The scroll was slowly pulled away, Kong Jijiu frowned, and when he was halfway through the painting, he was already stunned.
"This painting..." Kong Jijiu's first feeling was that the fake painting was so authentic; his second thought was that his extremely clever student had been deceived; finally he realized that this painting seemed to be the real one in Bai Shan's hands .
Kong Jijiu looked at the painting in Yang Heshu's hands for a long while speechless.
Yang Heshu asked with a smile, "What do you think of this painting, sir?"
Kong Jijiu: "...Isn't this painting in Bai Shan's hands?"
Bai Shan and Zhou Man are in their prime, so they don't want to sell paintings, do they
"It's in Zhishan's hands. What do you think of this painting, sir?"
That is of course excellent!
Kong Jijiu's hand was hanging on the painting, he didn't dare to touch it, he lowered his head to look carefully, even though he had seen it three times, he was still impressed by the painting.
Kong Jijiu had vaguely guessed why Yang Heshu came here. He looked at the painting, then looked up at Yang Heshu, straightened up and said, "Let's go to the study to appreciate it carefully."
Yang Heshu readily agreed.
When Yang Heshu left the Confucian mansion again, he was already empty-handed.
As soon as he left, Kong Jijiu hurriedly closed the door of the study, and then he lay down on the table looking at the painting with a smile on his face.
The housekeeper couldn't see it, and reminded: "Lord, didn't you say that this year you should lead by example and never let others go through the back door?"
Kong Jijiu said: "Zhuang Shaofu's grandson is still within the school age this year, so it's not considered a back door. Moreover, what Chang Bo said is also reasonable. Zhuang Shaofu is old enough to not let his grandson go to school this year. He I'm afraid that the quota will be cheaper for others in the end..."
Kong Jijiu said with a straight face: "Zhuang Shaofu taught the crown prince that he has made meritorious service to the country, so he must not be chilled."
Butler: "...you always said so."
Kong Jijiu agreed, and other things will be handled easily.
Yang Heshu went to the Ministry of Officials and the Ministry of Rites, and the documents were completed. He sent the copy of Zhuang Jiran's book and Mr. Zhuang's official post to the Imperial College.
Kong Jijiu gave him the wine directly, and he also gave him a note, "He can postpone the enrollment, but it can't be too late."
Yang Heshu agreed with a smile, took Zhuang Jiran's admission letter and note, and left.
Of course, Bai Shan and the others don't know these things yet, they are packing their things and preparing to return to Beijing.
Mr. Zhuang will take Zhuang Jiran back to Beijing for school, while Bai Shan and Zhou Man will take their children to Shangzhou to sacrifice and build a genealogy.
Because he didn't know the situation in the capital, Bai Shan asked Mr. Zhuang and the others to go back by water, which would be faster and shorten the journey by half, while Bai Shan and the others took the land route.
Lao Zhoutou and Qian Shi stayed in Qili Village with Dafang and his wife, planning to return to Beijing after the new year. Zhou Zhoulang took his two younger brothers and their children back home with Mr. Zhuang's family.
In fact, Bai Shan wanted his grandmother and mother to go back with them, but Mrs. Liu thought that building a genealogy was a big deal, and this was her great-grandson, so she had to go and see for herself.
So Bai Shan could only take them with him.
They went out on the same day and separated when they arrived in Longzhou. Zhou Zhoulang and the others took the water, the boat was still the same as before, without Bai Shan and his group, the boat was much more spacious.
Bai Shan handed the official post to Zhou Zhoulang, and said: "Be careful on the road." Although Dajin is looking at the country and the people's safety, there are still bandits and water bandits in some places.
After seeing them off, Bai Shan got into the car and said to the driver, "Let's go."
There were not many of them, apart from a dozen or so guards, they were just a few servants who served closely.
The four carriages headed slowly towards Shangzhou.
The land route is slower than the water route. Bai Shan and the others are still on their way to Shangzhou, and Mr. Zhuang and the others have arrived in the capital.
It was the first time for Zhuang Jiran and his wife to travel far, 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 they couldn't move away.
The street market here is very lively, there are many people, the houses are taller than they have seen before, and the streets are more spacious.
Zhou Zhou Lang asked Wu Wu Lang to take Zhou's family back to Zhou's house, and he sent Mr. Zhuang and the others to the princess' mansion.
When Zhuang Jiran saw the gate of the princess mansion, he was so surprised that he couldn't speak for a while, "This, this is..."
"This is your aunt's house."
Zhuang Jiran couldn't imagine, "The Zhou family can afford such a house now?"
"I can't afford it," Mr. Zhuang said, "This is a reward from His Majesty. If you have made contributions to the country, you will naturally be treated favorably by the country. You will know later."
Liu Gui had already received the news in advance, and arranged another courtyard for Zhuang's family. It was a guest courtyard, close to the front yard, but not very far from Mr. Zhuang's yard.
He brought all the luggage in with his servants, and said to Zhuang Jiran: "The quilts and accessories here are all new. Er Zhuang sees if there is anything missing, tell the little one, and let someone buy it."
Zhuang Jiran was a little cautious, "That's good."
Liu Gui said with a smile: "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 Second Master Zhuang to go out or find Mr. Zhuang."
Zhuang Jiran agreed in embarrassment, and after sending Liu Gui away, he went to Mr. Zhuang, "Grandfather, will we all live here from now on?"
Mr. Zhuang knew what he was thinking with just one glance, and said: "You don't have to worry about these mundane affairs, just read your books and teach your wife, son and nephew well."
When he lived for a long time and got acquainted with the Bai and Zhou family, this embarrassment would disappear.
Mr. Zhuang said: "You just need to remember the kindness of taking in today."
Zhuang Jiran scratched his head and said, "Grandfather, father said that we can't take advantage of others for nothing, why don't we go out and rent a house by ourselves?"
Different from Mr. Zhuang's casualness, Zhuang Jiran was very influenced by his father, he didn't want to take a needle or a meal for nothing, so as not to be looked down upon by others.
Knowing a son is like a father, Mr. Zhuang naturally knows where the biggest difference between him and his son lies. He paused and said: "I am Bai Shan Zhouman's teacher, and it is only natural for disciples to support the teacher."
"But I'm not," Zhuang Jiran said coyly, "Grandfather, it's not good for you to take care of your family?"
Mr. Zhuang is a casual person, and the three disciples he raised are more casual than the other. It has been a long time since he has worried about this kind of thing. He originally wanted to reason with his grandson, but he looked at him in front of him. Seeing the shadow of his son on the screen, he simply knocked his head with a fan, and ordered forcefully: "I said stay, stay, you don't want to talk nonsense."
"Okay." Zhuang Jiran lowered his head and turned around silently to leave.
"Stop," Mr. Zhuang said, pointing to the dusty study, "Go fetch water and clean the study."
This is all idle, 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 ask someone to fetch water for a wooden basin and come over to scrub it.