Chapter 21 Greed
"Kind man, can you take me in? I can do everything, I'm very obedient, and I eat very little."
Shen Changhe lowered his eyes and looked at the little beggar's eager eyes, seeming to be moved.
For the Chen family, one more servant or one less servant is of no consequence, but for this little beggar, perhaps it is a chance to survive.
"Sir, please have mercy on me." The little beggar grabbed his robe and began to kowtow.
"We are an orphan and a widow and are bullied even when begging for food. Please be kind and give us a place to stay."
Shen Changhe frowned and looked at Shen Anan, "Sister, how about..."
Shen Anan suddenly squatted down and tilted his head to look at the little beggar, "You look familiar to me, have we met somewhere before?"
The little beggar was startled, and looked up at Shen Anan. Her little face was covered with dirt, and her facial features could not be seen, but her eyes were very bright, and she looked at Shen Anan with confusion.
Shen Anan tilted her head to look at her carefully, then glanced at the woman who had been keeping her head down and saying nothing, "Raise your head."
The woman's body seemed to tremble slightly, and she couldn't help but lower her head instead of looking up. "Miss, you must have made a mistake. My mother and I are living on the streets, and we are both untouchables. How could you have seen us?"
"An An, did you admit your mistake?" Shen Changhe also said.
Shen Anan's eyes darkened, and he slowly stood up, "Really? But my memory has always been good, so I can't make a mistake."
The woman was startled.
Her long, knotted hair covered her entire face, making it impossible to see clearly, but Shen Anan noticed sharply that she reached out and lightly pinched the little girl next to her.
The little girl shuddered, and mist immediately appeared in her eyes. She clutched Shen Changhe's robe tighter, "My lord, please give us a meal. As long as we can stay by your side, we mother and daughter will do anything."
Shen Changhe was moved. The little beggar had unkempt hair and his face could not be seen at all. Only then did he realize that she was actually a girl.
He bent down to help the little girl up, but Shen Anan grabbed his wrist and stopped him.
The little girl looked at Shen Anan with tears in her eyes, "Fairy girl, please be kind."
"Do I look like a fool to you?" Shen Anan curled her lips and smiled.
The little girl was stunned.
The woman next to him also trembled and moved back imperceptibly.
"Did you recognize me and deliberately wait here to ambush my eldest brother?"
The little girl's eyes flashed with panic, and she said fearfully, "I...I don't understand what you mean."
"I don't understand?" Shen An'an curled her lips, "Then let me ask a simpler question. Did you spend all the money you got from Master Zhang? Why did it show up on the streets again so soon?"
It was the tearful look of the little girl that made her suddenly remember.
The mother and daughter in front of him were the ones Zhang Yeyang rescued a few days ago.
Although the scholar was a little stupid, he was definitely not a bad person. The mother and daughter were willing to leave because they either spent all his money or blackmailed the scholar.
She rescued the scholar that day, and the two of them knew that she was not an ordinary person, so they targeted her brother who was traveling with her when they met her today.
Shen Anan bent down and stared at the woman for a moment, then smiled gently, "The gray on your face is painted quite evenly. Unfortunately, if I hadn't recognized you, I would have been fooled by you today."
"What? After squeezing out the last sucker, are you looking for a new target?"
The woman trembled slightly. She never thought that Shen Anan could recognize them.
"No, no, Master Zhang is…his condition is not good, and we didn't want to implicate him, so…that's why we left."
"Heh." Shen Anan snorted.
If she had not heard his conversation with his classmates, she might have believed this woman's lies.
“Miss Shen.” An incredible voice of surprise sounded.
Shen Anan turned around and saw Zhang Yeyang, who looked very happy, coming out of a restaurant across the road and nodding and smiling at her.
Shen Anan suppressed her coldness and gave a gentle smile in return.
Zhang Yeyang walked over quickly, and his expression changed slightly when he saw the mother and daughter, "Why are you still here?"
The woman curled up and held the little girl in her arms without saying a word.
Zhang Yeyang's face was not very good. "I have given you all my savings. What else do you want?"
He can only make a living by doing odd jobs now. Fortunately, a restaurant is willing to employ him because he passed the imperial examination. Otherwise, he would be left without a roof over his head to shelter himself from the wind and rain.
After listening for a while, Shen Changhe roughly understood what was said, and with a cold face, he pulled the robe out of the little girl's hand.
"Since this young master has given you money, live a good life."
Life is not easy, but cheating and deceiving are even more unpleasant. His kindness is not given to those with deep minds.
Seeing that her plan had failed, the woman quickly picked up the little girl and left.
Zhang Yeyang said, "After listening to the girl's suggestion that day, I drew a clear line between me and that woman, but she was really greedy and blocked me where I was working every day."
He was also helpless. Although he had thrown in all his savings, he hoped that he could buy some peace and quiet. However, he did not expect that the mother and daughter were as sticky as taffy and were very difficult to get rid of.
Shen Anan shook her head, "Thinking about it this way, the young master's rescue that day was probably planned in advance by that woman."
Zhang Yeyang pursed his lips. In the past, his classmates often scolded him for being too kind-hearted, but he didn't take it seriously. He felt that if there was no other way, no one would be willing to cheat and deceive others. Now that he has suffered a loss, he realizes that most people in the world are greedy and deep-minded.
