Chapter 128 Chapter 128 Shen Xuan and Xue Fenglin returned to Beijing but…
It had only been a few days since Shen Xuan and Xue Fenglin returned to the capital, but they were already very busy.
In addition to visiting the Ye family and visiting Mrs. Ye and General Ye. Afterwards, Secretary Ye pulled him over to go through the accounts of the shops in Beijing for the past three years! It took a full three days and three nights!
Secretary Ye was very good at accounting. During the past three years, Shen Xuan had handed over the shop in Beijing to him to manage. The accounts were very detailed, and every item was clear, without any confusion.
Because Secretary Ye was so serious, Shen Xuan was actually too lazy to ask any more questions. But Secretary Ye was a stickler for details. The more Shen Xuan trusted him, the more he wanted Shen Xuan to confirm the accounts.
Shen Xuan had no choice but to accompany Secretary Ye to check all the accounts completely. After confirming that there were no mistakes, he signed his name at the back of the account book before being allowed to go and rest by Secretary Ye!
Everyone knew that Xue Fenglin was promoted by Emperor Wu of Jin, and he received numerous invitations from famous families in the capital. Even if Xue Fenglin had picked out most of the ones that were acceptable or not, there were still dozens of them! If all these families were to attend the banquet one by one, I am afraid that the banquet would not be able to be completed even from the first day of the first lunar month.
After considering Shen Xuan's physical condition, Xue Fenglin discussed with Shen Xuan and decided to hold a banquet in the Marquis' Mansion and invite these more important families to come. The banquet outside will only be held at the Second Prince’s residence. It's better to go to this one instead of that one, otherwise people would talk about me favoring one over the other!
After this was settled, Shen Xuan finally had time to relax. Taking advantage of the fact that he had nothing to do before the New Year, he privately accepted Jin Shiyue's invitation and went to Yang Xu's residence.
After Yang Xu and Jin Shiyue got married, they moved out of the Yang family and lived in the house that Jin Shiyue brought as a dowry.
This house is not far from Shen Xuan’s house, only separated by two streets. Although the house is not big, with only three courtyards, its location is quite good, as it is close to the commercial street and Hanlin Academy.
Yang Xu was on duty every day, and even if he walked there, it only took him an incense stick of time.
Although Shen Xuan and Jin Shiyue had often corresponded in Sarawak after not seeing each other for three years, this was the first time they had the opportunity to meet in person.
As soon as he arrived at the gate of Yang's Mansion, he saw Jin Shiyue waiting there in person. As soon as he saw Shen Xuan's carriage, he came forward with a smile on his face.
Shen Xuan was stunned when he saw Jin Shiyue's appearance. After not seeing her for a few years, Jin Shiyue seemed to have lost a lot of weight. The coquettish and domineering temperament of the Jinning County Princess in the past was also swept away. Now she looked elegant and restrained.
"You are pregnant, so you have to be careful!" Jin Shiyue stepped forward and took Shen Xuan's arm, took him into the mansion and said, "I asked the chef to prepare some light dishes today, which are good for your health. You have to avoid eating greasy and heavy foods, especially spicy ones, remember to eat less!"
"How come you are stricter than Xue Fenglin?" Shen Xuan said in a speechless tone, "Yesterday I said I wanted to eat spicy food, and Xue Fenglin even asked the kitchen to buy non-spicy spicy food for me."
"He's a grown man, what does he know?" Jin Shiyue rolled her eyes and said, "It's not easy for a boy to be pregnant. You have to be more careful than a girl to protect the baby. If you hurt yourself, you'll be in trouble in the future!"
"Is this your experience?" Chen Xuan smiled and said, "You and Yang Xu got pregnant not long after you got married. If I calculate carefully now, he should be two years old. You promised me to adopt him as your godson before, and I'm afraid you've already called someone over. Call him out quickly so I can take a look?"
Jin Shiyue then smiled and said, "Of course, I'll ask him to recognize you and call him his godfather later."
After that, he took Shen Xuan into the main house. After a while, a servant came out holding a delicate baby.
Chen Xuan took a look and found that the baby was 50% similar to Yang Xu and Jin Shiyue, with a bright red pregnancy mole between his eyebrows. It must be the little brother that Jin Shiyue gave birth to two years ago!
"Pei'er, come and meet your godfather." Jin Shiyue called the baby over to show Shen Xuan.
"Hello, godfather." Pei'er walked up to Shen Xuan very obediently and bowed to him. His serious look is more like his father Yang Xu's personality.
"Pei'er is so good." Chen Xuan liked Pei'er very much, so he called her to come to him, and asked Jin Gui to take out the gift he had prepared in advance and hand it to Pei'er.
