Chapter 125 Chapter 125 Chapter 125
Before the Cold Clothes Festival, Zheng Ge'er was admitted to the middle dormitory from the outer dormitory. It just so happened that he had a ten-day break. Miao Zhen asked the kitchen to prepare a table of his favorite dishes and was especially happy for him.
Zheng Ge'er was still embarrassed: "Mother, my brother is already a scholar at my age, while I am nothing."
“Everyone’s starting point and aptitude are different. I’m happy for your brother every time he makes progress, and I feel the same way about you. As the saying goes, diligence can make up for lack of talent. Before, you were working behind closed doors at home, unaware of the challenges outside. Now that you’ve gone to the academy, you’ve been able to work so diligently. For you, that’s the biggest progress.” Miaozhen never thought that those who get ahead first are necessarily better. People just need to keep working hard. Even if they don’t succeed, they are definitely better than someone who doesn’t try.
Young children don't have much self-control, so they need encouragement from adults. Not only Miaozhen encouraged them, but Zhaoge also said, "I've read your writing, and it has improved a lot recently, but you still need to work harder. Getting into the inner school is more important than anything else."
Now Xiao Jingshi has hired two more Hanlin scholars to tutor his eldest son. Since the beginning of this year, Zhao Ge'er has been almost entirely immersed in his studies, rarely leaving the house except to eat. He has a very high sensitivity to literature, and after reading his younger brother's writings, he can roughly tell what level he has reached.
"Did you hear that? Your brother said you're really capable now." Miaozhen looked at Zhengge'er.
Zheng Ge'er also encouraged himself, determined to study hard.
Even a wealthy family like the Xiao family still values a child's aptitude when it comes to raising them. Xiao Jingshi only hired a renowned tutor for Zhao Ge'er after he passed the imperial examination at the county level. If Zheng Ge'er wanted to access good resources, he would at least have to pass the county level as well.
This is very realistic. Just like when Miaozhen wanted to study medicine, Xu Erpeng didn't agree immediately. He only agreed after he discovered that Miaozhen really had the perseverance.
Many things, if obtained too easily, are not worth cherishing.
Just like in the capital, there were daughters of officials who wanted to come to Miaozhen to learn medicine. Miaozhen had no prejudice against social status, but she required that they be literate and able to recite the "Nan Jing", "Ling Shu", and "Su Wen" by heart before she would accept them.
After she said that, the so-called apprenticeship was obviously abandoned.
Just after finishing her meal, a child came to the clinic for a checkup. Apparently, he had eaten very spicy food, which caused a sore throat. Miaozhen quickly went to the clinic to examine him and said, "His throat is all rotten."
"This child is greedy. We are from Sichuan. He immediately stuffed the freshly made 'Bo Xia Gong' into his mouth. Dr. Xu, what should we do?" The child's mother was almost frantic with worry.
"It's alright, I'll prescribe the medicine. Do you want to drink it here, or take it back and brew it yourselves?" Miaozhen asked.
"Let's drink here."
"Yes, it's two taels and five mace in total."
Miaozhen wrote out a prescription for Ganju Detoxifying Decoction, personally prepared the medicine, and had the apprentice decoct it. After the child drank the decoction, he felt much better. The child's mother thanked her profusely, and Miaozhen patted the child's head, saying, "You can't be so naughty next time."
Apart from this child, there were no other patients in the afternoon, so Miaozhen went back to her room to do needlework. She hadn't done it in a long time and was a little rusty. She wanted to make more sachets for the Dragon Boat Festival. It just so happened that Xiao Jingshi's salary was partly paid in cash, which was mostly spices, so she decided to make use of the available funds.
Having just finished making a sachet, Xiao Jingshi got up and stretched a few times. Seeing that it was getting late, he was about to have dinner prepared when someone came to his door to visit a doctor. It was none other than Zhang Juzheng, Xiao Jingshi's fellow graduate and the Director of Studies at the Imperial Academy, whose fourth son was ill.
Miaozhen immediately had someone invite him in. Seeing that Zhang's fourth son was only about two years old and his face and body were red, Madam Zhang said anxiously, "I don't know if this child has caught a cold, and he's coughing badly."
She couldn't quite take a child's pulse yet; she had to look at his fingerprints and other things. After examining him, she said, "It's probably because the milk and food upset his spleen and stomach. I happen to have some prepared Tingli pills here. You can have him take five to seven pills each time."
When Madam Zhang saw that Miaozhen had prescribed the medicine, she was very convinced: "I was originally embarrassed to come over, since it's so late, but I was worried that something might happen to the child. I'm so sorry to have bothered you."
