activa-t Chapter 220 Rain leaks
Chapter 220 Rain leaks
After Xie Guimo left, Shen Tang, who was tired after a day, lay on the small couch for a while and fell asleep.
When I woke up, it was already evening, and the sky was filled with beautiful clouds.
Shen Tang leaned against the window, watching the sunset, feeling a strange sense of tranquility.
Ginkgo took the teacup out and came back a few moments later, saying, "The Princess of Qi is pregnant and had a miscarriage. When the Emperor found out, he gave her a lot of gifts..."
Shen Tang, "..."
It was normal for the emperor to reward Shen Xian. After all, among the emperor's many princes, only the Prince of Qi was married. The emperor would attach importance to the first grandson, no matter who gave birth to him, even if it was born by a concubine. It was not that Shen Xian had such a big face.
The more the emperor values her, the angrier he will be when he finds out that she is the child of the Marquis of Changping.
Shen Tang didn't even dare to imagine what kind of thundering wrath that would be.
In Shen Tang's case, not to mention Shen Xi, even the King of Qi is half done for.
In his previous life, the Marquis of Changping spared no effort to support the Prince of Qi, and it is the same in this life. But if Concubine Ye and the Prince of Qi knew that Shen Ying was having an affair with the Prince of Changping, would Concubine Ye and the Prince of Qi think that the Marquis of Changping was so dedicated just to support his own grandson to sit in that position? The Prince of Qi was already being pressed step by step by the eldest prince, and if there was another rift between them, how could the Prince of Qi not be completely defeated?
Not only will it happen, but that day won’t be too far away.
Ginkgo brought the cakes over. Shen Tang took a piece and started eating. She had only eaten half of it when Si'er came running in, his eyes sparkling, and said, "Miss, the second master was beaten up!"
Shen Tang, "..."
Isn't this too fast?
Shen Tang glanced at the clepsydra.
It took barely an hour from the time Xie Guimo said he would beat up the second master to let her vent her anger until the news reached her ears.
Ginkgo didn't know that it was Shen Tang who had ordered the beating. She opened her eyes and asked, "Who beat up the Second Master?"
Si Er shook his head. "I don't know. The Second Master was beaten outside the Second House's door, just a dozen steps away from the main gate. He was beaten so badly that his nose and face were swollen and he couldn't even get up. If the gatekeeper hadn't seen the Second Master's horse and thought it was strange, no one would have known..."
The second branch has been embarrassed quite a lot recently, but being beaten outside of their own house is too embarrassing.
If the fight happened in the mansion, it could be concealed a little, but outside, with so many people coming and going, it couldn't be hidden at all.
Shen Tang raised her hand to support her forehead. Only Xie Guimo's men would beat the second master outside the second house's gate, but she had to admit that the beating touched her heart, and all the unhappiness in her heart disappeared.
This is what she will do from now on. Once the old lady misses the second wife, she will have someone beat up the second master. She is a filial granddaughter, and the old lady likes to feel bad, so let her feel bad enough.
But unfortunately, this news was blocked by Mother Wang and the old lady didn't know about it.
The old lady is confused, but they, the servants, should be clear about it. The second young lady has already suggested that the old lady move to the second room. If the old lady really falls ill because of the second room, the marquis will either send her to the second room or send her out of the house to recuperate.
The old lady seldom goes out, and everything she knows is reported by the servants. As long as she doesn't know that the second house is in trouble again, the old lady naturally won't feel sad.
Mother Wang stopped the second master from being beaten black and blue at the doorstep of his own house, and she did not even report that Shen Xi was generously rewarded by the emperor. She also instructed the maids in Songhe Hall that any future matters concerning the second house must be reported to her first. Anyone who ignored her words, both good and bad, would be told to the old lady. If the old lady became ill due to anger, she would punish her with a stick and send her out of the house.
Mother Wang’s prestige in Songhe Hall is second only to the old lady, and no one dares to disobey her.
Besides, the news of the second master being beaten was heard by Shen Xi immediately.
Shen Xian was bedridden with her baby. When she heard about this, she knew it was Shen Tang who did it.
She was so angry that she wanted to skin Shen Tang alive.
Her face was grim, and the maid advised, "The princess has been so angry that she has a miscarriage. The imperial physician has advised her to rest and recuperate. The princess should focus on the young prince in her belly."
Shen Xian forced herself to suppress the anger that was rising to the top of her head.
The second master and the second wife could no longer give her any help, and were even a burden to her. She could only rely on the baby in her belly to turn things around.
She had to keep this baby no matter what.
……
A good night's sleep.
The next day, Shen Tang got up at the same time as usual, but had breakfast in his own room before going to Songhe Hall to pay his respects to the old lady.
The old lady's face was a little pale, but she was not to the point of being bedridden, or rather, she was so afraid to stay in bed that she smiled bitterly. She was probably the only old lady in Kyoto who had fallen to the point where she had to depend on her granddaughter's mood for whether she was sick or not.
Shen Tang acted as if nothing had happened yesterday and paid his respects as required, and the old lady could only pretend she didn't know.
Shen Tang stayed for a quarter of an hour and then returned to Qingyi Garden.
The weather was clear and the sky was blue in the morning, but in the evening, the sky was covered with dark clouds.
There was a strong wind at night, and in the second half of the night the windows were rattling. Shen Tang was woken up by the wind. After a while of insomnia, he fell asleep again while listening to the sound of rain outside the window.
When I woke up in the morning, the rain was still falling. The entire mansion and even the entire Kyoto were shrouded in mist and rain.
After breakfast, the rain slowed down a bit, but it was already afternoon when it stopped.
