for money. "Father said that twenty strokes of the cane weren't enough to convince Third Uncle, so he ordered forty strokes this time."
"When did this happen?" Fang Ying asked.
"It was this spring, after the Hu people withdrew their troops. My second brother wrote to me saying that my third brother had gained a lot of weight, but he looked listless. He also said that my father had written to him specifically instructing him that if my third brother still acted unruly after returning to Beijing, he should be kidnapped and sent back to his hometown to farm."
Fang Ying couldn't help but sigh for An: "Third sister-in-law has suffered so much."
"My second brother said that my third brother wanted to be like my fifth brother and take advantage of the relocation of the capital to fill a vacancy in Luoyang. He didn't even think about how he was dismissed from office."
Ji Yanlang became more and more angry as he spoke, "And fourth brother, when the Hu people retreated, he was greedy for merit and advanced rashly. Not only did he almost get captured, but he also caused the deaths of more than a dozen of his comrades. He really is worthy of being a brother from the same mother."
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The author has something to say: "Jijiupian" and "Mengqiu" are enlightenment books from the Song Dynasty and before
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