Chapter 53: Borrowing a Place to Stay

  Li Qianqian's mother came in and saw Chen Jing here, while Li Qianqian was lively in front of Chen Jing, without the usual reserve between men and women, her face not looking too good.

  Chen Jiong watched as he stood up and bid farewell.

  Li Qianqian felt a little regretful, she still had many questions that she hadn't asked.

  However, her mother's face was tense and she kept Chen Xuan here. Chen Xuan also felt uncomfortable, so Li Juanjuan didn't persuade her to stay any longer.

  Chen Jing walked out of Li Xiang's courtyard, thinking on the way: "A girl as big as Xiang is actually not very aware of the relationship between men and women. Adults are suspicious and try to stop her, but this will only make her think in that direction..."

  Li Qianqian is naturally passionate and treats Chen Jing and her own brothers almost equally.

  Her mother didn't think so.

  Chen Jiong is Li Erniang's younger uncle, and he is one generation apart from Qianqian. Even if they have a deep affection for each other, it would be impossible for them to get married, as this goes against the mainstream values of their time.

  Li Dalang understood, so Li Juanjuan stayed with Chen Xiang, he didn't say anything.

  Li Qianqian also knew that she was close to Chen Jing, but only treated her as a approachable elder. Children all like elders who are not distant.

  And Li Dainai, as the head of the Li family's main house and the future highest decision-maker in the inner courtyard, should have had such insight, but she didn't understand.

  Although it is said that a virtuous wife can bring less trouble to her husband, being virtuous alone is not enough. From now on, when looking for a wife, I should find one who has insight and vision. Chen Jing thought to himself on his way back.

  However, in this era of blind dates and arranged marriages, the kind of woman you marry depends on your luck. You can't have too much contact with your fiancée before marriage; if you're lucky, you might get to see her once or twice and know what she looks like.

  "What's the point of thinking about this? In a year or two, I won't be marrying an old wife anyway." Chen Jing shook his head and quickly walked out.

  Two days later, Li Juan's rubella was much better.

  It doesn't itch as much anymore.

  This is the credit of Chen Jinn's medicinal bath.

  She is still taking the oral medication.

  "It's also good to study medicine!" Li Dalang said to Li Erniang.

  Chen Jing cured Li Juanjuan, making Li Dalang greatly change his views on studying medicine, and even actively helped Chen Jing persuade his elder sister-in-law.

  Li Erniang took her younger brother back to her parents' home, hoping that her older brother would help persuade Chen Xuan to give up his idea of studying medicine. Unexpectedly, in the end, her brother turned around and persuaded her to support Chen Xuan's medical studies instead.

  Li Erniang was at her wit's end.

  Her gaze at Chen Jing was also very different from before.

  She had almost no more thoughts of hindering her from studying medicine in her heart.

  Two days later, Li Juan's condition stabilized, and Chen Jing's family was about to bid farewell.

  The day before, Li Jia's house prepared a farewell dinner for Li Erniang and her family.

  Boys and girls over ten years old sat separately, so the entire dining hall was divided by twelve screens with Huang Yang wood bases. The men sat on the east side, the women on the west and north sides, while children were arranged at two tables in the corners, allowing them to sit randomly.

  Chen Jiong is a relative, so he followed Li Dalang and others to sit at the main table.

  The dinner table was originally quite lively, with everyone toasting each other.

  At this time, Li Balang suddenly said: "I'll follow Second Sister to Wangxian."

  The dinner table suddenly fell silent.

  His several elder brothers all stared blankly.

  Li Erlang asked: "Going to do what?"

  "I want to stay at home and study. At my house, there are always relatives and friends coming and going, I can't calm down. My second sister's household is simple, and she has Zong to keep her company. If I close the door and study hard for half a year, I will take the imperial examination next year." said Li Balang.

  These words were like thunder, and they exploded in a burst of noise.

  Li Balang's several older brothers all stared at him in shock.

  In the past, he only thought about playing polo and didn't let him go out, but he secretly went anyway. He never mentioned reading books.

  What's going on now?

