On the first day of class, the three orchids all dressed up normally, wearing the same fruit-colored round-necked thin straight-length coats with apricot-yellow branch flowers embroidered on the chest. They wore plain white cloud damask long skirts with a jade lock on the chest.
Wearing a brilliant gold necklace around her neck, the ornamental patterns and thin gold wire pendants on it are extremely delicate and beautiful.
"This gold necklace is very beautiful. It cost my grandma a lot of money. I have to go and thank her properly later." Mo Lan smiled and said to Minglan; because of the class the day before, Mrs. Sheng asked everyone to go to the private school early to avoid unnecessary trouble.
Hello.
"It looks good, but it's not too heavy. I originally had a gold necklace, which cost more than a dozen taels." Ru Lan said nonchalantly, while Chang Bai, who was flipping through the book, glanced at her displeasedly.
"More than a dozen taels? Wouldn't it weigh down your neck? I've never seen you wearing it. I think this collar is very heavy." Minglan rubbed her neck and muttered.
"Sixth Sister, this jade lock is of high quality. It looks like the seed jade from the Kunlun Mountains in the Western Regions." Chang Feng looked at Minglan's jade lock carefully.
Mo Lan had actually noticed the jade lock for a long time. Seeing her brother mentioning the topic, she went over and scooped up Ming Lan's hair and took a closer look. She saw that the jade lock piece was white, with a hint of emerald color, but the luster suddenly changed.
, when the water was flowing, it looked like yellow jade. The texture of the whole piece of jade was fine and smooth, elegant and refreshing, crystal clear and round, pure and flawless. He praised: "It's such a good jade, such a good color, I have never seen it before."
I was secretly jealous, thinking that the quality of this jade was even better than my own. If I entered the Jian'an Hall, wouldn't this jade be my own? Thinking of being rejected by Mrs. Sheng, I couldn't help but secretly resent it.
Ru Lan over there didn't know much about jade. Ever since she entered school, she had been looking straight at the piece of jade on Mo Lan's chest. She just thought about Wang's advice and endured it. Now she sees that everyone is talking about jade.
Then she couldn't help but said: "Sixth sister, you have to be careful. Fourth sister has fallen in love with your jade. If she goes back to her father to show off her love and wipe her tears, your jade may end up in fourth sister's pocket."
Chang Feng frowned and turned around to read a book. Mo Lan blushed and said angrily, "What do you mean by fifth sister? Is it possible that I just steal the sisters' things?"
Ru Lan received the warning look from Chang Bai, and remembered the slap in the face, she softened her voice and said slowly: "It's not interesting? I just saw the jade lock of the fourth sister and thought of some silly thoughts. Sister, I can
Don’t take it to heart.”
Minglan immediately looked at the jade lock on Mo Lan's chest, and saw that it was also a piece of warm and high-quality white jade. What was especially strange was that the color on it was a deep and light ink color, with pleasant shades. At first glance, it looked like an ink painting.
It looked like a landscape painting, and she couldn't help but secretly marvel at it. Mo Lan said angrily: "It's true that this piece of jade was originally sent by the Wang family. My father gave it to me when he saw that the jade coincided with my name. Then my father immediately asked people around to find a more matching piece.
I gave you the top quality hibiscus jade, why don’t you give up?”
Ru Lan faked a smile and said, "My sister doesn't know whether Jade is good or not. I only know that it was a heartfelt gift from my uncle."
Mo Lan smiled hypocritically and said, "Did Fifth Sister forget that he is also my uncle?"
Ru Lan gritted her teeth and glared at Mo Lan, but she didn't dare to mention any more about the concubines. At this time, Chang Bai coughed heavily and whispered: "Sir is here." Everyone sat down immediately.
Sure enough, there was a sound of footsteps, and Mr. Zhuang walked around the screen from the back hall and came in.
…
"Nowadays, most students study for the sake of passing the imperial examination. The so-called achievement is to help the world, and there is nothing wrong with wanting to be an official. But after passing the imperial examination, they will be short-sighted and talk boringly. How can they last long in the official career?
