Chapter 43

On weekdays, Mrs. Pei leaned slightly towards Zhen Yiyun and gave Zhen Yiyun more clothes and jewelry. Although Father Zhen wanted to say a few words, he didn't care too much, thinking that Mrs. Pei was the mistress of the house after all, it would not hurt her face. But this women's school exam is really not comparable to clothes and jewelry! Therefore, Father Zhen couldn't bear it any longer, and couldn't help but say, "How can you do this? My daughter is working hard these days, and she is waiting for the exam tomorrow. You sold her exam certificate without saying a word?"

Seeing her husband being so angry, Mrs. Pei felt a little remorse in her heart, so she just argued softly: "It's rare for my sister-in-law to open her mouth once. If I don't obey, I'm afraid she won't be happy. But it's not good if you're really angry... In the end, we just returned to Beijing, and it's not good to have a relationship with my mother's family." After all, if Father Zhen can be transferred back to Beijing this time, there is a lot of help from the Pei family. It's good to get into trouble with the Pei family.

Pei Shi was also in a hurry, and he felt sloppy when he spoke.

Sure enough, Father Zhen was even more angry when he heard the words: "Okay, okay, I know that your Pei family is a famous scholar, and my family is just a small family. It is a blessing to be valued by my mentor, accept me as a disciple, and promise to love my daughter. Therefore, I should have self-knowledge. The daughter of my Zhen family is not as noble as the daughter of your Pei family. If you don’t give up your credentials honestly, you will be ignorant of praise, and your Pei family will have a separation with me. ?!"

"You, how can you say that?! I just said something wrong just now, why do you have to explain it like this?" Her eyes were red, and tears fell down her cheeks. She lowered her head and wiped away the tears. , said softly, "What about the scholarly family, did my father actually help each other from birth? Isn't it just like you, Han Chuang studied hard for more than ten years, and worked hard every day, just now he became a jinshi and became a king. Sharing worries from the top and benefiting the people from the bottom, never slack off, that’s how you have accumulated the qualifications and fame you have today. So, why do you have to say that, why do you have to be so selfish?”

Father Zhen gritted his teeth and turned his head away, not looking at her.

Pei's head bowed, the emerald butterfly hairpin stuck in her bun, the butterfly wings and butterfly whiskers swayed slightly with her sob, rustling.

She wiped her tears with a handkerchief, sobbing softly, but her words were very clear: "What's more, don't you know how my father and brother have treated you all these years? Your father is yours, named Master and Disciple Weng-in-law, In fact, they are like father and son. Back then, when my father returned home with his family, he liked you very much when he saw you. Even if he has not accepted an apprentice for many years, he will make an exception for you, accept you as a closed disciple, teach you to read and write, and teach you to write. The imperial examination is actually more attentive than my two brothers..."

"And brother, that year you went to the township exam and fell ill after the exam. It was the brother who took care of you all the way and sent you back. At that time, I met Qiuhu, who almost lost a piece of skin for you. When I got home, I was so tired that I fell ill. I was actually sicker than you, and I lay groggy for many days... My family, even my sister-in-law, did you say anything about this? Said that you are brothers in love, and you are going out together, you should take care of each other and support each other..."

"Also, at that time, I was going to marry you. My mother was worried that Zhen's family was too weak, and my mother-in-law would not be able to get along with each other. It was my father who opposed all opinions, saying that he had already seen your talent, and this marriage couldn't be better. Even the two elder brothers nodded in agreement...Even later, I had suffered those hardships when I was a child, gritted my teeth and hugged my sister Yi'er to the capital. The whole family was so angry, my mother looked at it. I burst into tears, and the eyes of my two brothers were red. Even the introverted father changed his color. But they didn't say anything bad about you. They all told me that you were a good person. I won't be wronged at home!"

"Zhen Dongping, you said to yourself, has the Pei family treated you wrong all these years?" Pei shi looked at Zhen's father with tears in his eyes, and his voice was mourning, and every word was as sharp as a sword.

