How can we achieve both in this world?
When Chen Cong came back, he saw Xu Lingwan sitting under the long window in the side hall, holding the white chess piece and frowning slightly at the chessboard.
His eyes were serious and he pursed his lower lip slightly, probably because he was about to lose again.
A smile flashed in Chen Cong's eyes.
Shen Qing had previously reported that "Madam has recently enjoyed playing chess with the Seventh Young Master." At the time, he was arranging spies around Prince Zhao. He was startled when he heard this and asked, "Did she win?"
Shen Qing paused and said awkwardly, "Zhu Chi didn't say. I'll ask him in detail tomorrow."
After that, Chen Cong never heard from Shen Qing that Ling Wan had won.
Later, Shen Qing seemed to realize that he didn't like to hear that the Second Madam had lost, so when she talked about how she played chess with Huaian, she no longer said "The Madam lost again today", but changed it to: "Today, the Seventh Young Master won by luck again."
It's really strange. Lord Xu's hand-talking skills are unrivaled in the court and the country, so how come his own granddaughter can't even beat an eight-year-old child?
Chen Cong put his hands behind his back and walked to Ling Wan.
Ling Wan had her back to him and was concentrating on looking at the chessboard, not caring about anything else. After all, the situation on the chessboard was, well, quite tense.
When Shen Huaian on the opposite side saw his father coming, he hurriedly stood up to salute, but Shen Cong raised his hand to hold him back.
"If you put it there, you will lose again." Seeing Ling Wan raise her hand to place the white piece in the middle, Chen Cong said lightly.
"Hmm?" Xu Lingwan turned around and smiled when she heard the familiar voice. When she saw Chen Cong's clear face again, her heart changed. For the first time, she stood up and hugged his neck, "Husband, you're back."
It looked sweet and sticky, which made Chen Cong very happy.
However, there must be something wrong when things are abnormal. When has Xu Lingwan ever been so enthusiastic?
Chen Cong glanced at her sideways. Don't think he didn't know that she was trying to avoid losing to Huai'an.
Huai'an is still here, he said with his eyes.
Oh. Xu Lingwan stuck out her tongue at him.
I don’t know when it started, but the two of them knew what each other wanted to express just by looking at each other and making gestures.
Chen Yuanyuan sighed inwardly. She couldn't hide her little thoughts from her all-knowing husband.
Shen Huai'an had never seen a woman so bold as to approach his father in his entire life. At this moment, he lowered his head, his face flushed with shame.
When Chen Yuanyuan saw this, she calmly called Hongyue in to clean up the chess game.
Well, in today's game of Go, both sides played at their best, and it can be said that "it is difficult to tell who is better when they meet each other."
However, it was Chen Yuanyuan who taught Shen Huaian Gobang, but how could her husband understand it? Could it be that he really could learn it at a glance?
Chen Yuanyuan weighed it over in her mind for a while, and after much hesitation, she still didn't ask, for fear that her husband would raise his eyebrows and say to her, "You'll understand once you take a look."
Just like when she had enthusiastically played the game of "How Many Horses Are There" with him before, Chen Yuanyuan had demonstrated it twice, and her husband had understood. She didn't want to humiliate herself again.
Because Chen Cong came back for dinner, Xu Lingwan specially asked the kitchen to add her favorite dish, "steamed crab".
It is autumn now, and crabs are at their plumpest. Chen Yuanyuan loves eating crabs. When she was studying in Suzhou, she couldn't wait to run to Yangcheng Lake to eat them when autumn came.
Seeing that she loved to eat crabs, Chen Cong didn't want to restrict her. However, crabs are cold in nature, and Xu Lingwan has a cold constitution. Eating too many crabs is not good for her health, so Chen Cong ordered her to eat only one crab in three days.
Knowing that she would go to the old lady, the eldest sister-in-law, or Mrs. Tao to get some company, she made a special trip to Rong'an Hall to warn her not to let Ling Wan eat too many crabs. This made her mother-in-law and sisters-in-law laugh at her, and she was really unable to live like a human being.
But Chen Cong came back today, didn’t she want him to have a taste of something new?
Chen Cong has never liked these fishy things, but seeing Ling Wan smiling at him ingratiatingly, his heart had already softened.
While he was unpacking the crab for her, he kept muttering, "Although crabs are fresh, don't eat too much. You should drink some rice wine to warm your body after eating."
Great, great, I can still drink, this is wonderful! Chen Yuanyuan narrowed her eyes in satisfaction.
