Chapter 246

【The Xie family's ancestral home was in Rongyang, and after they became successful, they were also called the Rongyang Xie clan.】

【There were many rules in the mansion, and every place revealed the majesty and solemnity of a great family.】

【In such a family, every young miss and young master's courtyard had a dining room, with three meals a day, and even late-night snacks, twelve hours a day, and the stove never stopped burning.】

【But your and your mother's small courtyard didn't even have a stove to light a fire.】

【Since you had a surname, every month's festival or birthday in the family, there was a portion of vegetarian snacks sent over.】

【When these delicacies were delivered to you and your mother, they were often leftovers, or food from the previous night.】

【In that huge Xie Fu, you and your mother only got six taels of silver as monthly allowance, which was already stretched thin, and with the layers of deductions by the managers in the mansion, by the time it reached your hands, there were often only four taels of broken silver left.】

【You were at the age of growing, and your mother spent almost all the little silver she got on you.】

【But your mother was getting thinner and thinner!】

【This year, you were just three years old, and the young misses and young masters in the courtyard had already started their journey of reading and literacy accompanied by "tutors," which was "early education."】

【In the Great Qi folk, children started enlightenment at the age of six, first teaching numbers and the names of the four directions, then from six to eight years old, studying classics such as "Primary School Collection," "Dragon Pattern Whip Shadow," "Young Learning Qionglin," "Thousand Character Classic," and "Hundred Family Surnames" in order, hoping to lay a foundation for learning.】

【Your mother went to the clan to ask about your studies, and got only a cold answer, "Not the time yet!"】

【This year, you were four years old, had grown up, and your height could compare with the young masters and misses in the courtyard; your mother took good care of you.】

【However, despite being a descendant of the Xie family, your clothing and the texture of the fabric were not as good as the favored maids in the big courtyard.】

【Your mother only had one set of clothes that could be shown, which was locked deep in the wardrobe and not easily shown to others.】

【You often asked your mother curiously: "Why can children in other courtyards wear new clothes?"】

【"Brothers have new clothes every day; they have wooden horses, kites, tiger-skin hats, and many toys I have never seen before."】

【At four years old, you grew fast, and your clothes were changed frequently; your mother would alter last year's autumn clothes for you to wear again.】

【Her craftsmanship was very clever, and she could always cleverly hide the traces of sewing and mending.】

【However, because the texture of the fabric was different, it could still be seen, and you were laughed at by children in other courtyards.】

【You threw your clothes on the ground in anger, but your mother didn't scold you when she saw this, but silently washed them clean.】

【Your tone carried a trace of envy, and also a trace of loneliness, and you lowered your head slightly.】

【"They don't like to play with me."】

【After hearing this, your mother gently taught you, "A gentleman does not worry because his food and clothing are not as good as others; therefore, a gentleman wears coarse clothes but carries jade."】

【A gentleman does not feel worried because his food and clothing are not as good as others. A true gentleman, even if wearing coarse clothes, carries jade-like talent and virtue.】

【"The movement of heaven is vigorous, and a gentleman strives for self-improvement."】

【You were still young, and although you didn't fully understand the meaning of your mother's words, you nodded.】

【Your mother managed the simple small courtyard in an orderly manner, the green vegetable fields were full of vitality, the melon sheds were scattered, and although the courtyard was not big, it was full of warm atmosphere.】

【She even built a stove in the courtyard.】

【Two years later, you were six years old, and the children of your generation in the Xie mansion had already started reading and practicing writing, practicing martial arts to strengthen their bodies.】

【And you were still left in the small courtyard, and your mother rarely took you out.】

【Because every time you and your mother went out, you would always be ridiculed and mocked.】

【"The shame of the Xie family, a lowly child."】

【"The vixen who seduced the head of the family, a woman who doesn't understand etiquette."】

【These whispers behind your back, as long as your mother pulled you to walk past, would sound behind you like a shadow.】

【The servants and managers of Xie Fu naturally didn't have such courage, but behind them, they all had the instruction and acquiescence of the mistress.】

【Your mother had a gentle personality and rarely argued with others, mostly pulling you to go around.】

【In the spring of the same year, your mother went to the Xie family clan to ask about your studies; you were already six years old and had reached the age of enlightenment.】

【In Great Qi, governing the country with Confucian thought, the court was full of scholars.】

【The court selected officials, also selecting scholars through imperial examinations, assessing Confucian classics.】

【There was also the child student examination, which could be taken as long as one was seven years old; besides being proficient in Confucianism, one also needed to know horse riding and archery, and practice sword techniques.】

【Within the clan, the mistress of the family met your mother and said, "A child born of adultery, first observe his morality, otherwise it will ruin the family etiquette."】

【The Xie family was originally a scholarly family, but your father, Dingyuan Marquis, made his family prosperous through military merit.】

