Apart from the second branch family, no one knew what the family said that night in the house of Yan Changxi and his wife.
Anyway, they did not know whether it was the effect of their conversation that night or whether their son’s ability to study gave the couple confidence and motivation. Now when it was not a busy farming season, otherwise, they might not turn in all the money they accumulated from work.
For example, Li Qiuyue, Yan Meihua, and her sisters made three decorative knottings, from ten to eight. As a result, they have two decorative knottings more salaries. Yan Changxi took odd jobs and occasionally bought steamed buns on the pretext of being hungry. Every time, they deduct one or two coins. More times, the second branch finally had a little money on hand. Sometimes, if a daughter wanted to buy a trendy hair tie, she had to ask for money from elderly lady Yan for a silk headband.
In the past, encouraging their parents to do such a thing would never succeed.
Oldman Yan and Yan née Jiang might not be unaware of the second branch family’s action, but they both chose to turn one eye and close the other, passed it by mistake. Compared with the 500 coins that the main branch family could manage themselves, the second branch was already very wronged.
When they did not resist, the old couple did not mention this, and now the second branch would do so, which showed that they also had their own careful thinking. Excessive suppression would only cause the second branch to have a greater sense of resistance.
Oldman Yan and Madam Yan were very good at it. They knew that when they were old, they had to be filial to the honest second child. So from the beginning, they did not think that they would force this child to be unfilial. Therefore, it was not too much behavior. The two elderly did not even ask, so they thought they did not know.
Yan Chu went to school more smoothly than the original self. In the previous life, the original self did not show his talent for studying that day. Yan Meihua almost had an acrimonious falling-out with her paternal aunt Yan Mudan and her eldest uncle’s family to let her younger brother learn.
If it was not for Yan Changxue’s worry for reputation, he knew that if Yan Meihua went out to talk about how their family bullied their second branch family, he would not have been able to study.
However, even though the original self became the clan school’s new student in the second year like Yan Tao, his family’s life became increasingly difficult. Especially Yan Meihua, his second sister, who offended her big uncle and little aunt. Together with Oldman Yan and Madam Yan, there was also a kind of anger that the granddaughter had offended the authority. Later, when it came to the husband’s family, Yan Meihua did not get married very well.
The man she married had a lot of money in his family and gave a high bride price. However, the man was honest and straightforward on the surface who beat his wife secretly. Yan Meihua had a hard time. Until the original self became Xiucai56Xiucaia person who has passed the county-level imperial exam, that man did not dare to hit her too much, but it was inevitable to make a fuss.
He was supposed to be the best person to help his elder sister, but he thought that one of his elder sisters had a bad reputation. After becoming famous, he gave Yan Meihua a lot of money but begged her to live with the brother-in-law for the sake of his reputation.
From then on, no matter how difficult her life was, Yan Meihua never went to the door of the Yan family. Her younger brother died when he was saying that.
This life was different. Oldman Yan and others had seen potential in Yan Chu, and they were no longer so resistant to let him study. In the previous life, Yan Meihua also said threatening words for his younger brother to learn. Without saying it, in the eyes of the old couple Yan, she was still their favorite among their granddaughters.
In a blink of an eye, four years had passed. Yan Chu attended the school at the age of six, and now he was nine years old.
These days, many strangers came and went in and out of the house during the day. Most of them were matchmakers from nearby villages and towns, and they either talked to Yan Chunhua and Yan Meihua or helped other people’s daughters found out about the Yan main branch family.
Yan Duan was 17 years old this year. In recent years, he participated in the provincial imperial examination repeatedly and failed the civil service examination. So Yan Duan went no farther than Tongsheng58Tongshenga candidate who has not yet passed the county-level imperial exam. However, he was still young, and many people became Xiucai in their twenties and thirties. In the beginning, he became Tongsheng at the age of nine, which meant that he had the talent for studying, and many people were willing to bet on his future.
Besides, the Yan family had dozens of acres of fertile land. As the eldest son, Yan Duan would separate from his family in the future. Most of the land here should belong to him. In any case, his life could be better than that of ordinary farmers. Therefore, many girls from other families were willing to marry the Yan family, but the Yan family disliked most of them.
“Mother, I think that Scholar Huang’s daughter is pretty good. She has a fair and clear appearance, virtuous and gentle nature. She’s also a Xiucai‘s daughter, and she isn’t afraid of being unable to talk with Duan’er.”
Liu Fuchun, holding a red paper list, said to Yan née Jiang that this was the only girl she was satisfied with among so many girls she took a good look at these days.
