Su Bao held his sister's hand and looked up at her side face, his expression as quiet and elegant as usual. Feeling the warmth of his palm, his anger gradually calmed down, but the tears still couldn't stop falling.
After getting on the carriage, Qi Surong took out a handkerchief to wipe the tears from his face and said warmly, "Why are you crying?"
Su Bao pursed his lips and said nothing, just cried silently.
"Feel wronged? Feel ashamed and angry? Feel uncomfortable?" Su Rong said seriously while wiping his tears, "Then be strong. You are still strong after many hardships. Since ancient times, men should strengthen themselves. Remember the humiliation today, and it will be doubled in the future. Return it."
Su Bao nodded and gradually suppressed his tears.
"Su Bao is good." Su Rong touched his head, caught a glimpse of the bruise on his wrist, and asked, "Does it hurt?"
"It doesn't hurt." Su Bao retracted his hand and pulled up his sleeves.
"Self-improvement is not about showing off." Su Rong said with a smile, "Sister, go back and give you some medicine."
"Sister, don't tell mother." Subao whispered.
"Okay, I won't tell you, and I don't want my mother to worry. But if Subao encounters difficulties in the future, you must not hide it from me. Although my sister is not a great talent, she can at least share your worries. We, brothers and sisters, work together, why should we be afraid of others making things difficult for us? ?”
"Okay." Su Bao faded away from the gloom and smiled again.
After returning home, Qi's father and mother found nothing unusual, and Qi Surong thought that the matter was over.
Unexpectedly, the next day, a matchmaker came to the Qi family, bringing the concubinage documents of the Cao family and some betrothal gifts, and threatened to take the eldest daughter of the Qi family, Qi Surong, as a concubine.
Taking a concubine is different from marrying a wife. You don't need a matchmaker to get married, or even a matchmaker to pull the strings. You only need to sign a contract to bring the person in.
There are two types of concubines in Wei State, one is good concubine and the other is bad concubine. A good concubine was born innocent. Although her children were not eligible to inherit the family business, they had adequate food and drink, and had the right to education. In the future, if a concubine can become a talented person and gain fame, she can establish another family; the concubine has a low status and can be bought and sold as gifts at will. Her children will also have a low status after birth. Unless the head of the family helps them remove the low status, they will be slaves for life.
Qi's father's concubines were all lowly, and most of them fled far away after leaving Qi's house. Qi's father has their contract in his hand. If he wants to, he can report it to the officials and arrest them, but he obviously doesn't care.
Cao Xiang wanted to take Qi Surong as his concubine, but no matter how arrogant he was, he would not dare to treat her as a lowly concubine.
However, his move was inherently insulting to the Qi family. Although the Qi family has lost its honor and favor, it is still a famous family.
This is not the case with the Cao family. They do not have a deep foundation in the capital and can barely be considered a third-rate upstart. Cao Xiang's father was just a small official who issued orders. The reason why he was classified as a new rich man was because he had the favor of the imperial court officials. The Cao family is related by marriage to Wu Run, a court official.
One can imagine how angry Qi's father was when Cao Xiang wanted to take Qi Surong as his concubine. He mentioned the matchmaker on the spot and threw her out of the house.
"If you want to take my Qi family's daughter as your concubine, let the Cao family's child give her head in exchange." Qi's father shouted angrily.
After all, General Qi's reputation for bravery was not fake, and the Cao family would never dare to appear in front of him. But as a result, Qi Surong's reputation will inevitably be damaged. Even though the Cao family's behavior of taking concubines was laughable, Miss Qi's family was also looked down upon. The famous lady of the past is now only qualified to be a concubine.
In Liu Qian'er's boudoir in the Taiwei Mansion.
"Hahahaha... It's so funny that someone wants to take Qi Surong as a concubine." Luo Yanyi was overjoyed.
"Cao Xiang, the son of a small official, also wants to climb and break the flowers of the high mountains?" Liu Qian'er put rouge on her lips and said lightly, "Courage is commendable, we should help him."
"What are you going to do?"
Liu Qian'er's slightly raised corners of her mouth brought out a smile.
Soon, the news spread like wildfire that Cao Xiang wanted to take Qi Surong into his house.
Whether it is the dignitaries in the court or the common people in the city, everyone is discussing this matter.
There are those who sneer, there are those who watch the show, there are those who sigh, and there are those who watch indifferently. But most people still think that the Cao family is too Meng Lang and they don't know the depth.
