In the Ming Dynasty, there was a wealthy family named Zhao on the outskirts of Huzhou Prefecture. The head of the family was named Zhao Xi, who was only thirty years old. He had been married to his wife Hong for many years and had a son and a daughter. The daughter was called Qiao. Wen is eight years old, and her son Yubao has just turned four.
Zhao Xi's biological mother died early, and his father Zhao Chang later married Cui as his stepmother. Zhao Xi had just turned ten at this time. Although Mrs. Cui was a little greedy for money, she loved her stepson Zhao Xi very much and regarded him as her own.
Zhao Xi has a younger sister named Caiyu, who has not yet left the court, and a younger brother named Zhao Bin, who is the same age as his daughter Qiaowen. This younger brother and younger sister are both born to his stepmother Cui. .
Zhao Chang started from scratch and worked hard to become rich today. After years of hard work, he was exhausted. Just two years after the birth of his youngest son, Zhao Bin, Zhao Chang passed away.
Before his death, Zhao Chang handed over the family property to his son Zhao Xi, and told him: "My stepmother treats you as my own child, and she has nurtured you for many years. You must not be alienated. Your younger brothers and sisters are still young." , I will rely on you from now on. As a father, I will pray for you."
Zhao Xiren is filial and righteous, remembers his father's words, treats his stepmother with great respect, and handles all matters in the family. He consulted with his stepmother first before acting, and he treated his younger brothers and sisters even more lovingly.
In the past few years, the Zhao family's two shops in the city have prospered under Zhao Xi's careful management; his sister Caiyu has become slim and beautiful, and his brother Zhao Bin is smart and healthy. With this in mind, Zhao Xi felt somewhat comforted, thinking that he had lived up to his father's final words.
Many merchant families want their children to make a difference in their official careers and gain fame, and Zhao Xi is no exception. He cleared out a side hall in the house and arranged it into a teaching hall, and asked his husband to teach his younger brother and children how to read and write.
Zhao Xi was kind enough to let several servants' children study together. Firstly, it was to give his younger brother and children a playmate, and secondly, he hoped that the servants' children would become successful people.
The teacher’s surname was Feng. He was an old scholar. After one year of teaching at the Zhao family, he suddenly became seriously ill. When Feng Xiucai resigned, he recommended someone to Zhao Xi. This man's name was Lin Rui, a nineteen-year-old boy who was handsome and talented. He became a teacher only because his family was poor, in order to provide food and clothing and raise money to take the exam again.
Lin Rui is young and speaks the same language as the children. Under his guidance, the six or seven children in Mengtang grew up rapidly. Zhao Xi saw it and was happy in his heart. Another room was prepared in the side courtyard for Lin Rui to live, so that he could concentrate on teaching his children, and at the same time, it also provided him with a quiet place to study.
My younger sister, Caiyu, is seventeen years old. When she reaches the age to talk about marriage, many wealthy family members come to propose marriage, but all are rejected by her mother. Mrs. Cui believed that her daughter was very beautiful and well-educated, so even if she did not marry into a high-ranking family, she would marry into a wealthy family.
For this reason, Caiyu was still in the boudoir. Zhao Xi and his wife were benevolent and filial and did not dare to go against their mother's opinions, so they put the matter aside for the time being.
Ms. Cui loved her daughter so much that she built an embroidery building next to the garden, and Caiyu lived upstairs. Looking down from the window of the embroidered building, it happens to be the Zhaojiameng Hall. Although the two are separated by more than ten feet, the sound of children reading can be clearly heard.
Caiyu was at the age when she first fell in love, and soon she became obsessed with Lin Rui. Although her appearance was not clear from the top of the embroidery building, she could still distinguish the young gentleman in the hazy way. The appearance is extraordinary.
One night, Qiaowen came to play with her aunt, holding a piece of paper with a poem written on it. The handwriting is vigorous and powerful, and the poems are elegant and elegant, which instantly attracts Caiyu's attention.
She asked Qiaowen: "Wen'er, aunt asked you, who wrote this poem?"
