in spring

Chapter 272 The past cannot be traced
The second wife, Mrs. Zhuo, sat down and acted. Within two days, she discussed with the second old lady about the school for the servants' children, and invited the patriarch's wife to reveal her words. Seeing that there was no objection from the elders and the clan, she dismissed it. Someone went to inform Lord Hou to ask Zhou Nian to come over.

Lord Hou was very surprised, and he was still a little unhappy.He originally thought that although Zhou Nian was a little older, he still had some talents and learning. Accompanied reading was just a cover. The key was to let Xueshi Liu meet Zhou Nian. Liu Xueshi's sympathy may be aroused by his talent and honest temper back then, as well as Zhou Nian's strength of character and talent.

Liu Xueshi is not a dignitary with real power, but he has a respected status in Qingliu. As long as he speaks something nice about the Zhou family's injustice case, even if he just reveals a little meaning, it can become a bargaining chip for the Zhou family to reverse the case!In the case of the Zhou family, in fact, everyone in the court knew that they were wronged, but it was only because King Ke fastened the word "judged by the former emperor", claiming that if the current emperor changes, it will be unfilial, which suppresses all possibilities of redress.Coupled with the fact that the case is very old, most of the people who had good relations with the Zhou family back then were defeated in that turmoil, and the others were afraid of being implicated, so they hid far away.Even the people in Qingliu are jealous of the accusation of "disrespecting the late emperor", and dare not speak out to be fair.Hou Ye calculated that Xueshi Liu is a recognized master of Confucian classics, and is highly respected in the court and the public. If he reveals a little bit, he has his own disciples to ponder, as long as the court has a direction, he will throw out "The first emperor was deceived by treacherous officials." Only then did this judgment be made, and it is the act of great filial piety to punish treacherous evil in the name of the late emperor." Why can't the Zhou family's case be rehabilitated?As for himself, he avenged his grievances for his friend, and this friend is still a member of Qingliu, and he has raised his friend's blood for many years. In addition, he tried to reject King Ke's criticism for the sake of the saint, and his reputation will definitely rise to a higher level!
In fact, Lord Hou knew it well, at his age and status, he no longer had to seek fame and fortune, but he still had to fight for the future of his children and grandchildren.Although the eldest daughter is a princess and has a son, in the past two years, her son-in-law Prince Jing has taken several concubines one after another. Although the eldest daughter is annoyed, those concubines were all given by the palace. He also failed to have another son. If things go on like this, if there is a mistake in the future, wouldn't his youngest son lose his help?Thinking about his own family, the eldest son has already separated, and the second son has a bad marriage. Because he is worried that this son will be implicated, he dare not mention the separation again.The two in-laws, neither the Fan family nor the Hai family of the mother's family, can't help, and the Fan family has had some unexplained changes recently.If he doesn't fight for some bargaining chips for the Marquis of the Qing Dynasty, after his death, the family will definitely decline!
It's rare for a brother to live up to expectations. He has done well in foreign posts, has a good official voice, and is highly valued. Unfortunately, he was not sensible when he was young, and he was a little alienated from this brother. He could only make up for it.But he can't pin all his hopes on his brother's family!Now he is keeping a low profile, secretly trying to find a way to make friends, since there is a chance for the Hou Mansion to get in touch with Qingliu civil servants, in order to revive the dead situation of the Zhou family's redress, and to add some help to his family, he will do whatever he wants. Must try!

However, no matter how well he planned, it would be useless if his siblings did not cooperate.If he really asked Zhou Nian to be that kind of teacher, even if he taught thousands of servants, it would not help the Zhou family's case!Not to mention being able to make friends with Liu Xueshi!How can this work? !
However, he had already said what he said, so why would he go back on his word at this time?

Maybe... there is hope?For example, let Zhou Nian exchange knowledge with his nephew while teaching?

