A few days later.
Xi Fuwei, dressed in plain clothes, followed the steward and cautiously walked into the moon cave door.
Behind the door is a small garden. Although it is in decline this season, it is kept very clean and tidy. There is not even a fallen leaf on the blue brick floor. It has been carefully swept with a broom, and it is spotless.
Xi Fuwei thought that the owner here must be a sophisticated person, and he didn't know if Shen Tiaolan's own words would pass the test.
While she was thinking about it, she had already reached the corridor. The steward who led the way stopped, turned around and nodded politely to her: "Miss, please go in and inform the lady. Please wait a moment!"
"Thank you, auntie." Xi Fuwei said hurriedly.
The steward smiled and went in. He came out not long after and said that Mrs. Zou asked her to come in to talk.
Xi Fuwei took a deep breath and calmed down before walking in from under the curtain drawn by the steward. As soon as she entered the door, she saw a 20% off huanghuali screen with carved landscapes, towers and figures inlaid with mica marble.
Turning around, you will see a very gorgeously furnished room. The floor is covered with scarlet-red crocodiles with patterns of orchids, cranes and deer. The furniture is all red sandalwood. The Baibao Pavilion, which is used as a partition and decoration, is filled with a dazzling array of rare jade articles.
Not daring to take a closer look, Xi Fuwei took a quick glance and then looked up.
But I saw a red sandalwood carving with auspicious clouds, Ganoderma lucidum and four seasons flowers. Sitting on a low couch was a woman in gorgeous clothes with a head full of pearls. She looked no older than her early twenties. Her skin was white and tender. Although her eyebrows were peaceful and majestic, they were slightly raised. The red and phoenix eyes somewhat reveal a hint of something not to be trifled with.
Xi Fuwei thought that this should be Mrs. Shang of the Zou family.
It is said that Mrs. Shang has a good family background. Her natal family is a powerful person in Yingtian Mansion. She is definitely marrying Zou Zhihan, the head of the Zou family, so she has a lot of say in the manor.
This time, the Zou family wanted to hire a female teacher to teach several young ladies, which was what she strongly advocated.
Therefore, Xi Fuwei did not dare to neglect, and hurriedly stepped forward to bless her and said, "Wish you well, madam!"
"Sir, there is no need to be polite!" Mr. Shang had been looking at Xi Fuwei carefully since she came in. Seeing that she was not affected by the wealth and wealth in her eyes, she showed a smile and said kindly, "Mr. Please sit down and talk!”
He also asked people to watch tea.
Afterwards, they exchanged pleasantries for a while, mainly to check their background with Xi Fuwei: Xi Fuwei’s background was provided by Shen Diaolan. She was a poor and wealthy lady from Jinan Prefecture. She was the only daughter in the family and was deeply loved. She was loved by her parents, and her father, who was a scholar, taught her lessons and six arts since she was a child. Under the influence of her ears and eyes, she had a reputation as a talented girl.
Unexpectedly, something unexpected happened, her parents suddenly fell ill and died, and the clan members tried to seize the family property. She couldn't survive and disappeared.
Shen Diaolan said that the girl had died unexpectedly. After Jin Yiwei found out the whole story, he concealed the matter and now it is just for Xi Fuwei's use.
This girl's name is Shen Qinglei.
At this moment, Mrs. Shang said: "Miss Shen is a female prostitute. She came here from Jinan Mansion, but is it hard?"
Xi Fuwei knew that her words were not out of concern for her, but to ask her tactfully how she knew that the Zou family was recruiting female teachers and why she came here from Jinan Prefecture
"It seems that it is thanks to a clan brother." These Shen Diao Lan were prepared. Xi Fuwei followed the words she had memorized, showing a touch of sadness and said, "Since my parents passed away, such a big family has In the clan, there was only one brother who took pity on my young age and adopted me. However, he was an only son. His parents were both dead and he had not married yet, so it would be inconvenient for me to stay here for a long time. I heard a passing merchant say that he wanted to pay for your mansion. Several ladies invited teachers, so they came to give it a try regardless of their ability."
The clan brother she was talking about was Shen Diaolan, because Shen Qinglei happened to have the same surname as Shen Diaolan. In order to facilitate the two of them to contact each other in the future, and to pass on news, Shen Diaolan simply temporarily obtained a descendant of the Jinan Shen family for herself. identity.
