The largest silver shop in Beijing is called Baoqinglou. Fang Weiyan smiled and said to Mi Niang, "This is my first time here too. If it doesn't look good, please forgive me."
He gave almost all of his money to Mi Niang, but she often put about fifty taels of silver in his purse, and two silver notes worth two hundred taels.
It cost less than fifty taels to make two pieces of headwear, and Fang Weiyan could still afford this amount of money.
"Oh, you are naturally beautiful, so you look good in anything you wear." Mi Niang stroked her temples proudly and comforted Fang Weiyan: "Don't worry, I will choose something quickly."
Fang Weiyan believed it to be true, and thought to himself that he would go for some tea and snacks after leaving the silver shop.
But I didn't expect that he really believed the woman's words, what a liar.
Mi Niang was flipping through the flower album that the shopkeeper had brought her. She turned the pages very slowly and asked him, "Do you think this Huasheng is nice?"
"Didn't you say you wanted to watch the dance?"
"Oh, try to be more flexible. You are too rigid."
Mi Niang also said to the shopkeeper: "I don't want to buy one. Can you put one together? For example, the heart-shaped ornaments in this one can be matched with the step-shaking ornaments in this one. Also, do you have any better pictures? Show them to me."
The shopkeeper smiled and said, "Don't worry."
Mi Niang picked up another booklet and selected items one by one before paying the deposit. Fang Weiyan looked at the sky and said, "Let's go home. We've been selecting items for the whole afternoon. Are you hungry?"
"I'm not hungry. You didn't eat any of the snacks served there. I ate them all and even drank two pots of tea." Mi Niang had lived a hard life, so she was easy-going no matter where she went.
Fang Weiyan said, "I didn't eat because I drank a lot of wine at noon, and there was only a plate of crystal pork elbow in front of me. The pork elbow was too greasy, and I'm not hungry even now."
Speaking of noon, Mi Niang told Fang Weiyan something: "Today I ran into an old acquaintance who had some grievances with me. If it weren't for Tie Yishi when I was in Huguang, her family would have definitely dealt with me. But I was lucky. After Tie Yishi was transferred, my father passed the imperial examination and the matter was resolved. I never thought that her daughter would marry Cui Ti, the president of your Hanlin Academy."
When Cui Ti was mentioned, Fang Weiyan was surprised: "It turned out to be him."
"How is it? Will it cause you any trouble?"
"First, tell me what happened between you and Mrs. Cui."
Mi Niang told the whole story and said, "Her family invited us to the poetry meeting, but it was unfair. Well, since you want us to carry the sedan chair, shouldn't you tell us in advance? So, I made a fuss. Of course, I was not making a fuss without a purpose. First, my father wanted to take the imperial examination and needed a name. With my fuss, Tie Yushi naturally thought that my father was honest. I can't say that reputation is completely useful for the imperial examination, but it definitely played a certain role."
Fang Weiyan looked her up and down, and was almost shocked in his heart. The Mi Niang he was in contact with was just like a little girl. She liked to argue with him, often pouted and was afraid of thunder, but she was also very smart.
It is a kind of innate intelligence, not the kind of intelligence that is mature at a young age and looks like an old monk in meditation, but a very clear and intelligent kind of intelligence, the kind that has a strong ability to adapt and is not bound by conventions.
Just like what people say about scholars, hard work is important, but talent is more important.
Especially when it comes to poetry and composition, if you want to write well, you need talent.
He felt that Mi Niang was just that kind of person. She had a plan to turn the danger into safety almost immediately. It was definitely not luck.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" She was still a little uncomfortable.
Didn't she just spend a little longer looking at the jewelry today? Is it necessary to look at her like this?
Fang Weiyan said with a smile: "If you were a man and wanted to be an official, there would be no way for me to survive."
"I can't learn eight-legged essays, so don't praise me. If I were a man, I would have many advantages."
I don’t know what she was thinking about, but a mysterious smile appeared on her lips.
This made Fang Weiyan even more curious: "Tell me, what would you do if you were a man?"
Mi Niang covered her mouth and laughed, "If I were a man, you would be a woman. You are quiet and have a good temper. You are truly my good wife, haha."
Fang Weiyan was not good at arguing, so he just said, "You are so naughty, saying that."
"That's right. Oh, I've gone off topic. Although I'm not a person who has seen countless people, although Wang Sanniang appears humble, you can't judge a person by his or her appearance. What if she whispers something in your ear? What will you do?" Mi Niang was still very worried.
If the incident happened to her, she would either fight to the death or find a way out, but if it involved Fang Weiyan, she would be a little worried.
