"I had nothing to do before, so I made some book covers. I pasted the flowers of the four seasons that I collected on them. I dried them and pasted them on them, and then added a few strokes with ink. Although they are not the work of a master, they are also rustic. I'll show them to you. If you like them, take them. If you don't like them, then..."
When Mi Niang said this, she asked the maid to go to the room and get it.
Shi Su brought a lacquer box filled with floral patterns arranged according to the seasons of spring, summer, autumn and winter. Fang Wei Yan picked one at random and thought it was very clever.
Although the paper is not Xuelangwen, it is still fresh and elegant enough.
He exclaimed: "What a beautiful thing! Seeing these flower patterns is like witnessing the changing of the four seasons."
Mi Niang put the lid back on and tilted her head and said, "Use it quickly, or it will break easily."
"I know." Fang Weiyan secretly found it funny, yet cute.
She is indeed a very, very lovely girl. She seems to be afraid of being kept in the dark, so she deliberately speaks out her little thoughts, which makes her even more lovely.
"Then I'll leave. I will read the books you mentioned. Even if there are some that I don't understand, I will ask my father and Eleventh Brother. Don't worry." Mi Niang couldn't just sit there and talk like this.
The best way to maintain freshness between people is to be half-hidden and half-revealed, and to create a sense of mystery.
You said everything in one breath and talked about everything about yourself. Who would be interested in you?
Not to mention matters between men and women, this is also true between friends.
This is even true when people interact with each other. When you meet someone you feel like you’ve known for a long time, you want to spill everything out, and soon the other person will lose interest in you.
Fang Weiyan didn't expect that she would leave now, so he said, "During the New Year, you can try to write an article. If I come, I will take a look at it for you."
"Okay." Mi Niang said softly, looked at him with a hint of something to say but not to, and immediately went into the house.
Afterwards, Fang Weiyan chatted with Ding Erniang for a few words. They were very lively, but he always felt a little lost in his heart.
He kept thinking the same thing until he got home, and finally realized that he had forgotten what he wanted to say about his aunt.
Mi Niang was laughed at by her mother, "You lazy girl, you usually hate to comb your hair at home, today you finally got a lesson. Fortunately, the person who came was not a stranger, and he was honest. If it was someone else, I don't know how they would frame you."
"Humph, I'm doing this for the girls' own good. If they wear new clothes every day in the winter, they'll have to wash them every day."
Chuntao smiled and said, "We are willing to do that too."
There were three consecutive snowfalls during the winter solstice, and the Dong'an Marquisate sent a lot of new and neat gadgets, as well as several boxes of books.
Mrs. Ding was even more satisfied than Mi Niang, so she said, "As for this man, don't look at what he says, look at what he does. If he has you in his heart, he will think of you even if there are thousands of mountains and rivers between us, and will do everything he can to help you. If he doesn't have you, no matter how nice his words are, it will be useless."
Zhou also agreed and gave an example: "I have a distant cousin, her family runs an oil mill, there is an oil seller who is very diligent, although the family is not rich, but much better than the average person, he is just more honest. Unfortunately, this cousin despises his honesty and has to fall for the third son of the rice shop, saying that he is good at talking and good-looking. Unfortunately, he is a man who can't even help a fat man when he falls, he can't do anything, he is just spoiled, when the family split up, he only got 20 mu of land, and he is not good at farming, the whole family depends on my cousin's dowry."
"What upset her the most was that the oil seller opened an oil mill and his business was booming."
Mi Niang said, "I am greedy. I want him to be nice to me and I also want him to be able to talk."
Mrs. Ding scratched her face with her fingers: "You have no shame."
As the saying goes, the New Year comes after Laba. Everyone eats Laba porridge together, with women and children sitting at the same table. Yuheng, needless to say, has grown into a little boy. He is now in school and is very sensible, acting like the eldest son in the family. Whenever Ruan Jiading has guests, he will take him to meet them.