In this way, if the two meet in the future, and the Zou family sees it, they will think it is a normal interaction between relatives, and there will be no doubts.
Mrs. Shang nodded slightly, said a few words of comfort, and then got to the point, examining Xi Fuwei's talent and learning.
This Mistress of the Zou family was indeed of a distinguished family, and she had all kinds of allusions at her fingertips, and the questions she asked were also very profound. She was not the ordinary so-called talented woman who knew a few words and could write a few good poems. If Xi Fuwei hadn't had an elder brother who was a good scholar, and his father had also passed the scholar examination in his early years, so he was immersed in the scholarly atmosphere, he might not have been able to take it.
Even so, after a while, she started to sweat on her forehead.
Mr. Shang simply stopped asking and said with a smile: "Miss Shen has such attainments at such a young age. She is truly a very talented person."
"Not as quick-thinking as Madam." Xi Fuwei quickly humbled herself.
Shang smiled, turned around and ordered: "Go and ask Qiong Ruo and the others to come over!"
Xi Fuwei secretly guessed that Qiong Ruo and others should be the ladies of the Zou family. Now that she has called out to meet her, it seems that Mrs. Shang is quite satisfied with her.
As long as nothing goes wrong in the next meeting, I think this job is almost guaranteed.
Thinking of this, she couldn't help but secretly pray that these young ladies from the Zou family must not be indulgent, willful, overbearing, or even displeased with her!
Fortunately, a few moments later, several girls of different heights filed in, all looking well-behaved and sensible.
The oldest of these girls looks no more than seven years old, and the youngest is at most four or five years old. Shang introduced: "These are the children of my family who are about to enter school."
The eldest daughter is Zou Qiongruo, the eldest daughter of Zou Jiayuan's wife, and a daughter of the Shang family. The second daughter, Zou Woruo, the third daughter, Zou Hairuo, and the fourth daughter, Zou Danruo, are all concubines.
But judging from their clothes and their expressions in front of Shang, it was obvious that they had a good relationship with their aunt.
The youngest Zou Danruo, after saluting, took the initiative to walk up to Mr. Shang and opened his arms to hug her.
Shang Shi hugged her with a smile, then put her down and said warmly: "If you have something to do, you go down and sit with the sisters first, and I will play with you later for my mother's sake."
Zou Danruo responded softly, turned around and looked at Xi Fuwei curiously, then ran to the seat under Zou Hairuo and asked the wet nurse to sit on her.
Mr. Shang watched her sit down and said, "Mr. Shen is a rare well-educated person among girls. It's rare for him to come to our house today. Do you have anything to ask?"
This was said politely, but in fact, I was asking Zou Qiongruo and the others if they were dissatisfied with Xi Fuwei
When Xi Fuwei heard this, she immediately looked at her nose, nose and heart, trying to show a dignified manner, for fear that someone would look down on her.
It was obvious that Zou Qiongruo and Zou Qiongruo were young on the one hand, and the tutor looked very good on the other. After hearing this, they looked at each other for a while. The younger ones Zou Hairuo and Zou Danruo both shook their heads. It was Zou Qiongruo and Zou Woruo who asked about two allusions, and Xi Fuwei spoke fluently. After answering, they also said: "Mom, this gentleman is very talented."
Mr. Shang nodded when he heard this, turned to Xi Fuwei, and said cheerfully: "I wonder if Mr. Shen is willing to give guidance to these children?"
Xi Fuwei was secretly delighted and was about to nod when suddenly there was a thumping of footsteps outside. The corridor was noisy, and there were people shouting "Mother, mother, mother, mother" from far to near.
Hearing this, the Zou Qiongruo sisters immediately exchanged tacit glances, but Shang's face darkened. He swept away his previous kindness and shouted angrily: "Zou Yiang!!!"
"Mother!" she lingered. The curtain at the door had been lifted, and a young man in brocade clothes who looked about twelve or thirteen years old turned around the screen with a smile, and walked in briskly, smiling as he walked, "I heard that another female gentleman came to the door. Here? But I don’t know what it’s like? It’s about my sisters’ schoolwork, why doesn’t the mother call her children to come over and clap her eyes on them?”
Shang's face was solemn and he said: "Mr. Shen is here, why are you not polite? Is this how I always teach you?!"
