Hua Fushu was naturally woken up as well. She half-closed her eyes, hugged Ye Zelin's neck, and rested her head on his back, muttering, "Is your grandpa done yet? He won't let me sleep in the middle of the night."
Ye Zelin patted her hand, turned his head and said to her, "Be good, sleep well, I'll be back soon."
Hua Fushu nodded, let him go, lay down and fell asleep.
Ye Zelin got up from the bed, lit a candle, put on his coat, and went to Feiyuan.
The old general scolded him severely for taking the imperial examination and said that if he insisted on taking the examination, he would be expelled from the Ye family.
Ye Zelin said that he would not give up taking the imperial examination. The old general was so angry that he was fuming. He picked up several teacups and threw them at Ye Zelin, but none of them hit him.
The grandfather and grandson started arguing, their faces red, and finally parted on bad terms.
The next morning, Hua Fushu stayed in bed and wanted to sleep a little longer. Yuzhi from Feiyuan was ordered by the old general to ask her to go to Feiyuan, and said that if she didn't go, she would be beaten with a stick.
Hua Fushu was very unhappy that his sweet dream was disturbed early in the morning, so he didn't want to go to Feiyuan. However, he remembered that the old general had a bad temper and was not one to go back on his word, so he finally decided to bow to the evil forces and went to Feiyuan.
The old general didn't beat her with a stick, but just grabbed her ear and scolded her, saying that she didn't know how to persuade her husband, let him do whatever he wanted, disobeyed the elders, and said that she didn't act like a wife, didn't act like a daughter-in-law, and so on. In short, it was Ye Zelin's participation in the imperial examination, and she, as a wife, had the responsibility.
Hua Fushu lowered her head and listened to the old general's criticism and blame. There was not a single word of abuse in his words towards her, so it went in one ear and out the other.
It was a quarter of an hour after the lecture. Hua Fushu didn't know how he managed to get through it. He just said that he understood and knew, and then he slipped back to Penglai Residence as if his feet were greased.
Ye Zelin thought that his grandfather called her over to teach her a lesson, but when he saw that there were no signs of injury on his daughter-in-law's face, he felt relieved. He offered his concern and asked her what her grandfather had said.
Hua Fushu told him the old general's admonition. Ye Zelin said, "Everyone advised me not to take the imperial examination. Why didn't you advise me?"
Hua Fushu smiled and said, "I don't advise you because I'm afraid you'll be isolated and helpless."
Ye Zelin didn't believe it, "It's a lie."
Hua Fushu said, "The truth."
Ye Zelin asked, "So you support me taking the imperial examination?"
Hua Fushu put a hand on Ye Zelin's shoulder. "Even if I don't support you, will you not take the imperial examination? I support you taking the imperial examination because I know you don't just think about it, but really want to take the imperial examination and do what you want to do. I understand how it feels to not have your family's support. Today, I support you. In the future, you will support me in whatever I want to do. Life is a long journey, and we must always support and help each other."
Ye Zelin laughed: "It's great to have you."
Hua Fushu licked his cheek and said, "It's good to have me around."
Sanqiao gave Lizhi a wink, and Lizhi understood and followed Sanqiao out of the house.
Lizhi said, "Sister Sanqiao, the young lady and the young master are doing well. We are relieved."
Seeing her daughter and her son-in-law being so sweet and affectionate, Sanqiao was also very happy. Her daughter's infatuation was not in vain. She said, "It's very good. Our daughter is trying to trick her son-in-law."
Lizhi asked, "What is the young lady trying to trick you into doing?"
Sanqiao pulled Lizhi aside and said, "My daughter has always aspired to become a famous doctor, to travel the world, to heal the dying and the wounded, and then to open a clinic to save the world. In this world, women are allowed to study medicine, but there are very few women who do, and even fewer who open clinics. Our daughter is a wife of an official. Have you seen or heard of any wife of an official opening a clinic? I've made inquiries, and there are no such women in the capital. If my daughter wants to open a clinic, she might be laughed at, but she will definitely open a clinic. She came to you today in the hope that you will support her when she opens a clinic in the future."
Lizhi looked as if she had suddenly realized something. "Young lady, you are truly far-sighted. You supported me today. If I want to open a clinic in the future, even if you don't support me, I may not oppose it."
Sanqiao said, "That's right."
Sanqiao and Lizhi went to prepare the meal.
After the meal, Ye Zelin assigned his young wife a task to make him some simple and elegant clothes.
Hua Fushu remembered that there were some cloths in her dowry, so she took Lizhi and Sanqiao to the big storehouse in the mansion. After searching for half a day, she finally found some plain and elegant cloths.
After measuring Ye Zelin's size, the responsibility of making clothes fell on Sanqiao. Fearing that Sanqiao would be too busy, Hua Fushu went to Rongliyuan to borrow a maid who knew needlework to help Sanqiao.
July 14th, the Ullambana Festival, is the day when Ye Zelin goes to the Kong family private school, and it is also the time when Hua Fushu goes to Ruifeng Tower for a banquet.
Hua Fushu took care of everything for Ye Zelin and personally escorted him out after the meal before preparing to attend the banquet. Just as he had changed his clothes, Cuizhi arrived, saying that Madam Ouyang had invited her to Rongliyuan.
Madam Ouyang had invited her to Rongliyuan for one reason: to persuade Ye Zelin not to take the imperial examination. In fact, Madam Ouyang had tried to persuade Ye Zelin several times over the past two days, but to no avail. She had also spoken to Hua Fushu, asking her to help persuade Ye Zelin. Hua Fushu listened, but she didn't help.
The mother-in-law still said the same thing as yesterday. Hua Fushu couldn't be perfunctory anymore, so she said, "Mother, he is your son. You gave birth to him and raised him for more than 20 years. You know him better than I do. If you can't persuade him, how can I persuade him? You treat me well, so I can't be perfunctory anymore. Today, your daughter-in-law will make it clear to you. I have never thought of persuading Ye Zelin, and I will not stop him. As long as it's not murder or arson, I will support Ye Zelin in whatever he wants to do."
Madam Ouyang was neither angry nor indifferent. "You little girl, I asked you to persuade Lin'er, but you did the opposite. But you are right. Lin'er is too opinionated and has too many ideas. I can't persuade him, so how can you persuade him? But you also know the rules of the Ye family. They have always been military and not civil. No one in the Ye family has ever taken the path of a civil servant."
Hua Fushu said, "People are alive, but rules are dead. No rule is unchanging, and the same is true for people. There wasn't one before, but there will be one in the future. Mother, have you ever thought about why Ye Zelin wanted to take the imperial examination? Was it just to bring honor to the family? The Ye family has been loyal for generations, and does the family need him to bring honor to it? Perhaps, when you know what he wants to do and what he is thinking, you will understand why he insisted on taking the imperial examination, despite your and father's opposition, and even ignoring the rules of the Ye family."
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