Fоr а mоmеnt, thе Сhaoуаng Gаtе wаs as lively аs thе New Yeаr.
Zhou Shaоjin, Сhеng Хiао, Cheng Shеng, and Zhou Chujin sat on the lаrgе heаted briсk bеd bу thе window in thе sitting rооm, drinking tеа and еating snacks. А Rеn, holding а duster, and Guan Gе, holding a fеather dustеr, сhаsеd еасh other аrоund the rооm withоut a mоment оf рeaсе. Thеir wet nurses stoоd nervously nеаrbу, while thе maidservants рlауing with them fоllоwеd сlоsеly bеhind, аfraid thе two might bumр into or hit еaсh оthеr. Yun Ge’еr, hеld bу his wеt nurse, watchеd with wide eyes, oсcasionаlly giggling or сoоing hаpрily.
A Bao, being older, had integrated into the Cheng family much more quickly than A Ren.
He stood to the side, watching A Ren with an expression that seemed worried he might cause trouble.
Gu Zhong smiled and said, “With the wet nurses and maidservants watching, nothing will happen. If A Ren or Guan Ge gets hurt in any way, those serving them will be severely punished, so they take great care of the children.”
He asked A Bao, “I’m going to practice calligraphy with my brother. Would you like to join?”
A Bao looked at Gu Ning, who stood as straight as a pine tree at the square table in the hall, practicing his characters. After a moment’s thought, he replied uncertainly, “I haven’t formally started my studies yet. I’ve just been reading the Three Character Classic with Second Aunt Grandmother in my spare time…”
Gu Zhong smiled like a little adult and said, “My brother and I also learned our characters from our mother when we were young. It wasn’t until this spring that we formally started studying.” His implication was that A Bao shouldn’t feel embarrassed. “Have you started tracing characters yet?”
A Bao nodded.
Gu Zhong said, “My mother requires me to practice three hundred large characters every day. How many does Aunt Grandmother require you to practice?”
A Bao replied sheepishly, “No, no requirement. I just practice by copying the calligraphy model for the time it takes an incense stick to burn each day.”
“Then you’ve only just started,” Gu Zhong said with experience. “If you have time, it’s best to practice a few more characters. My father says calligraphy practice is like climbing a hundred-foot pole—the more effort you put in, the better your characters become. Before my father took the imperial examination, he practiced five thousand characters every day. His handwriting is excellent now, praised not only by my grandparents but also by my great-grandparents. My great-grandmother’s handwriting was also exceptional. When my aunts, cousins, and younger female relatives began their studies, they all used her calligraphy models. Even my Seventh Aunt still practices five pages of small regular script using my great-grandmother’s model every day! My Seventh Aunt is my paternal aunt’s daughter, my father’s cousin…”
A Bao was already dizzy from the complexity of Gu Zhong’s family relations, but seeing how seriously Gu Zhong spoke, he nodded solemnly and followed him to the hall.
Gu Ning’s senior maidservant immediately approached quietly. She curtsied to Gu Zhong and whispered, “Second Young Master, the Eldest Young Master is practicing calligraphy.”
“I know!” Gu Zhong whispered back. “We’re going to practice too. Bring us a small table.”
As soon as he finished speaking, a servant woman from the Cheng family who was attending in the hall stepped forward and said softly, “Please wait a moment, Young Masters. This servant will arrange it immediately.”
Gu Zhong nodded.
The servant woman retreated quietly.
Gu Zhong gestured to A Bao, then tiptoed forward, stretching his neck to peek at the table.Gu Ning, who had been holding his breath and concentrating on writing, suddenly turned his head and smiled at his younger brother.
Gu Zhong was startled and said guiltily, "Brother, I didn't mean to disturb you. I was just watching..."
"I know," Gu Ning replied gently. "I'll play with you all after I finish the homework assigned by the teacher." As he spoke, he glanced at A Bao.
A Bao smiled shyly.
Gu Zhong quickly added, "I'll keep you company while you write."
