Chapter 032 Chapter 32

"Are you saying that elder sister gave a painting to the Prince of Qi?" Yao Niang raised her head from her embroidery and looked at Qingdai who had just returned.

Qing Dai nodded hastily: "There were quite a few people who followed the young lady out that day. If they hadn't mentioned it, I would have no idea."

Yao Niang stood up suddenly: "How could these paintings I drew at home be spread outside? What's wrong with this elder sister? I thought she gave them to her as a souvenir."

In conclusion, she suppressed her temper and asked the servant to invite Yan Ningxin over to verify with her whether this was true.

Yan Ningxin still didn't understand what was going on. When she came here, she was still wondering if she had asked her third sister to draw a picture for her and didn't give her any thank-you gift, so she got angry? But it was her third sister who had refused it herself and had always refused it.

But when she saw Yao Niang, she felt relieved to see that she was the same as before, and asked, "Third sister, is there something you want to ask me?"

Yao Niang smiled and said, "The family lessons have been suspended for a few days, and I haven't seen my elder sister for a few days. I just remembered that there was a flaw in the painting I drew for you before, and I want to take it back to make some corrections. So I invited you over, and you can take it back after I make the corrections."

Yan Ningxin was stunned. She had given this painting away a long time ago, but she didn't expect Yao Niang to still want it, so she laughed and said, "Third sister, why bother? I think it's good, there's no flaw."

This made Yao Niang feel even more depressed. If she was the one who admitted her mistake immediately, Yao Niang could still say that she was innocent because she could see that Yan Ningxin didn't care much about the distinction between men and women. But if she really gave the baby away and still pretended not to know, then she was lying, which would be a big problem.

So Yao Niang said, "Big sister, since I want to change it, it must be because I found something. It's not a big deal, you can just ask someone to find it out."

Yan Ningxin certainly didn't. She wanted to make excuses again, but seeing Yao Niang sizing her up, she told the truth: "Third sister, to be honest, I gave it to my cousin. He is going to his fiefdom, and I'm afraid we won't have the chance to see each other again in the future, so I gave it to him."

"You gave it to the Prince of Qi? Why didn't you tell me in advance?" Yao Niang was very angry.

Yan Ningxin spread her hands: "If I had told you in advance, you would definitely not agree."

Although this was true, Yao Niang could no longer treat her politely: "Big sister, you asked me to paint a picture, and I never refused. I spent a long time painting before giving it to you. But you gave it to someone else without saying a word. It will be difficult for us sisters to get along in the future."

She changed "外男" to "外人" because originally no one in the mansion knew that her painting had fallen into the hands of the Prince of Qi. If she shouted it out, it would make the matter worse and she would be the one who would suffer the loss.

Yan Ningxin sighed: "Third sister, it's my fault."

Yao Niang looked at her and said, "Alright, alright. If you borrow flowers to offer to Buddha again in the future and don't care about your reputation, I will definitely tell the adults."

Yan Ningxin assured: "Third sister, what I did was wrong. I will definitely not do it again in the future."

Yao Niang nodded slowly.

When Yan Ningxin walked out, Jin Li said, "Actually, this painting is yours now that I gave it to you. Why is the Third Miss so worried? I think she is afraid that you didn't mention her name."

"But I still gave it to a man outside of my family, so it's my fault." Yan Ningxin blamed herself.

Jin Lu said, "If the distinction between men and women is really that strict, wouldn't the third lady be playing music with the eldest master?"

"Okay, Jinli, I know you are wholeheartedly protecting me, but what will happen if others hear what you say? Besides, the third sister's temper is just as bad as the fourth sister's, but she is not as overtly rude as the fourth sister." Yan Ningxin reminded.

In fact, the third sister is more difficult to deal with than the fourth sister. If she has to, she really doesn't want to offend her.

Especially since everyone said that Yan Jingzhao was extremely talented and good at writing, if she passed the provincial examination, she would be a famous official with a bright future. As Yan Jingzhao's younger sister, the servants now tried to curry favor with her.

Fortunately, the third sister just said that she would not tell father and the second wife, so how could she be so foolish as to shout about it everywhere?

