Clam Pearl

Today, the iron rooster is so rare that he is willing to spend money. For the sake of a good reputation, he finally decreed to re-establish the Guozi School.

Today, Daliang State has [-] provinces, referred to as counties for short. There are prefectures under the prefectures, and counties under the prefectures.From the perspective of later generations, this division is very beneficial. At least, it doesn't need to do a single thing to stamp dozens of official seals.

Nowadays, everywhere, except for the few counties where there are almost no households, every place with more than [-] households must have official government schools. There are schools in the state and schools in the county.These government-run schools are an old system that has been passed down for hundreds of years. Even in those years of war and counter-insurgency, the state has been paying for this expenditure, and they have not dared to lose to the scholars at all. Unfortunately, the effect is not good. University, the students accepted by government schools are children who have basic knowledge and have passed the threshold of scholars.

For old farmers, how difficult is the threshold of literacy!There are schools but no students, there are students, there is no teacher who earns a little bit of Lumi, every place has its specific difficulties, wars, plagues, famine years, the road of poor children is getting more and more difficult.

I am ashamed to say that the best school in Daliang now is not owned by the state, but the family education of the aristocratic family. These family studies are the real soul of each aristocratic family. A family has the nourishment of the children of the same surname for hundreds of years. Each family has its own skills, each family has its own ideological trends, and cultural unique skills are even more diverse.

This kind of moistening the eyes will open up the level of the family and the poor family. Of course, this is also normal. Nowadays, the blacksmith has a unique metallurgical skill, which is also passed on from father to son, and from son to grandson. If you have no descendants, you have to recruit a son-in-law .

Gu Zhao once traveled in his previous life. He visited a large tomb. The tour guide also introduced that a sword from thousands of years ago was unearthed here. Lifting up the figurines, the sword was originally bent, but it bounced back. This metallurgical skill has only been developed in recent years, so the wisdom of the ancients is absolutely not to be underestimated. Many crafts have become extinct with the years.

Take the Gu family for example, their family has a special martial arts school, there are martial arts skills and art of war that the family does not pass on, and there are tactics teachers and art of war teachers who have been with them since they were young, and this is not disclosed to the public.Take Gu Maode as an example, despite his appearance, beating Gu Zhao ten times is not a problem.

Therefore, the growth of an aristocratic child and an official must be grown under a special environment and education. Therefore, the second step of the legendary education of the son is to enter the Guozixue.

Guozixue is a very interesting place, not to say that it is not as good as a school of aristocratic families. On the contrary, Guozixue has the strongest teachers in the country. Whether it is the great Confucians who give lectures or its hardware, the school building of Guozixue is The second largest building complex in Beijing.

The most amazing thing about Guozixue is that it is a place similar to the place where the second generation of Quan must go through to weave a network of relationships before entering the society.In addition to accepting the so-called smartest talented students in the country who are recommended by various places, of course, these people are admitted.

What's more, at the right age, it is necessary to find the right children who meet the status to play with and grow up together, so that they are not alone, so you can see how difficult it is to get a place in Guozixue.

The quota of Guozi School is allocated step by step according to the noble title of the official family in Shangjing. Gu Shan is a foreign official, so his quota can only be used for the county school in the area where he works. In fact, the county school is also good, and the teachers are the best in the province. .However, people go to high places and water flows to low places. The dudes in the entire Liang Kingdom still feel that they have to bear the reputation of being a master of the country to support themselves.

Who said that Gu Yan didn't have enough quotas, he dragged his family, three people are not enough!A few days ago, I wanted to enter the palace and ask for grace and two more. I don't care if the children learn or not, anyway, I don't throw them in. After the children grow up, they will be ashamed to be officials.This time when I went out, my eyes were black and no one knew anyone, so thank you!

After hearing the second brother's letter, Gu Yan stood there dumbfounded and became angry. After being angry for a while, he became happy again, and turned to Gu Zhao and said, "Your second brother is really interesting. I'm afraid that I won't give him a place for grandson and drag you away." superior."

