Chapter 050 Chapter 50
When she got up early, Yao Niang felt her eyelids were swollen, and the sunlight was a little dazzling when it hit her eyes.
Although I have been rushing these days, they are actually very pleasant days. I don't have to think about anything every day and can just enjoy the scenery along the way, except for the so-called Jinyiwei investigating a case yesterday.
"Yao Niang, it's time to get up. If you don't get up, be careful that Mr. Shen will laugh at you." When Xie saw her daughter open her eyes, she handed her some honey water and called her to get up.
Yao Niang stretched her back and said, "I understand, mother."
But when she got up and finished breakfast, the Shen family had not yet notified them to leave, so Xie wanted to send someone to check on Shen Linfeng, but was stopped by Yao Niang.
"Mother, Master Shen came up here specially to help us yesterday, so he must have slept late. We are not in a hurry anyway, so let him rest for a while. Why rush him?"
Although Shen Linfeng escorted them voluntarily, what can we say? He is not related to their family, so they may have to follow his timing.
Xie thought so too, but she asked people to iron her clothes and pack her luggage. She hated the smell of mothballs, and even the clothes she wore smelled stale.
Yao Niang also went back to her room to iron her clothes, especially the clothes she needed to change, she did not dare to be careless.
They waited until lunch time, when Shen Linfeng sent someone to say that they would set off after lunch. He had been up all night and slept for half a day, so he felt very refreshed. When he heard that no one from the Yan family came to urge him during this period, he had an even better impression of the Yan family.
I saw Yao Niang coming downstairs. She was wearing a pink half-sleeve spring shirt today and a headband of the same color on her head. She looked even more lovely and lively as she moved.
Yao Niang couldn't help but ask Shen Linfeng: "Mr. Shen, who were those Jinyiwei chasing yesterday?"
Shen Linfeng shook his head: "I don't know either, but the one who can be ordered by Liu to go out personally must be an important figure. I think when we pass Gongyi and Yanshi, I think we can just go all the way, but it will be unfair to Madam Yan and Sister Yan."
Before, she always called her Miss Yan, but now she just calls her Sister Yan. Xie was also an experienced person, so she understood.
Yao Niang naturally heard it as well. She was quite accepting of this title. Moreover, Shen Linfeng looked like a decent person, not an evil one.
"Okay, then should we ask the postmaster to prepare some dry food for us to take away?" Yao Niang asked.
Shen Linfeng said confidently, "Don't worry, I've asked someone to prepare everything."
Yao Niang smiled and said, "Brother Shen is really considerate."
Rong An, who was standing behind Shen Linfeng, took a look at the young master in front of him and was very shocked. This young master of his could not even be called out. All the food and snacks were prepared by himself and the steward, but now he asked others to prepare all of them.
Shen Linfeng invited the mother and daughter of the Yan family to get on the carriage, and he rode on the side. When Yao Niang lifted the curtain and looked out, she could just see his figure.
Somehow I felt a little more at ease.
About six days later, they arrived at the Jinyang Inn in Luoyang. Yao Niang then learned that the Shen family actually had a villa in Luoyang. However, given their current relationship with the Yan family, it was not appropriate for them to live in the villa as this would lead to gossip. So it was better for them to live in the inn.
As expected, nowadays everyone who comes to Luoyang comes to see the peonies.
When they arrived in Luoyang, they found out that there was no place to sell peonies, but that they could choose from a variety of famous gardens. The first place they visited was the home of a retired official named Pan. They heard that this man liked to show off his knowledge of culture and liked to grow a variety of peonies, which was very famous in the area.
Moreover, his gardens are open to tourists to choose, and if they like one, the manager will come to negotiate the price.
It was called the Peony Garden, but in fact there were many peonies, kerria, osmanthus, roses, golden yarn, jade embroidery balls, and small peonies in the garden. There were men and young girls entering the garden. Yao Niang helped Xie go in, and Shen Linfeng stayed by her side the whole time.
Yao Niang found that many young ladies who came towards her were secretly looking at Shen Linfeng. She thought that the first time she saw him, her evaluation of him was that he was a blue-faced man with a dark side, and it turned out to be true.
