Colorful

Chapter 6 Filial piety to Ji Lan (2)
Shen Cui leaned on her body and glared at Ji Cheng: "Cousin, are you stupid! Today Su Yun obviously doesn't like you and doesn't answer you, why are you putting your hot face on your cold ass? And that So-and-so, as soon as I heard that you are my mother's niece, I curled my lips, and you can still laugh."

Ji Cheng turned his head to look at Shen Cui, smiling like a crescent moon, "Fifth Sister, so you care about me too."

Shen Cui was stunned in embarrassment: "Who cares about you, idiot."

Ji Cheng smiled and remained silent.

Shen Cui sat up straight and approached Ji Cheng: "I think Su Yun is just like that, and his appearance is not as neat as yours. The Su family is no longer the Su family of the past, and they are just trying to curry favor with those who have never seen the world." She, praise her like a fairy."

Ji Cheng didn't expect that Shen Cui would be so disliked by everyone's beloved Su Yun, and she couldn't say anything good about Su Yun at the moment, otherwise it would definitely cause Shen Cui's dissatisfaction. She came here to find an alliance, but along with Shen Cui In other words, Ji Cheng felt that something was wrong. It would not be a good thing for people who will get along with each other in the school for a long time to have a cold relationship.

"Sister Yun is a guest from afar, so everyone naturally gives her a little bit of support. This is the way of hospitality, and it doesn't mean that she is better than sisters like you and Sister Xian." Ji Cheng said.

Shen Cui smiled sarcastically, apparently still dissatisfied with Ji Cheng's statement: "Then you are also a guest from afar, why are they so rude to you?"

Ji Cheng smiled wryly: "I can't decide my family background."

"But what right do they have to look down on us?" Shen Cui was not convinced, "It's the wealth and glory earned by their parents, not their own abilities."

In fact, Shen Cui's thinking like this is quite reasonable, do princes and generals care about each other?

Ji Cheng was silent for a moment before he said: "Men's meritorious deeds are mostly for the sake of their wives and children. This is to let the predecessors plant trees and the descendants to enjoy the shade. The fathers have put in a lot of blood and sweat. For example, the Duke of the Shen family died in battle. It is to make future generations have a better future than others, and these riches and honors are all bought with the blood of ancestors. They, even you, are not unqualified to be prouder than others."

Shen Cui glanced at Ji Cheng in surprise, she didn't expect her to say such a thing, but Shen Cui was unwilling to admit that what Ji Cheng said was reasonable, and then mocked: "So, you are As a merchant girl, should she degrade herself?"

This is pure nonsense.Ji Cheng didn't take it seriously, in fact, she had also thought about it, why her parents did not rob or steal, lived a rich life, but their social status was so low?

"I don't think people should be classified into high and low. For example, my father's generation is engaged in business. If you don't have them in this world, where would you come from the precious jewelry on your hair, the fashionable clothes on your body, and the delicacies from the North and the South?" Come? Even if you can do it yourself, it is definitely not as convenient as having a merchant." Ji Cheng really thought so.

"Heh, if that's the case, why do you still look down on merchants?" Shen Cui asked unconvinced.

Ji Cheng was silent for a moment, and then said: "In the final analysis, the food we eat and the clothes we wear come from the ground, and the real wealth must be found from the source, so the Taizu emphasized agriculture and suppressed business because he was afraid Everyone only sees that it is easy for merchants to make money. But the land is wasted. Since the imperial court wants to suppress it, the status of merchants will naturally be lowered."

"That's the end of it. It's because of you that the people are unwilling to live and work in peace and contentment, so everyone looks down on merchants." Shen Cui concluded triumphantly, feeling that Ji Cheng could no longer refute herself.

Ji Cheng wanted to speak, but he didn't want to argue with Shen Cui again, and there were some reasons that were not suitable for her to reason with.Ji Cheng had a bold idea in her heart. She felt that the Taizu was wrong. He attributed the people's reluctance to stay on the land to the merchant's greed for profit, but he never thought about how to make the people earn enough money on their own land. In this way, they will naturally not be businessmen.

In Ji Cheng's view, whether it is farming or business, it all depends on one's ability and preferences. For example, if you are an expert in farming, you are naturally good at farming, and if another person can shout, you should be a businessman. Both of them are free to choose.

