It was past the middle of February, and it started to rain.
There was still a short period of time before the Qingming Festival. The cold spring rain washed the world clean and clear. Sprouting plants and budding flowers decorated the world bit by bit.
In this era, the Qingming Festival was a big day. There were still more than ten days left, and the Su family was already preparing for the ancestral worship. Just like last year, at this time of the year, Ning Yi was actually relatively idle. If a person married into the family did not change their surname, they would not be able to enter the ancestral hall. On that day, he could not be considered as an important participant. Some of the women of the Su family still had to help with the ancestral worship. Naturally, Ning Yi did not care about this. Of course, he was relatively idle on normal days, so at this time, he did not show anything special.
It was not important that he did not enter the ancestral hall, but it also meant that he was not valued. In this way, according to the common view, men would appear to lose face. After all, people said that a "real man" should do this and that. However, on Ning Yi's side, it was just like that last year, but this year, the Su Family was in a bit of a predicament. According to Little Chan, a few old grandfathers in the family were discussing with Su Boyong whether they should find a way to allow Ning Yi to participate in the ancestral worship this time so that he wouldn't feel left out. However, they couldn't come to a conclusion, so everyone was extremely vexed.
After all, Ning Yi's importance in the Su family had become obvious. Although he was a son-in-law, in terms of actual achievements, others could not help but respect him. The identity of marrying into the family was necessary for the Su family, and it could not be changed. However, if he was not allowed to enter the ancestral hall, he would not be able to bear the descendants' incense. Now that everyone cared about this, they were afraid that Ning Yi would have a grudge. After a discussion, they even asked Su Tan'er. Su Tan'er also had a headache, so she ran back to ask about it. Ning Yi thought about it.
"Su Yi, Su Liheng does not sound good …"
"I think so too."
"Then don't change it … Don't think about those useless things. As for those elders, let them be. It doesn't matter if they are worried …"
There were rules in human nature. Ning Yi thought about it and understood it clearly. He understood that they had their own worries, but even if he did not care about many things, he would not be willing to change his surname. They probably understood these things, and this was the source of their worries.
Of course, suspicion and worry were inevitable since the night of Su Yu's grandfather's announcement of the royal business. These people would definitely worry about whether he had ambition, whether he was too capable, or whether he would be dissatisfied. It did not matter. They could do whatever they wanted to restrain, suppress, or restrict him. After all, from the beginning, Ning Yi did not have any thoughts about the Su family's wealth and power.
Although her relationship with her wife was very good, Su Tan'er was hesitant when it came to matters such as paying respects to the ancestors. However, it did not matter. One day, she would more or less understand what kind of person she was. Even if she felt that it was strange, she would come to understand it after a long time.
It might be a long process, but it would be fine as long as they slowly got used to it.
Every day in the Academy, there was a group of disciples who talked about Zhou Pei's recent emotional problems. Ning Yi felt a little strange. Previously, he knew that this little girl was distressed by the news of the selection of the prince's horse. The usually strong little girl had even secretly cried. Recently, he found that she had become a lot more strange. Two days ago, he saw her sneakily pick some leaves to wash and hide in a corner to chew. Those leaves were so bitter. Ning Yi frowned when he thought about it. He did not know why this noble little princess suddenly took it so hard.
As a teacher, he paid more attention to the female disciples in his class. This was because the rarer something was, the greater its value. After these female disciples had been enlightened by him, they didn't have the chance to learn any further. After all, what they had to face in the future was only marriage and raising their children.
But it was useless to try to enlighten them. After all, even if they had psychological problems, it was a social problem that could not be changed. The more they thought about it, the worse it would be for them. The saying that a woman's lack of talent was a virtue was actually very true in the current society. Therefore, for this little princess who suddenly became strange, Ning Yi still only taught her some things about arithmetic and did not ask about anything else.
Outside of the Su family, the assassination of Takeshi had come to an end since the assassins had escaped. This matter came abruptly and ended abruptly as well. However, there was a faint hint of unusualness in it, which was enough to attract the attention of those who were observant. The Liao people, the Jin Kingdom, the Wu dynasty … some complicated wrestling only revealed a little clue here.
This matter was a little big for Ning Yi. Being in the middle of it, Qin Siyuan's life was still suppressed in the complicated silence, and there were not many changes. Ning Yi occasionally went over, but it was just to talk about the saying in the book, play Go, or talk about the trivial matters of the family. When Ning Yi talked about the troubles of the Su family recently, the other party laughed and said that he was too low-key and was causing trouble for others. But he did not talk about national affairs.