In fact, Yao Niang hinted at it that day, and Yan Yingqi happened to be free, so he had dinner with them.

"Dad, I didn't expect that my third sister gave the painting I gave her to the Prince of Qi? Originally, I thought there was a place that was not painted well, so I wanted to take it back to modify it. Now it's good, it's followed to Shandong." Yao Niang pouted.

Yan Yingqi put down his chopsticks and frowned, "What?"

Yan Yingqi thought that she was thinking too much. Could it be that Yan Ningxin was secretly acting as a matchmaker to make the Prince of Qi and Yao Niang have an affair? Otherwise, as an elder sister, how could she just take her younger sister's work out of the palace?

Yao Niang saw Yan Yingqi's expression and felt happy for a moment. She was not someone who could be easily bullied. Why did she act like Ying Niang? Behaviors like Yan Ningxin should be controlled by someone who could control her.

"Dad, what's wrong with you?" Yao Niang pretended not to know.

Yan Yingqi shook his head: "Nothing. It's really inappropriate for your elder sister to do this. I'll go ask her later."

Yao Niang spoke up for Yan Ningxin instead: "Dad, please don't tell big sister about this. If you do, she will definitely know that it was me who told the story, and then there will be a rift between us sisters. Anyway, I won't send her paintings in the future."

"The matter of Yao Niang is unusual. Let me ask you, do you have your signature?" Yan Yingqi asked.

Yao Niang quickly shook her head: "I'm not a famous writer, nor do I have a name, so how dare I sign my name casually?"

Hearing that his daughter did not sign her name, Yan Yingqi breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good, that's good. Yao Niang, you have to keep this in mind and don't give paintings to others casually in the future."

"My daughter understands." Yao Niang said with a smile.

Yan Yingqi said to Jie Shi in a serious tone, "You must teach our daughter well. She should be on guard against others, no matter how close they are. She should not be too innocent and kind, or she will be cheated and sold out without knowing it."

Xie seemed to have just reacted: "Okay, I understand."

Yan Yingqi couldn't help but poke her: "You, how can you and your daughter survive without me by your side?"

Yao Niang quickly turned her face away.

I heard that after a few days, Yan Ningxin sent two nannies to teach her etiquette. She no longer had to study with her sisters, but instead had to learn more about etiquette and manners.

In the school, Yingniang described it vividly: "Those two maids were both big and strong, blocking the door, and even the two maids, Jingou and Yindan, were punished."

Yao Niang felt a little guilty, but when she thought of how Yan Ningxin had cheated her, she hardened her heart again.

After school, Qianniang said to Yaoniang, "My elder brother will be killed tomorrow, and I, as his younger sister, can't help him much, so I sewed a scent bag to ward off evil spirits and asked my third sister to pass it on to him."

"Second sister is so thoughtful." Yao Niang said with a smile.

Yingniang, who was walking behind, was startled and immediately stepped forward to ask, "Second sister, why didn't I know when you did it? And you didn't even invite me to join you."

Qianniang said calmly, "Of course not. I told you about it when I came back from the polo field that day. I guess you didn't take it to heart."

Yingniang's face turned red. She was so absorbed in Shen Linfeng's charm at the time that she naturally didn't remember what her second sister said.

"Fourth sister, my brother has everything he needs." Yao Niang smiled.

Xie helped prepare Yan Jingzhao's examination basket, and Guan also assisted. Yao Niang took a quick look and saw not only pens, ink, inkstones, paper weights, and water jugs, but also rolls of cloth, oilcloth door curtains, examination tables, candles and candlesticks, small stools, footboards, pillows, washbasins, clothes poles, bamboo nails, hammers, water barrels, and small stoves.

Ying Niang said, "My mother was in the small Buddhist temple yesterday praying for my elder brother."

Of course Zhen was praying. She was praying that Yan Jingzhao would not pass the exam, and she was praying very devoutly.

Yan Jingzhao was at his ease. Seeing Jie putting ginseng slices and peeled longan pulp in the bookcase, he said, "Mother, I also fast from time to time. Please don't prepare too much food, or it will all be wasted."