"It's our husband. He fell in the school today, so I just took care of it." Take it, does Auntie like this poem?" Qiaowen replied.
"No, I just asked casually." Caiyu answered casually, but her heart rippled. Then she asked Qiaowen something about Lin Rui, and told her not to tell anyone. Qiaowen likes her husband Lin Rui, so she naturally praises her, which makes Caiyu moved.
After Qiaowen left, Caiyu sat in front of the window in a daze. After a long time, he sighed and murmured: "Isn't such a handsome man and talented man what I expected in my heart? But his family is poor and his mother is I absolutely can’t stand it, alas! I can only hide it in my heart.”
After sighing, Caiyu took a pen and paper and wrote a poem to express what she was thinking. She sat still. After a long while, I went to bed to rest.
After the third watch that night, a gentle breeze picked up Caiyu's poem and floated it into the garden. At dawn, a young man was walking in the garden and picked up this piece of paper. After reading it, his heart was filled with excitement.
A few days later, Qiaowen came to her aunt with a piece of paper in her hand. She said: "Aunt, this is written by our husband. Let me give it to you. He said that the poem you wrote The poetic conception is not enough, this is a correction."
Caiyu was shocked and thought to herself: "No wonder the poem I wrote that night disappeared. It turned out that Lin Rui picked it up." Thinking of this, her face turned slightly. Yi Hong, then took the paper in Qiaowen's hand and read it carefully.
After reading the poem, Caiyu's face was rosy and she looked shy. After thinking for a moment, she wrote a new poem, handed it to Qiaowen, and said, "Wen'er, I wrote another poem." First, you give it to your husband tomorrow and ask him to help me get it right. Remember, this matter is a secret between you and me. You can’t tell others, you know?”
“Don’t worry, aunt, I will never talk to you. Others said, "But I really like your sachet." Qiao Wen said with a wicked smile.
"You kid, you are taking the opportunity to blackmail me. Well, this sachet is yours. If my aunt has anything to do, she will come to you again. I still have many good things." Caiyu pretended to be angry. muttered. Qiaowen smiled, put the sachet in her arms, and played there for a while before leaving.
From this day on, Qiaowen became a messenger and came to Xiulou every two days. Little did she know that what she was delivering was actually a love letter full of love.
Since Caiyu exchanged poems with Lin Rui, her mood has become happy, and her heart is full of love. She even wants to break through the shackles and do things against her mother's wishes, but she doesn't know that Qiaowen brings her Although the poem came from Lin Rui's hand, he was not the one expressing the feelings.
Who is this person? Let's listen slowly.
In addition to Lin Rui, there is actually another person living in the Zhao family courtyard. This person's name is Du Wei, and he is the son of Cui's cousin. The Du family is a rich man in Changxing County and has business in Huzhou Fucheng. Du Wei was pampered by his grandfather since he was a child, and he became a dandy. His father was worried that he would continue to be a bad student, so he sent him to Fucheng. In name, he was to look after his own business, but in fact he was a dandy. The son is separated from his parents to avoid further degradation. Du Wei's mother felt sorry for her son, so she wrote a letter and forwarded it to Cui, hoping that her cousin would take care of him. Cui and her cousin had a good relationship, so she took her nephew into her home, and his diet and daily life were the same as those of his family.
Du Wei has lived in the Zhao family for two years, and Zhao Xi has gotten to know him well. He feels that this person is superficial, full of dandy and has evil intentions. It is only because of his stepmother Cui that he reluctantly makes a living. Hospitality.
The beauty of his cousin Caiyu has long made Du Wei salivate, but Caiyu ignored him and was a bit annoying. Du Wei was in another house and didn't dare to make too many mistakes, so he had to keep it in his heart.
Early that morning, Du Wei went to the garden for a stroll. In fact, he wanted to get in touch with his cousin, but unexpectedly he picked up the poem written by Caiyu.
Although Du Wei does not have a lot of money, he is also very smart. After reading the poem carefully, he immediately saw its meaning: Cousin Caiyu is already in love and has feelings for life, but Who is this person?
