Do you know that it starts with Meng Tong?

After the ship stopped, a dozen servants got off first, carrying several thick long wooden boards, placed them between the deck and the pier, and fixed them firmly with nails and ropes.

When everything was ready, the rest of the people on the ship disembarked one after another.

The first person was a middle-aged man, who looked somewhat similar to Sheng Hong, but had more of a merchant spirit. This man was naturally Sheng Hong's cousin, Sheng Wei, the head of the Sheng family.

Two teenagers, one on the left and one on the right, followed Sheng Wei. After the three of them got off the boat, the steward of the Sheng family behind started to greet people to unload the cargo.

There are five ships in the fleet coming from Youyang to Yangzhou this time. The first two ships are carrying people, and the last three ships are full of gifts brought by Sheng Wei.

As soon as Wang Ruofu came over, he saw dozens of large boxes covered with red silk being unloaded from the cargo ship. He almost laughed so hard that he couldn't close his mouth.

Some time ago, in order to save a generous dowry for his eldest daughter, Wang Ruofu's small treasury was severely damaged, but now he can finally make up for the shortfall.

Unlike his wife, who was simple-minded, Sheng Hong felt very uncomfortable when he saw his cousin bringing so many gifts.

Shengjia Winery suffered a disaster not long ago. As the backer of Shengjia Trading Company, Sheng Hong did not want to cause trouble for the sake of his own future and decisively rejected Sheng Wei's request for help.

Later, although things happened in the wine shop,

Although it was successfully solved, it was relying on Sheng Wei's own method and asking outsiders for help. Sheng Hong, a member of his family, was not helpful at all.

After this incident, Sheng Hong's face was filled with shame. He thought his cousin would be angry with him for a long time, but he didn't know that instead of being angry, Sheng Wei even brought three large ships of congratulatory gifts.

What is magnanimity?

This is called magnanimity!

When Sheng Hong saw this scene, he felt even more ashamed. When greeting Sheng Wei, he unconsciously lowered his posture and shouted "Brother" from the bottom of his heart.

Sheng Wei responded cordially to his brother, and exchanged a few polite words with Wang Ruofu. The two brothers chatted and laughed, quite like brothers and sisters.

After the elders had finished greeting each other, Sheng Changbai slowly came to Sheng Hong and Wang Ruofu, bowed and saluted: "My children meet their father and mother."

Sheng Changbai was wrapped tightly all over, but his face was still blue in the biting cold wind.

Wang Ruofu felt terribly distressed and quickly pulled up his son: "Bai'er, don't talk so much, let's go home quickly. I've made your favorite lotus seed soup at home. Come home soon and have a bowl. It'll be warm." Warm yourself up.”

"Mom, don't worry."

Sheng Changbai stood there, refusing to move, and pushed someone out from behind: "Father, mother, this is my best friend I met in Youyang, Brother Wei Xian."

Wang Ruofu had just focused his whole body and mind on his son, and had no time to care about other people. At this time, after being reminded by his son, he noticed the young man beside him who looked to be only eleven or twelve years old.

The young man was not very tall, but he was very handsome and agile. He had red lips and white teeth, warm eyebrows and clear eyes. He exuded an elegant and scholarly aura.

The most important thing is that, like Sheng Changbai, he actually wears a 襕shirt, which represents the scholar's reputation, and a square scarf on his head.

Based on his son's letter from the past few days, Wang Ruofu already knew the identity of this young man.

"Is this what you said in your letter, Wei Xiaoniang's clan member who is even a small and middle-aged person?"

"Exactly." Sheng Changbai nodded with a smile.

Wei Chen came to Wang Ruofu with a graceful step: "Wei Chen, a member of Jiangning Health Department, pays homage to Tongpan and Mrs. Tongpan."

Wei Chen thought about how to call Sheng Hong and Wang Ruofu for a long time along the way. He could call Wei Shuyi, who was not related by blood, his aunt, but he couldn't take it for granted and call him uncle Sheng Hong, let alone Wang Ruofu. aunt.

In that case, he might have offended both the host and hostess of the second room of the Sheng family as soon as they met.

After all, Wei Shu meant that the Sheng family was just a concubine, and Wei Chen couldn't be so bluntly related to the Sheng family.

Therefore, Wei Chen simply pretended that he had nothing to do with the Sheng family and greeted the two of them the way a normal student would meet a Shangguan.

"It turns out to be Xingyun's nephew. I've heard from Bai'er that my nephew became a student at a young age, and he's still a little Sanyuan that's rare in decades. He's really young and promising!"

The one who spoke was Sheng Hong. He had just noticed the young man walking with his son. He felt that this young man behaved well and was quite extraordinary. He immediately guessed that this young man was Wei Chen.