"Among peonies, Yao Huang and Wei Zi are the rarest. This is also what makes our Pan Garden different from others." The manager introduced.
Yao Niang actually didn't care about the expensiveness of the flowers. She just wanted to pick some that looked nice so that she could take them back and put them on display, which would make her trip to Luoyang worthwhile. Besides, appreciating flowers was more to her liking.
Xie really loved flowers. She couldn't move when she saw so many flowers. She said to Yao Niang, "You just take the servants to go somewhere nearby. I'll take a look here first."
Yao Niang nodded, and when she was about to leave, she saw Shen Linfeng following her.
If you happen to meet someone wearing flowers in their hair, if you like a flower, you can pay and wear it directly.
"Do you want to cut a branch to make a hairpin?" Shen Linfeng asked hurriedly when he saw Yao Niang's eager expression.
Yao Niang smiled and said, "Let's do it together."
Nowadays, men also wear flowers in their hair, and some who love beauty even put powder on their faces, but Yao Niang's brother Yan Jingzhao doesn't like to wear flowers in his hair, thinking it's too feminine. She doesn't know if Shen Linfeng will also dislike this, but Shen Linfeng is surprisingly easy to manage.
He smiled and said, "Okay, you wear the hairpin, and I will wear the flowers with you."
Seeing how obedient he was, Yao Niang felt much better. She never liked people who went against her.
"Brother Shen, what color flowers do you like?" Yao Niang was in a good mood and started talking more.
Shen Linfeng thought for a moment and said, "I like a slightly lighter moon white or a slightly darker blue sky than ultramarine." Then he asked Yao Niang, "What color does Sister Yan like?"
Yao Niang blurted out: "I like pink, pale yellow, and pea green."
"I thought you could only say one thing." Shen Linfeng said with a smile.
Yao Niang said, "Actually, no matter what color it is, as long as it is well matched and the person is nice, it will look good. Hey, there is a pink peony over there, I wonder if it is Zhaofen or Fengchanjiao?"
Shen Linfeng said, "This is Jade Hibiscus. They have similar colors, but they are also different."
"How do you know what kind this is? I've felt it so many times that I can't tell the difference." Yao Niang thought Shen Linfeng was too amazing.
But he pointed to the small wooden sign next to him and said, "Look, it's all written on the small wooden sign there."
Yao Niang suddenly realized: "I thought you knew them all."
Shen Linfeng said with a smile: "How is that possible? But I also want to pick some for my mother."
"Don't you need to be more picky? Maybe the ones at the back are better." Yao Niang said.
Shen Linfeng said: "It's easy to be dazzled if you look at too many. Since the peony garden here is recognized as the best, I also think the gardens here are good. Why should I choose too many?"
I don't know if it was an illusion, but Yao Niang always felt that his words were meaningful, but when she looked up again, she saw that Shen Linfeng was the same as before. She didn't know what to say. After all, their relationship was not really confirmed, so it was not good to say too much.
"Manager, can you pick all the flowers here and use them as hairpins?" Yao Niang asked.
The fat steward smiled and said, "It's all fine, Miss, just pick whatever you like."
Yao Niang saw a pot of peonies with two different colors on the same plant. She liked it immediately and asked the manager, "What kind is this?"
"To answer the young lady's question, this is Luoyang Jin, also known as Er Qiao."
Yao Niang pointed to another peony with pink and white petals, which looked like the slightly blushing cheeks of a fair-skinned girl. It looked very cute. She was afraid that her hands would damage the flower, so she just lowered her head and sniffed it.
Shen Linfeng looked at her expression and couldn't help but asked, "Do you want to buy this one?"
Yao Niang was not the shy type. She nodded slightly and said to the manager, "I want this hairpin flower. How much does it cost?"
The fat steward was a steward of an official family, and he was very smart. He saw that the girl's behavior was very noble, and she was not an ordinary person at all. In addition, the man next to her also looked like a son of a noble family. Their looks were rare in the world and very unusual. He also saw that the man next to the girl was always looking at the girl's eyes. expensive. Others will take fifty guan, and you can give twenty guan."
