Splendid Book

Chapter 42 The Best You

Shen Changle took the lantern, looked down at the lantern, it was really beautiful.

The smile on the corner of her mouth couldn't be concealed, and Qiao Yun on the side also recovered from her stupefaction, and she said angrily, "Cousin, I was the one who fell in love with this lantern first, why did you give it to her?"

Shen Changle was afraid that she would snatch it, so he lifted the lantern to the side and blocked it with his body.Seeing her little movements, Ji Yu couldn't help curling the corners of his mouth.

Seeing that Ji Yu not only ignored her, but was still laughing, Qiao Yun became even angrier, and almost burst into tears.On the other hand, Qiao Xu who was next to her saw this and tugged at her sleeve, signaling her not to go too far.Although they are cousins, Ji Yu is the prince after all, and it is disrespectful for his own sister to yell like this.

But Ji Yu's too eccentric behavior made Qiao Yun's eyes turn red with anger.Obviously she is my cousin's serious cousin, and this little girl opposite came from nowhere, why should my cousin treat her so well.

She glared at the fat girl viciously. Although her face was indeed pretty, she was chubby, she was just a fat dumpling.

Shen Changle had already got the lantern, so she didn't care about Qiao Yun's opinion, she just lowered her head and looked at the lantern.I want to see what is so special about the lanterns in Lingyun Bookstore that so many people flock to them.

Qiao Yun on the side saw that no matter how angry she was, no one took her seriously, so she became even more angry.But the big brother next to her kept pulling her, so she was aggrieved and angry, but she didn't dare to lose her temper too much.

Because the bustle of Lingyun Bookstore was over, everyone continued to walk forward, wanting to go to another house to try guessing riddles.

Zhang Xun wanted to help Shen Changle carry the lantern, but she insisted on carrying it herself as a treasure.So everyone had no choice but to let them carry it.The brothers and sisters of the Qiao family also followed them because they met Ji Yu.

Originally, Qiao Yun was talkative, but because of this lantern, most of her interest was broken, so she didn't have much to say in this meeting.And Shen Changle wanted to talk, but seeing Qiao Yun's eyes from time to time, she still held back.Fortunately, Zhang Yang and Ji Qishu haven't decided the winner yet, they will go along the street and guess riddles at various stalls, and after a while, the servants who follow are all carrying lanterns.

After a while, Qiao Yun also guessed the lantern riddles together, and she was not bad, and guessed the three lanterns back in a while, so the interest that was originally not high was revived.He also said proudly to Ji Yu next to him, "Cousin, look at me now."

"That's right," Ji Yu nodded and exaggerated, which made Qiao Yun take another look at Shen Changle proudly, because Shen Changle has not guessed correctly so far, except for this lantern given by others. One.

Just at this moment, Ji Qijun who was beside him turned his head and asked her, "Changle, do you want to come over and guess the lantern riddles?"

Qiao Yun snorted disdainfully.

Shen Changle raised the lantern in his hand, and said with a smile, "I've already got the best lantern tonight, so I don't need to guess it myself."

She smiled at Ji Yu with indescribable joy in her eyes, and Qiao Yun saw her eyes, and was so angry that she couldn't even speak.

So Shen Changle took this lantern, the best lantern in the whole street, and went home.

After the Lantern Festival, time seemed to go fast. After a few days, the spring water warmed up, and the weeping willows on both sides of the bank spit out new buds.Just when the peach blossom forest in Zhang's mansion was in full bloom, Duke Wei's mansion finally returned to Beijing.

Although she has been writing letters to her father and two elder brothers for more than half a year, they are separated from each other.So early in the morning, she went back to the mansion and waited for her father and the others in person.Because the mansion had already been tidied up before, so her yard had already been tidied up.If her grandmother was not worried that it would be inappropriate for her to live alone in the mansion, she would have wanted to come back a long time ago.

When he really saw his father, grandmother and brother, Shen Changle still shed tears without any hope.

The old lady looked at her and said with a joke: "Look at the third girl in our family, she is such a big girl, she still loves Jindoudou."

"I miss you so much," Shen Changle said with a gasp, pouted.

The old lady and Shen Lingcheng couldn't help laughing again, but Shen Jin who was sitting at the side didn't rush forward when she saw her, the third sister, as before.The little person, sitting beside him with a serious look, has actually grown up a lot.

After the family had the reunion dinner, Shen Changle returned to his yard.

