Because the house wasn't tidied up yet and everything was a mess, the family reunion dinner was simple.

Shen Youying didn't feel uncomfortable at all. On the contrary, Shen Muyu complained a few more times in a sarcastic tone, but Shen Youying retorted to each of them. In the end, she only ate a few bites of food and then went back to her own courtyard in a huff.

After dinner, it was already late, so Shen Youying took her maid back to her own courtyard to tidy up the house.

This house has three courtyards. Although it is not as spacious as the five-courtyard house in Tokyo, it is not crowded for a family of five. However, it has become somewhat dilapidated and messy because it has been uninhabited for a long time and has been neglected.

Shen Youying anticipated that the place might not be spacious enough for her to return home, so she only brought Danzhu, Bailuo, and two second-class maids with her.

Seeing that the four people were covered in sweat from cleaning the yard, he called them in and said, "Alright, let's get up earlier tomorrow and finish cleaning. You've already had enough to do today, so go and rest."

Bai Luo and Dan Zhu were indeed exhausted, and it was inconvenient to clean up in the dark, so they did not refuse.

Bai Luo, holding a thin blanket, said, "Then, young lady, go take a bath first, and I'll make up your bed."

Shen Youying, having been busy for a while, was also covered in sweat and felt sticky and uncomfortable. Upon hearing this, she headed towards the bathhouse. But as soon as she took a step, she heard Shen Muyu's sharp voice coming from next door: "Be careful! This room contains all kinds of precious Shu brocade. If you get it dirty or damaged, even selling yourselves wouldn't be enough to make up for it!"

Shen Youying paused, her voice carrying clearly over from the other side of the courtyard, where she was still scolding the clumsy servants.

A strange feeling arose in Shen Youying's heart.

Shu brocade is precious. It takes an experienced embroiderer three months to embroider one piece of Shu brocade, hence the saying that "one piece of Shu brocade is worth a lot of gold".

Even the Shen family in the past had never purchased such expensive fabrics, let alone in their current circumstances.

Where did Shen Muyu get the Shu brocade?

A faint doubt arose in Shen Youying's heart.

But the noise in the courtyard gradually subsided, and nothing could be heard anymore. Shen Youying had no choice but to suppress her doubts and go to take a bath first.

.

The next day, Shen Youying got up very early and, together with Bai Luodanzhu, put away the trunks and luggage. Then she went to direct the servants to tidy up the courtyard.

The weeds and debris in the yard have been cleared away, but tidying it up will take more than a day or two.

Especially since there aren't many servants in the house now, it would probably take quite a while to clean up if we had to do it ourselves.

Shen Youying spent half an hour drawing out the general layout of the house and then wrote down the places that needed repair and renovation before going to find Shen Mingjiang.

Shen Mingjiang is planting trees outside his house.

After being dismissed from office, he lived a leisurely life at home. Instead of feeling depressed and frustrated, he sought some pleasures in the countryside and personally took charge of the renovation of his house.

Seeing his delicate daughter walking through the mud, the hem of her pink dress splattered with dirt, he quickly stopped what he was doing: "It's dirty here, Zhao Zhao, go wait for me at the pavilion."

Upon hearing this, Shen Youying had no choice but to go to the pavilion to wait.

A moment later, Shen Mingjiang dusted himself off and came over.

He saw his daughter standing there gracefully, her smoky pink dress resembling a lotus flower in June or July, which seemed quite out of place in this messy house. He frowned and said, "The house is dirty and messy. Why don't you go back to the Prince's Mansion first? I'll bring you here to live after this place is repaired."

"Is Father going to send me away as soon as I get back?" Shen Youying pursed her lips unhappily, looking disappointed.

“What are you saying?” Shen Mingjiang said, “Your eldest sister complains about this and that all day long, and this estate is indeed not as good as it was in Tokyo, but she is not married yet, so she has nowhere to complain. You are different.”

“But I just want to stay by Father’s side and not go anywhere.” Shen Youying hugged his arm and shook it coquettishly, not wanting to talk about this topic anymore. She took out the drawings she had finished and said, “I came to talk to Father about serious matters. There are not many people in the family now, and it is troublesome to repair and maintain this house. I think it would be easier to hire a craftsman to repair it.”

Shen Mingjiang glanced at it and then laughed, "My daughter and I are thinking the same thing. I'm also looking for craftsmen."

Upon hearing this, Shen Youying began to discuss the rough drawings with him.

The father and daughter discussed for a long time until an old woman came to announce that lunch had been prepared, and then they went to the dining room.

When they arrived, Madam Fang and Shen Huaizhou were already there. Shen Youying sat down next to her father, glanced at Shen Muyu's empty seat, and asked, "Why hasn't eldest sister arrived yet?"

Fang said, "Your eldest sister couldn't sleep well yesterday because of the rats, so she got up a little late."

As soon as she finished speaking, Shen Muyu came over with two maids, complaining as she walked, "There are even rats here! I was so scared that I didn't sleep well all night!"

Upon hearing this, Shen Mingjiang said, "I'll have someone put two packets of rat poison in your yard later, and then we'll get two cats in a few days. That should stop the rat infestation."

Shen Muyu pursed her lips and said unhappily, "Even if we don't live in Chongdefang, we don't need to move to this desolate place to suffer, do we?"

Shen Mingjiang had obviously heard similar complaints from her many times, so he didn't respond and just ordered the servants to serve the dishes.

Seeing this, Shen Muyu picked up her chopsticks in a sullen mood. Her sleeve slid down a little, revealing her snow-white wrist and a jade bracelet with excellent translucency on it.

Shen Youying noticed this and her gaze narrowed slightly.

This jade bracelet has excellent clarity and is of the highest quality. She couldn't remember when Shen Muyu had ever owned such a fine bracelet. If she had, she would have been eager to show it off long ago.

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