But in this case, how could he discuss it with Shen Cui, so Ji Cheng stopped talking.

Shen Cui was complacent for a while, then turned her head and said to Ji Cheng: "You don't need to belittle yourself, cousin, what you said actually has some truths, without merchants, our life is really inconvenient."

Deep-rooted ideas cannot be easily changed by a person's words, Ji Cheng just smiled.

At night, when lying on the bed, Ji Cheng looked at the top of the bed to truly face himself.Naturally, she also felt uncomfortable being left out and underestimated, but it wasn't like what Shen Cui said was a hot face and a cold butt.In fact, she also looked down on her own behavior. She wanted to break into their circle, but she couldn't completely let go of her self-esteem.

Thinking of Su Yun at this moment, Ji Cheng really envied this girl for being lively and cheerful, with a good family background and a beautiful face, so she would definitely not worry about getting married.But from what Shen Cui said, the Su family should be in decline, but there are still three catties of nails on the rotten boat, and the reputation of the family is always better. Su Yun came to Beijing this time, I am afraid that Mrs. Su is also holding on to the capital. It means looking for a grandson-in-law.

However, Ji Cheng didn't think that she and Su Yun would become rivals in marriage, and everyone's choices should be different.It's better to have one more friend than one more rival. If we all marry in the capital in the future, I'm afraid that we will still have contact with each other.

Ji Cheng turned around, worrying about his marriage with an uncertain future.Next year will be the year of the Grand Competition, if a husband-in-law of Jinshi can be found, with the financial resources of the Ji family and the mutual support of Shanxi merchants, he can also bring out a husband-in-law who is outstanding.But such a person came from afar and she couldn't know the background, she was afraid that she would suddenly become rich and show a despicable appearance, that would be a lifetime of grievances.

Besides, although the Taizu abolished the gentry at the beginning and re-emphasized the poor family, and opened up subjects to recruit scholars, the gentry was dead but not stiff. These three generations of emperors were weak in literature, strong in ministers and weak in ruler, and the aristocratic families controlled the government and imperial examinations. The Jinshi candidates are all descendants of everyone, and Ji Cheng's background may not be appreciated.

Ji Cheng chuckled, sighed again, tossed and turned for a long time and couldn't fall asleep, so he simply got out of bed and went to the west room, which has been vacated today, and the floor was covered with the carpet they brought from Jin.Ji Cheng practiced on it for a while, but the more he practiced, the more energetic he became.She drew out her sword again, seeing that there was no one in the yard, she danced with her sword for a while, and did not simply wash up and go to bed until she was sweating.

This sword dance is a bit strange for my daughter's family, but Jin land is adjacent to the barbarians in the north, and every household is martial arts, so the local girls also play with swords, one can strengthen the body, and the other can sometimes scare away disciples.

In this dynasty, the rules for women are not strict, the Taizu has the blood of the Hu people, the Hu people are good at singing and dancing, and when the wine is hot and the blood is hot, the nobles in the palace will also sing and dance, so it is not surprising for Ji Cheng to dance with the sword.

Ji Cheng lay down on the bed again, and thought of the old lady's birthday in the Shen residence, it was really lively and full of people.

The Duke of Qi's mansion was already blessed with a holy grace, and there was an endless stream of people who came to pay their birthday wishes.On the first day, it is even more crowded with cars and horses, and the sky is bustling. Even Tongque Street is full of cars and horses, and the crowns are flying.

These days Ji Cheng also often comes to the Duke's Mansion with Ji Lan, one can get to know more people, and the other is to help greet the little girl in the visitor.Even the married aunts Shen Yun and Shen He returned to Shen's residence to help as their day approached.

After the official day, it is a little easier to entertain a group of relatives and good family members.Ji Cheng has also seen that Zhang Luo's arrangement of such a long and grand banquet really requires the housewife to put in a lot of effort so that there are no major mistakes.Mrs. An and the Princess, the Duke's wife, don't care about these miscellaneous matters. All the affairs fall on Mrs. Huang, and Shen Xian is also helping to take care of a lot of affairs. down.