In the assassination of Takeshi, Yunzhu was injured, and Jin'er also subdued one of the assassins, which could be regarded as saving Qin Siyuan's life. A long time ago, Ning Yi had the idea of letting Qin Siyuan adopt Yunzhu as his daughter. Later, because of Yunzhu's performance in the Yan Cui Building, the idea was dropped. But Yunzhu still had a relationship with the Qin family, and she would occasionally visit this Grandpa Qin. After this incident, one day, Qin Siyuan mentioned the matter of adopting a daughter again.
Last time, when Ning Yi mentioned this matter, the meaning was very special. After the news that a former official was asked to adopt a girl from a brothel as his daughter got out, it would damage Elder Qin's reputation. But at that time, Ning Yi considered it because he understood the friendship of the other party and was determined to give Yunzhu a good backing. As for Elder Qin, on the one hand, they had some understanding of each other, and on the other hand, Ning Yi was also determined to do something for this matter. As long as the old man agreed, he naturally had the ability to do it several times and not let the other party suffer losses. Later, because Yunzhu came forward for him again, it was a little too much to ask the other party to agree, so Ning Yi did it.
But this time, it was brought up by Elder Qin, and the meaning was a little more special. At that time, Elder Qin could only be regarded as an official who was dismissed. Now, there were all kinds of voices outside, and he was assassinated by the Liao people. If he was reinstated, in the blink of an eye, he would be a high official who was under one person and above tens of thousands of people. Unexpectedly, this matter was brought up again, and Ning Yi could not help but be stunned.
It was impossible to agree on behalf of Yunzhu, and there was no need for him to refuse. At this time, because there were often important people visiting Elder Qin's house, it was not appropriate for Yunzhu to come over. Then, Ning Yi brought Yunzhu and Jin'er to pay a visit, and the old man thanked them for their help.
That afternoon, when they served tea in the courtyard, they talked for a while. Regarding the relationship between Ning Yi and Yunzhu, Qin Siyuan was also clear, "What is the relationship between the two of you? It's a little hard for me to say, I've never seen it before …" The two of them had long been in contact with each other, but it seemed that because of Jin'er's obstruction, they did not break through the last step, and Ning Yi could not bring her home. But at this time, it was very natural for him to bring Yunzhu to visit, or for Ning Yi to decide some important life matters for her, and it even felt like a husband bringing his wife back to visit his father-in-law's house. For this kind of thing, when Qin Siyuan occasionally mentioned it to Kang Xian, he also felt very helpless.
At this time, Jin'er could be considered to be acquainted with Elder Qin's family. Hearing what he said, she excitedly complained about Ning Yi's situation. Ning Yi and Yunzhu could only listen, and sometimes they drank tea and smiled bitterly. Regarding their attitude, in the eyes of Jin'er, it was naturally a dead pig that was not afraid of boiling water. She was also very unhappy about Sister Yunzhu's stubbornness and indifference, "Grandpa Qin, you have to scold them."
Qin Siyuan laughed, "You also said that they are stubborn, and scolding them won't wake them up. In fact, in life, it is not necessarily a bad thing to be really stubborn. Give them some time. "
"Humph." Jin'er snorted coldly, "No."
Although that was what she said, there was nothing Jin'er could do about it. In fact, in the whole thing, she did have some fun. After she recovered from her illness, she still bickered with Ning Yi every day, or talked about things about Jin'er's shop. She was used to living a leisurely life. In these days, the matter of Li Shishi coming to visit a friend from the capital became more and more lively in Jiangning. No one knew who was hyping up the whole thing, but the whole thing became a challenge to Jiangning in Tokyo. Many talents in Jiangning had already taken action, instigating Qi Lan, Luo Miaomiao, and the others to prepare a performance in those days, and invited Miss Li to come and compete with her. Before the people from the other side arrived, it was already very lively here.
"That Li Shishi is very famous. I heard that many great talents in Tokyo wrote poems for her. There is a famous poet named Zhou Bangyan who is also very famous. I have seen his poems, and they are very good." That afternoon, when they came to the small building, Yuan Jin'er was also paying attention to the matter of Li Shishi. "Recently, many talents in Jiangning have written new poems. Scholar Ning, do you want to write a new poem to suppress the arrogance in Tokyo?"