  "Suddenly saying you want to read books is also suspicious." Li Dalang said, "Among us brothers, you are the youngest. We don't expect you to revive our family's fortunes. You should play if you want to, and we won't restrict you. What's really going on? Tell us clearly, don't use reading as an excuse!"

  "It's not a banner!" Li Balang's expression was solemn, "Even if you've read books and even if you've passed the imperial examination, it doesn't necessarily mean you can be an official. But if you don't study, then it's even more impossible to become an official."

  Will you play polo all your life?

  No matter how well I play polo, others will not look up to me. What's the point? I won't play anymore. I'll go read books and temporarily cut off contact with friends like Yao Jiang. If I stay in Yaojiang, even if I don't go out, they will come looking for me. So I say, let's live in Wangxian for half a year.

  Li Daling and several others looked at each other in dismay.

  They never thought that Li Balang would have such aspirations.

  Chen Jing, who was sitting next to him, also heard it clearly.

  Chen Jiong didn't say a word, he just gave Li Balang a look.

  "You..." Li Erlang was stunned for a moment, "How did you suddenly think of becoming an official? Is being an official that easy to do? Even after struggling for over a decade, it's not guaranteed that you'll pass the exam, and even if you do, there's no guarantee that you'll get an official position."

  They think that taking this road of studying is too difficult and too far, time-consuming and laborious, and maybe in the end they will get nothing.

  The Li family is not a scholarly family, they don't consider reading as their duty.

  If a young man says he wants to study and become an official in the future, the Li family will undoubtedly be willing to support him with all their might. But if it's Li Balang who says this, there's no credibility at all.

  Li Balang is almost twenty years old.

  He has been playing for almost twenty years.

  A person cannot suddenly change their nature.

  Li Balang's brothers thought he was just trying to play some trick again.

  "I know, I'm willing to boil!" said Li Balang.

  The whole table fell silent for a moment.

  "What about those racing horses of yours, what's going to happen to them?" Li Sanlang asked tentatively.

  "Sold!" Li Balang said resolutely.

  The Li brothers were all shocked and amazed.

  Willing to sell the racing horse, this is a desperate move, a ruthless decision.

  After dinner, several brothers of the Li family continued their discussion.

  They asked Chen Jiong whether he agreed or disagreed with letting Li Balang go to the Chen family to study.

  "This matter, you have to ask my sister-in-law, she's in charge." Chen Jing said with a smile.

  Li Balang asked himself.

  Li Erniang was also shocked and puzzled.

  After repeated confirmation, Li Erlang knew that Li Balang really wanted to find a quiet place to study hard, and Li Erniang agreed.

  Li Erniang agreed, and the Li family discussed it again. In the end, Old Lady Li nodded, and Li Dalang also agreed.

  They came with five people and left with six.

  The Li family's carriage took them there.

  The carriage was spacious, and Li Balang and Chen Jing, Chen Wengong three people rode in one.

  Chen Wen-gong was very excited, he liked his eighth uncle very much.

  Chen Jiong smiled and asked him: "...... You went to school, what about the little monkey? Don't you plan to marry her?"

  Li Yongrong smiled slightly.

  At the mention of Cai Shuxian, he narrowed his eyes.

  That girl really likes him, he knows.

  "I've discussed it with Cai Erguo. I said that from now on, I won't play polo anymore and will focus on studying. Next year, I'll take the exam to become a Tongsheng, and Cai Erguo agreed. Once I pass the exam and become a Tongsheng, I'll go back and get married, and then continue reading slowly." said Li Balang.

  The Cai family agreed.

  Chen Jiong thought this was also good.

  On the way, they talked a lot about reading books again.

  Chen Jiong suggested to him: "You should find a teacher. Studying alone at home is still quite risky."

  "...I'm unknown, not even a child prodigy, what master would be willing to take me on?" Li Yong Rong said, "If you want to apprentice, you should find someone with exceptional talent, not some mediocre person."

  It seems he has done his homework and has a long-term goal in mind.