Afterwards, when the relatives and the whole family were entertained for a banquet, when the dancers from the Changchun Garden were invited to perform in the Qingyuan Garden, Ji Cheng didn't have a chance to watch.Since Ji Lan was tired and sick, she, the niece, naturally wanted to stay and take care of her to show her filial piety to her aunt.

Shen Cui also performed filial piety in front of Ji Lan for a day, but couldn't bear to watch the performance of Changchun Garden, so Ji Lan went to Qingyuan.

"You should go see it too. Changchun Garden's Master Guo, who is a master of singing and dancing, seldom performs on stage. This time, he did it for the sake of the Shen family. I'm not seriously ill, but I feel dizzy from being tired. As Ji Lan spoke, she kept patting her forehead with a handkerchief, and there was a moaning sound from the tip of her nose.

Ji Cheng said obediently: "I usually don't like to be lively in Japan. The noise makes people have headaches. I just stay with my aunt to have a leisurely time. Besides, dizziness can be big or small. When you are tired, your bones are the weakest, and evil spirits are easy to invade. Auntie must not Take it lightly." Ji Cheng is so well-behaved that he even thought of Ji Lan's excuse of being "tired" in bed for her.

"You are a good, filial and considerate child." Ji Lan patted the back of her hand and said, "Don't worry, my aunt will definitely help you find a good son-in-law."

Ji Cheng really wanted to blush, but she didn't feel shy at all, probably because she didn't expect much, her future marriage was just a springboard or a tool to change her identity.It may also be that she has been mentioned a lot in the past few days, and she has become a little numb.

And Ji Cheng was so considerate to Ji Lan, he was considerate for four days, and the Changchun Court performed for five consecutive days, and by tomorrow the guests were almost gone.

Liu Ye'er and Yu Qian'er were both anxious for Ji Cheng. Speaking of which, Ji Cheng's age is not too young for talking about relatives. If she can't seize every opportunity to show her face in front of the noble ladies in the capital, let them know that there is such a thing. This girl, I'm afraid the more you delay, the more difficult it will be to get married as you get older.

But Ji Cheng himself took care of Ji Lan wholeheartedly and thoughtfully, brewing and feeding her medicine, arranging flowers for her, and chanting scriptures for her, even his own daughter couldn't do her dedication.

At night, with Liu Ye'er's sophistication, she couldn't help complaining: "Girl, my aunt has done too much, right? Why doesn't Fifth Miss do her filial piety in front of her, why does she just grab you? I don't think she intends to help the girl to marry her at all, so I don't know what kind of plan she has in mind!"

"Auntie won't be so confused." Ji Cheng said gently.

In fact, a few days ago Ji Cheng also thought that Ji Lan was beating himself.Because Ji Lan's words all revealed a sense of superiority that if she Ji Lan didn't help her, then she would never be able to jump high with Ji Cheng.This is indeed the truth, and Ji Cheng never thought of being able to get rid of Ji Lan, she is not someone who can't figure it out, she believes that Ji Lan also knows that talking about kissing for her is a mutually beneficial thing.

Of course, it doesn't rule out that some people are irrational, just because they don't want to see other people's good.But Ji Lan has been able to hold onto Third Master Shen steadily for so many years, so she is definitely not the kind of person who takes matters into his own hands.

It wasn't until today that Ji Cheng finally figured it out. Ji Lan had been bedridden for so many days. Firstly, he was trying to beat himself up, lest he start to get carried away when he made friends with the girls of the Shen family in the Duke's Mansion; secondly, it was the biggest The reason may be that Ji Lan doesn't want to go out to socialize.

Ji Lan has repeatedly mentioned that it is not easy for her to be in the Shen family, and the conflicts are all between the sister-in-law and the mother-in-law. But according to Ji Cheng's observation, the old lady is not the kind of person who is mean to the daughter-in-law. disposition.But Ji Cheng felt that Ji Lan might also have a problem with her background, and women in Beijing were the most snobbish, and probably didn't respect her very much, so she didn't like to socialize with these people.

Ji Cheng sighed, if that was the case, the possibility of her counting on Ji Lan would be even smaller, and she would have to try her best to please the old lady, and the little things shed from the old man's fingers would probably be enough for her to enjoy.

