Chapter 68 Avoid
Chen Shan climbed over the eaves and walls and returned to Prince Jingyang's Mansion, preparing to put the belt and purse on a small table beside a certain gentleman's bed so that he would be able to see them when he woke up tomorrow.
As a result, he jumped through the window and entered the room, only to see an empty bed, and no sign of the master. Instead, Chen Qi came into the room and asked, "Why are you back so late at night?"
Chen Shan did not answer, but asked, "Where is Master?"
The prince always goes to bed on time, unless he has to go out of the house for something. But if the prince goes out of the house, Chen Qi must follow him.
Chen Qi coughed lightly, "I'm taking a cold shower..."
As for why you take a cold shower, there is no need to ask.
At such an age full of vigor and vitality, listening to two live sex shows in the daytime, and listening to them with Miss Shen Er, it would be strange if he didn't get his blood boiling.
Chen Qi asked, "What are you doing back?"
Chen Shan looked at the belt and purse placed on the small table, "Miss Shen Er embroidered it overnight and asked me to send it back."
Chen Qi said, "I'd better put it away first, otherwise I'll have to get up and take a third cold shower."
Chen Qi picked up the belt and purse and was about to hide them, but as soon as he turned around, a voice came over, "Put them down."
Chen Qi, "..."
He silently put down his belt.
Xie Guimo walked over, his eyes sweeping over the belt and purse. The woman was already furious because she was tricked today, and she didn't see his face, which made her even angrier. She actually embroidered the belt and purse overnight.
This abnormality made him uneasy.
"What else did she say?" Xie Guimo asked.
Chen Shan replied, "Miss Shen Er said she would trust me one last time."
...It seems like this is really the last time.
But he didn't plan to keep it hidden from her any longer.
This step had to be taken. If he didn't, he wouldn't know why she was hiding from him everywhere.
…
Chen Tang went to bed late and woke up late, waking up two quarters of an hour later than usual, so it was naturally two quarters of an hour later when he went to pay his respects to the old lady.
When she arrived, the Second Madam and Shen Xian were all there. Shen Tang was late, so Shen Xian took the opportunity to make trouble, "Second sister came to pay respects to Grandma, why are you so late?"
Chen Tang looked indifferent, "I went to bed late last night because I was thinking about something. I slept soundly this morning, so the maid didn't dare to wake me up."
The second wife asked, "Is there something troubling the second young lady?"
Just looking for an excuse, and asking questions about the matter. Chen Tang didn't want to say more, "It's just random thoughts, it doesn't bother me."
Chen Xian kept nagging, "If you're fine, why would you get up so late?"
Chen Tang was a little impatient in her heart. Since she had to speak, don't blame them for not liking what she said. "After the Lantern Festival, it will be the Spring Examination. Didn't my elder sister want to go to the Jiang family with me? I plan to go to the Jiang family again in a few days. I wonder if my elder sister wants to go with me?"
Chen Xian didn't expect that Chen Tang was thinking about this. She knew that Chen Tang was no longer friendly to her, let alone going out together. He was so distant that he didn't even want to say a word. Chen Tang didn't want to go to the Jiang family with her, but the Jiang family definitely wanted her to go.
Chen Xian didn't say anything, but just touched her face, and the second wife said, "Xian'er has been sick for a long time, and she is so thin that she can't go to celebrate the birthday of the old lady in Duke Wen's mansion. If she goes to the Jiang family in this state, it will cause the Jiang family to worry. I think it's better to wait until after the spring examination. The two young masters of the Jiang family are both talented and will definitely pass the spring examination this time. Then we can go and congratulate them."
In order to stop Shen Xian from going to Jiang's house, she started praising her two cousins. It was really unnecessary.
The old lady didn't say anything. Chen Tang was thinking about whether to refute her. Just then, a maid came in and happily reported to the second lady, "The Wang family just sent someone to announce the good news. They said that the wedding date of Young Master Wang and the eldest daughter of the Yongning Earl's Mansion has been set. It will be on the twelfth of this month."
Because of the note, the Second Wife was dissatisfied with Miss Li and wanted to go to the Yongning Earl's Mansion today to ask what it meant. Now that she heard the wedding date was set, all her dissatisfaction disappeared. Once she entered the Wang family and became her nephew's person, she would naturally be of one mind with the Wang family.