At this moment, Qiaowen came to pick flowers, saw the poem, and told about the scene of chatting with her aunt that day. After Du Wei heard about it, he realized that his cousin had a crush on Lin Rui, and he immediately took notice of her.
The next night, Du Wei made a pot of good tea and invited Lin Rui to drink with him. While chatting, he took out a poem written by Caiyu and handed it to Lin Rui, and then said: "This is A woman wrote a poem to me, and it was obvious that she had feelings for me. Unfortunately, my younger brother is not very talented, so I wanted to ask Brother Lin to write a poem for me, which would bring us together."
Lin Rui is a good match. , said: "Brother Du has feelings for this girl, and I would like to have the beauty of adulthood. It would be a happy marriage for you." After saying this, he composed a poem and gave it to Du Wei.
In the afternoon of the next day, Du Wei quietly found Qiaowen and said to him: "Qiaowen, dear, can you do me a favor? If you are willing to help, if you want to eat candy in the future, just come to me." "
Qiaowen loves to eat sweets. Everyone in the Zhao family knows that, but her mother, Hong, doesn't want her to eat so many sweets, so she deliberately controls them. Now that she heard that she can eat sweets, Qiaowen said happily: "If it's true, If you have candy, I will help you, but you must honor Ruoyan, uncle cousin."
"Of course, uncle cousin will never lie to you. Look, there is a bag of candy here. , take it first, and come to me if you want to eat later." With that, Du Wei took out a bag of candy from his arms and handed it to Qiao Wen.
Qiaowen quickly put it together in her mouth and asked, "Tell me what it is."
Du Wei took out the poem written by Lin Rui and said to Qiaowen: "I learned from Mr. Lin and wrote a poem. I want to ask your aunt Yazheng. I hope you can give it to him for me. In order to prevent your aunt from making fun of me, you can say that it was written by Mr. Lin. How about you do it now? "?"
"What's the problem? It's a piece of cake." Qiao Wen said with a look on her face.
"Qiaowen is so good, but you have to remember, you must not tell others about this, otherwise there will be no candy to eat."
"Don't worry, cousin, I You have a very strict mouth." After the two discussed it, the matter officially started, and Qiaowen became a little messenger.
More than half a year later, Caiyu couldn't help but fall in love with Lin Rui. She wanted to confess her love in person, but she lacked the courage. At this moment, Qiaowen sent another letter, which contained two poems, both of which were acrostic poems. The first words connected together were eight words: Tomorrow night at three o'clock, we will gather together in the embroidery building.
Caiyu could naturally tell that she was already committed to her love at this time, so she wrote the word "waiting" below. Du Wei was very happy when he saw it. He had been thinking about it for a long time and decided to When the time comes, my cousin and cousin Zhao Xi won’t be able to oppose it.
As the evening approached the next day, Qiaowen suddenly came to Du Wei and handed him a piece of paper with colorful jade handwriting on it, which read the words "The door is not bolted". Du Wei was overjoyed after reading it. .
Halfway through the second watch that night, he quietly stood up, tiptoed to the garden, and hid under the flowers.
Half an hour later, the midnight drum sounded. He quietly came downstairs and pushed the door gently. As expected, it was not bolted.
He flashed into the room and quietly went upstairs. Under the moonlight, he saw a person lying on the embroidered bed. Was it Caiyu or someone else? Du Wei was so impatient that he took off his coat and got into bed.
At this moment, the man on the bed suddenly sat up and asked: "Who are you?"
Du Wei was startled and thought: "This voice doesn't sound like that. Cousin Caiyu is somewhat similar to cousin Hong."
When he was confused, the man suddenly shouted: "Here comes a thief."
< p>In the dead of night, the sound pierced the sky. Although the Zhao family house was large, it was still heard clearly. In a moment, the servants got up and ran into the garden one after another. At this time, Zhao Xi was already standing in the garden first, and he led the servants to rush upstairs.Du Wei was frightened at this time, and his mind was blank except for the word "escape". But now, how could he escape? He was captured by Zhao Xi and others.