"Then let's take this pot." Shen Linfeng was very easy to talk to.
Yao Niang thought that her maternal grandparents were from Zhejiang, and they were quite shrewd. Especially Shen Linfeng, who seemed to be very reliable, was selling a pot of peony for twenty guan. Was he a liar? silver. You said that this garden belonged to a certain official. How could you be so cruel?"
The fat steward was embarrassed by what he said, but he still tried to argue: "This flower is very different from other flowers."
"I think they are all the same." Yao Niang didn't like people who treated others like fools, so she snorted coldly.
Shen Linfeng listened to Yao Niang's words and saw that she was indeed tough and principled, and was a little surprised. Because he had heard his sister comment on several girls in the Yan family after Yan Ningxin broke off the engagement, saying that the eldest was stupid, the second was cunning, the third was gentle, and the fourth was the most cunning.
He glanced at Yao Niang again and found that she gave him a glare. Shen Linfeng quickly followed suit: "Yes, if you are really honest, I was going to buy a hundred pots, but now it seems unnecessary."
Yao Niang felt much better when she heard Shen Linfeng's words. She looked at the fat steward and said, "You should just give me an honest price."
The fat steward was also flexible. When he heard Shen Linfeng said he wanted to buy 100 pots, he immediately said, "The girl is really talented and intelligent, and she is kind-hearted. Forget it, just treat it as a friend. Can't I sell it for 4 taels per pot?"
Yao Niang didn't pursue the matter too much, and just said, "Why didn't you say so earlier? By the way, do you have any blue flowers? Let me see them too, and I'll buy them too."
"Yes, but it's not a peony. It's called a flat bamboo orchid. It was originally in Yunnan. Our old lady asked someone to transplant it from Kunming." The fat shopkeeper immediately asked someone to move it over.
Seeing that the flat bamboo orchid was beautiful, Yao Niang said to Shen Linfeng, "A gentleman is like an orchid. This flower will be given to Mr. Shen. Thank you for escorting us mother and daughter all the way."
Since Shen Linfeng was old enough to understand, many women threw flowers at him, but those women didn't really like him, they liked his appearance and the halo brought by his family background. But he was white and fat before he was eight years old, which was actually not pleasing to the eye. Even his father scolded him for being fat and stupid and not having the demeanor of a young man from a noble family.
No one thought that he would lose weight and become what he is now.
But he had never seen that kind of infatuation in Yao Niang's eyes; she even admired it.
Shen Linfeng nodded slowly.
Mrs. Xie, who was not far away, couldn't help laughing when she saw Shen Linfeng and her daughter putting flowers in their hair. Mother Song said, "The girl's personality is very much like that of her elder brother."
She seemed a bit stubborn, so Xie said, "That's fine. Don't you know that if a woman is a little more assertive, the man will slowly start to depend on her?"
Mother Song looked at the beautiful woman not far away and couldn't help but said, "I don't know how to put it, but the third lady and Mr. Shen look especially good together."
In fact, it doesn’t mean that a handsome man and a beautiful woman standing together will look like a couple. It is very rare for them to look like a couple when standing together.
Yao Niang and her friends didn't stay long in Luoyang. Xie selected six pots of flowers, all of which were famous products, and spent thirty taels of silver. Shen Linfeng also selected a lot of famous varieties, and I heard that he would transport three carts back.
This time when they returned to Beijing, they planned to travel by boat. Shen Linfeng handled the matter very well. He went to the shipping company to rent a large ship and gave the good cabins to Xie and Yao Niang to live in.
During the days on the boat, Shen Linfeng just wanted to sleep and had no interest in anything. Occasionally, when he was full of sleep, he would read a book on the deck. At this time, the sound of piano would be heard, mostly soothing songs like "Fisherman's Song at Dusk" or "Spring River Moon Night". Although the two did not say anything, not everyone has such tacit understanding.
Whenever this happened, the people on board felt as if they were hearing heavenly music.
