Chapter 545: A Man Like a Golden Pheasant
"Male guests? Aren't only the women from the inner house able to attend the flower viewing banquet?" Shen Yuean was very confused. She had two brothers, and neither of them came today.
Amber raised her lips in amusement, "In principle, this is the case, but every family has a few young masters who like to join in the fun. Some are still young, so there are not so many obstacles. They can come if they want. They are in another garden, and there are servants guarding the middle. They will not cross the line. I reminded you just in case."
Shen Yuean nodded and walked towards the water pavilion.
As soon as she stepped onto the covered bridge, she noticed a few dark heads looming on the wall not far away. Thinking of what Amber said, her eyes rolled, she took out a slingshot from her arms, ran to the rockery, picked up a small stone, aimed, and fired.
"Ouch!" A wailing sound came from the garden next door.
The young ladies who were chatting and laughing in the pavilion just realized that they had been peeped at. They were so angry that their faces turned red. They came out of the pavilion one after another, cursing through the wall.
When the old lady and others heard the noise, they came out to see what was going on.
Sun Yudie walked forward angrily and bowed, "Grandma."
When the old lady saw Sun Yudie's face turned pale, she called the maid over to ask her about it. She found out that it was a male guest who climbed up the wall to peek at the girl and was hit by Shen Yuean's slingshot. Each of their expressions was so wonderful.
"Go see who's injured? Who else wants to climb the wall together?"
Once the old lady got angry, even the Third Prince's wife and others were unable to speak, and everyone secretly prayed that their family members would not get involved.
After a while, the maid came over quickly and said politely, "Madam, it's the young master of the Wang family of the Minister of Revenue, the young master of the Liu family of the Minister of Rites, and the young master of the Zhao family of the Minister of War. The injured one is Young Master Liu."
The Third Prince's wife swayed and almost lost her balance.
Princess Qingkang quickly helped her up and asked sternly, "Is it really Master Liu?"
The maid kowtowed repeatedly, "My lord, it was indeed Young Master Liu. Fortunately, the slingshot only hit Young Master Liu's shoulder, and no vital parts were injured. The doctor has gone over to treat him."
Has it come to the point where we need to call a doctor?
Everyone glanced at Shen Yuean.
Princess Huai'an immediately spoke up to defend her, "An'er, why are you hitting someone with a slingshot?"
Shen Yuean looked innocent, "Aunt, I don't know anyone. I wanted to talk to the sisters in the waterside pavilion, but I didn't bring any gifts. I wanted to shoot a bird, but I missed the target. I happened to see something moving on the top of the wall, and I thought it was a beautiful golden pheasant. If I knew it was a big brother climbing over the wall, I would definitely not shoot it."
"Puchi!" The girls, led by Sun Yudie, covered their mouths and laughed secretly, and looked at Shen Yuean with eyes that were as friendly as they could be.
Princess Huai'an gently tapped Shen Yue'an's head, her tone full of pampering and indulgence, "Next time, aim carefully before striking, and don't mistake someone for a golden pheasant again."
"An'er knows!" Shen Yue'an admitted her mistake very obediently.
Except for the angry Third Prince's wife and the unwilling Princess Qingkang, everyone felt relieved.
The doctor came and said that Master Liu's shoulder was not seriously injured and he needed to go home to recuperate for three to five days.
The old lady took the opportunity to have them all sent away.
The Third Prince's wife had lost so much face that she found an excuse to leave.
Princess Qingkang then left.
Without the troublesome people, the rest of the banquet went smoothly, and Shen Yuean and Shen Yuezhang successfully integrated into the imperial capital circle.
After the Third Prince's wife left the Duke Rong's Mansion, she went to the Liu family first and scolded Madam Liu as soon as she entered the door.
"Originally, I was planning to propose marriage to the Duke of Rong's Mansion and promote the marriage between the Sun and Liu families. But your good son actually climbed over the wall to peek at the noble lady. Does he not even want his reputation anymore? He has completely thrown away all my face and dignity. After today, let alone the marriage with the Duke of Rong's Mansion, he will not be able to marry any girl from a good family!"
Mrs. Liu was scolded so much that she couldn't even raise her head.
After the Third Prince's wife left, she was still scolded by her husband. When she knew the whole story, she did not blame her son. Instead, she took her anger out on the Shen family, thinking that if the Shen family had not meddled in her affairs, her son would not have made a fool of himself.
Su Tai and her sons were not aware of the Liu family's affairs.
The next day after returning from the Duke Rong's Mansion, Su Tai received a thank-you gift from the Mansion. She was puzzled and could only ask Liu Laosan for advice.
Liu Laosan looked at the gift list and smiled. "The Second Prince was demoted, so the Third Prince must have had some thoughts. The Third Prince's wife wants to promote the marriage between the Liu Family and the Duke of Rong's Mansion. If the Third Prince's wife asks for it, the Duke of Rong's Mansion will definitely not be able to refuse without a legitimate reason.
With An'er's slingshot, the Duke of Rong's Mansion has a legitimate excuse to refuse, and it can also leave people speechless. Do you think the Duke of Rong's Mansion can express its opinion?"
Su Tai understood and put the valuables into the warehouse with peace of mind.
With the flower-viewing banquet at the Duke of Rong's Mansion, Su Tai also got to know some wives of officials of similar rank to Shen Yi in the imperial capital. She would go out with them every now and then to drink tea, watch plays, appreciate flowers and worship Buddha, so she wasn't too bored.
She was living a wonderful life here, but Zheng and Yang could no longer endure it.
For a month in a row, Tang Yu went out and came back on time every day. He did everything by himself, showing his determination and attitude of hard work, and worked diligently and meticulously, really giving all his salary to Zheng.
With the receipts as proof, Zheng and Yang naturally wouldn't suspect there was anything wrong with the money, and they didn't wait for two days to be happy.
Tang Yu asked Zheng for one and a half taels of silver, saying that his colleague's mother was celebrating her birthday and a banquet was being held, so he needed a gift.
Zheng was heartbroken and held the purse tightly, unwilling to give it. "We have so many mouths to feed, and we depend on your salary to make a living. If you use the money to give gifts, how can we live?"
Tang Yu's face was filled with guilt. "Mom, it's my son's fault that he is incompetent, but there is nothing I can do. If I don't get along with my colleagues, I'm afraid I will be bullied and forced to leave the imperial capital in less than two months. If you really can't bear to spend the money, it's okay. I will tell them the truth.
If I can't make a living in the imperial capital, I can just go back to the village. I have sent a lot of money to my parents over the years. I heard that they have built a lot of houses. It shouldn't be too much to leave one for me!
Then I will go back to serve my mother."
"No!" Zheng and Yang said in unison.
Zheng's face turned pale and Yang was extremely panicked.
She came to the imperial palace to help the family move up a level, not to ask Tang Yu to go back and share the family wealth. Those houses can only belong to their eldest wife. That's right! Tang Yu can't be allowed to go back, absolutely not!
This time, Yang's mind was clearer than ever before. She forced a smile and comforted him, "Uncle, you are extremely talented and born to be an official. How can you come back to the countryside with us to farm? Besides, you don't know how to farm the land. Mother won't ruin your uncle's future because of such a small matter, right, mother?"
Zheng was so angry that she was shaking all over. She gritted her teeth and said, "Can't it be a little less?"
Tang Yu was in a difficult situation.
Yang was anxious when she saw this, and had to spend a lot of time trying to persuade him.
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