You have to drop it! You have to be solid in your homework, have a belly full of poems and books, and everything will come naturally."
Mr. Zhuang is very clear about his target students, and even more clearly about the students' purpose of studying, so he directly talks about the Four Books and Five Classics from the beginning, using the surrounding content of the Classics and History subsets, and also supplements it with many test questions from the past dynasties, because almost all of his students participated
He had passed the imperial examination, so he had a large number of success and failure cases. He would pick out articles as examples, and point out the good points for good ones, and point out the shortcomings for those who failed.
This kind of teaching method with clear goals and well-structured teachings immediately made Minglan stand in awe of the ancient masters. She had always felt that the ancient Confucian scholars were a bit hypocritical. It was obvious that one or two of them were just for the imperial examination, and they still looked like they were studying all day long.
For the cultivation of moral character and Taoism, Mr. Zhuang made no secret of this: "In ancient times, those who wanted to establish virtue in the world first governed their country; those who wanted to govern their country, first organized their families; those who wanted to regulate their families, first cultivated their families.
If you want to cultivate your body, you must first rectify your mind;... If you want to cultivate your body, you must first rectify your mind;... If you cultivate your mind, you can cultivate your body; if you cultivate your body, you can have a well-functioning family; if you have a well-organized family, you can govern the country; if you govern the country, you can bring peace to the world; knowledge is not just a few articles or poems, it is a matter of self-cultivation and cultivation.
, to gain a long-term foothold, you must learn it in a down-to-earth manner!”
Changbai and Changfeng sit in the front row. Boys of this age are growing taller. Sheng Hong has good genetics. Xiao Changdong, who is sitting at the back, can't tell it yet, but both boys are tall and tall.
The three girls in the second row are also delicate and polite, and their every move is quite regulated. Although they are still young, two of them have faintly revealed their beauties. Mr. Zhuang looked at him and smiled, stroking his sparse beard.
Nodding, yes, his eyes are very good, and at his age and old bones, he is already far away from the concept of a man, so there is no need to avoid suspicion with female students.
There are a total of six students in the private school, one teacher, and several maids and boys waiting outside to prepare tea and firewood. Throughout the ages, there has been an inevitable step in class—reading aloud, with the shaking of the head and head.
No matter whether you have memorized it by heart or not, you still have to shake your neck, bump your head, squint your eyes slightly, and read sentence by sentence in a long tone, to read out the feeling, the charm, and the infinite mystery;
Lan felt that this move was not good-looking for a girl to do, so she always refused. Ru Lan felt dizzy after shaking it twice, so she stopped. Anyway, Mr. Zhuang never paid attention to them.
Only Minglan is deeply aware of the benefits. This circular movement of the neck can just relax the sore cervical vertebrae caused by lowering the head to write and do needlework. After a few shakes, the shoulders and neck immediately feel much better. Minglan finally understands the meaning of the ancient scholars who lived in poverty for ten years.
Why did she not get cervical spondylitis when she lowered her head to read? So she started to read harder and harder, causing Mr. Zhuang to look at her twice in the morning.
Mr. Zhuang had strict rules and did not allow waiters to come in, so he had to polish ink and add paper himself. Everyone else was fine, but Changdong was still young and could not hold the ink stick firmly in his hand, and he happened to be sitting in the bright light.
Behind the orchid.
Minglan heard the constant crashing sounds from behind and felt that she should draw her sword to help. When Mr. Zhuang was not paying attention, she quickly turned around and neatly exchanged the inkstone she had polished with the inkstone on the back table. It was a combination of crispness and lightness.
With a perfect movement, Mr. Zhuang looked up and saw Minglan already sitting up, hanging her wrists to rub ink, looking very serious and focused.
Mr. Zhuang's little eyes flashed and he continued to lecture; Minglan breathed a sigh of relief. At this time, a little boy's voice, as thin as a mole, came from behind: "...Thank you, Sixth Sister."
Minglan didn't look back, she just nodded to express her acceptance.