Zhen's father had lost his father when he was young. For him, Mrs. Pei was both a mentor and a husband-in-law, and he was almost a loving father in his mind. At this time, when he heard Mrs. Pei talking about the past, he couldn't help but red-eyed, but he felt a little regretful that he had said the wrong thing in a hurry - not to mention, Mr. Pei did not say that when he treated him, and the two uncles and brothers of the Yue family never He was also rightly treated.

Seeing that Zhen's father was also moved, and the fire subsided a little, Mrs. Pei stopped her tears a little, and then she choked up and explained: "I know this is my fault. But, I thought that Tingyun had a weak foundation. , I'm afraid that tomorrow's exam will also hang, so it's better to work hard for another year, and next year will be considered a 9 out of 10. Besides, the sister-in-law is not free, she even gave it to a shop, it is to add makeup to Tingyun..."

"What do you mean by 'I thought about it?', as a mother, do you just rely on thinking about your daughter's affairs? I didn't listen to it, read more, and use more snacks?" He softened his heart, but at this moment, he heard her talk about a crooked reason, and couldn't help but get angry, took a deep breath, calmed down a little, and then said word by word, "You will stay in your hometown back then, this is the Your last resort is that I am sorry for you, so I never told you about it. Even later, you never mentioned the matter of taking over Yun and her mother, and I let you, never say much. But Now that you have finally picked up your mother and Tingyun, have you taken care of your mother and Tingyun?"

"Since my mother came to Beijing, you don't talk about the rules as a daughter-in-law, even in the morning and evening, you can save it, but you accompany me occasionally and bring a few children over to talk for a while. I take care of you and your mother. Thinking about those things in the past, you really can't talk about one thing, and you never talk about you. But my mother was in the hospital alone, doing nothing all day, bored and bored, have you noticed? Grandmother went to Zhuangzi to relax—that's the matter, you'll feel cold when you hear it."

When a husband and wife quarrel, it is easy to turn over the old accounts, and it is easy to crook the building. Zhen's father said, but also moved his feelings: "I only understand your difficulties, save you face everywhere, and never tell you more about the mother's side... ...But have you ever thought about my difficulties and thought about me? Did you ever intend to show some filial piety for my son?"

Mrs. Pei was forced to blushed by the words of Zhen's father. After a while, she gritted her teeth and said, "While talking about Tingyun, why are you talking about mother?"

Zhen's father laughed in anger: "Okay, okay, then don't talk about mother! And talk about stopping clouds!"

"Mother is having a festival with you, and you have to report your grievance directly. That's your reason. But what about Tingyun? She is our daughter. She has suffered so much over the years because of us being elders. Don't you feel bad for her?"

Mr. Pei blushed at his words, bit his lips and said, "Why don't I feel bad? I'm also worried about this child's future, thinking about making plans for her in the future, that's what happened. She has been in the country all these years, so it was a delay. , so I thought about preparing more dowry for her, and it would be more convenient to say kiss in the future. The shop that my sister-in-law gave..."

Before he finished speaking, Father Zhen interrupted Pei's words and said coldly: "What is a shop worth? If Tingyun is admitted to women's school this time, he will study well in the future, increase his knowledge, and improve himself. That's the real good thing, the best dowry."

Seeing that Pei was still talking, Father Zhen sneered and added: "I just said that you don't care about your daughter - if you care, how can you not know how your daughter's homework is? You only say that she works hard day and night. She was just cramming herself, but she didn’t know that she was restrained. She practiced calligraphy sooner or later, and now calligraphy has made great progress; daily practice of the xiao, the sound of the xiao has a faint sign of entering the house. This is only on the calligraphy and the xiao song…”

"Of course, I was just like you earlier, I felt that my daughter was so urgent, she was in a hurry for quick success. After all, 'the haste can lead to failure, and small gains can lead to big things'. I also often advise her to relax a little and not get tired. But, seeing my daughter working so hard, if I, as a father, have time to spare, I want to look at her homework." Having said this, Zhen's father's face became a little complicated, and he sighed, "Jun Yuan, you What? As a mother, have you ever used a sincere heart towards your daughter? Have you ever read her homework carefully, have you seen her hard work these days, have you ever understood what your daughter really wants?"

