Chapter 19 Shopping

"By the way, among the girls you met today, did you like any good ones?" Mrs. Shen suddenly asked.

Shen Anan thought for a moment, "There is one, Miss Duan Er from the Duan family, who has good character, but is a little indecisive and too kind-hearted."

Duan Yingying is a good person, but her kindness is too soft and lacks thorns, so she can hurt herself too easily.

"From the Duan family." Mrs. Shen pursed her lips and didn't say anything else.

The carriage soon arrived in front of the Shen Mansion, and Shen Anan helped Madam Shen get off the carriage and return to the yard.

"Mom, An'an." A hearty voice came from the corridor.

The mother and daughter turned their heads and frowned at the same time, "Brother, your injuries haven't healed yet, why are you up?"

Shen Changhe smiled and said, "I'm a grown man, that little injury is not a big deal, it has already healed. The Imperial Guards are busy, I can't just lie at home all the time."

Mrs. Shen has gotten used to it. After all, Shen Changhe is a military general, so injuries are inevitable.

He held an oil-paper bag in his hand, looked at Madam Shen, then at Shen Anan, and seemed a little tangled.

Mrs. Shen glanced at him and asked, "What are you holding in your hand?"

"…Fruits from Wang's shop. My sister just came back and I wanted to buy some for her to try."

Shen Changhe felt a little embarrassed, he forgot about his mother and should have brought two copies.

Madam Shen glanced at him and said, “Now that An An is back, you have forgotten about your mother.”

"No, no, I...I forgot."

Shen Changhe was very embarrassed, "I will definitely bring it to my mother tomorrow."

Madam Shen raised the corners of her lips, “Okay, you two brothers and sisters can chat, I’m a little tired, I’ll go back to the yard to rest first.”

"Yes." They both bowed.

After Mrs. Shen walked away, Shen Changhe handed the paper bag to Shen Anan, "My colleague's sister likes it, you can try it, if you like it, I will bring it to you every day."

"Thank you, big brother." Shen Anan smiled and curved her eyebrows.

The brother and sister went up to the veranda together.

Shen Changhe said, "The Mid-Autumn Festival is coming in a few days. There will be fireworks and lanterns in Beijing, which will be very lively. I will take you out then."

"Okay." Shen Anan agreed with a smile.

The two of them returned to their respective yards at the fork in the road.

In the Begonia Garden, Chen Anan sat in front of the bronze mirror while Mo Xiang and Mo Ran helped her with her hair and makeup removal.

After wearing the headdress for a whole day, her neck felt a little sore. Mo Xiang took off her dress and put on casual clothes for her, then helped her sit on the couch and massaged her gently.

Mid-Autumn Festival is coming soon. In previous years, she always accompanied her grandmother. I don’t know how she spent it this year and whether she missed her.

She must have thought about it, but the old lady was too stubborn and would definitely not admit it.

"The dresses that Madam sent are all fine brocades. The watercolor one is also very beautiful. They will be perfect for the Mid-Autumn Festival dinner."

Mo Ran said as he tidied up the closet.

Shen Anan suddenly remembered that there was a Mid-Autumn Festival dinner and she had to prepare gifts for everyone.

She didn't have anything original, so it would be better to save time and effort. Anyway, the silver Xiao Yuan sent was still lying in the box.

But she needs to pay more attention to her grandmother.

The days of distributing porridge were coming to an end soon, and there was just enough rice and flour, but the Duan and Chen families extended the time. Butler Shen came to ask Shen Anan's opinion, and Shen Anan asked them to go back home.

Even if they could scrape together enough rice and flour for two days, why bother pretending to be rich? The Duan and Chen families want to have a good reputation, so if they want to give, they can give. It has nothing to do with her.

After the porridge distribution event was over, Shen Anan's life became more leisurely, but Shen Changhe would come to Haitang Garden to sit for a while every day after work and bring her different food.

Shen Anan is very considerate and always praises her.

"Brother, Mid-Autumn Festival is coming in a few days. I want to pick a gift for my grandmother. Are you free to accompany me?"

Shen Changhe thought for a moment and said, "The day after tomorrow, I'll take a day off."

"Okay." After seeing Shen Changhe off, Shen Anan wrote a letter to her grandmother.

If possible, she would really like to bring her grandmother to live with her, but unfortunately the capital city is a sad place for her grandmother and she is unwilling to come back.

Shen Anan suddenly thought that if she could marry to Jiangnan, maybe she could always be with her grandmother. After all, her parents had her brother to take care of them, but her grandmother only had her.

There are still seven days until the Mid-Autumn Festival, and everyone in the mansion has started to get busy. Even the crabapple tree in Shen An'an's courtyard has been hung with red lanterns, and all you can see is red.

Shen Anan was very leisurely in the house for a few days, and then trouble came to her.

"Young lady." The nanny beside Madam Shen had a worried look on her face.

"Aunt Yu beside the Imperial Concubine is here again, saying that the Imperial Concubine has nothing to do and wants to summon you to the palace to chat."

When An An heard that it was Concubine Shen, she felt a headache and admired her perseverance.

"Where is she?"

"In the Madam's courtyard." The nanny lowered her voice and said, "Madam said that if the girl doesn't want to go, she can pretend to be sick and refuse. Madam will go and talk to the imperial concubine herself."

