The scroll was slowly opened, and Kong Jijiu's brows jumped. By the time the painting was halfway through, he was completely stunned.
"This painting..." Kong Jijiu's first thought was that the fake painting was very authentic; his second thought was that his extremely smart student had been deceived; and finally he realized that this painting seemed to be in Bai Shan's hands.
Authentic.
Kong Jijiu looked at the painting in Yang Heshu's hand for a long time and was speechless.
Yang Heshu asked with a smile, "Sir, what do you think of this painting?"
Kong Jijiu: "...Isn't this painting in Bai Shan's hands?"
Bai Shan and Zhou Man were at their peak, so they wouldn't want to sell their paintings, right?
"It's in the hands of the Supreme Master. What do you think of this painting, sir?"
That is of course great!
Kong Jijiu's hand was hanging on the painting, not daring to touch it. He lowered his head and looked at it carefully. Even though he had seen it three times, he was still impressed by the painting when he looked at it again.
Kong Jijiu had already vaguely guessed why Yang Heshu was here. He looked at the painting, then looked up at Yang Heshu, straightened up and said, "Let's go to the study and appreciate it carefully."
Yang Heshu readily agreed.
When Yang Heshu left Confucius' residence again, he was already empty-handed.
As soon as he left, Kong Jijiu quickly closed the study door, and then he lay on the table looking at the paintings, with a smile on his face.
The butler couldn't stand it and reminded him: "Master Lang, didn't you say that you should set an example this year and never let others use the back door?"
Kong Jijiu said: "Zhuang Shaofu's grandson is still within the age of entering school this year, so it doesn't count as going through the back door. Moreover, what Chang Bo said makes sense. Zhuang Shaofu is already old. If his grandson is not allowed to enter school this year, he
That quota will only end up being advantageous to others."
Kong Jijiu said with an upright face: "Master Zhuang teaches the prince that he has served the country well and cannot let him feel cold."
Butler: "...that's what you always said."
Kong Jijiu agreed, and other things would be easy to handle.
Yang Heshu visited the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Rites, and the paperwork was completed. He sent a copy of Zhuang Jiran's books and Mr. Zhuang's official letter to the Imperial College.
Kong Jijiu gave it to him directly, and also gave him a note, "He can postpone his enrollment, but it can't be too late."
Yang Heshu agreed with a smile, took Zhuang Jiran's admission letter and note, and then left.
Of course, Bai Shan and the others didn't know these things yet. They were packing their things and preparing to return to Beijing.
Mr. Zhuang will take Zhuang Jiran back to Beijing to attend school, while Bai Shan and Zhou Man will take their children to Shangzhou to offer sacrifices and establish a genealogy.
Because he didn't know what the situation was like in the capital, Bai Shan asked Mr. Zhuang and the others to go back by water, which would be faster and shorten the trip by half. Bai Shan and the others would go by land.
Lao Zhoutou and Qian stayed in Qili Village with Dafang and his wife, planning to return to Beijing after the Chinese New Year. Zhou Lang took his two younger brothers and their children back with Mr. Zhuang and his family.
In fact, Bai Shan wanted his grandmother and mother to go back with them, but Mrs. Liu thought that establishing a genealogy was a big deal. This was her great-grandson, so she insisted on going to see it in person.
So Bai Shan could only take them with him.
They set out on the same day and separated when they arrived at Longzhou. Zhou Lang and the others took the water route, and the boat was still the same as before. Without Bai Shan and his group, their boat was much more spacious.
Bai Shan handed the official letter to Zhou Lang and warned: "Be careful on the road." Although the Jin Dynasty now looks at peace and prosperity, there are still mountain bandits and water bandits in some places.
After seeing them off, Bai Shan got into the car and said to the driver, "Let's set off."
There were not many of them, except for a dozen guards and a few servants who served closely.
The four carriages slowly headed towards Shangzhou.
The land route is slower than the water route. Bai Shan and the others are still on their way to Shangzhou, while Mr. Zhuang and the others have arrived in the capital.
It was the first time for Zhuang Jiran and his wife to travel far away, and it was also the first time to come to Beijing. From the moment they entered the city gate, their eyes were glued to the outside of the car and could not move away.
The street markets here are very lively, there are many people, the houses are taller than they have ever seen, and the streets are wider.
Zhou Lang asked Wu Lang to take the Zhou family back to Zhou's house, while he sent Mr. Zhuang and others to the princess' mansion.
When Zhuang Jiran saw the gate of the Princess's Mansion, he was so surprised that he couldn't speak for a long time, "This, this is..."
"This is your aunt's house."
Zhuang Jiran couldn't imagine, "Can the Zhou family afford such a house now?"
"I can't afford it," Mr. Zhuang said, "This is a reward from Your Majesty. If you have done meritorious service to the country, you will naturally be favored by the country. You will know later."
Liu Gui had received the news in advance and arranged another courtyard for the Zhuang family. It was a guest courtyard, close to the front yard, but not very far from Mr. Zhuang's yard.
He took his servants to move all the luggage in, and said to Zhuang Jiran: "The bedding and ornaments here are all new. Second Master Zhuang will see if there is anything missing and tell me, and I will ask someone to buy it."
Zhuang Jiran was a little cautious, "That's good."
Liu Gui smiled and said: "This courtyard is not far from Mr. Zhuang's Nanshan residence, and it is also close to the corner gate. It is very convenient for Mr. Zhuang to go out or find Mr. Zhuang."
Zhuang Jiran agreed awkwardly, and after sending Liu Gui away, he went to find Mr. Zhuang, "Grandpa, are we all going to live here in the future?"
Mr. Zhuang knew what he was thinking at just one glance and said: "You don't have to worry about these secular affairs. Just read your books and teach your wife, son and nephew well."
After he has lived here for a long time and becomes familiar with the Bai and Zhou families, this embarrassment will disappear.
Mr. Zhuang said: "You just need to remember the kindness of taking me in today."
Zhuang Jiran scratched his head and said: "Grandpa, my father said we can't take advantage of others in vain, why don't we go out and rent a house ourselves?"
Different from Mr. Zhuang's casualness, Zhuang Jiran was very influenced by his father. He was not willing to take a shot or a meal from others in vain, lest he be looked down upon by others.
A son is better than a father, so Mr. Zhuang naturally knew where the biggest difference between him and his son was. He paused and said, "I am Bai Shanzhouman's teacher. It is only natural for a disciple to support his teacher."
"But I'm not," Zhuang Jiran said coquettishly: "Grandpa, it's not good for you to take care of your family, isn't it?"
Mr. Zhuang is a casual person, and the three disciples he has raised are more casual than the last. He has not worried about this kind of thing for a long time. He originally wanted to talk things over with his grandson, but he was in his face.
Seeing his son's shadow, he simply hit him on the head with a fan and gave a strong order: "I'll stay when I say, don't talk nonsense."
"Okay." Zhuang Jiran lowered his head and silently turned to leave.
"Stop," Mr. Zhuang said, pointing to the dusty study: "Go get water and clean the study."
This is all free time. When he is so busy that he has no time, does he still have time to think about these things?
Zhuang Jiran agreed honestly and went to find someone to get water from a wooden basin and come over to scrub it.