Chapter 61 Mingzhou Daily Account
After the new year, Zhang Zhi learned painting with me in the morning, went to the teacher's house to study writing in the afternoon, and had Tanwei supervise his homework in the evening. He worked non-stop from morning to night, and was forced to take the exam by Zhang Qian, who wanted his younger brother to become successful.
Zhang Zhi is a good boy. Since his sister had made such arrangements, he certainly didn’t dare to resist. He could only quietly come to me to complain that his schedule was too full and he was very tired.
I was also puzzled. "Isn't that what studying for the imperial examinations is like? Young men from wealthy families in Chang'an have to spend at least seven hours a day studying hard. You're not that diligent."
Zhang Zhi was stunned: "Seven hours?"
He hesitated for a moment and said, "Actually, I didn't want to take the imperial examination. It was arranged by my elder sister."
I asked, "Do you know who the painting teacher is at the official school in Luoyang?"
He shook his head and said frankly he didn't know.
I said, "In the past, there were the last disciples of Qiu Shuang Zhai, Jing Hu Jushi, and Soseki Jushi. Every one of them is a master of painting, especially Jing Hu Jushi. The portrait of the current emperor was painted by him."
Zhang Zhi showed a very fascinated expression, as if all the famous painters of ancient and modern times were standing in front of him.
"A house this big in Chang'an costs three thousand taels." I gestured a number. "Why is it so expensive? Because Chang'an and Luoyang are home to the most talented people in the world. No one would want to live next to them."
Zhang Zhi said sadly, "Luoyang is indeed a good place, but I know that my talent is not good enough. If I don't work hard, there is no way I can enter the official school."
I said, "You're not that bad, and you have the most powerful sister in the world. She's definitely capable of getting you into trouble."
Zhang Zhi suddenly realized: "That's right!"
I finally understood that this unfortunate kid had no confidence in himself, but his confidence in his sister was so great that it was about to overflow.
In March after the new year, I finally saved enough money for the rent. After paying the deposit, I asked Zhang Qian and Lu Chen to borrow some money to cover the renovation costs.
Although I became poor again overnight, I was still very excited. I walked around the house again and again, touching everything here and there, and found everything pleasing to the eye.
After taking over the house, I immediately took Xiaozhi to start decorating the new house, striving to make my new home the most comfortable place in the world.
Decoration is one of the few areas that can reflect the true nature of me, the daughter of a Chang'an gentry. Children who grew up in a wealthy family can make do with food, clothing and transportation, but not with housing.
In order to live comfortably and tastefully, I personally directed the craftsmen in their work, hand-drew the drawings of the entire set of furniture, and went to the carpenter to customize it.
After seeing the elegant shapes and carvings, the carpenter sincerely suggested that I go back and make some changes to the drawing. He was afraid that I would go bankrupt on the spot if I really printed it out as it was.
Only then did I realize how expensive custom furniture is nowadays.
If you don’t have money, you have no right to talk about quality of life. This is an irrefutable truth from ancient times to the present.
After learning from my mistakes, I decided to continue making money.
In order to make money, I went to find Lu Chen and asked him if he had any new work to introduce recently, or if he could ask me to draw a few more books.
Lu Chen taught me that in the high-end erotica business, one must carefully feel the market and grasp the pace of publishing. Want to publish two or three books a month? I don't need the market to teach me how to behave; my peers will take care of me first.
"If you want money, why not become a mistress?" he suggested. "You've served the Queen before, haven't you? That's a huge advantage. There aren't many people in Hebei Province who can rival you."
I corrected him: "I am a maid in the Duke's Mansion, not a mistress."
Lu Chen was so disappointed that he slammed my head hard. "Are you stupid? The rich families care about their maids and wives, but who would care about that in the lower classes? Besides, even if there was a lady who had really taught the queen, she wouldn't care about the money from the lower classes. For a second-rate family, meeting you is already a blessing, okay?"
I hesitated for a moment. It's not impossible to teach girls, but my etiquette is not very good, and I have almost forgotten some of the important etiquettes...
Lu Chen said: "Once you have made up your mind, ask someone to spread the word quickly. It would be best to find Zhang Zhi's sister. She knows a lot of people and ask her to help you."
Lu Chen handed me over to Zhang Qian in a few words, and then he fanned himself and said that he was going to attend a literary gathering, and asked me if I wanted to come.