Now they were going to the capital, not in Henan anymore, and under everyone's eyes, Xie also told Yao Niang to respect herself, so that others would not gossip about her.
Yao Niang would only go down to the boat for a walk when she felt depressed occasionally, but Xie Shi fell ill.
She had been living a life of luxury, but she caught a cold because of the long journey.
Shen Linfeng immediately sent someone to the next ferry to ask a doctor to prescribe medicine. Yao Niang didn't expect that Xie Shi would get sick because of her running around and being tired, so she cleverly asked the doctor: "Is my mother okay?"
"Don't worry, ma'am, she just has a slight cold. Everything else is normal. Please rest assured," said the doctor.
Yao Niang also breathed a sigh of relief. After Shen Linfeng sent the doctor away, he turned back and said to Yao Niang, "Let Madam Yan take good care of herself these days. If she feels unwell, we will stop and ask the doctor to treat her. Don't delay the treatment."
"Thank you, Mr. Shen. You should also take care of yourself. It's hot and humid on the boat, and the temperature difference between day and night is big. It's easy to get sick." Yao Niang was very grateful to Shen Linfeng.
He has no relationship with me, but everything he does is appropriate.
Shen Linfeng smiled and said, "It's okay. I asked the kitchen staff to make some pigeon soup. You can have an extra bowl."
"Okay, I'll try to drink one more bowl of soup." Yao Niang felt much more at ease.
However, she was a little annoyed: "When my mother was sick, she always loved to eat clear soup noodles, especially the hand-rolled, thin ones. Unfortunately, I am not good at cooking. Can you ask the kitchen to send a bowl of noodles over?"
Shen Linfeng smiled: "Of course, since my sister is not good at cooking, I will let the servants do it."
**
It is also said that Zhen and Madam Gong in the capital have hinted at this several times, and Madam Gong knows some news: "Don't worry, I heard that Shen Linfeng will soon take the imperial examination. He is not in the capital now. I will talk to him about this matter after he passes the imperial examination. Isn't this a double happiness?"
Zhen said, "Alas, my husband has always been stubborn. I will have to trouble you, Madam, when the time comes."
Mrs. Gong thought that Minister Yan was a tough guy. Although he was from the same faction as the Gong family, he did not completely obey the Gong family. He also had his own group of people.
It is not a good thing to let the hatred between the Gong family and the Shen family become deeper and deeper. For Gong Ci Fu, it is a good thing for his subordinates to check and balance each other, but if complications arise, it will be easy to be provoked by outsiders.
But she still had to appease Zhen: "Even the emperor said that Minister Yan has a strong temper. He is an important minister of the country. This is better than anything else." Of course, she also had another thing to say: "How is your Jing Zhao's marriage going?"
Of course, Zhen wanted her niece to marry Yan Jingzhao, but between the happiness of her niece and her daughter, she still chose her daughter. Therefore, Zhen said, "Not yet. After all, Guan's mourning period has not passed. Our family has always been polite."
Madam Gong said, "I know that your family has always been very well behaved. But Jing Zhao will be appointed an official next year, so it is not right for his wife to be away. Besides, it is not an immediate marriage. We should wait and see, and then marry her back after Guan Shi's mourning is over."
"You said that, but has anyone recommended a candidate to me? Then I'd like to listen." Zhen said with a smile.
It must be said that Mrs. Zhen really made Mrs. Gong admire her. Even though such a big scandal happened in the Yan family, she still remained calm and went out to socialize. Her tactics were quite superb.
Madam Gong said, "It's not about anyone else. There are several girls from these families that I think are good and suitable for Jing Zhao. But what kind of girl does Jing Zhao like? As parents, do you know?"
Often at this time, Zhen would feel a little embarrassed, because outsiders like Madam Gong knew the truth but pretended to be ignorant, clearly wanting to arrange a marriage for Yan Jingzhao while Xie was away.
Zhen could still take a chance on girls' affairs, or she could make the full decision on her own son, but she could not make the decision on Yan Jingzhao's marriage. However, since she had to ask this lady for help, she used the Spring and Autumn style of writing: "In fact, as long as the girl is virtuous and kind, there is nothing to criticize."
