Chapter 146 Chapter 146 In Fang Ying's opinion, the government is also...
"Did she agree?" Ji Yanlang asked Fang Ying.
"No, but she promised to think it over."
Ji Yanlang nodded and said, "This Mr. Zhu is truly despicable. How can he be so partial to one and unfair to the other? If I were at home, I would definitely confront him."
"Perhaps this old-fashioned man is the reason for all this trouble. Aunt Feng never imagined that a daughter of our family, who is so well-off, could suffer such an injustice."
Ji Yanlang was originally only a little angry, but after hearing this, his anger immediately increased to three points, and his face became ugly.
Seeing this, Fang Ying smiled and advised, "Why are you so angry with him? If this can really move Aunt Feng, wouldn't it be better for us to set up a separate school for the young ladies in our family?"
"That's great, but Madam Feng alone might not be enough to run a school."
"It would be great if we could invite Aunt Wang as well." Fang Ying said regretfully.
Ji Yanlang laughed: "Do you still want to invite their whole family to our house?"
Fang Ying looked at him without saying a word.
Ji Yanlang: "...Have you really thought about it?"
Fang Ying smiled and said, "I heard Aunt Feng say that her nephew is intelligent and studious, and is as filial to her as a mother. I thought about asking Mr. Zhu to come to Luoyang and send him to study with us so that my nephews can have a role model. But now I don't dare to pursue this idea anymore."
"This gentleman is so perfunctory towards the young lady of the host family. How can a child who has no one to rely on and comes to school receive such guidance from the gentleman? Please stop delaying the child."
"He is smart and studious. Is this child studying to prepare for the imperial examination and become an official?" Ji Yanlang asked.
"I asked Aunt Feng, and she said Feng Tao's last words to his son were to wait until peace reigned and the fighting ceased before he could enter the government."
"So is the world at peace now?"
Fang Ying knew that he still had a prejudice against Feng Tao, so she said, "That's definitely out of the question. Although Aunt Feng hasn't mentioned my brother much, from what she said, I can tell that Feng Tao didn't enter the government because several dynasties had prioritized military power over civil service due to war."
Ji Yanlang nodded: "That's true, but in recent years our dynasty has gradually emphasized culture over military power. It can only be said that he was born at the wrong time."
Fang Ying sighed softly. She had originally thought that it was Feng Tao's narrow-minded nature that caused him to break off relations with the Zhou family and even refuse to enter the officialdom. But after coming to Luoyang and meeting Wang and Feng, she gradually suspected that there might be some misunderstanding between them.
Because Zhou Congshan was still young at that time, he must have heard about the quarrel between the two families from adults or maids later. When the Zhou family mentioned this matter, their words would definitely be on the side of their own family, and the only one who was wrong was Feng Tao.
It's not that she didn't want to find out the truth, but Feng Tao had passed away not long ago, and Feng couldn't hide her sadness when she mentioned her brother. Wang was already struggling to support the Feng family, and Fang Ying really couldn't bear to ask more questions.
Moreover, Feng Tao has passed away, and she was entrusted by the Zhou family to take care of the women and children, so naturally the living should be given priority.
Fang Ying did not talk about the Feng family anymore. She only knew about the gifts sent from Bian Jing this time, as well as the New Year gifts for the Princess and her husband and King Qi. Ji Yanlang and Ji Yanhui went to the Princess's Mansion first today, so she asked if they had seen the Princess.
"I saw him and went in to kowtow. The princess said she would hold a banquet in the first month of the year and asked us all to go."
After the renovation of the Princess's Mansion, she hosted a banquet for guests. She and Gao went there once, but the female relatives invited by the Princess were either princesses or princesses. Although Gao was the Princess's stepdaughter in name, she always behaved well. Fang Ying followed her, but apart from greeting everyone constantly and smiling stiffly, she really didn't have any fun.
Therefore, when Fang Ying heard this, she was not happy at all, but also a little annoyed.
On the second day, the Ji Yanlang brothers went to Prince Qi's mansion again. After delivering the New Year gift, they had nothing to do and just focused on preparing for the New Year.
