Transmigrated as A Farm Girl Making Her Family Rich

Chapter 65: Chapter 64 The Little Girl’s Deep Thoughts

Meng Zhaojun had taken an interest in the still-nursing boy Tang Shunyan since the day she met him and had sent over some goat’s milk.

Tang Shunyan reciprocated by having the goat’s milk made into pastries and sent them to Meng Zhaojun’s house.

This exchange brought the children of the two families closer, and with both mothers having the same intent, they supported the idea of their families becoming more acquainted.

As usual, Tang Shunyan spent his mornings reading the Four Books and Five Classics. At his young age, the teacher was still instructing him in the Thousand Character Classic and the Three Character Classic, beyond just reading, he was also writing and understanding the meanings within the texts.

The young boy, lost in naivety, listened to whatever the teacher taught without having his own thoughts yet.

That day, Meng Zhaojun acted coquettishly towards her mother, expressing her desire to visit the Tang Mansion again.

Her mother had arranged for a female teacher to instruct her in female virtue, needlework, and the arts of Qin, Chess, Calligraphy, and Painting. Bored with her studies, she wanted to see what Tang Shunyan was actually learning.

Meng Mu found herself unable to resist her daughter’s coquettishness, and Lady Tang had invited them multiple times, so this presented a good opportunity to visit their mansion.

While neither family spoke much about it openly, both harbored the thought of having the children spend more time together, possibly leading to a marriage between childhood sweethearts when they grew up.

Securing her mother’s approval, Meng Zhaojun asked for leave from her teacher and headed back to the courtyard. She instructed her maid to dress her up exquisitely in her prettiest and favorite clothes, and to adorn her with her favorite hair decorations. Looking at the cute and beautiful child in the mirror, she felt very pleased with herself.

Meng Zhaojun had always been confident about her own appearance. After attending a banquet, where she compared herself to Zhao Minjun and found both to possess unique beauty, she had become even more confident, especially with her frequent opportunities to see Tang Shun.

Her mother mentioned that they should observe the strict separation of genders starting at seven, but they still had two or three more years to spend time together.

Ever since she met Tang Shunyan at the previous banquet, Meng Zhaojun would inadvertently think of the boy during her free time or study periods, wondering what he was doing at the moment.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ƝοѵǤο.ƈο

Though lively and innocent, Meng Zhaojun seemed more mature than other girls her age, harboring thoughts that her peers might not conjure.

Sometimes, Mrs. Meng felt that her daughter, being vivacious and innocent, truly possessed the temperament of a family well-versed in poetry and literature. In nurturing her daughter into a talent, hoping to make her the foremost talent of their county, her broader vision was that one day, they could return to the Capital with her husband.

Her daughter, whom she groomed, would surely become the top talent in the Capital, coveted by sons of noble families. Her daughter was their family’s pride.

Her son, too, would continue her husband’s scholarly legacy, already proficient in the Four Books and Five Classics at his tender age, and had decided to participate in the child student examination the following spring.

She had been betrothed to her husband because he was both talented and handsome, though lacking strong backing, he was dependent on her family.

As an imperial examination graduate, her husband entered public service under the arrangements of his family, married her, and continued his official career. After she bore him a son and a daughter, there had seemingly been plans for a temporary assignment for him, implying they might eventually go back.

Perhaps they would stay here forever. While nurturing her son and daughter, Mrs. Meng was also considering alternatives beyond their Capital-based family.

In the county, the Tang Family was the most influential merchant family. To her husband, these merchants might not compare to scholars, but Mrs. Meng thought otherwise. Sometimes, for her husband to accomplish great deeds, the support of these wealthy individuals was essential.

Building bridges, digging roads, and water conservation projects all required money to complete. If they were to increase revenue by taxing those entering the town, it would impose an additional burden on some farmers.

For farmers who could only make money by going into town, paying taxes with each visit made selling their goods difficult, and their families’ lives harder due to the expenses for basic sustenance.

Mrs. Meng supported her husband’s work and needed to maintain good relations with officials and merchants to encourage the wealthy to donate more, sparing common folk the ease of tax burdens.

Mrs. Meng and her daughter traveled in a luxurious carriage, entering the grand gates of the Tang Mansion.

The Tang Mansion had already received the invitation. Led by the guards, Mrs. Meng and her daughter first went to see the Tang Family’s main Madam, Madam Tang.

Madam, who was sitting in the place of honor, stood up graciously to welcome the guests and invited them to sit beside her.

“I pay my respects to Madam Tang.”

“Please have a seat, Mrs. Meng.”

“Greetings to Madam Tang.”

“Mm, Miss Meng, please take a seat as well.”

After the maids had served tea and taken a sip with the guests, she said:

“Mrs. Meng, the haitang flowers in our courtyard have bloomed, and the yueji flowers are flourishing. I was hoping to invite you to enjoy the blossoms.”

When Madam Tang mentioned the flowers, it was merely an excuse for extending an invitation; her true intention was for them to gather more often, especially since Mrs. Meng had come from the Capital—this lady from a scholarly family.

Of course, she had seen even more beautiful flowers. The haitang and yueji they cultivated in their yard were precious, but there were some even more valuable flowers that were rarely seen—the peonies.

Not everyone could grow peonies, and those who wore embroidered gowns with peony patterns were even more dignified and luxurious, not attire for the common folk.

Such flowers were a symbol of honor for high officials and the nobility. Once, as the Imperial Merchant’s wife, Madam had received a royal gift of exquisite fabrics and beautiful gowns, among them a peony-embroidered gown that she did not even wear at home when receiving visits from wives of officials or wealthy merchants.

“Oh, let’s go and enjoy the flowers then. Let’s all appreciate them together,” Mrs. Meng understood and nodded elegantly. Her attire, understated yet elegant, did not seem ordinary and subtly revealed the dignity of an official’s wife.

Madam Tang was not one to wear gaudy gold and silver either. The jewelry and accessories on her head were sophisticated without being vulgar, highlighting the grace befitting a lady from an aristocratic family.

“Mother, may I go to see Shunyan first? I will join you and Shunyan in the garden later?”

Meng Zhaojun, seated to the side, remained silent with a polite smile while her mother and Madam spoke, behaving very amiably.

Her heart had already flown to Shunyan’s courtyard; if it were not for her mature demeanor, she might have already found it hard to sit still and headed straight to Shunyan’s place.

“Mm, Miss Meng wishes to see young Shunyan. Have someone guide you there, and then later come with my grandson to play in the garden,” said Madam Tang while motioning for a maid beside her to show Meng Zhaojun the way.

“Okay…” Meng Zhaojun almost jumped for joy but restrained herself.

Mrs. Meng’s maid followed the young lady, led by a maid from Tang Mansion, to a courtyard in the outer section of the mansion.

This area was for the residence of the men, and because Shunyan was still young and had more maids and old women than student attendants around him, as he was yet to have a scholarly tutor.

Guided by the maid, Meng Zhaojun arrived at the place where Shunyan was studying—a study in his courtyard specially prepared by his father, with only a teacher and him inside.

As Meng Zhaojun approached, she saw a maid at the door and the wet nurse who was next to Shunyan during their last encounter. Looking into the study from the entrance, she could see the teacher, the student’s seating area and desk.

There was also a place for the teacher to drink tea and a spot for the student to do the same.

The room had a window, and surrounding it were various bookshelves—making it a study with walls lined with shelves.

Shunyan, holding a brush in his right hand, was writing, with the teacher sitting and watching him from his seat; the interior was quietly serene, with the writer deeply absorbed in his work.