Last year, Wei Chen rose to fame with his poem "Bamboo and Stone" and attracted the attention of Jiangnan literary circles. He was known as a child prodigy. Even Sheng Hong heard about it and used this poem to inspire his son Changbai.

This year, Wei Chen has handed down many famous works such as "On Poetry" and "On the Return of the Perfect Jade to Zhao". The list of questions for the imperial examination was not only sold in Jiangning, but also in Yangzhou, hundreds of miles away.

When it came to the college examination, Wei Chen shocked everyone's attention. He broke the record of Jiangning Prefecture's decades-long record of not having a mistress, and became the youngest mistress in the history of Jiangnan Province.

At this point, Wei Chen's achievements were enough to impress Sheng Hong, but they were far from being treated as equals.

After all, no matter how powerful Wei Chen is, he is still just a student, while Sheng Hong is a court official with a Jinshi background, so the two sides are not on the same level.

But when Sheng Hong knew that there was a big shot like Jiangning Magistrate Shen Du standing behind Wei Chen, the situation suddenly changed.

In the wine shop incident, Shen Du fought against the governor's office so that Wei Chen could fight against him. Although he did not confront Governor Liu head-on, but only dealt with two minions under his command, it was enough to prove that Shen Du and Wei Chen had a close relationship.

In short, Wei Chen himself is amazing in talent and knowledge, and with the backing of Shen Du, he will become a great talent sooner or later. Even though Sheng Hong is a dignified official of the court, he must be treated with caution and not take it lightly.

Chapter 72

Wei Chen didn't want to rush to join the Sheng family, so he met Sheng Hong and his wife according to the wedding ceremony. They were neither close nor distant, and the etiquette was decent. No one could find anything wrong with them.

Sheng Hong and his wife had different reactions to this.

Wang Ruofu just nodded reservedly and said a few polite words, which could be said to be all the airs of an official.

She has always been proud of her family background, and from time to time she would say, "My father deserves to enjoy the Imperial Ancestral Temple." Naturally, this is the normal way to deal with this kind of official communication. She must outdo the other person to feel comfortable in her heart.

Compared to his wife's arrogance, Sheng Hong is much more easy-going. His smile and friendly tone make people feel like spring breeze.

"My dear nephew, I heard that you call my cousin uncle, and you have a close relationship with my Bai'er, who is of the same generation. We have a deep relationship with each other, so why do we need to be so different from each other? In this case, how about you call me uncle? "

"This..." Wei Chen hesitated for a moment, and when he saw the encouraging eyes of Sheng Wei and Sheng Changbai beside him, he finally stopped shying away, bowed generously, and said loudly: "Uncles, sir, please accept my nephew's greetings. ."

"Oh, this is right, my dear nephew!"

Sheng Hong put his hands on his hands and laughed, lovingly helped Wei Chen up and patted Wei Chen on the shoulder. His eyes looked like an elder looking at his junior.

Wang Ruofu was a little confused by her husband's enthusiasm for Wei Chen, but she still had some eyes and did not insult Sheng Hong in public. She followed Sheng Hong and accepted Wei Chen's gift with a smile on her face. He asked Wei Chen a few questions about the situation at home.

Wei Chen looked respectful and answered one by one.

Sheng Changbai on the side also helped explain a few words from time to time to impress his mother with his good friend.

In Wang Ruofu's impression, his son had a dull personality and always cherished words like gold. However, at this time, he was so generous in praising Wei Chen, which was unprecedented.

In addition, Wei Chen is good-looking, well-spoken, and has a very good meeting etiquette. After meeting him for the first time, Wang Ruofu really had a good impression of Wei Chen, and he didn't care about the fact that he had an eldest nephew inexplicably. So conflicted.

After settling Wang Ruofu, Sheng Hong was interested in making friends over there. In just a short journey from the dock to Sheng Mansion, the relationship between Wei Chen and the hostess of the second room of the Sheng family improved by leaps and bounds.

The car drove for more than a quarter of an hour and finally stopped in front of an imposing mansion.

Logically speaking, officials such as prefects and general magistrates must live in government offices, but rules are dead and people are alive. Most local officials above the sixth rank will find ways to buy their own private residences as long as they are not short of money. .

Although Sheng Hongguan was not a big official, he was considered to be a high-ranking official in Yangzhou Prefecture. With Sheng Wei's financial support, he had plenty of money, so he naturally bought a large private residence.

Wei Chen got off the carriage and followed Sheng Changbai into the house from the main entrance. Housekeepers and servants filed in to help move the suitcase cage.

After bypassing the screen wall and passing through a screen door, there is a long corridor with pink walls and black tiles on both sides. Looking forward, it feels like there is no end.

After a long tea break, we came to the hanging flower gate with drum-holding stones on the left and right, and crossed the threshold that was almost knee-high. Only then did we see the true appearance of this grand mansion.

