Chapter 141: Lady Xuanping
"Dad! I have something to ask you."
"You scared me to death, kid."
After the palace banquet ended, Shen Yuan did not go back with her grandmother and the others. Instead, she got on another carriage at home and sat inside waiting for her father to come out.
The result was that when Shen Yun opened the car curtain, he saw a person sitting inside and was so scared that he almost died.
The driver, who didn't have time to speak, closed his mouth silently.
"What's the matter? Tell me. Fortunately, your father is in good health, otherwise I would have left just now." Shen Yun patted his chest after getting on the carriage.
"Dad, the wife of Marquis Xuanping? Do you know her?"
"Ah! I've heard of it."
"You're lying! If you don't tell the truth, I'll go home and tell mom. I'll go ask her." As soon as Shen Yuan saw her father's expression, she knew that this matter must be very complicated!
It was old news, Shen Yun was too embarrassed to talk about it, let alone to his own daughter.
But Shen Yuan would never give up. The longer the carriage moved on, the more she stared at her father, making Shen Yun feel terrified.
"Oh! It was after your father passed the imperial examination and was nearly captured as a son-in-law by someone. At that time, your mother and I were already married. I explained everything to them and they let me go. They also apologized to me and said it was a misunderstanding. That's all." Shen Yun's face still turns red when he talks about this. Fortunately, it was dark in the carriage and he couldn't see much.
"So, the one who arrested you is the current wife of the Marquis of Xuanping."
"Yes, but she later met with me and your mother and apologized to us, and the matter was over. Later, she married the Marquis of Xuanping and became his wife."
Having said all that, Shen Yun decided to just give up.
Shen Yuan couldn't help but tease, "Dad, when you were young, you must have been a famous handsome young man in the whole town."
Shen Yuan looked at her father. Even now, he could be considered a handsome old man!
"But father, if I remember correctly, didn't Marquis Xuanping pass away? Judging from his wife's current age, he died young, didn't he?"
Shen Yun once again showed an expression that was hard to describe. "What do you mean he died young? He was almost 70 years old when he passed away. He was already very old."
Shen Yuan: “…”
"Ever since that incident... after the selection of the best husband for the job, she and your mother have been in frequent contact. At first, she wanted to marry the Marquis of Xuanping as his second wife, and your mother tried to dissuade her, but she said..."
"What?"
Shen Yun felt embarrassed to say it, but the lady looked at him, thought about it and finally said it.
"She said it didn't matter who she married, she would rather marry someone older and become a widow sooner. As expected, within a few years, the Marquis of Xuanping died, and she left the capital under the pretext of practicing Taoism. The Marquis of Xuanping's children were much older than her, so she didn't care."
The reason why "Qingxiu" is just a name is that someone once saw the wife of Marquis Xuanping going in and out of brothels in Yunzhou.
Although Yunzhou is a remote prefecture, the brothels there are extremely famous. I heard that the men there are particularly tall and mighty, which attracts many people to go there.
These things are not really secrets. A few years ago, when the wife of Marquis Xuanping returned to the capital, she was always accompanied by a man. She said he was a bodyguard, but in fact, everyone knew the truth by looking at how close they were.
However, Shen Yun naturally couldn't tell these things to her daughter.
The Xuanping Marquis's mansion naturally couldn't stand it. It would have been fine if they had done it secretly outside, but they actually brought the person back to the capital openly. But who can blame the fact that the wife of the Xuanping Marquis's family, the Liang family, is so powerful? The eldest son of the Xuanping Marquis once went to the house to argue, but then went back in disgrace.
It is said that the brother of Lady Xuanping Hou said: "My sister is a good lady and it is a loss for her to marry your father. After your father dies, do you expect my sister to stay with him? Not remarrying is already giving your family enough face. Don't be ungrateful."
Well, naturally, Shen Yun heard this from his colleagues in the Dali Temple. After the death of Marquis Xuanping, the Marquis Xuanping's Mansion was an empty shell, so naturally they did not dare to make things difficult for the Liang family.
"I was so scared today. I thought she was attracted to you."
"You think too highly of your father. Only your mother would not despise your father." Shen Yun was very self-aware. How could someone like him when she has a tall and mighty northern man?
"Then just consider it my misunderstanding!" Shen Yuan couldn't help but blush. She was also very nervous because of her grandmother's affair. If other people knew about it, they would definitely think she was extremely shameless for thinking that others liked her father.
"Dad, I heard people say that sons look more like their mothers and daughters look more like their fathers, but in our family, I look more like my mother and my brother looks more like you."
"Yes, but your ears are like your father's, and your brother's eyes are like your mother's. You and your brother have very similar eyes. When your brother took you out to play when you were little, people knew at first glance that you were brother and sister."
Speaking of this, Shen Yun recalled that when they were young, he and Yan Niang often argued about who the child looked more like.
"No wonder my sister-in-law said my brother has the most beautiful eyes, it turns out they look like mine!"
"Yeah, like you."
"My brother and sister-in-law's birthday is at the end of the month, Dad. Have you decided what birthday gift to give them?"
"Just take care of yourself and stop asking about mine."
"I've already thought about it!"
…
After arriving home, Shen Yuan had another meal. There was no other way. The palace banquet was simply not a place where one could eat to one's heart's content.
"This is how people should live!" Shen Yuan finished a bowl of chicken noodle soup, with more soup than noodles as usual. He felt comfortable only after he finished all the soup.
"Girl, drink the ginger soup. You drank it to cool down after coming back from the palace banquet last time."
Shen Yuan smelled the pungent smell and frowned, "It was a long time ago. Your daughter is as strong as an ox now. She won't catch a cold."
"Girl, you really caught a cold. That medicine is much harder to drink than ginger soup."
"Okay." Shen Yuan took the ginger soup, pinched his nose and drank it. Qingdai had already prepared the preserved fruit and was waiting for him.
"Qingdai, you can also ask Fuling to improve the ginger soup and make it taste better."
"Okay, I will convey it."
After the eighth day of the first lunar month, it was less than a month away from the examination on the sixth day of the third lunar month. The atmosphere in the house had become tense unconsciously. When the servants passed by the eldest master's study, they subconsciously slowed down their steps. Shen Yuan had not been messing with his brother recently.
On the tenth day, which was a holiday, Lu Ne also came to the Shen family with three articles and two policy papers. Shen Yun showed them to him one by one, and helped him pick out an old policy paper. After instructing him on how to revise it, he prepared to send it to the He family for Old Man He to take a look.
"Dad, what do you think of Master Lu's article? Is it a good one?"
After all, this concerns my sister's future happiness, and Shen Yuan is very concerned.
"The essay is OK, but I'm not sure about the policy essay. Every examiner has different tastes, so it's hard to say. This year's examiner, this is his first time as an examiner, and no one can figure out his style."