As for Ji Lanfei's intention to let herself take care of her illness, I'm afraid it's because she is afraid that others will suspect her. With herself as circumstantial evidence, those people will not suspect her of faking illness.In fact, this is nothing more than the lack of silver here.

Ji Cheng told Liu Ye'er his analysis and said, "If I guess right, my aunt will recover from her illness tomorrow, and if she sees the guests out tomorrow, if she, the third daughter-in-law, doesn't show up again, I'm afraid everyone will guess her. I'm at odds with the old lady, mother-in-law and daughter-in-law."

Besides, when Ji Cheng and Liu Ye'er were whispering in the room at night, Ji Lan naturally had some remarks.

It happened that Linglong was on duty tonight, so she took the bedding roll and made the floor bedding in front of Ji Lan's bed.

"Master went to Aunt Mei's place again tonight. You said you were younger than Mrs. Mei, but why did she take the lead? If you can have a man and a half woman, I can tell the master to bring you up." Auntie." Ji Lan said.

Linglong got up and poured a glass of water for Ji Lan, and served her a drink: "Ma'am, don't tease the servants. Even if the master dotes on the Mei family, the person I respect the most in my heart is the madam. The Mei family is not even worthy of carrying shoes in front of the madam, but It's just that the madam doesn't care about her. As for the servants, they prefer to stay with the madam to serve them. Even if the servants are still young, but one day they will grow old, there will be no more slaves than the master. Follow the madam, it's a good life Serving the Fourth Young Master, the Sixth Young Master, and the Fifth Young Master, in the future I will inevitably have a mother in charge who will do it for me, and it is very important to be decent."

Ji Lan smiled softly: "You are a sensible person, and it is not in vain for me to promote you."

Linglong didn't answer, but said instead: "Ma'am, I'm afraid you have to go to Dong Mansion to accompany the guests tomorrow, right?"

Ji Lan reluctantly gave a "hmm", then changed the subject and said, "What do you think of Ah Cheng?"

"Quite obedient temperament, what's rare is that he is not impatient at such a young age." Linglong said.

"Yeah." Ji Lan sighed, "She has a temperament like my brother. My brother has been smart since he was a child. The Ji family can develop like this all thanks to my brother. I really didn't expect that someone like Yunniang could She gave birth to a daughter as smart as Ah Cheng." Yunniang was Ji Cheng's mother who came from a humbler background, her father was just a tofu peddler on the street.

Ji Lan is pleased with Ji Cheng's intelligence, but also a little irritable.If Ji Cheng had her mother's temperament, it would be very suitable to be a brainless concubine, such a person would have to ask for his support even if he reached a high position.Ji Lan's wishful thinking at the beginning was to send Ji Cheng into the palace.

Emperor Jianping was in poor health a few years ago, and he never had a son. In the past two years, he has been helped by a genius doctor to take care of his health. His sons have sprung up like bamboo shoots after a spring rain. In just two or three years, he actually gave birth to two sons. I heard that There are three other empresses in the palace who are also pregnant.

Ji Lan's plan is that Ji Cheng will enter the palace at this time, if she can conceive a dragon heir, she will have a pillow talk with the third master, and the third master will go and talk to the old lady. By succeeding to the great position, the wealth of the Shen family will rise to a higher level, and their third wife will be able to feel proud, and they will no longer have to lose to the eldest or second wife.

But Ji Cheng is not an easy-to-handle person, and his mind is sober, so he can't fool around.For example, this time, if Ji Cheng was a little anxious and ran to the Duke's Mansion regardless of his aunt's illness, then as long as Ji Lan hinted a few more words to others in the future, Ji Cheng's character would be questioned, and it would be difficult to talk about marriage. up.But Ji Cheng devoted himself to taking care of his illness like this, which made Ji Lan feel ashamed to trip Ji Cheng again.

However, Ji Lan is not the one to give up easily. Although Ji Cheng has made it clear that he does not want to enter the palace, who knows how his heart will change in the future.But even if Ji Cheng is unwilling to enter the palace, it should still be possible to choose a decent husband-in-law for her, and there is no harm in that, it's just that Ji Cheng will not be of much use to him in this way.

(End of this chapter)