On both sides of the gate are Chaoshou verandahs.

To the north is a five-bay central flower hall with wing rooms, an east wing and a west wing, an inverted wing, and a cross paved corridor in the middle of the courtyard.

There are sweet-scented osmanthus trees planted in the courtyard, Taihu rocks stand there, and there is a small pond. However, it is already winter, the water in the pond is bitingly cold, and not a single fish can be seen.

The eldest daughter of the Sheng family, Hualan, and her younger sister, Rulan, had been waiting in the flower hall for a long time. As soon as the servants came in to report the news, they went out together to greet them.

Wang Ruofu called his two biological daughters to meet Sheng Wei. The two Lans each sweetly called uncle, and Sheng Wei smiled and presented each of them with a heavy red gold Ruyi Lock.Wang Ruofu watched from the side with a bigger smile on his face.

It was also the first time that Wei Chen saw the true faces of the daughters of the Sheng family, and he stood aside and looked at them carefully.

Sheng Hualan is slightly older than Changbai, with a good appearance and a gentle temperament, which makes people fall in love with her at first sight.

Sheng Rulan is about the same age as Wei Chen. She is petite and cute, but her temper is like her mother's, a little arrogant and willful.

As for Sheng Hong's other concubine children, they didn't come for some reason, and Wei Chen had no chance to meet them.

After the group exchanged greetings, Sheng Wei proposed to go to the old lady of Shou'antang to pay her respects.

Being filial to elders is a top priority, so Sheng Hong agreed and immediately led Sheng Wei to Shou'an Hall in person.

As for Wei Chen, Wang Ruofu arranged to live in the west wing, and was led there by a woman in charge to settle down.

The mother-in-law took Wei Chen to the place, opened the door, and said respectfully: "This is your room, sir. If you call me for anything, there will be people on both sides who will answer."

"Thank you."

After Wei Chen thanked him, the woman returned the greeting and then left on her own.

Wei Chen looked at the exquisite and elegant guest room in front of him, nodded with satisfaction, and asked the book boy behind him to help put down his luggage. Then he sat down and took a casual book to pass the time.

On the other side, outside the Shou'an Hall, before the group entered the main room, they heard Wang Ruofu's loud voice: "Mother, the officials have brought your eldest cousin to greet you, and Bai'er is back too!"

In the room, the old lady who had already received the letter was sitting cross-legged on the Arhat bed. When she heard Wang Ruofu yelling outside, she couldn't help but look at Fang's mother beside her and smiled helplessly.

When the group entered the main room, Sheng Wei couldn't wait to step forward and kneel down: "Second Aunt!"

"You came."

The old lady also showed a rare smile on her face, indicating to Sheng Wei that there was no need to be formal, and asked Fang's mother beside her to seat him.

"How is your mother's health lately?"

Sheng Wei smiled and replied: "I miss you, Auntie. My mother is in good health. She eats well and sleeps well, but she often misses her."

The old lady nodded: "She also had a hard life. She suffered a lot in the first half of her life. Fortunately, she gave birth to you several filial children. It can be said that the clouds have cleared and the moon is bright."

Somehow, the old lady was obviously watching Sheng Wei talking, but Sheng Hong's face felt a little warm when she heard it.

Fortunately, the old lady did not continue the conversation on this topic. After talking to Sheng Wei for a long time, she turned her attention to Sheng Changbai behind Sheng Hong.

Sheng Changbai walked to the hall and bowed deeply: "My grandson pays homage to my grandmother."

The old lady looked at Sheng Changbai carefully, with a happy smile on her face: "I heard from your mother that you have been selected as a scholar?"

Sheng Changbai said modestly: "My grandson luckily passed the college examination two months ago."

The old lady spoke earnestly: "The poetry and calligraphy of the Sheng family has been passed down from generation to generation. Your father was a Jinshi scholar, and your grandfather was even selected as a top scholar. Now you are just a scholar, and you are still far behind your father and grandfather. You must not be arrogant because of this." , just continue to study diligently."

Sheng Changbai bowed again and said respectfully: "My grandson, please remember your grandmother's teachings."

The old lady nodded with satisfaction, her expression softened a lot, and she asked with a smile: "You are going to Yuyang's hometown to take the exam. You have been there for half a year. Do you have anything interesting to tell your grandmother?"

Hearing the old lady's question, Sheng Changbai immediately started talking, talking about what he had experienced during the Youyang Boy Examination, and naturally he couldn't avoid his most proud friend, Wei Chen.

"Oh, I didn't expect that Youyang would have such a talented person?"

The old lady was quite surprised when she heard about Wei Chen's deeds as a junior and middle school student from Sheng Changbai. She was even more pleased that her grandson could make such a good friend.