Chapter 108 Chapter 108
There were already quite a few people gathered around Shen Linfeng. Qin Shubai had already untied it and said, "Gong Ding, what's the benefit? Tell me quickly. I have already untied it in a moment."
"You have solved it, tell me about it." Shen Linfeng said with a smile.
Qin Shubai said, "Huang Jin's young wife, and Wai Sun's mortar, this is from the hand of Cai Yong of the Eastern Han Dynasty. I happened to have seen it before. The riddle is extremely wonderful. I wonder if I guessed it right?"
Shen Linfeng laughed loudly: "Brother Qin, you are indeed knowledgeable and talented. I'm afraid you don't like ordinary things. How about I treat you to a month's worth of drinks at the newly opened Yuemanlou?"
"As expected of the Wuxing Shen family, you are so wealthy. Thank you so much, I just like this kind of wine." Qin Shubai's family is in business, so of course he is also a connoisseur of goods.
Shen Bangyan was inspired when he heard this. Yuemanlou had only been in operation for half a year, but it was already on par with Fanlou, and people in Beijing were flocking to it.
Moreover, Yuemanlou only brews three batches of Peach Leaf Wine a year. His cousin is a very capable person. I wonder if the reward for guessing the riddle will include Peach Leaf Wine.
Just as he was thinking this, he saw Shen Linfeng's father-in-law had changed trains and came back. Shen Linfeng went to meet him again and couldn't help but praise him, "I never thought that the old Taishan got the riddle and figured it out."
Yan Yingqi said calmly: "Originally I didn't want to guess, but your mother-in-law insisted that I come back and tell you."
"Yes, yes, we are just playing a game. It would be great if we could dress up and entertain our parents." Shen Linfeng looked very humble.
Yan Yingqi thought to himself, "I don't know what my reward is yet?" But then he saw Shen Linfeng had someone bring out a jar of wine. Shen Linfeng explained, "This peach leaf wine, Yuemanlou only brews three jars a year. I got one jar by chance, so I'll honor my father-in-law with this."
It was indeed peach leaf wine. Everyone looked at the wine pot. Yan Yingqi smiled and said, "In the future, please come to my house to talk about wine."
Everyone was so respectful that they dared not even reply. Yan Yingqi asked someone to take the wine away. Then Shen Linfeng's classmate Zhu Gepeng also solved the riddle.
Shen Linfeng said, "Brother Zhuge has never liked wine, but he loves to drink ginseng soup. He often laments that there is no good ginseng. It just so happens that I got two high-quality ginseng from a businessman in Shangdang. I originally planned to use them for my wife's childbirth, but she gave birth smoothly and didn't use them. Now I'm offering flowers to Brother Zhuge."
Zhu Gepeng was already in tears. He was just a son now. His family was well off in his early years, but he failed the imperial examinations many times. His parents died one after another, and his wife became seriously ill. He once went to a pharmacy to buy ginseng and was cheated? His relatives kept a distance from him. This time when Shen Linfeng invited him to come, he was still hesitant, fearing that he would be looked down upon. Now Shen Linfeng used this method to help him.
Shen Linfeng just nodded at him and smiled without saying anything.
…
At night, Yao Niang smiled and said, "You have done a good thing. You are not close to Zhuge Peng, and his family background is average. I am afraid that he will not be able to pass the imperial examination. But you still have such a friend in your heart. I really admire you. In this world, people only look at whether a person is useful or not. It is rare."
"This is also because my virtuous wife is willing to support me. Really, if it were someone else, they would definitely say that I am stupid." Shen Linfeng held Yao Niang's hand with both hands to express his gratitude.
Yao Niang shook her head: "Since he is a true friend, not a servile person, why should I be stingy. The more he knows what is good for him, the more likely he will be the one to help you and me when we are in trouble in the future."
Actually, it doesn’t matter if it’s not the case. Everyone should just do what they want.
Sometimes the people at home are as cruel to you as the people outside.
