"Is this a painting by your cousin?" Mrs. Tang was dumbfounded. The little girl was only a few years old, but she could actually paint her own ancestor so vividly. Although she could not compare with the famous masters, she was much better than children of the same age.
"That's right! We were all stunned when our cousin took out the portrait this morning. You don't know that the Fourth Master of the Xiao family is quite insightful in calligraphy and painting. Our cousin has been with this master since she was a child, so she naturally received a lot of guidance. In addition, she was raised by a nanny from the palace, so how could she be bad!" The nanny in charge talked incessantly.
"Your cousin has a governess from the palace with her!" Mrs. Tang was even more surprised.
"On the day of your ancestor's birthday, the person accompanying my cousin was the very famous Nanny Ruan in Kyoto. She chose our cousin after a long search. It is said that when she was in the palace, she specialized in teaching princesses of high rank."
"Give me my reading glasses." The old ancestor of the Tang family did not have the eyesight of a young person. She was going to borrow a mirror to appreciate the little girl's masterpiece.
After looking at the portrait in the mirror for a long time, the old ancestor of the Tang family said that he liked the portrait very much, and asked about the health of Mrs. Tong and the old man.
"Excuse me, Madam, is Miss Xiao still in Suzhou?" Tang Hao had a bad feeling that Miss Xiao was about to leave.
"They have already gone to the dock and are probably on the boat now!" said the housekeeper uncertainly.
"Yanbo, please go to the teacher and ask for a day off for me. Grandpa, mother, I'm going out for a while. You don't have to wait for me to come back at noon." Tang Hao trotted out of the upper room, got on his horse and went out.
As for where she went? There was no need to guess. Mrs. Tang sighed in her heart, remembering the saying that a son is no longer under the control of his mother. But the girl was already gone, so what was the point of her son thinking about her? This was probably the so-called fate!
The Xiao family's luggage had already been loaded onto the boat at the dock, but the boatman said the wind and waves were a bit strong and they had to wait before setting off, so the group found a nearby restaurant and ate while waiting for the boat to depart.
"Oh, didn't the child prodigy go to study today? Please come in quickly. It's really a great honor for our shop to have you here!" The restaurant owner complimented. He had seen the child prodigy of the Tang family from afar once at the guidance of a friend, and today he had the opportunity to meet him up close, which made him very happy.
"I want to ask the shopkeeper, have you ever seen a little girl who looks like a fairy, about seven or eight years old? There is also a younger girl beside her, and there should be a few adults accompanying her." Tang Hao suppressed his anxiety and tried to describe it in as much detail as possible. This was the Diliu Restaurant he had found.
"There is such a lady. She is in the private room upstairs. I'll ask the waiter to take you upstairs." The shopkeeper said attentively.
"Then thank you very much." Finally found it. Tang Hao put his worries aside and began to rack his brains to think about how to start the conversation when they met later and how to explain why he was here.
"How can you be so reckless, boy? I'll see how you'll behave when you meet the girl." Lord Tang, who had just caught up with his son, pointed at his son and scolded him in a low voice before he could even catch his breath. "With this little ability, you expect him to be like the girl? Dream on!"
"Then what do you think we should do?" The third young master of the Tang family, who could not be defeated by any difficult book, was now at a loss. He only knew that he had to meet Xiao Yao, but he had not yet thought about what to say.
"Lord Tong is right behind me. He is probably here to see me off. Let's meet him first and then talk about it." Tong Guangyu went to the yamen early in the morning and only found time to see him off now. Pan Tang also hurried over after his wife sent a letter at full speed.
"President Tang came to the dock..."
"Sending a friend off, where are you going, Master Tong?"
"My niece is leaving today, and I've been so busy that I've only just found time to see her off. If it weren't for the wind today, I would have missed it."
Tang Hao was also very grateful for today's sea breeze. Otherwise, he might not have had time to see her off. Doesn't this prove that he and Miss Xiao have a deep connection? Tang Hao was overwhelmed with emotion when he thought of this.
"Is that the little girl from the Xiao family? My grandmother just wanted to thank her for her gift. I wonder if I could go with you." After saying this, Lord Tang quietly glared at his youngest son. "Is your father easy? I've told a bunch of lies just to get you to see that girl."
Tang Hao smiled apologetically at his father. His son really had no other choice. If you don’t help, who will?
Tong Guangyu's mind was slightly moved. Was this guy really here to send a friend instead of coming specifically for his son? His motives were very questionable!
In the private room, Xiao Jingmin, Xiao Lang and Tong Jinsheng sat opposite each other, chatting and laughing. Nanny Ruan accompanied the two little girls to sit by the window and watch the various passers-by outside.
"Father, why are you here?" Tong Jinsheng was sitting opposite the door, so he was the first to see Tong Guangyu and the Tang family father and son come in.
"Of course, we are here to see off our two precious nieces." Tong Guangyu introduced Tang Tongpan and his son to the uncle and nephew of the Xiao family.
