The Happy Life of Small Officials in Northern Song Dynasty

The big mansion in Qinzhou was already in full swing, and the house was full of people coming in and out. <-"

These days, giving birth to a child is a matter of life and death. Many people's happy event of having a child suddenly turns into a funeral for two dead bodies. The most feared thing is dystocia.

Although the Su family had invited several experienced midwives to accompany them when they left Beijing, everyone's hearts were still in their throats; I went up the official road to see if Su Jin came back, because Yan Biyun kept calling Su Jin's name in pain, and Su Jin's early return might calm Yan Biyun down.

In the evening, Su Jin rushed into Qinzhou City first, Huanniang Xia Siling and Xiao Sui'er and others followed halfway in a carriage. Su Jin thought the carriage was too slow, so he took the first step and galloped back to the city with a few relatives.

As soon as he entered the house, Su Jin didn't care about washing and resting, so he hurriedly ran towards the inner house, and heard Yan Biyun's heart-piercing shouts from a distance, Rou Niang stood in the hall and turned straight, and saw Su Jin busy He walked up quickly and said, "Amitabha, you are back."

Su Jin asked anxiously: "What? Did you give birth?"

Rou Niang hurriedly said: "Not yet, Xian'er and the midwife are inside, they say there is still a while."

Su Jin said: "Then why is it so loud? I'll go and have a look." After saying that, he walked into the room.

The midwife at the door pushed Su Jin away and said: "Oh, high officials, how can a man go in? It's okay, we will take care of him."

Su Jin understood that it was taboo for a man to enter the delivery room of a pregnant woman these days, so he stopped in front of the door, straightened his neck and shouted into the door: "Sister Yan, I'm back, don't panic, do as the midwife tells you."

Yan Biyun was already in pain, but when he heard Su Jin's shout, a surge of strength surged into his body, and the pain seemed to subside a little; a midwife helped Yan Biyun wipe away the sweat and tears from his face, and Mance ordered : "Ma'am, you must be calm. Pain is inevitable. Which woman doesn't give birth to a child without pain? Or how can you say that the child is the heart of the mother? This is like cutting the flesh with a knife. How can it not hurt? Don't panic. The fetal position is very upright, Madam's body will have no problem giving birth, so use your strength slowly, and the old body will help you, come... come..."

Yan Biyun followed the midwife's instructions and followed the midwife's command. The time seemed to be frozen for a long time, and half an hour seemed to have passed half a lifetime. Finally, a clear and clear son's cry resounded through the inner house. Su Jin heard it outside. The baby was crying and tears were about to come down, so he got up quickly and rushed inside, before reaching the door, a midwife came out with a smile all over her face and said, "Congratulations, sir, you have a precious son, mother and child are safe!"

Su Jin was overjoyed and shouted repeatedly: "Look at it! Look at it! Can I go in and have a look?"

The midwife said: "Of course, Madam is a good woman. The baby's fetal position is a little bit wrong, but I have suffered."

Su Jin cupped his hands to express his thanks, and walked in, lifted the curtain, and opened the curtain of the outer bed, only to see Yan Biyun lying on the bed with a face as white as paper, Xiao Xian'er scrubbing her body with a hot towel, and a midwife holding a ball of meat. The squawking thing was swaddled on one side.

Su Jin quickly came to the head of the bed, stretched out her hand to stroke Yan Biyun's cheek and said, "Madam, you have worked hard."

Yan Biyun slowly opened his eyes, looking extremely tired, but he said softly with a smile on his face: "Mr. Lang, the slave family has finally passed on to the Su family. The slave family has not worked hard at all, and is very happy."

Su Jin leaned over and kissed her on the cheek, and whispered in her ear: "It doesn't matter after the biography, the important thing is that you are safe."

Yan Biyun smiled and said, "Have you seen the baby?"

Su Jin said: "I haven't had time to see it yet."

Yan Biyun said angrily: "How can a father not look at his own baby, Xian'er, please ask the midwife to bring the baby to the officials."

Xiao Xian'er promised to help the midwife put on the swaddling clothes and walked over with the screaming baby in her arms. Su Jin clumsily took it and looked into the swaddling clothes, and was startled.

This is not a child, he is simply a little old man, with wrinkled skin and glowing red, he is just like a little monster with closed eyes and claws.

In the ear, Xiao Xianer also said: "Look at this little guy, his eyebrows and eyes look like a young master." Su Jin almost spit out a mouthful of old blood, did he just look like this?

"Why is this child so wrinkled?" Su Jin asked suspiciously.

Both the midwife and Xiao Xianer couldn't stop laughing, the midwife said: "Everyone who is born is like this, soaked and wrinkled in the mother's womb, and after birth, it will grow in the wind. You will watch it tomorrow, and it will be white if you keep it." A handsome young man."



