blogombal Chapter 88 School Enrollment Matters
Chapter 88 School Enrollment Matters
Chapter 88 School Enrollment Matters
The father and son arrived at Jingxin Hall. Upon entering, they saw Old Madam Wang and Madam Feng sitting at the head of the table, while Hua Lan and a young man who looked to be in his twenties sat at the lower left, talking.
"Min'er and You'er are back," said Old Mrs. Wang with a smile.
"The son (grandson) pays respects to his mother (grandmother)." The father and son bowed in greeting.
"hehe."
Grandma Wang smiled and said, "Not long after you left, Hualan and her grandson-in-law came to visit."
"The niece (Yuan Wenshao) greets her uncle."
Hua Lan and Yuan Wenshao had already stood up when Wang Min and his son entered, and upon seeing this, they quickly bowed.
"No need for formalities, please sit down." Wang Min nodded with a smile.
Wang You stood beside his father, sizing up Yuan Wenshao.
Yuan Wenshao should be around twenty years old now, but he looks like he's twenty-seven or twenty-eight.
Although Sheng Hong is nearly forty, he is used to a life of luxury and looks very young.
Judging by his appearance alone, you'd think he was only thirty.
If this father-in-law and son-in-law were standing together, they would probably all think they were the same age.
Although Yuan Wenshao looked a bit old, his appearance suggested he was honest and kind.
Perhaps due to years of martial arts training, he is tall and upright, and overall, he makes a good impression.
In fact, Yuan Wenshao was indeed a good person.
Although from a later perspective, he was the kind of person who was blindly filial.
However, according to current moral standards, his blind filial piety cannot be said to be wrong.
Moreover, although he was blindly filial, he was still very good to Hualan.
Otherwise, Hua Lan in the original story wouldn't have kept waiting for him to realize his mistake.
Ignoring family factors and focusing solely on Yuan Wenshao, he was indeed a good match.
This makes one admire Sheng's eye for talent.
Although the Sheng family's own affairs were a complete mess, they were truly impeccable when it came to choosing a son-in-law.
"I heard a few days ago that my maternal grandmother and aunt came to the capital. I should have come to visit them, but unfortunately my mother-in-law was not feeling well, so I was delayed," Hua Lan said apologetically.
"Now that you've married into the Yuan family, it's only natural that you should serve your husband and in-laws well. That's your duty, and you've done the right thing."
Wang Min praised, "It seems your mother has done an excellent job of educating you over the years."
"Hehe, judging by the days, the Sheng family will be arriving in the capital soon. Once they're all in Bianjing, it will be much easier for them to visit each other," Old Madam Wang said with a smile.
The family sat in the hall chatting, and had lunch at Jingxin Hall.
After sitting for a while longer after the meal, Hua Lan and Yuan Wenshao finally said their goodbyes and left.
Wang Min and Madam Feng led Wang You to see them off, and only after seeing them off into their carriage did they turn around and go inside.
"Hua Lan said that her mother-in-law is sick, but I don't think it's that simple. If that's the case, she should send someone to inform me so I can prepare gifts and go to visit her."
Madam Feng pouted and said, "This makes it seem like our Wang family doesn't know any manners."
The Wang and Yuan families are now relatives. Logically, when the Wang family comes to Beijing, Hua Lan and Yuan Wenshao should pay a visit first, and then the two families should begin formal exchanges.
Before Hua Lan and Yuan Wenshao paid their respects, the Wang family could not possibly visit the Yuan family first.
But this is only under normal circumstances. When the Wang family came to the capital, Madam Yuan was ill, so they should have gone to visit her.
However, the Wang family had no idea, and the Yuan family didn't notify anyone either.
Outsiders wouldn't think that way; they would just think the Wang family doesn't know how to behave.
"The illness must not be serious, so they didn't notify us," Wang Min said.
Although he also felt that Hualan was wrong, she was, after all, his niece, so he still defended her.
Wang You knew the specific reason, but it was inconvenient for him to say.
He had thought that using the Wang family to intimidate the Yuan family would make them behave better, but now it seems that it had no effect.
