Located in Yique, west of the city, there is an inconspicuous courtyard house.
This house is long-lasting and has been in existence for more than 30 years.
The Li family is the most ordinary family. They are all from the imperial city for three generations and live in this courtyard.
The old house is square and not very big, with two entrances and two exits in a regular pattern, with blue tiles and white walls.
The outer courtyard is also the front yard, which is not as big as the inner courtyard. Excluding the gate, there are four inverted rooms, and the main hall is in the middle. They are all places for men to come and go to meet friends and entertain guests. Prosperous families are usually full.
But right now the Li family has few heirs, the population is sparse, and there are no servants in his family, so the residence is naturally more than enough.
After the Chuihua Gate is the inner house, the place where the female relatives live. There are five large rooms in the main room, one in the middle is used as the main room, or a place to do some needlework when you have nothing to do, or a place to treat female guests, and the remaining four rooms are for rest. The bedroom, and a small ear room on the left and right.
From the connecting corridor, there are east and west wings, each with three rooms, the east wing is occupied by people, and the west wing is still empty.
The three generations of the Li family lived in the same place from top to bottom. The population is not large, and in the eyes of others, it may even be a little withered.
Mrs. Li went there a few years ago, and now Mrs. Li's Sun family is the oldest in the family.
Sun has given birth to four children in this life, but only one male, and the remaining three are daughters.
Fortunately, Sun's luck was very good, she entered the door and was pregnant, and the first child was a son when she was pregnant in October. Because she was happy to have a unicorn child, she was not tortured by her mother-in-law. Although she gave birth to three daughters in succession in the next few years, she only suffered verbal complaints a few times.
After the father-in-law and mother-in-law passed away, the Sun family will be the master of the family.
The only son was named Li Baode, and when he was seventeen years old, he married his wife Bai.
The next three daughters were also married every other year.
It is also said that when Mrs. Bai married into the Li family, the first child was also a son. This is naturally a great joy. Mrs. Bai originally thought that it would be good to have another son. Unexpectedly, this matter seems to be a definite number. After a few years, Later, only two daughters were born.
Although somewhat disappointing, the Li family has several generations of single-pass precedents, and it will be easy to think about it after a long time.
It's just for outsiders to watch, that is, the Li family's incense is not strong, the number of offspring is thin, and it is somewhat lacking in blessings.
Nowadays, many people like to choose a family with a prosperous population when they get married.
Mrs. Sun is in her early fifties, with a few strands of silver on her temples. At this age, the old lady is most satisfied with two things. A kid who can read.
The only grandson of the Li family, named Li Chengze, is now twenty years old and has reached the age of marriage. The Sun family has been paying attention to each other since he was sixteen years old. There are dozens of them, but they have not been settled until now.
But it turned out that Li Chengze was sent to study since he was a child, and at some point he began to think highly of himself, and now he looks a little arrogant, looking up to the sky, and looking down on ordinary people.
He has his own thoughts in his heart, but he is extremely impatient with the women that Mrs. Sun and Mrs. Bai showed him, and he said that they are all vulgar and unworthy wives.
As the only child in the family, Li Cheng was spoiled since he was a child, but Li Cheng is always self-centered and a person with great ideas. The second is the only scholar in the family, so the one at home has a lot of status.
When he grows up, everyone in the family discusses with him about major and minor matters. After years, the right to speak is not insignificant.
He looked down on girls from ordinary families and didn't want to get married. Sun and Bai didn't dare to decide the marriage of their grandson and son even if they were so anxious that they were full of flames.
So the delay dragged on until the age of twenty.
In the winter of last year, Mrs. Bai tentatively mentioned Li Chengze's marriage again. She said that Mrs. Sun took a fancy to a girl, a very good girl, and her family opened a restaurant in Dongque. Ding Xingwang, that girl looks like she is blessed to have children.
The Li family has only one seedling, so they are particularly fond of offspring. They love those families with many brothers, and think that the girls of such families are not bad, so they don't worry about not having sons.
As usual, Li Chengze frowned when he heard this, his expression was not very good.
I feel contemptuous in my heart, thinking that my grandmother is really short-sighted, he is a scholar, how can those craftsmen and small merchants be worthy of him.
However, although I was dissatisfied, but because I have always maintained my identity and dignity as a scholar, I will not speak harshly to my family.
He just pretended to explain: "Grandmother, my grandson will have a test in the spring of next year. If he passes the examination as a scholar and raises his status, wouldn't it be better to talk about marriage?"
Li Cheng doesn't care about his internal knowledge, how much he has, as long as he shows himself on the outside, his homework knowledge is very good.
Over the years, everyone in the Li family naturally thinks that his son and grandson are excellent people, and he will definitely pass the entrance exam next year.