"No need." Shen Anan closed the book and stood up, "Since you are here, let's go and take a look."

"Mo Xiang, change your clothes and do your makeup."

Mo Xiang hurried forward to change her clothes and tie her hair, and the old nanny went to the outer room to wait.

A quarter of an hour later, Shen Anan packed up and went out to Mrs. Shen's yard.

On the way, the old nanny reminded, "Madam said that the Imperial Concubine suddenly summoned you to the palace. Perhaps she heard about the Chrysanthemum Banquet at the Yongning Marquis's Mansion. It is probably about your marriage. If the Imperial Concubine asks, you should say that you have no say and ask her to find the Master and Madam."

Shen Anan nodded calmly.

Thinking that the woman was locked up in the deep palace, the news was quite good. After just a few days, she found out that her mother was arranging a marriage for her.

As she was thinking, she arrived at Madam Shen's courtyard. The maid bowed and lifted the bead curtain to let her in.

Inside the room, Madam Shen was talking to Aunt Yu.

She sat at the bottom, acting like a noble lady and putting on airs. After all, she was a seventh-rank official in the Prime Minister's office, not to mention that she came from the palace.

"An An is here." Mrs. Shen smiled and waved at her.

"Mother." She bowed and went straight to sit next to Mrs. Shen.

Aunt Yu didn't seem very happy.

After all, even Mrs. Shen gave her some face, but Shen Anan didn't even say hello to her.

However, since the last contact, she knew that this person was not a good person, so she did not dare to be too arrogant.

"Cousin."

"Yeah." Shen Anan then looked at Aunt Yu, nodded and smiled appropriately.

"Aunt Yu has been so relaxed these days, running to the Chen Mansion every now and then. Does the emperor know? After all, my aunt is a concubine, and it may not be appropriate to be too close to her family. Don't make the emperor unhappy."

“…” Aunt Yu’s face froze.

After a long while, he smiled and said, "The emperor dotes on the queen and will not blame you."

"Yeah." Shen Anan nodded, "Being favored is a good thing, but my grandmother used to teach me not to be spoiled. If my grandmother were here, she would definitely teach my aunt the same way."

She curled her lips, seeming to be very dissatisfied with Old Madam Shen, but in fact, everyone in the room could hear the hidden meaning of her words.

But she was holding the banner of Old Madam Shen, so even if Aunt Yu was dissatisfied, she couldn't say anything.

“Mother.” She suddenly pushed Madam Shen and pointed to the courtyard, “Your peony flowers have withered.”

Mrs. Shen was stunned by her eccentric way of speaking, and nodded, "It's late autumn now, it's not its season anymore."

"Yeah." Shen Anan nodded heavily, and seemed a little disappointed, "But the chrysanthemums in Yongning Marquis's Mansion are in full bloom."

…

Not to mention Madam Shen and Aunt Yu, even Mo Xiang understood.

The girl was using flowers to describe people, saying that the emperor's love was like a season, fleeting and gone in the blink of an eye.

Aunt Yu's hand holding the teacup was shaking slightly.

I knew my cousin was sharp-tongued, but I didn't expect her to be so bold and say anything.

Her face darkened, and there was a coldness in her eyes. Before she could speak, Madam Shen glanced at her daughter and scolded her, "Don't be disrespectful in front of Aunt Yu. It's all because of your grandmother that you have become more and more unruly."

Shen Anan stuck out her tongue, "I just felt something, what are you thinking, mother."

Mrs. Shen was helpless, glared at her, and said to Aunt Yu, “This child has been spoiled by the old lady and doesn’t understand the twists and turns of the rules in the capital.”

If there is an imperial concubine or a high-ranking official in the family, it is not allowed to say such unlucky words. This is an unwritten rule.

Aunt Yu curled the corner of her lips. It was obvious that the cousin didn't understand and did it on purpose.

But when she looked up and saw Shen Anan's innocent smile, she couldn't find any fault with it. "Madam, you are too kind. My cousin is straightforward and has a simple mind, which is a good thing."

Madam Shen smiled and said, "Did Aunt Yu just say that the Imperial Concubine wanted to summon An An to stay in the palace for a few days?"

Aunt Yu pursed her lips, not wanting to nod and deal with Shen Anan, but with the instructions of the Imperial Concubine, she could only nod and smile, “Yes, the Imperial Concubine liked the cousin very much when she saw her, and she talked about her every day.”

"Really? Auntie really likes me so much." Shen Anan continued.

Mrs. Shen had a worried look on her face and winked at her, but Shen Anan pretended not to see it and smiled with Aunt Yu.

"My cousin and the Imperial Concubine are from the same family. How could the Imperial Concubine not like my cousin?"

Shen Anan curled her lips, "Anan also likes my aunt very much, and wants to go to the palace to accompany her for a few days..."

Aunt Yu just breathed a sigh of relief, thankful that this master didn't do anything weird, but Shen Anan suddenly changed the subject, "It's just... I'm afraid I don't have time recently."

Aunt Yu's face darkened when she heard this. "Although my cousin is related to the Imperial Concubine by blood, there is still a difference in status. You'd better not disobey. After all, the difference between the monarch and his subjects must be clearly understood."