The Beautiful Land

Chapter 21: The old lady's summons

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"It doesn't matter if it's true or not." After Song Li heard this, he turned around, looked at his favorite little daughter seriously, and said softly, "That woman's background makes it impossible for her to marry Shen Diaolan as his wife. In this case, What are you worried about? With the status of our family, if you really get married to Shen Diolan in the future, the Shen parents will ask him to clean up the backyard before the wedding to show respect for our family! "

"With your status, arguing with her is nothing but a joke!"

He said it calmly, but Song Jianiang couldn't help but take it seriously. She bit her lip and said, "The old steward said that the Miss Xi family is very young and beautiful... What if Brother Shen is really attracted to her?"

"So what?" Song Li disagreed, "You think Shen Diaolan is studying hard and was admitted as a scholar last year. Why would he come to Shandong to work as a Jinyiwei at this time? This is known to the Shen family. His Majesty's determination to move the capital is deliberately to allow him to take a share in such a major event. By the way, it will also increase the East Palace's weight and favor in front of His Majesty... After all, he is not the eldest son, and his elder brother inherits the title. If the family does not plan his future. If so, in the future, at most, I will be appointed as a casual official and receive some moderate salary to live on!"

"Even if you are successful in your studies, according to His Majesty's wisdom and the current situation in the East Palace, it will be difficult to get promoted without solid political achievements!"

"This is a major event that affects his future. How could he be confused because of a woman? Besides, young and beautiful women...are they rare for people like us?"

Seeing that her daughter was still depressed, she sighed and said comfortingly, "Don't worry! Although my father and Shen's family have always intended to get married, isn't this a clear path yet? What if Shen Taolan is really a fool? Yes, my father will never allow you to marry such a waste if you show true love to a girl from a small family!"

He then encouraged, "What's more, my son is both talented and beautiful, and his background is not any worse than that boy's. How can he be compared to a country girl?"

After all the talk, the daughter was finally dismissed. Song Li's face instantly darkened, and he called someone to the side and asked, "What's going on with the Shen boy?"

The subordinates were frightened: "The master has been walking around in the past two days. Because he was afraid that the young lady would get hurt, he stayed at the inn and asked the servants to wait on him. The young lady had nothing to do and often played in the city. She saw food, drink and anything interesting. , they will send someone to Mr. Shen! Because the old slave was following the master, he only found out about it when he came back. Although he felt it was inappropriate, he never found a chance to report it. Unexpectedly... "

"That's not what I'm talking about!" Song Li interrupted coldly, "Shen Diaolan came to Shandong as a royal guard. Although these Eagle Claws were disbanded by His Majesty Emperor Taizu in the previous dynasty, they were disbanded in recent years. Rebuilding under His Majesty's orders will inevitably severely damage his vitality, and he will not be able to immediately regain the hearing and vision he had in his heyday. However, with His Majesty's back, he acts cheaply and steals Lan Yinfeng's position as a hundred households. How could his whereabouts be so easily revealed? Did you find it?!"

The subordinate's expression changed when he heard this, and he said, "Master, what do you mean... Jin Yi Wei Zhong?"

"This is their business." Song Li said expressionlessly, "I don't want to overstep my bounds, but those people and things around me don't want me to stay out of it..."

"Old slave, go check it out immediately!" Knowing the seriousness of this matter, his subordinates did not dare to neglect, saluted, and said in a deep voice, "Old slave, I promise that I will never let anyone get away with it!"

Song Li then calmed down a little, nodded slightly, frowned when he thought of his daughter's anxious look, and finally ordered: "Check out the details of that daughter of the Xi family when you have time, and see what kind of character she is. Do you know the severity?"

... Xi Fuwei, who returned to Zou Mansion, had no idea that because of a quick glance in front of the door, she had already entered the sight of the Minister of Industry and his daughter.

After she returned to Fenzhi Tower, she first visited Fu Chuoxian and chatted with Sister Fu for a long time before returning to her room.

She had just changed out of the clothes she was wearing when she went out, and she heard footsteps on the stairs, followed by Lusha knocking on the door. Her voice was a little uneasy: "Mr. Shen, Madam, please come over here!"

Mrs. Zhuang

Xi Fuwei's heart skipped a beat, and she secretly thought that the old lady was angry with her because Zou Yiang was punished, right

It should be noted that she was very cautious and said almost nothing that day. She asked Zou Qiongruo and the others to tell the whole story. At most, she sent someone to notify Mrs. Shang.

The problem is that the incident happened in Zou Mansion. Can she not tell Mrs. Shang

Sighing secretly and praying that the old lady wouldn't be too unreasonable, Xi Fuwei raised her voice and said, "I'll just change my clothes and go over!"

After a while, she arrived at Mrs. Zhuang. The old lady lived in a small courtyard with three entrances in the southeast corner of Zou Mansion. There were persimmon trees and peach trees planted in the courtyard. Although they were bare and leafless this season, However, the strong branches in the desolate courtyard have a unique charm that has accumulated over time.

Silently showing the age and heritage of this family.

"Sir, don't worry, I have no other intention of asking you to come here." Mrs. Zhuang's hair has turned gray, and her pampered face has many wrinkles inevitably due to her age, but it can be seen from her outline that she was also a woman when she was young. beauty.