"It's not going to be a good three days. Don't you like the halved chicken your mother makes? I'll get up tomorrow morning and cut them all up to avoid them being messed up by the soldiers." Xie didn't even trust Guan's preparations, so she prepared everything herself.

Yao Niang smiled and said, "Brother, are you nervous today?"

"It's okay, I'm not very nervous." Yan Jingzhao is conceited and has the capital to be conceited.

In fact, Yan Yingqi did not sleep well that night. Xie was already like this, and many people were even devastated because of failure in the imperial examinations, let alone someone like Jing Zhao.

Before daybreak, the Yan family came to see off the examinee. Even Yao Niang was lifted up by the servants and asked to escort her brother out.

The women escorted them to the second gate and stopped. Xie held Mother Song's hand and said to Guan who was standing beside them, "It's still early. You should go back and rest. You don't need to come over to my place."

Guan bowed and seemed very respectful: "Yes."

Because Yan Jingzhao was going to die, there was a lot of noise in the mansion, and even Yan Ningxin knew about it. She had been having a bad time these few days, like a puppet. The teaching maids didn't beat her or scold her, but repeated the same boring rules over and over again for her to learn, but Yan Ningxin couldn't hate anyone.

She probably knew that it might be Yao Niang who did it. After all, it was because of Yao Niang's incident that Yan Yingqi asked Zhen to give her two more maids to discipline her.

This third sister is really hard to get along with. It's okay to quarrel with the fourth sister, but if you don't deal with this third sister, she will really not let you go. Because her reputation has been ruined by my father, her future treatment may be reduced.

She might never learn such a method in her lifetime.

**

鄉試考三場，每一場考三日，這些日子無論是對考生還是對考生的家裏人都是煎熬，然而這個時候關夫人卻上門了。

關夫人本應該在中秋之前到的，但是因為路上船只出現點問題，所以延遲了數日才到。

這也是窈娘頭一次打量到關夫人，明明天氣并不涼快，她身上的青呢比甲還顯得那麽厚重。解氏還專門介紹自己給她：“親家夫人，這是小女窈娘。”

關夫人卻有些心不在焉：“哦，原來這就是三姑娘啊。”

“原本準備等景昭回來再接親家過來玩兒，沒想到親家你親自上門來了，不知安頓好沒有？”解氏寒暄着。

關夫人倒是很快調整過來，笑着道：“一切都好，原本我不應該上門的，俗話說嫁出去的女兒潑出去的水，您家又是難得的慈善人家，有您這樣和氣的婆婆是她莫大的福分。但是我上京之前，貴府老太太讓我帶了不少東西上京，我又想着先送過來。”

解氏又連忙謝過後，讓人引着關夫人去關氏那裏說話，她可沒有攔着兒媳婦不和娘家人見面的癖好。

可窈娘就忍不住道：“上次您停了嫂子的補品，我看她必定要告狀的。”

“那就讓她告好了，她爹娘可比她明白。”解氏可不在意，關氏鬧的越大，對她而言就越不利。

窈娘支着下巴，忍不住道：“為何關家也是世代書香，怎麽嫂嫂的某些舉動令我覺得不可置信？”

解氏莞爾：“你大姐姐還是顏家大小姐呢，難道她就一定是貴女做派嗎？”

“也是。”窈娘恍然大悟。

解氏則道：“所以說人不可貌相這句話你可要牢牢記住。就像很多有學問的人，人品未必一定很好，像那日咱們出去，街上看到穿着長輩賜的飛魚服的纨绔子弟，那些人還不是勳貴出身。”

“所以這就是大夫人寧願嫁給爹做續弦的原因嗎？無論如何，爹是世家出身，才學一流，官位又高。”窈娘道。

解氏點頭：“的确如此，不過這也沒什麽。你不是喜歡歐陽修的文章嗎？那歐陽修第一任妻子胥氏，是開封府尹、翰林學士胥偃的女兒，十七歲月子還未坐完就死了，很快歐陽修又續娶了集賢院學士、谏議大夫楊大雅的女兒楊氏，楊氏生的美麗，但十八歲也去世了，接着又續娶了戶部侍郎薛奎的第三女。甚至歐陽修迎娶這位薛氏夫人，沒過幾年，薛氏也去世了，歐陽修又迎娶薛氏的四妹小薛氏。瞧，姐姐去世了，妹妹接着嫁過來的都有，蘇轼也是如此，娶的是姐姐，姐姐去世，續弦是妹妹。”