Pei Shi was speechless for a while—remembering that when Zhen Tingyun first came, she had also been to the other party's house and had seen her practice calligraphy.

At that time, Zhen Tingyun's calligraphy was indeed well written, and she still wondered whether she was really practicing calligraphy or pretending...

Now that think about it, except for that one time, she never cared about her daughter's homework.

Seeing her like this, Father Zhen couldn't help but sigh again: "You keep saying that your daughter probably won't pass the exam this time, but you have never seen her homework, never cared about her efforts, let alone. Considering her thoughts, how can you make such inferences so arbitrarily, and even make decisions on behalf of her daughter?"

Pei's face was completely pale, and she suddenly didn't know what to say.

Father Zhen didn't want to talk about it anymore. He really had feelings for Mrs. Pei.

Only Mr. Pei sat in the room blankly, his face pale.

After a while, a girl came in carefully, packed Zhen's father's bedding and went to the study - Zhen's father was so angry, but he was not willing to quarrel with Pei's again, so he could not see it, so he simply asked someone to move it. After taking off the quilt and going to the study, he and Pei slept in separate beds to show his anger.

Pei shi just sat on the side with a cold face, watching these people pack their things, but didn't say much, but was very upset, and asked herself: Could it be that she really did something wrong?

******

Zhen Tingyun didn't know about the big quarrel between Pei's and Zhen's father.

Pei's words were too hurtful. After she came out of the main courtyard, she held back her tears and went to Mrs. Zhen's place - this is also a habit cultivated when she was a child. When she was wronged, she would definitely come to her grandmother for comfort.

Mrs. Zhen had not seen Zhen Tingyun's appearance for many years. She hugged her little granddaughter very distressed, and hurriedly asked her: "Poor to see, what's wrong? But your bad-hearted sister is bullying you again?" Ting Yun just pursed his lips and said nothing, but Mrs. Zhen guessed that her granddaughter must have taken a big grievance, put her in her arms, gently caressed her slender back, and whispered: "Don't be afraid, there must be Whatever, just tell your grandmother, and grandmother will decide for you!"

Zhen Tingyun bit her lip and kept silent. Tears almost fell when she heard this. She still remembered the dream before she came to Beijing, and also remembered that her grandmother in the dream also said the same thing. Mingming's grandmother and Pei's mother-in-law and daughter-in-law have a very bad relationship, but she always has to stand up for her affairs, and it is not reasonable to quarrel.

Thinking of those scenes in the dream, Zhen Tingyun only felt his heart skip a beat, buried his head in Mrs. Zhen's warm embrace, and explained in a low voice, "It's nothing, just thinking about the exam tomorrow, I'm a little scared..."

In short, she can't let Madam Zhen quarrel with her parents anymore because of her affairs! Of course, she must also take the exam - she has worked hard for so long, if she really misses the exam tomorrow because of Pei's incident, she is afraid that she will be mad at herself!

Madam Zhen looked at her granddaughter suspiciously: "Really?"

Zhen Tingyun looked up at Mrs. Zhen and blinked, holding back the tears, and forced a smile: "When did I lie to my grandmother?"

Madam Zhen breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile, "You child! What is there to be afraid of about exams..." Halfway through, she paused and hesitated, "I'm afraid you don't want to learn from your childhood, Come to me and pretend to be pitiful, do you have to be in the same bed with me?"

Although Zhen Tingyun was full of sadness and anger at this time, listening to Mrs. Zhen's words, he almost couldn't hold back, and he almost laughed out loud.

Because Madam Zhen interrupted her, her mood was still much relieved, and she was no longer angry, and then smiled: "Well, I knew I couldn't hide it from your grandmother."

Madam Zhen was happy that her granddaughter was so clingy, and she was worried that she was going to take an exam tomorrow, so she had to put on a half-assistance and said, "Okay, then you can leave me here to rest tonight."

Zhen Tingyun nodded obediently.

