Chapter 080 Chapter 80

When Yan Mai entered the inner hall, Shen Xunfu was the first to come over. The two originally worked together in Henan. It was Shen Xunfu who accompanied him when he inspected the river. Now Shen Xunfu was going to return to Henan to serve as an inspector in a few days, so he was naturally extremely respectful to Yan Mai.

Yan Mai didn't care: "Let's not talk about business in private. I just came to see my little granddaughter and grandson-in-law. Her parents are not around, and she is still very young, but she has become the head of your family. I have to give them some advice."

"Niece Xian is truly a good daughter-in-law for our family." Shen Xunfu praised her a few times.

Yan Mai didn't believe this, because he had heard from Yao Niang about how Madam Shen treated her. Everyone in the Shen family treated her in a very ordinary way and did not regard her as a real lady of the clan at all.

Yan Mai knew very well why this happened. First, Yan Yingqi was too hasty in sending his daughter to marry. However, after the daughter got married, all the Yan family members left. Naturally, the Shen family felt that they were tricked. Second, it was her niece's fault.

If a person does good things, no one will remember them, but if he does bad things, it is very difficult to restore people's opinion.

Yao Niang did not expect that her grandfather would come without saying a word. She first sent someone to call Shen Linfeng to ask for leave and come back, and asked Mama Gu to ask the kitchen to prepare some of Yan Mai's favorite steamed pork with rice flour, as well as many famous Jinling dishes.

He also personally brought people to pick up his grandfather.

Because Yan Mai came suddenly, Shen Linqing and Shen Linjiang were out, so Shen Xunfu asked Shen Bangyan to come over to greet people. Yao Niang happened to see Shen Bangyan, and she remembered what happened between him and Han Ruohua. She heard from Zhou Wang's wife that Han Ruohua rarely interacted with Shen Linjiang, but interacted with Shen Bangyan a little more frequently, probably once or twice a month.

Shen Bangyan was born very handsome. In fact, he was the best in the family except for Shen Linfeng. He was also said to be good at studying. But Shen Linfeng was too unique. He passed the imperial examination. He was generous and liked to make friends. He was very popular. Even Yao Niang felt inferior to him, not to mention Shen Bangyan.

"Sister-in-law." Shen Bangyan stopped and saluted quickly.

Yao Niang nodded and replied, "Hello, Second Uncle."

Then, she went into the main hall again and saw her grandfather sipping tea. She hurried over and said, "Grandfather."

Yan Mai smiled and said, "I came to see you without saying anything. Is that a bother?"

"Grandfather, I have asked the kitchen to borrow the stove to cook, and asked Gong Ding to come back so that we can have dinner with you. You should also talk to us more and teach us more." Yao Niang wanted to support Yan Mai and walk together.

Yan Mai waved his hand and said, "It's nothing. I'm in good health. There's no need to do this."

Having a reliable elder is naturally better than many things. Yao Niang asked Yan Mai again: "Will grandpa take grandma over?"

By bringing my grandmother in, my mother no longer has a mother-in-law to worry about her, and she can live a more comfortable life.

Yan Mai was stunned: "Your grandmother is doing well in Jinling, why did you travel so far to come here?" He and the third old lady had a mediocre relationship. The third old lady had been strong-willed since she entered the family when she was young, and she loved to compete in everything. They had no children. That year he was away, and he almost died. As a result, he took a concubine and gave birth to two sons. Unexpectedly, they both died soon after he returned.

Afterwards, everyone talked about succeeding Yan Yingqi, and he agreed.

Now when it comes to Quan, he doesn't know what to say. They are an old couple, and he doesn't want to fight with them anymore.

Seeing this, Yao Niang said, "Why don't I go back to accompany you more often, so that I can also take care of my sister-in-law."

No matter how tired you are at home, you won’t feel exhausted.

Yan Mai smiled and said, "How can a married woman always go back to her parents' home? Your husband's family will blame you for that. I let your sister-in-law go back to her parents' home, and let her mother take care of her during childbirth."

Originally, men and women were not allowed to communicate with each other, but Yan Mai was not young anymore and Mrs. Shen was younger than him, so naturally they had to come out and greet him, otherwise they would be accused of not knowing etiquette.

It was also the first time that Mrs. Shen met Yan Mai, the upright official who was responsible for the river management.

"To pay respects to our old in-laws, we should have visited them first." Mrs. Shen was very good at saying such things.

Lu Shan'er supported Mrs. Shen and secretly looked at Yan Mai. It was said that Yan Jingzhao was demoted to a county magistrate because of the Guan family's affairs, but this old man Yan was a rare honest and good official, and even Lu Shan'er admired him very much.

