Chapter 91: The Straight Sweet Girl Controls the Dali Temple Shaoqing

"Yes... Sir Xie, why are you here?"

Just now, the maid came to tell Shen Yuan that her father asked her to go to the garden. When Shen Yuan came over, she saw Xie Hui there too. She almost blurted out the name she called him yesterday, but for fear of angering her father, Shen Yuan still obediently called him "Young Master Xie".

"Manman, I came here to tell you something."

Shen Yun looked at Xie Hui with a "cold" gaze, but the words in his mouth were directed to his daughter.

"You are only allowed to talk in the garden and are not allowed to go anywhere else for half an hour."

While Shen Yun wasn't paying attention, Shen Yuanchong blinked back at him and said obediently, "I know, Dad."

After watching her father leave, Shen Yuan pointed to the stone bench under the tree and said, "Sit down, Brother Youqi, what do you want to tell me? Is the thing in your hand for me?"

"Yes. Today we interrogated the villain, and it was indeed related to Xiaoyao Pills. I explained to the emperor that it was your credit that we caught him. These are the emperor's rewards. There is the rice paper you like, as well as pens, ink, and inkstones, which you can use for painting." Xie Hui put the things he brought on the table and sat down on the stone bench.

"Thank the Emperor for his gift on my behalf. Brother Youqi, are you here just to give me this?"

"No, I came here mainly to see you. These are just incidental things. What I said to you yesterday was all from my heart."

Upon hearing this, Shen Yuan smiled widely and replied generously, "I know, I like you too." Shen Yuan not only confessed generously, but also asked Xie Hui directly, "Do you know why?"

Xie Hui cooperated and asked, "Why?"

"Because you are handsome."

Xie Hui laughed, but to be honest, this answer was not unexpected.

"Thanks for the compliments."

Xie Hui was very happy, after all, he became so handsome because of his own ability.

"There is one more thing I need to tell you. I will probably leave for Qingzhou tomorrow or the day after tomorrow to investigate the Xiaoyao Pill case. I don't know when I will be back."

"Will it be dangerous? Anyone who dares to take such a big risk to sell Xiaoyao Pills must be a desperate criminal. You must be careful."

"It's okay, don't worry. The emperor has sent a few imperial guards to protect me, so I'll be fine. I just can't celebrate your birthday with you."

"That's not a big deal. Business is more important." Shen Yuan felt lucky that the birthday gift had already been prepared, so it didn't matter if he gave it a few days in advance.

"Wait here for a while, I'll go back and get something." Shen Yuan returned to his yard and took out the birthday gift he had prepared for Xie Hui.

The kitten was made of wool, but there was no suitable box to put it in, so I wrapped it in cloth.

Shen Yuan took the things and ran to the garden. After all, she only had half an hour. Her father said half an hour, so she was afraid that he would come over to watch her in three quarters of an hour.

However, when he got outside the garden, Shen Yuan took a breath and tidied his hair before going in.

Shen Yuan handed the things back to Xie, "I was thinking of giving it to you on your birthday, but I'll give it to you a few days earlier. If I wait until you come back to give it to me, I might not be able to bear it."

"Thank you very much."

Xie Hui opened the painting first. After seeing it, Xie Hui guessed that this should be the scene of their first meeting in the Dali Temple that day, with only a few changes.

In the painting, he is wearing an official uniform and standing in the courtyard of the Dali Temple. On the corridor next to him, there is a little girl in a pink dress, peeking at him from behind a pillar. Not far away, on the threshold, there is a cat lying with legs spread out.

It can be seen that the little girl peeking out is Shen Yuan herself. Even on the canvas, the little girl's liveliness can be seen. As for the cat sleeping under the doorstep, it is naturally Jin Jin.

Although Xie Hui has not studied much about calligraphy and painting, he has seen many famous paintings since he was a child. It can be seen that Shen Yuan's painting style is different from the mainstream and has its own characteristics.

"I like it very much. You are really good at painting." Shen Yuan's paintings are more realistic and the colors are brighter.

Xie Hui was very happy. He finally didn't have to envy his mother's paintings anymore. This time he also had his own, and it was even better looking.

"Put it away first and look at it when you get home. This is the highlight." Shen Yuan saw Xie Hui holding the painting and looking at it non-stop, so he quickly reminded him to look at something else.

Xie Hui listened to her and carefully put the painting away, then opened the cloth bag.

"This is..." Xie Hui was very surprised when he saw the lifelike Jin Jin lying on the ground. He wondered how Shen Yuan made it.

Shen Yuan reached out his hand and gently stroked the top of the "cat's" head. "This is called wool felt. The wool is compacted little by little with a needle to give it a shape. When I was in Jinling, I went to the farm back home to play and saw farmers compacting straw bales with forks. It's actually similar to this, except that I'm compacting wool."

This thing is extremely delicately made. Xie Hui has never seen it made like this before, but it goes without saying that it must have taken a lot of effort.

Xie Hui reached out his hand and stroked the "cat's" back. The wool was not smooth, and it made his palms itchy and his heart itchy as he touched it.

"Manman, thank you, I like it very much."

Xie Hui looked at the girl in front of him with tenderness. The first time he met her, he remembered that she had a pair of lively and clear eyes. When Zhou Zhongan teased her in Shen's Tavern, he thought Zhou Zhongan was inexplicable.

Still a little girl, but a very lovely one.

Later, on the Dragon Boat Festival, she leaned against the car window and smiled at him on the street. That day he thought he saw something in her eyes.

I don't know when it started, but Xie Hui found that every time he saw her, he would unconsciously look into her eyes to see what he looked like in her eyes.

And this girl would give him new surprises every time.

"You're welcome. I'm glad you like me."

Shen Yuan never hides his likes, nor is he shy about expressing them.

"You must have put a lot of effort into it. It must have been difficult to make it look so similar. Thank you for your hard work."

"It's not bad." Shen Yuan said honestly, "I have a foundation in painting, so it's not difficult to make it look like this. I don't know how to sew, but it's quite interesting to do this."

"That's much better than me. I can't do needlework, or this, or draw."

Xie Hui always remembered that his mother told him when he was a child that needlework is not necessarily only for girls to learn, and kung fu is not necessarily only for boys to learn.

Xie Hui said to Shen Yuan, "When I was a child, my mother asked an embroiderer to teach me how to sew clothes, but unfortunately I was clumsy and couldn't learn it."

"It doesn't matter. I won't do that either. I don't mind you."

"Thank you very much, I don't mind."

Shen Yuan smiled brightly and accepted the thanks. Then he told him about the little cat's whiskers.

"Guess what this beard is made of."

Xie Hui reached out and touched it carefully. "It's not wool. I can't guess. Please give me some advice, Mr. Manman."

"Wool is too soft to make a beard. This is pig hair."

After Shen Yuan finished speaking, he went to observe Xie Hui's expression. There was only surprise on his face, no disgust.

"Manman is so smart that she thought of using pig hair."

"Actually, this is not what I thought, but what Qingdai thought. Have you ever seen a pig?"

"I have seen it. When we were in the northwest, the general encouraged everyone to be self-sufficient when there was no war. So the barracks raised pigs, and I even fed them."

"It's really interesting. I've grown up and I've never been to any place other than Jinling and the capital."

…

Shen Yun was standing far away. Although she couldn't hear what the two were talking about, she could see that her daughter was very happy.

"Master, half an hour has passed, you..."

"Well, just be happy and let them talk."