A Complete Explanation of the Negative Textbooks of the Imperial Examination - Chapter 88

    After serving in the Ministry of Military Affairs for more than ten days, Xiao Jingduo gradually became familiar with the affairs of the staff and Fangsi, and also got used to the new rhythm of working for half a day and going to court from time to time.

    On this day, he finished the public meal as usual, and returned to the mansion to read and write.

    Xiao Lin knocked on the door and handed Xiao Jingduo a letter: “Darang Jun, your letter.”

    On the envelope, Bai Jiayi’s name was written impressively.

    Bai Jiayi came to Beijing a few days ago. First, he went to the Ministry of Personnel to report on his duties. He was very busy. When he finally found time, he immediately wrote to Xiao Jingduo and these old friends and asked them to come out for a small gathering.

    Xiao Jingduo was replying to the letter, and Qiu Ju also knocked on the door of the study softly: “Da Langjun, just now, the old lady asked you to come to dinner.”

    In the days when Xiao Jingduo stayed in the mansion, the old lady seldom called Xiao Jingduo to Gao Shoutang for dinner, and he always brought the meal from the kitchen, and he stayed in Qingze Garden to solve the problem. Dingyong Hou’s house eats in their own courtyards, and very few favored ones, such as cousin Cheng Huizhen and Xiao Jinghu, often follow the old lady’s side, so that they can be condescendingly remembered by the old lady and stay in the Gao Shou Tang to eat. An unpleasant grandson like Xiao Jingduo always solves the three meals by himself.

    However, things change, as Xiao Jingduo’s official position gets higher and higher, the old lady’s attitude gradually changes. Especially after the old lady learned that Xiao Jingduo’s current official position is very powerful, and it is a beautiful job that everyone can’t ask for, the old lady immediately changed the routine of the mansion and called Xiao Jingduo to Gao Shoutang every night for dinner. If it wasn’t for Xiao Jingduo’s official duties, he would order Mao in the morning, and lunch could and must be eaten in the imperial city, and the old lady would definitely be able to cover Xiao Jingduo’s three meals.

    However, Xiao Jingduo glanced at the sky, at this time, is it too early for dinner?

    The female relatives stay in the back house all day, except for sewing and buying clothes, the rest of the time is spent here with the old lady. When Xiao Jingduo entered the room, several aunts and cousins ​​were there. When they heard the announcement from the maid, everyone stopped talking, and a few sisters stood up and faced the door.

    The old lady waved to Xiao Jingduo: “Duoer, come here quickly.”

    “The grandson doesn’t dare to go beyond, the grandmother said so.”

    The old lady sighed, she knew that Xiao Jingduo was not so easy to win over, so she said to the maid behind her: “Go and see the seat of the Dalangjun.”

    The maid brought Xiao Jingduo a seat and placed it on the side according to Xiao Jingduo’s instructions. The female relatives were all sitting in the east room and talking. Behind the old lady was an eight-panel peony screen, and in front of it was a squat. It is very low and squat, with a small square wooden table on it. There are melons and fruits on the wooden table. The old lady is leaning on one side of the table, and the second lady is sitting on the other side. He took a small piece and sat Mrs. Xiao San. As for the girls who had not left the cabinet, they all gathered around their grandmother and mother, and knelt on the corners of their seats.

    Mrs. Xiao and Er-Mrs. Xiao are both elders, and naturally it is impossible for them to be crowded on the same floor as the ladies, so Madam Xiao-san moved another seat. It was so close that it looked like he was sitting with the old lady and the others. And Xiao Jingduo’s seat was far away, just like the realm of Chu and Han, separated from the female relatives.

    The old lady looks very strange, but sitting below is the sixth-rank official of the imperial court, how dare she do to others? So he could only pretend he didn’t see it and said to Xiao Jingduo: “Duoer, it’s a good thing for you to be promoted, but unfortunately we have a lot of things in the house these days, and we haven’t had time to hold a banquet for you to celebrate. Well, wait for Sanniang’s affairs to be over , we will congratulate you.”

