bayedsolid Chapter 208 The Zhong Family's Past
Chapter 208 The Zhong Family's Past
After a late but sumptuous lunch at the Zhong family, Mrs. Luo invited everyone to have tea in the flower hall.
A mahogany screen carved with auspicious meanings is placed in the flower hall, dividing the flower hall into two relatively independent areas.
The maids placed tea on both sides of the flower hall and brought fruits and snacks.
Zhong Dingyi and Luo Shi entertained the male and female guests, who sat on both sides of the screen and chatted with each other.
Zhong Yunfeng was seen supporting a gentle and elegant middle-aged woman, walking from the backyard, passing through the moon gate, and coming to the flower hall.
The gentle middle-aged woman knelt down and bowed to Luo, calling her "Madam" softly.
Then Mrs. Luo walked forward with a smile, took the gentle middle-aged woman's arm, and introduced her to everyone present.
"Come, come, let me introduce you to everyone. This is Yunfeng's biological mother, Huang."
Huang wore light and elegant makeup, with a faint smile on her face, and knelt down to bow to everyone present.
Mrs. Luo then introduced all the female members of the Ye family to Mrs. Huang. When she introduced Erniu, Mrs. Huang smiled calmly at her. While looking at her, she took off a mutton-fat jade bracelet from her wrist.
"What a smart and well-behaved girl. This bracelet was given to me by the master when I first got married. I will give it to you today as a gift for you."
Seeing how gentle and friendly Huang was, Erniu couldn't help but feel fond of her. However, faced with such an expensive gift from Huang, she tried to refuse it.
When women like Luo, Lian, and Weng saw this, they all laughed.
"My aunt gave it to you, so just keep it."
Seeing Erniu refusing, and his aunt looking at Erniu with a sincere smile on her face, Zhong Yunfeng spoke to Erniu with a blush on his face.
After hearing what Zhong Yunfeng said, Erniu's resistance was no longer as fierce as before. Huang gently grabbed Erniu's wrist and put the warm and delicate mutton-fat jade bracelet on Erniu's wrist. Huang lifted Erniu's hand and looked at it carefully.
"It's just the right size, and it matches the girl's fair hands very well."
"Thank you, aunt."
Everyone had a faint smile on their face as they looked at Erniu who was blushing a little.
Huang then stretched out her slender hand and invited Erniu.
"Would you be willing to walk with me into the garden?"
Erniu blushed and looked at Lian, who nodded slightly. Erniu then nodded her chin towards Huang and reached out to hold Huang's slender hand.
Then I saw two beautiful figures walking towards the back of the Moon Gate.
Zhong Yunfeng then blushed, walked around the screen and came to the male guests.
Zhong Dingyi was talking to everyone about his youth.
"Our Zhong family has lived in Yuzhou City for generations. In the previous dynasty, we had two Jinshi (imperial scholar) graduates. We were very famous at that time. However, no one in later generations could produce two more Jinshis. It was not until more than ten years ago that our cousin Zhong Dingren passed the imperial examination and became a Jinshi again. Only then did our Zhong family regain some prestige in Yuzhou City."
When Mr. Cai heard Zhong Dingyi mention Zhong Dingren, he knew this man a few times. He saw Mr. Cai stroking his white beard with a smile on his face.
"I didn't expect that Zhong Dingren is your cousin. I met him several times in Shengjing. He should be the deputy governor of Yangzhou now, right?"
Zhong Dingyi didn't expect that Mr. Cai actually recognized his cousin, but when he thought about the fact that Mr. Cai had once been the chief academic officer of the Imperial College, he understood.
"That's right, my cousin is now the Tongzhi in Yangzhou."
Seeing Zhong Dingyi answering him respectfully, Mr. Cai smiled and said.
"This Yangzhou is a prosperous place in our dynasty. Yangzhou is also an important city in our dynasty. Your cousin is in his prime, and his future is limitless!"
Although Ye Xiaozheng and others knew that there were officials in Zhong Yunfeng's family, after hearing what Mr. Cai said, it seemed that Zhong Yunfeng's cousin had a promising future.
"Since your cousin was able to pass the imperial examination, I guess your family attaches great importance to studying, right?"
Hearing Mr. Cai's question, Zhong Dingyi shook his head in shame.
"Back then, I studied with several cousins in the clan, but I was not as talented as my cousin. I was almost twenty years old before I passed the examination for a Tongsheng. At that time, my cousin was already preparing for the autumn examination. It happened that my father passed away unexpectedly. As the eldest grandson of the eldest son, I naturally took over the position of clan leader, and the matter of studying was put on hold."
Mr. Cai nodded and smiled.
"This big family needs someone who can stand up and support the family at a critical moment. I see that you have managed the Zhong family in an orderly manner, which also proves your ability from the side."
Hearing Mr. Cai praising him like this, Zhong Dingyi also showed a warm smile on his face.
"After I took over the family business, my cousin successfully passed the imperial examination and passed the imperial examination the following year. Since then, my cousin's career has been smooth sailing."
Everyone nodded and listened to what Mr. Cai said.
"I remember that your cousin was highly appreciated by Lord Zheng, who was then the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue. Your cousin's wife must be Lord Zheng's daughter, right?"
"That's right, my cousin's wife is a rare noble lady in my clan, but she is not as delicate as other rich girls. Not long after they got married, my cousin was appointed to the remote Hongyang, to be the county magistrate of a county under Hongyang. He stayed there for several years."
"Lord Zheng has made a very good arrangement. It was precisely because of your cousin's achievements in Hongyang, a remote and poor place, that he was transferred back to Shengjing and promoted three levels to become a fifth-rank official in the Ministry of Justice. Your cousin also did a remarkable job in the Ministry of Justice. Later, he was transferred to Yangzhou. Although he was only promoted half a level and became a fifth-rank official, as I said before, Yangzhou is rich and is the granary and main source of commercial taxes for our dynasty. It is not inconceivable that he can gain experience here and become the head of the central government in the future."
Although Zhong Dingyi and Zhong Yunfeng knew that Zhong Dingren had a successful career, they did not know the subtleties of the position in the officialdom. After listening to what Mr. Cai said, they felt enlightened.
Zhong Dingyi looked at Zhong Yunfeng beside him, feeling somewhat apologetic, and then he spoke to everyone.
"I, Yu Yunfeng, feel guilty. I only have two children, Yunfeng and his elder brother Yunhai. The two brothers went to the clan school when they were young, and both children did well in their studies. After my cousin was transferred to Yangzhou as the co-magistrate, he planned to select one child from each branch of the clan and personally bring him to Yangzhou to teach. The one from my branch who followed my cousin to Yangzhou was Yunfeng's elder brother Yunhai."
After hearing what Zhong Dingyi said, everyone turned their eyes to Zhong Yunfeng, only to see that Zhong Yunfeng had a calm face. After meeting Ye Changyan, Zhong Yunfeng gradually became indifferent to this matter. Now, like his father, he seems to have found something that can allow him to display his strengths.
"Yun Hai brought his wife and children to Yangzhou with his cousin. Now he has already achieved the title of a scholar. A few days ago, Yun Hai wrote to him, saying that his cousin planned to let Yun Hai take a test this year. He is currently preparing for the Autumn Examination this fall. But every time I think of this, I feel that I owe Yun Feng a lot."