Chapter 56: Sheng Mansion in Tokyo

As night fell and the lights came on, the Sheng family slowly drove into the street where the Sheng residence was located in a carriage. Mingxi, Rulan and Minglan squeezed in the carriage window to look out. The street outside the residence was indeed as Sheng Hong said, a prosperous and elegant place in Bianjing City. Under the night, the lanterns on both sides of the street gradually lit up, and the soft light sprinkled on the stone road, reflecting the faces of passers-by, adding a bit of warmth and peace to this prosperous and noisy city. On one side of the street, next to Linqingfang where scholars gather, the fragrance of books permeates the air, and you can faintly hear the sound of reading and the laughter of literati. The air is filled with an elegant and profound cultural atmosphere. On the other side of the street is the residential area of ​​the rich and powerful. The tall courtyard walls and exquisite doors are more solemn and majestic in the night. The mansions here are more luxurious than each other, and the lights are brilliant, reflecting the extraordinary identity and status of the owners. Occasionally, a carriage will drive out of the residential area of ​​the rich and powerful, and the wheels will roll over the cobblestone road, making a slight sound, breaking the tranquility of the night, but it will soon be drowned out by the surrounding noise.

"Wow! Mother, is our home here? Are we going to live here from now on?" Minglan had never seen such a noble, luxurious, elegant and simple place. Everywhere showed the extraordinary location, which made her sigh with emotion.

"You just haven't seen the world. This will definitely be our home from now on. Our grandfather was a third place winner in the imperial examination, and our grandmother was also a daughter of a marquis. What's so strange about living in a place like this?" Rulan said that Minglan had never seen the world, but she also lay on the car window without moving, greedily looking at the prosperity outside the window.

Minglan was not annoyed. She knew that her fifth sister was a person who would not accept being humiliated, but she had no bad intentions. "Yes, now we are also blessed by our grandparents to live in such a place with outstanding people and beautiful scenery."

"Hahaha~" Mingxi couldn't help laughing. Minglan and her really had a tacit understanding. They both felt that the people in the Sheng Mansion were blessed by their ancestors to have such a good place to live today, and they also felt that it was rare for Minglan to say "outstanding people and beautiful scenery" as an adult.

Minglan turned around and glanced at her mother, and she didn't bother to argue with her. The carriage had stopped, and the three of them got off. They were attracted by the two stone lions at the door. The stone lions were majestic and majestic, as if they were loyal guardians guarding the house, quietly watching everyone who came in and out. Sheng Hong was promoted to the fifth rank, which was just enough to set up a stone lion outside the door, which was a symbol of status. Looking over the stone lion to the gate, the gate of the house was made of heavy mahogany, the copper lintel on the door lintel was exquisitely shaped, and there were golden door nails neatly arranged on the door. When the lantern was lit, the golden door nails and the copper lintel glittered under the light, reflecting each other, adding a bit of mystery and dignity to the house. At this moment, the door was open, waiting for its owner to move in.

Mingxi held Rulan in one hand and Minglan in the other and followed the steps of the eldest lady and Sheng Hong to the gate of Sheng Mansion. When they stopped, Sheng Hong and Changbai saw the old lady getting off the car behind them. They hurried forward to support her on the left and right. Fang Mama and the wet nurse who was holding Zhenzhen followed behind them. When they reached the gate, all the servants of Sheng Mansion who had been waiting outside the gate knelt down and said, "Welcome, old lady!" Madam, come back home! Welcome the master back home! Welcome the eldest lady back home! Welcome Aunt Wei back home! Welcome the eldest lady, the second young master, the third young master, the fourth young master, the fifth young master, the sixth young master, and the seventh young master back home! Congratulations to the master on the birth of his son! "