It was the first time that Shen Huaian sat at the same table with his stepmother and father for dinner.
Shen Huaian couldn't remember whether they had eaten together like this before when Wang was here. After all, he was only four or five years old at that time.
But since he could remember, this was the first time Shen Huaian saw his father look so gentle while eating.
Living in an aristocratic family, people always value rules and etiquette, and they believe in "not talking while eating or sleeping", but this young stepmother is not like that. She felt that he was not eating enough and not eating well, so she dragged him to dinner (because she couldn't get up in the morning and Shen Huaian was studying in the outer courtyard at noon).
She would always pick out funny stories to tell him during meals, and even after learning that he was unhappy about being lectured by his teacher today, she would say to him earnestly, "Huai'an, mother believes that it doesn't matter whether you study well or not, but you must eat well."
After saying that, she began to put slow-cooked lamb with almonds into his bowl even more attentively, and her smile made him burst into laughter.
Shen Huaian thought, his mother is truly a noble lady from an aristocratic family who doesn't play by the rules. She is different from all the aunts, uncles, and wives he has met. His mother always has strange but inexplicably endearing ideas. Every time he sees her, his mood seems to brighten up unconsciously.
After dinner, he usually went for a walk in the garden with his stepmother. But today, his father was back, and he knew he couldn't be the "conspicuous one", so he quickly left Ling Wan and Shen Cong's private scene, saying that "my son and my sixth brother had an appointment to have dinner at his place".
The golden osmanthus is fragrant, the breeze is cool, and a crescent moon hangs in the sky.
Xu Lingwan's mind was a little hazy due to the wine she had drunk, and she was practically half-held by Chen Cong by the pool while they digested their food. After returning and showering and changing clothes, she was mostly sober, and her mind was much clearer.
When she came out, she saw Mr. Shen leaning against the bedside reading a book. When he saw her coming, he put down the book, stretched out his hand and smiled at her.
My husband is really not bad. Chen Yuanyuan gets drunk easily, and when she looks at Mr. Shen after she gets a little tipsy, it is naturally Mr. Shen with a ten-level filter.
"Come here, Ling Wan." Chen Cong's voice sounded sweet, as if covered with a layer of sugar.
Chen Yuanyuan readily complied.
Stroking her long, black, shiny hair with his fingers, Mr. Shen kissed the corner of her eye and said lovingly, "Ling Wan, have you been worried about anything recently?"
Hmm. Chen Yuanyuan, who had been letting him stroke her hair like a kitten, was slightly taken aback when she heard this.
You big pig's hoof, you only realized it now? Men are really wise after the event. By the time you found out, I would have already digested it myself.
She thought so in her heart, but her face was full of grievance. She buried her head in the crook of Shen Cong's neck and mumbled, "I thought you didn't know."
There was a hint of crying in her voice, and her coquettish tone was like the thin moonlight outside the window.
"Little girls always have their own thoughts." Shen Cong's low chuckle came from above his head.
Whenever Mr. Shen spoke in this tone, Chen Yuanyuan would always feel a little sweet in her heart.
He held her like this, talked to her like this, and had such a quiet and intimate chat as a couple, which made Chen Yuanyuan very happy.
"Oh, I'm worried about Sister Tang." Xu Lingwan let his slender fingers gently massage her neck and shoulders, and then let out a satisfied sigh.
After hearing Ling Wan's worries, Chen Cong was both moved and amused.
In fact, as for Xu Lingwan, Chen Cong would naturally not be so naive as to ask her, as a legitimate mother, to treat "illegitimate children as her own children", not to mention that she was still so young.
But Ling Wan did better than he had imagined.
She would make real plans for them and care for them sincerely. Moreover, when she did those things, she never asked Tang Jie'er and Huai'an to repay her.
Such a desireless nature was hard to understand even for Chen Cong.
After all, he didn't know that Xu Lingwan had been replaced by a soul from a thousand years later, and this soul from the future would inevitably adopt a "bystander" mentality when looking at anyone or anything around him.
Even Chen Yuanyuan herself was unaware of this "bystander" mentality.
"Parents plan for their children long-term. But things are unpredictable. Didn't you say before that as husband and wife, we live our lives behind closed doors? No matter how anxious and thoughtful others are, it's useless."
Chen Yuanyuan remained silent. Listening to Shen Congran's voice in the darkness, she must have thought that letting go of Tang Jie'er must have been a difficult thing for him.
Forget it, how can we achieve both in this world and live up to the true Buddha of the present moment?
Well, she had already digested it, but he brought up her melancholy again.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