Because of this revolutionary friendship, when Brother Dong came to the Ji'antang Hall to pay his respects the next day, he secretly grabbed Minglan's sleeve by the door, twisted his body and raised his fist to express his gratitude, and then muttered for a long time. Minglan looked at
Looking at Changdong, who was a head shorter than himself, he felt that the height ratio was very satisfactory, and said patiently: "What's the matter, fifth brother? Just make an agreement with my sister."
Changdong was encouraged and stammered to explain what he meant. He was neither a direct descendant nor a favorite. Aunt Xiang was born as a maid of the Wang family. The master was even illiterate. What's more, she, Brother Dong, was five years old.
Not yet enlightened, listening to Mr. Zhuang's class was purely a matter of listening to the scriptures, which was both difficult and embarrassing: "Big brother... taught me a few words before, but later he had to prepare for the exam, and I couldn't bother him... Sixth sister, I..."
He rarely sees people, is timid, and has trouble speaking.
Minglan whispered softly, thinking to herself, which one is better, staying out of trouble or helping others? In a blink of an eye, she saw Chang Dong holding up a shrinking little face, full of expectation and longing, but cautious.
Hold back for fear of rejection.
Ming Lan suddenly felt compassion and looked inside. She saw the old lady talking to Mr. Wang. Thinking that there was still some time before school, she led Chang Dong into the pear flower cabinet and went to a small carved pear wood table with the Eight Immortals worshiping.
After flipping through the papers, he found a red booklet and gave it to Changdong. He said softly: "This is what the old lady taught me to calligraphy. I have no use for this book. It's still new. You can practice it first. At your age."
Don't worry, little one. You only need to learn ten words a day to be smart. From now on, I will assign you a few words every day in school. Just memorize the words while listening to Mr. Zhuang's lecture. How about that?"
A big smile broke out on Changdong's little face, he nodded desperately and thanked him repeatedly; Minglan looked at his expression of gratitude and remembered how her little nephew was being coaxed and begged to go to school by four or five adults, and she suddenly felt very sad.
Sad.
That day, she taught Changdong five big characters on the spot, demonstrating the beginning and ending of strokes. Changdong stared at it with wide eyes, and worked hard to write down each one. Then he wrote in the red book during class and finished the drawing.
"Hong" was still practicing back and forth on the rice paper. When class was over, Minglan looked back and saw that the five characters were already quite familiar.
"Brother Dong is so smart. Father will be happy if he finds out." Minglan smiled and touched the soft top of Chang Dong's head.
Changdong's little face flushed with joy.
Minglan originally thought that children were incapable of growth, but after that, Changdong came half an hour early every day to say hello, and came to Minglan to learn calligraphy while saying hello. But Minglan was a lazy pig who loved to sleep, and every day he came to Minglan to learn Chinese calligraphy.
She got up at the right time, so many times Danju almost poured water on her face before she would get up. This time it was really fatal.
"Sixth sister, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, you've got some sleep, it's because I came early, I'll wait for you outside..." Changdong knew Minglan was still in bed, so he stood by the door and stopped.
, said repeatedly in fear, and turned around to run away, but was hugged by Danjue and led him to stop. He looked reproachfully at Minglan, who was holding on to the quilt and refused to let go, through the bed curtain, and Cui beside the bed.
Mom smiled bitterly, the little boy beside the washstand squinted his eyes, Minglan's scalp was numb, and she got up honestly.
A four- or five-year-old little Douding, who is just too sleepy and ignorant, Xiao Changdong has the perseverance to get up before dawn to learn Chinese calligraphy. If he was born in a modern only-child family, the elders would probably be happy to stay up all night.
Firecrackers were used to burn incense. For this admirable studious spirit, Minglan could neither bear nor be embarrassed to let a little bean wait. She gritted her teeth with a grimace and had to get up early every day.
"Remember, the strokes should be from left to right and from top to bottom. When you start the stroke, you should go against the front. When you finish the stroke, you should lift the air. When you stroke, you should slowly lift the wrist. Only then will the stroke look good..." Minglan and Xiao Changdong
Sitting side by side in front of the Kang table, demonstrating one stroke after another, Cui's mother came in from the outside, carrying a small black lacquered tea tray with flower carvings and two small white porcelain covered cups painted with colorful flowers.
