I haven't returned to Beijing for a few years, and most of my previous friends have settled down.
Duanmu Xinmiao and Gu Rouzhang were just waiting for their husband's family to bring someone over. The Su family's cousins, Su Yufei and Su Yuyin, were already married. Su Yufei was pregnant in March and was diagnosed with a boy in May. Now she is being held in the palms of the hands of her in-laws and husband and is being carefully cared for. Although there is no such good news about Su Yuyin's marriage to Shen Zangji, looking at her current calm and composed manner, which is lightly applied with makeup, it is really hard to imagine the age when she didn't put on heavy makeup and run around the imperial capital in fear of chaos in the world.
If the two cousins from the Su family made Wei Changying lament that everyone was young and ignorant, the cousins from the Song family—Song Xiyue and Song Ruxuan—made her lament that the years had passed silently.
Song Xiyue, who accidentally married Liu Xixun, the next candidate for the clan leader supported by the Weiyuan Marquis Liu Sijing of Ranli Hall due to a harem fight, is now the mother of a daughter and a son. Originally, Marquis Weiyuan tried his best to find a marriage for Liu Xixun that would be of great help. However, due to the calculations of Liu Sihuai, the Taiwei who also came from Ranli Hall, he had to marry Liu Xixun, whose father was only the governor of a state and had no biological brothers. Song Xiyue.
For this reason, Song Xiyue suffered a lot of difficulties overtly and covertly after she came to the door. Especially the daughter who was the first to land was criticized by the Liu family. Although her parents-in-law were far away in Donghu, they still selected a group of beautiful and well-fed children from the family and sent them to the imperial capital. They claimed that they were afraid that they would not have enough manpower, but in fact they asked Liu Xixun to take over the house... Fortunately, Song Xiyue gave birth to another child at the end of last year. After the next son, all the concubines in the middle had nothing to do. Now the mother is more precious than the son, but she has gradually secured her position as the mistress.
Duanmu Xinmiao didn't have a close relationship with Song Xiyue, but he had heard some of her experiences in the imperial capital. At this moment, Wei Changying, who was downplaying the inconvenience of visiting his aunt's home, felt relaxed. But Wei Changying knew that even Duanmu Xinmiao, who didn't care about things other than medicine and pharmacology, knew that Song Xiyue was once very difficult for her husband's family, and she had to rely on giving birth to a child to survive. You can imagine the grievances Song Xiyue suffered during this period. .
Fortunately, Song Xiyue was able to survive until her prime.
And another Song cousin, Song Ruxuan, has not yet left the cabinet. Wei Changying was a little surprised by the person she promised - because it was actually Wei Qing, whom she knew but had never expected. Wei Changying had a good impression of this elder brother from his mother's family. Wei Changying thought that he hoped that Song's cousin would be more blessed and be able to live in harmony with Wei Qing for the rest of his life, so that he wouldn't have to suffer as many grievances as his sister Song Xiyue.
The cousins have all been found, and there is no news about the legitimate sister-in-law Shen Zangning, who has always been a headache for her mother-in-law, Mrs. Su. You don't have to ask Duanmu Xinmiao to know this. If Shen Zangning made a promise, even if the guard chief Ying was in Xiliang, he would definitely tell her in his family letter.
But Duanmu Xinmiao said: "The Gu family in Hongzhou seemed to have this idea a month ago. Their fourth son, Gu Yan, is the younger brother of Princess Linchuan's consort Gu Wei. He is known for his talents and is said to have a pretty good life. . But this is just a rumor. It's hard to say whether the Gu family did this and whether the adoptive father and stepmother gave permission - I think Zang Ning is also of this age. When the rumor came out, neither family refuted the rumor. I'm afraid there are a few. Very possible.”
Wei Changying's heart skipped a beat when he heard this. Shen Zangfeng did not hide from her that Fan Yue had disliked the Holy Emperor and was preparing to support the crown prince's ascension to the throne. Therefore, in Duanmu Xinmiao's opinion, this marriage was only "somewhat possible". Chang Ying seems to be very likely.
Because ever since Empress Gu took charge of the Weiyang Palace, the post of commander of the imperial army has been held by Gu Xiaode, Empress Gu's brother-in-law, and it has not been replaced so far. Even though Concubine Deng later recommended Miao Jieyu to be favored, the queen's status as the only favorite was shaken, and then Prince Shen Xun "self-invited" to abdicate. Now Prince Shen Bo and the middle palace are very difficult to deal with... The imperial army responsible for guarding the royal family, protecting the imperial capital and the capital. But it was always in the hands of the Gu family in Hongzhou.
From this point of view, saying that the Holy Spirit is confused is actually not without some sobriety.
With six factions in the country, it was impossible for a son of a noble family, even if he was the uncle of the emperor, to do something treacherous and unethical by relying on the power of the imperial army.