Zhuo didn't know anything about the entanglement of his eldest uncle, but after getting everything ready, he directly called someone to come to work.Originally, it was the request made by Lord Hou. You can't send him out and ask him to teach instead of using him as a companion, so you just refuse?Mrs. Zhuo was very upright and confident, and kept saying that he missed his old friends and refused to neglect this. Lord Hou weighed it again and again, and finally reluctantly let Zhou Nian go to the East Mansion, but he still told him to find a chance to meet Liu Xueshi, or find a way to get along with him. Li Dun made friends with his nephew and tried to get his nephew to mention his name in front of Liu Xueshi.

Ever since Zhou Nian overheard Lord Hou befriending officials of the Liang faction, he had suspicions about this elder who had been loved and respected since he was a child, and then he was ostracized and ridiculed by other Qing guests and schoolboys in the study room outside, and then Liang Liang Her dowry servant bullied her a few times, and she felt extremely sad.He suffered a serious illness, returned to the study outside and continued to be squeezed out by others, but he was unwilling to tell Lord Hou and Li You about these grievances, so the situation became more and more difficult.In addition, because Li You was ordered by his father to study, the number of times he came to see him was reduced, and Lord Hou was busy all day long, so he rarely saw him. Zhou Nian had a vague feeling that he must have been abandoned, right?Later, Lord Hou suddenly told him that there was an opportunity for him to get in touch with people like Liu Xueshi, not only to be taught by him, but also to be able to win a big aid. Zhou Nian was very excited.He tried his best to express himself, but unexpectedly, he was rejected by Dongfu. Seeing that his expectations were in vain, and seeing Lord Hou frowning tightly, he was really hopeless.

Now that the opportunity came to him again, he was already a little numb.He had no hope at all, but with the encouragement of his friends Li You and Chunying, he came up with the idea of ​​trying his best. In the past few years, he has devoted all his energy to this matter. Maybe he is destined to be a An official slave all his life.With the name of the late emperor under pressure, who would dare to rehabilitate his family?The Dong Mansion asked him to teach the servants to read, so he would go, at least, he was teaching and teaching, not being a slave and being insulted by others.

After accepting the errand, Zhou Nian had to go to the East Mansion to kowtow to thank him, follow Director Xu's instructions and arrangements, and prepare everything needed for teaching.Because he is the son of an old friend, the second old lady specially invited him to meet him.He went, because the room was full of female relatives, he kept his head down, and answered quietly, and occasionally raised his head to answer, but he saw Chunying next to the second old lady, and couldn't help being surprised.

Isn't Chunying thrown to Zhuangzi? !He told Li You several times, and Li You promised well at first, but then became impatient for some reason.He wondered if Li You's friendship with him had changed following the failure of the redress, so he had to hold back his mouth and didn't expect to see Chunying here.what the hell is it? !
The surprise on Zhou Nian's face flashed past, although he quickly calmed down, everyone noticed.The second wife sat on the side and said with a smile: "I've heard that Miss Chunying cleaned your house in the past, so she must have remembered an old friend?"

Zhou Nian didn't know how to answer, Chunying was afraid of being suspected, so she smiled and said: "Master Zhou, but you forgot who I am? When you first returned to the capital, you lived in a small courtyard in the back street. The third young master once The one who ordered me to clean your house, I was only eleven or twelve years old!"

Zhou Nian smiled awkwardly: "Yes... I remembered... I was bothering the girl back then..." He heard Chunying's hint.

Chunying secretly took a look at the second old lady and the second wife, seeing that there was no hesitation on their faces, she continued to smile and said: "After I left the Hou's mansion, I moved to the East mansion to serve the second old lady. I heard that Master Zhou It is a great thing to be a teacher for our school. It is a great thing to be a teacher. If you don’t talk about peaches and plums, you will make your own way. I would like to congratulate you first. I ask Master Zhou to be good at teaching students, and don’t let our old lady down. , Madam's kindness."

