It was mid-May when Wei Changying received the letter from the imperial capital urging her to leave as soon as possible. Shen Shuxie was five months old at this time. Although the little one was quite strong, she was still a bit small. The mother was naturally worried, so she summoned the person who delivered the letter and asked why: "Xie'er is only half a year old, so I'm afraid it won't be good for him to go on the road rashly. What happened in the imperial capital, do you want us to come back quickly?"
The person who sent the message was Shen Zangfeng's trusted guard. He told her that he asked the guard chief Ying to clear the scene, leaving only Huang and others to serve. He whispered the Shen family's plan to hope that the Xiliang army would enter the capital as soon as possible: " Although the eldest son and the third master of the Su family are leading the elite troops of the Liu family, Yanzhou City is high and deep, and the baggage is piled up like a mountain. It is said that Donghu is going to attack Yanzhou City for a while. This group of border troops were mobilized, and coupled with the lack of supplies, they were already unable to hold on. The feudal lord and the third son were worried that the Rong people would march in, or the civil unrest would become serious, and it would be difficult without the Xiliang army by their side. Keep your family safe.”
Wei Changying couldn't help but change her face when she heard this: "It has reached such a point?" No one else said it, just because her husband and eldest son were both in the imperial capital, she did not dare to neglect, bit her lip and said, "Then... what to do? How many more months can I stay with Xie'er in Xiliang if I don't let my sixth brother lead the troops?"
The guard reminded: "Everyone knows that the frontier army is capable, even though the Imperial Forest Army is far behind, so it is very taboo for the frontier army to leave the garrison. Donghu's frontier army was able to leave Donghu because of the recapture of Yanzhou, and our Xiliang soldiers have since We can only leave Xiliang by escorting the Third Young Lady, the Fourth Master and others, otherwise even if the Holy One is kept in the dark, the princes in the court will have objections. "
Then he said, "The Third Young Master also suggests that you take the Fourth Young Master back with you, because things are happening all over the country now. Where there is peace today, there may be some riots tomorrow. The border troops will be transferred to the Central Plains this time, and the remaining But you must not move lightly, you must be prepared for the rebellion of the Di people and the nearby people. I am afraid that it will be difficult to gather enough manpower to protect you and the fourth grandson when they return to the capital... To be honest, in today's world, although the Shen family has a great business, but Xiliang is far away from the imperial capital. If you don’t leave this time, for the sake of safety on the road, I don’t know how many years it will take to reunite.”
These words made Wei Changying speechless for a long time, and then he said after a long time: "I understand, you have worked hard all the way, please go down and rest."
After dismissing the guards, the guard commander Ying thought for a long time and asked Huang: "Auntie, do you think...?"
Mrs. Huang also felt a headache and waited until Shen Shuxie was older before leaving. This was agreed by Shen Zangzhu and their aunts. But now the situation is unsatisfactory. The Shen family needs the Xiliang army to enter the capital immediately - Shen Zangfeng is the unofficial next leader of the clan, and the Shen family cannot ignore his wife and children. In particular, the Shen family has very few male grandchildren. Although Shen Shuxie has never met his grandfather or father, it is expected that neither Shen Xuan nor Shen Zangfeng will care or ignore this child.
If they weren't forced to do so, they certainly wouldn't be in such a hurry to leave.
But if you want to leave for a baby who is only half a year old... Huang thought for a long time and then said: "The fourth grandson's body is strong, but he is so far away, so I don't dare to make any guarantees."
Wei Changying looked gloomy for a long time before he said, "I'll go ask eldest sister."
My cousin Shen Shuxi was brought to Xiliang by her aunt with only one breath left. No matter whether this child was destined to grow up in Xiliang or not, at least Shen Xiang Zhu has experience and understanding of traveling long distances with an infant child.
Hearing that Wei Changying was going to leave early, Shen Zangzhu was also surprised before summer passed. However, after hearing that the Shen family needed the Xiliang army, he persuaded her in turn: "Shu Xi, you kid?" You know, everything was fine when the four siblings were pregnant with her, and the birth went smoothly. However, this child has a close relationship with the imperial capital and had to come to Xiliang to grow well. You don't know how worried I was when I left the capital before. It looks like... but it has come along the way, right? What's more, Xie'er is so strong and looks like a blessed child. In fact, he is still holding the child in his arms. As long as he is taken care of well, he will not be in a hurry. It doesn’t have a big impact on them.”
Wei Changying smiled bitterly and said, "I just want to ask my eldest sister for advice."
She knew her husband very well and would not let his second son take risks unless absolutely necessary. Moreover, although father-in-law Shen Xuan is ruthless towards Mo Ye, the real eldest grandson of Youdi blood, he is very kind to his legitimate grandchildren - in short, he is definitely leaving this time!
