Zhulan saw Qi's eyes and signaled Qingxue and the others to go down, "Go ahead and talk."
Even though all the maids in the room had gone down, Qi still whispered, "I went to the palace to see Concubine Ran a few days ago. She asked me to bring you a message when I have time. Princess Aruna asked her about your granddaughter."
Zhulan stirred her handkerchief, "Thank you."
"There's no need for our two families to be polite. Anyway, now the grassland tribe only has the marquis left, and he still has the title but no power. This is a perverse thought."
Qi didn't say anything extra. She knew that Yang was aware that if several grassland marquises wanted to gain a foothold in the capital and avoid being swallowed up, marriage was the best way.
Zhulan, "If you have any evil intentions, you should hurry up and invite a good teacher to teach your children. They can only learn literature and not martial arts in the future."
He laughed again as he said this, "Look at what I said, who would teach their children among these well-known gentlemen?"
Qi, "... "
Yang said everything, with a strong sarcastic tone, which was really pleasant to the ear.
What Zhulan said was not an exaggeration. A scholar with integrity would definitely not accept the invitation. Several grassland marquises wanted their sons to study literature, so they would probably ask the emperor to help find an academy.
As people arrived one after another, Tao asked, "Now that everyone is here, don't hide the painting. Take it out and let us see it."
Zhulan motioned Qingxue to get the paintings. "Both paintings were painted by my eldest son-in-law. One is a snow scene, and the other is titled "Bitterness."
Tao became even more curious, "Why is the name "Bitterness"
"You'll know when you see it."
As Zhulan spoke, she glanced at Liu. Lord Yu's wife was pretty, with a dimple that added a lot of points when she smiled. Her smile was very comfortable, and you could tell at first glance that she loved to laugh.
Qingxue took the paintings, and the two maids carefully placed them on the long table. The first one they looked at was the snow scene. These two paintings were given by the son-in-law when he was conferred the title of marquis.
The Tao family members like to worship Buddha. "This painting was painted in Huguo Temple, right? This mountain is Fengling."
Zhulan nodded, "Yes, my eldest daughter went to worship Buddha, and my eldest son-in-law drew it while waiting."
Tao couldn't let it go, "If I ask you to give it up, will you?"
"Don't dream, this is a gift from my son-in-law who is a marquis."
Tao really liked it. She often went to worship Buddha. After looking at this painting for a long time, she could feel her heart calm. "With your son-in-law's momentum, he will become a master sooner or later."
Zhulan said: "He is still far from it."
But in his heart, he agreed with Tao's words that Jiang Sheng would go down in history sooner or later.
Liu comes from a family of scholars, her mother's home is also in Dingzhou. She has been proficient in music, chess, calligraphy and painting since she was a child. She has also heard that Zhou Hou's eldest son-in-law is a good painter. Today, she sees that his painting skills are more than good. Some people have painting skills but no soul. This painting already has soul, but there are still many places that need to be improved.
When the second painting is brought up, everyone knows why it is called "Bitterness". It shows a little girl rummaging through a haystack and finding a few rice grains. The little girl does not look happy, but instead has a frown on her face and one hand on her stomach.
Zhulan has different feelings every time she looks at it. According to the sun in the painting, there should be smoke rising from the village, but there is no smoke rising from the farmers' houses in the background. Why are there always children playing in the village in winter, but now there is not a single child.
Qi felt unhappy. She had been living a life of luxury since she was born. Even during the war, she had never been hungry. She only heard from her master that there was a shortage of food this year and the people were suffering. She also heard that many people had starved to death in some states.
Tao asked, "Is this true?"
Zhulan, "Well, Jiang Sheng only paints what he sees, and that's true."
This is a village near the capital. The harvest this year is low, and the people near the capital have to tighten their belts to make ends meet, not to mention the poor states. The eldest granddaughter's tone was heavy when she wrote back.
Tao moved her lips but didn't utter the last word.
Liu suddenly spoke up, "When I was shopping before the New Year, I saw someone throwing children in front of a shop. I don't know what happened to these children."
Zhulan knew, "These children are in East City, and the court has found a maid to take care of them."
These old women are not ordinary old women. The palace maids will leave the palace when they reach a certain age. Many of them leave the palace, but many of them stay in the palace. Some of them do not want to get married and think it is good to stay in the palace all their lives, while others have a den of wolves at home. Except for a few who have climbed up to the top and gained power, most of them are helpless in their old age.
Then they were used to take care of abandoned children, but in order to prevent people with food from abandoning their children to get free food and drink, the policy was not advertised in propaganda newspapers.
Song thought for a moment and said, "The servants in the mansion have a lot of old clothes that can be donated, as well as food."
Zhulan, "Madam Ning is very kind."
Because it cannot be publicized, the government now supports everything. Shu Ren has been keeping a close eye on it and prevents any embezzlement. Now that there are more and more children, life is becoming difficult.
Because of a painting, I got a lot of supplies.
Zhulan found an opportunity to chat with Liu, "I'm also here for the lantern riddle guessing competition. Second Master Yu is better than those brats in my family."
Liu said hurriedly: "He is just lucky. If the young master of the Zhou family was involved, there would be no chance for him."
She was still very clear-headed. Her husband said that the young master of the Zhou family did not participate not because he was afraid of embarrassment, but because he did not want to be in the spotlight, although he had to be in the spotlight because of the conflict with the Wen family.
Zhulan smiled, "You are just too modest."
"This is not modesty. I have my own son, and I know him very well. Maybe because he is young, everyone treats him like a child and gives him some leniency!"
Zhulan motioned for Liu to have some snacks, and then said, "I heard that the Yu family usually gets married late. Second Master Yu is already sixteen years old, and he still hasn't found a girlfriend?"
Liu pondered the meaning of this, and seeing that Lady Zhou seemed to be chatting about family matters, she dispelled her doubts, "I haven't seen him yet."
If she could say that the Yu family didn't want to marry a princess, she really wanted to explain that the Yu family didn't have such an intention, and neither did the royal family.
Qi listened with her ears pricked up, feeling very sorry. She thought the Yu family was good, but unfortunately her daughter said that the emperor meant the princess was still young. What did young mean? It just meant that the emperor didn't have that idea.
In the afternoon, guests left one after another, taking away the Zhou family's more famous dim sum, which were Li's most proud dim sum.
In the evening, Zhulan and Shuren talked about donating food and old clothes. Zhou Shuren stroked his beard and said, "This is the predecessor of the orphanage."
"Yes, there are also some war orphans. Last year, many families lost their breadwinners. Women who remarried without children can be taken care of together. If this is really a mini ice age, adults won't be able to support themselves, let alone children. Children are the future."
After a pause, he continued, "Moreover, unified education is aimed at becoming a talent. Children learn to read and write, and this is passed down from generation to generation. As more people learn to read, their minds will be more open."
Is there any faster way than brainwashing children? There is no need to brainwash anything else. As long as children are deeply aware of the importance of knowledge, they will educate their own children to learn knowledge in the future.
Zhou Shuren, "I need to think about it carefully."
"Um."
The next day, Chang Yi met the prince of Ogehou at the Ministry of Rites. He suspected that he had heard wrongly and asked to confirm, "Do you want to become my disciple?"