    Since the topic was brought up so quickly, Xiao Jingduo was convinced, and as the old lady hoped, he asked, “I have been busy with court affairs for the past few days, and I haven’t paid attention to the movements of the mansion. I don’t know. What is the house busy with these days?”

    The old lady brought out the topic of the day with satisfaction: “Your third sister is only one or two years younger than you, but she was delayed by national filial piety, and she has not done the marriage until now. I discussed it with your father. , last time I kept a full year of filial piety for Gaozu, this time I should have kept it for another year, but Sanniang is too old, so we can’t wait, so we discussed, this time after three months of national filial piety, we will Sanniang’s business should be done.”

      The family may have all the concubines born to her. Xiao Yumang was so anxious that even Mrs. Xiao San was too anxious, so she came to propose to the old lady, or this time, she should get married after three months.

    Xiao Jingduo was actually not happy in his heart. He was really grateful to Wenzong, and naturally he didn’t want to see his relatives so abrupt. But the old lady is right. Xiao Yumang is only one year younger than him. He is a man and doesn’t think it makes any sense, but for a woman, he is already old. age is too old.

    Because of the war and chaos in the early years, women generally marry later. Eighteen, nineteen or even twenty marriages are common, but with the passage of time, the age of women getting married is also increasing. The sooner, until now, in the aristocratic circle, if the seventeenth does not marry, it will be said, and even if it can be explained by national filial piety, it will not look good after all. What’s more, Xiao Yumang is worried that if she doesn’t marry again, her husband will give her several concubines!

      Seeing that Xiao Jingduo had no objection, the old lady continued to talk about the next thing: “Sanniang is going to marry the Houfu, and the husband is still the grandson of the Houfu. This is the best marriage. The husband’s family values ​​Sanniang like this, and we also Don’t let people take it lightly, so the dowry must be done in a big way. The mahogany furniture has been prepared a long time ago, so there is no need to worry about it, but the clothes for the four seasons have to be new. I wondered, isn’t Chang’an doing double-sided embroidery recently? Why don’t we spend a little more money to make some double-sided embroidered clothes for Sanniang, and take the rest as a dowry. In the future, whether we make clothes or give them away, we will have face. Sanniang is a high-end marriage, we must let it be Sanniang walks in a beautiful and beautiful way!”

    Buying double-sided embroidery clothes? Mrs. Xiao San’s eyes lit up, and she said hello, “Thank you for being sympathetic to my mother, where in the world can I find a kind elder like my mother! It’s true that Sanniang can meet you, she really has accumulated virtues in her life!”

    Mrs. Xiao was a little sour: “When Erniang got married last year, why didn’t my mother buy double-sided embroidery, and now it’s the third room’s turn, but she is more generous.”

    A few years ago, a lady of the state government wanted to choose a daughter-in-law in the Dingyonghou mansion, Xiao Yuli and Xiao Yumang fought a lot for this, and finally Xiao Yumang relied on the old lady’s partiality The second room, stunned, stole this good marriage. However, it was also a village of Liu An Hua Ming, and then Xiao Yumang followed his family to other marquis’ mansions for a banquet, but he was actually attracted by the son-in-law of the Runan Marquis mansion, and went back to beg his family to propose marriage. Although Xiao Yumang lives in the Hou Mansion, her uncle Xiao Ying is the real one who holds the title. Her father has no official or half title, but the other party is the direct grandson of the Marquis Runan. There is a huge gap between them. It can be said that this The marriage is better than what Xiao Yuli stole. After all, Xiao Yuli was only married to the concubine of the Duke’s Mansion, but Xiao Yumang was able to marry a serious grandson of the Hou Mansion.

      As a result, Xiao Yumang caught up with the second national filial piety.

