Chapter 436

The sun was setting,

and Xu Zaijing, with Qingyun, was riding a horse behind Zaiduan, walking along Quyuanjie.

The direction of the crowd was exactly toward the west,

and the dazzling sunlight coming toward them made Xu Zaijing reach out to shield his eyes from time to time, until the crowd turned into the main gate of the Marquis's mansion, which was then a bit better.

At the second gate,

Xu Zaijing and the others dismounted, their mounts were led by servants into the stables, and the three brothers went directly into Sun Shi's courtyard.

When entering the courtyard, they happened to see maidservants bringing out some fabrics and jewelry from the room.

Lowering their heads to pass through the curtain into the reception hall, Zaiduan, who was walking in front, said: "Mother, have we had guests?"

While speaking, Zaiduan nodded toward Hualan, who had stood up to salute him, and sat in the chair at the very front.

Xu Zaijing sat below his own eldest brother,

while Zaizhang sat opposite Zaiduan, very close to Hualan who was standing to the side.

Sun Shi smiled and said: "Yes, your Aunt from the Sheng family just left!"

Zaizhang walked to Hualan's side and said in a low voice: "Mother-in-law has been here?"

Hualan nodded with some embarrassment on her face.

Zaiduan nodded: "Mother, is there something wrong? Otherwise, Aunt wouldn't have come to visit our family at this time."

Sun Shi, who was at the head, nodded: "Yes, the Kang family's maidservant had some trouble. Your Uncle used the Marquis's mansion's name to persuade the victim and reconciled the matter, paying quite a bit of silver."

Xu Zaijing, who was sitting at the very back, heard this and looked at Sun Shi in surprise: "Mother, things that require our family's name are not small; eight or nine parts likely it involved a human life lawsuit! Were those fabrics and jewelry all sent by the Sheng family? We shouldn't..."

Xu Zaijing didn't finish.

Sun Shi shook her head: "You are the one who knows the most! Your mother here is just a fool!"

Looking at his mother's appearance, Xu Zaijing said nothing in embarrassment; according to Sun Shi's character, she would not want such things.

Zaiduan glanced at his younger brother and said: "Mother, then the things just now were... our family's things, Mother, you let Aunt choose them?"

Sun Shi nodded with a smile: "Yes, I asked Aunt to send them to your Great-Aunt."

Zaizhang, who was to the side, patted Hualan's hand soothingly and turned his head to say to Sun Shi: "Mother, why don't we also give the victim some silver..."

Zaiduan, who was sitting opposite Zaizhang, shook his head.

Sun Shi picked up her teacup and took a sip of tea; when drinking tea, she used the teacup to block her view and rolled her eyes at her son.

Xu Zaijing looked at Zaizhang and said: "Third Brother, this is inappropriate! Not to mention anything else, our family didn't do anything, why should we give the victim silver?"

Zaizhang: "Since they are called the victim, they must have suffered some grievances; we are just expressing our concern."

Xu Zaijing shook his head: "Third Brother, you think this way out of kindness, but the victim who receives the silver might not think so."

Zaizhang was stunned, thought for a moment, then patted his forehead and said with some annoyance: "Right, right, right! Not to mention giving silver, even if we told the victim that our family is not involved in this matter, the victim would see it as a show of force."

Sun Shi, who was sitting on the Luo Han chair, glanced at Hualan and said: "Alright! Neither of you say anything more! The victim didn't stop just because they knew about our family!"

The Kang family, the Wang family, the Li family, and the Sheng family—these families still had their roles.

"Hualan, don't feel uncomfortable either! This matter has passed; the name was used, so it was used. Let it not happen again." Sun Shi said, looking at Hualan.

Hualan nodded hurriedly.

"I have already told your mother-in-law just now; it is not that we don't help relatives! If relatives are wronged, we will definitely not stand idly by! But, the Kang family... helping once is enough; helping again would damage our virtue."

After Sun Shi finished speaking, she sighed and said: "How was it at your Aunt's house today?"

