Once Daiyu entered Jiafu, there were many details worth savoring, such as she was asked many times about reading, but there was a difference between Daiyu's answers before and after. The first to ask Daiyu to read was Wang Xifeng, she once took Daiyu's hand and asked long and short questions, and asked a lot of questions: How old is my sister? Did you go to school? What kind of medicine are you taking? ......Sister Feng's long list of questions, Daiyu didn't have time to answer them at all. In fact, Wang Xifeng didn't think about letting Daiyu answer these questions at all, as the current housekeeper of Rongfu, she was just completing her work and doing routine work, so as to show her outstanding talent and clever speech.
Not only that, Wang Xifeng is actually doing this for others to see, which is also what she can do. Daiyu only needs to remain silent, Wang Xifeng is just performing a one-man show, and asking Daiyu these questions is actually unintentional, or for Sister Feng, it is just a casual remark to reflect her concern for Daiyu's cousin as a housekeeper.
This is just like today's parents will ask a few words very politely when they see the children of their relatives: How old are you? What grade are you in? How's the result? Words like this don't have to be answered by the child, it's just a way of socializing in the world. Then there was a chatting time after dinner, when Jia's mother led her granddaughters to chat, and she also asked Daiyu what books she had read, and Daiyu replied, "I just read the Four Books." Daiyu said this, not so much modesty, but caution, after all, the ancient emphasis was on "a woman is virtuous if she is not talented". Therefore, Daiyu followed up and asked Jia's mother, "What books do the sisters read?" Unexpectedly, Jia Mu said, "What kind of book are you reading?" It's just two words, not a blind man with open eyes! From Jia's mother's words, Daiyu should have heard the sound outside the strings, Jia's mother has no objection to girls reading but also does not encourage it, just recognize a few words. After all, in ancient times, women did not need to be famous and make meritorious achievements, as long as they were married and taught children at home, and the female red needle was fine.
Therefore, after Daiyu entered Jia's mansion, Jia's mother immediately issued an order to invite the girls to come, saying that there were distant guests who had arrived, so they didn't have to go to school. It can be seen that in Jia's mother's heart, girls do not have to study, but reading is just a means for them to pass the life in the boudoir. Even when it comes to her grandson Baoyu's study, Jia's mother said that he was bluffed by his father and subordinates and refused to let him study more, let alone his granddaughters.
Of course, there is no objection to girls reading, for Jia's mother, it is already a very enlightened attitude, after all, the girls of the four major families are not children of ordinary families, they still have to know a few words, and they still have to read a few pages. How smart Daiyu is, of course she quickly understood Jia's mother's attitude towards girls' reading, so when Jia Baoyu asked Daiyu again if she had ever studied, she suddenly changed her words and said: I have never studied, I have only been in school for one year, and I know a few words. Daiyu obviously understood Jia's mother's meaning and began to humble herself, which was completely contrary to her competitive heart that she wanted to show her talent when she was in Yuanchun Province.
The front said that she had just read the "Four Books", and then said that she had never read, Daiyu at this time was not modest, but she understood one thing from Jia's mother's attitude: It is not a good thing for girls to read too many books, just know a few words. Therefore, when Baoyu asked her, she simply said that she had never read and only recognized a few words, which was actually completely in accordance with Jia's mother's attitude towards Sanchun's reading. At this time, Daiyu had just entered Jiafu, she was still in a situation where she was familiar with the environment and personnel, and she was still in the cautious state of refusing to say a word more, taking one more step, lest she be ridiculed, so she could only rely on her own wisdom and wisdom to constantly understand the meaning of others' words, and then decide how to say her next sentence and how to go next.
Wang Xifeng asked Daiyu to read is a common courtesy, it is a social wording, Jia's mother asked Daiyu to read out of concern and understanding, and Baoyu asked Daiyu to read, it is to find the same kind and confidant, and it also lays the groundwork for the Daguanyuan Poetry Society in the future.
In fact, Jia Mu said that Sanchun just recognizes a few words, not a blind man with open eyes, so isn't it a kind of self-humility? Take a look at the Begonia Poetry Society in the later article, which one is poor? Xue Lin is not bad, and Xiangyun Tanchun is not bad, all of them are talented women.
Author: Xi Sishao, this article is an original work of the Red Mansion.