After the baby's third birthday, Yao Niang began to recuperate after giving birth. She didn't dare to read books, as she heard that reading during confinement could easily hurt the eyes. So she devoted herself to taking care of the child and was amazed to see Ruofu's changes day by day.
During this month, Shen Linfeng rested in the study and came over to talk every day.
After she came out of confinement, Yao Niang changed her clothes again. She felt as if only seven days in the mountains had passed, but a thousand years in the world had passed.
As soon as she came out of confinement, she knew a lot of things, such as Wang's recent victory in playing polo with Princess Jianing and others, and she also successfully matched the daughter of Shen Linfeng's uncle Shen Xin to her brother from her natal family.
I heard that because of this, Wang received a lot of money as a thank you for being a matchmaker. Shen Xin was of course rich, and he gave a small 10% share to Wang and Shen Bangyan. The couple then had a lot of private wealth.
Wang was also surprised, "The eldest wife is very stingy with her relatives. She is not willing to give even a hundred taels of silver, but she gives the best ginseng to a poor person. And your eldest brother is so generous to outsiders. It's just a waste of money."
Shen Bangyan tossed the crystal ball in the water and couldn't help laughing: "Isn't this a way to buy fame? Everyone praises him for his generosity."
"You don't want to do the same, do you?" Wang was a little afraid that she would do the same.
Shen Bangyan smiled and said, "I'm not a sucker, don't worry."
Wang was relieved, and she continued, "Today is the full moon day of my eldest sister. The first house does not want to hold a ceremony, and only invites relatives to come. To be honest, my sister's family has relatives, and I want to go there."
Her elder sister married into the Fuguo Mansion as the Crown Prince's wife, so Shen Bangyan was of course more willing to go there. Although her cousin was not bad, the two of them became estranged after her elder brother got married. Besides, Shen Linfeng was only a sixth-rank Zhongyun now, and he had to consider his father-in-law's mood, let alone himself.
Speaking of father-in-law, after Yan Yingqi got the peach leaf wine, he drank a little every day, but Xie couldn't let him drink too much. Men would become alcoholics after drinking a little at first, and Xie knew it very well. The couple quarreled over this little thing, and Xie came over to Yao Niang and said, "Tell me about your father, he is addicted to wine now."
"Don't blame dad. It's mainly because the Peach Leaf Wine is so amazing that only three bottles are sold every year. Your son-in-law is so hard to get, so he must be extraordinary. If dad is an alcoholic, you can move the wine to my house. I will hide it carefully. Let's see if he still drinks it." Yao Niang knew how to deal with her father.
Xie was also pleased to hear her daughter say this: "You are the only one who has so many weird ideas."
At today's gathering, Xie saw that Yao Niang looked plumper than before, her spirits were better, and she seemed to have recovered from the confinement after giving birth, so she felt relieved.
The mother and daughter couldn't help but mention Yan Ningxin. Yao Niang asked, "How is she at home?"
"Your father has already written to Prince Qi, asking him to find a family in Shandong for Yan Ningxin. If she shows up in the capital, which of you girls will run away..." Yesterday, Xie heard Yan Ningxin crying in front of her, seeming to be very regretful, and said that her life was not easy. However, Xie was not a soft-hearted person, and of course she would not make excuses for her in front of Yan Yingqi.
Yao Niang nodded after hearing this: "Even though father has entered the imperial court, the reputation of an official should be spotless. If elder sister shows up in the capital, father will inevitably be known as a bad father. She thinks of her cousin, the Prince of Qi, in everything. Now it depends on whether her cousin is worthy of her."
Xie also agreed. She listened to Yao Niang talking about the complicated relationships within the Shen family. She heard that Shen Linfeng's brother was seduced by the Second Madam and became angry. Then she heard that everyone in the Shen family isolated her and how Madam Shen fought against her. She sighed endlessly.
"I originally thought that the Shen family only had one son, Shen Linfeng, but I didn't expect there would be so many things."
Yao Niang smiled and said, "Now we have finally come to a happy ending after all the hardships. You see, now we are living alone, and my parents-in-law are also in their hometown. This is better than anything else."