【The Xie family mistress vetoed your studies because of your background.】

【Your mother argued with reason, but was driven out of the ancestral hall.】

【Your mother returned to the courtyard and saw you waiting at the door early, her heart softened.】

【Having suffered grievances for many years, she rarely shed tears, but at this moment, holding you, she sobbed softly, feeling sorry for her child who had not been treated fairly.】

【This year, your mother's physical condition was increasingly worrying, and her figure was getting thinner and thinner, as if a gust of wind could blow her down.】

【In the winter of the same year, it snowed heavily, and your mother's illness took a turn for the worse, becoming very serious and bedridden.】

【At such a difficult time, the only maid in your room also chose to leave.】

【Almost all the medicine and cooking were done by you alone, and you accompanied her every night without daring to sleep.】

【Your mother watched you standing in front of the stove that was taller than you, a child of only six years old, and couldn't help but shed tears, wetting the pillow.】

【Fortunately, in the second year of spring, you were very happy, and your mother's illness was surprisingly better.】

【But your mother said to you, "If I don't seek a title for Guan'er, I won't be able to close my eyes even if I die."】

【You said "seriously": "Mother, you are not allowed to say unlucky things."】

【Your studies still had no outcome, and your mother decided to teach you to read first.】

【Xie Fu assigned another maid, named Sister Wu Tong; she was two years older than you and had just entered the mansion.】

【Although Sister Wu Tong was a maid with low status, your mother never blamed her, but treated her as her own, carefully teaching and raising her, and teaching you both to read.】

【Sister Wu Tong called you Young Master, but you treated her like a sister.】

【This year you were seven years old, started to be sensible, and gradually realized that the status of "illegitimate child" made you neglected in the mansion and not loved by the nobles.】

【Even more, your father felt disgusted with you.】

【You only saw your father once from afar during the Xie old matriarch's birthday.】

【He was heroic and majestic, with broad shoulders, as if he could carry your entire small courtyard.】

【However, he never looked at you and your mother directly, just smiling and holding your younger brother Xie Yu, who was one year younger than you, in the crowd.】

【Your brothers and sisters of the same generation had all started school, and the Xie family also had an academy for clan descendants to study.】

【The school was noisy, and most of the Xie family descendants there were skipping classes, late, and truant.】

【Only a few were attentive.】

【And you, every time you deliberately passed by the school gate and stayed, you often listened intently.】

【If a manager in the mansion found out, he would immediately drive you away, not letting you stay for a moment.】

【Another year passed, and you heard that Xie Yu, the young son of the Xie family mistress who was one year younger than you, had actually been accepted as a child student at the age of seven.】

【Xie Yu was smart since childhood, reading at four, writing poetry at five, and writing essays at six, and was hailed as a prodigy.】

【For this reason, the family held a grand banquet, and prominent figures in Above Bianjing, figures from the nine major surnames, brought their families, young masters and misses, all came one after another.】

【How lively!】

【At this time, the family seemed to remember your existence and invited you and your mother to attend.】

【Your mother rarely wore the clothes locked in the wardrobe and took you to attend the banquet together.】

【The banquet was full of guests, people were pushing cups and changing lamps, and it was very lively.】

【You also saw young misses and young masters from various courtyards of the Xie family and other families.】

【Each one was gorgeous and extraordinary, all wearing hats with embroidered silk and jewelry, waist rings of white jade, left-side swords and right-side perfume bags, shining like gods.】

【You were dressed simply, among them.】

【You remembered your mother's words, "A gentleman wears coarse clothes but carries jade, the movement of heaven is vigorous, and one strives for self-improvement."】

【There was no envy in your heart.】

【You and your mother were in the most remote place at the banquet.】

【This time, your father was still at the border and could not return.】

【The banquet gradually reached its climax, and families sent congratulations to "Xie Yu," and even the various branches of the Xie family were no exception.】

【For a time, congratulations sounded one after another, and the child at the center of the banquet wore vermilion jade, with red lips and white teeth, and his eyes flashed with spirited light.】

【Someone congratulated loudly: "Brother Yu, when you grow up, you will definitely inherit your father's career and earn another ten-thousand-household marquis for the Xie family!"】

【After hearing this, the smile on the Xie family mistress's face became even richer.】

【Hearing this, you also held your mother's hand and said firmly: "Guan'er, I will also earn a ten-thousand-household marquis in the future."】

【"Not for the Xie family, only for Mother!"】

【Your mother smiled and touched your head.】

【The atmosphere of the banquet became more and more enthusiastic, with lanterns and decorations, and the festive atmosphere was everywhere.】

【The Xie old matriarch sitting in the first seat was also full of spring breeze, looking kindly at the Xie family descendants present, her eyes full of relief.】

【The Xie family was becoming more and more prosperous!】

【Cups were exchanged, wine was drunk, and guests talked and laughed.】

【Your mother stood up at this time and walked straight to the field.】

【Attracting many curious and puzzled eyes, only to see a weak woman slowly kneeling down.】