When Chen Xuan came back this time, he prepared a set of pearl headwear for Jin Shiyue, and a set of gold locks and gold necklaces for children to wear for Pei'er.
The gold lock and gold collar were not made very finely, but they were made of solid gold and were very heavy.
Chen Xuan saw that the child was too young to wear jewelry, so he thought that when he grew up, Jin Shiyue could take the initiative to melt the gold jewelry and make a new set of suitable headwear. Such a set of pure gold jewelry weighs nearly half a pound in total, which is enough to make a nice set of headwear!
"You've been so sincere to me and Pei'er that I don't know how to repay you!" Jin Shiyue said with a look of both emotion and helplessness when she saw the gifts sent by Chen Xuan.
Seeing that he looked worried, Shen Xuan couldn't help but feel a little puzzled, so he asked, "Excuse me, you were not like this before. When I saw you again today, you seemed to have changed a lot. I don't know what happened. Did Yang Xu bully you?"
“No, no!” Jin Shiyue waved her hands quickly and said, “Xulang has always been very good to me! It’s just…”
He paused slightly, glanced at Yang Pei beside him, and gave a wink to the attendant who was serving Yang Pei.
The attendant quickly carried Yang Pei out, and then Jin Shiyue sighed and said, "It's still the Yang family's affairs. You know my mother-in-law, her temper is really a headache!"
"You all moved out? What does it have to do with her?" Shen Xuan was stunned and asked with some confusion.
"She only has Xulang as her child. Although we have moved out, we have not severed our relationship with the Yang family. She still has to interfere in many things at home!" Jin Shiyue said helplessly.
"Then why don't you tell Yang Xu? If he doesn't care, isn't it his problem?" Shen Xuan said, "If he treats you like this, then I have to talk to him!"
"No, no, no! I just can't bear to make things difficult for him." Jin Shiyue said quickly, "He is very busy with his work on weekdays, and he wants to take a break when he returns home. I don't want to bother him with trivial matters at home. Madam Yang is his biological mother after all. If I quarrel with her, even though he is on my side, he will feel depressed."
“If things get out of hand, my father and mother will be unhappy and will put pressure on him again,” Jin Shiyue said.
"Last time, Madam Yang said that I had been married to him for three years, but only had a son, and wanted to send a concubine to serve him. My mother found out and called him home to scold him. She said that since I married him, I have lived in the house I gave her as a dowry and ate the rice from the farm I gave her as a dowry, and in less than a year, I gave him a son. Xu Lang is a minor official of the seventh rank, and his annual salary is not enough to support the servants at home, but my mother-in-law is eager to send someone to the room. Does she have a fortune that needs someone to inherit? It made him very embarrassed."
"After returning home, Xulang drank all night. After getting drunk, he kept saying that he was useless and felt really sorry for me..." Jin Shiyue choked up slightly when she said this.
"I don't know what happened. He and I were obviously doing fine, but our life has been in turmoil. So I thought that if I could just be patient and make small things small, I could get by. It's better than having two families get involved and make everything chaotic."
"Alas...what the princess said is not wrong." Shen Xuan didn't expect things to be like this. Hearing this, he couldn't help but sighed and said.
"The Yang family is of noble origin, so it's OK that they don't have much property. But since they chose you, the county lady, as their husband, and took advantage of the dowry of the Jinning Palace, they should keep a low profile on weekdays."
"In the capital, if a husband or wife brings a large dowry, the husband's family will flatter her. Take my uncle Ye Mi for example. His husband's family, the Wang family, is in a similar situation to you and Yang Xu."
"He has always been respected in the Wang family. Although he has been married for many years and has no children, the mothers-in-law of the Wang family dare not question him, let alone take the initiative to add someone to his room!"
When Jin Shiyue heard this, the expression on her face couldn't help but become even darker. He had been spoiled since childhood and had always had a strong temper. If he had not had a good relationship with Yang Xu, how could he have endured Madam Yang's anger?
Seeing him like this, Shen Xuan couldn't help but feel a little guilty. At first, Jin Shiyue was hesitant about this marriage and questioned her opinion. He saw that he and Yang Xu got along well, and Yang Xu was a reliable person, so he tried to bring them together through words.
Unexpectedly, although the two of them had a deep affection for each other, they still failed after marriage because of the interference of Mrs. Yang.
Now it seems that Princess Jinning was the one who had foresight, which was why she opposed the marriage in the first place. Now that Jin Shiyue is not doing well, Shen Xuan feels that he has no face to face Princess Jinning again...
