Chapter 48 Worth a Thousand Gold
Even if she said a few words, she never mentioned the Shen Mansion. She mostly talked about things that girls like, or books.
Normally, when a girl gets engaged, she wouldn't want to ask about her fiancé's family situation, but Lin Yurou didn't ask, including whether Shen Changhe's courtyard was clean or not, and she didn't beat around the bush to find out.
This made Shen Anan feel more favorable towards her.
I have to say that she knows her limits very well, knows when to advance and retreat, speaks softly, and never makes a mistake. She is indeed the standard lady that noble ladies would like.
“I heard that Miss Shen’s paintings are truly unique, comparable to the Fourth Prince’s?”
Shen Anan's expression froze for a moment, then she smiled faintly, "It's an exaggeration. I learned a few words from my grandmother before, and it can barely be considered an entry level."
Lin Yurou smiled softly, "Miss Shen is too modest. The eldest princess has always loved paintings. Even Miss Duan's paintings can only be described as okay in front of her. But she can't let go of your paintings and praises them highly. I think they must be extraordinary."
Shen Anan smiled and said nothing.
“However, Madam Shen is a famous talented woman in the capital, so it is not surprising that Miss Shen, who she taught, is so talented.”
At this time, a little maid brought tea and filled the cups for both of them.
When talking about paintings, Shen Anan thought of the painting in the mansion, and felt indescribably upset.
Just as he was about to say something politely to refuse, a voice came first.
"I heard that the young master of the Shen family and the young lady of the Lin family are engaged?"
Shen Anan frowned and tilted his head to look at the source of the sound, and saw Duan Mengmeng walking out from behind the shadow of the tree, followed by Duan Yingying.
Duan Mengmeng's face was full of smiles, but her words were a little sharp, "No wonder Miss Lin is so sweet-mouthed, it turns out she is praising her future sister-in-law."
She is extremely talented and worthy of it, but it's just a painting, what can it prove?
Duan Yingying tugged at Duan Mengmeng's sleeve, but was pushed away by Duan Mengmeng.
Shen Anan's expression turned cold, and just as she was about to speak, Lin Yurou on the side spoke first.
She smiled and spoke softly, as if she was chatting, "I'm just being realistic. What is Miss Duan San talking about? Wasn't it Miss Shen who won the banquet at the Yongning Marquis' Mansion that day?"
"Could it be that my information was wrong, and it was actually Miss Duan San who won the first prize?"
Duan Mengmeng's face stiffened and she felt a little embarrassed. Before she could say anything, Lin Yurou continued.
"If not, then Miss Duan San used the wrong words. How can telling the truth be considered flattery? If I praise your painting skills, that's flattery. Miss Duan San, please don't make the same mistake again. Fortunately, there is no one here, otherwise, it would damage your reputation as a talented woman."
“…”
Not only Duan Mengmeng, but even Shen Anan was stunned for a moment.
Lin Yurou's stabbing was like a soft knife, and every cut drew blood.
Duan Mengmeng's face looked extremely ugly, as gloomy as if dripping with water.
When Shen Anan looked at Lin Yurou again, her eyes were different. She thought she was just a delicate and gentle girl, but she never thought she was a fox in sheep's clothing.
Hidden deep.
The ability to sneer at people while joking was something she could never learn in her previous life.
As expected, when judging a person, one should not judge by appearance alone. She looks gentle and reserved, no wonder her mother said that she was well-educated and a real lady from a noble family.
There is a needle hidden in cotton.
"Miss Lin hasn't even entered the family yet, and you're already protecting her like this. Master Lin from the Hanlin Academy is also a civil servant, and he should pay attention to etiquette. Aren't you afraid of bringing shame to the Lin family?"
Lin Yurou's smiling brows finally faded, and she looked at Duan Mengmeng with an unfriendly look.
"Miss Duan San is known as a talented woman, so the Duan family must have taught her how to be reserved. When you go out, don't you feel embarrassed to talk about other people's marriages?"
Duan Mengmeng's eyes widened a lot.
She is engaged, but it's not her own decision, so why is she so reserved?
"Being too talkative is not allowed in the Four Books for Women. Miss Duan San should learn more when she returns."
Shen Anan saw that she didn't need to perform at all and Lin Yurou wouldn't suffer any loss, so she lowered her head and sipped her tea, without interrupting. She just stood to the outside, admiring Duan Mengmeng's blue face.
Before she could think of what to say, Lin Yurou spoke again, "I guess Miss Duan San has never read the Four Books in detail? Have you read the Book of Rites?"
"There is a line in it, 'Don't listen'. Do you understand what it means, young lady?"
Duan Yingying was extremely embarrassed and quickly came out to smooth things over, "Ms. Lin, we sisters just happened to pass by and didn't mean to eavesdrop."
