Lady of the Lord From the East

It was also not long after he was appointed, and Felix succeeded the earl for only a short period of one year, but for the territorial people, he was different from Father Matthew. Even if the count was only in office for one day, they would not dare to confront him or even choke.

That's not trying to get benefits for yourself, that's courting death.

Therefore, after seeing Felix coming, the people who were still surrounding Father Matthew to speak in various ways immediately lost their voices, and when Felix asked them with sharp eyes and anger, what they wanted to do, These people dare not look up.

After a long while, someone in the crowd said, "We just want to ask the priest to teach the children to learn... Obviously they can all learn in the church..."

They naturally meant the group of little serfs who lived in the church.

Others have long been dissatisfied with this, but because of the castle's order, these children's daily routines are very stable, and they will not easily contact other people, otherwise they are afraid of causing a lot of trouble.

Probably because he thought it was safer to hide in the crowd, and only those who spoke out dared to speak. His statement was also recognized by everyone. Although the others did not speak, their expressions were similar.

But when Felix's gaze followed the voice, the person who spoke immediately dared not say any more, and even avoided Felix's gaze, hiding behind the people around him, trying to hide himself.

If he angered the count, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Felix did not investigate who was speaking, and what the other party said was not wrong, but the Count's majesty could not be provoked.

"I arranged them here. If you have any questions, you can come to me directly, instead of besieging an old man here."

The people wanted to say that they had no plans to besiege the priest, but under Felix's eyes, no one dared to refute at this time.

Felix is ​​indeed a little angry. Although he doesn't have a good opinion of the church, he has to say that Father Matthew is a truly respected and knowledgeable priest. His words and deeds are in line with what a true clergyman should look like, and he has never been in the territory. Even if he is not close enough, Felix has some feelings for Father Matthew that belong to relatives and friends.

Therefore, seeing Father Matthew's surrounded face so ugly that he almost fainted, it is impossible to say that he is not angry.

And the price of his anger is naturally to be paid by these subjects.

He felt that he had been too kind before to make these people too bold.

"In view of your behavior this time, I will not provide you with food for the last month of hard labor."

That is, a salary deduction in disguise.

No food for a month? The faces of the territorial people changed. Now it is different from before. In the past, when they served, they had no food and could only prepare it themselves. Now everyone is used to eating the food prepared by the earl. How much food was saved was suddenly cut off, and the people immediately began to feel distressed about the rations they needed to prepare next.

But no one refuted Felix's decision. They were very afraid that if they refuted at this time and made the Count angry again, it would not only be a month without food.

The Count's order is unquestionable. When he said the punishment, the servants he brought arranged to wait for the registration of the list of the territorial people who came this time. Some of the territorial people wanted to sneak away, but they saw the surrounding people staring at them. Soldier, in the end did not dare to move.

A group of people cried and grimaced, feeling sorry for the food they saved, but also strongly disappointed that they could not send their children to study.

Originally, they had given up on sending their children to school, but they did not expect to hear a soft female voice suddenly.

"We will arrange other things for learning."

Following the voice, they saw the countess walking out of the church.

Wei Wei gave Father Matthew an injection, and then prescribed medicine for Kama to prepare. After confirming that Father is now in stable condition, she left Penny to take care of him and come out to see the situation.

Just overheard Felix's punishment after scolding someone.

She also didn't agree with the behavior of these people, so she frowned when she spoke. The always gentle countess didn't look gentle at all at this time, and even had an uneasy majesty.

"Actually, we are already preparing for this event. Even if you don't come, we will make arrangements, and you shouldn't have come to disturb the priest." She looked around, her tone indifferent: "The priest is very old. Big, your behavior just now almost made him faint, I think everyone should understand the consequences of an old man fainting suddenly because of emotional agitation."

Not to mention in this era, even after many elderly people in later generations suddenly fainted, they may never wake up again, and the behavior of the people was tantamount to trying to murder an elderly person.

And that was a bishop who stepped down from his position as a cardinal. He was the highest cleric in Sardinson County. No matter how approachable he usually seemed, he was also a high-level figure in the church, the kind who could run for the Pope!

If something happens to him, even Felix will be condemned by the church, not to mention these ordinary people. If one is not badly beaten as a heretic, no one can save them.

The residents, who were slowly reacting, were afraid after a while. The original dissatisfaction in their hearts can be said to have completely disappeared, and there is only regret left, regretting coming here.