"What's the big deal? The child's illness is the most important thing," Miaozhen said with a smile.
She knew what had become of the Zhang family, but they were incredibly powerful figures during the early years of the Longqing and Wanli reigns. They were considered the top Grand Secretary of the Ming Dynasty and were even the most formidable people to say things like, "I am not a prime minister, but a regent."
So it's not good to offend them. Besides, she even sent a portion of the pork rib and lotus root soup she made last winter to the Zhang family, since they still have some hometown ties.
But to make a hasty acquaintance with them would certainly raise suspicions.
Furthermore, Xiao Jingshi already had a good relationship with his classmates, so she didn't add anything unnecessary.
The next day, Xu Ge Lao's residence invited him over. It turned out that Cheng Yuan was ill. Ever since Lu Shi An passed away, Cheng Yuan seemed to be in poor spirits. She was about the same age as him, and he had only seen her once last year during the New Year. Her spirits were already quite low then.
Miaozhen quickly went over and saw that Cheng Yuan's face was pale and the veins on her hands were bulging. She asked with some pity, "What's wrong with you? Where do you feel uncomfortable?"
"It's an old problem of mine, but it's not a serious illness." Cheng Yuan had been thinking about dealing with Lu Shi'an since she was reborn. After Lu Shi'an died, she thought she should have a smooth life ahead of her, but that's not the case.
She hadn't examined her life for a long time, and only later did she realize that even if she didn't live with Lu Shi'an, life wasn't necessarily so easy. Her husband held a high position and had little time to spend with her. As a second wife, she wasn't older than her daughters-in-law, and she was constantly controlled in managing the household. Despite all her hard work, even the slightest mistake was criticized.
Even when she contracted a gynecological disease, Xu Miaozhen was not in the capital, and she took the wrong medicine, which caused her health to deteriorate.
Now that her children are all grown up, she doesn't feel happy when she thinks about the past. Especially after seeing Miaozhen, the feeling is completely different. She heard that Xiao Jingshi has always treated her the same way. They have been a couple since they were young and are still together now. That's good.
Thinking back to his past life, Xu Miaozhen and Cen Yuan were a pair of ill-fated lovers who loathed each other. Xiao Jingshi was not so devoted. Although he married a daughter of an official, she had a terrible temper and was surrounded by beautiful concubines. His career was full of ups and downs.
Things are completely different now.
...
After leaving the Xu family's house, Xiao Xi asked Miao Zhen, "What's wrong? What did Madam Xu say to you?"
"She's acting strangely. Just like when we were in Jinling, she just sat there drinking tea with me without saying a word. I have no idea what she's up to," Miaozhen thought, recalling what had happened in Jinling.
Xiao Xi was also completely confused.
Even when Xiao Jingshi asked Miaozhen about today's events, Miaozhen herself was completely clueless: "I didn't have much interaction with her. Back when I was a servant in the Cheng family, I suffered some mistreatment because the First Madam had a strange temper, so I didn't dare to respond when she showed me kindness."
Since their marriage, his wife had rarely talked to him about her time with the Cheng family. He had guessed that she might not have had a good time there, so he didn't ask too many questions. But when Miaozhen brought it up today, he couldn't help but say, "Since she hasn't said anything, you don't need to worry about it. She's probably just catching up with old friends."
Miaozhen nodded: "I won't think about things I can't understand. It's been so many years anyway. I heard that Madam Zeng has passed away, and even the former eldest mistress, Madam Ji, is frail and sickly. Thinking about it, I feel that things have changed."
Xiao Jingshi rarely saw Miaozhen with such a desolate expression. She had always been very strong, very open-minded, and very optimistic. Sometimes, when he was feeling vulnerable, he would draw energy from her.
He panicked a little and put his hands on Miaozhen's shoulders, saying, "I don't care if things have changed for others, I will never change."
“I know.” Miaozhen smiled; her husband was always by her side.
The couple wouldn't deliberately act superior just because one of them needed the other more. Miao Zhen looked at him, and Xiao Jingshi pulled her onto his lap: "I'm three years older than my wife, but I'm tough, so I'll definitely live longer than her. As long as I'm alive, I'll definitely take good care of my wife."
"Oh, I'm a doctor. You dare say you'll live longer than me?" Miaozhen teased.
Xiao Jingshi lowered his head and nuzzled her with the tip of his nose: "Because I was afraid that my wife would be lonely, I have been keeping her company."
Miaozhen wrapped her arms around his neck: "We're an old married couple, and it's still so mushy. If word got out, everyone would laugh at us."
"You're very young, and I'm not old either. Who dares to laugh at us?" Xiao Jingshi looked at her with a somewhat domineering air.