I was tempted, but I was afraid that my reputation for calligraphy and painting would spread and attract Li Siyan's attention, so I could only decline with resentment.
Lu Chen sighed, "The great hermits hide in the city. Don't be fooled by these scholars who shake their heads and pretend to be decent people. In fact, when it comes to real ability, they may not be as good as you."
I wondered, "If you look down on them so much, why do you still want to go?"
Lu Chen smiled slyly: "You have to go, they are loyal customers of my Chuntu, you have to serve them well, maybe tonight when a talented man embraces a prostitute, he will use the posture you painted."
I recalled my trip to Wushan with Li Siyan and said sincerely, "That's wrong. A scholar's waist can't be put into such strange postures."
As we all know, the waist of us scholars is caused by herniated disc, and the neck of us scholars is caused by aging cervical vertebrae. The only part of our body that works well is our brain, but if we use our brain too much, our hair will slowly disappear.
The water in Mingzhou is hard and I have never been used to it, so every time I wash my hair, it falls out in clumps, which makes my already sparse hair even worse.
I was very panicked and went to see a doctor. The doctor thought I was being pretentious and prescribed me a random soap bean recipe. I bought the ingredients according to the recipe, only to find that not only furniture is expensive nowadays, but medicinal materials are also ridiculously expensive.
I held the prescription in my hand, feeling extremely sad and angry.
──People may not sleep on a large carved bed, and may not eat at an exquisite little table, but no woman can endure the pain of hair loss. This really cannot be compromised. As the old saying goes, hair is like a man’s kidney water. Once it’s used up, it’s used up. There are no refills to sell in the world. You can only maintain it.
In order to buy medicine to treat my hair, I gritted my teeth and went to find Zhang Qian, and told her frankly that I wanted to find another job.
Zhang Qian laughed so hard she fell backwards. "...This is the first time I've seen someone looking for a job because of their hair. Madam Wang is truly a wonderful person."
I was very disappointed: "I thought that since this place is close to the mountains in the north, the price of Shouwu would be cheaper, but I didn't expect it to be more expensive than in Chang'an."
Zhang Qian smiled and said, "Mingzhou isn't exactly a prosperous place, and there aren't many merchants coming and going. Shipping things here requires crossing Yanshan Mountain in the north and Taihang Mountain in the west. Doesn't that make the prices higher?"
Talking about merchants, she said, "I have a cousin from my mother's side who is a businessman. He used to travel frequently between Chang'an and Hebei Province. Now that he has a family, he no longer wants to travel, so he plans to come back and stay here before the New Year. He has a young girl, and he asked my husband to find out about female teachers. So I wrote to him and recommended you."
I said in surprise, "Thank you, Madam Zhang, for your concern. If this opportunity comes, it would be truly wonderful. I will teach you everything I know without reservation!"
Zhang Qian said, "Don't thank me too soon. I was just recommending him. His family often travels to Chang'an, and he's ingrained in the sophisticated habits of the people there. I have to see him in person before I can make a decision, so nothing has been decided yet."
I nodded. "Of course I won't let them down."
Zhang Qian said, "I believe in your abilities. Since my cousin won't be back until the New Year, you can work as a teacher for the next six months at the rice shop owner Du's. His daughter is going to marry into a wealthy family in Xingzhou at the end of the autumn, and they need someone to teach her the ways of the world."
Zhang Qian is really a powerful woman. Once she saw my value, she did not hesitate to use me as a favor and enthusiastically introduced me to various respectable families. She wished she could split me into three to use.
The rice shop owner, Du, had originally found a female teacher. She was a local widow who had married and moved to Luoyang when she was young and was now living in her hometown as a guest. When Zhang Qian heard about this, she immediately made up a story, saying that she happened to know a maid who had served the queen and whose manners and skills were first-class. In short, she exaggerated and praised me to the point that the Du family was moved and fired that teacher and replaced him with me.
On the day of the visit, Zhang Qian brought me an apricot yellow Taoist robe with a yellow crown and wide sleeves, and put it on me. She said that I didn't have a proper identity at the moment, so it was difficult for her to recommend me. So she made me into a female nun who was practicing at home.
I was dumbfounded. "Madam Zhang, nuns are not serious people. There are many shabby things going on in the Taoist temple."
Zhang Qian waved her hand and said, "It doesn't matter. Even if the nun is not decent, you still have to consider her background and whether there are men coming in and out of her house. If the Du family asks you, just say that you pray for the queen every day. This one sentence alone will shut them up."