“您的意思是讓我別大驚小怪嗎？”窈娘道。

解氏笑道：“不，我的意思是你嫂嫂還沒有看清狀況，你哥哥明顯就是棟梁之材，不管她能不能生孩子，只要她在這個位置上，她就是正夫人，并且随着你□□後前途若是大好，她亦是妻憑夫貴。胡亂随便吃補藥，沒病也拼命的補，她年紀又不大，現下不擅自保養身體，怕是即便有身孕，日後也會變本加厲的補，自作聰明，我也懶得說她了。”

不知怎麽窈娘從中聽出了一絲玄機。

果然，關氏正跟關夫人告狀：“不過是因為我未有身孕，我也是為了夫君着想，不曾想婆婆還嫌棄我補品吃的多。娘，您總說顏家好，可我這個妾婆婆啊……”

“小心說話，不管外面的人認不認為她是你婆婆，實際上她現在就是。你不管是人前人後，都要做到無法讓人挑剔。我從金陵過來，三老太太還在金陵，她看起來老了不少，也管不了許多事情了，準确而言，你公公不是她的親兒子，你婆婆卻很得你公公寵愛，你不應該好做着進門就管家的美夢。”關夫人很快替女兒厘清了事實真相。

關氏驚訝：“娘，您讓我屈服嗎？”

關夫人年輕的時候因為家中只教《女訓》《女則》，總是事夫為天，但這樣和丈夫感情不好，所以把女兒養的性情剛強些，不能真的卑弱以對，甚至挑到顏家也正是因為顏景昭母親身份尴尬，沒法子真的擺婆婆款兒。

可到了婆家，問題也就來了，對女兒友好且頗有話語權的太婆婆失勢，反而是那個尴尬的婆婆當家，女兒卻還是以之前的想法，這實在是大錯特錯。

“你是兒媳婦，服侍長輩本來就是應該的，說什麽屈服不屈服？你若一直這樣，大房的人反而會看笑話，到時候你婆婆就會把這些怨氣發洩在你身上。嫁出去的女兒潑出去的水，一個不孝的帽子扣下來，你在人家家裏怎麽過？別以為你的這些下人都向着你，她們現在的月例是顏家在發，份例是顏家在給。”關夫人點到了重點。

關氏原本想她娘回來之後，她的處境會好很多，但現在聽娘這麽說了，她突然覺得自己其實沒有靠山了。

所以，關氏一下就偃旗息鼓了。

關夫人見女兒這般，也很是不忍：“這次上京，我也帶了不少補品過來，你好好保養身子，別讓你婆婆說閑話。”

關氏也只好同意。

顯然關夫人沒有昏了頭敲打解氏，反而把自己女兒敲打了一頓，關氏沒有了倚仗，反而開始晨昏定省。

解氏也知曉這位兒媳婦是江山易改本性難移，對她的示好也不多說什麽，對于她私下吃補品也不細究，反正這是她娘家人送來的，她怎麽吃自己管不着。

第一場考了出來，顏景昭非常嫌棄自己，回到家就用熱湯沐浴，之後就是吃了一頓飯，睡了一覺，繼續奔赴考場。

解氏悄悄和窈娘道：“你哥哥的衣裳都嗖了，我讓人漿洗去，你哥哥說他不想穿了。洗了都不願意再穿了。”

“還有兩場呢，也不知道哥哥怎麽熬過來。不過，若是真的中了，哥哥就是舉人老爺了，倒也值得。”窈娘笑道。

解氏更有想法：“你哥哥若是中了舉子，以你父親如今的聲望，鹿鳴宴必定要參加的，到時候同窗舉子們往來，就都是在咱們三房了。”