Yu Han was just over two years old, and the maid was feeding him. The child was picky about food and liked to hit people. Grandma Ding was also very cruel. If he didn't eat, he would go hungry. Once, he got angry and slapped Grandma Ding, and Grandma Ding also patted him lightly.
After these problems were corrected, Mi Niang realized that children should not be allowed to have bad tempers.
However, Mi Niang was very surprised and asked her mother: "Mom, you were so tolerant of me before, why are you so strict with my brother?"
When Mi Niang was a child, she was white and plump. Even when she was big, Ding Erniang still wanted to hold her in her arms. She also had a bad temper when she was a child. I have the impression that her mother always obeyed her in everything.
Little did she know that Second Madam Ding explained, "Your father is away from home all year round, and we are the only two of us at home. Mother was worried that something might happen to you, and you are actually a very well behaved child."
Even though they seem to be living a peaceful life at home now, life was really hard in their hometown in the past.
"Hey, what is this?"
If someone finds a copper coin in his mouth, everyone will say that he will definitely get rich next year.
The Ministry of Revenue had thirteen Qingli Si under its jurisdiction. Ruan Jiading was the head of the Fujian Qingli Si. The Fujian Si was in charge of the money and grain of Zhili and Fujian provinces, the customs tax of Tianjin, the miscellaneous expenses of Zhili, and was also in charge of relief and official affairs.
Officials in Beijing had little benefits, but fortunately they had tributes in the form of carbon and ice. The Ministry of Revenue was in charge of the country's finances, and salaries were basically paid on time. Sometimes, if silver money was not paid, it would be deducted from the money and replaced with scented sandalwood or cloth.
There was neither drought nor flood this year, and the salaries from the Ministry of Revenue were paid normally. Ruan Jiading was very conscious and gave the money to his second wife as soon as he got it back.
Mrs. Ding opened her purse and smiled: "Not bad."
"Ten dan of grain, just have someone exchange it for silver and send it here. We have plenty of grain anyway, so there's no need to keep it."
They were all from Huguang, where grain was cheap and not expensive. Also, their clan member, Fourth Uncle Shang, was a sailor, so it was very convenient for them to bring some grain with them.
Of course, Ruan Jiading has taken a lot of care of him. For example, Ruan Shiyi came with him this time, and next year Ruan Jiading will transfer his household registration to Shuntian Prefecture for the exam, which will be easier than Huguang.
Uncle Shang's son, Ruan Yu-nian, was weak and spoiled, so he was afraid that he would not be able to continue his studies. Ruan Jiading planned to let him stay by his side and work as a clerk, so that he could at least learn some manners.
In the future, I will donate money to jail for him. Having an identity is always better than being a nobody.
Of course, they all brought money with them to the capital. Ruan Shiyi and his wife had several thousand taels in their hands, not to mention Fourth Uncle Shang.
Second Madam Ding said, "The Fang family's betrothal gift was three thousand taels. I gave five hundred taels to my eleventh daughter-in-law to set up a shop, and another five hundred taels to buy land. There is also the interest from the shop I invested in before, and the interest from the land in my hometown. At most, it is one thousand five hundred taels."
"If there is still a shortfall, we can go to the bank and borrow 500 taels, and then we can collect 5,000 taels and let Mi Niang take it over. This way, people won't look down on our daughter."
Because she is marrying the son of a marquis, although she cannot wear all kinds of makeup, she can't look bad either.
Mrs. Ding Er smiled and said, "I think so too. Anyway, it will be paid off slowly in a few years."
The couple never thought of borrowing money from acquaintances, as they were afraid that if the news got out, others would look down on their daughter.
Years ago, Second Madam Ding accompanied the old lady of her family and two wives to the palace to pay respects to the Empress. Logically, she was not qualified, but Ruan Jiading was the only official in the Ruan family who was a Jinshi in the two imperial examinations, and Second Madam Ding was also a genuine sixth-rank Anren.