Madam Gong said, "In a few days, when Minister Lang is seventy years old, I will introduce him to you."
"Then I'll trouble you with everything." Zhen thought that she could say that it was Madam Gong who introduced her, and it would be difficult for her to refuse. She thought that Xie couldn't go out to socialize and didn't know anyone.
Madam Gong patted her hands and said, "Of course. By the way, you, call out all the girls in your family for me to see, especially the fourth girl. I miss her so much."
Zhen asked Madam Wei to bring Qianniang, Yingniang and her niece Zhenli over. Soon, the three girls came. Madam Gong gave each of them a string of coral beads and said, "Take them and play with them."
The three girls all thanked her. When Mrs. Gong saw the three girls, she found that the second girl from the Yan family was silent and gentle, the fourth girl had the enthusiasm of a young girl, and the girl Zhen had fair skin and a very pretty face. She was a rare beauty.
"In my opinion, your niece looks almost the same as your third daughter," Mrs. Gong praised.
Zhen Li stood up and said, "I haven't seen the third lady since I came to the capital. I heard that she went to visit relatives at her maternal grandfather's house. I often heard her mentioned, but I have never met her. I don't know if they get along well.
After she came to the Yan family, both cousins had a good relationship with her, but Qianniang was more docile and never talked about other people's gossips. On the contrary, the fourth cousin was a bit arrogant. It was said that the third cousin was the one who could suppress the fourth cousin the most, and she was also a bit of a hot-tempered person.
After meeting Madam Gong, Zhen Li took her maid back to her room. The maid beside her saw that she was in a trance and couldn't help asking, "Cousin, what are you thinking about?"
"No, nothing. I was just wondering what kind of beauty your third young lady is?" Zhen Li said.
The maid said, "Our third daughter is both talented and beautiful. She is good at everything, whether it is playing the piano, chess, calligraphy, painting, or poetry. Even when she speaks, she is eloquent and looks like a fairy. But there is one thing, she is not easy to get along with. Our second daughter is the most amiable, but the third daughter is different. She has a bad temper. If those mean mothers get into trouble with her, she will definitely be sharp-tongued. Even the fourth daughter is no match for the third daughter."
Zhen Li held his head and said, "Then how can I get along with her? I'm new here and I don't understand these things."
The maid smiled and said, "Don't worry, cousin. You two are from the same room. Besides, the third young lady is a very reasonable person and very patient. She is not the kind of person with a petty temper."
When asked who this person with a bad temper was talking about, Zhen Li smiled knowingly.
Just when Zhen Li still thought that it would take some time before she could meet the third young lady, she unexpectedly heard the next day that the second wife of the Xie family and the third young lady were coming home.
My uncle and eldest cousin went to Tongzhou Port to welcome us.
Yes, Yan Yingqi and Yan Jingzhao both came today. Yan Jingzhao even said with a smile, "I wonder how many kinds of peonies mother and sister have seen? My sister even said she wanted to paint for mother among the peonies."
"That's right. I don't know how the mother and daughter came back. I was really worried. Your mother only told me the date mentioned in the letter, and she didn't tell me anything else." Yan Yingqi curled his lips.
Yan Jingzhao also felt that his father was a pervert, but he would never dare to tease his elders.
As the two were talking, they saw a boat approaching. At the bow was Manager Lian. Yan Jingzhao was delighted: "Dad, look, this must be the boat."
The father and son were happy, but they didn't expect that when the boat docked, the first person to come out was Shen Linfeng. After he walked out, he paused for a while before seeing Xie and a girl wearing a veil hat come out.
Yan Yingqi walked forward with his son and was stunned for a moment. Something was wrong. Why were the two of them together with Shen Linfeng?
The first thing his daughter said when she saw him was not to reminisce about the past. Instead, she said, "Dad, you must thank Brother Shen for us. He has worked so hard to take care of us along the way."
Brother Shen!!!
Yan Yingqi just felt goosebumps all over his body and his teeth were aching. Who can tell him what is going on?
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