Gu Zhao curled his lips: "I'm not going, I have nothing to do! I get up early and come back late, I just knelt there shaking my head and humming! I'm sick! He's also sick." After he wanted to hide, he stepped out of the threshold, his brother But he didn't let him go, and followed closely and nagged.

"My dear brother, I didn't ask you to take the first prize. You can go and live for a few days. Whose children in Beijing have never lived in it? My brother will match you with the most supportive carriage. Didn't your second brother give you a pair of whites?" Camel, we go to school every day in a cart pulled by a big camel. People really envy you! Besides, your surname is Gu, and no one said you at the end of the exam. " After finishing speaking, he turned his head and stared at his son, Gu Maode didn't say anything, just smiled.

Gu Zhao continued to walk out: "If you don't go, you don't go, what are you talking about."

Gu Yan grabbed him: "Xiaoqi, brother can't hurt you! You have to go anyway, you don't know, last night Jiaohong knelt and cried all night, I didn't agree to..."

Just as he was about to continue chatting, Tao Ruo ran in from the outside: "Master, go and have a look, the eldest lady of the fourth master's family is kneeling in the main room and crying, madam, please go over."

Gu Yan was taken aback: "Fourth Master? Ah...?" He hadn't heard of the children of the fourth brother's family for many years, except that every year Lu occasionally mentioned how much money he gave to someone, and the children of the fourth brother's family They are all linked to copper coins, and their teeth hurt when they mention them.

The eldest lady of the fourth master's family?Gu Zhao spent a long time arranging social relations before he remembered that his fourth brother Gu Xian, the one who died as a savior, had a weeping daughter-in-law Gao Shi in his family, and this young lady was the leftover niece of the 25-year-old unmarried ancient girl Come on.

In this year and month, although men follow the etiquette and become adults only when they reach [-], it is always too late for young girls to marry.The girls of the Gu family's generation are all Cong Jin, and the old girl from the four families is named Gu Jinyu. The reason why Gu Zhao can remember this niece well is because Jinyu = goldfish.That's how Gu Zhao remembered this girl, because the baby's mother hated her, and he didn't want to have anything to do with them.

Gu Yan and Gu Zhao went to the main room together, and as soon as they entered the room, they heard a low, depressing cry. In the past when Mrs. Gao came, even if his tears flooded Huang Tian, ​​no one felt sad, but Today's crying made Gu Zhao feel sad.

"Kowtow to the big uncle, kowtow to... the little uncle." As soon as Gu Zhao and the others entered the room, they saw a gray shadow in a daze. They knew in their hearts that this was their girl. I thought it was someone's rough servant in the backyard.

The girl kneeling in the middle of the ground turned her body sideways, wiped away her tears, and kowtowed deeply.

"Hey... Poor child, you get up first. I haven't seen you for many years. Ever since your father left, your mother has locked you up and no one will see you. She is a widow who heads the family. Uncle... hey, neither Good to reach out.

In the early years... Uncle, I have been there a few times, and your uncles and uncles have also been there, but your mother ran to the palace to cry, saying that we wanted to rob the child and miss the widow's family business... We have no choice. "Gu Yan is really guilty, but in Shangjing, who can provoke the widow Gao, that is a rare flower in the world.

The more Gu Yan thought about it, the more he regretted it. At the beginning, he felt that the fourth sister-in-law and widow had a lot of things to do, so they could just pay a little money, but it turned out that they had to withdraw again and again, and now there is no refund.

Gu Zhao helped her a bit, and looked up and down at the elder niece. He was so annoyed that the family members usually don't see him.But... this is the first time I've seen it.

