In the spring scenery of Jiangnan where butterflies play among the peaches and plums, Gu Shouqian stepped into the Luxiang Garden.
The servants and maids who were walking back and forth stopped to salute when they saw the second young master coming back.
Gu Shouqian smiled kindly at them as usual.
Outside the "Biyi Hall" on the west side of the garden, on the rockery, the third mistress, Mrs. Li, was sitting in the pavilion with the two concubines of the third room, admiring flowers, eating fruits, and watching the third young master Gu Shouxuan and his two sisters.
draw.
Everyone looked down and saw the tall figure with fluttering sleeves, disappearing and appearing outside the flower garden, beside the waterside pavilion, and finally stopped in front of the embroidery curtain in Muartet's yard.
The third young master Gu Shouxuan, holding a paintbrush in his hand, looked back and praised his mother Li: "The second brother really looks like the man in the painting, and his behavior is like a fairy."
A trace of disdain flashed in Mrs. Li's eyes, and she snorted softly: "Yes, the grandson of our Gu family is of first-class appearance, and the young mistress he married is even more powerful than the Queen Mother. Who in Songjiang doesn't know this?
The Queen Mother has cleaned up the family for our Gu family."
Gu Shouyun has been Gu Shouqian's follower since he was a child, and they have a close brotherly relationship. Both Gu Shouqian and his wife are good at painting, and Gu Shouyun, who also likes calligraphy and painting, has benefited a lot from his brother and sister-in-law.
At this moment, Gu Shouxuan heard the sarcasm in his mother's tone and knew that she was talking about the past when Han Ximeng exposed the crimes of the eldest family member Shen. For a moment, the young man became very angry and wanted to argue with his mother about the rights and wrongs.
The aunt next to her saw the mother and son having a quarrel, so she quickly changed the subject and pretended to be curious: "Hey, why didn't the Second Young Master come with the Second Young Master today? Look, wasn't the Second Young Master and the wife appraising the embroidery work?
?”
Mrs. Li raised her eyebrows: "The second young lady who came down from the fairy world is very busy. Just like her maidservant who is now making all the changes, she is busy doing things everywhere. Unlike us, we are all sitting idle in the house."
"No, Mom," the little sister Ah Ling, who was helping her brother grind paint, said seriously, "my brother and sister-in-law were quarreling with each other."
In Songjiang dialect, "quarrel and scold" means to argue and quarrel.
When Mrs. Li and her two aunts heard this, they immediately became energetic and were even more excited than when they saw the handsome Lingzisheng appear at the theater.
They were about to inquire about the reason in detail, but Gu Shouxuan frowned and asked his ten-year-old sister: "How did you know?"
"Mr. Zhou from Wenzhe Garden accompanied her second aunt to see the apricot blossoms the day before yesterday. I heard what Mrs. Zhou and the servants at home said."
The second aunt A Ling mentioned was Gu Shouqian's mother. Han Ximeng, a gentle-tempered mother-in-law, lived with the Gu family in Wenzhe Garden, but often went back to Luxiang Garden to say hello to Miao Ruiyun.
"Mr. Zhou can be sent back to the countryside. Even if you have been with your second aunt for decades, it's best not to use the servants who gossip about your master." Gu Shouxuan stopped his sister's words without waiting for Li to ask.
Then he said calmly: "A-Ling, you are a young lady, don't let yourself be tainted by the dirty talk of women in the market. Come, I will teach you a method of painting mountains and rocks, which was also taught to me by brother A-Qian: add Garcinia water.
Dip in light ink and lightly moisturize the brush..."
Mrs. Li was not happy to see her son protecting her cousin in this way, but as a middle-aged daughter-in-law who was not loved by her mother-in-law and husband, the only thing she could count on in her life was her son.
Gu Shouyun, who passed the examination as a scholar, dared not fight tit for tat, so he could only pick up a piece of cloud cake and eat it.
…
"Ah Qian, take this painting "Fierce Battle in the Fujian Sea" and give it to Jishan Society."
Outside the Rongcui Mountain House in Luxiang Garden, Miao Ruiyun asked his maid Zhuxiang to lay out an embroidery painting of the Battle of Luowan in Ming Dynasty for Gu Shouqian to see.