Xie held her daughter's hand and said, "You are much smarter than me, and you have a stronger character than me. You never torture yourself. I am just indecisive and always let myself think too much. Now that you two are together, it is really better than anything else."
However, Xie warned her daughter: "You and your aunt have a very good relationship, but you also need to take care of your body. In your position, if you don't give birth to a boy, will your huge family business be inherited by someone else in the future?"
"Don't worry, I will deal with it." Yao Niang kissed her daughter in her arms.
For the baby's full-month gift, Grandma Qing brought Aunt Chu over. She was officially the second wife, so naturally she had to be known by everyone. Seeing that Chu was as charming and graceful as her name, Yao Niang asked someone to give her a pair of gold bracelets and a few feet of bright cloth, and said to Grandma Qing, "Bring Aunt Chu to our place more often in the future."
Grandma Qingda smiled and said, "We have a lot of people and a lot of things to do in our family. It's a good opportunity for her to come and help me with this."
Speaking of which, Shen Xunfu actually had a good eye. He chose Qing Da Nainai after he had met her once when the old lady of the Shen family was still alive. Shao was chosen by Madam Shen. As for the daughters-in-law he had his eyes on, the only ones he had his eyes on were himself and Lu Shaner.
Although Lu Shan'er was not from a prominent family, she was more reasonable than Grandma Qing. At least she could support the family and dared to delegate power.
This gift from Aunt Chu specifically for Shen Linqing must not be that simple!
Now when Grandma Qingda talked to her, she didn't show any displeasure at all. She kept her head down or smiled slightly, and her attitude was very good.
The two said goodbye and left. Yao Niang said to Mother Gu, "Grandma Qing's powerful enemy is here."
