Chapter 20 Thoughts

"Mother."

"I will be back soon. Today is a rare day, as I came back earlier than your father."

When Xie returned home, the princess was in the pavilion in the back garden listening to the servants talking.

When Xie Hui sat down, the story was just coming to the part where the general and the number one scholar were competing to marry the princess. Xie Hui tried to hide his expression by eating a snack. His mother really did... like to hear these stories for the past ten years.

Princess Kangning glanced at her son and said, "This snack tastes good, right? It was made by a chef from Jiangnan."

Xie Hui took two bites of the light green cake in his hand and nodded, "It seems to have the fragrance of tea, and it's not too sweet."

"Eat more if you like. It seems that the Dali Temple is not busy these days?" The princess pushed the plate in front of her son.

"Well, there haven't been any cases these past two days."

"Xi'er, I'm back."

Xie Hui was about to grab some snacks when he paused, stood up and called his father.

"You're back after a while. It's quite early today."

"Why are you so late today? Is your Imperial Academy still very busy?"

Xie Hui's father, Xie Yuan, worked in the Hanlin Academy. On weekdays, he was responsible for restoring ancient books and paintings. It was a place where he had a lot of free time.

It's not that he couldn't go to other government offices, but it was just because of his personality. He didn't like to interact with too many people and just liked to play with calligraphy and paintings.

However, he was taciturn only when talking to people he was not familiar with. It was different in front of acquaintances, especially in front of his wife. Xie Yuan was never stingy with words.

"Today, a new ancient painting was delivered to me. I spent so much time looking at it that I didn't even hear the bell for the release date. I'm late. I hope the princess will forgive me."

"You will be punished by serving me the food at dinner later."

"Yes, sir."

His father and mother have been living together like this for many years, and Xie Huidu has become accustomed to it. Sometimes he even feels like he is the redundant one in this family, but in his heart he also envies and longs for such a relationship between his parents.

"There will be a date. Your father and I will also participate in the Cuju competition in April. This time we can play together as father and son!"

Xie Yuan had a smile on his face and seemed to be looking forward to this event very much. However, when Xie Hui heard that his father was going to play Cuju, his eyes widened a little.

"Father, you..." Xie Hui didn't look down on his father, but his father didn't look like he could play Cuju. As far as he knew, his father's skills were not even as good as his mother's. He sat in the Hanlin Academy all day and rarely moved. As for why he was still thin and handsome even though he didn't move, Xie Hui thought it was his natural talent.

"Your father has been arrested and made a cannibal. Each government office has to send one person. Think about the senior officials in the Hanlin Academy. I guess your father is the only one with black hair."

Xie Yuan told the princess about this last night, but forgot to tell his son. He only remembered it today.

"Father, when we have training in two days, please discuss with everyone and decide whether you can be the goalkeeper."

"Tsk tsk tsk, look at my good son, and he looks down on his father. Princess, you have to make the decision for me!"

"Okay, okay, then I'll punish you by only having two bowls of rice for dinner for a certain period of time."

"Don't you usually eat two bowls?"

"Then he is only allowed to have one bowl."

Xie Hui listened silently, then reached out and ate the last three snacks on the plate.

…

Shen Yuan was also having dinner. Although she was not punished, she couldn't eat anymore.

The reason was simple. Today she was learning accounting from her sister-in-law at home. It was the end of the month, so she wanted to calculate how much the Shen family spent in March.

Shen Yuan had never thought about these things in the past, but today he found that she was the one who spent the most in the whole house!

Apart from other things, she spent a lot of money on the storybooks alone. Books are not cheap. She bought hardcover storybooks from the largest Yishengtang Bookstore in the city, which were even more expensive.

I spent a lot of money on making spring clothes at the beginning of this month. The remaining pastries and snacks are not expensive when they are alone, but when you add up all the money, it adds up to a lot.

The Shen family was a simple family, and they didn't originally have a monthly allowance. They just took money as they needed it. If Shen Yuan wanted to buy something, he would ask Qingdai to get money from the public treasury.

Although Shen Yuan was used to it, he also felt embarrassed.

Seeing Shen Yuan's sad face and not even enjoying her meal, He Ying advised: "Don't be embarrassed, Manman. Girls should be more careful in their upbringing. These expenses are not that much."

Shen Yuan felt even more ashamed after hearing this. She had spent her money but she was not very thoughtful. Instead, she read a lot of novels and ate a lot.

"Sister-in-law, I will save more money next month!"

"Okay." Seeing Shen Yuan's confident look, He Ying didn't pour cold water on her, but just coaxed her, "Let's talk about next month. It's still March now, so you have to eat your fill."

After coming out of her brother and sister-in-law's yard, Shen Yuan went to look for her father as usual.

"Dad, I just realized today that I am the one who spends the most money in our family."

Shen Yun was not surprised at all, "Well, your father already knew about it."

"Don't worry about it. You just bought some more storybooks and snacks. How much can it cost? I'm letting you learn how to manage the household from your sister-in-law. I'm not letting you worry about the household expenses. I'm letting you have a rough idea of ​​these things so that you won't be fooled by others."

Shen Yun had been in the capital for many years and had bought some land and shops. In addition, the court provided officials with salaries, which included cash as well as rice, flour, and ice and charcoal. He did not like to go out for food and drink, so he did not have much money to spend.

As for Shen Su, he could study in the Imperial College for free, and the court also gave students a subsidy every month. He ate and lived there on weekdays, so it didn't cost him much.

Shen Yuan felt that he spent a lot of money, but Shen Yun felt that he owed his daughter. Any little girl like her would feel that she had spent too much money just by buying a few storybooks.

At night, Shen Yuan lay on the bed, staring at the bed curtains in a daze. As time went by, she had forgotten who she originally was.

She thought maybe she forgot to drink Meng Po soup when she crossed the Naihe Bridge. When she was little, she felt like she was trapped in a baby's body. There were so many messy things in her mind. She was upset but couldn't say it. She often cried. Her mother always held her tenderly in her arms and coaxed her. Her father, who had to get up before dawn to go to work, didn't mind her crying and making trouble. Instead, he took turns with her mother to hold her and coax her. Even her brother, the first thing he did when he came back from school every day was to run to hug his sister.

As time went by, Shen Yuan gradually forgot his past and became like a real child, babbling, taking his first steps, and enjoying the love and care of his family.

When she was young, her father also found a teacher to teach her to read and learn the arts of music, chess, calligraphy and painting. After a few years of study, she was able to write some articles and poems by imitating others, but her skills were average, and she could only say that she knew a little. She once heard the teacher tell her father tactfully that she had no talent in these areas.

Shen Yun was not disappointed after hearing what her husband said. Instead, she comforted her by saying, "It's amazing that you can learn so much. Your father learned the piano for several years when he was young, but he couldn't play a single piece of music well. You are much smarter than your father."

Later, after her husband retired and returned to his hometown, Shen Yuan didn't want to learn these things anymore, and her father agreed to her request.

Shen Yuan herself felt that it was not good to be living like this every day. She did not have any great ambitions, but she just felt that she should find something to do.

At this moment, Shen Yuan's eyes fell on the storybook beside the pillow. He sat up and flipped through it, and an idea came to his mind.

"Girl, are you thirsty?" Qingdai, who was guarding outside, heard the noise and asked hurriedly.

"No, I'm going to sleep. Turn off the light and go to bed too."