Not only did he fail to achieve his goal, he was punished by the count and deducted a month's labor rations, and he was even accused of persecuting priests.

"Father Matthew, how is he?"

Seeing her come out, Felix asked everyone's heart.

"The situation is relatively stable, but it will take some time to rest." Speaking of this Wei Wei is also a little worried, Father Matthew himself is quite old at this time, and the medical conditions at this time are limited, a lot of physical conditioning His argument is even wrong. He has never done any special physical conditioning in this area before, so his body is not very good. He has no major problems, but there are a lot of small problems. .

So she is particularly disgusted with the behavior of these people now.

Knowing that letting the little serfs study here is the meaning of the castle, but instead of going to them to discuss it, he came to the priest, isn't it just relying on the priest to talk.

Being stared at by her gaze, this group of troubled citizens no longer dared to raise their heads. They turned into quails one by one, only daring to stare at the ground without making a sound.

She was not in the mood to continue fighting with these people. The priest was still waiting for her to arrange. Now that Felix has made a judgment, she will not participate in the rest.

However, I looked at the children who were brought by their parents, old and young. At this time, they were looking at the adults around them at a loss, many of them were ignorant and scared, and they obviously didn't understand what happened. thing.

In the end, it was because of them that he softened a bit. Wei Wei finally said, "Let them go back after registration. I will send someone to deal with the problem of these children going to school tomorrow."

Although there is no escape from punishment, these words undoubtedly gave everyone a reassurance, knowing that the Count and Madam did not allow their children to learn.

So the people who had regretted it didn't have any objection, and waited obediently to register.

They can leave after registration, but before leaving, these people still put some of the things they brought at the door of the church as compensation and apology to the priest.

The soldiers guarding the door of the church did not stop this behavior, but it was time to tell the two masters.

Since it was given to the priest, they naturally wouldn't move, so it's up to the priest to arrange it.

Father Matthew almost fell into a coma because of a moment of excitement. After a short rest, he recovered. He drank the soup that Wei Wei asked Karma to boil, and his spirit became better.

Wei Wei stayed in the church to take care of the priest when Felix returned to the castle.

After he finished drinking the medicine and determined that the effect of the medicine was on, Wei Wei gave him a pulse and said, "Your current physical condition is not suitable for you to work hard. You should rest in the castle for a while, and you need to stop for a while. ."

After making sure that Father Matthew would not instill (baptize) the children with (brain) teachings, Wei Wei no longer resented him teaching them.

And the priest's own knowledge reserve and teaching ability are indeed excellent. Even if he is a good teacher who can be a professor in a university, it is a bit underpowered to teach basic courses to children.

The priest's face was still a little bad at this time. Hearing the concern in Wei Wei's tone, he nodded with a smile and agreed with her arrangement. He knew his own body, and he wanted to live a few more years.

But after agreeing, the priest's brows furrowed again: "Those children, what do you plan to do?"

He actually wants to accept those children who want to study. In his opinion, the church itself has the responsibility of disseminating knowledge. When he was still a low-ranking clergyman, the priest taught many students. These students ranged from nobles to commoners, and most of them were Became an excellent missionary, he never thought that knowledge belonged only to the nobility.

It is a pity that Sardinson County itself is not an area with strong church power. He is the only priest in the entire church. Although the three towns in the county also have their own churches, there is also only one person in charge. The church in Simburg is still small, and the number of students it can teach is even more limited.

And he helped teach the more than 200 children now, it is very difficult, and he really can't accept it, and he is powerless.

"Don't worry, I have arranged it so that they will have the opportunity to learn."

Hearing what she said, Father Matthew was really no longer worried. He stretched his brows, accepted the effect of tranquility in the decoction with peace of mind, and quickly fell asleep.

When she walked out of the priest's room with soft footsteps, Wei Wei wondered if she should add some more staff to the church. Although she didn't like the church, if it was raised by Father Matthew and originally belonged to a missionary in Sardinson County, As long as it doesn't grow crooked, it shouldn't affect the development here, and it is impossible for Father Matthew to stay in this position all the time. They need a church successor that is beneficial to the territory.

The kind that can be faithful to the faith, but not the church.

Wei Wei felt that if it was a successor taught by Father Matthew, it should be no problem if he added some Aijun thoughts during the growth process, not to mention that even church members need support from nobles behind them.