"An An, this young man is..." Shen Changhe interrupted and asked as he saw the two of them were talking happily.
Shen Anan introduced, "This is this year's new Jinshi, his name is Zhang Yeyang."
“This is my eldest brother.”
Before Shen Changhe could speak, Zhang Yeyang immediately bowed and said, "Master Shen."
"Mr. Zhang." Shen Changhe nodded slightly.
Zhang Yeyang stole a glance at Shen Anan, his face flushed with embarrassment, "Then...if there is nothing else, I will take my leave first."
"Mr. Zhang, take care." Shen Anan smiled gently.
Zhang Yeyang suddenly couldn't even speak coherently. He just responded repeatedly and left with a slightly messy step.
Shen Changhe withdrew his gaze indifferently, and saw his sister following the figure of the departing man with a smile on her lips.
He followed his sister's gaze and glanced at her again, then said calmly, "She has gone far away."
"Hmm?" Shen Anan turned around and met his brother's teasing gaze, his face warmed up, "Let's go too."
"Yes." The brother and sister turned and walked towards the carriage. Shen Changhe asked about how they met, and Shen Anan recounted it in detail.
“It is rare to find someone so loyal and honest.”
Shen Changhe frowned, "Being loyal and honest is a good thing, but not knowing how to judge the situation and only knowing how to confront it head-on is a bit stupid."
Shen Anan smiled and didn't comment.
People with that kind of character are most afraid of being born in a poor family. They cannot bear to see the sufferings of the world, but are powerless to do anything about it.
The two got on the carriage, and Shen Anan suddenly asked, "Brother, what kind of official positions are usually assigned to Jinshi?"
"Most of the top and second place winners can stay in Beijing. Those who rank lower and perform mediocrely in the palace examination can only be promoted to county magistrate at most. Why do you suddenly think of asking this?"
Shen Anan shook her head and lowered her eyes to hide the emotions in her eyes, "Nothing, just asking casually."
Shen Changhe raised his eyebrows and asked, "How did Mr. Zhang rank just now? Is there a hope that he can stay in Beijing?"
"I don't know. I haven't asked."
"Yeah." Shen Changhe responded, but he breathed a sigh of relief.
I didn't ask because I didn't care. Although the scholar has good character and talent, he is not as good a match for An An as even the top scholar in the imperial examination.
Unless one has a good family background, if one relies on one person alone and has no ancestors to support him in the court, it would be the best that one can achieve in one's lifetime to become a fourth-rank official.
The car was quiet for a moment. Shen Anan leaned his arms against the car window, looking at the crowded streets, thinking that Jiangnan should be the same grand occasion.
Thinking about it carefully, in her previous life, the happiest and most comfortable days of her life were spent in Jiangnan. It would be great if she could go back to be with her grandmother.
"On the Mid-Autumn Festival, the streets will be a hundred times busier than today. I'll take you to guess lantern riddles and release river lanterns." Shen Changhe followed her gaze and looked outside, saying softly.
"Yeah." Shen Anan smiled, turned around and lowered the curtain, "Shouldn't the Mid-Autumn Festival be about watching the moon and fireworks? Why do we have to light lanterns in Beijing? Aren't lanterns only available during the Lantern Festival?"
"There are also lanterns during the Mid-Autumn Festival, which is as lively as the Lantern Festival. The Mid-Autumn Festival is a day for family reunions, so there are pictures on the lanterns, which are different from the lanterns during the Lantern Festival."
More importantly, the current emperor emerged as the winner of the competition for succession around the Mid-Autumn Festival and successfully inherited the throne. In order to please the emperor, those officials made the Mid-Autumn Festival even more lively than the Chinese New Year.
Shen Changhe's words aroused some expectations in Shen Anan.
She remembered the prosperity of the capital, but in her previous life, the hustle and bustle and joy had never belonged to her. She was like a mouse in the darkness, always spying on that man's every move.
After returning home, she handed the things to Mo Xiang, and found an escort company that was going to Jiangnan to deliver the goods to bring them to Old Madam Shen.
In the next few days, everyone in the mansion was very busy, and Mrs. Shen not only arranged the Mid-Autumn Festival gifts, but also had to choose a husband for Shen Anan.
"I think the second son of the Yushi Zhongcheng family is quite good. An An, take a look and see if he suits your taste."
Shen Anan put down the book of Mid-Autumn Festival gifts that needed to be given, raised her eyes and glanced at the small painting in Mrs. Shen’s hand.
"Well, if there's a nose and eyes, that's fine."
"..." Madam Shen's face darkened, "What are you talking about? If he has no nose and eyes, he can't be a monster. Take a closer look. If there is no problem, I will let Madam Zhongcheng take him to the mansion for a walk so that you can have a sneak peek."
Shen Anan had no choice but to lean closer to the small painting in Madam Shen's hand, raised her hand to pry open her eyelids and take a look, "Well, not bad."
“…”
"You kid." Mrs. Shen poked her forehead hard and glared at her.
"Then I'll let him come tomorrow."
Shen Anan picked up the book again and responded calmly. Anyway, as long as it wasn't Xiao Yuan, she didn't mind who it was.
Thinking of that bastard, her almond-shaped eyes narrowed sharply.
That painting had to be dealt with on the Mid-Autumn Festival. She didn't want it to be an eyesore. It would be even better if she could disgust that dead man a little more.
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