Four hundred and thirteenth chapter hundred years of life (two)
Seeing her husband coming towards her, Ms. Xu said excitedly: "Master"
Shen Cang smiled slightly and said: "Madam, I'm back..."
An old married couple for forty years, the couple stared at each other, and the air became thicker. Others, including Mother Zhou, Mother Wu, Hongyun, and Hongxia, who were the personal attendants, knew what Xu had done in the past few months. I was so miserable that I couldn't help but have red circles under my eyes.
Shen Cang saw this in his eyes and looked at his wife, feeling very guilty in his heart. Naturally, he felt worthy of heaven and earth, worthy of his parents, siblings, and not only worthy of his married wife.
Mrs. Xu was embarrassed by her husband's look and looked away. She happened to see Shen Rui next to her husband, holding his arm. She felt extremely complicated.
If anyone else were to make their own decisions like this, it would be a child's play for them to take the imperial examination. They would definitely be taught a lesson, but Mrs. Xu could not open her mouth.
"Mom, it's windy outside, so we'd better go back to the room first..." Shen Rui said easily.
"Yes." Ms. Xu nodded and looked at her husband.
The couple smiled at each other and walked to the upper room side by side.
Shen Rui was very aware of the situation. Seeing that the old couple couldn't talk to each other in private, he stopped when he walked to the door and said: "Father, mother, son, go back and change clothes..."
Shen Cang turned his head, looked at Shen Rui's dark eyes, and said, "I woke up early this morning, and you are tired. It's a good time to have a rest. There's no need to rush here."
It was almost noon, and Shen Rui was indeed sleepy, so he said: "The father is talking to the mother, and the son will go back and take a nap, and come back during dinner."
Shen Cang nodded and said, "Go ahead..."
Mrs. Xu looked at the sky and said: "Don't lie down on an empty stomach when you see the meal. There is porridge simmering in the small kitchen here. I will ask someone to bring it to you in a while. Use it before going to bed..."
Shen Rui agreed and watched the old couple enter the house before turning back to Jiuruju.
In the upper room, Shen Cang took off his official hat and did not put it on the official hat rack. Instead, he said with a bit of loneliness: "Put it away, as if you won't need it in the future..."
Although he had known that this day would come, Shen Cang was filled with emotions, but he did not show it in front of his heir, forcing himself to be calm.
Xu's heart trembled, but she smiled and said: "I have been busy for these years, and I can finally breathe a sigh of relief. Apart from anything else, I still want to ask you to take me fishing..."
After hearing this, Shen Cang's expression of dejection faded, revealing a bit of nostalgia: "My wife had just married at that time, and I accompanied her to the Xishan Marriage Village to inspect. There was a lotus pond over there, and there were a lot of carps in it... Madam Speaking of the allusion of "Jiang Taigong fishing," he insisted on dragging me fishing..."
Mrs. Xu nodded and said: "I used a straight hook, and after drying it for a long time, I didn't catch a single fish. However, I caught a few big carp in one go. From that moment on, I became interested in fishing... "
"Yes. At that time, my wife was a dignified and steady eldest daughter-in-law in front of the grandfather and the old lady, but she was also naughty in private. Forty years have passed in the blink of an eye. But these years have been busy, and the number of times I actually picked up the fishing rod can only be counted on one finger. "In the past two or three years, every time I see Shen Hong and hear him talk about interesting things about fishing with great interest, I feel envious, but I am not as comfortable and in the same state of mind as him..." Shen Cang became excited as he spoke. , said: "Now that the autumn air is crisp, it is a good time for fishing. In a few days, we will go to Zhuangzi to go fishing..."
Mrs. Xu naturally agreed and said: "That's good. Brother Rui happened to have been working hard the past few days, so it's good for the children to go out and get some fresh air..."
The couple were talking when they heard a rush of footsteps in the yard.
Hongyun came in and said: "Master, madam, the third master is here..."
Before he finished speaking, the third master panted and walked in through the curtain without waiting for the message to be conveyed.
Not caring about giving gifts to his brother and sister-in-law first, the third master looked at his brother carefully and put his heart down when he saw that he was sitting on the couch without a scratch.
Shen Cang glanced at him and frowned: "You are so old and you are still frizzy?"
"I'm not worried about brother..." The third master's breathing gradually subsided and he said with a smile.
Shen Cang shook his head helplessly and said, "You, please, please stop letting me and your sister-in-law worry a little..."
The old residence of the Shen family, east courtyard.
After a night's rest, Shen Xiu had recovered from a lot of fatigue. Grandma Xiu also met with the several stewards who had stayed behind and asked about all the favors she had received from the capital during the past year. As for the various expense accounts of the people left behind, it was reasonable. After all, no one will care about spending a few more taels of silver. After all, if the water is clear, there will be no fish. This truth is known to every leader.
Shen Xiu hesitated again and again, but decided to go to the Shangshu Mansion to visit his clan elders first. After all, in the eyes of the world, clan is the most important, clan is a family, and in-laws are people with two surnames.
On He Dongsheng's side, Shen Ji decided to wait and see. He wrote the post himself, asked his wife to prepare a few Songjiang local rituals, and sent the housekeeper to personally deliver the post to the Shangshu Mansion.
Grandma Zhi waited for the housekeeper to leave, and couldn't help but hesitated and said: "Uncle, I sent my second uncle to Beijing before, and there was some suspicion. Can we just go back and forth as usual?"
It has only been half a year since Shen went to Beijing to take Shen Jue's body back to his hometown. It would be too shameless for the clan to not exist as if it existed at this time.