The second wife was all smiles, the third wife congratulated the second wife, and Chen Tang sat there, thinking about the green hat on Young Master Wang's head, and felt sympathy, but it only lasted for two sips of tea. Young Master Wang was not a good person either, he was the kind of person who slept with willows and flowers. The two of them couldn't be more well-matched.
Today is already the sixth day of the first lunar month, and the wedding date was set rather urgently. However, if we count from the day when Miss Li fell into the water, it is considered late. Chen Xian, Chen Ran and the others discussed going to send off the bride's dowry, but Chen Tang did not plan to go, and no one asked her if she wanted to go with them.
There wasn't much to give as dowry, and the eldest daughter of the Yongning Marquis's Mansion didn't need that much. If Chen Tang went there, it would only cause trouble for the Yongning Marquis' Mansion. The second wife and Shen Xi weren't that stupid.
No one wanted Chen Tang to go. The next day, Chen Xi and her friends went out to pick up dowry but did not ask Chen Tang to go. Chen Tang pretended not to know.
On the day when Chen Xian and her friends went to deliver dowry to Miss Li, Chen Tang also left the house, but she went to Jiang's house.
He left the mansion empty-handed, but since he was going to congratulate his cousin on his success in the imperial examination, he must bring some gifts. The carriage stopped in front of the largest stationery shop in Kyoto, and Chen Tang prepared to pick out a top-quality wolf-hair brush for each of his two cousins.
When she entered the shop, the clerk greeted her attentively. There were all kinds of pens in the shop. Chen Tang selected two of the best ones and Ginkgo paid for them.
Just as Shen Tang was about to leave, a servant came in from the other door and accidentally bumped into the shop assistant, causing the painting in his hand to slip out of his hand and fall to the ground.
The servant cursed, "Don't you have eyes when you walk?! This is a painting by Master Zhou Gu of the previous dynasty. Can you afford to pay for it if it is broken?!"
The young man quickly picked up the painting and apologized profusely, and the servant opened the painting and examined it.
Although paintings are easily damaged, they will not be broken by just dropping them. When Chen Tang passed by, she took a glance at it. This glance made her stop in her tracks. Ginkgo, who was following behind her, did not notice that she stopped and almost bumped into Chen Tang's back.
This painting——
Isn't this her painting? !
...That's not right.
This painting belonged to her in her previous life. It was a dowry given to her by the Pingyuan Marquis' Mansion. It was originally a dowry given by the Jiang family to Jiang Shi, and later given to Chen Xi as a dowry. Finally, it followed her into the Jingyang Prince's Mansion.
She did not marry Xie Guimo in this life, so the painting should be in the storehouse of the Marquis' Mansion. How could it be in the hands of this servant?
There are many forgeries of masterpieces by famous artists in the world. The reason why she was so sure was that this painting looked exactly like hers at more than one glance, even the creases on the mounting were the same.
The servant brought the painting to the shop because his master thought the painting was too old and sent it to be reframed. The shop owner said, "I'm really sorry for what happened just now. We won't charge you for the framing this time. It's our shop's apology."
His attitude of admitting his mistake was very good, so the servant didn't say anything.
Shen Tang looked at the painting, and Gingko called her, "Miss?"
Chen Tang came back to his senses, retracted his gaze, and stepped out.
Outside the door, the servant was waiting. Shen Tang sent the servant to buy cakes, then looked around. Chen Shan appeared and asked, "Second Miss Shen, do you want to see me?"
Chen Tang said, "Help me check if there is a soybean-sized ink stain on the lower right corner of the back of the painting."
Chen Tang didn't want to think the worst, so she wanted to make sure that the painting was not a fake first.
The painting had belonged to her in her previous life, and no one knew what was in it better than her.
It was such a small matter that before the waiter had even bought the cakes, Chen Shan came back after checking, "There is indeed a soybean-sized ink stain in the lower right corner of the painting."
Chen Tang's face instantly turned cold.
If the crease is a coincidence, then what about the ink marks? It is impossible for them to be so coincidental in both places.
Seeing that Chen Tang looked unhappy, Gingko asked, "What's wrong with the girl?"
Chen Tang looked at Chen Shan, "Help me find out who sent the painting to be framed and how it came into his hands."