  Those truly great Confucian scholars, when accepting disciples, do not look at the other party's wealth. No matter how much money is offered, it is of no use. Of course, sometimes they also do not look at the other party's fame and achievements. However, having some achievements and some fame, at least has some advantages.

  Becoming an apprentice cannot rely solely on luck.

  Like Li Yongrong now, if you go to worship a great Confucian as a teacher, it's all up to luck. Luck is often unreliable, so it's better to recite some small famous sayings first as capital.

  After the Dragon Boat Festival, Li Yongrong had been thinking about this matter all along.

  He is determined to wash his heart and make a fresh start, striving to make progress.

  "It's also like that." Chen Jing smiled and said, "My brother also studied hard behind closed doors and passed the imperial examination to become a scholar. You work hard too, don't just say you're a child prodigy, maybe you'll pass the exam and become a top scholar."

  "That's the best it can be..." Li Yongrong said.

  The horse-drawn carriage was galloping along the official road.

  It was noon when they arrived at Wangxian County.

  The house in Qi Wan Lane was too small, so after Li Balang had finished his courtesy calls, he sent the carters away.

  Knowing they were back, Aunt Ge from the neighboring house ran over and said to Li Erniang: "These days, someone has been coming to our door, saying that they are looking for your husband. They even knocked on our door and asked if we knew where he went."

  Li Erniang was slightly surprised and asked: "Who is it?"

  "They are all decent people, dressed neatly and politely." said Aunt Ge.

  Not a single word of nonsense, Li Erniang let out a sigh of relief.

  "It's not the same group of people..." Aunt Ge said.

  Li Erniang glanced at Chen Jiong.

  Chen Jiong shrugged: "I don't know. Maybe it's someone from the Shen family?"

  He remembered that before he left, Shen Changyu had sent him a Dragon Boat Festival gift. As a result, he didn't even visit his door. Was there something going on?

  Li Erniang's heart was slightly moved.

  She thanked Aunt Ge.

  It's been half a month since I've been home, and there's a layer of dust in the house.

  Li Erniang and Qingyun were preparing to clean the house, so they said to Chen Xuan: "You take Erlang with you and go for a stroll in the city. Erlang has not strolled around our county seat yet."

  "Shall I help you with the harvest?" Chen Jing said, "With so many houses, when will you finish harvesting? I'll go fetch water."

  Collecting dust, must use water to wipe clean.

  Li Balang looked at Chen Jing in surprise, then looked at his second sister and muttered to himself: Help with the cleaning? Go fetch water? Second sister, are you using your brother-in-law as a servant?

  Li Erniang understood Li Balang's gaze and felt a bit embarrassed. She coughed lightly and said, "It doesn't matter, it will be fine soon."

  "It's okay, I'll go fetch water first," said Chen Jing. "The water in the household vat has been there for half a month and smells foul. I'll take Eighth Brother to the banks of the Jade Garden River to enjoy the scenery, which is also nice, and we'll go out again tomorrow."

  Then he said to Li Balang, "You see, our family has no young servants, and we can't let the women do such rough work as carrying water."

  Li Balang came back to his senses and said vaguely: "Good...good."

  He looked at Qingyun again.

  Why did Chen Xiang have to go himself when even a young servant or maid could have done the task of fetching water?

  Forget it, they are just a small household and don't care about rules, just go fetch water then!

  Li Erniang wanted to stop him, but then thought of Li Balang being there, Chen Jing said what was what, don't question him, so she didn't stop him much.

  "You're quite fond of my second sister." On the road, Li Balang came back to his senses and felt quite delighted.

  "She is my elder sister-in-law. I don't have a mother, she's like a mother to me." Chen Jing smiled and said.

  This is what we say to outsiders.

  He just couldn't bring himself to let his wife enjoy a leisurely life, while the woman labored. This viewpoint was also at odds with this patriarchal society, and Chen Jiong could only repeatedly emphasize that he regarded his sister-in-law as his mother.

  Filial piety is a great righteousness, and no one will think it strange anymore.

  ****

  It's Monday again, seeking recommendation votes~~