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Chapter 405: Encounter on the Road

Shen Ziju sat in the carriage and looked out of the window. It was a beautiful time of spring. The trees on the roadside were all lush and green, and the fields on both sides were planted with green crops. There were also many wild flowers growing on the sides, mostly small yellow chrysanthemums. There seemed to be a faint bitter fragrance floating in the air, which made Shen Ziju's thoughts fly.

Shen Ziju was not afraid of being home. He returned home in glory and wealth. All he had to do was hold his head high and accept other people's envious looks and compliments.

During the journey, Shen Ziju was thinking about how the villagers would look at him differently when he returned home, how respectful and polite they would be, how happy and excited his parents, brother, sister and younger sister would be, and what kind of earth-shaking and different life he would bring to his family. He even thought about renovating the house or taking his family to live in the capital. In short, all he thought about was that he had finally fulfilled his father's wish to bring honor to the family, and that he could comfort his mother who had taught him to read and write when he was a child, and that he could realize his sister Shen Zhu's dream of a life of luxury. All he thought about was his family.

But as he got closer to home, Shen Ziju thought more and more about his fourth sister-in-law, Su Zhi.

Su Zhi's warm eyes, gentle smile, clever words, and the faint scent of lotus all gradually lingered in Shen Ziju's mind and could not be shaken off.

Looking at the little yellow flowers on the roadside, Shen Ziju remembered last autumn when wild chrysanthemums bloomed all over the open space in front of the Daqing Mountain. He was bored from studying and went out to relax. He happened to see Su Zhi and a group of children among the little yellow flowers. Her smile was so moving that even the golden color could not drown out her smile.

"Fifth brother?!"

A surprised shout interrupted Shen Ziju's memory. He frowned, then realized that the voice was calling him "fifth brother". The person who could call him like that must be someone close to him. He quickly turned his head and saw a mule coming from behind their car. The mule was a flatbed cart with a man sitting on it, looking at him with a surprised smile on his face. It was none other than his eldest brother Shen Zifu!

Shen Zifu was delivering vermicelli when he saw a carriage in front of him with several people riding tall horses. He could tell at a glance that they were not ordinary people. He wondered if they were from some wealthy family or official family who were out for fun. Out of curiosity, he looked over and saw Shen Ziju looking out of the window. He could only see his profile at the time. He was a little hesitant to recognize him, so he called out tentatively. It turned out to be Shen Ziju, and he was extremely happy.

"Fifth brother! It's really you! You're back! Dad, mom, and we all missed you!"

Shen Zifu looked at his younger brother with a lot of pride in his heart. He was much older than Shen Ziju. He almost treated Shen Ziju as his son. Since he had no brains for studying, he loved Shen Ziju, a brother who could study, even more. It can be said that he was the most selfless among the brothers in the family in supporting Shen Ziju's studies over the years. He was very happy to hear that his younger brother had graduated from high school. Now seeing his younger brother return safely, and sitting in a carriage with guards, he smiled until his eyes were narrowed into slits.

Shen Ziju was also very happy to see his elder brother. He leaned against the car window and talked to Shen Zifu.

"Brother, are you here to deliver the goods? How is the business of Fourth Brother's family? Are parents in good health? Are you all okay? I miss you, too."

"Both my parents are fine, as are my brother and his wife's wives. Your eldest sister and her family are fine too. They came back to visit a few days ago. Zhu'er... Zhu'er is fine too."

Shen Zifu felt uncomfortable whenever he mentioned Shen Zhu. This sister had really become very popular these days, but unfortunately her reputation was not good. And because of Chunlan's incident, Shen Zifu now had a lot of complaints about this sister whom he originally loved, and he even felt upset when he mentioned her.

Shen Ziju was a shrewd man with a sharp eye, and Shen Zifu was an honest man who showed his emotions on his face. He could tell at a glance that Shen Zifu was obviously unhappy when he mentioned Shen Zhu, and his heart skipped a beat, wondering if his sister had gotten into trouble again. However, since the eldest brother didn't say anything, it must be something bad, and since there were guards, he didn't ask, thinking that he would know the answer after returning home.

But Shen Ziju had also made up his mind that after returning, he must not let these followers have much contact with the villagers. If something bad really happened, it would be enough to spread it here and not bring it back to Beijing.

Shen Ziju won the second place in the imperial examination this time. Because the first place winner was old and the third place winner was ugly, he was the one most favored by the emperor. Also, because the poems and articles he wrote as well as the theories on state governance he proposed pleased the emperor, he was directly admitted to the Hanlin Academy. He was very satisfied with this because all the important officials of the dynasty came from the Hanlin Academy. He thought he was on the road to success.

Therefore, Shen Ziju now attaches more importance to his reputation. He does not want the indecent things of his family members to be heard by the followers who followed him this time. If someone is not careful and spreads it, he will be embarrassed in the capital.