"Yes, yes, yes." Miaozhen leaned against him, and the annoyance in her heart dissipated a lot.
The Dragon Boat Festival arrived quickly. The Marquis of Yunjian's residence and the Han family were related by marriage, so their gifts were naturally more generous than those from other families. In addition, there were Xiao Jingshi's teachers, classmates, and peers, so everything had to be taken care of. Miaozhen had to personally write out the names of each person, and Madam Zhang helped to check them.
"Sister, you'll be much more relaxed once the new bride arrives next year," Madam Zhang said with a smile.
Miaozhen nodded: "Yes, that Han family girl looks very capable. I'm relieved now that she's in the family."
Fu Jie'er's son, whose given name is Xuan, is already a year old. He has inherited the best features of both his parents, and is fair-skinned and chubby. He can already stand while holding onto a chair. It is said that Madam Ming is very happy to see him, and sometimes she doesn't enjoy her meals if she doesn't see him.
The little boy is nestled in Miaozhen's arms now, not shy at all. Seeing him makes Miaozhen happy, and she recalls the birth of Fu'er: "When you were born, you were just as soft and chubby. In the blink of an eye, you have children. Back then, we went to the capital together, and your maternal grandmother seemed to be about the same age as me."
Fu Jie noticed that her mother seemed less cheerful lately, so she changed the subject and shifted the focus: "Mother, I heard that the Shi family's daughter wants to learn medicine from you. What do you think?"
"Then she has to show determination first, at least memorize the 'Nan Jing' (Classic of Difficult Issues) before I'll accept her as my student. Otherwise, even if she becomes my disciple, if she only studies sporadically and only cares about the title, that won't do. Your uncle had a concubine who used to study medicine under Madam Tao, just like me, but so what? Her family still owned a pharmacy, and she still didn't study properly. After her husband passed away, she could only become a concubine." Miao Zhen understood perfectly. She didn't dislike those who tried to gain fame by associating with her; after all, she had done the same thing under Madam Tao and Madam Yang back then. But at least you have to be genuinely interested in learning.
Otherwise, it would be bad to damage one's own reputation by falsely claiming something is good.
When Sister Fu saw that her son was getting impatient in Miaozhen's arms, she quickly asked the wet nurse to take him away. Then she smiled and said, "You're right. Last time you said I couldn't waste anything. I'm secretly figuring it out now and plan to go to the free clinic in a few days to see more patients."
"That's good. Oh, right, I recently learned how to make rose milk. It looks best when served in a crystal jug, all pink. Your father initially refused to drink it, saying it was a woman's drink, but later he secretly drank half a jug without telling me." Miaozhen wanted to give her daughter a little something new to share.
Fu Jie'er was also very curious. She saw her mother put rose petals, jasmine flowers, dried osmanthus flowers, round berries, mulberries, and rose rock sugar on a clay stove and boil them with a little water. After the rock sugar melted, she added milk and continued to boil until the color came out. Then she filtered out the flower petals and poured them into a transparent crystal cup.
She picked it up, took a sip, and felt great. Drinking something nice makes you feel relaxed and comfortable.
Seeing that her daughter was enjoying her drink, Miaozhen wanted her to relax a bit at her parents' home: "Let the wet nurse take care of Xuan-ge'er. I'll send someone to watch over him later, so you can relax a bit. You manage such a big household and have so many things to do every day. You're young now and don't feel tired, but it's easy to accumulate fatigue and get sick."
"I know, daughter." When Fu'er first married into the Yun Jian Marquis's mansion, she was actually quite unaccustomed to it. The Zhao family were from the north, and their eating habits were different. Her father-in-law favored her second sister-in-law, and her mother-in-law always put her husband first. She had to maintain fairness on the surface, and she felt like she was walking on thin ice.
Fortunately, not long after, Zhao Er and his wife lost power, and Marquis Yunjian was furious. Now that he is also in poor health, the couple's lives have become easier.
But these small setbacks have brought her to her current life, and she feels very lucky.
The mother and daughter did not go out to watch the Dragon Boat Festival; they stayed at home talking. As dusk fell, Zhao Rui came to pick up his wife and children, and only then did Fu Jie'er and her son return home.
“You’re always so happy to see you go back to your parents’ home. It’s clear that your parents-in-law treat you very well,” Zhao Rui said with a smile.
Fu Jie'er then told me about the rose milk she had drunk that day: "It was especially beautiful, but it must be served in a crystal glass. I'll make it for you when you have a day off. My father originally said it was for girls, but he couldn't resist drinking it all."
Zhao Rui laughed heartily, "Then I definitely have to drink it."