At that moment, Shen Zangzhu carefully taught Shen Shuxi what he had learned along the way to Xiliang. Wei Changying wrote them down one by one, and he immediately made preparations.
After such tidying up, everyone who wanted to go to the imperial capital was informed to leave early, and the entire Mingpei Hall was busy at all times.
It was just getting busier and more chaotic - when the day of departure was approaching, Shen Shuyan and Cao Yiren, who were about to return to the imperial capital with Wei Changying and Shen Shuxie, turned out to be bedridden together.
And the reason why they fell ill together is the same: since Ji Qubing had a son, Ji Jiashu, and Cao Yiren had a cousin, they were sent to Xiliang because they were unhappy about being left out after the birth of their younger brothers, and they had conflicts with their parents. Shen Shuyan, who came to relax and calm down, looked at herself and others, and sympathized with her. She actually changed her behavior from Cao Yiren, who had previously looked down on her reckless background, and became concerned about her.
In fact, Cao Yiren was not as jealous of her cousin's birth as Shen Shuyan thought. On the contrary, this girl was an only child and grew up in Caojiabao, a place that was extremely poor. , even a little older children have to help adults with work all day long in order to survive.
As the daughter of the castle owner, and having a grandfather as capable as Ji Gu, Cao Yiren's life is quite comfortable compared to those of her peers in the castle. Therefore, she had no playmates since she was a child. Instead of rejecting the multiple younger brothers, she actually looked forward to them. However, she was not stupid enough to explain the situation to Shen Shuyan, but she took the opportunity to get along well with Shen Shuyan.
The two little girls get along well, and they often play together after completing their homework. Because they were born very different, they learned and learned different things, so today Shen Shuyan teaches Cao Yiren embroidery, and tomorrow Cao Yiren takes Shen Shuyan to dig out bird's nests... They are as good as biological sisters.
Wei Changying and Shen Zangzhu were naturally happy to see the children get along harmoniously, so they only told them not to play too wildly, so they were not very restrained - especially leaving early disrupted Wei Changying's arrangements. Just ignore them.
As a result, the two little girls thought that after leaving Xiliang and returning to the imperial capital, there would be many elders above them, unlike here in Xiliang, where they had to be watched by their aunt and aunt. These two elders were both talkative and doting on their children - back to the imperial capital. In the future, the rules will be so strict that it is hard not to say or do many things, even if they are said.
Therefore, they decided to finish everything they wanted to do as soon as possible, so as not to regret it after returning home due to being bound by various rules in the school.
So the two of them asked Wei Changying and Shen Zangzhu to go play in the mountains and forests again.
Wei Changying and Shen Zangzhu naturally refused: "What time is this? If something happens, wouldn't it delay the trip?" They added, "It is summer now, and there are most snakes and insects in the forest. , How can we go at this time? Besides, we don’t have time to accompany you!”
Shen Shuyan begged, "I know my aunt and eldest aunt are both busy, so just ask Uncle Six to accompany us! As for the snakes and insects, sister Yiren has a medicine bag prepared by Doctor Ji. Take it with you to keep the snakes and insects away. Nothing will happen!"
Wei Changying still refused: "You like outings. After returning to the imperial capital, my aunt will take you to Chuncao Lake. Now that the trip is coming, don't make any trouble!"
"I'm tired of seeing that place..." Although Chuncao Lake is a very famous scenery near the imperial capital, Shen Shuyan grew up in the imperial capital and has visited this lake a few times. Besides, the beautiful and graceful lake scenery of Chuncao Lake, It is different from the taste of the remote mountains and forests. The former Shen Shuyan wanted to see when she returned to the imperial capital, but she just mentioned it. However, the latter would never have such indulgence after leaving Xiliang - even if she came to Xiliang in a few years, she would As she gets older, even Shen Zangzhu and Wei Changying are no longer willing to let her do whatever she wants.
It's just that Shen Shuyan couldn't plead with her aunt and uncle, so she actually had the audacity to deceive her sixth uncle Shen Liankun with the idea of giving it a try: "Sister Yiren and I want to go to the woods to play, but my aunt and uncle are busy and have no time. Come with us and let us ask Uncle Six!"
However, Shen Liankun is not a very careful person - after all, he is not only a concubine but also a relatively young child, and his father and brother make the decision or think about everything for him.
In addition, there are differences between men and women. Although he is a brother-in-law, he will only go to the back hall when he has something to do. I only vaguely heard that his cousin and sister-in-law are very fond of these two girls, and they are simply obedient. Shen Liankun himself felt that his niece Shen Shuyan was a good child and not a liar... All in all, he didn't think much about it, and he didn't go to the back hall to ask Shen Zangzhu and Wei Changying for confirmation, so he just took the two children. Went to play in the mountains outside the city for a day.