There are many rules for entering the palace, and Mi Niang took the initiative to bring her younger brother with her so that she wouldn't worry.
Zhou was still looking forward to it, "I wonder what the palace is like? I heard that the Empress is the mother of the country and has a very good reputation. She never wears jewelry on weekdays. It's just that the Emperor favors Concubine Cui more, and Concubine Cui is very domineering in the palace."
"The royal concubine has children and is favored, so she is naturally different from others." Mi Niang smiled.
If she had not entered the palace in her previous life, Concubine Cui would have been able to abuse her power for a longer time. The empress was incompetent to begin with, just take frugality as an example.
Concubines were locked up in the palace all year round and were not allowed to see their parents and brothers. It was already very pitiful, but you didn't even allow them to wear a golden hairpin. Moreover, the amount of eggs and meat and the monthly allowance in the palace were limited. Concubines of low rank could not even get an egg a day.
I have to take care of everything on a daily basis and I am almost penniless. And you, the queen, have reduced my allowance. It's almost like being in prison.
However, outsiders do not understand these things and all think that the Queen is virtuous.
I remember when Mi Niang entered the palace, Queen Nguyen said that as the queen, she must protect the concubines in the harem, saying that they were all girls from good families and it was not easy for them to enter the palace. Mi Niang was very moved when she first entered the palace, but later she realized that she was just following the distribution.
She stayed in the palace honestly, worked quietly and didn't cause any trouble. Although she was getting the lowest share, she was often deducted half of her share due to natural disasters or man-made calamities. In the first year, Mi Niang was almost frozen to death because she had no charcoal.
Queen Nguyen privately gave a lot of money to those who cried and made trouble.
It's impossible to get things done with someone like her. She will not care about you at all even if she has a lot of things to do. She is even worse than those who cause trouble.
Zhou had no idea what Mi Niang was thinking, and thought to herself that Mi Niang was so calm that she was really surprised. No wonder, she was so young but was appreciated by the Marquis's wife, who personally hired her as her daughter-in-law, squeezing out the granddaughter of the Minister of Revenue.
Kunning Palace
Those who came today are all members of the Ruan family, including Old Madam Ruan, Lady Hanhai, Lady Cheng'en, and Lady Tang, the wife of the Prince of Hanhai.
Queen Nguyen is over 20 years old this year, and she is extremely dazzling in her phoenix robe. It is the first time she has met Second Madam Ding, and she does not look down on her because of her low rank. Instead, she is very moved.
"Thank you for your attention, Your Majesty. Thank you for your inquiry."
Queen Ruan smiled and coughed twice. Lady Cheng'en was extremely worried. The queen had another miscarriage, but the child was gone within two months and her old illness recurred.
Others didn't care too much. Lady Hanhai even mentioned her daughter's marriage with a smile: "The fourth daughter will be engaged in a few days. This is also thanks to the blessing of the queen. Others think our daughter is good."
Old Madam Ruan mentioned Mi Niang's marriage again: "The family she is going to marry is the Dong'an Marquis Mansion where your aunt married."
Queen Nguyen was very happy and sent someone to the inner treasury to bring something back as a reward.
This is also what Mrs. Ruan meant. It is a rare opportunity to enter the palace, so she must pray for good luck.
Seeing this, Lord Cheng'en was filled with resentment. You all know that you want my daughter's things, but not one of you is willing to help.
In that case, don't blame me.
…
Therefore, after Second Madam Ding came back, she looked very unhappy. Don't be fooled by what the wife of Duke Cheng'en said, saying that the Empress was lonely in the deep palace and not in good health, and it would be better for her to have someone from her family to accompany her.
She did not push her own daughter Wu Niang, but instead let Mi Niang and Fan Yuzhen enter the palace.
What do you mean by being taught by the Queen? In the future, others will look up to you.
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