At this time, Luwu was already waiting in the yard, and when she came back, she acted as if she had something to say.So Shen Changle let all the maids go down, leaving only Chunliu and her.Only then did Lu Wu say: "The servants just came to inquire about it. I heard that our wife has been in poor health since last year. Now the third wife is the housekeeper at the head of the family."

"Not in good health?" Naturally, Shen Changle didn't believe this excuse, Lin's body had always been healthy, and in the previous life, even after several years of her marriage, Lin's body was still in good condition.

Luwu nodded, but there was also doubt in her eyes.Naturally, they had never heard that Mrs. Lin was in poor health, and when they left, she was still in good condition. Why did she suddenly become so sick that she couldn't even go out of the yard after only half a year.

"That's right, I found it strange when I heard it. But I heard that the fifth girl is being raised in the old lady's yard now, and it's hard to even see the wife's face." It's suitable, but you see how long it took before she came back to find out everything.

Chunliu is the son of the family in the mansion, so she has heard many private things in the back house since she was a child.She couldn't help but whispered, "Madam is under house arrest, isn't she?"

Shen Changle and Lu Wuhuo turned their heads to look at her, their eyes were so sharp that Chunliu immediately waved his hands again in fright and said, "I'm just making a random guess, don't look at me like that."

Lu Wu nodded, thinking about it and didn't know whether to sigh or to be thankful.I'm afraid that everyone in the house knows that the wife is not friendly to the third girl.Although it is decent in face, everyone can see that she treats the third girl differently from the fifth girl.It wasn't a big deal when I was young, but when I grew up, the impact would be deeper.If it's time for my daughter to discuss marriage, and my wife trips me a little bit, I'm afraid my daughter will suffer.

So when she heard about Lin's affairs, she felt an indescribable joy in her heart.

But she is just a little maid, such outrageous thoughts can only be thought about in her heart.

Not long after Shen Lingcheng returned to Beijing, he was summoned by the emperor.Over the years, he kept his father's filial piety in Guangping Mansion and never returned to the capital.Now, when he returns to Beijing, he still has to be summoned by the emperor, so other nobles in the capital naturally dare not underestimate Duke Wei's mansion.Knowing that although the Shen family has left the capital for a few years, the emperor still remembers it.

In June, Shen Lingcheng filled a vacancy in the household department and started working again.

The Shen family's life in the capital is much more lively than that in Guangping Mansion.Shen Changle would often go to Jining Hou's Mansion for a short stay, plus Zhang Ru is a sociable person, and would often hold banquets at home, so Shen Changle would also go there from time to time, and met many little noble girls in the capital.

Naturally, she had met most of these girls in her previous life, but they were just nodding acquaintances, not like now, but she could say a few intimate words.

The days in the capital passed quickly, and Shen Changle never saw Mrs. Lin at the family banquet again.Originally thought that her father just locked her up for a while, but who knows that one after another New Year's Eve passed, Lin never showed up again.

During the period, Shen Jin also had trouble, but when she made trouble, the old lady even deprived her of the chance to see Mrs. Lin once a month.So in the end, she didn't dare to make trouble casually.And after she was six years old, she moved out of the old lady's yard and had her own independent yard.

And Shen Changle naturally also noticed that she was alienated from him.Although Shen Changle had expected this day long ago, he just thought it would be because of the Lin family, but he didn't expect that now that the Lin family was gone, they would inevitably be alienated.

On the contrary, Shen Yue and Shen Jin are getting closer.Shen Changle watched for a long time, and also saw that it was Shen Yue who was intentionally getting close to Shen Jin.And her closeness is not the same as the appearance of obediently following behind Shen Jin in her previous life.She seemed to be deliberately holding Shen Jin.

Because the three of them are older, Shen Lingcheng has invited her husband to teach at home.And the one who taught them the Four Books and the Five Classics was a gentleman with gray hair, a rather strong body, and a lot of energy. The favorite thing to say on weekdays is, think back then...

As for the one who taught them the art of playing the piano, it was the former instructor of the palace music workshop.Originally, she no longer planned to play the piano, but her son was seriously ill and desperately needed money to save him.So he was invited by the Shen family, and I don't know how upset the other honorable families who came a step later.

"Fifth sister, your writing has really improved a lot," Shen Yue glanced at the rice paper that Shen Jin took out, on it were the homework assigned by Mr. Yesterday, ten sheets of lower regular script with hairpin flowers.

