The sound of firecrackers outside the door came one after another, and the streets where the Zhao clan lived were full of joy, and the relatives and neighbors congratulated the new people on the list, shouting that everyone should gather together for a good meal and celebration and celebration.

Zhao Xiu stood in the front yard, listening to the movement outside, sighed secretly, and instructed Wang Shuangfu, the new housekeeper who had been in office for less than two years: "Prepare a generous gift for the third room kun master and the fifth room master for each one, send it to their home, and congratulate them on raising people in high school." If someone asks about my brother, he will say that my grandmother said that my brother is still young, and this autumn is just a try. ”

Wang Shuangfu respectfully agreed, and then received the order to go down to prepare the gift.

In the autumn of this year, a total of seven children of the Zhao family died, only two of them were raised, one is the only son of the three-room and eight old ladies Zhao Kun, who is in his fifties this year, and has always studied hard under the strict supervision of the eight old ladies, and now he has fulfilled his wish; The other one is none other than Zhao Yu of the outer fifth room, Zhao You's father, who has also been showing for many years. The two of them are considered to be the oldest in the clan except for the eighth old lady, and they have been studying for the longest time.

Zhao Wei didn't win, he only passed the Xiucai exam last year, and he is not yet fifteen years old this year. Zhang Shiyuan didn't expect him to win, so he planned to let him test the water. Take an experience. But Zhao Wei has been smart since he was a child, his homework has always been very good, and he has been guided by a famous teacher. The evaluation is quite high, and I feel that I am actually very sure of this subject, and before the exam, I said that I didn't expect it, but in fact, I was secretly trying my best, wanting to surprise my grandmother, but unfortunately the final result was not as he expected, and he was hit a little harder. Now I'm still nesting in the study and won't come out.

Zhao Xiu stood outside the door of his brother's study, secretly probed to see him in the house, and was immediately discovered by Zhao Wei: "What are you doing?" ”

Zhao Xiu jumped up to him with a grin: "Brother." Are you frustrated that you didn't get a job in the exam? ”

Zhao Wei's face flushed, and he turned his head very uncomfortably: "Nonsense, I didn't expect to pass the exam, what's there to be frustrated?" He sorted out the books on the table with both hands: "I...... I'm in Wenshu! Didn't pass the test. Just prove that your knowledge is not enough. So I have to study more diligently. ”

Zhao Xiu nodded vigorously in a matter-of-fact manner: "That's right, my brother really has nothing to be frustrated about, it's not so easy to get a talent test, our father got married in his twenties, and he got a reputation for lifting people, how old is my brother now?" Are you more learned than your father was when he was in his twenties? ”

"You ......" Zhao Wei's face turned red again, and after thinking about it, he felt that he had really drilled the tip of the horns. Overestimating my own abilities. He only cared about listening to the affirmations of the gentlemen and the praise of others, but he forgot that he was still a young boy. It's not enough yet. Not to mention the talent in Jiangsu Province, just in Fengxian County, he didn't dare to say that he was the best in learning, how could he dare to think that he would definitely be able to pass the exam?

Thinking about this, he felt more and more awkward and ridiculous that he was now, if he was just alone, he was really embarrassed in front of his sister.

Zhao Xiu was a considerate and good sister, and began to touch east and west in the room, flipping through the book, and enjoying the ornament, as if what she had just said was just casually. Her appearance like this made Zhao Wei quickly calm down, and she joked with her sister: "What are you turning again?" Last time, I flipped through the few books I managed to get my hands on, and I haven't seen them back, so now I want to search my brother's place again? ”

Zhao Xiu glanced at him: "It's just a few idle books, and my brother is distressed." Before, you were preparing for the exam, and I was afraid that you would be distracted, so I took the book away, but then I put it away after reading it, and I forgot about it when I turned around, so I didn't return it. If you want it, I'll take it right away. ”

Zhao Wei hurriedly smiled: "My brother is just joking, if my sister likes to read those books, just take them, you can return them at any time, it doesn't matter if you don't return them." But I didn't expect that my sister was also interested in those predecessors? ”

Zhao Xiu smiled: "It's interesting to watch, and I know a lot of interesting anecdotes that are not in the history books, although it is just wild history, but it's weird and interesting, compared to the serious history books, it can still be matched, but I'm afraid that the words in it may not be false." ”

