Xie Ming

Chapter 346: Zhen'e Crosses Yangzhou and Enters Shen's Mansion

On June 19, Shen Zhengwen, who was stranded in Nanjing, finally got the salt permit from the Ministry of Revenue. He then took the two sisters Yuzhen and Yu'e and sailed all the way to Yangzhou in the east without stopping!

On the morning of the 20th, the passenger ship arrived at the Yangzhou wharf on the misty river bank!

Just when everyone abandoned the boat and went ashore, they saw that Shen Chaozong and the several sedan chairs sent by the Shen family, as well as carriages and horses carrying luggage, had been waiting at the dock for a long time!

When Zhu Yuzhen first heard her elder brother Zheng Wenyan mention Shen Chaozong, she felt that he was capable and mature, and was a very smart and thoughtful wealthy businessman. But now that she has seen in person the Shen family's thoughtful actions, she feels even more personally touched and heartened.

However, no matter what, after all, she had suffered the same misfortune as Xiao'e, and had traveled south to a displaced place. Therefore, she had to be careful in her actions and be attentive at all times to feel at ease. So during the whole process of meeting him at the station, Yuzhen remained silent and was unwilling to say a word more easily, in order to avoid saying something inappropriate and causing trouble, which would embarrass her brother Zhengwen!
Afterwards, after waiting for about a quarter of an hour, Shen Zhengwen sent the baggage handlers to complete the arrangements, and then he, Yuzhen, Xiao'e and the other two got into the three sedan chairs in front of him.

A moment later, a group of people entered Yangzhou City!
Yu'e was lively and clever, and not as steady as her elder sister Yuzhen. So as soon as she got out of the team's sedan chair and entered the city, she quickly stretched her head out and lifted a corner of the screen window on the sedan chair to look outside.

Yangzhou is a place of outstanding people and beautiful scenery, with bustling streets and a large population. It is very different from the capital city in the north!

Xiao E watched closely all the way, busy looking!
After walking for about half a day, they finally approached the alley where the Shen Mansion was located.

Just look at the wide gate of the Shen Mansion, there are two big stone lions squatting on the left and right, with animal heads. In front of the gate there are already a dozen servants and doormen waiting!

There is a plaque on the door with the words "Shen Mansion" written in thick and vigorous style. I wonder who wrote it!
After the whole team of carriages and sedan chairs arrived at the gate, they changed sedan chair bearers, opened the door and entered the mansion. After turning many corners, they were finally able to enter the backyard!
The Jiangnan courtyard style is indeed different from the spacious and clear courtyards in Beijing. It is so winding and roundabout that it makes people dizzy.

"Haha, Miss Shen, we're here!"

The sedan chair stopped, and suddenly a maid came forward from outside the curtain, bowed and smiled, and invited Yuzhen to get out of the sedan chair.

Hearing this, Yuzhen only responded lightly in the sedan chair, and then someone from outside opened the curtain of the sedan chair.

Shen Zhengwen, Yuzhen and Xiao'e stepped out of the sedan chair one after another. The maid who was nearby also offered her hands and helped the two sisters to move forward!

Looking up, Yuzhen, supported by the old woman, took two steps forward and saw a small door with hanging flowers, with corridors on both sides and a marble screen with a rosewood frame in the middle of the hall.

Behind the screen, there are three more halls, and behind the halls is the main courtyard!

The upper room facing you has carved beams and painted buildings, and the side corridors on both sides are hung with various parrots, sunbirds, thrushes and other birds.

On the steps in front of the house, three or four little girls dressed in red and green saw them coming and hurried forward with smiles.

"Haha, hello, Miss Shen!"

"Miss Shen, you have worked hard on the journey!" The maids came up to her with smiles on their faces, showing great hospitality.

"What a pair of angelic ladies!"

"The master and his wife were still talking about it just now, and it happened to arrive now!"

"Second Master, your sisters are actually like this. I've never heard you talk about this before!"

"You are such a good second master, you are really good at hiding!"

Among the girls, there was a leader with a stern look and eyebrows. Her words were sour and ambiguous.

"Ouch!"

"alright!"

"You are the one who dares to act out in front of the Second Master!"

"Why don't you look at the time!" "The two ladies are still waiting!"

"Hurry! The two Miss Shens, the master and his wife are already waiting in the inner room, let's go in and talk first!"

Before Shen Zhengwen could even start speaking, another well-behaved maid stepped forward and tried to smooth things over for him.

After she finished speaking, with a smile on her face, the maids made their way to the left and right, vying to open the curtain, leading Yuzhen, Yu'e and her brother Shen Zhengwen to enter the house one after another!
In the house, Shen Chaozong was currently sitting in the middle hall. Even his concubine Liu, who was standing beside him, was extremely curious and anxious. When she heard the curtain in front of the house move, she hurriedly stood up, put on a amiable face, took a few steps forward, and went to greet him!
"Hehehe, Master, Master!"

"Look, Zhengwen is finally back!"

"Just now I was busy looking for satin in the back building. I thought that after you brought your two sisters here, I would ask the servants to cut some new Yangzhou-style clothes for them. They would be happy to wear them!"

"He, Master Shen, is still complaining!"

"I should have prepared it earlier!"

"But this person can't come. It's always hard to choose the right material for your body, color, and body. It's my own girl, so I need the best!"

"Tell me about him."

"Ah!" When Aunt Liu saw Shen Zhengwen coming forward, she muttered happily.

But when two pretty girls, Yuzhen and Yu'e, followed Zhengwen in, he was shocked at their looks and figures.

"Oops!"

"it is good"

"Master, look at this!"

"What a beautiful lady!"

"Erlang, how come I haven't heard you mention such a beautiful lady in your family before?"

"Tsk tsk tsk"

"Oh, it would be great if this baby were born in my belly!"

Aunt Liu looked envious as she looked Yuzhen and Xiao'e up and down, unable to hide her love for them!

It's a bit sad to say the least.

This concubine Liu is not very old, only about thirty-four or thirty-five, not much older than Shen Zhengwen!
Her real name was Liu Wanyun. She was very beautiful, kind-hearted, and strong-willed, but she was infertile.

Born into a prominent Huizhou merchant family, with her qualifications and family background, it should not be difficult for her to pick a suitable man of similar age!

But because he fell ill in his childhood and became infertile, the marriage was delayed.
It was not until a few years ago, when she met Shen Chaozong by chance at the New Year Lantern Festival, that she decided to leave the boudoir!

So she married into the Shen family and became Shen Chaozong's stepwife!
Even though she suffered from this disease, she was more than ten years older than Shen Chaozong. She married into the Shen family but was not the principal wife. Such behavior still required great courage and determination in the current social context!
Moreover, Shen Chaozong's original wife had a son named Shen Hongpan, who was more than one year older than Shen Zhengwen.

Such an old man with a pretty concubine and a silly boy is really enough for outsiders to gossip about!

If Liu Wanyun had not been a dignified and generous person who could bend and stretch, how could she have survived the gossips of others?
(End of this chapter)