/ "Thank you, Mother Cui, for causing you trouble. It's all my fault. Mother Cui is so tired." Changdong blushed, took the covered cup brought by Mother Cui, and thanked her gently;
At Wang's house, I never dared to go out and walk around. Aunt Xiang was the only one who talked all day long, and she couldn't speak a few words a day. After Minglan taught her these days, not only did I learn calligraphy well, but I also spoke fluently.
"Amitabha, my young master, what are you talking about? It's thanks to your coming, otherwise it would be a lot of trouble for us just to ask the girl to get up!" Cui's mother said with a smile, and even scolded Minglan.
Lan pretended not to hear and only lowered her head to blow on the covered cup in her hand. Cui's mother said to Changdong, "Fifth Young Master, drink it quickly. This is a sweet tea stewed with newly imported Luo Han Guo and plum pink sugar. It will moisten the lungs and warm the stomach."
, it’s best to drink it in the morning, and it’s also appetizing to have breakfast.”
Changdong held the lidded cup in both hands and took a sip. His little mouth was rosy and his fair cheeks were puffed up. It was sweet to his heart. He said shyly: "It tastes really good. Thank you, Mom... but I come here every day and let you guys do it."
It's a waste of money, I'd better not use it in the future, I don't need to drink..." He spoke softer and softer.
Cui's mother smiled and said: "Young Master Fourth, you are embarrassing us. What does tea cost like this? If you come here every day, Mom, I will serve you tea every day! I just don't know how your sixth sister's patience is..."
Minglan looked at Minglan with a smile. Minglan smiled bitterly in her heart. Which book said that if you traveled to ancient times and became a young lady, you could sleep in? What a lie!
Outside the Lihua Cupboard, Danjue was packing Minglan's schoolbags and bamboo baskets filled with pens, inks, papers and inkstones. Xiaotao was helping her and asked naively: "Sister Danjue, is it good that the fourth young master is here, but our girl also
She is too tired, look at her, yawning non-stop, I would rather let her sleep a little longer, why doesn't she teach the Fourth Young Master at noon?"
Danju's eyebrows were delicate, and she made a mouth-sealing gesture towards Xiaotao, and said softly: "Be less right and wrong! There are many young masters and ladies in this house, no one is equal to anyone, and it is also difficult for an old lady. Being a grandmother requires a bowl of water.
Duan Ping, our girl is lucky enough to be raised by an old lady, just because she said that Aunt Wei is gone, there are so many jealous people out there! Flattery in the open and slander in the secret is just one more needle.
A bunch of threads, the gossip never stops, but fortunately our girl is generous and tolerant, and never takes these trivial matters to heart.
Now if she gets close to the fourth young master again, and lets him come and go from time to time in Jian'an Hall, there will be another dispute. But the fourth young master looks really pitiful, and the girl can't ignore it, even the old lady
I have to pretend I don’t know, and now I’m going to teach you a few words, so I’ll fix it.”
Xiao Tao was dumbfounded for a long time, and a look of sadness suddenly appeared on her freckled face: "...Sister Danju, our girl is so kind and never quarrels with her sisters. It's just that the old lady looked at her pitifully and liked her, so she loved her more, so why did she just...
What about so much right and wrong?”
Dan Ju smiled softly and said: "You don't have to worry. Most things in the inner house are like this, and it's not just our house. Our house is still peaceful with the master and the old lady taking care of it. You are a farmer outside."
People who come here, those who are free and honest, have never known these twists and turns, just get used to it. There is no need to be afraid of them. People are good and are bullied, and they have to scoop up the money that should be scooped out. Otherwise, we will lose face.
It’s small, but it’s embarrassing to lose the girl’s face.”
Xiao Tao nodded seriously, lowered her head and continued to work, and suddenly said: "By the way, I have to go and tell the four young masters that they are not allowed to go out and talk nonsense about the girl teaching the fourth young master calligraphy!"
Danju covered her mouth and smiled, imitating Minglan's behavior and pretending to say: "Very good, very good. Draw inferences from one example. Children can be taught."