Zhao Wei smiled and said: "Wild history is naturally not necessarily fake, sometimes there is no need to avoid something, maybe it is more true than history books." It's a pity that there is always a villain in the world, just because he can't get used to a virtuous and loyal minister, he will make up some sensational stories and pour dirty water on people's heads. Later generations don't know the truth, so they will take this fake wild history as true, and it will ruin the good reputation of others, and even thousands of years later, they will not be able to wash away their innocence. That's too bad. Therefore, most people in the world do not believe in wild history, and only look at the official history, just because the things recorded by the historians are at least not made up nonsense. ”

Zhao Xiu's heart moved: "Although the wild history written by some people is fake, there are also many people who write it is true, and the wild history lacks the constraints of the imperial court, although it is difficult to ensure authenticity, but it is also less possible to whitewash the peace and hide the truth." If someone can write a reliable wild history and pass it on to future generations, so that people can know the truth in history, it can be regarded as a great merit, right? ”

Zhao Wei was stunned, frowned and thought about it, then smiled: "What does that have to do with us?" Let's go, let's go to see my grandmother, Uncle Kun and cousin Jue have been lifted, and grandmother will definitely let us come to the door to congratulate them. ”

Zhao Xiu shook his head, threw Fang Cai's thoughts behind him, and walked out with his brother with a smile.

The Zhao clan has two people in the autumn of this year, which can be said to have alarmed the whole county, and the Tao County Order also sent his family to send congratulatory gifts, and the rest of his relatives and friends came to congratulate him in an endless stream. The people of the Zhao clan were all laughing from ear to ear, even if their own children failed to win, they were just as happy. It's been a long time since their clan has seen such a beautiful time.

The eighth old lady was the most excited, and the family looked at him. For fear that he will have a good time, there will always be someone by his side all day long, and persuade him to calm down. He was impatient. How difficult it is, Sanfang also had an official position in the past, the war ruined his two elder brothers, and also ruined his future, now his son has finally been promoted, and his grandson also has a reputation for showing talent, and their Zhao family's three rooms are genuine scholars. The revitalization of the family business is expected. Even if he is under the Nine Springs, he has the face to see his father, grandfather and brother.

He was in a better mood than ever, and he saw Zhao Yu, the sect who came to congratulate him. didn't have a straight face, this is really rare, the clansmen saw it, and they were secretly surprised.

Zhao Xiu and his brother Zhao Wei followed their grandmother Zhang to celebrate the three rooms. Zhao Kun's wife, Wang, immediately welcomed Zhang into the inner room. Zhao Wei asked the cousins to take them away, and Zhao Xiu went to find the two nieces, Sister Shu and Sister Run, and found that Sister Qing was also here, and the three cousins sat in the room and talked affectionately.

Seeing Zhao Xiu coming, Sister Shu and Sister Run hurriedly smiled and got up to greet each other, the aunts and nephews chatted for a while, and relatives and friends came to congratulate them, this time the guests brought their families. Among them were little girls of their age. The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law of the third room were too busy, so they asked the two granddaughters to help greet them. They had no choice but to confess and go out. Only Sister Qing and Zhao Xiu were left in the inner room. They were all raised according to the rules of their daughters, and they were not used to meeting people rashly, so it was best to stay in the inner room to drink tea and chat.

Zhao Xiu saw that Sister Qing's complexion was fine, so she asked her with a smile: "I heard a few days ago that you and your mother went back to Songjiang Province to kiss?" How, is it fun? ”

The smile on Sister Qing'er's face paused, and she pursed her lips: "Don't mention it, it's very unlucky." ”

Zhao Xiu was surprised, the Shen family took their daughter back to her parents' house to save her relatives, mostly for her daughter's family affairs, but Sister Qing had no good impression of this trip, could it be that she was snubbed? She lowered her face and asked, "What?" Are the Shen family angry with you? ”

Sister Qing hurriedly said: "It's not like this, aunt, don't get me wrong, my grandfather and uncle treat us very well, and the uncles, aunts, and cousins in the Shen clan are all very kind." I say bad luck because I met someone who didn't know how to be polite, so I was angry. ”

It turned out that the Shen family's maiden family was a famous family in Songjiang, and now the eldest son of the clan branch is a waiter in the imperial court, and he can be regarded as one of the few high-ranking officials in Songjiang. A few days ago, when Shen took his daughter home to save relatives, it coincided with the 60th birthday of the squire's mother, and a banquet was held to invite relatives and friends, and many people came to congratulate, even local officials, including a mother and daughter, who came with the wife of the Shanghai prefect, and were her sister-in-law and niece......