But as a woman, she still felt sad: "In this case, I have to take good care of myself and give birth again in two years. But Third Uncle seems so open-minded, why did he send Brother Qing a second wife?"
青黛年紀不大，但卻門兒清：“姑娘，這家族繼承可是大事兒。您看咱們太太為何不慌，好歹現在除了昭大爺之外，還有孫子還有慈五爺。清大奶奶進門六年，好容易有身孕還小産了，年紀也不小了。清大爺眼看着不成了，若是有個兒子，将來指不定兒子有出息又能光耀門楣了。”
窈娘突然想起愚公移山裏面的一句話，所謂子子孫孫無窮盡也。自從科舉打破魏晉以來的九品中正制後，科舉才是一個人真正成功的根本，否則三代之後不過就是普通鄉紳罷了。
外面清大奶奶正繞着大房的園子準備從西角門去二房，一路上她還介紹道：“大房只住了他們夫妻倆，平日她們這裏看守嚴密，處處都是機關，你可不要随意跑，之前有人往她家跑，被毒針亂箭一頓射，送到順天府沒幾天就死了。”
“大奶奶說的是，妾不會到處跑的。”楚姨娘謹慎的看着周圍，以前她去過巡撫府邸已經覺得很闊氣了，再到沈家長房的宅子來看，完全稱得上是神仙福地，再有方才見的那位大奶奶，人年輕氣勢十足，貴氣又好看，面帶桃花，何等人品？
清大奶奶見她還算懂事，也是微微點頭。
這件事情卻對王氏的刺激很大，她和窈娘前後腳進門，窈娘已經生下個女兒。她卻肚子空空，如果沒有這些妯娌比着，她是無所謂，現在她丈夫是獨子，可想而知她現在的心情了。一件事情如果大家都不緊張，你就不會緊張，大家都開始緊張起來，你也得緊張了。
沈邦彥剛剛深夜讀完書，王氏就去讓人送了補湯，之後沈邦彥回房，二人幾乎是折騰了一夜。
到次日早上，沈臨風出門，正好碰到沈邦彥，見他眼窩深陷，還吓了一跳：“二弟，你這是怎麽了？你這讀書也太辛苦了吧。”說完他又想着沈邦彥是不是想讀書超過自己所以搞的這麽勤奮，那他也不能懈怠了，一時還有些緊張起來。
沈邦彥當然不好和沈臨風說自己的房事，只道：“昨日太熱了，睡的不好。”
“讓二嬸多弄些冰來，如今沒冰可睡不着覺。”
彼此寒暄了幾句，沈臨風立馬上了轎子，他上了轎子之後就開始腦中想着公務，家中的事情有妻子打理，倒不用操心。
又說窈娘自從出了月子之後，接了好幾張請柬，她都會驅車過去，還準備賀禮，尤其是沈臨風很親近的方家和秦家辦事她都會去。
八月初時，她才回了一次娘家，這次是因為族叔沈信送了不少螃蟹和海味過來，她知曉爹娘都愛吃，故而送了不少去。
解氏看着一簍簍的，趕緊道：“我們哪裏吃的了這麽多啊，還是你自己帶些回去。”
“沒事兒，族叔用冰鮮船運過來的，我們倆哪裏吃的完啊。您就放心收下吧，尤其是您不是最愛吃螃蟹的嗎？”窈娘笑道。
解氏聽她如此說，也就欣然收下，又讓李氏吩咐廚房多做些窈娘愛吃的菜。母女二人幾日不見，話密的很，窈娘道：“這些日子帖子收到手軟了，天天吃酒席吃的我膩味了。”
“膩味可吃些清淡的，你弟弟我都不給重口味的給他吃。”解氏現在是照顧自己的小兒子多半。
窈娘抱着弟弟在身上，景慈親了窈娘一口：“姐姐，我們等會兒出去玩躲迷藏？好不好，你去找我吧。”
“好啊。”弟弟被娘親教的很親近她，她回來的時候，小家夥還會幫自己拿點心硬塞到自己手上。
窈娘帶着他出去躲迷藏玩了一會兒，等他累了，她才讓乳母抱着他回去歇息。沒想到在園子裏碰到了顏寧馨，顏寧馨看到她的第一眼先瑟縮了一下。
“大姐姐。”窈娘行了一禮。
顏寧馨見窈娘衣着華貴考究，烏發上珠翠環繞，整個人氣質與在家中完全不同了。她忍不住道：“三妹妹，請放心，我此次回來并非是和你搶什麽的。我在庵堂這幾年，常常反省，裏面的人多半不大正常，對我也是十分嚴苛，那樣的苦楚妹妹恐怕沒有受過一日吧。”
“大姐姐，我沒有逃婚，也沒有損害家族，我怎麽可能會受苦楚呢？”窈娘沒好氣道。
若非是她，窈娘當時行情好的很呢。
顏寧馨又連忙道歉：“三妹妹都是我的不是，我只是想請你放心。”
“好了，大姐姐，我對你也不會心存什麽憤懑，日後你若出嫁我也會添妝。大姐姐，人生苦短，你既然已經重獲新生，日後必定有鮮亮的日子等着你。就不必再想着過去了，過去之所以就是過去，就是你的好日子在未來就要到了。”窈娘真心實意的說。
像顏寧馨這樣腦子有點不清楚的人，就不必要和她說太多話了，反正二人也不會有交集了。
顏寧馨有些發怔：“妹妹，你覺得我還會有未來嗎？”
“會有的，父親若是真的不願意你來，就會遣人送你回去了。只是你現在身份特殊，愈發要平和一些，相信父親就好，他肯定不會害你的。”窈娘認真道。
顏寧馨看向窈娘，一把拉住窈娘的手：“你覺得我真的日後還會有非常好的日子嗎？”
