When the Fourth Madam saw off the Lady of Wei, she returned and saw that Shen Wan and Shen Wei were still in the pavilion, so she walked towards the pavilion.
Fourth Madam stepped into the pavilion. Shen Wan did not get up, but called out, "Fourth Aunt."
Fourth Madam smiled at Shen Wan, and seeing Shen Wei's face turn red, said, "Why is Wei'er's face so red?"
Shen Wei stood up and said, "Mother and eldest sister are talking, I'm going to take a walk in the garden."
After saying that, he ran away before the fourth wife could speak.
Fourth Madam shook her head and chuckled. She sat down opposite Shen Wan, who said, "Does Fourth Aunt have something to say to me?"
The fourth wife sighed, "Today is the third time the Duchess of Wei has come to visit. I think your fourth uncle and I agree to let Wei'er marry into the family as soon as possible..."
The fourth wife is gentle by nature and not good at refusing people.
This is why Shen Wan instructed her to wait until next spring to let Shen Wei get married. That's why she repeatedly refused the Duchess of Wei. But after refusing so many times, she became a little worried. Her daughter would eventually have to get married. It was too disrespectful to the Duchess of Wei, and she was afraid that the Duchess of Wei would be unhappy.
Fourth Madam looked at Shen Wan and said, "Fourth Aunt, do you still remember your instructions? It would be best to let Wei'er get married next spring. What would happen if she got married before then?"
Shen Wan was somewhat at a loss for words when asked this question.
She looked at Fourth Madam and said, "Let me tell you the truth, Fourth Aunt. I lied to you and Fourth Sister that day. Fourth Sister wore a mask to avoid disfigurement, not because of some Taoist fortune teller, but because of a dream I had. And this time, because of my dream, we took precautions in advance, which is why so many people didn't die..."
Shen Wan spoke softly, but the Fourth Madam listened with a shocked expression.
Shen Wan said, "In my dream, a few months later, a terrible disease broke out in the capital, and many people contracted smallpox, including the young master of the Duke of Wei's mansion. The young master of the Duke of Wei's mansion unfortunately died young. The Marquis of Wuding's mansion believed that it was because the Duke of Wei's heir's second wife had not taken good care of the young master, and they relentlessly pursued the second wife's family..."
"In reality, my fourth sister escaped disfigurement and eye injury, and she even got engaged to the heir of the Duke of Wei. This is very different from my dream. Just in case, and because my fourth sister is still young, I thought I would wait until this winter to let her get married."
After explaining the reason, Shen Wan said, "A few days ago, the Duke of Wei severed ties with the Marquis of Wuding in front of a hall full of guests. My concerns should no longer exist. It is not unreasonable for Fourth Sister to get married soon."
The fourth wife, who had been somewhat hesitant, became determined: "It would be better to remarry next spring."
The Fourth Madam had never seen smallpox, but she had heard of it.
She felt more at ease with her daughter by her side. If she married into the Duke of Wei's mansion and smallpox spread, she feared she wouldn't even be able to see her daughter. Furthermore, the young master of the Duke of Wei's mansion was susceptible to smallpox, so there would inevitably be contact, and she might even catch it herself...
Just thinking about it sent chills down the Fourth Madam's spine.
Nothing was more important than her daughter's life.
Shen Wei returned from a stroll in the garden and, seeing that her mother was still there, strolled around again. Unable to resist any longer, she entered the pavilion and asked, "What are Mother and Eldest Sister talking about? They've been chatting for so long."
The fourth wife scolded, "Can't your mother talk to your eldest sister for a while?"
Shen Wei said, "Big sister never stays for long when she comes back. Today she finally got to stay a little longer, but Mother is still hogging her."
The fourth wife couldn't help but chuckle. "Alright, Mother's leaving. I won't disturb you sisters' conversation."
The fourth wife stood up, smiled, and left.
Shen Wei sat down, and Shen Wan smiled and said, "If Fourth Sister isn't busy, she can go to the Ling Prince's Mansion and spend more time with me."
She's never busy; she has plenty of time.
but--
Shen Wei said sadly, "I've wanted to go for a long time, but my eldest sister has to take care of Prince Ling, and my mother and father won't allow me to bother you at Prince Ling's residence."
Shen Wan chuckled, "I'll talk to your fourth uncle and aunt later and get them to agree to let you go."
Shen Wei nodded repeatedly.
One of them didn't want to move, and the other had just walked around the garden twice and didn't want to stroll around anymore, so they talked in the pavilion. After becoming less active, Shen Wei became much more talkative.
Just as they were talking about the interesting things that had happened in Kyoto recently, a little maid in a pale yellow dress came running over, panting, and said, "Eldest Miss, Fourth Miss, the young master is back!"
Shen Wei was initially delighted, but then realized what was going on, and a hint of coquettishness appeared on her delicate face. "So that's why you had the leisure to stroll in the garden with me today, elder sister. You knew that elder brother was returning to the manor today and were waiting for him."
The two went to the front yard and saw Xie Jingyan and Shen Du walking over from afar.
Shen Wan walked over and said, "Big brother has lost a lot of weight..."
Shen Du touched his face. He had been traveling and busy for the past month away from Beijing, which was more tiring than training in the military camp. He had indeed lost some weight.
He looked Shen Wan up and down, then patted Xie Jingyan on the shoulder and said, "Brother-in-law has taken good care of my sister."
Xie Jingyan paused for a moment, then said, "I dare not take credit for this."
The man's expression, as if he thought, "She ate every single bite of food herself," made Shen Wan want to glare at him.
Shen Wei bowed to Shen Du, who said, "I brought you a gift."
The servant followed behind, carrying the gift. He immediately handed it to Shen Wei, who was overjoyed. "Thank you, elder brother."
Not only Shen Wei has it, but Shen Dan does too.
Shen Wan glanced at the fan and incense in Shen Wei's hand, then at the dagger in Shen Dan's hand, and asked, "Big brother, where's mine?"
Shen Wan reached out her hand, and Shen Du was about to pat Shen Wan's hand, but a certain gentleman grabbed it first and said, "Your elder brother and your cousin brought you a lot of gifts, which have already been sent to the Prince's mansion."
She said that her eldest brother had prepared gifts for his fourth sister and fourth brother, so it was impossible for him not to bring one for her.
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