Then Yan Mai said, "Your father was my tutor for the provincial examination. I went to his funeral 20 years ago. So we still have a hometown connection."

What Yan Mai meant was that I have seniority and I know all of you Han family members.

Mrs. Shen was even more afraid to act rashly, and quickly said, "Yes, I am originally from Nanjing."

"This is also the reason why I agreed to marry my granddaughter here. I thought that since we are from Jinling, the customs and habits are the same. The mothers-in-law in Jinling love their daughters-in-law very much..." Yan Mai said with a smile.

Even Lu Shaner could tell that this was a warning to Mrs. Shen. Mrs. Shen was stunned, but she did not dare to turn her face away from Yan Mai. She just smiled and said yes.

Yan Mai nodded: "You are not arrogant. I remember that you had a brother who was an official in Gansu and Shaanxi with me. At that time, the people were angry. Your father had a shrine built there, but it was overturned. It was pitiful, really pitiful. Now you are married to the Shen family, and your brother-in-law is a good official."

"Ahem, Grandfather." Yao Niang hurriedly pulled her grandfather. This was completely exposing her mother-in-law's true colors. You have to know that these old people and old stories are not known to ordinary people.

Yan Mai was indeed an expert at pressuring and manipulating people. When the Jie family married their daughter to Yan Mai, Yan Mai directly manipulated the Jie family.

Mrs. Shen was about to faint. She had never been spoken to harshly in her life, but she never expected that Old Man Yan would expose her past in front of so many people. Tears welled up in her eyes.

Yan Maicai smiled, pretending he hadn't seen anything, and said to Yao Niang, "I came here today mainly because I thought about your coming of age in two months. The emperor told me that you once helped him a lot with your wonderful brush and painting, and he has agreed to issue an edict on the day of your coming of age, allowing your son to study in the Imperial College in the future."

It was obvious that Emperor Qianyuan was afraid that he would rashly confer an imperial decree on Yao Niang. The key point was that this woman was pretty and the assassin they had captured could not be made public, otherwise it would be better to spread the news of what happened between him and his wife.

And her son was allowed to enter the Imperial Academy, which meant that even if Shen Linfeng died, her son would be a student of the academy. If she had no son, there would be many people willing to inherit his throne to her.

Although she was a little disappointed, she still felt that the thunder and rain were all grace from the emperor, so she immediately said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, and thank you, grandfather."

Mrs. Shen also heard it. It was not difficult for a family like theirs to run a school for the Imperial College, but that was only possible if their father had held a certain official position. Among the six sons of the third room, only Shen Linqing was a successful student. The rest had to donate money and use the back door to enter the Imperial College.

The Wei Dynasty stipulated that officials in the capital who were of the third rank or above could only apply for a position after passing an assessment of their political performance, and one of their descendants was allowed to enter the Imperial College as an official student.

"My dear father-in-law, how can I bear this?" Mrs. Shen was still very happy.

Yan Mai said, "Why shouldn't she be so? My granddaughter is more talented than Xie Daoyun. She is still young. My family has brought her up well. In the future, your family should also let her display her talents. Let the servants do the rest of the chores. That's the proper way."

Mrs. Shen did not dare to say anything more, and Yao Niang said, "Grandfather, please go to our courtyard and let my mother-in-law and the others rest. When Gong Ding comes back later, I will warm the wine for you."

"Okay, then your grandfather loves to eat steamed pork with rice flour. I have eaten it several times when I was an official in Huguang, and I can't forget it." Yan Mai said with a smile.

Yao Niang held Yan Mai's arm and said, "Okay, don't worry, I've asked someone to make it, and it's guaranteed to be delicious."

After the grandfather and grandson left, Mrs. Shen Er said to Mrs. Shen, "Sister-in-law is so lucky. Lin Feng's son will be born under supervision in the future."

Mrs. Shen was already distracted and nodded quickly.

Madam Shen was about to say something, but Madam Shen quickly said to Madam Zhou, "Go to the kitchen and bring some of our Jinling local dishes to Mr. Yan."

Mother Zhou quickly agreed.

Lu Shan'er quickly left tactfully. She had really learned a lot today. Why did Yan Mai say such unpleasant things? She didn't understand, so she went back to ask Shen Xunfu.

Shen Xunfu's backyard was in need of such a person. He saw that although Lu Shan'er was young, she was not the kind of person who did not know the importance of things. She would not rush to speak up for herself when something happened, but would tell him. He also said a few words: "Old Minister Yan is a veteran of three dynasties, unlike his brother. He started his career as an official in a remote area, and his character is upright. One year, there were many victims of a disaster, and the court had not yet provided disaster relief. He saw the victims like this and could not bear it. He was not worried, so he opened the warehouse and released grain in advance. Later, he was demoted to Shandong. At that time, there were many big thieves in Shandong, and there were disasters and uprisings. He caught cunning thieves day and night while in office. Within a year, he almost wiped out all the thieves in the unrest. In the area where he governed, even thieves from other provinces avoided him. He was called the Living King. This person was extraordinary and extraordinary.