She thought about things and left the room - the priest is temporarily not suitable for moving, so it is better to stay in the church to rest - just about to find her maid, she encountered a group of children who couldn't hide in the corner of the corridor.

It was the little serfs who lived in the church. Wei Wei glanced at them, all of them were familiar, most of them were children who had appeared on the talent list.

The boy headed seems to be named Hank?

The children who met her panicked, but did not forget to salute. The boys bent over and the girls lifted the corners of their skirts, bowing their heads and calling out, "Good afternoon, Countess."

"Good afternoon." Wei Wei nodded and asked curiously, "What are you doing here?"

"Let's see the priest." The children asked her boldly: "Madam, is the priest sick? Is it serious?"

Recently, the work of handling sugar beets at the castle has been handed over to the newly arrived slaves. These children have not been spared, and they have been assigned other jobs to assist the steward in the management of household registration to check the old and new data, and to calculate the number of residents this year. The poll tax taught is not difficult, but it requires a certain foundation of writing and arithmetic, and enough patience. Although they are newbies, they work hard one by one. According to the report of the responsible steward, they are doing well. Help They are quite busy.

The children’s work is affirmed, and they are naturally more active in their work. Although the courses on the church side are still continuing, because the accounting work needs to be completed as soon as possible, the daily teaching time has been reduced, and it has become two classes in the afternoon. , one word and one count, there are two lessons in total. In addition, every morning when they get up, they will practice swordsmanship with the knight servants sent by the castle for an hour. After that, before returning to class in the afternoon, these children are not in the church, but in the They were working in the castle, so they didn't know what happened in the church before.

It was only when I came back to class that I found out that Father Matthew had an accident.

As the child's caregiver and teacher, Father Matthew's position in their hearts is second only to the earl and his wife and two maids. They were very worried when they heard that this kind old man had an accident, but they were told that they could not disturb him after rest. , Most of the people came to visit according to their thoughts. After a lot of competition, Hank, the children who learned well and were often praised, grabbed the right to visit the priest on behalf of all the members.

"It's not serious, but it does need a good rest, so I'm afraid he won't be able to teach you classes for a long time."

Hank and others immediately said: "We don't care, the priest's body is the most important!"

The worry in the children's eyes was very sincere, and it was obvious that they were really worried about the priest, which warmed Wei Wei's heart.

"The priest has already drank the medicine and fell asleep. I'm afraid I can't accept your visit today. You can visit him next time."

She said so, and although it was regrettable, the children nodded obediently and prepared to leave.

"etc."

Wei Wei stopped them: "You go and call the other children to the church hall, I have something to say."

"Good lady."

The children looked at each other and hurried to call.

Their speed was very fast. After Wei Wei went to find the maid and arranged for someone to stay in the church tonight to take care of the priest to bring the hall, it was already full of people.

The changes of these children are the same every day. When they were just bought, most of them were skinny and skinny, their hair was messy like straw, their clothes were scanty, and their bodies were dirty like rolling through a mud puddle, bending over. The hunchback avoids the eyes of other people, like a kitten abandoned by the mother cat and despised by humans.

But now they wear clean clothes, no matter how good they are, and their hair is neatly combed. The little girl who loves beauty even wears wild flowers picked from the roadside for herself, because they eat well and exercise properly (follow the soldiers Sword training), the body has grown flesh, and the stature has become a lot taller. The standing posture specially taught during training makes them look tall and straight, and they are full of energy and comfortable to watch.

However, the children who were waiting for the countess to come and speak were a little uneasy, and they gathered together to discuss in a low voice what the countess would say later.

Clearly because of what happened today, although it didn't happen directly, the kids also knew that the rest of the realm had a strong opinion that only they could learn in church.

So most of their anxiety stems from this.

"Will Madam not let us continue our studies?"

This problem is what all children are worried about. It is true that some children are not very gifted in learning, but they are willing to study hard, because these children are very clear that it is precisely because they have more luck than others that they can learn these things. , so that they don't have to work hard to support themselves like other serfs, but can comfortably work with a pile of documents in the castle without going out to the sun and rain.

This kind of life was something they didn't even dare to imagine in the past. In their conception, only nobles and wealthy decent people could do work. Now, they seem to have become such decent people.

And the reason is just because they were lucky enough to be bought by the Earl couple and had the opportunity to study.