The old housekeeper Zhao Shen was raised by Zhao Xi’s grandfather and was very loyal to the Zhao family. Before he could take the lantern to see the thief’s face clearly, the wooden stick in Zhao Shen’s hand had already fallen. Several other servants saw the old housekeeper. They all moved their hands and stepped forward to beat him violently.
Poor Du Wei, he was beaten until he screamed. At this time, Zhao Xi shouted: "Stop it, why is this voice so familiar? Come and take a look."
This As soon as the words came out, Zhao Shen and others stopped. There was already the servant's lantern, and someone had already lit the candle in the room. When everyone came closer and saw it, they were all surprised.
Zhao Xi was surprised and said, "Ah! Cousin, what's going on?" Ms. Cui had already heard such a big commotion at home. At this time, she also came to the scene and saw The scene was also very surprising.
Du Wei's body was covered with injuries. Although they were flesh and blood pains, the pain was unbearable. He lay on the ground and groaned. He was speechless for a long time. In fact, it was not that he could not speak, but that he could not speak. Know how to say it.
It was a deadlock for a while. After a cup of tea, Zhao Xi said: "Uncle Shen, go get the medicine and treat your cousin's injury. Let the others disperse. It's just a misunderstanding. Don't do it." Spread the word, do you understand?" Everyone agreed and went back. Zhao Shen brought the wound medicine and wiped it on Du Wei.
At this time, Mrs. Cui, who heard the noise, also rushed over. She was shocked when she saw the scene, and hurriedly helped Du Wei up and asked: "God, what is going on, Wei?" "Are you okay?"
Du Wei didn't know what to say and stood there with his teeth bared. Cui said to several people, "Come to the main room and tell us what's going on."
Zhao Xi and Zhao Shen supported Du Wei, while Hong and the maid supported Cui, and the group came to the main room. After everyone sat down, Ms. Cui first asked her daughter-in-law: "Tell me first, why are you in Caiyu's upstairs tonight? Where is Caiyu? Where is she?"
Ms. Hong bowed and said: " It's like this. Last night, my sister went to my room to play with Qiaowen and Yubao. Later, Qiaowen and Yubao insisted that my sister sleep with them. My sister loves her nieces and nephews, so she agreed. My husband last night I was taking a rest in the study with Uncle Shen to take care of the accounts, so I went to sleep in my sister's embroidery building. In my daze, I noticed someone had entered the house. I was so scared that I called someone."
This. At that time, Caiyu was also called over by the maid. She and her sister-in-law Hong agreed that she did spend the night in her sister-in-law's room with her nieces and nephews.
In fact, by this time, things couldn’t be more obvious. It was clear that Du Wei entered the embroidery building at night with evil intentions. Ms. Cui also knew it in her heart, but Du Wei was her nephew after all, so he could do such a thing. , aren’t you slapping yourself in the face?
At this moment, someone spoke outside the door: "Master, I am Zhao Shen. The servants have discovered something and need to report it to the old lady." Cui said: "It's Old Zhao, come in. "
Zhao Shen entered the room and saluted, and then said: "Madam, Chen Wu from the stable came over just now to report that he saw a figure jumping from the window of the lady's embroidery building half an hour ago, and he chased him. After traveling for two miles, I didn't catch him, so I rescued him and reported him." After saying this, Zhao Xi said in surprise: "Oh! We made the mistake of blaming our cousin." After that, he stepped forward and stopped him. Du Wei held his hand and said: "Cousin, you must have seen the thief entering the lady's embroidery building at night last night, so you rushed to rescue him. You didn't want the thief to escape. You were mistaken for a thief by your sister-in-law, and this led to a misunderstanding. It's really Yes, cousin, I’m such a pig, why can’t I turn around?”
Du Wei’s face turned red and he replied: “It’s okay, it’s okay, as long as my cousin is safe, that’s fine.” I saw it accidentally, and it’s my fault for being reckless. I should have called my cousin.” After hearing this, Mrs. Cui looked happy and said, “Oh! It’s all a misunderstanding. It’s really shameful for Wei’er to suffer.” "Yes. Old Zhao, go and talk to the servants about the situation, and don't let the young master suffer this unfair injustice." Zhao Shen agreed and left.