Lin Yurou glanced at Duan Yingying with her indifferent eyes and returned a calm and gentle smile.
Duan Yingying only felt her palms sweating, and did not feel that the smile was warm and friendly.
"Third sister, someone called you to the back garden, let's go quickly."
She pulled Duan Mengmeng and was about to leave.
Duan Mengmeng pulled her hand back and looked at the two people sitting in the pavilion, not even caring about pretending to be dignified and graceful.
"Don't think you are so talented and unrivaled just because you won once. It's just a painting. The painting given to the Fourth Prince was just a gift from the Princess."
When mentioning the painting, Shen Anan's eyes flickered.
"Even if it was just a gift, it still belongs to me. Even if it is thrown into the river, it has nothing to do with Miss Duan San."
Duan Mengmeng's eyes widened in disbelief.
Throw it into the river?
How dare she speak like that? That was the Fourth Prince's painting, and it was worth a fortune.
"That's a painting by the prince."
Shen Anan lifted her eyelids and smiled, "Why, Miss Duan San likes it?"
Duan Mengmeng pursed her lips and said nothing. How could she not like him? It was just that she begged him for a long time and he refused.
Shen Anan suddenly said in a friendly manner, "If Miss Duan San likes it, can I give it to you? It's of no use to me anyway."
Several people's eyes fell on Shen Anan, and they all thought that Shen Anan was playing a trick on Duan Mengmeng.
"Are you willing to do that?" Duan Mengmeng sneered.
Shen Anan smiled, "As long as Miss Duan San is sincere, I will naturally be willing to give it up. It depends on whether Miss Duan San is willing to give it up or not?"
Duan Mengmeng was not a fool, she immediately understood what she meant and asked coldly, "What are your conditions?"
Shen Anan's jade-white fingers lightly hooked, and finally raised two fingers to Duan Mengmeng, "This number."
Duan Mengmeng was so surprised that she couldn't speak for a long time.
This woman actually sold the Fourth Prince's paintings for silver!
But she suppressed her emotions in an instant, with calculations hidden in her eyes.
Thinking that with his temper, if he knew that Shen Anan exchanged his paintings for silver, he would definitely be angry and then disgusted, so no matter how much silver he spent, it would not be a loss.
"Two hundred taels?"
Shen Anan put away her fingers and curled her lips, "Didn't Miss Duan San just say it was worth a thousand taels? Two hundred taels, you really said it, it seems that you don't care about the Fourth Prince that much..."
"Chen An'an." Duan Mengmeng's tone became heavier. She looked around and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that there was no one around.
She liked Xiao Yuan, but she couldn't say this openly, otherwise her reputation as the third Miss Duan and the dignity of the Duan family would be in jeopardy.
"How much do you want?"
"Two thousand... two, for Miss Duan San's infatuation, I won't ask for a thousand gold."
Duan Mengmeng was stunned.
Duan Yingying was also stunned. Considering the value of the painting, it was indeed not expensive, but for a lady who received ten taels of silver a month, it was a sky-high price.
“Third sister, forget it, that’s the prize that the eldest princess gave to Miss Shen.”
Her original intention was to give her sister a way out, but she didn't expect Duan Mengmeng to ignore her kindness.
"Since it has been given to Miss Shen, it belongs to Miss Shen. The transaction is all Miss Shen's decision."
Shen Anan turned her head to look at Duan Mengmeng when she heard this, and was a little surprised that she was really so obsessed with Xiao Yuan that she even cared so much about a painting.
She smiled faintly, "Miss Duan San, if you want it, you can bring silver to my house to exchange. Of course, I will sell it if you give me silver. You'd better be quick, don't let other girls get it first."
Duan Mengmeng sneered, called Duan Yingying and left.
Duan Yingying nodded to Shen Anan and left.
Duan Yingying felt that it was a big mistake to spend two thousand taels to buy a painting. If people don't like you, what's the point of getting a painting? It will only make people laugh at you and look down on you.
But Duan Mengmeng has her own plans.
Xiao Yuan would definitely not look down upon a greedy woman. This painting would definitely make Xiao Yuan disgusted with her to the extreme. From now on, Shen Anan would no longer have the qualifications to compete with her.
Not to mention two thousand taels, even twenty thousand taels would be worth it.
The key point is that she doesn't have that much money.
She glanced downwards. She didn't have it, but if she could get close enough, it should be possible.
"Second sister."
"Hmm?" Duan Yingying tilted her head to look at her, "What's wrong?"
Duan Mengmeng smiled more sincerely, "Do you have any money? Lend it to me for a few days."
Duan Yingying was stunned for a moment, then shook her head, "I only get a small amount of money as monthly allowance, you know that, how can I have any extra money?"
Among the whole family, the third sister is the richest among the younger generation. After all, her mother and grandmother love her and often help her secretly. She, who is not very well-liked, lives on the little money she receives monthly.