The Jishan Society is a charity organization formed in recent years by the female relatives of the Songjiang gentry. It is modeled on the Tongshan Society of the Donglin School in Wuxi. It often dispenses medicine, helps students, buries and expose corpses, adopts abandoned babies, and beggars for homeless people.
The act of building a shack.
The current head of Jishan Society is Dong Qichang's daughter-in-law Yin.
Every year in spring and autumn, Mrs. Yin borrows the grounds of the social school to hold a charity sale, asking the ladies in the society to donate themselves or find others to donate. They have to donate paintings, calligraphy, curios and the like.
Come to the charity bazaar, fight for the beauty, and then buy it with the money from the Jin gentry who sells the Dong family's face, and the money earned is put into the account of the Jishan Society.
Gu Shouqian was a close disciple of Dong Qichang's painting skills. Gu and Han had stepped forward when Dong's house was besieged, so Yin took it for granted that Han Ximeng should get closer to her.
She said no, she said three or four times, but Han Ximeng declined to join the Jishan Society. This time to raise good items for the charity sale, Ms. Yin asked her husband Dong Zuchang to come forward and ask Gu Shouqian for a piece of Han Ximeng's latest embroidery painting, which was best to show the righteousness of the family and the country.
Only those gentlemen who talk about the country and the country all day long will rush to buy it, and the charity sale will be prosperous and lively.
Gu Shouqian returned to his home and conveyed the message to his wife in a normal tone.
However, Han Ximeng unexpectedly spoke harshly and ridiculed the Yin family. Every time they went out, the sedan curtains had to be made of Hu silk or Hang brocade of different colors and patterns. When they appeared in front of Songjiang ladies, the hairpin rings on their temples were probably worse than those of the empresses in the palace.
It is also gorgeous and exquisite. In this case, why does the leader of Jishan Society, who is said to be "a beautiful person with a kind heart and no shortage of money", not invest his own money to buy another work that is embroidered with stitches and stitches, instead of asking for donations?
Isn’t this generosity to others?
What's more, in the past three years, the Jishan Society led by the Yin family has not seen the newly built Zeluo Yuan or the Nursery, and they have not even distributed decoctions during the Spring Plague, even though the money raised did not fall into the Yin family's private purse.
Here, the leader of the society is at least incompetent.
Gu Shouqian listened, but he also felt jealous. After all, he was Dong Qichang's disciple, and he had contact with Dong Zuchang on weekdays, so he accused his wife of only cherishing the embroidery. Why should he speak harshly to the female members of the Dong family?
Zheng Haizhu’s business habits.
Han Ximeng was angered by the last sentence and asked her husband why he had the right to look down on businessmen. Women like Zheng Haizhu and Yao who worked hard to run a school and educate themselves were the role models for those who cultivate virtue and do good deeds.
With such bickering, the couple got into a heated argument for the first time after three years of marriage. In the end, Gu Shouqian simply believed that his wife had been led by a friend to see the world outside of Nanzhili, and he no longer looked down on the scholars and ladies of Songjiang.
Including his husband who has no fame and is obsessed with painting.
Han Ximeng cried a lot in front of her husband who left in a hurry and her mother-in-law Lu who came to comfort her. Zheng Haizhu saw Han Ximeng's eyelids swollen at Chongming Pier that day, which was why.
At this moment, Gu Shouqian took Miao Ruiyun's "Pictures of the Fierce War in the Fujian Sea" and said softly: "Thank you, Mrs."
Gu Shouqian's expression of gratitude did not appear alienated, but Miao Ruiyun could see at a glance that he still felt a little unhappy.
"A Qian, don't blame your mother for coming to talk to me about this matter. She has a doughy temper and has never blushed with anyone in half her life. Seeing you two suddenly quarreling like that, she was so frightened that she lost her mind."
Gu Shouqian nodded: "To be honest, I have to thank my mother, otherwise how would my wife know and help me in the emergency? Dong Gong is my mentor, how can I not give Yin family face?"
A meaningful look passed through the corner of Miao Ruiyun's mouth: "But Ah Qian, Ximeng said it well. The Dong family's daughter-in-law is vain and pretentious, and there is a huge difference from the Xu Hanlin family's daughter-in-law. Ximeng has always been different from the Xu family's daughter-in-law, Huang
Grandma and the others are close to me, so it’s not surprising that they don’t like Mrs. Yin.”
Gu Shouqian lowered his eyes: "Ata, I understand."