Fang Weiyan smiled and said, "You don't have to worry about me. I am only a scholar now. Moreover, I am a student of the Bachelor of Lu University. Whatever he wants to do, he has to consider the face of the Bachelor of Lu University."
Mi Niang thought to herself, that might not be the case.
"Don't worry, it's fine. Unless it involves party disputes or conflicts of interest in the officialdom, it's just a matter between women and won't cause any trouble. Cui Ti is from Fujian and has a hometown relationship with the scholar Lu. It is said that he was very absurd when he was young. His original wife died early, and he spent many years in brothels. Later, I don't know why he became motivated to study and later entered the Hanlin Academy. He is very good at writing Qingci and worships Taoism. The emperor often talks about Taoism with him."
Later, after Empress Dowager Ruan came to power, Cui Ti was directly exiled. At that time, Cui Ti was about to enter the cabinet, and she directly ordered his exile.
Fang Weiyan thought of this and glanced at Mi Niang.
Mi Niang snorted coldly: "There is no such thing as immortality in the world. I never believe it."
Even if she was reborn, Mi Niang did not believe that people could live forever.
It's all a hoax, but Emperor Yonglong made the elixir for his own health. The medicines prescribed by the doctors were often mediocre. They couldn't kill people, but they rarely made people better.
But Mi Niang didn't know much about Cui Ti. She had probably heard of such a person, but didn't know much about him.
Fang Weiyan thought that he and Cui Ti had a grudge against each other. In his previous life, not long after he entered the Hanlin Academy, Cui Ti often asked him to write Qingci for the emperor. But when she couldn't write, she asked the top three who had just entered the Hanlin Academy to write it. Unfortunately, Zhang Ao was the son of the elder in the imperial court, and Li Guan was the son of the left assistant minister of the Ministry of Personnel. Both of them had connections. Only the second place winner, he and another colleague were locked up at home by him to write Qingci, and they were not given food if they didn't write it.
He didn't expect that after many twists and turns, Cui Ti's wife was actually related to Mi Niang. Could it be that in her previous life, Mi Niang wanted to target Cui Ti for this reason?
It is not impossible.
But he felt that the current Mi Niang was not like the Queen Mother Ruan in his previous life. Perhaps because she married him, she did not have to enter the palace, so she had the demeanor of a mistress of the house.
The Empress Dowager Ruan in the previous life was like a killer god, and she would take revenge to the extreme.
Now Mi Niang loves to laugh, and her smile is as sweet as honey. She is loyal and caring about him. She can also be childish and shine when she is smart, but she can also get angry like an ordinary person.
That's good.
"Come on, let me help you get in the car and we'll go home for dinner. I'm a little hungry." Fang Weiyan said.
Mi Niang nodded.
After dinner, the two of them played a piece together, one playing the pipa and the other the flute, which was a harmonious performance.
This is the advantage of marrying an educated girl. She will smile knowingly when you say an idiom and will get along well with you. It is very difficult for a person to meet a confidant in his life. Moreover, Mi Niang is not like other people's daughters-in-law. It is more like marrying a mother than a wife, the kind that takes care of you from head to toe.
"I may be back a little late tomorrow, so you should eat early, do you hear me? If you feel sleepy, come back and take a walk. If you want to paint and need any pigments, if you don't feel comfortable telling mom, just ask someone to get them from my study. My study is better." Fang Weiyan hugged her affectionately and said.
Mi Niang nodded: "Okay, I understand."
She said boldly, "You always make out with me in bed, when will you go somewhere else to make out with me?"
Fang Weiyan suddenly couldn't stop coughing.
The next day she went to pay her respects to Xu, and she had to pay her respects every morning and evening. In the morning, a steward came to collect the cards. When she saw Mi Niang, she smiled and said, "You can sit here and play for a while."
"Madam, you are busy now, don't bother me."
"I'm just busy preparing for the Mid-Autumn Festival. By the way, my aunt is going to pick lotus flowers today. You can take your sister and cousins with you."
"yes."
She sat there quietly. Xu occasionally glanced at her. The more she looked, the more she liked her. She had different views on girls from her mother-in-law and sisters-in-law.
They all like those who are simple and law-abiding, perhaps not so clever, and do not like those who are talented. They think housekeeping and needlework are the most useful, and the rest are not worth learning.
But Xu thought that the girl was well-educated, talented, eloquent, and well-read. Moreover, she was beautiful, so it was a good thing for her to be not so mature. It would be great if she was just this cute and adorable.