Unexpectedly, just after Sister Fu left, Miaozhen received a visiting card. It turned out that Sister Wei's father-in-law, Prefect Su, had completed his term and was going to the capital to seek an official position. She then told Xiao Jingshi about this, and Xiao Jingshi smiled and said, "There will be a banquet tomorrow evening, and I will return early."
“That’s what I think too. They must have come here to see you, the person in question, otherwise they would definitely be disappointed,” Miaozhen said.
Xiao Jingshi waved his hand: "Let's see how the Su family is first. If they are not bad, I will recommend them. But if they are all show and no substance, I will say I am too busy."
These days, recommending someone is also very risky. If they are truly talented and their talents are hidden, Xiao Jingshi will spare no effort to help them. But if they are incompetent and greedy, then they are setting themselves up for trouble.
However, upon seeing the two bolts of satin on Miaozhen's table, Xiao Jingshi couldn't help but ask, "Did Sister Fu bring these?"
"This is plain satin. The satin that Sister Fu brought is all top-quality. This is what I prepared to give to Zhao Ge'er's maid, Tonghua. She's been released to marry, so we should give her something in return." Miaozhen didn't prepare any concubines for her son. Now she's slowly sending away the maids around Zhao Ge'er. It's good to have some peace and quiet.
Xiao Jingshi chuckled: "You're really a competent mother-in-law."
"When I married you, your family didn't prepare any concubines or anything like that."
"That's because although my father was a businessman, he always considered himself from a scholarly family, so he wouldn't allow us to have a child before the wife even entered the family. Looking back now, it was really good that way. Otherwise, what if you had become estranged from me?" Xiao Jingshi felt a little scared when he thought about it.
Miao Zhen felt sorry for him because of his reluctance to part with her, so she softened her heart towards him. As a result, she almost couldn't get out of bed the next day, and even Zheng Ge'er had to take a carriage to school by himself.
The servants have changed again; even Bitao and Hongxing are old now, having been married off before the new year.
The new first-class maid, Qiu Chan, came in and said, "Madam is awake. The meal is ready."
"I'll get up right now."
Today she was to receive guests, so Miaozhen wore a lotus-colored, high-collared, diagonally-fastened shirt underneath, with a gold button adorned with a child and lotus flower design at the collar, and a jade-colored cloak over it, which made her look much more elegant.
As Qiu Chan combed Miao Zhen's hair, she couldn't help but remark, "You have so much hair."
“Things aren’t like they used to be. Before, my hair was all messy and heavy, but now it’s almost half as thick.” Miaozhen looked at herself in the mirror and sighed a little, but she felt more at ease now and thought she was better off.
When she met Sister Wei after several years, the little girl she remembered growing up with Sister Fu was now a married woman, wearing a silver-threaded bun and filigree gold jewelry, looking quite glamorous.
"Your niece greets Fourth Aunt." Wei Jie'er quickly bowed and then introduced her mother-in-law, Madam Su, and her sister-in-law, Grandma Su.
Miaozhen invited them to sit down, and then met her niece's husband, who was quite handsome and upright. She rewarded him with a pair of gold ingots shaped like writing brushes and ruyi scepters, and two pieces of gold-engraved inkstone. She then said, "Your elder brother heard that you were coming and has been waiting in the front hall. Go ahead."
Madam Su and Miaozhen had never met, but as wives of officials, they were both very sociable. Upon hearing "elder brother," they guessed that it might be the boy who had achieved the top score in the provincial examination, and couldn't help but ask, "I heard that your eldest son achieved the top score in the provincial examination in Southern Zhili?"
“Yes, he didn’t pass the imperial examination. His father said he was too young and impetuous, and that he should focus more on his studies,” Miaozhen said with a smile.
Madam Su hurriedly asked, "Has the young master been engaged?"
"It's settled. It's the daughter of the Han family, a Grand Secretary of the Wenyuan Pavilion. They will get married next spring," Miaozhen said.
Madam Su was filled with respect upon hearing this. She hadn't expected the Xiao family to prosper so much after their marriage, which meant her husband's chances of getting an official position were now slim. Miao Zhen also inquired about the Su family's situation, wondering how they treated Wei Jie'er. Wei Jie'er smiled, but felt a slight bitterness in her heart.
This eldest sister-in-law of the Su family is scheming. Being from her mother-in-law's family, she has always isolated me because of my large dowry and the many high-ranking officials in my family. This time, she even tried to flatter me to death, saying that I have an uncle who is an official and can definitely help my father-in-law get a position in the capital...
If her father-in-law's selection of officials is unsuccessful, they will blame her for incompetence, and she will inexplicably have another crime to commit.
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