In the past, when Dong Palace was still Shen Xun and Gu Xiaode's direct nephew, maybe Gu Xiaode and the Gu family of Hongzhou would take this risk. But now that the prince is Shen Bo who has a grudge against Queen Gu and his mother-in-law, according to common sense, Gu Xiaode will only guard the palace gate even more tightly.
but…
It is very unlikely that Shen Xun will be reinstated. He is just Gu Xiaode's nephew and not Gu Xiaode's son. Even if he is his own flesh and blood, there are many examples of flesh and blood killing each other in the face of huge interests.
As long as the benefits offered are big enough, Gu Xiaode may not be willing to fight to the end.
Everyone in the imperial capital knows how favored the fourth lady of the Shen family is. The Shen family's sincerity in bringing out such a flower-like jewel in their eyes cannot be said to be low.
Wei Changying sighed inwardly: No wonder she has been back for a few days, but she has never seen her sister-in-law who was pampered like jewels and has been naughty and unruly since she was a child. When she asked her mother-in-law before, Mrs. Su said that she was the one who went to Su's house. Since he was with his grandmother, Mrs. Deng, Wei Changying didn't take it to heart anymore.
Thinking about it now, I wonder if it was because she refused to marry into the Gu family, so she ran to her grandmother crying for help
After all, Shen Zangning's temperament was not considered gentle and considerate. She didn't want to marry her direct cousin Su Yuwu. In order to refuse the marriage, she stole all the parrots that Su Yuwu had carefully raised for more than ten years and indirectly caused the parrot's death. dead.
If Gu Yan doesn't get what she wants, this young lady will definitely ignore her parents' persuasion of "putting the overall situation first" and will definitely make a big fuss.
It is said that father-in-law Shen Xuan doted on this little daughter more than all the children under his knees. It is said that Shen Xuan never said a harsh word to her since Shen Zangning died. But when it came time to win over Gu Xiaode, he still pushed her out without hesitation.
Wei Changying sadly thought of his mother-in-law's teachings before he went to Xiliang - generations of honor, continuous wealth, and the envy, jealousy and hatred of people all over the world. How could it be that under such a bouquet of flowers, it was not the price of countless blood and tears
Just think about the fact that the common people in the world are in dire straits and precarious situations, but as a noble family, they are still a direct descendant of the top family among the noble families. Even though the world is in chaos, they still enjoy fine clothes and fine food. So it is only natural to pay for it. Speaking of which, wasn't the promise she made to Shen Zangfeng necessary for the marriage between the two families? It's just good luck that the two of them like each other.
Wei Changying put away his complicated emotions and talked with Duanmu Xinmiao all afternoon, asking about the changes in the imperial capital over the past few years. He left her to have dinner and asked someone to bring Shen Shuguang and Shen Shuxie over to show her. Shen Shuxie was still young, so it was enough to be picked up and teased.
Shen Shuguang did not need to be reminded by his mother and took the initiative to salute and call his aunt, and then said "My aunt is so beautiful" to the left and "My nephew likes my aunt" to the right, making Duanmu Xinmiao very happy.
When I was happy, the famous medical woman who always tried to get benefits from others and whose medical fees were the highest in the world actually showed her generosity. She took off a piece of ancient jade handed down from the previous dynasty around her waist as a meeting gift, and also gave her a gift. To a purse full of golden peanuts.
After dinner, when it was getting dark, Wei Changying personally sent Duanmu Xinmiao to the upper room to say goodbye to Mrs. Su, and then to the second door to watch her board the car and leave. It was already getting late when we returned to Jintongyuan.
So when he passed by the front yard and saw the shadows of people under the sycamore trees, Wei Changying thought they were some servants taking a break, so he coughed and gave a warning and ignored them. As a result, the people hiding there felt guilty. When they heard this cough and saw the servants surrounding the guard chief Ying looking this way under the fire, they thought they had been discovered. After a while of panic, they came together to say hello - illuminated by the lantern. It became clear that it was Shen Shuming and Shen Shuguang who were supposed to be studying hard in the main room.
Because it was a hot day now, Shen Shuming was wearing few and thin clothes. The last time Shen Shuming was carried to the third room by her mother to plead guilty, she was beaten in public. Since she didn't have thick clothes to protect him, she could still see a few bruises. place. In addition, when I sneaked over to find my cousin and was bumped into by my aunt, it was very embarrassing and embarrassing.
Despondently, he asked his aunt An, but Wei Changying asked him not to be polite, so he asked suspiciously what he was doing with his cousin under the sycamore tree without lighting a lamp or taking anyone with him.
Shen Shuming hesitated for a while, then reluctantly replied: "My nephew wants to take his younger brother to catch grasshoppers."