【The field was noisy, and it was not clear what was said in the front, only the words in the back were heard.】

【Although the voice was weak, every word was clear.】

【"I am a lowly woman, born like wormwood, life is thinner than paper, of course, death is not a pity, but my son Xie Guan has the blood of the Rongyang Xie family, the flesh and blood of the Dingyuan Marquis."】

【"Now he is eight years old, but he is still kept at home, I have entrusted him to the school many times, or asked for advice at the private school, the clan has not realized it."】

【"The Xie family stands with etiquette, the second uncle is also a great Confucian of the time, now raising a son without teaching, private morality is deficient, not in accordance with etiquette, how can he inherit the title!"】

【The banquet slowly became silent.】

【As the "old case" of eight years ago was recalled in the crowd, the atmosphere of the entire banquet scene became subtle again.】

【"Xie family illegitimate child?" Someone whispered, "Could it be that mother and son who asked for a name at Xie Yu's hundred-day banquet?"】

【Noble family romantic affairs, descendants outside, or raising new wives outside, are common.】

【However, few are brought to the surface, especially the nine major clans of Great Qi.】

【Confucianism advocates governing the country, cultivating the body, and pacifying the world, believing that one must sweep one house before sweeping the world.】

【However, if even family affairs cannot be handled properly, how can one convince the public, and how can one take on the heavy responsibility of governing the country and pacifying the world?】

【After hearing this, the Xie family mistress's face was even more gloomy; the Dingyuan Marquis was at the border, and as the Dingyuan Marquis's legal wife, she was in charge of the Xie family's backyard, and naturally could not tolerate such family shame, and she looked at your mother with sharp eyes.】

【It would also affect her reputation!】

【The way of Confucianism values the merit of education the most; raising a child without teaching is the father's fault; this reason is self-evident.】

【If this matter is handled slightly wrongly, the Great Qi Dingyuan Marquis will become the laughing stock of Above Bianjing tomorrow!】

【At the banquet, guests were either drinking lightly or whispering, but their eyes were all unconsciously cast here, waiting for the calm of this disturbance.】

【The Xie family mistress mentioned the manager in charge, and the elders of the clan.】

【Raised high, fell lightly.】

【"Xie Guan, you can study this autumn, and all expenses will be paid by the Xie family's eldest branch."】

【The matter was easily solved, and the banquet became lively again.】

【Your mother kowtowed to apologize, and a smile appeared on the Xie family mistress's face, as if it were just a trivial matter.】

【It's just that the three managers responsible at the time were beaten to death on the spot in front of you and your mother.】

【Beating a family slave to death to correct the family style was a common occurrence in Great Qi, and no one cared.】

【Your mother pulled you to say goodbye and returned home.】

【Since then, the monthly allowance in your hands was only about one tael, and there were often guards appearing outside your small courtyard, making your life even more depressed and uneasy.】

【In the autumn of that year, you did not go to school as you wished, because your mother was seriously ill again.】

【The atmosphere in the small courtyard was unusually heavy; I don't know why, this year's small courtyard was much colder than previous years.】

【The official doctor in Xie Fu prescribed medicine for your mother, but it didn't seem to have any effect. Your mother's illness was getting worse day by day, and her body was getting thinner.】

【At the end of autumn, your mother was bedridden and could not get up.】

【You and the maid Sister Wu Tong held the soup medicine, walked to your mother's bed, and carefully fed her.】

【On this day, your mother seemed to have spirit, radiant, and chatted with you for a long time, saying: "Unfortunately, I haven't seen Guan'er grow up, he must be handsome and extraordinary."】

【"I don't know, who's daughter will be cheapened."】

【"Study hard, not for Mother, but for yourself!"】

【You looked at your mother's withered face, not knowing why you were so sad.】

【"Guan'er, do you still remember a sentence Mother often told you?"】

【You said slowly: "The movement of heaven is vigorous, and a gentleman strives for self-improvement."】

【Your mother smiled and held Sister Wu Tong's hand and said: "Sister Wu Tong, Guan'er is still young, I will leave him to you later."】

【Sister Wu Tong was at a loss.】

【Your mother said gently: "Guan'er, go out, close the door, Mother will have a good sleep."】

【You walked out of the room, light rain fell from the sky, and you looked down at the water surface of the large water tank in the courtyard.】

【Reflecting your face, round circles, but you can no longer see clearly.】

【The next day, your mother passed away.】

【You cried until you were blind.】

【You are nine years old this year, your mother passed away, although you have a father, you are like alone, walking alone in the world.】

【Hint: Awakened fate talent, "Early innate wisdom", "Quiet spirit in the chest", "Spirit in the brush"】

【Do you want to claim it now?】

The text on the great cauldron slowly fixed.】

Lu Chen was somewhat silent, without any hesitation.】

【Claim!】

(End of chapter)