Zhou Nian had completely calmed down, and bowed to the second old lady when he heard the words: "Zhou Nian is definitely not an ungrateful person, and he will live up to the old lady's entrustment!" He bowed to the second wife again.

Although the second old lady and the second wife's mother-in-law and daughter-in-law didn't expect him to be sincerely grateful, they were still very happy to see him well-mannered and respectful. The former saw that he was thin and his clothes were old, so he ordered someone to reward him. He has ten taels of silver and a few new clothes, so that he can replenish some things and nourish his body.

Because the second old lady rewarded the medicinal materials again, in order to inform Bai Ling, Chunying left the house halfway before they finished speaking.The things were delivered directly to Zhou Nian's home. After Chunying counted them, she ordered someone to deliver them. Just as she was about to go back to the main room, she saw Zhou Nian walking out, presumably the meeting was over and she was about to leave.

When Zhou Nian saw her, he stopped. He felt his feet weighed a thousand catties. He was so full of words that he didn't know what to say. Then he thought about how he was in such a situation. Would Chunying look down on her when she became a big girl with a head and a face? ?As soon as this thought came up, it was immediately suppressed.Chunying has never thought of this before, she is naturally different from others, this kind of thinking simply underestimates her!It's just... Zhou Nian glanced around, this is the inner courtyard after all, and there are other people around, if he talks to Chunying alone, will it harm her reputation?Hesitating on this, hesitating on that, Zhou Nian dared not speak.

Chunying is quite generous.Although she knew that private conversations between men and women in ancient times would cause gossip, but first, she had already mentioned Zhou Nian's acquaintance in front of the big bosses. If she avoided it, she would appear guilty. Second, she also wanted to know Zhou Nian's recent situation A few words of comfort.So she stepped forward and said with a smile: "Young Master Zhou, it's been a long time. You seem to be a little bit calmer recently, please take everything into consideration. The boat will be straight when it reaches the bridge. It's not the end of the day, so why be discouraged? "

Seeing this, Zhou Nian thought that Chunying was on duty here. Since she dared to speak up, she had something to rely on, so she no longer hesitated, and said with a wry smile: "It's useless to think about hopeless things. It's good now... ..." With a movement in my heart, I suddenly had an idea, looked at Chunying hurriedly and asked: "The second wife already asked me to go back, but suddenly she asked me to teach students... Could it be you..."

Chunying smiled: "Is this... In short, you just need to remember that it's the grace of our old lady. I'm just a girl, so I dare not take the credit."

What else does Zhou Nian not understand?Suddenly recalling that when he heard that Chunying was punished, he hesitated to save her, and he couldn't help feeling ashamed.That day when Chunying was in trouble, he only thought about himself, he didn't help, and he couldn't help afterward. As a result, he was in a difficult situation today, but it was Chunying's suggestion that helped him.How could he have the face to see her? !
Seeing him blushing, Chunying felt puzzled, thinking that he was embarrassed by his own words, and comforted him: "I don't know how your life is going, but I just think that a teacher is better than being a servant , the second old lady and the second wife are also good masters, and you never treat your servants harshly... I know you have always had your own opinions, and you have big ambitions... Maybe I am too busy?"

Zhou Nian quickly shook his head: "No, no..." After a pause, he smiled wryly again, "Girl saved me...you saved me again...but I...I...I'm so sorry... ..."

Chunying didn't know that he was talking about her being punished, and thought he was referring to her inability to help herself out after being rehabilitated, so she smiled and said, "What's the matter? You haven't been rehabilitated yourself, so what can you do?" I'm not such a stingy person, let alone the future, I have already planned it, I don't need your help, you can teach well in the future, that is also a good job!" Then lowered his voice, "Everything is possible, don't be discouraged, maybe there will be opportunities in the future?" After saying that, he smiled and bowed, and went to the main room.

Zhou Nian stayed where he was, dazed, and suddenly smiled wryly.After all, he still didn't have the courage to speak out... Maybe, the happy days of the past can never come back...

(End of this chapter)