Gu Ning smiled, lowered his head, and continued practicing his characters seriously.
The servants brought over a small table and chairs.
Gu Zhong took out a copybook and practiced tracing characters with A Bao.
At first, A Ren and Guan Ge tried to run to the main hall, but their wet nurses caught them and pointed to Gu Ning, Gu Zhong, and A Bao, who were writing, coaxing them with a few words. The two children then stopped trying to run to the main hall and instead played around the sitting room and inner chamber. Since there were many small toys in the inner chamber, such as jade-carved incense balls and wooden stacking toys, the two children had no time to bother Gu Ning and the others.
Only Yun Ge'er was quite dissatisfied.
He wanted to watch A Ren and Guan Ge play.
Whenever he couldn't see them, he would start fussing.
After trying a few times, the wet nurse understood his intention and carried him as she followed A Ren and Guan Ge. He then quieted down, occasionally making a few unintelligible sounds.
Cheng Xiao couldn't help but laugh. "Yun Ge'er is sure to grow up into a lively child who climbs roofs and catches fish in rivers."
Zhou Chujin, however, thought her nephew was perfect in every way and said with a smile, "Look how sturdy he is—much heavier than our Guan Ge was as a baby. Such children are full of energy. As long as he is properly guided, it'll be fine. Take Shaojin, for example. She was especially mischievous as a child, asking 'why' about everything and never staying still for a moment. Back then, my grandmother worried she wouldn't be able to marry. But look at her now—quieter than anyone, staying at home every day with no desire to go anywhere!" At this point, she remembered the temple fair at Daxiangguo Temple on the first day of the tenth lunar month and said, "The temple fair at Daxiangguo Temple probably won't be held, right? Should we go to Zhetan Temple in the suburbs to offer incense instead?"
"I heard the temple fair at Daxiangguo Temple will still be held," Cheng Sheng said. "But it might be turned into a religious ceremony—since the Crown Prince has passed away, it's only fitting for the temples in the capital to hold prayers for him. Zhetan Temple is a major temple, so I imagine they'll likely hold a prayer temple fair like Daxiangguo Temple."
"Then we'd better not go out," Zhou Chujin said, recalling the crowded chaos of temple fairs at the capital's major temples. "Let's just hold the memorial ceremony at home!"
Traditionally, the first day of the tenth lunar month is a day for honoring ancestors.
Cheng Xiao smiled. "I wasn't planning to go out either. How about we get together again on the second day? Look how happy the children are playing!" She sighed and added, "Watching them makes me want to bring our Ying Ge'er over."
Zhou Chujin laughed. "Then bring him over! After all, a child raised by one's own side is different."
"Exactly," Cheng Xiao said with a troubled expression. "But my father-in-law and mother-in-law won't allow it, saying we can't even take care of ourselves, let alone a child. They even urge us to have another one..."
Every family has its own difficulties!
Zhou Chujin sighed inwardly but noticed that Zhou Shaojin had been silent for a long time.
She nudged Zhou Shaojin with her elbow and asked, "What are you thinking about?"Zhou Shaojin snapped back to attention and smiled. "I was watching Gu Ning and Gu Zhong practicing their calligraphy, thinking how in just a few years, all these little ones will be starting their studies. The Cheng family school used to be so well-run—why don’t we start one again? Let the children study together. When they grow up, they’ll not only share family ties but also the bond of classmates. How wonderful!"
Zhou Chujin was deeply moved.
The Liao family ranked among the top in Zhenjiang and could still hold their own in the Jiangnan region, but in the capital, they clearly fell short. She and her husband no longer expected the Liao family to support them; they only hoped they wouldn’t become a burden.
If Guan Ge’er could grow up alongside Gu Zhong, A Bao, and the others, he would have support in the future.
She turned to Cheng Sheng. "I think this is a wonderful idea! But we all have elders in our families, and I’m not sure what they would think."
Cheng Sheng was also quite taken with the idea.