In Liu Fuchun’s opinion, her son’s lack of talent was because the scoring officials had no eyesight. Otherwise, with her son’s talent, he would have become Juren57Jurena successful candidate in the imperial provincial examination for a long time, and no matter who the top scorer in the palace examination, he also deserved to get the princess.
But now Yan Duan was just a child, but the year was also at the age of getting married. She was dissatisfied with the peasant girls, and the county magistrate’s girls were dissatisfied with him. The next best thing, Liu Fuchun could only pinch her nose and recognize the most outstanding young lady of the Xiucai family among the girls who intended to marry the Yan family.
“Scholar Huang’s daughter is pretty good, but the betrothal gifts they want are too high, a full 30 taels, enough to buy a small yard in the town. No matter how good his girl is, she still can’t make gold.”
Yan née Jiang shook her head. She loved her grandson, but she honestly did not think it was necessary to spend so much money to marry a wife. For women, they could give birth to children soon, as long as they were not too stubborn and weird.
“Mother, I’m not only interested in that girl, but I also value Scholar Huang more.”
Liu Fuchun had already guessed the old lady’s possible reaction. She leaned into the old lady’s ear and whispered a few words. The old lady’s face entangled with joy and confusion, and it was a long time before she spoke.
“His third cousin is also Xiucai. If he indeed has a knack, would he not tell us?”
Madam Yan thought that her daughter-in-law’s words were too unreliable. There was no shortcut to the exam. Then, wouldn’t all the Jin Dynasty be Xiucais? Besides, if Scholar Huang indeed could teach, he would not have sold his daughter for money.
“Mother, think about his third uncle’s child from the legitimate branch. I wish we could do nothing and rely on his breath for a living. Think about it carefully. After so many years, has the main branch had the highest probability of becoming Xiucais and Jurens? That means there’s a shortcut for the exam.”
Liu Fuchun let the old lady figure out for herself how many of the Yan family’s numerous Xiucais and Jurens were from the legitimate branch of that time.
Yan née Jiang thought about it, and it seemed that this was the case. But when she thought about it carefully, it was because only the main branch had the energy and financial resources to cultivate the children at that time. How much money could the average peasant family have for how many children?
“Our family and the patriarch have been separated for a long time. People might not tell us such news, but Scholar Huang is different. If Duan’er becomes his son-in-law, can he keep such an important thing from him? Thirty taels to buy a daughter-in-law and Xiucai’s name. It’s a good deal.”
Liu Fuchun’s words were very tempting and touching. Xiucai could be born in the family, but they thought about it day and night.
However, the old lady could not make up her mind about her grandson, and it cost too much to marry Scholar Huang’s daughter. She had to discuss this with her husband.
Seeing that the old lady got tempted, Liu Fuchun put down half of her mind.
Yan Chu stood outside his grandmother’s room. He had come to tell his grandparents and Third Uncle that he planned to participate in this year’s county examination, and unexpectedly, he heard the conversation between his eldest aunt and his grandmother. At this time, he suddenly realized that the days passed so fast, and it was almost time for Fu Zhenzhen to come home.
“Old Lady, buy a servant girl and go home. This girl has a small appetite and can’t eat much food. Moreover, she’s eight years old now. In a few years, she’ll be able to give birth to sons for the young masters in your family.”
Because of the eldest son and his wife’s persuasion, and the little daughter also felt that the marriage was good, both Oldman Yan and Madam Yan finally agreed that the eldest grandson would marry Scholar Huang’s daughter.
Today, the old lady took her eldest daughter-in-law to the county to buy the things needed for the wedding, and because there were many things to pick up, she specifically drove the family’s ox cart.
A few days ago, the North seemed to be in a terrible disaster. Many refugees came here. Fortunately, the number of them is small, and they were not large-scale. Besides, there were rich people outside the county town who had begun to give porridge and cloth. It had not had much impact on the lives of the local people.
There were also those whose families were in trouble. To settle down in the new place as soon as possible, they began to sell their young children. This act was a typical scene during this period. Those people dared not go to the county town and were afraid of being caught by the officials. They often stayed on the path to the city, waiting for those wealthy country folks or county people who left the city.
Today, they came to the county town for shopping. Both Madam Yan and Liu Fuchun were well dressed, so the woman with a thin yellow girl at her side took a fancy to them and stopped in front of the ox cart without thinking about them.
“Our family is just an ordinary farmer, not so rich, so we don’t buy a servant girl.”
Yan née Jiang waved to the woman and told her to get out of the way. She had to go shopping in the county.