Chen Shan agreed, “After sending Miss Shen Er to Jiang’s house, I will investigate this matter.”
Chen Shan dared not neglect what Chen Tang had told him, but he also dared not forget that his mission was to protect Chen Tang. Only when he was sure that Chen Tang was safe could he do other things. Otherwise, if a horse was frightened on the way to Jiang's house, how would he explain to his grandfather if something bad happened?
Although Chen Tang was anxious, she would not make things difficult for Chen Shan. As long as Chen Shan was willing to help her investigate, she would be satisfied and would not dare to ask for too much.
After waiting for a while by the carriage, the servant came back after buying cakes, and Chen Tang and Ginkgo got on the carriage and headed straight for the Jiang family.
…
The carriage stopped in front of the Jiang family's gate. When the Jiang family's servant saw Chen Tang getting out of the carriage, he was stunned again and again.
The cousin came to the Jiang family so many times that it seemed unreal to them.
The cousin master hasn't been found yet. The attitude of the Pingyuan Marquis' Mansion towards the Jiang family has become much better. Not only did they let the cousin come, but they also brought a lot of supplements last time. Have the two mansions resumed exchanges?
But if she has recovered, why hasn’t the cousin come?
The Jiang family servant diligently helped to move the footstool. Chen Tang stepped into the mansion and asked the Jiang family steward, "Are the eldest and second cousins in the mansion?"
The Jiang family steward said, "The two young masters are in the study."
"I'll go find them," Shen Tang said.
Why did the cousin meet the eldest young master and his friends first instead of the old lady? The steward of the Jiang family was puzzled, but still arranged for a servant to lead the way.
Chen Tang followed the servant to meet his two cousins.
Jiang Mingxiu and Jiang Mingyuan each have a study in their own yard. A study has also been arranged for them in the front yard next to Old Master Jiang's yard. There are many books in it, and more importantly, it is close by, so if they don't understand something, they can discuss it at any time and ask Old Master Jiang.
In the study, Jiang Mingxiu and Jiang Mingyuan were reading. The servant knocked on the door and said, "Master, Master, is the cousin of Marquis Pingyuan's mansion here?"
Soon, the door opened, and Jiang Mingyuan asked in surprise, "Why is my cousin here?"
Chen Tang smiled and said, "Sorry to both of you cousins for interrupting your reading."
Jiang Mingyuan said, "I was going to take a rest, but did my cousin come to see us for something?"
He made way for Chen Tang to step into the study.
Chen Tang had rarely come to the Jiang family before, and this was her first time entering the study. There was an entire wall of books, and she didn't dare to imagine how long it would take to read through them all.
Chen Tang greeted his two cousins and said, "I came to borrow a book from you. I just got two high-quality wolf-hair brushes. I'm giving them to you. I wish you two great successes."
As Chen Tang spoke, Ginkgo handed the wolf-hair brush to Chen Tang.
Shen Tang handed it to his two cousins.
Jiang Mingxiu and Jiang Mingyuan took it and opened the brocade box. They saw that the wolf-hair brushes in the box were new. They had just seen them when they went to the shop the other day.
Jiang Mingyuan said, "This is not something my cousin has just acquired, it is clearly something she bought."
“…It’s not important.”
Jiang Mingxiu smiled and said, "Then I'll borrow your words, cousin. What book would you like to read?"
"The Book of Shang," Chen Tang said.
Jiang Mingyuan was surprised, "My cousin is still reading this book?"
Chen Tang said, "I'll just take a look."
Jiang Mingyuan turned around and picked up an upside-down book from the desk. It was the Book of Shang that Chen Tang wanted.
Chen Tang flipped through it casually, but couldn't find it after searching for a long time. Chen Tang asked, "The suspicion of guilt is light, and the suspicion of merit is heavy. It is better to lose the truth than to kill the innocent."
"Where is this sentence?"
Jiang Mingyuan, "..."
My cousin remembers it so clearly, but I don’t know which page it is?
"Just turn the page."
Chen Tang turned the page and indeed found this sentence. Jiang Mingxiu asked, "What did my cousin find this sentence for?"
Chen Tang said, "There is actually such a sentence..."
Jiang Mingxiu, "......???"
Jiang Mingyuan, "......???"