In fact, she still wanted to go out, but looking at the weather at the moment, and looking at Mrs. Zhen around her, she simply stayed. To add a new account, it is better to go out early tomorrow morning and solve it quietly.

Because there was an old lady Zhen next to him, although Zhen Tingyun was thinking about things all the time at night, he still slept soundly. On the contrary, it was Mrs. Pei, who couldn't sleep alone, and didn't fall asleep all night.

Thankfully, Zhen Yiyun was still there.

Because today is the entrance exam for women's schools, Zhen Yiyun, a female student, doesn't have to go to the women's school for classes. She vaguely heard about what happened in the main room last night. She was both anxious and curious, and she didn't sleep well. She came to greet Mrs. Pei early in the morning and inquired about the situation.

Hearing about the parents' quarrel, Zhen Yiyun thought of something with Pei, and Wen Yan comforted Pei, which was considered to ease Pei's worries.

As a result, the mother and daughter were talking intimately and intimately, and the servant came to report that it was Zhen Tingyun who led the horse out early in the morning.

Pei's heart was uneasy, and she had to ask a few more questions: "Where did the second girl say you are going?"

How did the person below know, he just replied: "No, I don't ask anyone to follow me. I led the horse out and left immediately."

Pei sighed: "This girl..."

Zhen Yiyun was secretly delighted in her heart, but she persuaded in a warm voice: "Today is a girls' school entrance examination. This incident happened at this juncture, and the second sister was afraid that it would be uncomfortable. It may be a good thing to ask her to go out for a walk."

Pei patted the eldest daughter's arm and sighed: "That's the same reason." After a pause, he still felt a little emotional: "You are still sensible."

Zhen Yiyun felt even more proud.

*********

In fact, last night, Zhen Tingyun was angry and angry, sad and sad, and he thought about all the ways to think about it.

At the very beginning, she wanted to find Mr. Yuanhui. After all, the other party is obviously someone who is valued by the Prince Regent. This may just be a small matter for him. And Zhen Tingyun also had the purple jade pendant given to him by Yuan Hui, whether he went to the other courtyard to find someone in person, or sent someone to carry the jade pendant to the other courtyard to spread the word.

However, Yuan Hui has taught her so much and helped her so much, she is really ashamed to trouble others for her own troubles.

Therefore, after thinking about it, Zhen Tingyun only thought of one way: to find Mrs. Chu - she is the female teacher of the Kyoto Women's School, and it is reasonable to recommend a student to take the exam. Because of this, she led the horse out early in the morning, and went to the address that Mrs. Chu had left her earlier.

If Mrs. Chu is not in the mansion at this time, she can only go directly to the Kyoto Women's School - today is the entrance examination for women's school, and the lady Mrs. Chu must also go to the school to help.

Fortunately, although Zhen Tingyun was extremely unlucky, having such a mother as Pei, he still had a little luck at this time. She rode a horse to the Chu Mansion, and happened to bump into Mrs. Chu who was about to go out.

Zhen Tingyun was quite fortunate: Fortunately, he was in a hurry along the way! If it's a little later, I'm afraid I'll have to go to the Kyoto Women's School to find someone.

It was Mrs. Chu. When she saw Zhen Tingyun riding the horse alone, she couldn't help being surprised. She raised her eyes and looked at the people, and asked in surprise, "Today is the entrance examination for women's schools, I see your age. , I thought I was going to take an entrance exam for women's school, so why did it come to me?"

Zhen Tingyun didn't know what to say for a while.

Does it mean that his own certificate was used by his mother to exchange for a shop?

Or just get off the horse and beg Mrs. Chu to introduce him so that he can take the test?

…………

A thousand words came to her mouth, but Zhen Tingyun didn't know what to say. Her hand holding the reins tightened slightly, then she turned from the horse, walked to Mrs. Chu, and bowed to her solemnly. Seriously: "At the time, Madam heard my Xiao sound in the inn, and she also wanted to accept me as an apprentice. Unfortunately, I was clumsy and missed a good teacher. I wonder if Madam is willing to accept me as an apprentice now?"

