Parents set off for Fujian
The Shi family was completely bewildered by the Empress Dowager's mental structure. Why? They convened a family meeting overnight, and the two male parents, acting like a military tribunal, interrogated Shujia from beginning to end. The questions included: How many times had she met with the Empress Dowager? Who was with her each time? What did she say? What actions did she take?
Shujia herself was also confused. Even without them asking, she would have to think about it several times - what did I do?
Shujia was truly wronged. Her responses during the few times she appeared before the emperor alongside the others were perfectly standard. Later, she was summoned alone, partly due to the recommendation of her "aunt," Borjigit. The Empress Dowager saw Borjigit's purse and allowed Shujia to enter the palace, where she was asked to choose one, leading to the same experience as the First Concubine.
The whole family replayed the story several times, but couldn't figure it out. Xiluo Te insisted that it was related to a royal family dispute. Shujia almost rolled her eyes: "Mother, those people in there want to deal with me, but they don't need to go through so much trouble, right?" Is there any need to go through so much trouble when they are already masters and servants?
Xiluo Teshi is silent.
Apart from this, there is absolutely no reason to explain why the Queen Mother would say such a thing.
Hua Shan, who had fought under Wu Sangui for eight years and had been in the imperial court for decades without incident, and Shi Wenbing, who had inherited the title at a young age and climbed the ranks of a banner commander and military district commander through his own abilities, were completely at their wits' end. A comprehensive analysis showed no flaws; it was truly unclear what had gone wrong.
She couldn't ask the Empress Dowager for clarification, so she had no choice but to let Shujia stay. Xiluotai specifically gave her many instructions, one of which was, "Next time you see the Empress Dowager, don't say anything nonsense." Shujia nodded. Xiluotai then went on to say a lot about her eldest daughter-in-law, finally sighing, "I had originally planned to hold a wedding for Qingde this year..."
Xiluo Te wanted to curse. The mourning period for the Grand Empress Dowager was almost over. The Emperor had already traveled thousands of miles to find a concubine. Shouldn't she find a wife for her son? She'd seen several people and it was almost settled... The Empress was dead! Meeting Master Kang was truly a heartbreaking experience.
You can't have a grand wedding for your son when the late empress's body is still warm, right? Xiluo Te was extremely worried and reluctantly handed the list of candidate daughters-in-law to Hua Shan. Hua Shan was very happy: "Don't worry, look at the second son's wife, she's not a bad choice..." He was talking about Shi Wenzhuo. Xiluo Te didn't even get to meet her sister-in-law.
Xiluotai suddenly felt her future bleak. The entire family was silent. Qingde was already quite old, and his affairs should have been put on the agenda after Fu Dali's wedding. Unfortunately, the Empress Dowager passed away, and just as they were recovering, another Empress died. Shujia felt that Kangxi's beard was completely blue.
Mrs. Xiluo called her daughter-in-law and daughter to her side: "The eldest daughter-in-law has been the housekeeper for some time. Our family is different from other families. Their brothers and sisters' nanny passed away early, and your aunt is not around. You have to support each other. The second daughter-in-law..." You have to be patient, and don't let your Mafa have a seizure!
Everyone knew Hua Shan to some extent and nodded in agreement. Shujia comforted her mother, "Don't worry, mother. Mafa may seem a little mysterious, but nothing she does will be unhelpful to the family." Xiluotai thought about it and said, "Anyway, you two have to be careful in the backyard. Second girl knows more about the family. If your sister-in-law doesn't know you, you must explain everything clearly. The eldest daughter-in-law..."
In short, regarding the selection of the second son's future daughter-in-law, Mrs. Wendu was to help carefully screen them, and Shujia was also to help look after the future second sister-in-law. If anything went wrong, they would be the only ones to be held responsible. Mrs. Wendu was to manage household affairs and consult Shujia about anything she was unfamiliar with, and Shujia would be required to answer any questions. At the same time, Mrs. Wendu was to take good care of Shujia.
They both agreed. Still worried, Xiluo Te brought her two sons with her before leaving. First, she told Fu Dali to take his brother's marriage seriously. Second, she told Qingde to behave like an adult and stop impersonating him. Third, they both had to work together. Finally, they had to take good care of their sister. She was going to be married in two and a half years, and there couldn't be any mistakes.