The masters of the Sheng family were escorted into the mansion. When they entered the house, the first thing that caught their eyes was a wide entrance hall. The entrance hall was tall and wide, enough for many carriages to pass side by side. On both sides of the entrance hall, there were gatehouses for the gatekeepers and servants to live in. Facing the entrance hall was an exquisite screen wall, on which there were paintings of mountains, rivers, flowers and birds, or auspicious words such as blessing, wealth, longevity and happiness were engraved. It was both beautiful and had the function of warding off evil spirits. After

passing through the entrance hall, you will see the second entrance of the ceremonial gate, which is the boundary between the inside and outside of the house. It is usually opened only when distinguished guests come to greet them or when there is a major event in the house. There are corner gates on both sides of the ceremonial gate to facilitate the daily entry and exit of the people in the house.

Behind the ceremonial gate is an open courtyard. The moonlight is like a silk thread, shining on the well-arranged courtyard, covering every brick, tile, grass and tree with a layer of silver gauze. The rockery is more profound in the night, like a sleeping giant beast, quietly guarding this peaceful world. Its rugged outline is even more mysterious under the dim light, and every stone seems to contain an ancient story, waiting for those who are interested to listen. On both sides of the path, various lanterns swayed in the wind, emitting warm and dim light, illuminating the group of people. In the pond, there were occasional slight ripples that slowly spread, as if there were small fish swimming leisurely in the pond. The lights were reflected on the water, sparkling, and the stars in the sky complemented each other, making it difficult to tell which was the sky and which was the water. The contrast between the two made the garden more peaceful and elegant. Walking

further in, we arrived at the main hall of the third entrance. The main hall was brightly lit, and the floor was paved with exquisite tiles. Each tile showed a warm luster, and it was obvious that it had been carefully cleaned. Sheng Hong invited the old lady to take a seat, and the others sat down in turn. Sheng Hong called the housekeeper, "We've been busy all day, let's serve the meal first!" After giving the order, he turned to look at the old lady, "Mother, let's finish the meal and then go to see the courtyards where we will live. What do you think?"

"I'm very tired after the long journey. Let's have a quick meal first, and then go back to rest!" The old lady didn't have much energy to speak, and she looked very tired.

"Then mother, do you think you will still live in the main courtyard?" Sheng Hong asked tentatively.

The old lady stopped pressing her forehead, glanced at Sheng Hong fiercely, then quickly turned away, with a hint of sarcasm in her tone, "What do you mean by that, old man? Now you are the old man, you are the head of our Sheng Mansion, so of course you and the eldest lady should live in the main courtyard. I am an old woman who is about to be buried. Your father has been gone for many years, why should I fight for your main courtyard? When the old lady built the back garden, she also built a courtyard. I want to live there for a quiet place!"

Sheng Hong did not expect the old lady to react so strongly. He was just asking the old lady out of respect, probably because he was really tired. Sheng Hong's question was also a bit provocative. In short, everyone could see that the old lady was not very happy.

Sheng Hong was scolded in front of the young people and stood there for a while without saying anything. Seeing that the atmosphere was a little tense, Hualan came out to save the situation, "The yard that grandma chose is in the back garden. It's warm in winter and cool in summer, which is suitable for health preservation. There are more mosquitoes in the summer, but it doesn't matter. We can just burn more incense and seal the windows with gauze. It's really clean there. Grandma can live there with Zhenzhen. Zhenzhen will definitely like it."

"Ah~oh~oh~" Zhenzhen might have heard someone mentioned his name and thought they were calling him, so he woke up and made ah ah oh oh as if he wanted to talk to someone. As the baby's milk voice came out, the stagnant atmosphere in the hall instantly eased. The old lady became more energetic when she heard Zhenzhen's little movement, and asked the nanny to bring Zhenzhen to her to see. Sheng Hong also breathed a sigh of relief and went forward to make Zhenzhen laugh. The old lady glanced at him, took Zhenzhen from the nurse and handed her to Sheng Hong. Sheng Hong took the little son, and Zhenzhen smiled as soon as she saw him, and the atmosphere eased.