"Otherwise, the emperor would not have transferred him to the river as governor. Although he demoted Yan Jingzhao, he promoted him at the same time. This can be regarded as a grace, and he did not let down the old minister. Among the officials in the court, only one or two out of ten can get things done."

Lu Shan'er poured wine for Shen Xun: "This old minister is indeed a powerful man, but my sister-in-law is just a concubine, why does he say this? Is there a grudge between the two families?"

Shen Xun waved his hand: "No, this is related to an old matter, you don't need to know. But I think it's nothing more than a matter between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, and the old man is venting his anger for his granddaughter."

Lu Shaner was taught by Lu Jiaoyu and his wife, so she naturally said, "But my family can't interfere. My father always says that a daughter who is married is like water spilled out. Wouldn't this only cause more conflicts?"

Shen Xun stroked his beard and smiled: "Don't you understand what Minister Yan means? You are holding my granddaughter hostage, so I will first expose your Han family's past. If you are still not convinced in the future, he doesn't mind coming again. Anyway, no matter who her granddaughter has children with, her son will be born under surveillance."

Lu Shaner understood everything, and she smiled and said, "I used to know Miss Yan San, she was an excellent painter."

Shen Xunfu was also sulking. This daughter-in-law was obviously the one he had chosen, and now Yan had even received a reward from the emperor. He really didn't live up to his expectations.

**

Yao Niang took her grandfather to the main hall and personally poured him tea: "Try it, this is new tea."

"You young people like to drink it. I'm not used to it. The taste is too light."

"What would you like to drink? I'll ask them to make it for you."

"You don't have to bother with all this if you follow me." Yan Mai waved his hand.

Yao Niang still asked someone to make tea and came back, and said happily: "Grandfather, you are so kind. My father has never been so aggressive with me."

Yan Mai waved his hands: "How old is your father? I have been through many battles and met all kinds of people. There is nothing to be afraid of. I used to think that women should be virtuous and kind, but later I found that women are not necessarily worse than men. Why did the noble families marry women from the five surnames? It was because they came from big families and were well-educated. Many of them raised their children alone, and their children all had promising futures. They themselves can also make a living. Only when people have more experience can they realize how ridiculous the old things are."

"Grandfather is right." Yao Niang nodded.

But she was still somewhat flattered and surprised, "Do you still remember your granddaughter's coming-of-age ceremony?"

Yan Mai smiled and said, "Your father wrote to me, saying that your mother is worried about you."

Yao Niang stuck out her tongue, a little embarrassed: "I just said something bad about my father."

Yan Mai laughed loudly: "Don't worry, he can't hear it. Not only can he not hear it, but even your mother-in-law won't dare to treat you badly. Otherwise, with your dowry of more than 200 taels and your talent and beauty, whoever marries you will have a son born out of wedlock."

Yao Niang thought about it and laughed.

Just then, Shen Linfeng came back from outside. He went to greet Mrs. Shen first. Seeing that Mrs. Shen's eyelids were red, as if she had been crying, he was shocked: "What's wrong with you?"

Mrs. Shen couldn't tell her son that your uncle had the people overturn your grandfather's ancestral temple when he was an official, so she just said, "It's nothing. The old man from the Yan family is just too powerful."

"That's right. When he was an observer, he impeached several cabinet ministers in one day. He was not an ordinary person. He caught thieves day and night in Shandong. Thieves were afraid of him, so he naturally had a murderous aura. Could it be that the old man said something?" Shen Linfeng asked.

Mrs. Shen shook her head: "No, I didn't say anything."

Shen Linfeng thought that she must have said something, but her mother couldn't complain, which was really amazing. Thinking of this, he ran away quickly: "Mom, the Goddess asked me to go and entertain my grandfather quickly, I'm going now, otherwise the old man will think I treated him badly."

Seeing her son like this, Madam Shen waved her hand. After Shen Linfeng ran away quickly, she picked up the handkerchief and said to Mother Zhou: "In my entire life, no one has ever said such harsh words to me, or been so rude to me..."

"Madam, everyone says that Minister Yan is a god from heaven, so he is very majestic. Not only you, but I am also very afraid of him." Mother Zhou heard that Minister Yan once caught a thief and in order to scare the thieves, he piled up the thieves' heads into a mountain for everyone to see, which scared many people silly. Madam was afraid, and she was afraid too. She didn't dare to say any more gossip.