Chapter 187

Qingzhi Study, bamboo is leisurely, windows are as before.

Jia Cong had been away for half a year with Wu'er and Qingwen, but the little maids Si'er and Juan'er had been staying here all along.

Seeing them return, they were so happy that they chattered non-stop, and even begged Jia Cong to take them with him next time he went out.

During these past few months, Qingzhi Study was left to the two of them to watch the gate, and I guess the two little girls were bored to death.

They also saw the new Zhi Shao and Zhen Ying Lian, and were especially curious about Zhi Shao's black clothes.

There is one main room and five side rooms in Qingzhi Study; even with Zhi Shao and Zhen Ying Lian, there is plenty of room to live, so Jia Cong arranged for them to live in the two vacant side rooms on the east side.

By the time everyone was settled, the sky was already slightly dark, and Liu Sao from the kitchen sent various dishes, which looked very rich; Jia Cong asked and found out that Liu Sao had started preparing them at noon.

A few days ago, Liu Sao knew that her daughter and her master had returned to the Divine Capital, but the Old Madam blocked them from entering the gate, so she had been worried all along; only after hearing today that they were properly picked up by Brother Lian and brought back to the prefecture did she breathe a sigh of relief.

By the time the sky was dark, Jia Cong asked Si'er and Juan'er to close the courtyard gate, and a group of people sat together and ate their first meal after returning to the prefecture.

Zhi Shao's eyes turned red, and the confusion in her heart was difficult to leave, but a groundless sourness and palpitation arose, and she leaned gently into his arms, letting Jia Cong hold her tightly.

The next day.

Jia Cong recalled the ups and downs in Jin Ling, the sudden assassination in Gusu, and the unpleasantness of being turned away from the gate a few days ago; his body and mind were indeed a bit exhausted.

Her two soft lips were bitten at some point, her heart and spirit were intoxicated, and her whole body was soft; she struggled for a moment but couldn't break free, so she let him be.

At this moment, in this closed Qingzhi Study, sitting together with these spiritual and beautiful people, his heart finally relaxed and became peaceful, having a kind of simple satisfaction and joy.

Her hair was tied in a black bun, with a moist jade hairpin inserted, she wore a snow-blue satin embroidered cross-collar long jacket on her upper body, a white cotton embroidered plum and bamboo leaf horse-face skirt on her lower body, and a pair of water-red embroidered flower shoes on her feet.

Jia Cong smiled and said: "How could it not look good? I'm almost dazzled; you look really beautiful dressed like this."

Wu'er and Juan'er went out to arrange hot water for washing.

Jia Cong was dressed, just about to tie the lotus-patterned satin waist belt, when suddenly a pair of hands stretched out from behind to help him tie the buckle.

Fortunately, he found Zhi Shao and brought back Zhen Ying Lian, allowing their originally lost and decaying fates to be reversed, so this trip was not in vain.

Various slender figures turned back and forth.

Today Zhi Shao had changed out of those black clothes and changed into the clothes of an ordinary girl, beautiful and elegant, moving.

Zhi Shao saw Jia Cong staring at her without blinking, her face turned red, and she asked: "Is it not good-looking the first time I wear it?"

Suddenly he grabbed her hand again and said: "From now on, with me here, whether you like to wear black clothes or skirts and hairpins, it's all up to you; I didn't protect you well back then, and I will never let you suffer even a little bit in the future."

After a while, hearing footsteps outside, Zhi Shao pushed Jia Cong away with a blushing face.

Jia Cong looked back and couldn't help but brighten his eyes.

Jia Cong recognized that this outfit of hers was not the palace reward from yesterday, but the set of hairpins and dresses he gave her when he was in Gusu.

The sky was just beginning to brighten, and Qingzhi Study began to get busy.

Because they had to adapt to Jia Cong's daily morning reading, Wu'er, Qingwen, and the others were used to getting up early.

Today, seeing that it was a sunny day, Qingwen took Zhen Ying Lian and Si'er to move the bedding to the courtyard to sun them; this matter should have been done long ago, but because they hadn't returned, it was delayed until now.

Wu'er and Qingwen carried a box in.

Inside were brushes, ink, stationery, sachets, incense beads, fans, fan pendants, flower powder, rouge, and other items bought from Jin Ling and Gusu.

Jia Cong and Wu'er sorted the various gifts and sent them to the rooms of Yingchun, Seeing Tan Chun, Xichun, Li Gongcai, and others.

There were also gifts for male guests and elders, which were packed and sent to Baoyu, Jia Lian, Jia Zheng, and other places; they were all simple Jiangnan items, just a matter of etiquette.

Besides various gifts for Daiyu, there were also letters from Lin Ruhai and skirts and clothes purchased by the Lin family.

There were also several boxes of high-quality green salt, which Lin Ruhai had prepared for his daughter's daily use and as gifts.

Don't underestimate those boxes of green salt; this is the most precious type of salt today.