"It's good that everything is fine. When I was away, I was worried about my family. Now that I see that everything is fine at home, I feel relieved."

Shen Ziju said with a smile.

Shen Zifu thought that the health of his family members was good, but too many things had happened in the past few days. He was afraid that his fifth brother would be worried if he heard about it. However, he saw that there were outsiders present, so it was inconvenient to say it. His fifth brother was going to be an official now, and he had to save some face in front of those followers. Shen Zifu was still thinking about Shen Ziju wholeheartedly. Even though he had separated from the family, he did not expect Shen Ziju to promote their family in the future.

Shen Zifu let his mule and Shen Ziju's carriage move together, and the two brothers talked enthusiastically.

Shen Zifu asked Shen Ziju about what happened outside, and Shen Ziju told him some things that were convenient to talk about outside. Naturally, he talked about all happy things. Shen Zifu listened with his eyes wide open, fascinated.

"Brother, are the families of the second and fourth brothers all doing well now?"

Shen Ziju asked, but actually what he wanted to hear was about the fourth room, especially the news about Su Zhi. He thought that even though he said that he didn't miss Su Zhi, he still couldn't help but think of her and wanted to know about her.

Shen Zifu had no idea what his fifth brother was thinking, so he smiled and said, "Everything is fine. Your second brother used to be able to deliver goods like me, but recently your second sister-in-law is about to give birth, and he can't leave, so he hasn't come out. Your fourth brother and fourth sister-in-law are still as loving as before. They have renovated the garden and built a lot of houses in it. Those houses are better than the houses of the landlords I have seen. There are many flowers, plants and trees planted in it, and lotus roots grow in the pond. If you go there now, it will be more beautiful than before. They are living a prosperous life. But something is not so good..."

"What's wrong?!"

Shen Ziju asked anxiously, forgetting all the things Shen Zifu had said before, and only thought whether Su Zhi had had a serious problem. He thought that since he was back, he must be able to help her, and then she would have a better impression of him. Although he had not thought about how to do anything with her, he was willing to do something for her to make her remember him.

When Shen Zifu saw Shen Ziju so anxious that he wanted to jump out of the car window, he felt warm at heart. He thought that his fifth brother was still enthusiastic. Although his fourth brother and they did not have the same mother, they were brothers after all. His fifth brother did not act superior to others just because of his changed status. He felt very relieved.

"Don't worry. This matter I'm talking about has nothing to do with your fourth brother and his wife. They are fine. It's Xing'er's matter. It's not good to say, but it's also a good thing. Xing'er's biological parents have been found and taken him away. Your fourth brother and his wife were very upset for a while because of this matter, but now they have recovered."

Shen Ziju breathed a sigh of relief and said, "That's it. This is a good thing."

Shen Ziju did not ask any more questions. In his opinion, Xing'er was abducted by a kidnapper, and the parents of a child who could be abducted could not be remarkable people.

Shen Zifu didn't elaborate. He was not the kind of person who liked to gossip.

As they talked along the way, they arrived at Hebian Village.

Shen Zifu hurried away in his carriage. He had to send a message to his family to cheer them up first.

Shen Ziju's followers were very surprised when they saw Shen Zifu's mule rushing into the village. They thought this mule was really good and ran really fast. They thought it was just shiny and slippery at first, but it was really fast. They didn't know that this mule was a new addition to Shen Zian's family. It was fed with spiritual spring water, so it was naturally smart and strong.

Shen Zifu drove his mule into the village. Everyone he saw on the road asked him why he was so happy. He then said loudly that his fifth brother was back. When people heard this, they thought that the runner-up in the imperial examination had returned. Some of them went to tell their families and acquaintances, some stood by the roadside waiting, and some were smart and went straight to the Shen family's old house.

"Dad, Mom, my fifth brother is back! Let's go into the village now!"

Seeing Shen Ziping standing at the door, Shen Zifu jumped off the mule, handed him the reins, and rushed into the yard.

With just this one shout, noises could be heard coming from several rooms.

In the main house, Shen Youfu rushed out first, followed by Shen Zhang, Shen Zhu also came out of her own room, Sun also came out of her room, Chunhua came out of the kitchen, and everyone looked at Shen Zifu with surprise on their faces.

"Zi Fu, you said your fifth brother is back?! Where is he?!" Shen Youfu asked loudly, his whole face flushed, as if he was ten years younger.

Shen Zifu said: "We came back together. I came back first to report the news. He will be at the gate soon!"

When Shen Youfu and the others heard this, they ignored Shen Zifu and all went towards the gate. Before they went out, they heard Shen Ziping shouting outside that the fifth brother was back, and immediately they walked faster.

(Lishu Literature)