若是有青年才俊，亦可以考察一番。

像她這個兒媳婦就給了解氏很大的教訓，不是她找的，因此關氏除了家世還不錯，其餘一概都不和，所以選女婿，她是一定要好好替女兒挑，不能大意了。

家世倒是其次，可人才品行是一定要合适。

窈娘看着解氏：“娘，您總算也是熬出來了。”

但母女二人也就自己在家說幾句，在外面，即便下人得意一些，解氏也會立馬道：“如今公子都沒考完，你們得意什麽，退一萬步說，大公子真的中舉，也要平心靜氣，須知天外有天，人外有人。”

顏景昭在第二場出來時，是顏景璋和顏景文親自接的他，顏景昭是提前考完出來的，他胸有成竹讓顏景璋佩服不已：“大哥，你這次考的如何？”

“法乎其上，得乎其中，順天府的解元非我莫屬。”顏景昭輕搖折扇，說不出的得意，甚至還請兩位弟弟去春風滿月樓吃酒，到晚上才回去。

關氏讓丫鬟伺候顏景昭梳洗，她則發現顏景昭衣服上有脂粉的香味，關氏瞬間有些不悅，但是她甚至都管不了顏景昭，顏景昭可不像解氏那般脾氣溫和，是講道理的人，且和自己的關系并不親近。

看到了也要裝作沒看到。

顏景昭精力很是旺盛，在第三場考了出來，聽到窈娘在彈琴，他還指點幾句，甚至知道顏寧馨把窈娘的話轉送給齊王世子之後，發表了一番“不得體”的言論。

這讓窈娘很震驚：“哥哥，你這次真的是解元嗎？要不要先等貼榜之後再說？”

“不可能錯的，我三歲發蒙，五歲識千字，七歲倒背如流，九歲就參加縣試，十二歲若非我生病，也不會拖到十四歲才進學。今日第一場或許有些許疲累，但越考我手感越好，所以非我莫屬。”顏景昭和解氏窈娘都不同，他的确非常自信。

窈娘還是勸道：“哥哥，還是等張榜出來再說吧，畢竟你現在宣布，萬一到時候有所偏差，豈不是半場就辦升學宴，容易遭人恥笑，我知曉哥哥的才華一流，所以一切都要等塵埃落定之後，咱們光明正大的慶賀。”

顏景昭則用扇子虛點了一下窈娘：“這麽說起來，你不相信哥哥？”

窈娘白了他一眼：“我若是不相信哥哥，還會給哥哥做步步高升的鞋子嗎？我可是頭一次做鞋呢。只不過就是想着世事無常，登高跌重，連唐寅當年何等人物，那可是我們應天府的解元，最後又如何呢？哥哥要做姚崇宋景那樣的名相，為何不學他們善于機變呢？大夫人對娘和你素來忌憚，你這樣在家如此，豈不是招怨？”

顏景昭被妹妹說了一頓，反而略沉下心來。

On the day when the results were announced, almost the entire family went out. Even Zhen went, and she and Jie stood aside arm in arm. Yan Jingzhao stood aside, confident in his decision.

The place was crowded with people looking at the list, and the noise was deafening. Yao Niang and her sisters stood on tiptoe to look at the list.

"It's coming out, it's coming out..."

Hundreds of people were looking at the list. Yao Niang felt her legs trembling and she couldn't stand steadily. Fortunately, she saw her brother's name on the list.

Yan Jingzhao was a native of Jianye, Nanjing Prefecture, and was a scholar of classics. His courtesy name was Boying, and he was 19 years old. His great-grandfather was a captain of the Jinyi Guard, his grandfather was the governor of Henan, his father was the vice minister of the Ministry of Personnel, his mother was the Princess of Linzi, his mother was Zhen, and his biological mother was Xie. He ranked second in the Shuntianfu provincial examination.

"Brother, you won the Asian Yuan." Yao Niang was extremely happy.

Yan Jingzhao was unhappy: "Why am I only the runner-up? The first place winner is unknown, and the famous talent Shen Linfeng is not even the top five classics. I want to check the test paper."

Zhen, who was standing by, almost fainted. She was still not satisfied with getting second place.