"It's a great day, so let's not say anything unhappy." Seeing the silent atmosphere, Jin Shiyue smiled and asked her personal attendant to bring out the snacks prepared in the kitchen one by one.
Shen Xuan wisely changed the topic and talked about his experience with Xue Fenglin in Sarawak.
Although he mentioned it briefly in the letter, it was impossible for him to write so many details. Now that he was back in the capital, with nothing to do, he told Jin Shiyue in detail about what he had seen and heard in Southeast Asia.
Jin Shiyue was born in the capital, and the farthest she had ever been was to nearby Hong County for summer vacation. Now, listening to Shen Xuan's stories about other places was very fresh. After hearing this, he said with envy: "In that case, you and the prince were freer in Sarawak than in Beijing, and there were no people from the Marquis' Mansion to control you. It's really enviable. It's a pity that Xu Lang is in the Hanlin Academy. I'm afraid I will never have the chance to go out in this lifetime."
The two chatted like this for several hours, until it was almost Shen time and Yang Xu was about to return from the government office, and Shen Xuan said goodbye and left.
When Jin Shiyue sent Shen Xuan to the door, she happened to meet Yang Xu coming back from the Hanlin Academy.
The work in the Hanlin Academy was very busy, and Yang Xu was exhausted when he got home from work.
Upon seeing Shen Xuan, Yang Xu took a step forward in surprise and greeted him: "It's Brother Shen who is here? It's been a long time since we last met. Are you and the prince doing well out there?"
Shen Xuan was somewhat resentful towards Yang Xu because of Jin Shiyue's condition. When he saw him coming over, he was in no mood to put on a good face. He just said lightly: "Thank you for your concern, Lord Yang. That's good. Lord Yang, instead of worrying about me, you might as well pay more attention to your own family's affairs."
Yang Xu was startled when he heard this, and Jin Shiyue next to him also shook Shen Xuan's hand with a nervous look on his face, signaling him to stop talking.
Shen Xuan glanced at Jin Shiyue, then at Yang Xu, shook his head and sighed, finally holding back the words on his lips, turned around and got on the carriage and left.
After he left, Yang Xu glanced at Jin Shiyue and asked in confusion, "What happened to Brother Chen? I haven't seen him for a few years, and now he seems to have some opinions about me?"
"Chen Xuan is pregnant, so it's inevitable that he's a little angry. It has nothing to do with you." Jin Shiyue said quickly.
Yang Xu looked at Jin Shiyue in silence for a while before nodding and saying, "Okay, if that's the case, then let's go in. It's getting late."
Jin Shiyue then followed Yang Xu in, and was relieved to see that he never mentioned anything related to Shen Xuan along the way.
Besides, when Shen Xuan returned home and mentioned the matter of Jin Shiyue and Yang Xu to Xue Fenglin, he felt very emotional.
"I thought they would be a perfect match, but now it seems that there is no solution for these two. As long as Madam Yang doesn't stop, Jin Shiyue's life will not be easy. The Jinning Palace loves the child, and the prince and princess will definitely be more and more dissatisfied with Yang Xu!"
Unexpectedly, Xue Fenglin said after hearing this: "Why can't this matter be resolved? If Yang Xu really cares about Jin Shiyue, then he can ask to be sent to an official position outside the capital like I did before, and then he can get away from this mess in the capital. Can Madam Yang still manage outside the capital?"
Shen Xuan was stunned for a moment, then he sighed and said: "It's easy for you to say that, but everyone knows that the officials in the Hanlin Academy are the closest officials to the emperor, and it is the easiest place to be promoted. Everyone is trying their best to squeeze in, so who is willing to be sent out like you?"
"That's the only sincerity Yang Xu has for Jin Shiyue. It's his fault, no one else can be blamed." Xue Fenglin smiled and said, "Although Jin Shiyue's reputation in the capital was average, the family background of the Jinning Palace was there, and the dowry was one of the best in the capital. With Yang Xu's wealth, marrying him was not a bad match, and it could also avoid the factional struggle between the first and second princes."
"I think Yang Xu is quite a shrewd person. When they got married, his family didn't have much betrothal gifts, so he got all the benefits of the Jinning Palace. Now the eldest prince and the second prince's clans are fighting fiercely, and neither of them wants the other's connections to get promoted! The Hanlin Academy will be promoting talents soon after the new year. If Yang Xu doesn't get involved in either party, won't he be able to take advantage of the situation?"
"If he is promoted to Imperial Tutor, wouldn't he jump from the seventh rank to the fifth rank in an instant? In just three years, it is considered a very fast promotion in the capital. His mother will probably be even more arrogant and arrogant. Jin Shiyue's life will not be easy in the future."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