"What's the difference between us? It's because we are all members of the Shen clan as others say. It's too late to support each other, so why should we alienate each other for nothing? You and I are both juniors. We have just returned to the capital. Isn't it appropriate to go to greet each other as a family? Besides, we are catching up. During the Mid-Autumn Festival, it's Rui Geer's hometown exam time again, so I should ask..." Shen Ji frowned.
"Where is your uncle?" Grandma Zhu didn't want to argue with her husband, so she just said.
In the past, the number one person in the interpersonal relationships in the capital was with Mr. He.
Thinking about He Dongsheng's attitude in the past six months, Shen Zhi felt agitated, but he had no intention of breaking up with him, and said: "After going to Shangshu Mansion, we will go there again..."
At this moment, the housekeeper who had just listened to the order came back, and behind him was another person. He was wearing an official uniform and a third-grade tonic. It was none other than the "Uncle" He Dongsheng mentioned by the couple.
Shen Xiu was startled and hurriedly stood up to greet her; Grandma Xiu was the daughter of He's family and He Dongsheng's cousin. There was no need to avoid her, so she followed her husband to greet him.
He Dongsheng walked in a hurry. When he met Shen Zhu and his wife, he didn't bother to greet him and asked directly: "Did you go to Shangshu Mansion?"
The couple were shocked when they heard this and looked at each other, a little unsure of the purpose of He Dongsheng's question. Was this a visit to pick a fight? But it was coming too fast?
"I haven't gone yet." Shen Zhi thought for a while and said the truth.
He Dongsheng frowned and said, "Why aren't you going? Why are you so dawdling?"
Even though he was an elder, he was only a few years older than Shen Jiu, and he had always been polite. Now that he was speaking so loudly, Shen Jiu couldn't help but feel a little annoyed. His originally bowed back was straightened, and his face was a little ugly.
Seeing that the atmosphere was not right, Grandma Ji was so busy: "I have already sent someone to deliver the message, and I will go to the Minister's Mansion tomorrow to pay my respects."
He Dongsheng held Shen Cang's official career papers in his arms, and his heart was on fire. How could he care about Shen Zhi's emotions?
He shook his head and said: "Don't wait for tomorrow, go over today and see what's wrong with Shen Cang. What is his illness? Look at what he sang today. Is he really seriously ill and arranging his funeral arrangements before he went to officialdom? Or is it intentional?" Are you setting up a trap for me to get in?"
Shen Ji and Grandma Ji were dumbfounded.
Grandma Ji said in surprise: "Master Cang is sick?"
She has experienced two funerals in the past year, and when she heard about illness, Grandma Zhu only felt a lingering fear in her heart.
"Going to the official position?" Shen Jiu felt his head buzzing, and his heart began to twitch.
No matter what rumors there are in Songjiang, this is the capital, and in the eyes of others, the Shen family in Songjiang is a family. Although Shen Li has a great reputation, it is not unusual for him to be the number one scholar in three years. He is still going through qualifications and wants to be granted a title. It was twenty or thirty years later, but Shen Cang, the Minister of Punishment, was a real minister.
Even if He Dongsheng was not sure about Shen Ji's revolt before, Shen Ji was irritated, but he was not particularly worried. He was confident because he still had his second wife. He believed that as long as he was willing to ask for help, the elders of his second wife would not refuse.
It is difficult to make up for the vacancies in the capital, but those are high-level official positions. There are a lot of vacancies in the capital of fifth grade and below, depending on whether they are hot or cold.
Shen Zhi and his wife didn't look like they were pretending, and unexpectedly they were replaced by He Dongsheng: "You have never heard of it at all?
Shen Ji shook his head and said: "I just arrived in the capital yesterday, and my clan members haven't moved around yet, so I only found out about this."
When He Dongsheng saw this, he became more and more uncertain. After all, Shen Cang's age was still there. He was not yet in his sixtieth year. He was not considered young in the capital, but he was not considered old either. Even if he handed over the resignation letter, the emperor They may not approve it, and they may not allow him to temporarily report his illness. In that case, He Dongsheng will have to think carefully before he acts, so he will be confused and ask for help everywhere, but he will be busy in vain.
"When Shangshu Shen arrived at the Yamen this morning, everything was as usual. Then some family members came to pick up Shangshu Shen's family..." He Dongsheng briefly described the situation this morning in a few words.
Shen Rui's face was pale. "Resigning" and "complaining about illness" were not the same thing at all. If nothing else, it was the autumn exams that were just around the corner. It was a critical time for Shen Rui's future. As long as Shen Cang could persist, he would definitely persist. Go on; if you don’t persist, it’s obviously that your health is so bad that you can’t wait any longer.
"I'm going to Shangshu Mansion right away," Shen Ji said with a bit of urgency.
He Dongsheng nodded and said: "Go ahead, you have to find out what's going on..."
Jiuruju, bedroom.
Shen Rui stayed up all night last night. He was very tired both mentally and physically, but he still couldn't sleep. Although he felt a little regretful about this provincial examination, he was a manly man who showed no regrets, not because he gave up. I was worried about taking the exam, but I was thinking about Shen Cang's illness.
Tomorrow I should quietly go to the doctor's house, and I must first ask about Shen Cang's physical condition. If nothing else, just saying that Xu's abnormalities are enough to show that Shen Cang may not have much time left.
Shen Rui didn't know what he could do for Shen Cang, so he took a long breath and secretly said in his heart: "Let nature take its course...
Outside the curtain, someone spoke in a lowered voice.
The third master is here.
Shen Rui turned over and sat up and said, "Third uncle?"
The door curtain opened and the third master walked in...