Before leaving, Shi Wenbing brought his two sons with him. The main point of their conversation was that they should be loyal to the emperor and serve the country, be honest ministers, and not associate with the dishonest elements in the court. "When Mafa has a seizure, stop him. If you come back with a seizure, I'll whip you." Then came the internal family issues, starting with Qingde's marriage and then Shujia's.
Fu Dali asked Shi Wenbing to give the child a formal name. Shi Wenbing said, "Don't be too particular. Let's call him Hexi." Fu Dali read the name twice and nodded. Shujia almost spat out blood when she heard it - this name could be used for a maid...
The Shi family was in a state of panic.
At this time, in Ningshou Palace, the Empress Dowager looked lovingly at the Fifth Prince, Yinqi. "Was what the Master taught today difficult to understand? If not, don't worry, we don't need to learn it. This is a gift from Zhongcui Palace today. Is it delicious?"
After the old lady asked the little girl to stay with her with just one word, she let the matter go - since she had already stayed, there was no need to rush to call her to talk when they met in the future. The good grandson in front of her was more important.
So, when a person with a complicated heart meets a single-celled person, it is definitely not the latter who will be depressed.
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Before leaving, Xiluo Te was still worried about her daughter. After entrusting her to her daughter-in-law, she had a long talk with her daughter: "Now that your mother has gone south with your father, even though your Mafa and your brother are at home, your sister-in-law is still in charge. Men have no right to manage the backyard. You should be careful. You must respect your sister-in-law, but your sister-in-law is different from your mother. If you make any mistakes, your mother can tolerate you and guide you, but it's not easy to complain to your sister-in-law, understand?"
Shujia nodded, her worldly wisdom half honed by experience and half recollected from before the time travel. "Don't worry, mother, I know." Xiluo sighed, "Take care of the affairs of your own courtyard. You can observe other matters from a distance for now. You can intervene or not, it's up to you to decide. If it really doesn't work out... tell your Mafa or talk to your second brother. Don't cut off contact with your eldest sister. And your uncle's house, your uncle's old lady's... your brother won't go with us this time..."
This time, Guanyinbao was not taken with him. Guanyinbao was seven years old and could enter the official school in two years. For bannermen, studying was also a way to expand their social network, so he stayed in Beijing.
Shujia wrote them down one by one. Xiluo Te then gave the four aunts a thorough explanation: "It's uncertain how long her father will remain in office. We might not be back for the big selection, and by the time we return, she'll be married off. I'll leave all matters to you." The aunts naturally agreed and reported on the courses scheduled until the next big selection.
Xiluo Te invited Shuxian to stay with her for another day, and asked about her married life. It could be said that Shuxian had married well. With the Shi family's status, and having been naturalized as Manchus last year, as long as she didn't end up like Yingchun or end up with a hapless husband, she would be able to make a good living.
But the lack of a child made Xilute anxious. That evening, as the sisters chatted, Shuxian's brows showed a hint of worry. But when the Jiang family's maid returned to speak, Shuxian's expression changed with a glance, becoming once again a dignified mistress. Shujia sighed, thinking it was truly difficult to be a woman these days. However, for now, there was no need to worry about Shuxian.
Shi Wenbing completed the formalities and went to say goodbye to Kangxi. After returning, he said to everyone: "Your Majesty didn't say anything else. Everything is fine." It seems that it was the Empress Dowager's own idea to keep Shujia. Shujia was not in the national civil service sequence, so there was no need to report it at all.
The farewell process was similar to the previous one. After bidding farewell to Xiang Huashan, the children saw their parents off.
Fu Dali and Qingde both took leave and accompanied Shi Wenbing and his wife, their families, to see them off. This time, they didn't bring too many people; none of their children were with them. Concubine Zhang remained in Beijing—she preferred to be closer to Shuxian. Before parting, Shi Wenbing gave his son another round of instructions. He told his son that if anything important really happened, he could consult Shi Wenying, especially since their three jobs were close together and their natures were similar.