She behaved very dignified and elegant, her smile did not show her teeth, and did not even reach her eyes. She politely greeted Xi Fuwei to sit down, and said kindly, "It's just the past two days that I have heard from people below that my husband has learned a lot and made my family happy." That Nie Zhan was full of praise... Because my Nie Zhan invited a gentleman with the reputation of being a civil servant to sit in the hall and give guidance. I have never seen him respect and praise him so much, so I was a little curious and wanted to invite him to come and talk with me. He also called me. This old woman, let’s meet the most talented woman in the world!”

Xi Fuwei understood immediately upon hearing this that the old lady was afraid that she would take advantage of her grandson!

After all, Zou Yiang is only three years younger than Xi Fuwei. As the saying goes, a female junior holds a gold nugget. Zou Yiang has also reached the age of marriage proposal. He always says that Xi Fuwei is better than Xi Fuwei... As for Xi Fuwei's current situation, even if I didn’t have any thoughts about Zou Yiang at first, but maybe I’ll be disturbed by his attitude

"The old lady is joking. Mr. Zou is just talking politely, how can you take it seriously?" Xi Fuwei was speechless. She came to the Zou Mansion to be a traitor, not to attract a rich husband. How could she have the intention to get involved with Zou Yiang

It's just that it's impossible to express this feeling to Mrs. Zhuang, so I can only use other methods to dispel this suspicion, "And Mr. Zou always says this in front of Sister Fu. Sister Fu often makes fun of me now." , I’m so embarrassed to see my sister!”

Your grandson did praise me, but he did it in front of Fu Chuoxian, who is also a teacher in your mansion. Please taste it for yourself whether the intention is good or bad!

Mrs. Zhuang listened, her eyes moved slightly, and she chuckled: "Is that so? Then this child is ignorant!"

After all, he didn't say anything more, just chatted with her for a few words, gave her a pair of silver bracelets, and let her go.

Xi Fuwei resigned from her and frowned on her way back to Fenzhi Tower. She didn't want to turn around the Yueyue Cave Gate and met Zou Yiang who was walking towards her with his hands behind his back.

"Mr. Shen, where are you going?" Zou Yiang was humming a little tune and walking waddlingly. When he saw her, he quickly quickened his pace and greeted her enthusiastically, "Looking in the direction, it seems that he is coming from my grandmother's side. ? Could it be that you went to say bad things about me?"

"Young Master Zou has done nothing bad. Who can say anything bad about you?" Xi Fuwei was annoyed with him. She was about to smile when she heard this and said, "You really think too much."

Zou Yiang didn't care about the irony in her words, and said with a smile: "Huh? It seems that you really came from your grandmother?"

He looked behind her and said, "Why is it the only one? Where is Mr. Fu? Did grandma just invite you to come over and talk?"

"Sister Fu has not been feeling well these days, and she is still lying on the couch." Xi Fuwei looked at him and smiled, "Mr. Zou, have you forgotten?"

"Mr. Fu is not my son, but I have been thinking about her all day long. Is it true?" Zou Yiang heard the subtlety in her tone and raised his eyebrows. He suddenly took a step closer and stood in front of her, saying with an ambiguous gesture, "Mr. Shen, are you right?"

Xi Fuwei looked at him with an unchanged expression. For a moment, she curled her lips into a smile and focused her eyes on the top of his head. Then, she moved to her shoulders and smiled meaningfully.

Zou Yiang's face froze.

He is twelve years old and has not yet started drawing.

Fifteen-year-old Xi Fuwei is three years older than him, and she is relatively tall among girls. Now she is a full head taller than him. Zou Yiang just learned the moves to tease girls, and originally planned to tease her. He looked at her, but was made indescribably embarrassed by a look.

After a moment of silence, Zou Yiang was still young after all, so he couldn't hold his face, so he threw his hands away angrily!

"Sir, the young master is going to the old lady's place." Lu Sha watched Zou Yiang's master and servant leave, hesitated for a moment, and finally reminded Xi Fuwei, "The old lady will definitely ask why when the young master looks wrong."

Xi Fuwei said nonchalantly: "Why should I be afraid of the Zou family asking for this reason?"

She was about to let Mrs. Zhuang know that in her eyes, Zou Yiang was just a child, and she had no idea of making a fool of herself, lest the old lady send her out in advance, which would make her unable to complete the task!

Thinking of the mission, Xi Fuwei frowned slightly. She had been in the Zou Mansion for some time, but there was no progress in terms of the details of Fu Chuoxian or the Zou Mansion's views on dredging the canal or moving the capital.

After calming down and thinking about it, it's no wonder that she just went to see Shen Tiaolan. The man wanted to warn her that something must be done.

After all, Jinyiwei is not a Tzu Chi institution.

"Fu Chuoxian is now living with me in Fenzhi Building. No matter what her origins are, if you are closer to the water, you will get the moon first. If you keep an eye on her, you will find clues sooner or later!" Xi Fuwei thought for a while and said to herself, " The difficult part is to find out the Zou Mansion’s true intentions: do they support His Majesty’s decision to move the capital, or do they oppose it?”

This is embarrassing, because although she has entered the Zou Mansion, her identity is only a teacher, and she only teaches a few young ladies who cannot inherit the family business. Each one is younger than the other... but how can she do it without arousing the suspicion of the Zou Mansion? , have you heard such news