Shen Tang didn't go anywhere that day, not even out of the inner room. In the evening, Si'er came into the room, and the little maid had gone somewhere unknown. There was a lot of mud on the hem of her skirt, and mud marks were left wherever she walked.
Qiu Tong's eyes hurt as she watched, "I just mopped the floor..."
Si'er lowered her head, glanced at her shoes, and said with a blushing face, "Don't be angry, Sister Qiutong, I'll wipe them off in a while."
Qiu Tong asked, "Where did you hear this good news? Do you want to tell the young lady?"
Si Er laughed and said to Shen Tang, "The second branch is unlucky again."
Shen Tang, “…???”
Before Shen Tang could speak, Ginkgo asked, "What happened to the second house?"
Si'er said quickly, "The roof of the second house is leaking. Last night, it rained heavily outside, and it rained lightly inside. Not only the second wife's room, but also the second master's study, were all flooded..."
“I heard that the second wife was lying on the bed, watching the rain fall all night in the house.”
The second wife was beaten with a stick by the Dali Temple and has not recovered yet, so she can only sleep on her stomach.
Shen Tang thought about that scene and laughed so hard that his cheeks hurt.
The house leaks and it rains all night.
Although it is said that when a person is unlucky, even drinking water will cause problems for his teeth, Shen Tang did not believe that this could be such a coincidence. Although the house had been occupied in a hurry and had not been renovated, it had always been guarded, so it was not possible that the roof leaked without anyone knowing.
Ginkgo also felt that this wasn't just bad luck. Si'er changed his clothes and shoes and came back to wipe the mud off the ground. Ginkgo went out for a while and came back to whisper in Shen Tang's ear, "It was the day when the young lady and the young master went to pay their respects to the lady that Chen Shan lifted the roof of the second room..."
It was indeed Chen Shan. Shen Tang said decisively, "Reward Chen Shan with ten taels of silver."
Chen Shan is Xie Guimo's secret guard. It is a waste of his talent for him to be sent to guard Shen Tang. Moreover, he was instructed by Shen Tang to teach the second master and the second mistress a lesson. He must teach them a lesson in one go, otherwise it would be a shame for him to make a special trip.
Chen Shan blew off several roofs, causing heavy losses to the second house.
Of course, this matter did not reach the ears of the old lady. After two days of rest, when the rain cleared up, Shen Tang went to Songhe Hall to pay his respects again. The old lady looked much better.
The Third and Fourth Madams also knew about Mother Wang's order to the maids and servants in Songhe Hall. They thought it was Shen Tang or Shen Sui's intention. They would not be so tactless as to deliberately mention the Second House in front of the Old Madam, which seemed to indicate that they did not want to stay in the Marquis' Mansion anymore.
The Third Madam smiled and said, "The wedding date for the Marquis Xuanyi's son and the eldest daughter of the Right Prime Minister's residence has been set. It will be on the eighth day of this month. The wedding invitation should be sent in the next two days."
Today is the first day of the new year.
Thinking about how the two of them had arranged their marriage, Shen Tang wanted to laugh, and so did everyone else in the room.
The Fourth Wife said, "Although this marriage is a bit absurd, the Prince of Xuanyi and the eldest daughter of the Right Prime Minister's Mansion are a perfect match. It is truly a marriage made in heaven."
The old lady couldn't help laughing and asked, "How is the preparation of Tang'er's dowry going?"
The fourth wife said, "Third sister-in-law and I are keeping an eye on it. There is no problem with the embroidery room, but I don't know if the people outside the mansion can rush it. There are other things. Third sister-in-law and I will go out of the mansion to rush them."
The old lady looked at Shen Tang and said, "Tomorrow the Jingyang Palace will send the invitation gift. This time you are really getting married."
The invitation gift was originally scheduled to be delivered yesterday, but it rained, so it was rescheduled.
The three matchmakers and six betrothals are only a matter between the two governments and can be changed at will, but once the wedding date is set and the wedding invitations are sent out, it must be held regardless of wind or rain.
Because of the second house and the rain, Shen Tang no longer came to have breakfast with the old lady. The old lady has reflected on herself in the past few days and no longer blames Shen Tang for wanting to send her to the second house. Now, when she thinks of Shen Tang getting married, she only feels reluctant.
Although the Prince of Jingyang's Mansion and the Marquis of Pingyuan's Mansion are only a few streets apart, making it convenient to come back, it is not as good as being in the mansion and being able to see them every day.
Although Shen Tang had been married to Xie Guimo for a while and had lived in the Jingyang Palace for four years, she wasn't as nervous as she was the first time, but she still blushed when she was looked at. She changed the subject and said, "Didn't you say that big brother's wedding is set a few days after mine? The Marquis's Mansion also needs to prepare betrothal gifts for big brother. Will Third and Fourth Aunts be busy enough to handle it?"
The Fourth Wife laughed and said, "Old Prince Ning and Princess Ning knew that the palace was busy with your marriage and refused to let the Marquisate prepare the betrothal gifts. Besides, it would be inappropriate for each family to carry half of the gifts. So the Marquis thought about it and changed the arrangement. He asked the public treasury to give 20,000 taels to the Prince Duan's Mansion as a betrothal gift."
"The Duke of Duan's Mansion added another 10,000 taels to the betrothal gift from the Marquis' Mansion, and gave it all to Princess Roujia as her dowry."
As for how much betrothal gifts the Ning Wang Mansion sent and how the Duan Wang Mansion prepared the dowry, the Fourth Wife had no idea.
However, a copy of the gift list will definitely be sent to the Marquis' Mansion later. After all, this marriage involves three families, so everything must be done in a clear manner.
Both the betrothal gifts and dowry must be submitted to the government office for recordation. This is the first time in all the years the government office has seen betrothal gifts and dowry being paid directly with silver notes. It really saves trouble.