Wei Changying was not easy to fool, and said: "There should be more grasshoppers in the grass at the second entrance to the yard. There is a green brick floor under the sycamore tree. Where do the grasshoppers come from?"
Shen Shuming hurriedly made amends: "I just caught one inside, but I accidentally let it run over. So I wanted to look for it."
Then why don't you even turn on the light? Looking for a grasshopper in the dark, not to mention whether you can find it or not, but why don't you worry about stepping on it to death and wasting your time in vain
Wei Changying knew that he was lying, but Shen Shuming was also a half-year-old child and a nephew. He was afraid that he would be embarrassed if he was too embarrassed, so he stopped asking and instead invited him to sit inside: "You can use Have you had dinner yet? Auntie’s kitchen hasn’t finished yet. If you haven’t used it, ask them to get one for you right away.”
Shen Shuming was feeling guilty at the moment, for fear of entering the house, so her aunt dismissed the servant and stared at him to ask, how could he dare to stay for dinner? He reasoned that Mr. Liu and Shen Shujing were still waiting for him and hurriedly left.
Although he left, Shen Shuguang couldn't leave.
Since Duanmu Xinmiao had to stay in the third room to have dinner before leaving today, Shen Zangfeng deliberately avoided it. So Wei Changying went into the house and asked his servants who were still having a banquet in the front yard with Shangguan Shiyi and Nian Shuang and a group of staff to bond with each other. Since he couldn't come back for a while, he decided to interrogate his son himself.
Shen Shuguang was called to her side: "What were you and your cousin doing under the sycamore tree just now?"
According to Shen Shuguang's original intention, he wanted to cover up for his cousin, but after all, he was young and was caught in the act. It didn't take long for Wei Changying to come up with the words. He was very surprised: "Your cousin is looking for me." You borrowed money? Where did you get it?”
The ancient jade and the purse containing golden peanuts given by Duanmu Xinmiao just passed through Shen Shuguang's hands. When Wei Changying arranged dinner, he collected them for him and put them in the box in the inner room!
Although wealthy families are not short of money and silk, generally speaking, children only receive monthly money after they are enlightened. For example, when Wei Changying was in her natal family, the first time her elders gave her monthly money was in the month of her enlightenment. The reason was to buy her some of the Four Treasures of the Study. , books, etc. - they are for studying, not for random use!
...Of course, in fact, for families like the Wei family and the Shen family, the four treasures of the study room for the children to go to school are all expenditures in the public account, and there is no need for each house to pay for it, let alone letting the children use monthly money to buy it. This monthly money is actually used as pocket money for the children... Are you afraid of being a prodigal? After all, you need to find a reason to make progress.
And Shen Shuguang is only four years old now, and according to the rules of the Shen family, he is penniless at this time. It would be nice if he didn't pester Shen Shuming to use his monthly money to bring him some food when he went out. Where could he have money to lend to his brother
After further questioning, Wei Changying felt his head was spinning - it turned out that Shen Shuguang was really rich, and it was indeed monthly money!
This is because last year, Shen Shuming acted coquettishly in front of his grandmother, Mrs. Su, and said that the monthly money was not enough. Mrs. Su felt sorry for her grandson, so she asked Mrs. Liu to give him a little more... Shen Shuguang happened to be present at that time, and asked what the monthly money was. When he found out that his cousin had it but he didn't, he started acting coquettishly and wanted to do it.
Mrs. Su coaxed him a few words, thinking that he wouldn't spend any money anyway, so since she insisted on it, she would give it to him. He asked Sanfang to allocate five taels of silver to him every month - Shen Shuguang really didn't know how to spend it, he just put it away every month - so no one took it seriously.
But she didn't want Shen Shuming to know about it. Now Shen Shuming was under the influence of his father and had to leave his job. From time to time, he was taken by his elders or went out alone to socialize with a group of playmates who seemed to be of similar age and background. Under the strict monthly money limit imposed by her mother, Mrs. Liu, she felt deeply inconvenienced, so she suddenly started to have weird ideas... From time to time, she secretly borrowed money from her cousin!
Not mentioning whether Shen Shuming's behavior was unethical, not mentioning that he bullied his cousin for being young and not good at arithmetic, often borrowing money for three months but telling his cousin that he only owed him two taels of silver, or that he was getting worse. He casually gave his cousin a few pieces of silver and said he would repay the two of them in full. Not to mention the messy "secret book" he used to defraud fifteen taels of silver from his innocent little cousin...
What Wei Changying found troublesome was: apart from prostitution and gambling, she really couldn't figure out how Shen Shuming, who already had twenty taels of silver a month, could be so poor that he calculated on his four-year-old cousin's savings. !
Even if he occasionally has big expenses, Mrs. Liu is not the kind of mother who keeps an eye on money. If he needs it for serious business, he has told Mrs. Liu, can Mrs. Liu still give it to him? ! (To be continued)