Gu Jinyu was wearing... a blue knit skirt that was so plain that it couldn't be more plain. The skirt was very economical in fabric, and the hem was so short that the trousers inside were exposed. I don't know whose trousers were remade from old clothes. , washed gray.Gu Jinyu's head was also wrapped in an old veil, and she didn't have any jewelry on her body. She was crying so sad that she didn't even have a veil to wipe her tears.

This is also his old Gu family's child?

Gu Zhao didn't let out a breath, but held back his breath.My niece is not ugly, she has round eyes and thin eyebrows, a high nose bridge, and a small mouth, but her complexion is a bit rough, but why can't she marry her?What's the matter today, crying like this?Could it be that she learned a new trick from her mother?

Mrs. Lu sent someone to move a stool for Jinyu, and forced her to sit up and sit down. Mrs. Lu was the most soft-hearted, so she cried along with her, crying out the uselessness she had suffered at the fourth family's house all these years. During the holidays, every three to five years, the widow would come to scare her and blackmail her. For many years, she had a big lump in her chest, and she felt oppressed and painful when she thought about it, so she couldn't tell.

The aunt and niece cried for a while, unable to be persuaded, until Gu Yan coughed vigorously, Jinyu stopped, tears still streaming down silently, and said: "...Since ancient times, the son does not speak of the father. However, the son does not think the mother is ugly."

Speaking of this, she wanted to kneel and say again, but Lu Shi grabbed her, and that was the end.

"Now... but there is nothing I can do, Uncle, if there is any way, I will never ask you. These years, my mother came to fight the autumn wind from time to time. Thinking of this, I feel ashamed. No, a few days ago On that day, the teacher's wife in the nunnery in the north of the city begged to take the five pennies that I had saved for many years, and she had already promised to give me a haircut... I dare to say it, anyway... From now on, I will have nothing to worry about I am no longer a person of this secular world, and I am not afraid of people saying that I am not filial."

Lu Shi spat: "Stop talking nonsense, good boy... Auntie doesn't know you like this, so don't be afraid. If you have any grievances, Auntie will help you. I will help you. Your uncle doesn't care. Auntie has saved a few things here." A... If... knew... I would have gone to pick you up a long time ago, and I also took it earlier, your mother was crying like that, and everyone said that my elder sister-in-law bullied her, so I dare not provoke you. If I... If I knew..." In fact, she couldn't do anything if she knew.

Jinyu smiled wryly, her eyes were so swollen that she could hardly open them. Anyway, she felt more at ease after she said the words, so she continued: "So what if I know, the emperor will be scared by her crying, what can we do, since Dad After going there, my mother changed. She locked up all the valuable things in the house. My aunt might not know. My mother has a steelyard. She has to measure how much she eats every day.

The courtyard at home was abandoned, and the whole family crowded into one courtyard. The slaves and old servants lived together. Later, I went on a hunger strike for several days before I lived in the backyard with my brother.I can live a normal life. I grow some melons and fruits to supplement myself, and sometimes I also weave for a little money.

Aunt... Do you know why Jinyu, the only daughter of a third-rank general, can't even get married at 32? "

Lu Shi nodded slightly: "I know a thing or two about this. Your mother asked for a hundred thousand dowry back then, and it was because your uncle scolded her that she didn't dare to mention it again."

Jin Yu sneered: "Don't dare to mention it? A lot of mentions! My mother also came from a scholarly family, but now, she doesn't kiss anyone, she only kisses with the copper spoon on her waist. She doesn't kiss anyone. She admits that money is the only thing that can be relied upon if her husband is gone! She takes the ring of keys with her when she sleeps, when she walks, even when she goes to the toilet...she doesn't understand...she doesn't believe her children at all. The eldest brother's salary is monthly She is not satisfied with sending all the money back to her. I have to deduct my sister-in-law’s dowry to allow my elder brother to take his children to the post. My elder brother is also a coward. Once he leaves...he will never come back .”

Gu Yan beat his chest angrily, and scolded Gu Jinyu's brother: "Your brother is also a bastard, he can hide outside for the rest of his life!"

