Ye Jin'er nodded: "Mm."
Aunt Rong looked at Shen Manman and said, "Miss Shen's family is truly remarkable; they actually run a girls' school."
Shen Manman didn't want to explain too much, she just nodded: "Yes."
Aunt Rong was even more pleased to see that Shen Manman was easy to talk to: "Well, my Hongying also wants to go to class, Miss Shen, what do you think?"
As he spoke, he gently nudged Ye Hongying beside him.
Ye Hongying was gnawing on abalone. She was trying to be restrained, but she still kept eating small pieces. She ate more than half of the whole bowl of Buddha Jumps Over the Wall.
He was pushed and quickly swallowed the abalone with a gulp.
Ye Hongying wiped her mouth with a handkerchief and looked at Shen Manman with anticipation.
Shen Manman was somewhat resistant: "This matter... I can't make the decision myself, I have to ask my father."
Speaking of Shen Zhiyan, Aunt Rong became even more enthusiastic: "Yes, yes, please introduce me to Miss Shen later."
Shen Manman: I don't want to make an introduction.
But considering that she was a relative of Ye Jin'er, he didn't want to offend her.
Aunt Rong looked at Shen Manman and smiled, "I heard that Miss Shen's uncle is a high-ranking official, that's really impressive. Is your family from the capital?"
Shen Manman: "..."
"Why did you move here from the capital? I've seen you strolling around our village several times, and I've also met Mr. Shen twice."
Shen Manman: "..."
"Your uncle came today, didn't he? He's really giving our village face."
Shen Manman: "..."
"You and your daughter are both here, but where is your mother?"
Shen Manman was about to explode; she hated being asked so many questions!
She hates it even more when people talk about her birth mother!
If it weren't for giving Ye Caiping face, she would have flipped the table.
Ye Jin'er said with a stern face, "Aunt Rong, everyone is eating, so let's stop chatting."
Ye Caiping, who was not far away, also noticed this. She stood up coldly and said, "Manman, come and sit at the same table with your aunt."
Shen Manman was extremely annoyed, but her mood improved somewhat after hearing Ye Caiping's words. She picked up her chopsticks and bowl and went to Ye Caiping's table.
The village head's wife said, "I'll go over there!"
As she spoke, she brought her rice bowl to Ye Jin'er's table and glared at Aunt Rong: "Good food and dishes, and you still can't shut your mouths?"
Aunt Rong was extremely embarrassed and gave an awkward smile.
Ye Caiping placed a piece of stir-fried pork slices with fresh bamboo shoots on Shen Manman's plate: "Eat quickly."
Shen Manman pouted and said, "Thank you, Auntie."
While eating, she muttered to herself, "I hate it when people talk about her."
Du and others all knew that the "she" Shen Manman was referring to was Manman's biological mother.
They all knew that Manman's mother had divorced Mr. Shen.
I don't know what's wrong with that woman, Manman. Even Mr. Shen, such a good person, was willing to leave her.
While feeling sympathetic, Old Lady Ye was also somewhat relieved. If Manman's mother hadn't run away, her daughter wouldn't have had the chance.
As the banquet was nearing its end, Shanzi suddenly walked up to Ye Caiping and whispered, "Madam Ye."
Ye Caiping put down her chopsticks: "What's wrong?"
Shanzi slipped a note to Ye Caiping: "Here."
"Huh?" Ye Caiping was puzzled. She secretly opened the note and saw that there was a small fish drawn on it, along with two question marks.
Ye Caiping paused for a moment, then smiled slightly.
Shanzi quickly took out a charcoal pencil from his sleeve.
Ye Caiping took it, put a checkmark on it, and returned it to Shanzi.
Grandma Ye was chatting with Madam Du when she turned around and asked, "What's wrong?"
Ye Caiping picked up her chopsticks again and took a piece of fish: "It's nothing."
After the banquet ended, Ye Caiping saw off all the important guests before leaving in her carriage.
...
Dashu Town, by the river.
Amidst the swaying bamboo shadows, Shen Zhiyan sat calmly in his usual spot, fishing. His elegant face was composed and serene, but every now and then, he would move the fishing line to a different spot.
After a while, Ye Caiping finally arrived late, carrying her fishing gear.
Ye Caiping sat down next to him and began to bait the hook: "Why did you suddenly ask me to go fishing?"
Shen Zhiyan glanced at her: "I just suddenly wanted to go fishing with you. Thank you for your help during dinner earlier."
"Manman's matter? Oh, speaking of which, I should be apologizing to you for offending Manman." With that, he cast his fishing rod.
Shen Zhiyan looked at the fishing rods lined up side by side: "You're not curious at all about Manman's birth mother."
Ye Caiping turned around and smiled, "I wasn't interested at all before, but now I'm a little interested."
Shen Zhiyan said, "Then I'll tell you."
Ye Caiping paused for a moment: "Are you just going to... force me like this?"
Shen Zhiyan coughed lightly: "...Otherwise what?"
Ye Caiping was also a little embarrassed: "Oh, then you go ahead."
Shen Zhiyan said calmly, "You should know something about my family's situation."
Ye Caiping nodded.
Shen Zhiyan continued:
“I was born into the Marquis of Dingguo’s family, a famous military family in the capital. My mother married into the family as a princess. My elder brother followed our fathers on the battlefield from a young age. My eldest sister entered the palace as empress at the age of fifteen.”
Ye Caiping exclaimed in surprise, "Oh, your family is a family of generals? Why don't you become a young general?"
Shen Zhiyan said helplessly, "I thought about it when I was a child, but there were too many famous generals in my family, so I couldn't continue. My father then made me study."
"Five or six years ago, my elder brother also handed over his military power and became a civil official."
Ye Caiping understood that the Shen family was afraid that the emperor would be wary of them, so they sent Shen Zhiyan down the literary path.
Ye Caiping said, "Fortunately, you are good at studying."
Shen Zhiyan remained silent for a while before saying, "Actually, it's better not to study well. After all, no matter how well you study, you're destined not to be able to put your skills to use in the court."
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