Mu Ruiyun narrowed his eyes and asked his grandson kindly: "When did Ximeng go to Chongming?"
"It's been seven or eight days since I left."
"Haha, I like this granddaughter-in-law. When she gets into trouble with her husband, she doesn't go back to her parents' house in anger, but she goes to study her skills vigorously."
Gu Shouqian sat down on the chair next to the embroidery bed and said in a low voice: "In A Meng's opinion, the Zheng family is probably closer than her natal family."
Miao Ruiyun said angrily: "Hey, you, a dignified man, how can you be jealous of a woman? Ah Zhu is well-mannered and kind-hearted. He is one or two years older than you. Now he has received a reward from the court. Although he is a woman with a sixth-grade order, he is a woman."
She has some talents, but her rank is on par with Mr. Huang’s official status. Why, she is the eldest sister of you two, and you are just a scholar, are you still at a disadvantage? "
Gu Shouqian was silent for a moment and then said: "What A Tai taught me is that my grandson is too narrow-minded. In fact, this time, Miss Azhu probably didn't know about the quarrel between me and Ximeng. She thought she was looking for interesting folk weaving."
Because of his skill, he sent someone to invite Ximeng and Fan Polu to have a look."
Miao Ruiyun acted like a peacemaker and clapped his hands and said: "That's right. Madam thinks it's a good idea to invite Miss Zheng here, so that you don't have to live in the same courtyard just after the quarrel and get tired of each other." Ximeng
I'm going to Chongming to relax, and I might even apologize to you when I get back. As for you, don't be idle these days and draw some embroidery patterns for her."
Gu Shouqian talked for a while with the grandmother in front of him, who was not related by blood, but was quite considerate of the younger generation. He felt relaxed and echoed his grandmother: "I'm reminded, Xi Meng finished embroidering the naval battle map and used artillery fire."
I have great experience in using needles and colors, and I also want to embroider the daily scenes of Miss Zheng’s firearms workshop.”
Miao Ruiyun said with a smile: "Then you go to the firearms workshop and have a look. When Yuesheng came to play the piano for me, he said that Mr. Sun and Mr. Li were imitating new cannons recently. I hope they won't explode like last time."
"Auntie," Gu Shouqian became more interested, "My grandson really doesn't want to take the imperial examination, and he has some writing skills. If I join Mr. Sun's disciples and study firearms together, I don't know what the head of our Gu family will do."
Do you agree?"
Miao Ruiyun thought calmly for a while, then raised his head and said: "Children and grandchildren will have their own blessings, and children and grandchildren will have their own ambitions. A Tai supports you and will speak to the head of the Gu family for you."
A few days later, in front of the Songjiang Firearms Factory in Shanghai County, Gu Shouqian first stepped out of the carriage. After the driver put down the step stool, he carefully helped Miao Ruiyun down.
Wang Yuesheng was already waiting at the door and stepped forward and said: "Master Sun was just about to come out with me to greet Mrs. When the craftsman came to report, the compatibility of copper, iron and tin seemed wrong again, so I hurriedly went to see it."
Miao Ruiyun raised his hand and said, "How can we delay Mr. Sun's business? Let's go, first show us the heavy matchlock gun place that Miss Zheng mentioned."
After everyone entered, two trackers who had been recruited by Zheng Haizhu to serve as guards followed the rules set by Zheng Haizhu and Sun Yuanhua and tightly closed the door of the firearms farm.
In a small boat on the river not far away, Tong Xiyu turned her head and looked at Han Xiying.
The half of the unburned face suddenly became covered with dark clouds.
Then he put on a strange smile, as if sunshine suddenly broke through the clouds in the gloom.
The spies who came from the north spent more than a month renting a house in Songjiang, pretending to be merchants from Shandong to collect gauze and silk, and slowly made themselves look like they had no flaws.
Today, Tong Xiyu and Han Xiying booked a small fairy boat for a river cruise, and came to the firearms factory to pretend to rest and wait for an opportunity to investigate.
Han Xiying did not expect that she would meet Gu Shouqian not long after staying.
Tong Xiyu glanced at the boatman who was dozing beside the oar, and said close to Han Xiying's ear: "Your brother-in-law is indeed a handsome man who looks like Pan An. If this succeeds, get him back to Hetuala. What will you do?"
How about becoming a mandarin duck?"
Han Xiying said: "Thank you, Master, for caring about this slave."