Shen Jin was a little proud. She raised her head and glanced at Shen Changle who was sitting next to her. In the calligraphy class, the three sisters were the one who received the most praise.When my father came here in the first ten days of this month, my husband was also in front of my father, and I kindly praised my third sister, saying that her handwriting is clear and beautiful, and if I practice diligently, I will definitely achieve a little success in the future.

Since that day, if the husband assigns homework again and asks to write ten essays, she will write twenty essays.Now that she has started to understand, not only does she lose the closeness she had when she was a child with the third sister, but she also has the idea of ​​competing with her.They are obviously the daughters of the Shen family, but anyone can tell that Shen Changle is more noble than Shen Jin.

"No way, it's not as good as the third and fourth sisters," Shen Jin pursed her lips and smiled softly.Now she is also a little girl, with every frown and smile, she looks like a famous lady.

"Third Sister, you also come to judge and criticize, I see that Fifth Sister has made extraordinary progress," Shen Yue smiled and picked up the rice paper in front of her, and wanted to show it to Shen Changle.

Now that she said so, Shen Changle naturally couldn't shirk it.After she read it carefully, she also felt that Shen Yue's words were correct. Originally, Shen Jin's handwriting was a bit vain because of her young age and insufficient wrist strength. Now it seems that her shortcoming seems to have improved a lot.

"Fifth Younger Sister's handwriting has indeed improved a lot," Shen Changle praised with a nod.

After Shen Jin heard her words, although he tried his best to show he didn't care, he still couldn't help showing a joyful expression.Because the three girls went to school together, Shen Lingcheng would ask about their studies every few days. According to the usual practice, he reckoned that his father would come over on the day of Xiumu.Every day, she would write twenty small letters, and choose ten from them, in order to win over Shen Changle.

After a while, after they sat down, the master came.

Classes are still going on today, and after half an hour of lectures, the master asked them to hand in yesterday's homework.Because the master did not allow them to use maids in the school, the three girls stood up one by one, respectfully took their homework over, and placed it on the table in front of the master.

Although it was just an ordinary inspection, when Shen Jin walked up with her homework, she seemed to be able to hear the beating of her heart.

And after the master finished their homework, Shen Lingcheng also arrived as scheduled.

When the three girls saw him coming in, they all got up and greeted him.

When the master got up, Shen Lingcheng immediately stepped forward and said with a smile: "Sir, please sit down, please sit down. I just came to see these three useless girls. How are you learning these few days?"

Because the master has been teaching in Shen's family for four years, until Shen Lingcheng paid no less attention to the studies of the three girls than the two young masters.So he immediately recounted what he had taught recently.Shen Lingcheng nodded, but when he lowered his head, he saw three stacks of papers on the table, all of which were obviously written in lowercase letters by the girls.

He immediately asked: "Sir, can I have a look?"

"Please, my lord," the master made a casual gesture.

Only then did Shen Lingcheng pick up the rice paper and read it carefully.He read very quickly, because the three girls all knew which pile was written by themselves, so when Shen Lingcheng picked up the paper on that pile, everyone felt a little nervous in their hearts.

After Shen Lingcheng had finished reading it, he asked his master again, "I don't know if you have reviewed it, sir?"

The master stroked his white beard, and said with a light smile: "Usually it's the old man's comments, how about asking the Duke's mansion to give the three comments?"

Shen Lingcheng smiled lightly, and said: "If it is said that the writing is the best, it is naturally Changle." There was pride in his words, but the three girls on the opposite table immediately had their own thoughts.

Shen Changle was naturally happy, but at least he had to be humble.As for Shen Jin next to her, she bit her lips tightly, as if she was a little unwilling.Shen Yue, who was sitting at the back, had a peaceful expression, as if she didn't care about Shen Lingcheng's praise.

And then Shen Lingcheng added: "Jin'er has also made great progress. I think if she is still working so hard during the holidays, she will not be able to catch up with Changle."

Shen Jin didn't expect his father to praise him so much, and immediately showed a surprised expression.

After he finished judging, he sent the three girls back from school.When Shen Changle heard that school was over, he quickly packed his things.And Shen Lingcheng was also waiting for the three of them at the door, this one was fifteen, and the family wanted to have dinner at the old lady's place.

So when Shen Changle came over, Shen Lingcheng couldn't help laughing and said: "You are fast enough."

"That's natural. Master doesn't allow maidservants to serve us, so we have to clean up things ourselves. I can do it now," Shen Changle said sweetly.