Zaiduan, who was sitting in front, said: "Mother, except for the fact that more people went, everything else was fine! By the way, Madam!"

Zaiduan looked at Xie Shi and said: "Today I want to write a letter to the Yi family."

Xie Shi nodded: "Rest assured, Husband, I will call the servant who often goes to Zhending later, and once you have written it, I will send it today!"

"Duan'er, why are you writing to your brother-in-law for no reason?" Sun Shi asked.

Zaiduan talked about the Huang family boy's matter and the reason for the association. After Sun Shi finished listening, she nodded with a smile: "This was done very well!"

Zaiduan smiled.

Sheng family

Shou'an Hall

In the reception hall, Fang Mama and Cui Mama were organizing the fabrics that Wang Ruofu had brought back.

On the Luo Han bed in the middle,

the Old Madam was leaning on a large cushion, looking at the two mamas, Fang and Cui,

and in the chair below,

Sheng Hong sat at the very front, with Wang Ruofu below him.

The Old Madam shifted her gaze from the two mamas and looked at the Sheng couple: "Hong Ge'er, did you hear clearly what the Madam brought back from the Xu family?"

Sheng Hong sat with his body leaning slightly forward and said: "Mother, my child heard clearly; my child will definitely not let it happen again!"

The Old Madam nodded: "Also, do not harbor resentment toward the Xu family. Nowadays, the Xu family is in the limelight and highly favored by the Emperor! Whether it is those who are jealous, or the censors of the Censorate, they are all trying to find fault with the Xu family."

"This time, let it be. Letting you go to talk to the Xu family was to let you understand the Xu family's attitude."

After the Old Madam finished speaking, she glanced at Wang Ruofu, who had a look of indignation on her face.

Wang Ruofu looked at the Old Madam and said: "Mother, isn't this just relatives helping relatives in Bianjing! If the Kang family has trouble, we help; if our family has..."

"Cough!"

Sheng Hong glared at Wang Ruofu.

"Madam, when relatives encounter difficulties, we should naturally step in to help! But such things as the Kang family taking human lives should not happen in such a noble family!"

"Do you know how much of a favor your husband had to use for this matter? If the Liu family asks for our help in the future, will your husband have the heart to refuse?"

Wang Ruofu still said stubbornly: "What help can we not provide?"

The Old Madam exhaled: "What if the Liu family asks to marry Rulan for their nephew?"

Wang Ruofu stood up immediately upon hearing this: "How can that be! Rulan is still young, and her own sister is married into a Marquis's mansion!"

She sat back down slowly after saying half of it.

"In the future, the Master and the Madam must think carefully before acting, otherwise, it will implicate Hualan's reputation! It also determines how Hualan lives in the Xu family!"

"This old woman is tired; the Master and the Madam may leave."

"Yes, Mother!"

Sheng Hong bowed and took Wang Ruofu away from the reception hall.

The next day,

the sky brightened,

Youyang

Sheng family ancestral home

In the bedroom,

"Old Madam! Old Madam, wake up!"

The Great Old Madam of the Sheng family's main branch felt her arm being shaken and woke up from her dream.

The mama of the main branch, who was serving to the side, helped the Great Old Madam wipe the tears from the corners of her eyes and said softly: "Old Madam, what is wrong with you! Were you haunted by a nightmare?"

The Great Old Madam shook her head with a look of reluctance in her eyes: "No, it's just that I didn't want to wake up."

The mama looked at the Great Old Madam and asked with a tone full of pity: "You didn't even want to wake up? Did you... dream of the Eldest Da Niangzi?"

The Great Old Madam looked at the old servant who had followed her for many years and nodded: "Yes, Shu'er came to me in a dream again, saying she was uncomfortable..."

As the Great Old Madam spoke, thinking of the heartbreaking matter that was etched in her heart, her eyes were once again filled with hot tears.