    The third room and Xiao Yumang were so stunned that they wanted to vomit blood, but Mrs. Xiao was very happy. How many children in Hou’s mansion lined up to call her mother.

    Xiao Jingduo has been away from the house for four years, and he doesn’t know much about these circles, so he has been listening to the old lady quietly. Xiao Jingduo didn’t care much about the dowry, but he also knew that the dowry was the most important thing to a woman. Xiao Yumang was his cousin after all. Xiao Jingduo would not treat Xiao Yumang harshly in such a place. Naturally, he would do whatever the old lady said. what should be. However, when Xiao Jingduo heard it, he almost thought he had heard it wrong: “Grandma, you said, double-sided embroidery?”

    “Yes!” The old lady thought that Xiao Jingduo didn’t know, and happily asked the maid to hand Xiao Jingduo a handkerchief, “Look at this handkerchief, isn’t it extremely delicate and bright? The rarest one The flowers embroidered on both sides are exactly the same, this is the most decent embroidery piece in Chang’an!”

    “Hey wait!” Xiao Yumang stopped the maid, took off the other handkerchief from her waist, and handed it to the handmaid together, “Brother, look at the other handkerchief, I like these elegant and light. Yes, it’s too tacky to always be flowers and riches.”

    Xiao Jingduo took over the veil with complicated thoughts. Without the old lady’s explanation, Xiao Jingduo certainly knew that it was double-sided embroidery. He even knew that it was an embroidery piece produced in Jinjiang County. Under his arrangement, he made every effort to develop in the direction of elegance, and Xiao Jingduo could recognize his own embroidery at a glance.

    “What’s the price of this square handkerchief in Chang’an?”

    “It’s about a hundred dollars.” Xiao Yumang was afraid that Xiao Jingduo would not understand, and added, “We bought it with an acquaintance, and it is already much cheaper. Twenty wen!”

    This group of profiteers! Double-sided embroidered handkerchiefs in Jinjiang County cost only 20 cents. If you buy them in the embroidery workshops in the county, it can be cheaper. It can be about 18 cents. But in Chang’an, they dared to buy a hundred cents. Five times over! This is only a small handkerchief, other large screen fans may be expensive.

    Seeing Xiao Jingduo bowing his head and pinching his eyebrows, Xiao Yumang thought that Xiao Jingduo didn’t understand the market and it was too expensive, and quickly said: “Brother, it is hard to find a double-sided embroidery, let alone this elegant type, it seems It is a special product of the county, and it is priceless. We can buy it for a hundred pennies, which has already taken advantage of our acquaintances!”

    “I know.” Xiao Jingduo raised his head, the expression on his face was calm, “I just didn’t expect that they would dare to buy it so expensive.”

    If the old lady and the second room and the third room pay more attention to Xiao Jingduo’s affairs, they will know that what county they are talking about is the county seat in charge of Xiao Jingduo.

&n bsp; Make dowry for Sanniang, and the rest can also be used as clothes for each house.”

    The more she listened, the more upset Mrs. Xiao became, so she sneered and said, “Mother, your kindness is naturally very good, but I just don’t know, where does the money to buy Jinxiu come from? In the past few months, the Houfu has spent a lot of money, and the money in the public is tight, how can there be so much spare money for the three houses to toss.”

    As soon as I heard the words of the second lady Xiao, the third lady Xiao immediately became angry: “Isn’t it because Xiao Jinghu went to Yiwei because Xiao Jinghu went to Yiwei and needed money to manage it? Not to mention it’s so cheap, and now I have to deduct Sanniang’s dowry, so shameless!”

    Seeing that the second room and the third room were about to quarrel, the old lady scolded: “It’s all right, Duoer is still here, you guys look like elders!”

    Xiao Jingduo stayed on the sidelines, and after they had finished arguing, he said to the old lady, “It’s a great event for the third sister to get married, but I don’t know why my grandmother called me today?”