The main branch had separated from the Nine Prosperities Lane branch in Jinling. Without the main branch as a prominent relative, the remaining branches in Jinling struggled, and without the foundation of Nine Prosperities Lane, the main branch faced difficulties as well.
If they could revive the glory of the Cheng family school, the main branch would truly establish itself in the capital.
She looked toward Cheng Xiao.
What Cheng Sheng had thought, Cheng Xiao had also considered.
After a moment of contemplation, Cheng Xiao said, "I’ll discuss this with my elder sister when I return. If it can be arranged, where should the school be located?"
Zhou Shaojin suggested, "Could it be set up here? If not, I have another residence on Yuqian Lane, but then there would be no one to oversee things at home. In the early stages of the school, it’s better to have someone watching over it. If the teacher isn’t suitable, we can always replace them. But if the children’s futures are delayed because of this, it would be an irreversible loss."
Cheng Xiao nodded. "The choice of teacher is also an issue. Currently, Ning Ge’er and Zhong Ge’er are being tutored by a clansman of the Gu family. But next year is the imperial examination, and this clansman will surely take part. If he achieves success, the Gu family will have to hire a new tutor."
Zhou Shaojin pondered. "Could we ask Mr. Wu Zaoxiu to recommend someone knowledgeable? It doesn’t necessarily have to be someone from the Hanlin Academy—being too rigid with young children isn’t good. Perhaps someone younger…"
"That’s a good idea," Cheng Sheng said with a smile. "When we were studying at home, our grandmother preferred hiring female tutors over old Hanlin scholars for the same reason. It’s a pity we have sons. If only we could have a daughter."
The conversation shifted from the school to the topic of having sons and daughters.
Zhou Shaojin smiled faintly.
A young maid entered and reported, "Madam, Nanny Shang requests an audience."
Since there were no outsiders present and Nanny Shang hadn’t come in to deliver her message, it was clear the matter was not suitable for others to hear.
Zhou Shaojin acknowledged with a smile, excused herself to Cheng Xiao and the others, and left the main hall.
Nanny Shang was waiting under the corridor.
Upon seeing her, Nanny Shang stepped forward, bowed, and whispered in her ear, "Madam, the steward from the second branch—that distant nephew of Old Madam Tang—is shouting insults at the main gate. Chief Steward Qin had him gagged and dragged into the gatehouse. He asks what should be done."
Zhou Shaojin’s eyelids twitched. "Why is he shouting insults at the gate?"Nanny Shang hesitated for a moment before saying, "Last winter, the second branch invested a hundred thousand taels of silver in the Thirteen Hongs' fleet. This year, two of the Thirteen Hongs' ships sank at sea, one of which was the ship the second branch had invested in. Old Madam Tang's nephew claimed it wasn’t the ship they had invested in at all—that Fourth Master had tampered with it out of resentment over the second branch taking a large sum of silver from the main branch during the clan division..."
This was indeed something Cheng Chi was capable of doing.
But Zhou Shaojin felt that even if Cheng Chi had done it, he wasn’t in the wrong.
The second branch had taken so much silver during the division. If they hadn’t been greedy, that silver would have been enough to support their descendants for several generations.
Now that they had been outmatched, they were blaming others for being too cunning.
She asked, "What does Chief Steward Qin think?"
Nanny Shang replied, "Chief Steward Qin suggests reporting it to the authorities—neighbors witnessed him cursing and making a scene."
"Then let’s follow Chief Steward Qin’s suggestion," Zhou Shaojin said, feeling that these people deserved a lesson to prevent them from treating their home like a vegetable garden gate, coming and going as they pleased.
Nanny Shang smiled and left to carry out the order.
※
Dear readers, tomorrow’s extra update will still be around twelve o’clock.
O(∩_∩)O~
PS: Recommending Ximu Zi’s new work "Jun Qi": A leisurely romance between a reborn wealthy beauty and a grassroots emperor!
※ (To be continued ~^~)
OpenNovel