The mama hurriedly helped the Great Old Madam wipe her tears and said: "Old Madam, the matter has passed, and we have already avenged the grudge!"

Hearing the word "avenge," the Great Old Madam nodded with both hatred and satisfaction in her eyes.

"Grandmother!"

"Grandmother!"

Two calls from outside reached the bedroom,

and soon, two young ladies, one big and one small, entered the bedroom with a chill on their bodies.

"Shulan, Pinlan, why are you here?" The Great Old Madam immediately composed herself and said with a smile to her two granddaughters.

The older, taller Shulan said anxiously: "Grandmother, we heard that you couldn't wake up from your sleep, so we hurried over to see!"

Looking at the anxious appearance of her two granddaughters, the Great Old Madam waved her hand with a smile: "Grandmother is fine! Where is your Brother Changwu?"

Before the two Lans could answer, another call came from outside: "Mother!"

Li Shi, the Madam of Sheng Wei, clutched her handkerchief and walked in anxiously. Seeing that the Great Old Madam was sitting steadily on the bed, Li Shi breathed a sigh of relief and walked toward the bedside.

"Mother, you scared your daughter-in-law to death!" Li Shi said, standing by the bed.

The Great Old Madam smiled: "I made you worry! Where is Changwu?"

"Changwu is practicing martial arts outside the house!" Li Shi replied.

The Great Old Madam nodded and said: "Call him in; I have something to tell him."

Li Shi glanced at the Great Old Madam and agreed.

Before long, a young man who was older than Xu Zaijing walked in quickly.

Sheng Changwu, dressed in tight-fitting martial arts attire, walked into the bedroom and bowed to the Great Old Madam and Li Shi.

"Grandmother! Mother!"

Li Shi looked at the Great Old Madam: "Mother, then you talk to Changwu; your daughter-in-law will go out first! Shu girl, Pin girl, let's go."

"No need, you all stay here! It has something to do with you too." The Great Old Madam said.

Li Shi and the two Lans stopped.

The Great Old Madam looked at the family members in the room and said: "Two years ago, it was the birthday of the old younger sister of the second branch, but because I was not feeling well, I couldn't go..."

Li Shi shook her head: "Mother, Aunt already wrote to say that you shouldn't take it to heart. In previous years, Aunt didn't celebrate her birthday either, and that year it was done in a hurry, so it wasn't good to let you travel!"

The Great Old Madam looked at Li Shi: "I know that she doesn't have any resentment in her heart."

"But Changwu's marriage, you have looked and looked, and he is already twenty years old and it hasn't been settled yet!"

Li Shi looked at Sheng Changwu with some embarrassment on her face and said: "Mother, this backwater of Youyang doesn't have any good families!"

The Great Old Madam looked at Li Shi and said: "The Zhang family of Youyang is also a family of standing; I heard they have some connection with the Duke of England's mansion in the capital! And the Zhang family's Second Da Niangzi is not old, but she has a polo field in her name, yet when they came to the door, you rejected them."

Li Shi clutched her handkerchief and glanced at the Great Old Madam: "Your daughter-in-law investigated the connection with the Duke of England; it is very distant! For Changwu to marry a girl from such a family would be a grievance!"

Listening to the conversation between their grandmother and mother, the two Lans and Changwu did not dare to interrupt.

The Great Old Madam was silent for a while and then said: "That's true. With the current assets of our main branch and the official position of Hong Ge'er of the second branch, Hualan is a Marquis's Madam, so Changwu should look higher."

"So this old woman is thinking of going to Bianjing!"

Upon hearing this,

everyone in the room showed surprise.

Changwu looked at the Great Old Madam anxiously and said:

"Grandmother! The journey from our Youyang to Bianjing is long, and you are old..."

The Great Old Madam waved her hand: "Previously, through the introduction of the old younger sister, I invited Old Madam He to take my pulse and prescribe medicine, and this body is much better!"

"I know my own body, and going to Bianjing is also by boat, traveling slowly, so it won't be tiring; it's nothing!"