Of course, the fact that her daughter-in-law dealt with Fang Furong and killed the snake for her son was enough to make Xu feel that this daughter-in-law had both a scheming side and a reckless and lovable side for her son.
"Would you like some cloud cake?"
Mi Niang nodded heavily: "Then I will take away the good things from my wife."
Xu smiled and said, "I feel that sweet food is too greasy now, it's just right for you little girls to eat it."
In fact, Mi Niang also understood that people over 30 should focus on maintenance. She did the same at that time. Not to mention desserts, all oily dishes had to be rinsed with water.
But she didn't have to worry about that after marrying Fang Weiyan, as he said he could hug three of her like him.
He gives people the impression of being very stable and reliable, and rarely lies. She actually knows that all men her mother said are not trustworthy, but no matter in the past life or this life, she still believes that not everyone in the world is like this.
"Madam, it doesn't taste that sweet. Would you like to have a taste?" Mi Niang picked up a piece and fed it to Xu.
Xu took a bite and said to her, "How was your visit to the residence of the Lu University scholar yesterday?"
Mi Niang said quickly, "I went there yesterday and found out that Fourth Master and Mr. Lu are so close. Mrs. Lu is also very caring towards me for Fourth Master's sake. Madam, I really want to ask you how you took such good care of Fourth Master. Everyone praises him when he goes out."
"Stop flattering me. It's Wei Yan who has made progress on his own. I just act like this at best. He probably sees it."
"Then you must not hide anything and teach me well."
Mi Niang looked at Xu like a young swallow, and Xu immediately said, "Don't worry."
She could imagine how good-looking the grandchildren would be if her son and daughter-in-law were so beautiful.
After a while, Shen came with her youngest son and daughter. Shen's eldest son already lived in the outer courtyard and was studying, so it was inconvenient for him to come and pay his respects. The youngest son had just started to learn. In addition, the daughter, Jin Jie, was seven years old. She caught a cold a few days ago, but she recovered today, so she came to pay her respects to Xu.
In fact, except for necessary visits to pay respects, Mrs. Shen usually doesn't come here. She often goes to the old lady's place.
Yu also came with her children. Mi Niang took a look at Yu's eldest son, who had a pair of red phoenix eyes and looked good, but a little listless.
Xu asked a few questions with concern: "Why are you feeling uncomfortable, Third Brother?"
"Nothing, it's just that the sun was very hot yesterday." What would Yu say? Her son was six years old and had just started elementary school for a year. He was usually smarter than anyone else, but he just liked to play and didn't want to study. He often wanted to skip school and all his thoughts were focused on this.
Mi Niang saw her embarrassment, and also felt deeply that Yu's life was not easy either. Although she did not have much contact with the second uncle, she heard that his room was not very quiet. He did not like people with similar temperaments. He simply valued sex and liked those who were coquettish the most. Even the maids in the mansion who were decent in appearance, as my mother said, he had his hands on them.
Everyone said that Yu was cowardly, but with a husband like this, her mother-in-law was not her real mother-in-law. Although her grandmother would occasionally say a word or two for her, she was still the one who was embarrassed.
She was not a person of that kind, so she often had to endure being stepped on by concubines and being blamed by her husband.
Therefore, Mi Niang came to her rescue: "Just go home and have some refreshing food. I think we couldn't stand the scorching sun when we went out for dinner yesterday."
Xu thought to herself that her daughter-in-law was too kind-hearted.
Yu was even more grateful in her heart.
However, Mi Niang did not try to stop her. She did not help Yu in order to be thanked by her, and she was not a pushover, so she could not afford Yu's thanks.
Rowing a boat and picking lotus for fun, for Mi Niang, this is a scene that can only be seen in her hometown in the countryside, but she can play in the garden of the marquis's mansion. She took Ye Jiayin and Fang Yaqing on the same boat.
Fang Yaqing also complained: "My cousin from the Jin family is really something. We agreed to come to row the boat today, but I didn't expect that they would move to my uncle's house today."
"Forget it, now that they've left, your cousin Ye and I are still here to accompany you." Mi Niang smiled clearly.
The Jin family probably left because of the failed marriage with Fang Weiyan, but they left so suddenly, probably because of Madam Weng's illness. Moreover, now that Uncle Xu has gone to Beijing, it would be more legitimate for Aunt Jin to go to the Xu family.
Ye Jiayin was a smart person and she heard the hidden meaning. She glanced at Mi Niang.
Fang Yaqing was a carefree girl. She soon forgot her sadness of parting, especially after picking a lotus flower. She was eager to compose a poem.