"Write a poem? Okay, I have been inspired recently. " Ning Yi picked up the pen and began to write. Jin'er opened her mouth and hurriedly leaned over the table, and Yunzhu, who was passing by, also looked over curiously.
"Germanium, uranium, chlorine, arsenic, cesium, occupy all the amorous feelings to the small garden. Potassium, sodium, calcium, magnesium, lithium, beryllium, francium, the fragrance floating in the moonlight at dusk … what kind of poem is this … "
Recently, Ning Yi had been recalling the periodic table of elements, but unfortunately, he couldn't remember it well. At this time, he took a look at the rice paper and shook his head happily. "Good poem, good poem … but there are four more lines. Next is lead, aluminum, tungsten, palladium, fluorocarbon itch … hmm, it doesn't sound too itchy …"
"Fine, I won't write if I don't want to. It's always like this … "This poem seemed to have not been passed down to the Wu dynasty. Jin'er looked at the few lines that occupied all the amorous feelings to the small garden and the fragrance floating in the moonlight at dusk." What a waste of a good sentence. What's so great about a great scholar … "
She thought for a moment and smiled. "Hmph, right, this morning a gentleman came to visit Sister Yunzhu. He is good-looking, steady, educated and polite, and he is also an official. His poems are definitely better than yours. Sister Yunzhu had a good chat with him."
"Huh?" Ning Yi laughed. "I don't believe it. How can he write such a good poem …"
"It's the eldest son of Elder Qin." Yunzhu smiled from behind. "Because of the assassination of Elder Qin and the Qingming Festival, he rushed back from Jiangzhou. Today, he specially came to thank you. He said that he went to visit Liheng's house yesterday, but he left in a hurry and didn't get to see him. Does Liheng not know? "
"Qin Shaohe … someone did go there yesterday, but he didn't leave his name. He said that he would come again …"
Ning Yi thought about it and understood. He had heard of Qin Siyuan's two sons many times. Qin Shaohe and Qin Shaoqian, one was civil and the other was military. Because of their relationship with Qin Siyuan, they were put in important positions in the political and military circles. Last year, because of the disaster relief, Qin Shaohe had been promoted to Jiangzhou's Zhizhou. Probably because they were busy, the two brothers did not return to Jiangning at the end of the year. This time, they must have heard about their father's assassination and rushed back.
He asked Yunzhu about Qin Shaohe. As the eldest son of Qin Siyuan, this person was actually almost forty years old. Jin 'er's description of him as handsome, steady, educated and polite was not wrong. According to what he had heard from Qin Siyuan, this Qin Shaohe was modest, steady, and had the style of his father. In terms of learning, he could be considered as the person who had truly inherited Qin Siyuan's legacy. However, he was not ostentatious. Under the influence of Qin Siyuan, he focused on practical matters and did not exaggerate. Although his foundation in poetry was good, he did not write much, so he was not well-known. He also moved forward step by step in the officialdom. In the past few years, he was dragged down by his father and was only recently promoted.
The three talked for a while about the two brothers of the Qin family. Ning Yi also tossed about the "Little Plum in the Mountain Garden" for a while. Then, he wrote the real poem and showed it to Yuan Jin 'er. Yuan Jin' er read it and snorted, "It's just so-so." But it seemed that she still liked it.
Ning Yi told her not to show it to others and to look at it for herself. If she wanted to show it, it was enough. Don't drag him into it. On his way back, he went to pay a visit when he passed by the Qin family. Sure enough, the eldest son of the Qin family had returned, but this afternoon, he also went out to visit others. When he returned home, someone happened to come over, but it was not Qin Shaohe, but Puyang Yi of the Puyang family. Ning Yi had not returned home, so it was Su Tan 'er and Su Boyong who were attending to him.
"Recently, Brother Ning must have heard of the rumor that Miss Shishi from Tokyo is coming. Now in Jiangning city, the people are turbulent. Everyone is looking forward to having Qi Lan and Miss Shishi spar … Oh, regarding this matter, although the intention of the other party is still unknown, after all, there is still a possibility of meeting. I feel that, after all, this concerns the reputation of Jiangning, so I want Brother Ning to make an exception and write a new poem for Qi Lan for the reputation of the scholars of Jiangning. In this way, it is better to be prepared … "
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