Chapter 37: If you are spreading rumors, go report me to the police and have me arrested!
When she returned home in the evening, Song Baoyuan's mind was filled with either Princess Liu'an's questions or her laughter, so when she met Jiang Keyu, who was also returning home, in front of the Jiang Mansion, she looked extremely unnatural.
As soon as the carriage stopped, Jiang Chengyou jumped off and couldn't wait to find his sister who he hadn't seen for a day and share the candies he had received today.
The brother and sister walked side by side, chattering, occasionally whispering a few words, talking privately.
In comparison, following their parents, who were clearly walking in the same direction but were several steps away from them, looked awkward and unfamiliar.
But before he entered the house, he saw a man dressed as a servant running over hurriedly and bowing.
"Jiang Shaoqing, Elder Sheng invites you to his residence for a chat."
Jiang Keyu paused, as if hesitating. He looked up at the two children's backs and the person in his peripheral vision.
Without waiting for his reaction, Song Baoyuan walked past him without looking at him, quickened her pace and came to the child.
After watching the three of them, mother and son, enter the mansion, Jiang Keyu turned around and said, "Let's go."
Song Baoyuan's intuition told her that the person behind her had left. She turned around and saw that it was indeed the case.
The daughter beside her turned her head with her, her face full of confusion, "Where's Daddy?"
Jiang Chengyou turned around in surprise and looked back, "Where's Dad? Wasn't he behind us just now?"
Song Baoyuan squatted down and didn't answer. She touched her daughter's face and, to divert their attention, asked, "Tell me, did Sui Sui have fun today?"
Jiang Suisui was visibly stunned for a moment.
Song Baoyuan just thought she was reminiscing and waited patiently for her answer.
"Yeah!" Jiang Suisui nodded like a chick pecking at rice.
"What are you playing?"
"Uncles, play Eagle Catches Chicken with me!" Jiang Suisui counted on his fingers, "We also play with mud, and... porcelain dolls."
At the end of the conversation, the smile faded.
Song Baoyuan held her little face in her hands and asked, "How about going out with mother tomorrow?"
"good."
*
The atmosphere in the Sheng Mansion was weird, and Jiang Keyu could feel it even though she was treated with the same courtesy as before.
The servant led him all the way to the teacher's bedroom. Before he entered the room, he could already smell the strong smell of medicine.
"Master, Jiang Shaoqing has arrived."
"Ahem."
"Teacher." Jiang Keyu heard the cough and immediately stepped forward.
Mr. Sheng was leaning on the bed. When he heard his voice, he wanted to get up, but Jiang Keyu quickly stopped him.
"I didn't even know when the teacher got sick."
Old Sheng covered his face and coughed, his body became more hunched and he looked more haggard.
He sighed, "It's just a minor illness. People get old and useless, it's always like this."
"No one is taking care of you."
"The ones below are just useless descendants. If they come, I won't be able to get better!"
As Mr. Sheng spoke, he became excited and coughed several times.
Jiang Keyu patted his back to help him calm down. Seeing the maid bringing the medicine, she took it.
"Teacher, take the medicine."
Old Sheng half opened his eyes and looked at the student who was carefully serving him medicine, feeling a lot of emotion in his heart.
"In the past, you were my favorite student. As expected, after all these years, you are the most promising of all my students."
"Teacher, you're joking." Jiang Keyu said disapprovingly, "I've only been working at the Dali Temple for so many years. There are many senior brothers ahead of me who are much more outstanding than me."
Elder Sheng chuckled and shook his head, "But now, you are the only one who can speak in front of His Majesty."
He was only the Junior Minister of the Supreme Court, but everyone with a vested interest knew that the current Junior Minister of the Supreme Court was originally the Empress Dowager's man. The Emperor kept him around simply because he thought he was too stupid to pose a threat. Furthermore, Jiang Keyu was still relatively inexperienced and needed someone to keep him in check.
After feeding the medicine, Jiang Keyu handed over the handkerchief without responding.
Elder Sheng lowered his eyes and had to change the subject. "A few days ago, Yunbai came to see me and mentioned you during our casual chat. He said that you and your wife had divorced."
Jiang Keyu lowered her eyes and said, "Yes."
"How could this be?" Old Sheng was puzzled. "You promised the man's father."
Jiang Keyu still felt a sense of unreality when she mentioned this matter. "She was the one who initiated the divorce. If I don't marry again, it won't be considered a breach of promise."
"But you are still young."
"I'm not greedy," Jiang Keyu said calmly. "I already have children. Even if I don't marry again, I'm satisfied."
Elder Sheng looked at him and said four words with deep emotion, "Life is long."
Jiang Keyu was stunned for a moment, then looked confused when she looked up again. "Teacher, did you ask me to come here today just to care about my family affairs?"
Upon hearing this, Mr. Sheng fell silent.
After a while, he sighed deeply again, "You have always been a smart child."
"In my life, I've taught many students, and I can honestly say I've never let any of them down. But I feel guilty about you. Back then, knowing you were anxious to go to the Dali Temple to redress your father's grievances, I shouldn't have taken advantage of your situation and tricked you into agreeing to marry Qiyin."
His old eyes seemed to seek forgiveness. "You still harbor resentment towards your master, don't you?"
"How could that be?" Jiang Keyu looked surprised. "Teacher gave me a chance, I can't even thank you enough, how can I hold any grudges against you?"
Elder Sheng felt a pang of bitterness in his heart. Jiang Keyu used to have full trust in him as a teacher, but when facing him, she would occasionally show embarrassment and dissatisfaction on her face.
But now, he can no longer see what is in this familiar face.
Jiang Keyu put the medicine bowl and handkerchief aside, her tone still calm, "Teacher, don't think too much, this will help you recover faster."