"Okay...okay." Listen to her.
Ever since I ran away, my character setting has become increasingly complex, from an unlucky laid-off maid whose luggage was stolen, to a hermit maid who is indifferent to the world and still remembers her former master... Anyway, it is getting further and further away from my own setting.
Going to visit her, I felt very uncomfortable. I maintained a gentle and calm smile with a hint of sadness, and talked about old times in front of the Du family with deep affection. I didn't forget to let slip some secrets occasionally, mentioning how good the queen was. This made Mrs. Du nod her head repeatedly.
"Looking at Madam Wang, I know she is a good person. Our family has no other strengths except for some gold and silver. Madam Wang, do you think twenty taels of silver is enough? If not, we can negotiate." Mrs. Du said.
Twenty taels?
I was shocked.
As expected of a merchant family, they are very wealthy!
My heart was pounding, but I managed to maintain my composure. With a look of despair, I nodded and said, "Money isn't important. What's important is spreading the Empress's ladylike qualities, so that every daughter in our dynasty will respect her parents and be kind to her children and grandchildren. A woman's virtue is the foundation of a stable nation. If I can educate my daughter to spread her virtue, then I won't let down the Empress's teachings over the years."
What is a big picture? What is a big world? I am confused myself and how can I have the nerve to say these words.
But the Du family really believed it! Especially Mrs. Du, who repeatedly sighed that the ancient customs still existed and that she had found the right teacher this time.
These merchants were very practical and to show their respect, they gave me an extra five taels of silver as labor fee and asked me to pass on this pattern to their little daughter.
I have money and her daughter has a sense of purpose, and everyone is happy.
When Zhang Zhi heard I had a new job, he was very happy for me: "Master, you will have more money to buy good ink in the future."
I was very proud and said: "No matter how many apprentices I accept, you are my first disciple and have inherited my true painting skills. You must not lose face when you go to the official school."
I asked Tanwei, "When will your husband go to Luoyang?"
Tan Wei said, "If we set off in August, we can catch the autumn examination in October."
August, I calculated, there are still four months to go. Before that, I have to adjust Zhang Zhi's homework to a level that he can see, which is a bit difficult.
But this is not my concern. Zhang Zhi is generally an obedient and hardworking student. However, the quality of students a teacher meets in his life is conserved. Compared with Zhang Zhi's obedience, the young lady from the Du family is not so worry-free.
The first time I met her, she was climbing a tree.
It was much more experienced at climbing than I was. It jumped onto a thick branch like a monkey and took out a bird's egg, saying it was a gift for me.
I held the bird egg in my hand, and cold sweat slowly seeped out of my head.
Is this the daughter of a merchant family? I would believe her even if she said she was a country girl!
She doesn't know how to stand or sit properly, and she walks in a hurry. She has no idea about rules and etiquette. I don't know what this sister's mother was thinking. She dared to marry her to an official's family. Not just an ordinary official, but the son of a wealthy family in Xingzhou. There are many deep connections in wealthy families. How can she be a place where a girl like her should go?
The requirements for marriage in Chang'an regarding family background are extremely strict. I was paired with Meng Xu, Shangguan Lan was paired with Hou Shizi, and Wen Baibi was paired with Li Siyan. The class barriers were very strict. Anyway, I never expected that outside of Chang'an, the differences between the two parties in marriage were so huge.
No wonder Mrs. Du was willing to spend twenty-five taels. She really couldn't do without this money, it was a necessity.
Money can make the devil work, and money can turn a naughty boy into a lady.
For the sake of twenty-five taels of silver, I gritted my teeth and faced the challenge.
The first thing she did was to throw out all the colorful and weird country girl clothes in her suitcase, leaving only two of the most normal ones.
Xiaozhi carried out my request with an expressionless face. Miss Du sat beside him, looking at me with her chin in her hand, but did not say a word to stop me.
I said, "You can dress simply, but not crudely. Otherwise, people will look down on you at first sight, and you'll inevitably be looked down upon in the future."
She went back to her dressing table and asked Xiaozhi to put away all the messy rouge and powder, leaving only a few of the most basic ones: "You can put it on your face, but don't be too ostentatious. Besides, powder contains lead, so use it with caution."
He also taught her how to walk: "Keep your body straight, your posture elegant, and walk at a leisurely pace, never in a hurry."