Unexpectedly, one day later, the direction of the rumors would change.
Someone said: "Now that the Qi family is in a miserable situation and precarious, there is nothing wrong with marrying off their daughter."
"Ms. Qi sacrificed herself to save her family, which was a righteous act."
"Although the Cao family is not prominent, it is still an official family, and it is related to Lord Wu by marriage. Although it is a concubine, it will not wrong her."
"The Qi family has the name of an aristocratic family, but not the reality of a family. Now they are just ordinary people. Why can't the Qi family's daughters be concubines?"
"If she is not a concubine, who else in the capital would dare to marry her?"
…
The discussion gradually changed from sympathy for the Qi family to support for the Qi family's miss as a concubine, and even called the move "righteousness", which brought a lot of support to the Cao family and put the Qi family under great pressure.
"Let's get married." Gu Jinyun appeared in front of Qi Surong again and said.
Qi Surong concentrated on embroidering, the needle and thread shuttled flexibly without any panic.
Seeing her calm expression, Gu Jinyun understood that she was not bothered by the rumors. This kind of character was really rare.
He sat beside her and stared at her quietly.
After a while, Qi Surong closed the stitches and completed a cedar picture. As the saying goes, "the posture of a thousand years old is straightened, and the sky is like dancing green". The embroidery is excellent and can be called a masterpiece.
"Send it to me." Gu Jinyun said.
"No, someone has already made a reservation."
"When will you embroider one for me?"
Qi Surong thought for a while and said, "Let's wait until the storm over this matter subsides."
"Marry me, it's settled."
Qi Surong looked at him: "If I marry you now, it means defeat without a fight. This is not only related to my reputation, but also the reputation of my Qi family. How can I escape?"
"What are you going to do?"
Qi Surong looked out the window and said calmly: "The name of a noble family is not just talk. Cao Xiang wants to take me as his concubine, but he cannot afford the price."
Cao Xiang had someone to back him up and was confident enough. He sent people to Qi's house every two days to cause trouble. He was a little cautious at first, but later became more and more unscrupulous. They didn't dare to enter Qi's house, so they just screamed outside.
On this day, the closed door of the Qi family suddenly opened, and Qi Surong, dressed in white clothes with a veil covering her face, walked out slowly.
"The young master of the Cao family cannot bear the kindness of the young master. I will give you a poem to express my ambition." She handed a letter to Gu Yufeng next to her and asked him to send the letter to the academy.
Gu Yufeng smiled slightly, took the letter and ran quickly towards the academy.
Seeing this, everyone around him followed closely.
At this time, Cao Xiang was discussing concubinage with his classmates in college. He looked confident and proud, as if the Qi family girl was already in his pocket.
The book boy came to report that a letter from Miss Qi had arrived.
"Oh? Does she have a poem to give you?" Cao Xiang was very interested and said impatiently, "Bring it over quickly."
The boy said: "The person who sent the letter asked you to pick it up in person. If you don't go, he will directly publish the letter outside the hospital for everyone to read."
"Let me go get it in person?" Cao Xiang snorted, "I'm just a concubine, how can she have such a big air? She's not afraid of being public, so she'll do it. I'd like to see what a little girl can do What a stunning poem.”
The corners of Luo Chengyang's mouth moved at the side, but he finally swallowed his words.
The book boy went out to reply.
But after a moment, he ran back with an unnatural look on his face.
"How? Is her letter really made public?" Cao Xiang asked.
"Yes."
"Ha, you're really not afraid of embarrassment." Cao Xiang sneered, "Tell me, what did she write?"
The book boy hesitated and said: "Master, you'd better go out and take a look."
Cao Xiang frowned, and while he was wondering, he suddenly heard a noise coming from outside.
He and the others looked at each other, stood up and walked outside at the same time.
Hundreds of people gathered outside the academy, chatting around the wall of the outer courtyard.
As soon as Cao Xiang came out, he immediately received strange looks.
His scalp numbed, he walked through the crowd towards the outer wall.
The people around him consciously gave way, and Cao Xiang quickly came to the wall. Looking up, my eyes were filled with blood. I saw a poem written in bright red blood on the white silk:
The flowers are not in full bloom, and the fun of being independent and sparse is not endless.
I would rather die holding the fragrance on the branches than blow it down in the north wind. (Excerpted from "Painting Chrysanthemums" by Zheng Sixiao)
"I would rather die holding the fragrance on the branches than blow it away in the north wind." Cao Xiang murmured with a green face.