Duan Mengmeng's mouth sank, and her tone became a little colder, "Grandfather loves my second sister so much that he gave you all the rare and famous paintings. How could you be without money?"
It's just that he doesn't want to lend her the money because he doesn't want her to win the heart of the Fourth Prince and suppress her.
Duan Yingying frowned slightly.
"Grandfather only gave me three copies. Besides, many rare copies were given to you by grandmother. Even if I have them, they were given to me by grandfather. What does it have to do with silver? Could it be that Third Sister wants to sell the private collection of Duan Mansion for silver?"
Duan Mengmeng's face changed and she stopped walking. "Second sister, how can you slander me so easily? When did I say such a thing?"
“……”Duan Yingying pursed her lips.
You said you didn't say it, but isn't that what you meant?
"The things my grandfather gave me are for my future storage. I will never sell them."
"Who cares?" Duan Mengmeng pouted her red lips slightly. From the perspective of the servants in the prince's mansion, the two sisters were just having a little temper tantrum. "You are just a mean person."
After saying that, he continued walking forward.
Duan Yingying frowned, feeling helpless.
In everyone's eyes, Duan Mengmeng is well-behaved, gentle, dignified, generous, and self-disciplined, but only her sisters know how arrogant and domineering she is at home.
Duan Mengmeng glanced at the person following behind her, and a hint of mockery appeared on her lips.
She has many more rare and famous paintings than Duan Yingying, but it is impossible to sell hers. As for the money, she will find a way later.
——
"Did Miss Lin and the third Miss Duan family have any conflicts in the past?" In the pavilion, Shen Anan took a sip of tea and asked casually.
Lin Yurou's cheeks flushed and she shook her head. "It's not really a holiday, it's just that I don't like her that much."
They just don't like each other.
If it was before, she would not bother to care, maybe she would just turn around and leave, but Shen Anan is her future sister-in-law, and she just came back from Jiangnan, and she doesn't know much about the women in the capital, so she naturally doesn't allow others to bully her in front of her.
"I'm sorry to embarrass you." Lin Yurou felt a little embarrassed.
She had been too sharp just now, and was worried that Shen Anan would find her difficult to get along with and would complain to Mrs. Shen.
Shen Anan curled her lips and smiled, then picked up the teapot and filled her tea personally, "No, I don't like Duan Mengmeng, I really don't like her, and Miss Lin just vented my anger for me."
Lin Yurou half-closed her eyelids and smiled softly.
I feel that this future sister-in-law is very honest and it won’t be difficult to get along with her.
After getting to know each other's personalities to some extent, the conversation went much more smoothly and there were hardly any dull moments.
Whether it's the way Lin Yurou speaks or behaves, she is indeed very gentlemanly and it's almost impossible to find any fault with her.
Shen Anan felt very comfortable getting along with him. There was no beating around the bush, no ulterior motives, and she would not try to euphemistically trick her into saying anything.
No need to defend!
"Miss Lin." Suddenly a little maid ran over in a hurry, bowed and saluted, and spoke breathlessly, "Miss Lin, it's bad, Miss Chen fell into the water over there, please go over and take a look."
Lin Yurou's expression changed, and she immediately stood up and said, "Lead the way."
She took two steps before she remembered that Shen Anan was still sitting, and said anxiously, “Miss Chen is my cousin, and my aunt never came to the banquet together. I was a little worried about her and neglected Miss Shen.”
Shen Anan shook his head and stood up, "Let's go, I'll go with you, saving people is important."
Lin Yurou nodded and hurriedly followed the maid to the waterside pavilion in the backyard.
She was not worried about anything else. With so many people around, her cousin would not drown. However, her cousin only had a maid by her side, and no one could make decisions. She thought there should be servants guarding the waterside pavilion. If...
She was soaking wet and could be seen by everyone. It was just the Chen family with strict family traditions. It was no different from losing her virginity. My cousin probably felt that it would be better to drown.
The two hurried to the backyard. Lin Yurou turned around and told the maid behind her, "Go to the banquet hall and let my mother know. Ask her to come over."
"Yes." The maid responded and turned to go to the banquet hall.
The maid who led the way just turned her head to take a look, then turned her gaze away expressionlessly, saying, "I have also sent someone to inform the prince's wife."
Lin Yurou nodded.
Shen Anan, who had been silent all the time, suddenly asked, "Didn't the girls go to see the orchids? Why did they go to the backyard water pavilion and fall into the water?"
The little maidservant spoke respectfully and answered fluently.
"After the nanny showed the girls from all the families the orchids, she let them go and play on their own. The orchids happened to be grown on the waterside pavilion, so Miss Chen and the other girls went to the bridge to enjoy the view. Somehow they got into an argument, and during the shoving, Miss Chen fell off."
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