Shujia shed tears before leaving, her eyes reddened by the influence of her surroundings. On the way home, their car met the car of the old lady from the Xu family at the intersection. Shujia was still in the mood to think that the old lady was really unlucky, and even talked about the resume of the old lady's unlucky son.
The old lady's family lived next door to Shujia's. Her son, Xu Yuanmeng, was a Manchu, though he had a Han-sounding name. His surname was Shumulu, and he belonged to the Manchu Plain White Banner. He was about the same age as Emperor Kangxi. He passed the imperial examination in the 12th year of the Kangxi reign, a classmate of Nalan Xingde. He was later promoted to the rank of Shujishi (Scholar of the Imperial Academy), and after his dismissal, he was appointed Director of the Ministry of Revenue. In the 22nd year of the Kangxi reign, he was promoted to the position of Recorder of Daily Records, and later served as Imperial Tutor.
A very impressive resume, and just looking at this alone, it's clear that Kangxi must have favored him. He was also a Manchu, and a bright future awaited the young man Xu Yuanmeng. Unfortunately, the nightmare began! Around the same time as Tang Bin and the others, he was spotted by Kangxi and appointed one of the princes' tutors. A few days ago, while Kangxi was testing his son, he also tested the tutors. He was furious that Xu Yuanmeng's riding and archery skills didn't meet his ideal standards. Xu Yuanmeng made a few defensive remarks, and Kangxi was furious. He immediately beat him up and threatened to exile his entire family.
That night, Kangxi's mind suddenly clicked—probably because they had already exhausted three teachers, and if they finished this one, they wouldn't have enough manpower. So Kangxi suddenly sent someone to treat Xu Yuanmeng's injuries... The whole neighborhood couldn't sleep! Everyone's dogs were barking.
The neighbors who didn't know that Xu Yuanmeng was punished now know about it. Shujia also found out about it at this time. It is estimated that every family also knows about it.
Shujia laughed silently. It seemed that being the crown prince's teacher carried the same risks as being the prince's teacher. Being the prince's teacher was even worse. Even Tang hadn't even been spanked. So, it seemed the problem lay with Kangxi! Making a cultural teacher practice horseback riding and archery—even if he was a bannerman—couldn't he be proficient in everything? It was like asking Pavarotti to do the splits, asking the Ministry of Railways to tell the truth, or asking Guo Xiaosi to grow taller...
When she returned home, she felt something was wrong and felt empty inside. Shujia found that she missed her father and mother.
Were we so familiar with each other that we'd be sad to say goodbye? When did this start? Shujia sat in her room, stunned, until Hongxiu came over and said it was time for dinner.
"Grandma said she was tired after a busy day and asked the kitchen to bring the meal over." Now there were only two mistresses left in the family, Wendu and Shujia. Since Xiluo passed away, it was difficult for them to eat together.
Shujia wiped her face and took a few bites of rice. Then she heard the voice of the maid outside: "Grandma is here." Then she lifted the curtain to announce the news. The aunts' eyebrows twitched.
Shujia waited for Wendu to come in, then stood up and asked her to sit down: "Sister-in-law, how come you have time to come here? Is Hexi asleep?" Wendu said with a smile: "He is being taken care of by the maids, don't worry. I came to see my sister, do you miss mother?" Shujia's nose began to feel sore, and she couldn't figure out where this emotion came from. Obviously... she got along very well with her mother.
Wen Du sighed, "I heard from your brother that you have never been separated from your mother since you were born. No wonder..."
It’s too sentimental... Shujia finally understood that being sentimental is not because the other person’s level is higher, but because of your emotions.
Mrs. Wendu finally explained her purpose. After Shi Wenbing and his wife left, the household layout had changed dramatically. The most obvious change was how to eat. Shujia sniffed. "What did my sister-in-law say? Have you discussed this with my brother? What about Mafa?" Mrs. Wendu replied, "Originally, we were traveling in separate groups. Now that Mother has gone south, I have to wait on your brother and see your nephew before I can eat. I'm afraid I'll have to delay your meal. How about... setting up a small kitchen?"
Shujia finally got the small kitchen she had been dreaming of, but she wasn't happy at all.
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