Su Jin was dubious, and put the baby next to Yan Biyun. Yan Biyun lifted up his clothes and exposed the hemisphere to feed the baby. The baby was eating like a tiger cub. Yan Biyun looked at the baby lovingly, with maternal instinct in his eyes of brilliance.

"Let Madam rest for a while, the officials should go out, it's not good for the cold wind to come and go." The midwife urged.

Su Jin hurriedly said: "Let's go now, the midwife will take care of her, madam, I'll go out first."

Yan Biyun smiled and said: "Don't forget to announce the good news to mother-in-law. By the way, the baby's name hasn't been named yet, so hurry up and give it a name."

Xiao Xianer said: "Miss, don't worry about it, take care of it with peace of mind, it's your turn to worry about these things."

……

Su Jin is also not very good at naming. The child was born in Qinzhou, so Su Jin saved his brain and called him Su Qin. As for the same name as Su Qin in the Warring States Period, Su Jin didn't care.

On the contrary, Rouniang Huanniang and the others gave the boy a nickname of Hu'er, which means that he is like a little tiger cub, everyone calls it fluently, but Hu'er and Hu'er can't leave it.

The news that Su Jin was happy to have a son spread all over the city immediately. Officials of all sizes came to congratulate him. They finally got the chance to flatter them. This time, everyone tried their best to have a good time.

A few days later, Mrs. Wang and Yan's Mansion both got the news. Mrs. Wang happily went to the temple to donate a golden body. Yan Shu immediately reported the news to Zhao Zhen. Zhao Zhen was not stingy, and immediately issued an order It can be said that it is a great honor to confer the official title of Yun Qiwei on Su Qin, who is still in his infancy.

In the blink of an eye, one month passed, and the Su family's children's full moon wine was bustlingly held in Qinzhou City.It seems that Qinzhou City has never been so lively. Needless to say, all the officials from the prefectures on the Northwest Road have appeared on the stage, and more than a dozen people from the capital city thousands of years away have also come. They also came to congratulate the Su family's child on the full moon without hesitation, and there was an old acquaintance among them. Su Jin was very happy to see him, that is Bao Zheng, the prefect of Yingtian Prefecture, who was newly transferred to the capital to serve as Yushi Zhongcheng.

Su Jin was also surprised. Logically speaking, it is already a great honor for these people to send someone to give a gift. The new year is approaching, and all the yamen are extremely busy. It is unreasonable for my child to celebrate the full moon, so there must be something wrong.

Facts have proved that Su Jin was not overly worried. After the banquet that night, when Su Jin accompanied the adults to chat at the official post where they stayed, he learned the purpose of everyone's trip. An earth-shattering event happened.

One afternoon half a month ago, Zhao Zhen summoned Fan Zhongyan, Han Qi and &#; Bi in the imperial study room, and asked the three of them about the accumulated abuses and three redundant issues inside and outside the court in recent years. As for why Zhao Zhen singled out these three people to come It is not difficult to figure out the reason for asking instead of asking the important ministers of the central government, Lu Yijian, Yan Shu, Du Yan, Xia Song and others.

In Zhao Zhen's view, these officials have been in high positions for a long time, and they have become insensitive to the abuses of the court. Fan Zhongyan, Han Qi and &#; After being promoted, they have a good understanding of the people's sentiments and opinions below, and they have a straightforward personality and no Bianliang official habits. Their words may be more true.

All in all, Zhao Zhen's summoning this time was not on a whim. On this year's imperial examination, Zhao Zhen improvised a question, and Su Jin also wrote an impromptu article "Ten Disadvantages of Policy" which touched Zhao Zhen's heart. A seed was planted in Zhen's heart. Although he secretly tested whether Su Jin could put these ten evils into reform, Su Jin flatly rejected him, but Zhao Zhen would rather think that Su Jin thought that he was not capable enough and prestige was not enough to take on the responsibility. For this great task, the desire to change has never died.

This time, Zhao Zhen selected Fan Zhongyan, Han Qi Bi and others. These people have become figures that have attracted much attention in terms of talent, learning and prestige. It is capable of this.

Zhao Zhen brought up Su Jin's ten evils again, Han Qi and Bi were fine, but Fan Zhongyan was in a cold sweat. Fan Zhongyan never expected that some thoughts that often lingered in his It was exactly the same as this Su Jin, and even the words I wanted to use overlapped, as if Su Jin was a roundworm in my stomach&#; Talking about his own thoughts, it seems that this Su Jin coincides with his own feelings.

Of course, it is impossible for Fan Zhongyan to say that Su Jin’s writing is exactly what he thought before, so it is so wise. He just expressed his agreement with most of Su Jin’s views and put forward some new ideas; when Zhao Zhen slowly said When they wanted to change these malpractices, the three of them were silent.

None of the three are fools. They know that some of these things can be done, and some of them have to risk the displeasure of the world, otherwise it will backfire.