... When they couldn't find the two children during lunch at noon, Shen Zangzhu and Wei Changying were so frightened that they almost turned Ming Peitang upside down. Only then did they realize that Shen Liankun had taken them away. They simply fainted out of breath!
Fortunately, in the evening, Shen Liankun brought the two children back safely. Of course, even so, he was still scolded by his cousin and sister-in-law until he couldn't even lift his head. Shen Shuyan and Cao Yiren were also slapped on the palm ten times each as a reminder.
Originally, the matter would have ended here, but the accident still happened to Shen Shuyan - they were taken to the forest by Shen Liankun to play that day. Cao Yiren picked a lot of mushrooms as food for the lunch picnic. Shen Shuyan was a foodie. I’m not tired of fine things, but it’s rare to eat this kind of game. Besides, I’m tired from playing and hungry, so I have a big appetite. I suddenly realized that this kind of mushroom is so delicious!
So when she was playing later, she saw similar ones and picked some too...
The problem is that Cao Yiren grew up in the mountains and forests with her grandfather who has been an imperial doctor for generations. Ji Gu always called her a "loser", but the Ji family actually taught her all the medical skills that should be taught. Although Cao Yiren is still far from being a real doctor because of his age, it is no problem to find a few non-toxic and delicious mushrooms in the forest.
But Shen Shuyan... how could she tell this? However, this girl has always been very confident in herself because she has been smart since she was a child. Although she has read in books that many mushrooms are poisonous, she thought that if she picked the ones picked by Cao Yiren, there would be no problem. !
Originally, she picked these mushrooms with the intention of presenting them to her aunt and aunt after returning to Mingpeitang to please her and avoid being punished. As a result, the two of them left without saying goodbye, which made the two elders extremely angry. When they met, they didn't even bother to ask, and just shouted at them!
After being beaten like this, Shen Shuyan lost the mood to offer the mushrooms, and instead hid the mushrooms... Then she ran to Cao Yiren's yard in the middle of the night to roast and eat them with Cao Yiren...
This roasted mushroom was also a skill that Cao Yiren learned from his grandfather in the mountains and forests during the day, and he proudly demonstrated it to Shen Shuyan. So when I saw Shen Shuyan coming over with mushrooms at night, I told her that she had eaten them smoothly during the day, so she went to the kitchen to get some mushrooms in the evening and wanted to eat some more.
As mentioned before, Cao Yiren lived alone in a courtyard, and she was the only servant, so even if she found out, she didn't dare to say anything, she only dared to hide nearby and take care of her. As mentioned before, Cao Yiren can distinguish between non-toxic mushrooms and poisonous mushrooms, but her ability to distinguish is not very strong: firstly, she preconceptions that they were taken from the kitchen, so they must be non-toxic; secondly, it is night, and she is afraid of being caught by the yard. People outside found out and reported it to the elders. The two of them secretly got some firewood from the kitchen and set up a bonfire in the corner to roast mushrooms. You can imagine the light - Shen Shuyan was even better than the non-toxic mushrooms she picked. —So the two of them muttered for a while about how harsh their elders were, comforted each other for being beaten, and then shared the mushrooms partly out of novelty and partly to vent their anger...
Fortunately, after a servant was awakened secretly, although considering that Wei Changying and Shen Zangzhu were very tired and tired in preparing for the departure these days, they decided not to disturb them unless it was absolutely necessary, but they also lurked aside to look after them so that they would not go out. What a surprise—we were really waiting for it. The two of them ate the mushrooms and without saying a few words, they hugged their stomachs and started complaining about the pain!
The servants quickly called for others to carry them into the house. In just a short moment, the two of them were in a state of confusion and talking nonsense! Now who dares to sympathize with the master's fatigue during the day? Immediately, he sent people rolling around and knocked on the door of Shen Zangzhu and Wei Changying!
Then Mr. Huang arrived first, and after a diagnosis and questioning, he found out that he had accidentally eaten poisonous mushrooms.
Following Ji Qubing came over dressed in clothes - after taking a dose of antidote and an emetic, the lives of the two children were saved. However, because the mushrooms they ate were highly toxic, the two of them still got up in the middle of the night and ate them secretly without anything else to cushion them. , almost all the poison in the mushrooms has been absorbed and digested. The poisoning is so deep that it will never be cured within ten days and a half of recovery.
And you want to travel in these ten days and a half? That's courting death!
Therefore, even though Wei Changying and Shen Zangzhu were shaking with anger, they still had no choice but to let them stay with Shen Zangzhu this time. As for when to take them to Xiliang in the future... that can only depend on the situation. (To be continued)