Cui asked the maid to help Du Wei back to his room, and then asked his daughter-in-law and daughter to go back to rest. After these people left, his face darkened and he said to Zhao Xi: "Let's talk about it. What's going on? Your plan is quite comprehensive."
Zhao Xi said: "Mother is so wise that you have seen through it.
"
"Humph, you were only ten years old when I came in. After twenty years of mother-son relationship, you can hide your little thoughts from me. Du Wei's injuries are all on his legs and buttocks, which are critical. There is nothing wrong with it at all. Zhao Shen and the others must have been too accurate. Besides, how could Du Wei have the courage to catch the thief alone? I think you did all this, and Chen Wu chased the thief. Ha, it’s a shame. You can figure it out. ”
Although Ms. Cui is not his biological mother, she has treated him like her own son over the years. Although his words just now were harsh, Zhao Xi could tell that his mother did not mean to blame him. He took a deep breath and said, Let’s talk about the cause and effect one by one.
It turns out that the acrostic poem that day was not written by Lin Rui, but was written by Du Wei imitating his handwriting, because with Lin Rui’s character, he would never have written it. An acrostic poem about a private meeting with a girl.
Caiyu was so moved that she agreed to have a private meeting with him. After Qiaowen handed the letter to Du Wei, she ate candy and played in the garden. Mother Hong caught her in the act.
Hong was very strict with her children and asked her closely. Qiaowen was a child after all. When her mother frightened her, she told the truth. The daughter went to Du Wei's room and stole the acrostic poem.
After her daughter stole it, Hong asked her husband to read it together, and she probably understood the reason behind it. Zhao Xi had never had a good impression of Du Wei. Angry in her heart, she wanted to drag Du Wei to her mother to argue and drive this guy out of the house.
Hong grabbed him and said, "My mother has always liked Du Wei. She told me about it once. , and also intends to marry his sister to him. Now we only have a letter in our hands. Based on this poem alone, how can my mother believe it unless there is real evidence. "
His wife's words made Zhao Xi calm down. After thinking about it for a while, he came up with a countermeasure. He asked his daughter Qiaowen to go to Lin Rui and tricked her into writing a few words: "If something happens at the moment, please postpone it." I'll go one day later." Lin Rui was pure-minded and had no doubts.
Zhao Xi asked his daughter to give the letter to her sister Caiyu. Caiyu had no doubts after reading it. In this way, Du Wei and Caiyu were The meeting date set by Yu An was postponed.
On the night of the incident, Hong asked her daughter to ask her aunt to come and play in her room. She and her husband told their daughter in advance that she must keep her aunt in her room. Sleep, Qiaowen is only nine years old, but she is a good actor.
Caiyu knew that the last time she and Lin Rui agreed was tomorrow night, so her nephew and niece were together. Upon request, she slept in her sister-in-law's room.
Hong slept in the Caiyuxiu Building as planned. Zhao Xi made it clear to Zhao Shen in advance. When Hong called out that night, these people rushed over. Jin, repay Du Wei, because they had warned him in advance, so everyone acted carefully and did not hurt the vital points.
Zhao Xi just wanted to teach Du Wei a lesson, so he asked Zhao Shen to arrange for Chen Wu. The purpose of pursuing the thief's lie is to give Du Wei a step down and at the same time save his mother's face. After all, Du Wei is his mother's nephew.