Elder Sheng suddenly grabbed his wrist and said, "Kid."
For a moment, Jiang Keyu felt dazed.
I remember many years ago when the teacher praised him for the first time and called him in such a loving way.
But the teacher's tone at that time was not at all humble. At this moment, how could he bear it?
"Teacher, please tell me what you want to talk to me about today."
Having said this, Elder Sheng closed his eyes. "Qiyin... has been spoiled by her family. She has no idea of her place and even disregards etiquette and moral principles. If she really enters the palace, she will die."
Jiang Keyu was not surprised at his words. "Then what does the teacher want me to do?"
Mr. Sheng opened his mouth but no sound came out, still finding it difficult to speak.
He couldn't see through Jiang Keyu's thoughts, but Jiang Keyu could guess what he was thinking and asked directly: "Marry her?"
"Now..." Elder Sheng spoke with difficulty, "The emperor relies on you. If you just reveal a little bit of your thoughts, even without saying it explicitly, the emperor will fulfill your wish."
Jiang Keyu suddenly smiled.
He lowered his head to hide his helplessness, not knowing how to accomplish it.
Ever since his mother left, he has been like a bargaining chip in everyone's eyes.
He pulled his wrist out of Old Sheng's hand and put Old Sheng's hand under the quilt.
"Teacher, just take care of yourself." His voice was low and there was no emotion. "I will take care of the things you are worried about."
*
When Jiang Keyu returned to her house, it was already past three quarters past midnight.
He walked towards the study as usual, but a cool breeze made him stop. He suddenly remembered that he had not been back to his bedroom for a long time.
After hesitating for a long time, he turned and walked in another direction, but it was still not his bedroom, but his children's yard.
It was dark in Jiang Suisui's room, probably she was asleep.
Jiang Keyu carefully pushed open the door and walked silently towards the bed.
With the moonlight pouring in through the window, he saw Song Baoyuan lying on the edge of the bed, and thought to himself that he was right.
Not only Song Baoyuan, but Jiang Chengyou was also there, sleeping in the innermost position with his legs resting on his sister's knees. Jiang Suisui was not spared either, and slapped his brother in the face.
Jiang Keyu stood beside the couch, watching quietly, with an unconscious smile in her eyes.
The brother and sister loved to kick the quilt when they slept, and this even "affected" their mother who was accompanying them.
Jiang Keyu bent down, opened another thin quilt at the end of the bed, and covered his "wife" with it.
When her fingertips were just inches away from Song Baoyuan's face, Jiang Keyu paused and her gaze remained fixed.
His "wife", his sister Baoyuan, is really beautiful.
But, if he changed her quilt without her permission and she found out, would that be considered meddling in other people's business?
Jiang Keyu only now realized that she was such a calculative person.
With a lot of thoughts in his mind, he stayed beside the mother and her two children for at least half an hour before quietly leaving.
…
The next day, without having to draw a paper ball, the two children switched directions. Jiang Suisui ran towards her mother, while Jiang Chengyou followed his father obediently.
The teahouse's business was good, and Song Baoyuan felt good about it. The workers she hired were also very capable, each doing their job and keeping the inside and outside of the teahouse in good order.
Jiang Suisui didn't need to learn how to write. She ran up and down the stairs like crazy, playing hide-and-seek, then finding a hydrangea from somewhere and throwing it around, then running to the kitchen to steal food...
On the other side, Jiang Chengyou sat in his father's seat in the inner hall of the Dali Temple. He straightened his back and wrote a strange calligraphy under the guidance of his father's colleagues.
After submitting the results, Jiang Keyu frowned. Everyone thought something was wrong and slipped away, leaving Jiang Chengyou alone to face the storm.
"Forget it." Jiang Keyu held his forehead, "I'd better find you a proper teacher."
Jiang Chengyou's eyes wandered around, not hearing his father's order, so he bravely asked, "Can I go play now?"
Jiang Keyu: “…”
Time passed and soon it was approaching dusk.
Because Jiang Suisui broke a vase, her mother punished her by making her stand in the corner for a quarter of an hour and reflect on her mistakes.
She got tired of standing for a while, and when she turned around and didn't see her mother, she squatted down and scratched the wall out of boredom.
Song Baoyuan, who was standing in her blind spot, was at a loss whether to laugh or cry, but considering how cute she was, she just pretended not to know.
Song Baoyuan calculated the time and thought that after her daughter finished standing in the corner as punishment, it would be time for her to go home.
The two guests who had just entered went directly to the second floor and entered a private room closest to her.
After a while, the sound of their conversation reached Song Baoyuan's ears.
"Have you heard? The palace is going to hold a beauty pageant soon."
“Everyone knows this.”
"Then let me tell you something you don't know. On this talent show's list is Elder Sheng's granddaughter!"
"So what's wrong?"
The two of them talked back and forth, and every word fell clearly into Song Baoyuan's ears.
"This Miss Sheng is still unmarried at this age because of that Junior Official of the Dali Temple. Now Junior Official Jiang has finally divorced her, but I never thought the Sheng family would keep it a secret from Miss Sheng and send her to the palace!"
"Missed it again?"
"No! When Jiang Shaoqing heard the news, he was so anxious that he personally went to the palace today and came back with a happy face. I heard that His Majesty was so moved by their story that he wanted to help them!"
"Who told you that?"
"There's someone in my palace! It's absolutely true!"
Song Baoyuan turned around in surprise and unconsciously tightened her palms.
The carriage parked opposite the teahouse had a corner of its curtains lifted by the person inside.
He didn't lower the curtain until he saw Song Baoyuan leave the teahouse and get on a carriage heading towards the Jiang Mansion.
"Princess, isn't this considered spreading rumors?"
"Then go report me to the police and have me arrested!"
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