But as for preparations, there were only seven people from two families and no banquet. Compared with previous years in Bian Jing, it was really simple. Fang Ying read as usual every day and taught Hong'er a few literacy songs. In the blink of an eye, it was the middle of the twelfth lunar month, and those summoned by the government finally arrived in Luoyang.
"...We've all been granted mansions in Xiuyefang, so we're all neighbors." Ji Yanlang's face was filled with a gloating smile. "The Dingnan Jiedushi's mansion is the largest. The emperor said that several other families have also been granted mansions in Bianjing, so there's no need to argue with the Dingnan Jiedushi about size."
"Are you going to keep Jiedushi Dingnan to celebrate the New Year?" Fang Ying asked.
Ji Yanlang said, "Now that he's here and the mansion has been granted to him, how can we let him go so easily?" He drank a cup of hot tea and continued, "I have to go see my uncle tomorrow."
"Did uncle come alone, or did the whole family come?"
"The government only summoned my uncle, and they didn't tell me beforehand that he would grant me a house. It's unlikely that the whole family will come. Anyway, I'll go take a look first."
No matter how close the two families were, he was Ji Yanlang's uncle after all. He came out of the camp early the next day and went to see Li Xu first.
"As expected, they didn't bring their families with them. Only my second cousin was with them." Ji Yanlang came back and told Fang Ying, "My uncle said that the emperor held a banquet last night, but he didn't say that they had to move their families to Luoyang."
"Why? Uncle still wants to go back to Bianjing?"
Ji Yanlang nodded: "He thinks it's too troublesome. The house here is similar to ours. If we want to live comfortably, it will take at least half a year to repair it."
Fang Ying didn't say anything. The government had already granted them a house, so could it agree to let them go back?
Ji Yanlang continued, "My uncle is a man who, when he's clear-headed, truly understands. He knows the government summoned them here to see the governor of Dingnan. But he's also truly confused when he's not. Does he really think he can choose where to live?"
Fang Ying smiled and said, "You didn't try to persuade me, did you?"
"Of course I won't."
Ji Yanlang shook his head. He was too lazy to say more. He just told his current address and told him that he could come find him if he had any problems. He had already done his best.
Of course, Li Xu would not have any use for his nephew. The government would summon them every one or two days, if not every day, either to the palace for a banquet or to accompany the Dingnan Jiedushi to tour Luoyang.
Ji Yanlang and Ji Yanhui went to pay New Year's greetings on the second day of the Lunar New Year. Li Xu was still drunk. He held his head up to accept his nephew's congratulations, then asked his son to accompany the guests and went back to lie down.
The eldest princess's banquet was scheduled for the tenth day of the first lunar month. The two couples went to the banquet together. This time, there were more people at the female banquet, including a few peers that Fang Ying and the others were familiar with. They all gathered together to talk and sat together at the table. It finally felt a bit like the fun of attending banquets in Bian Jing in the past.
Back home, Fang Ying and Ji Yanlang confirmed the news they had heard today. "Have you heard? Princess Heqing's father-in-law passed away."
"I heard that he was seriously ill last winter. Not only did the princess not visit him, she even petitioned to come to Luoyang for the New Year. The emperor rebuked her and ordered her to serve as a filial son by his bedside."
Fang Ying smiled and said, "So you guys also talked about these things at the banquet."
"It's about the King of Wei and the King of Han. These two submitted a petition together with the princess, and the emperor specially sent an eunuch back to scold them in person."
"So that's how it is. Then they were most likely the ones who instigated this." These two people were in Bian Jing. It was impossible for them not to know about the affairs of Princess Qing's husband's family. They probably didn't dare to submit the petition alone, so they dragged their sister along.
"They clearly know why the emperor doesn't ask them to accompany him, yet they still do such despicable things." Ji Yanlang showed contempt on his face.
Fang Ying also disliked the two princes and continued, "But Si Niang should be here soon."
Ji Yanlang nodded. "I also heard that the emperor wanted to grant a house to Duke Ju and Princess Kangning. Duke Ju was not in good health last year, otherwise the emperor would have issued the decree long ago."