Miss Du blinked and said, "Can't I run?"
I said, "As long as you have the ability to sneak away without being seen, it will be fine."
She nodded thoughtfully, "That's really restrictive."
I said seriously, "Normally, you can do whatever makes you feel comfortable, but you're marrying into a wealthy family. The relationships in a wealthy family are complicated, and it's inevitable that there will be people who will find fault. It's better to understand it early than to be forced to learn after you get in."
She smiled and said, "If I had known this would happen, I would have let my mother go back to the matchmaker regardless of her feelings."
She said to herself, "I originally thought he was just a poor scholar, but who knew he was so influential and came to propose marriage without saying anything. I got carried away and agreed. Now that I think about it, I've really suffered a great loss."
I didn't say anything.
Marriage is like this. Even though the two parties are evenly matched, both men and women feel that they are at a disadvantage.
I said, "Regardless of whether or not we've suffered a loss, since we've already gone through the Three Letters and Six Ceremonies, there's no room for regret. We need to look forward, get up, and continue practicing."
Miss Du was quite cooperative, but her foundation was really poor. According to her mother, the girl grew up in the countryside, climbing trees and fishing every day. It was not until she was over six years old and her father's rice shop business made a lot of money that she moved into the city with her parents, but she could never get used to life in the city.
Her mother sighed whenever she mentioned it: "I originally wanted her to marry into an ordinary family, but who knew that this girl would fall in love with a man from a wealthy family in Xingzhou. Marrying her out of her parents' family was too much, so she had to secretly do something about it. Everything in the process was really annoying."
"If that's the case, why do you want to get married?" I asked.
Her mother said, "How can you give up the love between childhood sweethearts so easily? She's not stupid. She hesitated, but finally agreed. She said if it doesn't work out, they can divorce. After all, she can support herself."
I felt inexplicably sad after listening to it.
I know that childhood sweethearts rarely have a happy ending. Even though Meng Xu and I are a perfect match and have a lot in love, we still missed each other in the end. So looking at Miss Du, I can't persuade her not to get married. I hope they can be together well. Even if they have to separate in the future, they will have no regrets after trying their best.
I began to teach her seriously, from the most basic sitting, standing and walking to the details of social interactions and daily life, but the results were minimal - these things were like engraved in my bones, but to her, they were strange and cold.
One day, after practicing her formalities, Miss Du collapsed on a recliner and said to me, "Sir, you have to learn all this since you were little? That must be really hard."
I said, "It's okay if you've been like this since childhood. I'm most afraid of changing career later in life. That would be troublesome."
She said bitterly, "Isn't it me who changed my ways?" After lying there for a while, she slowly moved to my side and asked, "Sir, when you were in the Duke's Mansion, did you have a crush on someone?"
"Why are you asking this?"
"Curious," she said.
I thought about it and said to her, "I don't have anyone I like, but there is a bully with a high status who always takes advantage of me."
When talking about this, Miss Du's waist and legs no longer felt sore. She jumped up and said excitedly, "Bully? The kind of bully in the play who forcibly seizes women?"
I sighed, "He's the master, there's no need to forcefully seize my daughter. Others will think she's his by default."
Miss Du was surprised: "Is he particularly mean to you?"
Especially bad? I thought about it and said, "Let me put it this way. He never treated me badly in terms of food, clothing, and daily expenses, but he killed someone very close to me and forced me to give myself to him. Do you think that's good or bad?"
"Of course it's not good!" Miss Du shouted.
I quickly said, "Ladies shouldn't speak loudly!"
She lowered her voice, but was still filled with righteous indignation: "How could you tolerate such a wicked villain? If I were alone and free, I would definitely take him to hell with me."
Alas... Li Siyan is not an ordinary playboy. He is the emperor. Killing him means at least exterminating his ten clans.
I could only say, "This kind of person is not worth dirtying my hands with."
Madam Du frowned and said, "Indeed, sleeping on straw and tasting gall is the way to save your life. Now that the gentleman has made it through, he no longer needs to suffer the injustice of a man."
She said viciously, "If my childhood sweetheart dares to betray me in the future, I won't be as patient as you. I will definitely skin him alive before we divorce!"
Of course I can't encourage her to do this, but I feel refreshed inside. Wherever there are powers that oppress people in this world, there will be people who stand up to the sky. We girls are not afraid to pay for our feelings, but once we are hurt, we should let the other person go without hesitation.
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