Now that the grandson is growing up, seeing that most of his peers marry wives and have children, but his family is still struggling to settle down, Old Lady Li, who wanted to hold a grandson for a long time, will not get angry.
Li Cheng didn't cooperate, and used many excuses to prevaricate his family. In fact, he didn't need to coax him too much, but Xiao himself put on an unhappy face, and said that he had to take the Zhongxiu exam first, and finally draw a big cake, talking about his future fame. What kind of lady from an official family can't be hired? At that time, his Li family will really change the family, and it will no longer be a small family of ordinary people.
Li Chengze has no other skills. He boasted that these free-for-nothing words are just a set of tricks, which made an uninformed old lady dizzy, her eyes straightened, and she believed that his eldest grandson was a hundred years old. A rare Wenqu star.
Mrs. Sun patted her chest straight, thinking yes, she is so confused, how could she casually match her grandson with a daughter from a small family, wouldn't this cut off her grandson's future!
Mrs. Li was persuaded by her grandson, and now she thinks about the girls she met before, and she is not satisfied anywhere.
Looking up at the grandson again, the smile on his face changed completely, "Grandma's heart and soul, it's because grandma didn't think carefully, which almost delayed you! Don't worry, I will let your mother push this matter back." Now, you can just study with peace of mind, and wait until you are selected as a scholar!"
Li Cheng was satisfied, and said something to make the old lady happy, and then left under the pretext of warming up the book.
The old lady had an air of kindness in front of her grandson, but once Li Cheng left, her daughter-in-law Bai Shi was left in the house, and she vented her anger on Bai Shi.
"Stupid woman with shallow eyesight! Cheng Rijie'er talked nonsense in my ear, which caused me to almost delay Ze'er, you ignorant, fortunately my good grandson has a steelyard in his heart, otherwise I will call you harm , you are still a mother!"
He muttered a few words in broken pieces, put on a black face, and completely forgot that he was the one who wanted to marry Li Chengze most at the beginning.
Bai's temperament is weak, so he dared to contradict her mother-in-law, obediently listened to the training, admitted her mistake again, and the matter was over.
The only grandson of the Li family is naturally not at home during the day, and is going to a private school.
Mr. Lin is well-known in the west of the city, he is a lord who raises people, when he reached the age of knowing his destiny, his children and grandchildren have grown up, so he stopped thinking about taking the exam again, and only opened a school at home to accept some students.
Nowadays, there are quite a few scholars who open private schools at home, and there are several in the west of the city alone, but most of them are elderly scholars who have failed many times in scientific examinations, knowing that they cannot make further progress in the field of fame, so they simply gave up Find another way out.
Besides, the master Juren received Shuxiu, which was not cheap, ten taels a year, which did not include the three festivals and two rites of respect for filial piety.
I don't mention the money that will be used for the future examination and closing the account, but only the pen, ink, paper and inkstone that will be used, as well as the expenses for eating, clothing and making friends abroad. as easy as that.
Take the Li family as an example. His family is a local, and they live in a house that is not bad in the eyes of ordinary people. The family property accumulated over several generations is now mainly relying on this to live on. The land is leased out every year, and some rent is collected, which is enough for the family to eat.
Compared with ordinary poor families, the Li family is quite rich, but because the family raised a scholar and lived in the middle of the capital, the year-round human contacts are indispensable, and there are expenses everywhere, so it is barely enough.
Just look at the fact that the Li family doesn't even invite a maid who does laundry and sweeping.
Li's family was not a farming and studying family, and they lived a prosperous life. They never expected to have a scholar in the family, let alone an official.
Let’s not mention it, let’s just say that the old man who passed away a few years ago and Li Baode, who is now the head of the family, only went to school for two years when they were young. Literacy is not a problem, and there are more. What a difference.
When it came to Li Chengze, he entered the school at the age of eight, and he was not Lin Juren, but a scholar, and Shu Xiu was worth two taels of silver.
After three years of learning, the Li family felt that it was enough, and Li Baode also planned to take his son back and take him with him to teach him how to manage the fields.
However, Li Cheng didn't follow him anymore. He had a lot of thoughts. Although he was not very old at that time, he had already been spoiled by that thoughtful Confucian scholar. Gradually developed a pair of snobbish eyes.
The Li family has never had anyone who can read in several lifetimes, and they didn't even think about it. They were sent to study only so that their children and grandchildren would not be blinded, and they could take care of the little family property left by their ancestors.
Li Chengze's behavior of crying and asking to continue going to school surprised everyone, and then the child said that he wanted to study and get a good grade, which shocked his grandparents.
There was only one seedling in the family, and it was a good thing that he asked to study on his own initiative. At that time, Grandpa Li agreed to let his grandson continue to study without much hesitation. A year later, he gave Li Chengze a better one. My husband is now Lin Juren.