Indeed, the Yuan family had their titles stripped and ancestral property confiscated, and now that their titles have been restored, they are just empty shells.
They're counting on getting rich by marrying off their sons, how could they give up so easily?
In mid-March, the Sheng family arrived in Beijing.
After arriving in the capital, Sheng Hong first went to the Ministry of Personnel to take up his post, and then, accompanied by Madam Wang, Sheng Changbai, and Rulan, he visited Old Madam Wang at the Wang family home.
In truth, although Sheng Hong's position in the Ministry of Personnel was that of an official under the Ministry of Personnel, he did not actually have much power and was mostly used for transitional arrangements or sinecures for officials.
During the Sui and Tang dynasties, the Shangshutai (Imperial Secretariat) became the highest administrative body of the imperial court, and its chief official, the Shangshuling (Minister of the Imperial Secretariat), was the prime minister.
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However, in the Song Dynasty, the power of the Three Departments and Six Ministries was decentralized, and the role of the Secretariat became very limited.
It is only the nominal highest administrative body.
Even so, the Secretariat still wielded considerable power.
Although Sheng Hong was only a minor official in the Ministry of Personnel, he usually had the opportunity to come into contact with several ministers and the emperor.
In the Song Dynasty, an official's rank was secondary; the most important factor was their authority.
When one's rank and authority are both low, the power of the organization one serves becomes crucial.
In fact, apart from the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Personnel, the positions held by officials of the same rank as Sheng Hong in the other four ministries were not as high as those held by the Minister of Personnel.
Everyone here is just a minor official with limited authority, but the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat has the opportunity to come into contact with important officials in the court. As long as they perform well, they can easily be promoted and given important positions.
In comparison, although Wang Min, the Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Justice, was of higher rank than the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, his potential and other aspects were not comparable.
Sheng Hong brought generous gifts and spoke very sincerely during his visit.
Grandma Wang scolded him for bringing so many gifts, but Sheng Hong said that he had been unfilial for not being able to visit often over the years.
Bringing gifts now is nothing but mundane things, insufficient to make up for the loss.
I will visit Grandma Wang often in the future.
Hearing this, Old Mrs. Wang beamed with joy, thinking to herself that she hadn't misjudged him back then.
After exchanging pleasantries and catching up, Old Madam Wang glanced at Sheng Changbai standing behind Sheng Hong and said, "Brother Bai's studies cannot be delayed. Now that we're in Bianjing, are we sending him to the Imperial Academy, or are there other plans?"
"Replying to Mother-in-law, I unintentionally helped the mother of Zhuang, the scholar of Mingde Academy, before. Hearing that she was preparing to return to her hometown to enjoy her old age, I shamelessly invited her to come to the capital to teach my son."
Sheng said, "Although the Imperial Academy is good, Brother Bai prefers quiet. There are too many students at the Imperial Academy, and he is not used to it. So he plans to set up a private school at home."
"I've also heard of Scholar Zhuang from Mingde Academy."
Wang Min exclaimed in surprise, "I never expected that my brother-in-law could actually invite Scholar Zhuang to teach at our private school."
Scholars have their pride, and even when they teach and educate, they will only do so in academies or by opening their own schools.
Those with even a little bit of fame would not be willing to teach at a private school in their homes.
"It was because I had unintentionally helped Zhuang Xuejiu, and Zhuang Xuejiu also liked Bai Ge'er very much, that's why I agreed," Sheng Hong said with a smile.
It would be a great honor to be able to invite Scholar Zhuang.
Although the other party agreed out of gratitude, Sheng certainly couldn't say that.
"Although You'er holds an official position, he is still young, and the Grand Secretary Hai intends for him to continue his studies."
Wang Min said, "Keyou doesn't want to go to the Imperial Academy. I'd like him to study at my brother-in-law's house under the tutelage of Scholar Zhuang. Is that convenient?"
"Convenient? Of course it's convenient!"
Before Sheng Hong could speak, Madam Wang laughed and said, "Anyway, all the boys in the family are going to school, so one more won't make a difference."
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