Ordinary families use ordinary sea salt or lake salt; green salt is a high-quality salt refined from lake salt, which can be used for direct consumption and mouth cleaning, and only wealthy families can afford it.

Lin Ruhai, as the Imperial Censor of Salt, using green salt as a gift is a symbol of status and power that ordinary people do not have.

The voice of Si'er came from the courtyard: "Second Sister, Miss Lin, Third Sister, Fourth Sister."

Then I heard Seeing Tan Chun's crisp voice outside: "We came to see Third Brother; now the popularity of Qingzhi Study is much higher; eh, who is this girl?"

"This is Zhen Ying Lian brought back from Jin Ling by Third Master."

"What a beautiful girl; this rouge mole is really growing too perfectly."

When Jia Cong came out, he just saw Seeing Tan Chun and Yingchun talking to Zhen Ying Lian.

Zhen Ying Lian was born delicate, pleasing, and popular.

Back at Panxiang Temple in Gusu, whether it was the profound Buddhist nun Xiushan or the cold-natured Sister Miao Yu, or the group of monks and nuns in the temple, everyone loved her.

This kind of outstanding affinity naturally made it easy to win over Seeing Tan Chun and Yingchun.

Daiyu saw the woman in new skirts standing behind Jia Cong, as beautiful as a peony, elegant and otherworldly; she was indeed a very outstanding one.

Yesterday, Daiyu had seen her once in the Rongxi Hall, and heard that she was a maid who had served Third Brother since she was a child, so it was no wonder Third Brother cared about her so much.

The sisters thanked Jia Cong for the gifts brought back from Jiangnan, and asked about Jia Cong's experiences in Jiangnan, listening to him talk about the prosperity of Jin Ling, the elegant interest of Gusu, and the ancient charm of Yangzhou.

A woman with Seeing Tan Chun's open-minded and heroic spirit couldn't help but have leisurely thoughts.

It's just that Seeing Tan Chun, as a girl in the boudoir, wanted to travel the mountains and rivers like Jia Cong, but she couldn't; listening to him talk freely and smilingly, she couldn't help but have beautiful eyes and deep feelings, as if she had been there herself.

Daiyu listened to Jia Cong talk about the plum blossoms at Panxiang Temple, which aroused a lot of homesickness, and heard Jia Cong say that her father was in good health and everything was fine; although father and daughter were separated by mountains, she was finally a little relieved.

Yingchun didn't have the gentle thoughts of Daiyu and Seeing Tan Chun; as long as her Brother Cong returned safely, everything was fine, and listening to these interesting experiences outside was enough for her heart; she had no other requests.

South Courtyard of the Ministry of Rites.

Liu Jizhu, the Director of the Department of Sacrificial Rites, holding a bright yellow scroll and a red satin brocade box, walked into the official office of the new Minister of Rites, Guo Youchang.

A few months ago, around the time when the construction of the Great Ci'en Temple in Jin Ling started, the former Minister of Rites, Li Jizong, submitted a memorial to Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao to retire and beg for his bones.

Li Jizong is seventy years old this year; although he has reached the age for officials to retire, his body is still okay, and he could have supported it for a few more years.

And he is deeply versed in etiquette and learning, having served as the Minister of Rites for ten years, upright and unyielding, with strict etiquette, and is respected by the scholars in the court and the public.

At the beginning, Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao wanted to build a temple to settle the spirit for his birth mother, Empress Dowager Xianxiao, because it violated the ancestral etiquette, the opposition in the court was endless, and the Minister of Rites, Li Jizong, was one of the primary ones.

Later, Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao borrowed the case of Jia Cong, the top of the list in the Yongzhou courtyard examination, being falsely accused, to calculate and move, borrowing strength to exert force, and the dispute over the etiquette of the Empress Dowager was settled with one hammer.

The Great Temple in Jin Ling started construction, and Jia Cong was ordered to transcribe scriptures; Li Jizong, as the Minister of Rites, had already lost his position on etiquette, was old, and had no intention of clinging to power, so he took advantage of the situation to retreat.

And regardless of the success or failure of political affairs, this open and aboveboard demeanor of leaving and staying won him a good reputation in the court and the public.

Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao is a sharp and practical emperor; he is actually very troubled by such old officials who are strict with etiquette, and seeing him take the initiative to retreat, naturally there is nothing he would not allow.

Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao did not treat this old official badly, giving him a thousand gold, bestowing a mansion, keeping his full salary, and having hundreds of officials see him off, leaving enough face for both the monarch and the minister.

After Li Jizong retired to his hometown, Guo Youchang, who was forced by the situation to stand on Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao's side in the etiquette dispute, was appointed by the Emperor as the new Minister of Rites.

Perhaps in Guo Youchang's heart, he never thought of reaching the peak of his career in this way.

However, time and situation.

Stepping on the flowing waves without being himself, he is destined to be a footnote to show the holy heart for the emperor who won a complete victory in the dispute of filial piety and righteousness.

And there is more than one such footnote.

(End of this chapter)