sjar Chapter 596: Teach Sister
Chapter 596: Teach Sister
Everyone said that she and Lu Xu were a perfect match, a handsome man and a beautiful woman, made in heaven. It was said that after Miss Shen Liu came out of mourning, the two met and liked each other very much, and were just waiting to get married as soon as Miss Shen Liu's three-year mourning period was over.
Yuan Qing said vaguely, "I do have this intention, but please don't spread it around. We don't know what will happen in the end."
"How could this happen?" Yuan Shan simply ignored his subsequent instructions, completely shocked. "Didn't they say they really liked each other? Why did they cancel the engagement?"
Yuan Qing took out the cotton-padded jacket from the backpack and changed the subject: "How come you have finished the cotton-padded jacket so early? It's not even hot yet."
"It's not cold yet, so buying cotton is not expensive. I can also take it home and dry it in the sun for a while, so it will be warm enough to wear in winter."
Yuan Shan's attention was indeed diverted, and she unfolded the cotton-padded jacket with him. "I'm also making the quilt. It should be done in a few days, but it still needs to be dried in the sun. If you feel cold at night, just cover yourself with the cotton-padded jacket."
Yuan Qing nodded and asked, "Have you made your cotton-padded clothes and quilts yet? Tell grandma that we must make a few new ones this year so we can stay warm through the winter."
"The cotton has been bought. Don't worry, it will be ready before the weather gets cold!" Yuan Shan was happy when she talked about this. Ever since her brother passed the imperial examination, life at home has been getting better and better.
Now she can have enough food to eat and warm clothes to wear. If she waits for another two years, she may not even have to work. Look at Lu Xu, who was as poor as their family before, but now he has a servant just a few months after passing the imperial examination!
After taking out the clothes, a small package of snacks wrapped in oil paper was revealed. She slapped her forehead in frustration and said, "Look at my memory. I almost forgot about this. These are the snacks that Sister Song Ying asked me to bring you."
Yuan Qing was stunned for a moment, a gentle light flashed in his eyes, and his voice softened unconsciously, "You went to Huichun Hall?"
Yuan Shan nodded vigorously. "Today, a wealthy businessman presented Sister Song Ying and the others with a banner. He was so generous, with 100 taels of silver alone! He also gave them coral, celadon medicine jars, and so on. I've never seen many of them before. Even the box is painted in gold. I wonder if the gold powder is made of real gold.
Oh, did Sister Song Ying tell you about the wealthy businessman's illness? It's so strange, can the soul really be split in two? Please tell me quickly, what's going on? Sister Song Ying is very busy and doesn't have time to explain it to me in detail.
Yuan Qing's head was buzzing with her series of questions. "I can't answer this for you. We haven't seen each other for a while."
"Is this true?" Yuan Shan was stunned. "You two live on East Street together, but you've never met each other?"
Yuan Qing nodded and said, "I've been reading in Zunjing Pavilion all this time, and I haven't even heard of the wealthy businessman you mentioned."
Yuan Shan opened her mouth wide. "Brother, you're too... focused on your studies, aren't you? Even if you didn't leave the county school, others should have. Didn't you hear a word from them?"
"No."
Yuan Shan suddenly became worried, "Brother, do the students in the county school look down on you and refuse to associate with you?"
Yuan Qing was stunned for a moment, then smiled.
"What are you thinking about? Will your brother be bullied easily?" He shook his head in amusement, and facing his sister's worried look, he had to reveal a little.
"The atmosphere in the county school is not good. I want to finish reading the books in the Zunjing Pavilion as soon as possible, then ask for leave from the teachers and go out to study under the pretext of traveling."
"Bad atmosphere?"
"After the instructor left, many people openly played mahjong in Minglun Hall, and the instructors often hid in their rooms to play."
Yuan Shan was stunned, "This is too bold!"
Yuan Qing raised his eyebrows and thought to himself that there were even more daring people who could even bring girls from brothels into the dormitory.
After the shock, Yuan Shan became even more worried. "But there's no academy in Qingshui County that teaches students. Where can you go to study after leaving the county school?"
"Studying at the county school is nothing more than revisiting the Four Books and Five Classics and Zhu Xi's commentaries, just like studying at Jiahu Academy. A gentleman's learning is about self-satisfaction. If one only works hard when others urge them on, how can one last? Ultimately, study requires one's own dedication."
Yuan Shan felt a headache when she heard these flowery words. She hurriedly said, "Brother, if you have any ideas, that's fine. So why did Mr. Lu and Miss Shen Liu break off their engagement?"
Yuan Qing: "..."
Why did it come back again?
This time, Yuan Shan was not as easy to fool as before. He tried to change the subject several times but failed, so he had to confide something:
"Brother Lu went to the Shen Mansion to visit some elders and happened to run into the Shen sisters arguing. From their words, he learned that Miss Shen Liu had disliked him because he was a poor scholar and refused to agree to the marriage."
Yuan Shan suddenly understood, "So Mr. Lu felt that Miss Shen Liu looked down on him, and later agreed to the marriage because his family had fallen on hard times and he had no better options. He wasn't truly attracted to him, so he was sad and wanted to cancel the engagement, right?"
Yuan Qing frowned, feeling very worried. His sister was not a girl who had been raised in seclusion and was ignorant of the world. How could she be so simple-minded and be led by the nose so easily?
Meeting his gaze, Yuan Shan scratched her head suspiciously, "Isn't that the case?"
"Have you ever considered that this is probably what Brother Lu wants the world to think?"
"What?" Yuan Shan was a little confused. "Miss Shen Liu isn't being snobbish. Is it Master Lu who wants to break up the marriage and deliberately slander her?"
"That's not the case. Brother Lu is not that kind of person."
Yuan Shan was getting more and more confused. "Then why are you looking at me like that? Miss Shen Liu is scornful of the poor and loves the rich, and her character is not good. So there's nothing wrong with Master Lu wanting to cancel the engagement, right?"
Yuan Qing sighed, "If poverty were truly a good thing, why would so many rich and poor people in this world be so eager to pursue wealth? The poor seek wealth, and the rich seek nobility. This is what Sima Qian called 'human nature.'
"Miss Shen Liu had never met Brother Lu before. When she was choosing her marriage, she wanted to pick someone from a better family. What's wrong with that?"
Yuan Shan scratched her head, feeling that it made some sense, but also felt something was wrong. "But in the stories and operas we've heard since we were young, aren't people who despise the poor and love the rich always despised?"
"Miss Shen Liu and Brother Lu had no connection in writing poems on red leaves, nor did they have a childhood friendship. She certainly didn't give up her old love for other wealthy young men. How can she be compared to the unfaithful people in the opera?"
After a pause, he continued, "If you were her, would you be willing?"
Yuan Shan glanced outside and saw that there was no one, so she whispered, "I don't want to. His mother's personality is so difficult to get along with, and I like handsome men and want to wear beautiful clothes.
Brother, you must work hard. I don’t know how to play the piano, chess, calligraphy, or painting, and I’m not a beauty. I can only find a husband like you through family background.”