    “Good boy!” Seeing Xiao Jingduo talking like this, the old lady softened and said slowly, “Actually, it’s not a big deal. According to the rules, the cost of food and clothing in each room is from the public. However, if you can’t go in and out of the public hall, it will not last long, so the income of each house should also be charged into the public hall. For example, your father’s annual salary is merged into the public hall, and the family takes care of it together. Now you also This is the glory of our Xiao family. We are a family, and the family doesn’t care about these things, so, Duoer, look…”

      Xiao Jingduo now has a monthly salary of 40,000 yuan from the sixth grade. In addition to this, there are Lumi, cattle and sheep, silk cloth, etc. For ordinary people, this is already a huge sum of money, and it is just spending money. Forty thousand dollars a month is not a trivial matter in a flowing Houfu, no wonder the old lady keeps staring at it.

    Sure enough, the old lady immediately asked: “Duoer, what is your salary after your promotion?”

    “Forty thousand dollars a month.”

      Ten Wen, how much can this buy!”

    Mrs. Xiao San was right, the Xuan Dynasty was quite sympathetic to the officials. The Beijing officials only held half a day of public service every day. It is not difficult for a seventh-rank Beijing official to bring his family to Chang’an for support. Xiao Jingduo has no family. When he goes out, he eats and lives in the official office. In these years, he has only been in and out. In addition, Jinjiang County relies on splendid and jade to make a fortune. Even if he strictly abides by the laws and regulations, he will not have no net worth at all. After he was promoted, his salary went up a big step again, and he didn’t care about money.

    The old lady and the second and third bedrooms looked at Xiao Jingduo eagerly: “Duoer, it is customary for the man’s salary to be confiscated, you see…”

    Xiao Jingduo sighed. Although he has rarely had a family these years, the Hou Mansion has supported him for so many years, and he has never been lacking in food and clothing. Now that Xiao Jingduo has his own salary, he does not As for being unreasonable, he didn’t put a penny into the Hou’s mansion. So Xiao Jingduo only paused for a moment and said to the old lady, “This is a custom, and the grandson naturally follows it. Sanniang is going to get married soon, of course, she should take care of her affairs first.”

    The old lady breathed a sigh of relief: “That’s good, I know you are polite. Don’t hold grudges, Duoer, now only your father and you have the highest official position in the whole government, and you are the one in the public. Most of the money is from your big house, but this year your second brother has also entered the official position, and after this period of time has passed, Hu’er will be able to contribute to the family.”

    Mrs. Xiao quickly responded, “That’s right!”

    Mrs. Xiao San was disdainful, but in front of the old lady, she couldn’t show her contempt. She just looked at her daughter Xiao Yumang without saying a word.

    Xiao Jingduo knew that Xiao Jinghu had left Xiao Ying’s shadow position, and now he is also an official. He asked casually, “How is Erlang in the officialdom?”

    “Hu’er went to Yiwei to guard the palace city for the royal family. It’s an important errand!”

    “It turned out to be Yiwei.” Xiao Jingduo nodded and stopped talking. Civilian Shuan elections are under the control of the Ministry of Personnel, while military officers are under the control of the Ministry of Military Affairs.

    The old lady achieved her goal, and after another conversation, she let the maid set the meal. The female family members were all satisfied, especially Xiao Yumang. Xiao Jingduo was willing to take the salary and pay it into the public court. Xiao Yumang was about to get married. She received the most benefits, so her smile was also the most sincere. When going out, Xiao Yumang generously gave Xiao Jingduo the elegant double-sided embroidered handkerchief in order to show that he was a man of gratitude.

    Xiao Jingduo held the handkerchief of Jinjiang County, but he didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He had just sold these embroidery products from Jinjiang County on his forefoot, and when he came back to Chang’an, he bought them back at five times the price, with his own salary.

    It was hilarious.

    The author has something to say:

    It was revealed today that an upstream wholesaler was cheated four times by the middlemen who made the difference!