窈娘點頭：“那是自然，佛說放下屠刀立地成佛，更何況你做的事情我現在已經補上了。雖說沈家人因為你悔婚排揎于我，但許多事情也過去了，如今我保證沈家人不說，顏家人不會提，試問你的人生怎麽不會前途一片坦途呢？”
這些話簡直是久旱逢甘霖，顏寧馨瞬間笑道：“多謝你，三妹妹。”
“不過，我也要提醒大姐姐你，現在你的名聲正緊要的是注意男女大防，否則，日後誰也救不了你了。”窈娘囑咐。
顏寧馨重重點頭。
又聽解氏身邊的人喊窈娘過去，窈娘就先告辭了，剛到解氏那裏，解氏就道：“我聽說你碰到她了，怎麽和她說那麽多話，她這個人算不得壞人，卻喜歡壞事，少和她往來。”
“知道了，我只是不想刺激她罷了。”窈娘如此道。
擺飯時，解氏讓李氏下去吃，她則和女兒在獨自吃飯，中途幫她遞了一個鹹鴨蛋：“你嘗嘗，一點兒也不齁鹹，配飯最好了。”
窈娘美滋滋的吃着，她的口味并不需要吃什麽山珍海味，只要合口味的都覺得好吃，不會覺得貴賤有什麽區別。
午膳用完，她惦記女兒，就先回去了。解氏舍不得女兒，但他現在也得照顧兒子，母女二人約好過幾日去沈家再見。坐上馬車，到中途人聲鼎沸，車行不動了，窈娘索性就掀開馬車簾。她擅長丹青，因此也擅長觀察別人，尤其是見過一面的人她都記得。
“那不是四妹夫嗎？”窈娘見一青年男子，行色匆匆，很像是徐思嘉。
讀書人最講究氣度，這種過分匆忙，不知道是什麽事情？她立馬對外道：“小慶哥，你幫我去盯梢，看他在做什麽。”
小慶連忙領命而去。
回家之後，她先洗手又換了一身衣裳，見女兒醒了，窈娘又抱着女兒哄了一會兒，只覺得女兒怎麽看怎麽乖。
她的黑色瞳仁特別亮，看起來就和別的小嬰兒不同，頭骨也生的很好，且脾氣很好，每次窈娘抱她，她也很少哭鬧。
“好寶寶，你真的是娘親的女兒啊？娘親都不敢相信呢。”她逗的孩子咯咯咯的笑。
說完她又把孩子交給乳母，自己在榻上睡了一會兒，等醒來時，聽小慶哥過來道：“大奶奶，小的奉您的吩咐跟着那徐家少爺，您猜怎麽着？他居然去的是一戶普通的小商販家，我給了幾個錢跟周圍的人打聽。原來那戶人家的年輕婦人原本是徐公子的侍婢，後來年紀大了放出來嫁人了，聽說每次徐公子過去，那家的男人就守在門口，等那徐公子出來。那家就大魚大肉還吃酒，簡直就跟私窠子似的。”
徐思嘉年紀比沈臨風還大一歲，一直等着瑩娘成婚，這樁親事原本就是甄氏為了面子快速定下的，還生怕父親不同意先斬後奏的。
這個徐思嘉居然喜歡自己的婢女，那為何不納在身邊呢？
窈娘把這個問題放在心裏，讓小慶哥有空去打探一二，等沈臨風回來時才和沈臨風提起。
“若是個丫頭，要了也就罷了，難不成徐夫人不給？怎地還偷摸到外面去了。”窈娘不明白。
沈臨風笑道：“必定是父婢，若是徐夫人不給，徐妹夫不可能要，也只要明修棧道暗度陳倉了。如此，還能在你父親那裏好印象，你那位二姐夫前些日子和人在秦樓楚館吃酒，你二姐姐可是派人一氣之下拿了你父親的帖子封了那地方。”
窈娘驚訝：“這事兒怎麽沒聽你跟我提起來？”
Father's maid, this explanation makes sense. Even if the father's concubine is released, it is impossible for her to be with his son, especially in a scholarly family where ethics are the most important. Yan Jingzhao is so arrogant that he has to treat Yan Yingqi's roommates, such as Aunt Feng, as elders.
"How can I tell you all this? If I tell you, you will definitely ask me how I know so much about the Qin Lou and Chu Guan. Even if I have ten mouths, I won't be able to explain it." Shen Linfeng looked aggrieved.
Yao Niang shook her head: "The eldest lady deliberately brought my eldest sister to the capital to play these ghost tricks. It's a pity that her own son-in-law is like this, but she didn't notice it. I really don't know if she is really smart?"