Li Cheng knew how to coax the adults in his family since he was a child. He had a serious eye and a good temper. He had already planned what he wanted and wanted to do. Therefore, he was very cautious in his marriage and refused to compromise at all. .
After persuading his grandmother and meeting with friends a few times, Li Cheng calmed down and read the books a few times. A person like him is the most face-saving, and he is used to bragging outside, but it is not true that there is no ink in his chest. No, after all, I have been studying for many years, and I am arrogant and pretentious, pointing to the imperial examination to be an official!
After studying for several months, a year has passed, and spring has ushered in.
Li Cheng was about to leave, so he didn't have to worry about the preparations before the exam. Sun's mother-in-law and Bai's daughter-in-law should make proper arrangements, lest he would be disturbed by these trivial matters.
Steadily sent Li Chengze into the examination room.
After several days of exams, when all the dust settles, naturally some families will be happy and some will be sad.
But I didn't expect that Li Chengze was really lucky. Once the results were released on the red list, his name was also included!
Passed the county examination, government examination, and hospital examination smoothly, and became a scholar!
Although the ranking is low, this is already a great joy for the Li family!
Ancestors bless!
For a while, the Li family was bustling with people, and the neighbors came to congratulate them. After a few days, the three married ladies of the Li family returned to their natal homes one after another.
There was a big happy event in her natal family, and their faces were also bright, and they were more confident in front of their husband's family.
There is only one thing, the aunt of the Li family saw her nephew taking a fancy to a scholar, and at the same time she was overjoyed, but at the same time, she couldn't help but feel a little cautious. For nothing else, she has two daughters who have not left the court, the eldest girl is sixteen, and the second girl is fifteen. , are at the same age as Hua Guduo, the aunt was already discussing marriage with her daughter, and she had a candidate in her heart, so she just had to make a decision.
This time, she suddenly received the news that her nephew had been selected as a scholar, so she had other thoughts.
The aunt had heard her nephew say that her nephew could read books before, but she didn't listen to her very much at that time, and she even didn't care much. The child is still white when he is an octogenarian, not to mention wasting a lot of money for nothing, and it is even more troublesome for his parents, wife and children for a lifetime.
Besides, the Li family has never had a scholar in several lifetimes, so there is no such saying at all. She is afraid that the old lady is bragging, or she is being coaxed by that kid. The cost of going to school is a bottomless pit, so don't use up the Li family's wealth in the end.
There are many thoughts in her mind, but the eldest aunt is not a fool, so she will not really say these words to offend my wife and Bai Shi for nothing.
But now the situation has changed drastically. Her nephew really won the prize of a scholar! As a result, the aunt's mind suddenly came alive. The nephew has never promised to marry her, and her two daughters are not married. Wouldn't it be great if she could persuade her mother to make a kiss
If the nephew can make further progress in the future, even if he is a master, then his family is lucky!
The more she thought about it, the more excited she got, the eldest aunt tidied up immediately, took her two daughters, hired a bullock cart and went back to her mother's house.
The Li family was overjoyed, chose a good day, set up two tables of wine, and invited relatives, friends and neighbors to have a drink. After the excitement, they gradually calmed down.
On this day, during the noon free time, the eldest aunt accompanied Mrs. Li to talk in the room, and took the opportunity to bring up the matter.
Mrs. Li didn't make a sound after hearing this, her eyelids were half drooped, she opened her mouth after a while, and said, "This is not going to happen, it's not that my mother didn't agree on purpose, it's just that your nephew has a charter in his heart, he is a scholar, maybe The gentleman who is a classmate outside may want to be a matchmaker with him, but we can’t make the decision indiscriminately, so as not to ruin our own plan.”
Mrs. Li spoke fiercely, and to put it bluntly, she was naturally not afraid of embarrassing her daughter.
And what kind of family is the eldest daughter's family? It just runs an oil paper shop. How can it be worthy of a grandson
The eldest aunt's face was ugly for a moment, but fortunately she adjusted it back quickly, but she was unhappy in the end, feeling that her mother's family looked down on others, and her nephew had only just passed the exam as a scholar, and her eyes grew to the top of her head.
What the eldest aunt said to Mrs. Li, the second aunt pretended not to know, but in fact she had already guessed the general idea in her heart, and she was very mocking, thinking that his eldest sister was still as ignorant as ever.
Not only the aunts and wives, but since Li Chengze was selected as a scholar, the matchmakers have come to the door several times, and in the end Sun Shi declined them one by one.
Bai Shi stood aside and didn't speak, but felt a little pity in his heart.
Half a month later, Mrs. Sun couldn't sit still anymore, and was about to call her grandson over and ask him if he had any plans in mind, and which girl he fell in love with, so that he could go to propose marriage.
However, before he could ask, Li Chengze went home first and told a news that shocked the whole family.
"Grandmother, father, mother, our family is going to marry the Mingdehou Mansion!"