Shen Lingcheng scratched the tip of her nose, and joked, "It's just a trivial matter, but he knows how to put gold on his face."

"I'm already pretty, so I don't need to be paid for it," Shen Changle said shamelessly.

Shen Lingcheng laughed out loud after hearing this, and looked helpless towards her.When Shen Jin and Shen Yue came out, they were talking and laughing, Shen Changle could make daddy laugh with just one word.

Seeing them coming out, Shen Lingcheng led Shen Changle to walk in front, and the two little girls also hurriedly followed.

When they got to the old lady's yard, they saw Mrs. Zhao was already in the yard.It's just that when they went in, they saw Mrs. Zhao standing aside, her eyes were red, as if she had just cried.

Shen Changle couldn't help sighing, since Lin Shi was put under house arrest in his own yard and was not allowed to come out, the power of the family in Duke Wei's mansion has been handed over to Zhao Shi.She is also conscientious in her work. Over the years, she has never made any major mistakes.

It's just that the only unsatisfactory thing is that the third uncle has not yet had a child.The year before last, there was a maid who was pregnant, let alone the third uncle and the third aunt were happy, even the old lady was so happy.Mrs. Zhao immediately promoted the servant girl to be an aunt, and not only sent four maids to take care of her, but usually they just stayed on the bed quietly, not even letting her walk a step.As for the supplements, I had to move them into the yard as if I didn't need money, but later I got stuck.

But who would have thought that during childbirth, the fetus was raised too big, and it turned out to be difficult to deliver.In the end, not only the pregnant woman was not kept, but even the child was born lifeless and was a full-term boy.

This made Mrs. Zhao blind from crying, and fell ill immediately, and it took half a month to recover.She is like this, even the old lady is reluctant to say a harsh word to her.So her three uncles are all in their 30s, and they haven't had a child yet.

The dinner was still served in the flower hall outside, although men and women had different seats at the age of seven, but they were all brothers and sisters of their own family, and there were not so many rules. They still sat at the Eight Immortals table and ate dinner lively with the old lady.

After dinner, the old lady asked everyone else to disperse, and finally left Shen Lingcheng to talk with her.The mother and son were sitting on the kang, and the old lady asked, "I heard that the second child has written to you frequently these days?"

Shen Lingcheng was stunned at first, and then smiled embarrassingly.

The second child in the old lady's mouth is Shen Lingchang, the second master in Duke Wei's mansion, but Shen Lingchang was born by his aunt.In the past few years, he took his wife and children with him and did not live in the mansion.Before the old Duke passed away, several masters of the Duke of Wei's mansion were concerned about their filial piety. Who would have thought that just after the filial piety period, Shen Lingchang received an errand, cried in front of the old lady, and took his wife and children to take up the post. .

"Second brother just wanted to ask me to take care of things in Beijing. He said that he had been released for ten years and wanted to be transferred back to the capital." Shen Lingcheng has always been filial to his mother, so he would not lie in front of the old lady.

After listening to the old lady, although there was no expression on her face, she just said lightly: "Local officials want to get excellent grades in the official evaluation for three consecutive years when they enter Beijing. If you hadn't walked him back and forth last year, how could he get excellent grades?" .”

Shen Lingcheng smiled. He has now been transferred from the Ministry of Households to the Ministry of Officials, so he happened to help Shen Lingchang in the evaluation last year.

"Mother, my second brother and I are always brothers, and it is he who will be promoted in the future and will always help our Duke of Wei," Shen Lingcheng persuaded.

The old lady had always disliked Shen Lingchang, so she didn't say anything else at this time.But she still added: "In the final analysis, Hui'er and you are real brothers."

"Of course my son knows, but the third brother has always been a man of idle clouds and wild cranes. If he is allowed to become an official, I'm afraid he himself will not want to," Shen Lingcheng said flatteringly.

The old lady also nodded helplessly. Of course, her son knows his temper best.It's just that she has always disliked Shen Lingchang, and thought that he was too self-absorbed, and she looked down on his philistine spirit.

"Besides, it's true that the second brother has been away from Beijing for over ten years. It's human nature to want to come back," Shen Lingcheng said with a smile.

"It's good to come back, so that he won't cause embarrassing things outside," the old lady's eyes showed a little coldness.

Shen Lingcheng smiled wryly, and said with a smile: "Second brother is always cautious, so nothing really happens."

The old lady sneered and said, "But that Han Xiang'er still entered his residence."

(End of this chapter)