Listening to her words, Madam Chu raised her eyebrows slightly, and there was a hint of interest in her eyes.

Contacting today is the day of the entrance examination for women's schools, she also has a little understanding in her heart. It stands to reason that she had originally taken a fancy to this girl, and she had two chance encounters.

However, looking at the girl in front of her who pretended to be calm, but actually had a hint of worry, Madam Chu's voice changed, but she smiled and said softly: "I'm different from others, I always feel that this matter of accepting an apprentice is a You pay attention to fate. When you and I were in the inn together, you felt sadness in your heart, and your love was in the tune of the flute, which just moved my old thoughts and made me want to accept an apprentice, but unfortunately, you refused; later, We met again. Although you didn’t know my identity, you invited me to go to your village. I like your temperament, so I can tell you my identity frankly. I think that if you mention the matter of apprenticeship again, you can answer it. It's a pity that you are young, with a thin face, and you didn't say anything..."

"Now this is the third time we have met." Madam Chu's face was beautiful, with a smile between her brows, her voice was quiet, and her words were very clear, "As the saying goes, there are only three things, and this is the last fate between us. It's just that …”

Madam Chu paused in the middle of her speech and did not finish her sentence, but stared at Zhen Tingyun as if she meant something.

Zhen Tingyun suppressed his anxiety, bit his lip, and looked up at Madam Chu.

Mrs. Chu's eyes were still gentle, and she looked at people with a smile.

Zhen Tingyun pondered her words carefully and understood. She took out the purple jade flute from her arms, bowed respectfully, and said softly, "My wife and I met because of the sound of the Xiao.

As soon as these words came out, Madam Chu's smile deepened, and there was some sincere approval in her voice: "These words are great."

With Mrs. Chu's approval, Zhen Tingyun couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. He lifted the jade flute in his hand, took a deep breath, and just started playing the flute.

Yuan Hui once said to her that "the song is the voice of the heart", and she is also willing to tell the song with the voice of her heart.

For a while, the sound of Xiao sounded like a complaint.

Its sound is like a clear spring, gurgling through, the water is not rotten, and the clearer is more gentle; when the sound of the water turns abruptly, the music is like a long river, the waves are surging, and its sound is fierce; finally, the river flows into the sea, and the waves of thousands of miles turn into the silence of the deep sea. Silent, the music turned lower, there seemed to be undercurrents surging, gentle and explosive, without losing the melodious and clear tone at the beginning.

Madam Chu listened and closed her eyes, her expression changed slightly.

After the song, the rising sun on the horizon illuminated half of the sky, the milky white mist in the morning dissipated little by little, and the whole world seemed to wake up slowly in such a gentle morning light.

Mrs. Chu raised her eyes to look at Zhen Tingyun, and there was an indescribable complex meaning in her eyes.

There seemed to be a hint of tender and tolerant regret.

Before Zhen Tingyun could speak again, Mrs. Chu nodded, and she made a clear decision: "I'm going to the Kyoto Women's School. Since you have already led the horse, go with me in the car."

Zhen Tingyun had just recovered from his own song and heard this. He was surprised and happy, and he couldn't believe it, but he said: "I, I am not ready for the ceremony of apprenticeship." She said this Trip, although it was the last fight that came out of tossing and turning last night, but he also brought some dead horses as a live horse doctor. Although she appeared determined to win when she came, she actually had no confidence in her heart, and naturally she did not prepare any apprenticeship ceremony.

Of course, Zhen Tingyun's words at this time were somewhat tentative - after all, Mrs. Chu did not bluntly accept her disciples.

Mrs. Chu still looked at her, but she smiled when she heard the words, as if she could see through Zhen Tingyun's thoughts, but her voice was still calm and calm: "Nothing, the song just now is enough. I feel uneasy, I feel that this ceremony is too simple, and I have lost your filial piety to my husband, so I will make it up in the future."

After a pause, she raised her head slightly, looked at the sky, and said lightly: "Okay, don't be long-winded, get in the car quickly."

"If you don't get in the car, you and I will probably miss the entrance exam."