In just a few dozen words, he expressed his noble and unyielding determination.
Rather Stick to your guns. A daughter from a noble family will never be a concubine.
Whether you are a scholar or a distinguished family, reputation is the most important thing. Just because they don't speak doesn't mean they acquiesce. If the Qi family had no reaction, they would naturally not be troublesome, but as soon as this poem came out, it immediately won the support of many noble scholars.
In the face of rumors, Miss Qi made her ambition clear with poetry and defended her integrity with blood. The bright red handwriting is shocking.
"Brother Cao, do you still dare to take this girl as your concubine?" someone asked with a smile.
Cao Xiang was speechless.
If he dares, I'm afraid that the day he takes a concubine, his blood will be splattered on the spot.
He regretted so much now why he didn't come out to receive the letter in person just now. Now that this poem has been made public, it is not Qi Surong who is embarrassed, but Cao Xiang.
The remarks that were originally favorable to him were reversed because of this poem.
As Su Rong said, the name of a noble family is not just talk.
There is a widely circulated saying in the capital: aristocratic families gain fame, and new rich people gain power.
Famous families have a long history and deep roots, but if their talent dwindles for several generations, they will gradually move away from the center of power. The Qi family is one of them. Among the three generations of the Qi family, only Qi's father entered the court, and he was a highly feared military attache. After the Qi Mansion was sealed this time, the Qi family existed in name only. However, although they have lost their real power, they still have their reputation, and even though the prominent families who have personal relations with the Qi family dare not support them openly, they always have a sense of control in their hearts.
The new rich are the absolute powerful families. Their rise has been short-lived, but they are full of talents, determined to innovate, and their future is limitless. If they can maintain prosperity for three generations, they will also join the ranks of aristocratic families. The Taiwei of the current Dynasty was one of the most famous representatives.
The first to take issue with this matter were the major aristocratic families that had deep connections with the Qi family.
Although the Qi family was defeated, their dignity still existed. This was not only a disgrace to his family, but also a disgrace to all aristocratic families.
As the saying goes, when one is prosperous, both are prosperous; when one is destroyed, both are destroyed. Aristocratic families must stick to their moral integrity until death.
To the famous family, Cao Xiang was just a nobody. If he wanted to marry Miss Qi as his wife, that would be it, but he dared to humiliate her as a concubine. With such arrogance, where will the name of the family be put
The Cao family's move seemed calm at first, allowing them to do whatever they wanted without anyone stopping them. But in fact, it has offended many aristocratic families, but the Qi family did not express their position, and it was inconvenient for them to say anything. Qi Surong counterattacked with a poem. His literary talent was brilliant, he lifted his weight with ease, his words were bloody, and he expressed his determination. He instantly gained support.
Four of the seven famous families in the capital expressed dissatisfaction with the Cao family.
Gu Jinyun's father also had some connections in the capital and secretly warned the Cao family.
At the same time, Wu Run, the in-law of the Cao family, was also impeached by the ministers. Although it was a small matter, it damaged his reputation.
The Cao family's industry has also been suppressed a lot, with Gu Jinyun being the hardest hit. Several shops in the Cao family were embezzled by him without leaving a trace.
Cao Xiang was even more disgraced and almost expelled from the academy.
One day not long after, his head was shaved off without anyone noticing in his sleep. Hidden away now, I didn't dare to show up in front of others for a long time.
The down-and-out family may have lost their rights, but they have fame and influence that ordinary people cannot imagine, even the unpopular Qi's father.
In the last life, the Qi family did not realize the power of the family and did not know how to deal with insults from others. Qi's father only knew how to show off his courage, while Su Rong only knew how to stand alone and aloof, and did not dare to fight back. In the end, he lost his support and became a nameless piece of loess.
The emperor could seize the Qi family's residence, but he could not erase the name of the family. It was precisely because of this that Qi Surong dared to seek survival and fame in the turbulent times.
As long as rights are not involved, the emperor will not interfere.
Before this, probably no one would have thought that a poem could have such a big impact.
That blood poem also got its name and was sung by the world.
Qi family.
"Miss, you use chicken blood to write poems, aren't you afraid of being discovered?" Ping'er asked worriedly.
"Don't worry, who has nothing to do to take a blood test?" Qi Surong said lightly, "Besides, isn't chicken blood blood? As long as it can scare people, it is good blood."
“…”