The young man had already seen Xi Fuwei, his eyes turned around her simple dress, he bowed perfunctorily, and said with a smile: "Mom, don't be anxious, didn't the child just come in? Isn't this right? Have you met this female gentleman?”
Xi Fuwei always felt that when he said the words "this female gentleman", he meant something else. She was just here for the first time and didn't know what the mistress meant, so she just smiled and gave him a gift. Continue to maintain a dignified and reserved appearance and remain silent.
Mr. Shang saw all this in his eyes and sneered: "You still have the nerve to call you over? How old are you? You sleep until three o'clock in the morning every day, and when you get up, you are idle... Not to mention that I hope you will be named on the gold list and shine on the lintel. , it’s good to learn some family skills and share some of the work with your father! But what about you? You’re so stupid that you don’t do your job properly! When you have such serious things to do, why are you calling me!?”
After scolding her son, she turned to Xi Fuwei and explained, "This is the eldest son of my family who is useless, named Zou Yiang. He has never learned well. Please forgive me for any offense!"
Xi Fuwei naturally said "I don't dare": "Master Zou loves all the ladies because of his deep brotherhood."
Mrs. Shang seemed to be troubled by this son. He sighed after hearing this and said nothing. He just said, "Mr. Shen has come all the way. I wonder where he will stay now? Is it possible that he is sitting in a hotel?"
"Wait a minute!" Xi Fuwei's nodding was interrupted again, but it was Zou Yiang who was sitting underneath, squinting, looking her up and down, and said, "Mother, have you decided to hire this female gentleman? ? It’s just as the saying goes, you know people but don’t know their hearts. You didn’t even check the family’s details. Isn’t it inappropriate to just lead him home like this?”
When he said these words, Xi Fuwei was shocked and quickly recalled whether he had exposed himself somewhere
Just as he was feeling frightened, he heard Zou Yiang continue, "Mom, please wait a moment to get angry. The child said something suspicious: This female gentleman looks to be in the age of getting married, and her appearance is as beautiful as a peach and plum. Even if the family is in decline and has no way to survive, this woman Could it be that the way to get out of trouble now is to get married? Why did you come to our house to be a female teacher? Could it be that you want to use our house as a springboard, or even have a crush on dad... "
"Shut up!!!" These words were really unscrupulous. Although Xi Fuwei was so angry that she could no longer maintain her superficial calm, Mrs. Shang's face darkened instantly and she interrupted angrily, "Mr. Shen's talents are for my mother. I asked for advice in person! I know how good my level is! You just met Mr. Shen once, and you made such nonsense, which even insulted Mr. Shen’s reputation. Who taught you to be so vicious at a young age?!"
He scolded Zou Yiang, forced him to apologize to Xi Fuwei, and ordered everyone to shut up and not say a word of what he just said, so as not to ruin Xi Fuwei's reputation... However, Shang didn't say anything anymore When she asked Xi Fuwei to move to the Zou Mansion, she said politely that because of Zou Yiang's misbehavior, she had to quickly discuss the upbringing of her son with Mrs. Zhuang, the old lady of the Zou family, so she could not continue to receive Xi Fuwei. Violet.
Xi Fuwei knew as soon as she heard this that Mr. Shang had listened to her son's words, but now she began to doubt herself!
It’s no wonder that, as Zou Yiang said, there are many girls who are forced to sell their skills to make a living due to their poor family circumstances.
But at Xi Fuwei's age and good looks, most people choose to marry rather than be their husband!
Now that she has come to Jining Prefecture from Jinan Prefecture, who can not doubt that her application to be the female master of the Zou family to teach her disciples is a lie, and that her real purpose is to take the opportunity to marry into a wealthy family
Mrs. Shang is looking for a husband who can teach her girls seriously, not just to give people with bad intentions a chance to fly up a branch and become a phoenix!
We had a pleasant conversation with her just now, but now that Zou Yiang has pointed out some doubts, how could we not hesitate
"We must find a way to make her change her mind!" Xi Fuwei was anxious. Seeing that Mrs. Shang had stood up and was about to see off the guests, her thoughts were racing!
After all, no matter how impeccable the false identity Jin Yiwei gave her, if Zou Yiang's question was not explained clearly, Shang's family would most likely not accept her into the Zou Mansion!
Then she would have no way to explain to Shen Tiaolan, but how should the aunt and nephew deal with each other? !