Chapter 140 The Second Daughter-in-law Who Was Ugly in the Farming Literature 24
Old Mrs. Zhang fell down while working on a rainy day. When she returned home, no one took care of her. She has been paralyzed in bed for nearly two years.
When she heard the loud sound of gongs and drums in the village, Old Mrs. Zhang wanted to ask what happened in the village, but after asking for a long time, the Zhang family pretended not to hear anything. Anyway, no matter who had a happy event, it couldn't be their Zhang family, so there was no point in asking.
It turns out that this happy event is really related to the Zhang family, but it is not a happy event.
"Old man Zhang, old man Zhang, great joy!"
Old man Zhang was sitting on the doorstep smoking his old pipe. He didn't show any extra emotion when he heard this, because he really couldn't think of any other happy events in their family.
"What what what?"
"What are you asking? That kid Zhang Rui got the top spot in the imperial examination. Isn't that a great thing?"
Old man Zhang's old pipe fell to the ground with a dull sound, as if knocking on his heart.
"What did you say?"
Just as the visitor was about to continue speaking, he saw Old Man Zhang lying on the ground with his hands covering his chest, with blood oozing from the corners of his mouth. This was really frightening.
"Someone, someone, old man Zhang has fainted!"
The two sisters Zhang Daya were married off a few years ago, and now only Zhang Laosan and his wife are still able to move.
But these two are born lazy, they don't work and just eat whatever they can get. Now they are lazy guys who are looked down upon by everyone in the village. Even their two married daughters rarely come back.
Lying in his room, half asleep, he heard his father fall down. He fell down, so what? Why was he shouting? It was disturbing his sweet dream.
In the end, other people heard the noise and came to help, calling the village doctor over.
Old man Zhang luckily survived, but he looked like a lost soul, with most of his energy gone. His cloudy eyes often stared blankly at one place for the entire day.
Over the years, he had long known that Zhang Rui was the one who could truly study. But being able to study well was enough to pass the Juren exam. How could he pass the Jinshi exam and become the top scholar? Could it be so easy to become the top scholar?
If... if he had chosen to raise his grandson, now... now he could have gone to the capital with the second wife to enjoy a good life.
That’s the capital city, a capital city that I never dared to dream of.
He originally had this opportunity, but now he has ruined it all by himself.
Old Man Zhang's eyes lit up instantly as he thought of something. He looked up at the old village chief in the crowd and said, "Ahem, village chief, are Xiaorui and his mother and three coming back?"
The old village chief knew what he was thinking. Everyone in the village knew what he had done before, and the second wife remembered it all. Even if the second wife and her family came back, what would they do? Would they be forced to forgive him just because he knelt and cried and said he was wrong?
How could it be that easy! Moreover...
The old village chief shook his head and said, "Xiao Rui's mother said she won't be coming back and will settle down in the capital."
Old man Zhang's eyes quickly dimmed, and the only words in his mind were "I won't come back".
He will never come back. His top scholar grandson will never come back. He will never be able to look at him in the face in his life, let alone get his forgiveness and follow him out of this poor village.
Zhang Laosan got up slowly when he heard the commotion in the yard. After hearing the news, he was excited and regretful.
He was excited because he thought he could gain some benefits by using his uncle's title as the top scholar, but he regretted that he was blind and chose the wrong side.
If he had known that this day would come, he would definitely choose to fight alongside the second branch without hesitation.
But when he heard that the second branch was going to settle in the capital, his dissatisfaction surfaced again. "Second sister-in-law is really ignorant. Doesn't she know that she should return home after making a fortune? Besides, even if she settles in the capital, she has to come back to pick up her parents. How can they let her suffer in the village while they enjoy the good life in the capital?"
Zhang Laosan didn't mention himself at all, but every word he said revealed his resentment for not being able to marry into the second wife's family.
The old village chief had always looked down on the Zhang family for their infighting, and now he looked down on them even more, fearing that these confused people would go out and ruin the reputation of the new number one scholar.
"Have you forgotten so quickly that the second branch of the family split up a long time ago? It was all thanks to the second son's wife that we were able to raise a top scholar these years. What does this have to do with you?"
"Why does it not matter? Even if Zhang Rui is the top scholar, I am still his third uncle, and my parents are still his grandparents."
Seeing his ruffian look, the old village chief sneered, "It seems you've forgotten the family division agreement. Don't worry, I still have a copy. Even if you say it to the sky, you, the uncle who didn't contribute a bit, won't get any advantage."
"As for your parents, the second son's wife left the family house to you, and also left you ten taels of silver. It is the second branch's last token of gratitude. Old Zhang! You are kind-hearted enough to give ten taels of silver. If you hadn't wanted to use the second son's wife to pay off your debt, you wouldn't have come to this point. Alas~"
When it comes to these things, no one except the Zhang family thinks that the second branch of the Zhang family owes anyone anything. If the second son's wife had not been lucky enough and Zhang Rui had not been ambitious enough, their family would have broken up long ago.
"Let's stop while we're ahead. If we continue to make trouble, it will be embarrassing for everyone."
"That's good. Xiao Rui is the pride of our village now. You are not allowed to destroy his reputation at will."
…
Everyone was talking at once, leaving the Zhang family members helpless.
Seeing this, the old village chief continued, "Before Xiaorui left his mother, she left all of Xiaorui's notes. Anyone who wants to send their child to school can come to me and copy a copy. Those are the top scholar's notes, which you can't get at any price. You should know what to say and what not to say. Think carefully."
I heard that there are also Zhang Rui's notes. Those families with children of marriageable age were so happy that they almost went back to beat a few drums to express their inner joy. They immediately said that they would listen to the village chief in everything.
As long as they thought that many years from now their children would be able to rise to the same heights as Zhang Rui, no! Even if they passed the imperial examinations and became scholars or juren, it would be like a carp leaping over the dragon gate for the people in their village.
"Okay, from now on, if anyone says anything bad about Zhang Rui Niang and the others, see if he can take my punch."
"As for me, as long as I have breath left in me, I will not let those stinky mouths talk nonsense."
The Zhang family's courtyard was packed with excited people. Zhang Laosan looked at the scene with an extremely ugly expression but did not dare to say anything.
After moving back to his original home with ten taels of silver in his hand, Old Man Zhang was still unhappy. He looked towards the capital from time to time, then lowered his head and continued to sigh.
Old Mrs. Zhang cried every day and cursed herself for being blind in her dreams. Then she really cried herself blind.
…
No matter how the people in Zhangjia Village live, Luoan is living a very happy life in the capital.
Zhang Rui was not a bookworm, and he knew his limits. After entering the Hanlin Academy, he became very successful. Especially since everyone knew that the young emperor valued him very much, they were polite to him when they met him.
This is the state he likes.
In her first year in the capital, Zhang Hua met someone she loved. That person was Zhang Rui's classmate. They both passed the college entrance exam in the same year, but his ranking was a little lower. However, because his family had some connections, he also stayed in the capital.
The two often made plans to get together during the holidays. After a while, he fell in love with Zhang Hua, and after getting his future brother-in-law's consent, he started pursuing her.
This was the first time Zhang Hua encountered such a situation and she was a little confused. She hurried to ask Luo An for advice.
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