The two looked at each other, both confused.
Chen Tang looked at them and asked, "Has Grandfather given you any questions recently?"
Jiang Mingyuan said with a bitter face, "Of course there is no such thing. We have exams every day. When my grandfather saw a sentence, he thought it might be a question for the Spring Examination, so he asked me and my elder brother to write an essay each."
Seeing the two cousins with bitter and resentful looks on their faces, Chen Tang blinked innocently and said, "I dreamed of my mother last night. This is the question she gave you. She asked each of you to write an article and burn it for her."
Jiang Mingxiu, "..."
Jiang Mingyuan, "..."
No way?
It’s not enough that their grandfather and father give them questions, their aunt also gives them questions. This is paralyzing them before they even enter the examination room.
Chen Tang was worried and reminded them, "My two cousins must write carefully."
Jiang Mingyuan drooped his ears and said, "Don't worry, cousin, my brother and I will definitely write it carefully."
My aunt has sent a dream to my cousins asking them to write essays, so how could I not do it carefully? Besides, if I don’t write about the topics set by my aunt, I have to write about those set by my grandfather and father. In short, I have no time to spare.
There were several questions in the Spring Examination, but Chen Tang only remembered this one. It was only when Prince Jingyang suddenly had the idea to ask Xie Guimo to write one as well and Xie Guimo asked her to grind ink for him that she remembered it.
After she was reborn, many things had changed. Chen Tang didn't know whether it would affect the test questions in the Spring Examination, but since she knew, she would definitely tell her cousin. What if nothing had changed?
Chen Tang also knew that if the test questions did not change, she would be helping her cousin cheat, which would be unfair to other students. But when she thought about the many corrupt officials in the court who exploited the people, at least with the Jiang family's character, there would be no corrupt officials. Moreover, in her previous life, her second cousin fell into the water, and her eldest cousin was injured while trying to save the second cousin, which affected his performance and caused them both to fail the exam. After experiencing so many things, Chen Tang found it hard to believe that falling into the water was just an accident.
"Don't disturb my two cousins from reading. I'm going to pay my respects to my grandmother."
The two of them saw Chen Tang out.
After leaving the study, Chen Tang went to Cuibai Courtyard to pay his respects to Old Madam Jiang. Old Madam Jiang asked angrily, "Why did you go to see your two cousins first?"
Chen Tang said, "I just got two wolf-hair brushes, and I was anxious to give them to my eldest and second cousins, so I didn't come to pay my respects to my grandmother first."
Chen Tang sat down next to Madam Jiang and said, "Grandfather and uncle gave the two cousins too many questions. The questions for the Spring Examination are not so easy to guess. With the Spring Examination approaching, it is more important to have a relaxed mentality. Please ask grandfather and uncle not to give the cousins so many questions anymore."
Mrs. Jiang Er said, "Yuan'er has been complaining to me these past two days."
Madam Jiang nodded and said, "I'll persuade them later."
Jiang Li and Jiang Ning were not at home, they had gone to the Jokhang Temple. Chen Tang chatted with Old Madam Jiang to relieve her boredom. After lunch, they left the Jiang family, and neither of them had returned yet.
After returning to the Marquis' Mansion, Chen Tang was anxious to know what he had asked Chen Shan to investigate, so he did not go to Songhe Hall and went straight back to Qingyi Garden.
Just as he returned to the room, there was a knock on the window. Chen Tang walked over in two steps. Chen Shan said, "The painting has been found out. It was sent by the Zhao Palace to be framed and presented to the emperor. According to the servant of the Zhao Palace, it was given to the Zhao King by the Earl of Yongning."
Chen Shan didn't check it later. He still remembered that the second wife wanted to compensate Miss Li, and it was even more impossible for Chen Tang to forget it.
Chen Tang knew that the Yongning Marquis's Mansion was unwilling to see a legitimate daughter become the victim of the fight between her and Shen Xi, and would definitely demand compensation. Before, the Second Madam tried to get the compensation from the Marquis's Mansion, but she did not agree, and the Old Madam would not agree either, so it ended up in nothing. She thought that the Second Madam was using her own treasures to fill the hole for the sake of Shen Xi's reputation, but it turned out that she was stealing her mother's dowry to fill it!
Chen Tang's face was as cold as if covered with frost.
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