“If you don’t want a servant girl, buy a daughter-in-law. I want a bag of grain. The men and children in my family are starving to death. That bag of grain is life-saving. Please, old lady, buy our girl.”
The woman pulled the little girl beside her to kneel to the old lady, kept kowtowing and begging.
This girl was the daughter of her husband’s younger brother. Her brother-in-law and his wife were unlucky. They died on the way to leave. Their only son said that he would find food for his younger sister and never came back. They could not wait for him all the time. They had to follow the refugees to the South until they arrived at this relatively prosperous small county.
In all fairness, this woman was not the kind of person who was truly cruel. Otherwise, her niece looked good. If she sold her to the brothel courtyard, she could also get sold for 120 taels of silver, which was enough to buy dozens of grain bags. But she was not greedy to this point.
She had just seen that this family was well dressed, and there was a family ox cart. Even if they were in the countryside, they were well-off. Now, she did not want to have another mouth to feed at home, so she sold the little girl to those well-off farmers. Her fate depended on her own.
On hearing the two words “child bride,” and the other party only asked for a bag of grain, Liu Fuchun raised her brows and held the old lady who still wanted to refuse.
“Mother, let’s buy this little girl.” She whispered to the old lady’s ear.
“You’re crazy. Where can we get extra money at home to feed another mouth?” Yan née Jiang shook her head without thinking about it.
“Mother, listen to me.”
Liu Fuchun grabbed the old lady: “The family’s money almost spent to get Duan’er a wife. Tao’er and Little Treasure are nine years old this year. In another six or seven years, they’ll reach the age of marriage. At that time, the two children will talk about their wives together. Where the money comes from?”
With her mouth, the dead could be said to be alive. Although she did not know what medicine she was selling, the old lady’s attention had certainly attracted by her words.
“It’s not expensive to buy a child bride with a bag of grain. Even if a little girl can eat, how much food can she eat? The most important thing is that the child is raised by ourselves, so we don’t have to worry about having an outsider. At that time, Tao’er and Little Treasure will be able to become Xiucai or Juren. Besides, if they were unable to pass the examination, no matter who marries the little girl, who knows her foundation and background, they’ll have a harmonious life at least.”
Liu Fuchun had already asked her son. It was no accident that his youngest son, Yan Tao, would pass the Boy Examination36Boy Examinationthe qualification test for taking the scientific examination in the imperial examination period. In recent years, Yan Chu had not shown much of his talent for studying in the school. In Liu Fuchun’s opinion, the other party was able to learn well at the beginning. She did not know how much hard he had done behind her back. In terms of talent, he was unmistakably inferior to her son.
When it came to marriage, the little girl in front of her must also be married to Yan Chu, which saved the family money for the bride price.
Liu Fuchun’s abacus crackled, but it moved the old lady’s heart.
In the village, a child bride was not a rare thing, to spend money to raise the daughter-in-law at home from childhood. Her life and death were all from her family. Depending on her stature, she could work with Meihua and the others. It was just that Meihua was old enough to get married. She bought this little girl and went back, barely in time.
Just as her eldest daughter-in-law said, how much food could a girl eat? When the grandsons were not promising, they could save money by marrying this little girl. If all of them were promising, she could be regarded as having a daughter. When they married her out, they could earn a portion of the betrothal gifts to supplement her spending in these years.
Yan née Jiang’s stance was not firm. Liu Fuchun talked her into it in just a few words, and she took a bag of the autumn’s newly harvested grain, which she had planned to bring to her little daughter. Because it was fine grain, the small half of it had poured out.
Fu Zhenzhen got sold by her aunt at the price of half a bag of new rice.
“In the future, at this old lady’s house, you should be obedient, eat less and work more, and don’t make trouble for others, understand?” The woman happily picked up most of the half bag of grain and looked at the man and child who had been guarding not far away. She was also confident.
Just looking at the little girl who did not say anything from the beginning to the end and quietly got on the Yan family’s ox cart after she got sold, a trace of guilt flashed in her heart and urged her again
The little girl did not know how long she had not had a full meal. She was thin and out of shape. Her eyes were so big, which made people who watched it flustered.
The woman dodged her eyes and did not dare to look at her. She gritted her teeth after saying that and ran to the man who guarded the side with red eyes.
“What’s your name?”
The food was already given, and the person sat in the ox cart too. At this time, Yan née Jiang felt that she had done something ridiculous, but the woman who had just sold the child had already run away with the food, and now it was too late to regret it.
“Zhenzhen, my name’s Fu Zhenzhen.”
The little girl’s voice was dry, and she had no strength to speak.