The three of them were composing poems on the boat. Fang Yaqing was defeated quickly, but Mi Niang and Ye Jiayin were able to match each other. Ye Jiayin's poems were as spiritual as Mi Niang's. Mi Niang even thought that Ye Jiayin had read more books than her and couldn't help but praise her: "Miss Ye, your poems are very good."
"What are you talking about, Sister-in-law? I think you did a good job."
Whenever Mi Niang saw Ye Jiayin, she would think of Fan Yuzhen. They both had similar backgrounds, but the Dong'an Marquis's Mansion didn't have someone like the wife of the Cheng'en Duke, who sent her relatives' daughters to the palace. However, Ye Jiayin's situation was not good either. She originally wanted to betrothed to Fang Weiyan, but it didn't work out. She was already seventeen years old this year, and she hadn't been betrothed yet.
But the old lady is old, and Fang Furong is causing trouble all the time. It is not easy for Xu to interfere in her niece's marriage, and she has to avoid suspicion. Ye Jiayin really doesn't know what to do.
"I used to like writing poetry and painting when I was at home. Now that I'm married, I don't have so much time, but I still like it. Although poetry and painting cannot be eaten or drunk, I always think it's good to have them as a pastime sometimes. Now I can paint a picture every day if I have time. If you don't mind, you can come to Fengwuyuan to find me." Mi Niang said with a smile.
Ye Jiayin thought to herself, she is a broad-minded person. Maybe she really doesn't take us seriously, so she can remain calm no matter whether it is towards Jin Shuqin or her.
She really misunderstood Mi Niang. Mi Niang did not believe in her own charm, but in Fang Wei Yan. Fang Wei Yan worked tirelessly for the imperial examinations. It would be normal for such a man to take a concubine after marriage, but if he took his own cousin, wouldn't people criticize him?
She came here because her parents died. With such an identity, she became a concubine, neither a master nor a servant. It was not that she looked down on her, but that she looked down on herself. If you really wanted to take her in, how could you let her be a concubine? How would she survive in the officialdom in the future?
Even if Mi Niang cannot have children for many years in the future, she can at most marry a girl from a good family. But that girl may be the daughter of a tenant or the daughter of a poor family, but it cannot be someone of Ye Jiayin's status. Therefore, Mi Niang trusts Fang Wei Yan more.
Besides, Ye Jiayin is a proper rich lady, how could she be a concubine?
After meeting Ye Jiayin, she felt that apart from some minor physical defects, she had a noble character, wrote outstanding poems, and was a nice person.
The two of them listened to the cicadas chirping and the maids peeling lotus seeds. It was cool here and before they knew it, a day had passed.
When it was time for dinner, she ate alone. Chuntao served her and even took her bath, but Fang Weiyan had not returned yet.
She was puzzled and asked, "Although he said it would be later, is it necessary to be this late?"
I'm just a scholar in the Hanlin Academy and I don't have any job to do. Is it really so late?
Little did they know that Fang Weiyan and Tan Lin were both locked up in Cui's house to write Qingci, and the door was locked. The Qingci written by Tan Lin had been rejected several times, and Fang Weiyan was also writing furiously.
"Brother Fang, it's so late. Are you hungry?" Tan Lin asked Fang Weiyan.
Although he is already forty years old, he was a runner-up in the imperial examination and is currently an editor. Cui Ti is really too much. He is now full of complaints and wishes he could vent them to Fang Weiyan.
Who knew that although Fang Weiyan's lips turned pale, he still said: "Brother Tan, please stop complaining. We can leave after we finish writing. The bachelor also cares about us."
When you first enter officialdom, you have no control over many things.
Someone naturally told Cui Ti about their conversation. Cui Ti was having dinner with Wang Sanniang, and he laughed, "This Fang Weiyan is different from his wife. He is a man of few talents and has great potential."
"蘊藉不立崖异" means that although he has great ambitions, he does not try to stand out. He can see that there are factions in the court but he does not get involved in them. He is very patient and does not provoke others at will.
Wang Sanniang was surprised: "I didn't expect you to think this of him."
"I think he writes Qingci very well. I will have to ask him to work for me in the future. He is also a disciple of Lu Rufa, so let's see how it goes first." Cui Ti smiled and pinched his beard.
Wang Sanniang thought it was such a pity, Fang Weiyan was a promising young man after all, he passed the imperial examination in the second class at the age of 20, yet he married a troublemaker. And Ruan Mi Niang was only interested in reciting poems and composing verses, she knew about writing but didn't understand that what a daughter of a wealthy family wanted was to be a housekeeper and do needlework.
Who knows how much trouble she will cause for Fang Weiyan in the future.
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