Gu Jinyu smiled bitterly: "The word filial piety looks simple, but one sentence can crush people to death.

My niece was worth 20 guan. When my niece was 50 years old, it was worth [-] guan. A few days ago, there was an old magistrate in Xiayuan County. He was over [-], and three of his wives died. Qianguan.My mother actually agreed, this time she was willing to give the dowry, but unfortunately, she opened a warehouse, aunt and uncle don't know, but she can't get out a good silk, aunt doesn't know... There are two whole warehouses of silk, with They were all bitten by insects and rats, and they couldn't even unfold! ! ! ! ! ! "

Gu Jinyu wailed loudly, Gu Yan dropped the cup angrily, but Gu Zhao didn't respond, but the hand holding the cup was a little tight.

After Gu Jinyu finished crying, she wiped away her tears, stood up and knelt down again, her eyes were a little firm, which was like the old Gu's family members, and she didn't twitch when she spoke: "My niece came here today, not for myself, but because of my younger brother, Mao c.

Since the father passed away, the eldest brother left and never dared to come back... The niece took her younger brother to live alone in the backyard. When the father was alive, the niece and daughter also attended classes for a few days and could read a few words. , the house is ruined, at least one of them is kept..."

"You are a good one." Gu Yan felt that it was not easy for his niece.

Gu Jinyu smiled wryly and shook his head: "If that's the case, he's dead, and Jinyu is content, but... this person is not happy, and he doesn't agree with him everywhere. I really... never thought that he was a good boy, a good Gu family, Growing up in the hands of the woman in the deep house, the child... will naturally not grow up well in the end.

Since we moved into the small backyard, we can get by with simple tea and light food, but our yard is next to the play garden of the old prince Qi’s house. Mao Bing, who is tired of reading every day, will lie on the wall and watch. I thought, a good child, so pitiful, Just look at it, loose or loose, let him go.

But... I really didn't think about it. After a few years, the good seedlings rotted at the root. Now... that kid doesn't know a few books, but he sings, writes, composes tunes, and is proficient in everything Now... Speaking of which, my niece is not afraid of being ashamed. Two years ago, the child suddenly brought money back. I asked him where he got it from, but he didn't say anything, only the money from working for others. The child never Liar, I believe it.

But... a few days ago, I quietly went to the nunnery to meet the teacher, and thought, at least I had arranged a way out for this child, but he didn't listen anyway. I saw that he didn't care, so I quietly followed. Hey, what a bolt from the blue, I just found out that my younger brother... has already become popular in the capital, he goes around making money with wild gangs, and now... actually... has a stage name called Jiao Nuer... …uncle! ! ! !ah! "

Gu Jinyu walked up to Gu Yan on his knees, hugged his leg and howled loudly: "The grandson of the Duke of Pingzhou County!!!!!!!!! My father died for the emperor!!!!"

"How could it be like this...how could it be like this!" Gu Yan was completely numb.

Who would have thought this would happen?

Mrs. Lu looked around, and said sharply: "Go down, half a word was exposed today, all of them cut off their tongues, and bought them as miners in Huaiyin!"

Hongdan and the others went out with pale faces.

Gu Jinyu continued to wail, crying uncontrollably: "Niece... My niece saw that my brother was also ruined, and thought that this should not be the case anyway. This is not a few days ago. I opened Guozixue, and I have two shares in the family. I just thought, give it away. The younger brother went to study, he is such a bright and clever boy, he will naturally become a good boy.

Isn't that so, I went to my mother and asked...for a share, my mother sold it for [-] guan. , After so many years, it was the first time that he gave me money. "

Gu Jinyu took out a dozen or so big coins from his bosom, holding them with trembling hands: "Uncle... I'm dead! I'm dead... I don't think I can get a good coffin, my mother They would wrap me up in a broken mat and go to the suburbs, dig a hole and bury me, which is fine.