"Is the Shanghai prefect's in-laws? How many relatives are there in the prefect of Shanghai? Hearing this, Zhao Xiu couldn't help but interrupt Sister Qing'er's words, she remembered the news that Gwyneth heard from there, saying that Ma Ge climbed to the in-laws of the Shanghai prefect, could it be this family?

Sister Qing was stunned, a little inexplicable: "It's just this family, it's still the general judgment of the Shanghai government, Zheng Liupin, just because she married her sister to the prefect and filled the house, and gave birth to the only son, so the prefect is very proud of today's wife and the Yue family." His foreign family and Yuan's mother's family are not in Jiangnan, if you want to talk about your in-laws, it must be this family. ”

Zhao Xiu nodded, and asked again: "Then what?" Are these two mothers and daughters messing with you? ”

didn't mention Youke, as soon as Sister Qing was mentioned, she was angry: "Aren't they the same people?" The daughter sat with our sisters, and the cousins treated her so politely and kindly, but her eyes were on top of her head, and she didn't pay any attention to us. We were upset and ignored her, but her girl arrogantly ridiculed us, and she actually connived! We still wonder in our hearts, where did she get the confidence, she is just a daughter of a six-grade general judgment, so she dares to put up a fight against the daughter of the Shilang Mansion? Later, her mother showed off to my aunts and uncles, and we found out what happened. ”

She lowered her voice, but there was a little disdain in her eyes: "There is a sister in the prefect of Shanghai, married to the brother of Zhu Lifei in the palace, Zhu Lifei gave birth to six princes, and wants to choose a good daughter-in-law for her son in the future, I am afraid that the emperor will be in charge, and it is not her turn to intervene, so she has set her sights on the position of the side concubine, but unfortunately there is no suitable girl in her mother's family, so she hit the head of the relative's daughter." The prefect's wife has already told her sister-in-law that when her nephew turns twelve, she will be sent to the palace and asked Zhu Lifei to train herself. They feel like they're about to fly up the branches, where do they still take us into account? ”

The more Sister Qing spoke, the more angry she became: "The Zhu family is a former dynasty clan, where is there a shortage of girls, do you have to choose from the in-laws of the in-laws?" Before the matter was completed, they were so frivolous that they were really despised. What's more, they even mentioned that the eldest son of their family has not yet been married, and they are looking for a girl who is both talented and good-born. What a joke! The daughter of the dignified servant's mansion, will she be inferior to a son who can't be judged by the six-grade pass? If no one answered her, it was just for the prefect's sake, and he was too lazy to bother with her. Who knew that she saw that no one cared about her, so she was annoyed first, and grabbed a group of us girls, so she picked on us one by one, and degraded us to uselessness, and even the eldest cousin was laughed at a few words before leaving. You say, how did you meet such a disgusting person?! ”

Zhao Xiu hurriedly comforted her, but her heart turned away. Matt's in-laws in the Shanghai prefect's house have such a relationship with Zhu Lifei, it seems that his backer is really a bit tricky. However, the new crown prince has been established, the six princes have been defeated, and even if Zhu Lifei is favored now, it will not last long, so there is no need to worry very much. It's just that on the side of the General Zhuguo Mansion, they have to be reminded in advance, so as not to offend people without knowing it.

Who knew that before Zhao Xiu could write a letter to inform the General Zhuguo Mansion, the latter replied first.

The old lady of the General Zhuguo Mansion sent her confidant steward over to deliver a letter, and even the Zhang family was very surprised, and asked the steward: "Is your old lady in good health?" Is it okay to have a qiē at home? How did you get out? ”

The steward had also seen Zhang's family in the past, and saluted with a smile: "Old Madam Zhao, don't worry, our old lady is fine, and the general, his wife, and his brothers and sisters are all fine." This time it was because the letter mentioned something very important, the old lady was worried that there would be a loss on the road, so she asked the little one to come and deliver the letter in person, if the old lady Zhao did not understand something, the little one could also explain one or two, but it was more convenient than to ask the letter again. ”

Only then did Zhang settle down a little, let him go down and rest for the time being, and opened the letter himself. Zhao Xiu hurriedly leaned behind her and looked at the contents of the letter.

The first thing that the old lady of the General Zhuguo Mansion mentioned in the letter surprised them.

She said that she had people inquire in Beijing, and in the past two years, there had been only three foreigners who had been in and out of the palaces of the powerful princes, one of whom was a painter, one was a priest, and only one was a merchant, and the merchant's name was indeed Matt.

And the mansion of the magnates he entered and exited was the Ying Wang's Mansion. (To be continued......)