"Moreover, going to Bianjing is firstly to see my old younger sister, and secondly to find a good marriage for Changwu."

As she spoke, the Great Old Madam looked at Shulan and Pinlan, who were standing by the bed, with thoughts in her eyes.

Shulan was happy, and Pinlan was a bit excited.

Hearing that she was looking for a marriage for Changwu, Li Shi looked at Changwu with longing.

But thinking of going to Bianjing and having to face her sister-in-law, Wang Ruofu, Li Shi hesitated: "Then your daughter-in-law will write a letter to your husband and ask him to prepare a residence in the capital."

The Great Old Madam thought for a while and nodded: "That's good, so that in the future, Yu Ge'er and Du Ge'er can have a place to stay when they go to Bianjing for the examinations! A letter should also go to my old younger sister."

Hearing this, Li Shi agreed with a face full of joy.

Li Shi's maiden family was also from a business background like the Sheng family's main branch, and they had been supporting the scholars in the clan for many years.

These Li Yu and Li Du were the most outstanding young people of this generation!

Their relationship with Li Shi was also very close.

Time passed quickly,

and it was already the fourteenth day of the first lunar month,

only one day away from the Lantern Festival.

There were two days left until the Sheng family's private school opened.

This morning,

the sun was bright,

and the Sheng family's gatekeeper also moved a bench and sat in the sheltered place in the sun to bask.

Although it was comfortable to bask, the gatekeeper still scanned the various people near the Sheng family's main gate.

When he saw someone dressed as a courier walking in a hurry toward the Sheng family, the gatekeeper habitually stood up and stepped forward to ask a few questions.

After learning that it was a letter for the Sheng family, the gatekeeper ran back to the main gate and sent a servant to report to the inner courtyard, almost forgetting to move the bench back.

The courier who had received the reward had already left,

and the letter had already arrived outside Shou'an Hall.

In the reception hall,

"Old Madam, a letter from Youyang!" Fang Mama said at the door, holding the letter.

The Old Madam, who was preparing incense on the Luo Han chair, shook her hand, and the charcoal fire in the copper tweezers fell into the incense burner.

"Suqin, is there any bad news?"

The Old Madam asked with a slight frown.

Fang Mama shook her head with a smile: "Old Madam, if there were any bad news, Wei Ge'er would have come; it's just a letter!"

The Old Madam laughed at herself, shook her head slightly, and reached out toward Fang Mama.

Fang Mama walked up, helped the Old Madam open the letter tube, took out the rolled-up letter paper, and handed it over.

The Old Madam took a deep breath and began to read the letter.

A moment later, the Old Madam said with a face full of smiles: "Suqin, Ru'an, the old sister of the Youyang main branch is coming to Bianjing!"

Hearing the Old Madam's words, Fang Mama and Cui Mama looked at each other and smiled.

The Old Madam and her sister-in-law, the Great Old Madam, both sisters-in-law had encountered husbands who favored concubines over wives, and the deaths of Sheng Shu and Sheng Zhen had caused both sisters-in-law to suffer heartbreaking pain.

The two sisters-in-law had supported and helped each other through that extremely difficult time,

so their feelings were naturally extraordinary and extremely intimate.

Sheng Hong was on duty at the Ministry of Personnel today,

and when he returned to the Sheng family to pay his respects to the Old Madam at Shou'an Hall, he also saw the letter.

Looking at the date on the letter, which was the fourth day of the first lunar month, Sheng Hong put the letter paper away and said to the Old Madam: "Mother, since the Aunt is coming to Bianjing, my child will definitely entertain her well! Also, when did our Great Zhou's courier service start delivering letters so quickly?"

Fang Mama to the side glanced at the Old Madam, and after receiving a nod of permission, said: "Master, the courier said that the Yang Zhou Assistant Prefect heard it was a letter from our family, so he let this letter come along with the official documents."

Hearing this, Sheng Hong nodded; he had done this kind of thing before too.

(End of chapter)