Tong Jinsheng took advantage of the time when his parents were talking to whisper to Xiao Lang, "Look at that kid. He's been coveting Cousin Ping'an for a long time. I guess he came here just to see her off today."
This was unbearable. Xiao Lang immediately became extremely alert and stared at Tang Hao, wishing he could kick him out of the private room.
"I was commissioned by my family's ancestors to come here specially to thank Miss Xiao for the painting she gave me. I didn't expect that you would be leaving Suzhou soon. I, Tang, would like to wish you all a safe journey." Tang Tongpan raised his glass with tea instead of wine and said.
"I'm very happy that the old lady likes the gift I gave her. Thank you, Lord Tang and Young Master Tang, for coming to see me off." Xiao Yao stood up and bowed deeply to Tang Tongpan. She had traveled around Suzhou and found that she only knew Young Master Tang, who was of the same age as her.
Xiao Yao found that she had very few friends. Girls would try to stay away from her whenever they saw her. As for the boys, apart from Jiabao, there were only five older brothers and one younger brother.
"I will study hard and go to the academy in Kyoto someday." Tang Hao said this suddenly. Xiao Jingmin was puzzled, while Xiao Yao and Xiao Yuan couldn't figure out how this related to them. The rest of the group more or less understood what he meant. He had already made plans to go to Kyoto to find Xiao Yao, and now he was saying this as a promise. Unfortunately, she was still just an ignorant girl, completely unable to grasp Tang Hao's good intentions.
"As the saying goes, reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles. It's always good to have the opportunity to go out and have a look. Ping'an's third brother is also thinking of studying in the south!" Xiao Jingmin just felt that Tang Hao was very ambitious and had a good impression of him, so he casually mentioned Xiao Yang's plan.
"When Third Brother Xiao comes to the south, I will do my best to be a good host and treat him well." If he could get along well with Miss Xiao's brother, it would be beneficial to his future. Tang Hao, who had just felt lost, suddenly found his goal.
"Third Uncle, you are inviting a wolf into the house," Xiao Lang wailed in his heart; "Third Uncle Xiao, when you know this kid's wolfish ambitions, you will definitely regret saying this, Tong Jinsheng thought firmly.
Half an hour later, the captain came to invite everyone to board the ship, so everyone said goodbye again and went their separate ways.
A dozen days later, the Xiao family arrived in Songjiang. From there, they could reach Kyoto in less than a day by carriage. Since they had arrived at their uncle's house, they had no choice but to enter! Xiao Jingmin let the two girls stay, and Xiao Lang returned to Kyoto to report the news.
Yuan Yutong hadn't seen her daughter and niece for several months. She diligently arranged their food, clothing, housing and transportation. Today she would take the sisters to see a circus, and tomorrow she would take them to listen to storytelling. The three of them would get together and have fun all day long, having a great time.
Seeing that the two children were happy, Nanny Ruan indulged them for once, because she knew that the masters in Kyoto would not let them stay here for too long.
"There's a banquet in a couple of days. Do you want to go?" Yuan Yutong asked the two sisters for their opinions.
"Okay!" Xiao Yuan answered with interest.
"Can I not go?" Xiao Yao now gets a headache whenever she hears about a party. You know how pitiful it is to be unpopular? Every time she sees people chatting and laughing in groups of three or four, Xiao Yao envies them. But Xiao Yao can't bring herself to go along with others against her will just to make friends, so she avoids parties whenever possible.
"Girls always need to make a few close friends. Do you want to play with only your sister for the rest of your life?" Yuan Yutong planned to enlighten her niece.
Third Aunt, it's not that I don't want to cooperate. The problem now is that people don't want to play with me. Do you want me to pull them over and ask them to be my friends? Then I'd rather have no friends in this life and live alone for the rest of my life.
"In the future..." After getting married, you have to learn how to socialize for your husband's future. You also have to interact with your mother-in-law, sisters-in-law, and sisters-in-law. If you can't learn to get along with others, what will happen in the future? She couldn't make her daughter and niece understand these words immediately, but the two children were already grown up, and there were some things that could not be left to their own devices.
Yuan Yutong just thought that her niece didn't like to interact with outsiders. Little did she know that it was not Xiao Yao who was unwilling to make friends. In fact, those young ladies from official families were simply avoiding her and were unwilling to interact with her.
Xiao Yao knew the unspoken meaning of her third aunt's words, and also understood the logic behind it. She decided to just go. At worst, it would be the same as before. It wasn't her first time as a bystander anyway.
Seeing Xiao Yao nod, Yuan Yutong began preparing clothes for the two. She wasn't as good at matching clothes as Li Jiaoying, nor as meticulous as Tong Mingyu. After much deliberation, she decided to take the two girls out and let them choose for themselves. Nanny Ruan also wanted to help the children develop their abilities, so she chose to watch from the sidelines without offering any opinions.
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