It's not that there are no children who have become elated because of this different treatment from other serfs, thinking they are special, and even have a sense of superiority, but this sense of superiority did not last long, because regardless of the learning system set by the countess. , or the admonition that Qin specially said during class time, telling them that they were not selected because of special reasons, but they just happened to have more luck than others.

And this luck is not lasting. Their lords value their learning ability. If they don’t have enough talent, they must at least have enough effort. People who don’t study hard will not have no food, because they will also bear a part of it. Work, and work is their source of food, but only conscientious and high-achieving children are rewarded, and adults who teach and care for them are significantly more inclined to such children.

"If you don't work hard enough, maybe someone will take your place here one day."

This was the admonition that Jean gave in front of everyone when she noticed the change in the children's mentality.

"Our masters need people who can work for them. They don't support you for nothing. If you don't meet their requirements, you are likely to be eliminated."

As for what it will be like after being eliminated, Qin didn't say, but the children only need to think about the serfs who toiled in the fields.

That kind of life was acceptable to them in the past. After all, before they became serfs, they had to do the same work, but they were always hungry, but the serfs in Sardinsonburg were able to fill their stomachs. Life can be said to be much better than before.

But they saw the scenery higher up, working for the Count like those decent stewards, and this is the job they hoped to have in the future.

Even though most of these children are girls, they hope to become a maid like Qin who is trusted by the master, and her status is even higher than that of the general steward.

So no one wants to be eliminated, and no one wants to give up the opportunity to learn.

But the attitude of the residents towards them is becoming more and more obvious, especially when they were arranged to go to various villages and towns to do population registration for everyone, and later they were arranged to account for population records and taxes, although they were only going to help the stewards, But to others, they just have a decent job and a chance to be a steward.

However, the church side is not willing to accept their (self-confessed) better children in the family, and many parents even have a mentality that these little serfs have robbed their children of opportunities.

How can this not make people jealous, they will all go crazy with jealousy.

In particular, most of them are still girls. In this age of women's low status, they will only receive more malicious attention. If it is not for their daily routines are very fixed, basically two points and one line and very few. Leaving the church alone, it's hard to say there won't be some vicious incidents.

The anxiety of the children did not last long. When Wei Wei came out of the back of the church, everyone closed their mouths and looked at their hostess nervously and intently.

"I called you here because I have something to notify. Originally, I planned to talk about it later, but now the situation has changed a little bit, so I will inform you here."

Is it really necessary to let them continue the class? Some children with more emotional reactions have already started to have red eyes, but they did not cry directly.

And those children who knew better about themselves began to wonder, if they could not continue their studies, then with their current knowledge, would they be eligible to take the Lord Earl's recruitment exam.

But before these thoughts were developed, the children heard their mistress make the point.

"I need to choose some of you to teach other children."

This is something that has been considered for a long time. Universal education is a must in Wei Wei's opinion, but there are not many literate people in Sardinson County. They don't even have their own schools, and they have not recruited teachers to be teachers. talent, so this matter is not on the agenda for the time being.

Originally, their plan was to teach this group of children well, and then choose some suitable teachers to teach other children, but now that they are disturbed by the people, in order to appease the emotions of others, the plan has to be advanced.

Fortunately, as teachers who teach children the basics, they do not need too much knowledge reserve, and at the current level, they are barely competent.

But of course, there is no need to arrange for all of them to be junior teachers. The population review work has not been completed, and not everyone is suitable for teaching students. At least those who are not very good in their own grades cannot be released.

So just choose some children with better grades and more suitable personality and ability.

"The list of candidates will be drawn up by Qin based on your daily performance. The selected person will go to the villages around the castle to teach other children in the next period of time. The specific arrangements will be told to you later."

At present, they naturally have to take care of their own one-third of the land. Although they are all feudal residents, but living in the manor, the feudal residents who farm the land for the earl are still somewhat different from other free people. In the case of universal education, it is natural to have a priority.

Hearing that they were asked to teach others lessons, the children did not have any opinion. They were all serfs. Naturally, the hostess did what she said.

I just couldn't help but ask her: "Then can we continue the class?"

Wei Wei smiled and nodded: "Of course, you still have a lot to learn, so the previous studies are still the same, but the priest is not in good health recently. I will arrange another teacher."

This group of people are not only future teachers, but also future female guards, stewards and other talents. Since they have spent so much effort in training them, it is her who is at a loss if they are not allowed to learn.

As soon as they heard that they could continue the class, these children couldn't help cheering regardless of Wei Wei's presence in front of them.