After Zhao Xi finished speaking, Mrs. Cui also understood the situation. , sitting there and sighing. Zhao Xi came forward and said: "Mom, my sister is an adult now, and it is human nature to like handsome men. Besides, Lin Rui is talented and worthy of my sister's attention. I think Lin Rui is definitely not a thing in the pool. He will definitely be able to take off, you might as well help them. "
Cui was silent for a long time and said slowly: "Hey! To be honest, I had intended to betroth Yu'er to Du Wei. Through this incident, I discovered that this guy Du Wei has evil intentions. Fortunately, this happened, otherwise it would really harm Yu'er's happiness. For my mother, in this matter Ershang, what you did was really unwise. You wanted Yu'er to marry a rich family, but you forgot about character. Since you said so, I will pay attention to this Lin Rui. If it is as you said, it will come true. they. ”
“The mother is very generous, and the child is in admiration. "After Zhao Xi heard this, he knelt down to Cui on the spot and kowtowed three times. Cui was so amused that he covered his mouth and said with a smile, "You are just like when you were a child, very naughty. ”
In the blink of an eye, a month later, Du Wei’s injury had healed. He felt guilty and was embarrassed to stay in the Zhao family any longer. At the same time, Du Wei’s grandparents also missed their grandson and asked them to help him. Someone sent him a message to go back, so Cui took Zhao Xi and personally sent Du Wei back to Changxing.
In front of her cousin, Cui praised Du Wei for his heroic defense of Caiyu. The matter of his safety has also been discussed. Du Wei's parents know their son's character best, and they have guessed 50% to 60% of the truth. Now that Cui's steps are good, the couple is happy to go down the slope.
After returning from Changxing, Mrs. Cui secretly observed Lin Rui. As her son said, this boy was indeed talented and a good character. After some consideration, Mrs. Cui agreed with her son and was willing to give her daughter Caiyu Marry Lin Rui.
Lin Rui's parents died early, leaving only his uncle Lin Sheng and his family. Lin Sheng was very happy when he learned that the Zhao family was going to marry his daughter to his nephew.
< p>Six months later, under the auspices of Zhao Xi and Lin Sheng, Lin Rui and Caiyu got married. Zhao Xi gave his sister a very generous dowry, including luxurious houses, silks, and yellow and white things. < p>On the night of the bridal chamber, Caiyu told the story of delivering the letter. Only then did Lin Rui understand that Du Wei's selfishness had actually fulfilled him.One year later, Lin Rui became a scholar. Three years later, Lin Rui became a scholar. He was selected to be elected again. Although he did not get what he wanted in the subsequent examinations, with the help of Zhao Xi, Lin Rui still embarked on an official career. He and his wife Caiyu have two sons and one daughter. The couple has a deep relationship and enjoy each other. .
Since that incident, Du Wei seemed to have become a different person. He was no longer greedy for pleasure and fond of women, and his dandyism was completely gone. He helped his father take care of the family business and did a good job. He was well organized and later married Hu, a woman from a good family. They had children and lived happily.
Many years later, Zhao Xi married his younger brother Zhao Bin, fulfilling his father's last wish. Although his mother, Mrs. Cui, is old, she is physically strong and energetic. The whole family lives in harmony and is reunited happily.
(End of story)
Write at the end:
The word color means a knife. This is true. Du Wei coveted the beauty of colored jade and took advantage of it. He used tricks to deceive others into trusting him. Just when he was planning to do something evil, Zhao Xi saw through it and beat him up. This was the retribution he got for his lewdness.
Fortunately, Du Wei was not a very evil person. He gained a good memory through being beaten, and after learning from the pain, he corrected his mistakes. Later, he became an honest man and gained happiness. It seems that the beating was well worth it.
Zhao Xi is a smart man and very filial. Cui is not related to him by blood, but she regards him as his biological mother. In dealing with Du Wei's matter, it can be said that he uses both kindness and power, and he has both means and understanding. The standard not only taught Du Wei a lesson, but also left him room to set steps, while also taking care of his mother's face.
Although Mrs. Cui is a bit fond of money, she is also a kind person. She treats her stepson Zhao Xi like a son. Later, after learning the truth, she can act cautiously, secretly observe Lin Rui, and finally marry her daughter to him. Said Cui is equally wise.
Hong is also wise. When her husband got carried away and wanted to teach Du Wei a lesson, she was able to stop him in time and analyze the pros and cons. This alone shows his wisdom.
The most profitable person in the story is the scholar Lin Rui. He wanted to help others but had no intention of doing anything. In the end, he gained beauty and wealth, and gained fame and entered an official career. Perhaps this was God’s deep love for him. A selfless reward.