“From now on, you’ll belong to our Yan family. When you go home, behave, understand?”
Yan née Jiang took out the canteen she carried with her and handed it to her hand a sesame cake prepared to pad her stomach on the road.
“Thank you, Old Madam.”
Fu Zhenzhen took the canteen, drank several mouthfuls anxiously, and when her mouth was not so dry, she began to eat the sesame cake in her hands with a small bite, and a few crumbs were picked up and eaten. After eating the cake, she touched her stomach and smiled contentedly. From her yellow, thin face, the old lady unexpectedly looked a little lovable and charming on her appearance. She seemed to be better than Scholar Huang’s daughter.
Buying such a granddaughter-in-law did not seem to be a loss.
“What are you thinking? You’re a scholar, how can they find a little girl who we don’t know where they buy her to be your child bride? It’s too bullying.”
Yan Taohua sat on the Kang79Kanga heatable brick bed’s edge in her younger brother’s room and said to her brother, who kept writing on the paper with a brush moistened with water.
At this time, Fu Zhenzhen had been at home for three or four days. Initially, the Yan family just acted on the old lady’s kindness and bought a little girl who was in trouble in her hometown. The little girl was well-behaved and sensible. She was busy with her work. Now she lived with Yan Taohua and her sisters, and they had some feelings.
But they did not know when suddenly the rumor that the new girl bought by the Yan family was a child bride for Yan Chu spread in the village. It also as if they were real. As if they all saw the scene of Madam Yan buying the girl at that time.
Facing this poor girl Fu Zhenzhen, Yan Taohua could not get angry, so she could only tell her younger brother her complaints and confusion.
Yan Chu did not believe that no one added fuel to the fire as the rumor could spread fast. However, Liu Fuchun was indeed a pretty smart person. Perhaps even the old lady could not understand now who was the blabbermouth. Fu Zhenzhen was bought by her as a child bride initially.
While listening to his third sister’s complaint, Yan Chu’s hand did not stop.
If one wanted to take the imperial examination, it was not enough to merely write a good article. How well your handwriting was also a significant scoring item in the eyes of the scoring officials.
Ink and paper cost a lot of money, so Yan Chu used water instead of ink to practice calligraphy. After he grasped it, he would grind the inkstone and start writing. Therefore, in recent years, even though he was also enlightening in the school, Yan Chu’s expenses were only two-thirds of Yan Tao’s.
Oldman Yan and Madam Yan were also aware of his actions. They had a little more affection for this grandson, whom they did not pay much attention to before. It was not comparable to his oldest cousin, but his grandparents still loved him more than his second cousin.
Therefore, Yan Chu was primarily sure that this time, even if she was buying a child bride, the old lady’s original intention was to buy a child bride, not necessarily for whom. The rumors spread so widely, and it was apparent whose handwriting was this.
“Third Sister, the most important thing for me now is to deal with the county examination. I’ll talk about other things later.”
Yan Chu had not thought about how to deal with the relationship with Fu Zhenzhen, so he did not intend to have too much contact with Fu Zhenzhen before the county examination was over.
“Right, if you become Tongsheng, Grandma won’t let you marry Zhenzhen.”
Yan Taohua, because of her brother’s words, was able to get rid of her worries about her younger brother’s child bride. She did not dare to disturb Yan Chu’s study anymore, so she covered her mouth and left quickly. She had to watch these days. She must not let Zhenzhen have too much contact with her younger brother.
Because of Yan Taohua’s determination, Yan Chu had no chance to contact Fu Zhenzhen in private before the county examination.
Yan Changxue and Yan Changxi took their two children to the county with their family’s ox cart, for reference, on the county examination’s day. During the test, they stayed outside, eating dry food when they were hungry, drinking some water when they were thirsty, and going to the toilet in turn.
Because the school’s teacher said that sometimes there would be accidents in the exam, people would always get sick if they eat coarse grains, after all. The county examination was not as strict as the later triennial provincial imperial examination. If some examinees fall ill, they would be carried out directly. At that time, they needed to be brought back by their families.
Yan Changxue and Yan Changxi were afraid that their son was the unfortunate one, so they naturally stayed outside the examination room.
Initially, it was only to make sure that something happened, but unexpectedly, less than an hour after the exam started, Yan Tao, who was fine when he just entered, turned pale and was carried out by the government officials in sweat.
Yan Changxue was very anxious. Today’s exam decided who could continue to study between his son and his nephew. How could it happen that his son suddenly fell seriously ill?
“Yan Chu” also did not understand. Wasn’t he sentenced to exile for deceiving the monarch? How did he appear in the county examination room?