"Old people have a hard time in winter. I heard today that the Duke of Anding fell ill on the third day of the first lunar month. The imperial physicians visited him every day, but there was no improvement."
The Duke of Anding was the former ruler of Southern Liang. Upon hearing this, Ji Yanlang curled his lips and said, "He has always been weak and often claims to be sick. I don't know what the illness is, maybe it's a heart problem."
When this man was the ruler of Southern Liang, he was a foolish and incompetent ruler who only knew how to enjoy himself. Ji Yanlang always looked down on such people and naturally had nothing good to say about him. Unexpectedly, before the Lantern Festival, the news of the death of the Duke of Anding came.
The Ji family had no dealings with any other rulers of fallen nations besides Li Xu. Fang Ying only asked, "Does this person have no biological children?"
"Yes, there's only one adopted son, and he also came to Luoyang." Ji Yanlang thought for a moment and said, "My uncle also said that he drank too much the past few days and has a severe headache. I'll go and see him."
Fang Ying asked someone to bring her outer robe, watched Ji Yanlang put it on, and watched him leave.
Ji Yanlang didn't return until the evening. "My uncle is fine, but I heard that Duke Anding is gone. I'm a little sad. I said that Duke Anding lived for over fifty years and enjoyed wealth and honor all his life. Even though the country was destroyed, the government never treated him unfairly. What's there to be sad about?"
Fang Ying agreed: "Yes, it's a good fortune that many people can't even dream of."
Ji Yanlang took off his outer robe and handed it to the maid, then leaned close to Fang Ying and whispered, "But my uncle looked at me and said, 'How do you know I haven't been treated unfairly?'"
Fang Ying was surprised. Ji Yanlang held her hand and sat down beside her on the couch. He continued in a low voice, "I was surprised too. My second cousin was so scared that he advised my uncle to be careful with his words, but my uncle sneered and said, 'Are you still afraid that your sixth cousin will go out and tell on me?'"
Could it be that there is something else behind the death of Duke Anding?
"I also thought there was something serious going on at the time," Ji Yanlang said with a smile as he saw Fang Ying's eyes widen. "Actually, a few days after they arrived in Luoyang, the government summoned them all to the Imperial Garden for a horse race. Anding County magistrate publicly accused them of a leg ailment and said they couldn't get on the horse."
The emperor was probably just like Ji Yanlang, looking down on the behavior of the Duke of Anding. He said that he still had an old leg injury and could ride into battle as usual. Then he ordered his men to help the Duke of Anding onto the horse.
"My uncle said that at the time, the Dukes of Pengcheng all laughed at Duke Anding, and the Governor of Dingnan also looked down on him. Duke Anding was extremely embarrassed and angry. On New Year's Day, the palace held a banquet, and Duke Anding was drunk, so someone brought up the horseback riding incident again."
The emperor did not stop them and watched with a smile. The crowd became even more unwilling to let the Duke of Anding go, and they fined him three cups of wine before they stopped.
"It is said that the Duke of Anding was so drunk that night that he could not even stand. He had to be carried to a carriage and returned home where he lay down all night and all day. On the second night of the new year, he developed a fever, and on the third day, he called in the imperial physician."
Although Li Xu did not say it explicitly, his implication was that the Duke of Anding was repeatedly humiliated and forced to drink a lot of alcohol, which led to his sudden illness and death.
"If I hadn't seen my uncle's grief and sadness, I would have really said that this was humiliation. I didn't even ask them if they missed Southern Liang or Shu."
Fang Ying: “…”
This is truly a nephew.
But Sima Zhao wasn't a wise and holy ruler, was he? Comparing him to the emperor... Never mind. In Fang Ying's opinion, the emperor could hardly be called a wise and holy ruler either.
This was confirmed by Feng when she went to the Feng family to pay New Year's greetings on the 16th.
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The author has something to say: The last paragraph is an allusion to the saying "being so happy that one does not miss his homeland".
(Just a minor fix, don't worry)
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