A pair of skeletons of the daughter of a third-rank official was sold for a price of [-] guan ghost marriages... What kind of retribution is this bad in my family... A few years ago I went to my grandma's house to cry, and my grandfather said filial piety, so crowded I can't even say a word... Now I really have no way to go to heaven, no way to go to earth, the way to my house is dead, uncle...! "

The room was extremely quiet. As long as there is a little thought, everyone feels that Gao's doing these things has surpassed their cognition. Everyone has been numb from the shock and does not know how to react.

Since ancient times, filial piety has been the most important criterion for self-cultivation and family building. In this social system, Lao Tzu can beat his son to death at will, and a word of being unfilial is enough.

But... it's not uncommon to see something like this, this is a real mother, but... even a stepmother can't do it, right?

"Fourth sister-in-law, you must have gone crazy!" Gu Zhao said calmly and coolly.

According to Gao's performance, she is probably indeed crazy. The performance of a lunatic is different. Her kind of depression is probably very extreme. In short, she is sick, and it makes no sense to reason with her.

No one spoke, they were all stunned.

Gu Zhao thought for a while, then raised his head and asked his elder brother: "Brother, in these years, every anniversary of Gao's death, he can come to the house to light incense candles for his parents."

"Well, don't incense candles cost money?" Gu Yan sneered.

This matter is really difficult to solve. Gu Yan was depressed, and walked around the room with his hands behind his back. His thinking was fixed in various unspoken rules. He couldn't go up or down. .

Gu Zhao tapped his temples, only to feel a throbbing, ups and downs, headache: "Brother, don't turn around, you're dizzy and flustered."

Gu Yan sighed, turned over and sat on the chair, just sat down, jumped up and continued to turn around, he was just recovering from illness, the whole family was terrified, Maode was afraid to follow closely, Gu Yan turned around suddenly and the two collided rise.

"Why are you following me!" Gu Yan climbed up without anyone's support, and went straight up to give Gu Maode a kick.

Gu Zhao was irritated: "Brother!"

Gu Yan put down his legs embarrassingly, sat beside his younger brother and sighed silently. After sighing, he continued to beat his chest, feeling aggrieved to death.

Gu Zhao was helpless, and reached out to pat him on the back to persuade him: "Sometimes, this matter, you can't be reasonable, and you don't have to be reasonable with people who can't explain the truth, right?"

Gu Yan looked at his younger brother: "... Brother, what should I do?"

Gu Zhao had no choice but to call his nanny to the door: "Come here!"

Gu Jinyu was startled, and quickly stood up and asked, "Little uncle, at least... that's my mother." Gu Jinyu was frightened. This child has stayed in a big backyard until now, and has never experienced anything.If she missed it today, now, any loud noise can scare her to death.

"Become a niece, don't worry about it, no one can do anything about your mother, she is a widow who is a chastity... However, I can't control her, we still have to take care of the children of our own family. From now on, this The matter belongs to the elders, you will always remember that you never said anything, but you are selling cloth in the street today, remember?" Gu Zhao walked slowly in front of her, lowered his head and asked again seriously : "Remember? You haven't been here today, have you?"

Gu Jinyu was a little scared and nodded repeatedly.

Gu Zhao winked at Lu Shi, and Lu Shi arranged for someone to take Jinyu down.

"Brother Grandma!" Gu Zhao yelled again, and Bi Liangli, who had been waiting for a long time, walked in. Gu Zhao said: "Send someone to my fourth sister-in-law's house, just say... I brought some things from the south for my nephew. , Tell her to send someone to fetch it."

Bi Liangli looked at Gu Zhao, turned around and left.

"What is brother going to do?" Gu Yan was a little worried.

Gu Zhao rubbed his nose and rolled his eyes: "What to do, of course, it's shameless to rub against the city wall, a crow and a black pig duel, no one should dislike the black, let's just do it..."