Chapter 216: Noble Character
As soon as the man left, Shen Changfeng rushed out from the depths of the forest, holding a bunch of green plums and presenting them to Niu Niu.
Shen Changfeng looked at the back of a middle-aged man being helped away not far away, and felt that he looked familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had seen him.
But he didn't think much about it and continued to offer treasures.
"My dear, look, these are the green plums I picked for you. Those monks hid the plum blossoms deep in the forest, but that doesn't bother me. Every year I pick a bunch of them and put them in a vase." Shen Changfeng's eyes were bright and cheerful, as if he had done something great.
Gu Yan frowned slightly: "Stolen?"
Shen Changxing explained: "I don't know how much money my family has to give to the temple every year. The monks actually knew that I wanted to pick the flowers, but they didn't dare to stop me, for fear that my mother would run out of money for the incense."
Although Niuniu felt that flowers should not be picked randomly, she did not spoil the fun. She happily picked up two and said, "Thank you, Brother Chen. The green plums are really beautiful."
Seeing that she liked it, Shen Changfeng was also very happy and said, "When I come back and see all the flowers blooming in my garden, I'll take you to see them. They're beautiful too."
Niuniu's eyes were full of curiosity. She said, "I have never seen hundreds of flowers blooming. The flowers I have seen bloom in bursts, rarely in one place."
Few people in the countryside grow flowers, and if they have land, they would rather grow some cash crops.
Shen Changfeng said: "I'll let you see enough this year, but no matter how good my garden is, it can't compare to my uncle's garden outside the city. Unfortunately, my mother asked him for it several times, but he refused to give it to her."
Niuniu looked at him with her eyes wide open and said, "You have a big garden of your own, so you don't need to envy others."
Shen Changfeng didn't continue to worry about it, but looked up at the sky and said, "It's getting late, let's go pick up Zhao. He must have been tortured by Old Yan, hehe."
Niuniu nodded vigorously and asked again: “Brother Shen, have you finished your poem?”
When Shen Changfeng heard this, his face froze.
When they entered the peach blossom forest, Gu Mingda suggested that he could try writing a peach blossom poem, but he was so focused on stealing green plums that he completely forgot about it.
When the children came to Gu Mingda, Shen Changfeng still couldn't think of a reason to evade the question, but Gu Mingda didn't ask him and just took them down the mountain.
Gu Zhao's eyes lit up when he saw his family members coming back. He grabbed the servant Liu Yue and was about to run away: "Okay, okay, I know that my parents love me the most and will not want to keep me here for too long. I will go back with you now, and I will study hard."
Old Doctor Yan snorted coldly and said, "Go back to study and don't touch my bugs."
Gu Zhao had a bitter face, but he still couldn't bear to throw away those insects. He didn't know where Doctor Yan found them from, and there were so many insects whose species he didn't know!
Zhang Yunniang said, "Go back tonight and come back early tomorrow morning."
The expression on Gu Zhao's face suddenly cracked.
"If I can't escape, I might as well live here."
"The whole family is having dinner at Zhuangyuan Restaurant tonight. Are you really not going to eat?" Zhang Yuniang asked.
When Gu Zhao heard the word "food", his eyes suddenly lit up.
After picking up Gu Zhao, the group took a carriage back to the city, and the whole family went to Zhuangyuanlou for dinner.
Shen Changfeng insisted on leaving despite Gu Zhao's request to stay, but he was still thinking about writing poetry.
He couldn't help himself, and stood in front of the carriage, ignoring the urging of his followers, and asked: "Uncle Gu, why don't you ask me how my poem is going?"
Gu Mingda said: "What do you think?"
Shen Changfeng couldn't help but lower his head and said, "I was just having fun and didn't write any poems."
"Look, you know your situation very well. You don't need me to say more." Gu Mingda said in a gentle voice.
Shen Changfeng asked: "Why don't you scold me?"
Gu Mingda asked back: "Changfeng, your former teacher often scolded you, what do you think?"
Shen Changfeng was speechless for a moment. The harsher the teachers scolded him, the less he could concentrate on his studies. It was as if he was caught in a vicious cycle.
Gu Mingda said, "Now that you and I have not established a proper master-disciple relationship, Changfeng, you should think carefully about what you want to learn from me. Also think about how you want to go in the future."
"Uncle Gu, have you ever been afraid of accepting me as your apprentice?" Shen Changfeng suddenly asked a somewhat strange question.
Gu Mingda looked puzzled and asked, "What are you afraid of?"
"I'm afraid that I won't be able to succeed and will ruin your reputation in the future..."
Gu Mingda reached out and patted his shoulder, saying, "How old are you? Why are you worrying about these things? In my opinion, you are already a successful person."
Facing his apprentice's puzzled look, Gu Mingda explained: "People have different definitions of success. Some people think that a disciple is successful only when he surpasses his master, while others think that a disciple is successful only when he achieves success."
"I think you are brave and responsible. You were born into a wealthy family and could have been a dandy who did evil things, but you take care of the young, show sympathy to others, and lend a hand when others need help. This is a noble quality that many people cannot possess even after a lifetime of learning."
"You are a rare good kid, so don't belittle yourself because of some unpleasant words."
Shen Changfeng returned to the princess's mansion and still felt warm all over.
As soon as he entered the door, before he saw his mother, he saw his father with a gloomy face.
"Don't you see what time it is? You've been playing outside and you're just back now!" Chen Fushan scolded with disgust on his face.
Shen Changfeng listened to his father's scolding and asked, "Father, do you look down on me so much? If I don't come home at night, I must have done something wrong outside?"
Chen Fushan didn't hesitate at all. He sneered and said, "Can you do anything good when you go out? You just eat, drink and have fun all day long. You don't do any serious work at all! I have been smart all my life, but why did I give birth to a useless thing like you! Why can't you learn from Changjun!"
Shen Changfeng's eyes darkened when he heard this, but he changed his mind.
You think I am inferior to Shen Changjun in every way and that I am a disgusting dandy, but some people think I have noble qualities and am a rare good child.
"Dad, did you know that I didn't come back last night?" Shen Changfeng asked.
Chen Fushan, however, looked as if he had expected it, and said, "You evil creature who has been sleeping with flowers and willows, I will punish you today!"
"In my father's mind, this is the only thing I can do?" Shen Changfeng asked back.
"You dare to talk back?" Chen Fushan frowned.
Shen Changfeng said: "Father doesn't ask questions, but if he asks someone, he will know where I went."
After he finished speaking, he no longer paid any attention to Chen Fushan and walked towards his own yard.
Niu Niu is right, the one with problems is his father, not him.
Second update
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