Poor Family Laity

  Chapter 71, Selection

  Wuchangbo Mansion.

  Shi Zhengkun checked the appointment, declined the banquet of his colleagues, and went directly back to the uncle's mansion.

  Recently, the atmosphere at home was a little weird, which made him a little uneasy.

  He went to Yixiangtang to pay his respects, but his mother never saw him. Although there were reasonable reasons every time, he could feel that it was his mother who didn't want to see him.

   But why?

   There is also his father. In the past, when his father saw him, he had to say a few words of encouragement, but now that he saw him, he would walk away after a few words. Once he even found that his father was deliberately avoiding him.

  Brother is also very strange, looking at him with complicated eyes, and sighing every time.

  Shi Zhengkun returned to Yiwen Academy worriedly. As soon as he entered the room, he saw Zeng Yuwei and asked, "Did you find out what happened at home?"

  Zeng Yuwei shook her head: "You know how tight-lipped my sister-in-law is. If she doesn't want to say it, I have no ability to make her talk."

   As he spoke, he paused.

   "Sanggong, are you overthinking it? I see everything at home is normal."

  Shi Zhengkun walked around the room irritably: "No, something must have happened, and it has something to do with me." After walking around twice, he said directly, "No, I have to ask my parents."

  Seeing Shi Zhengkun walking out quickly, Zeng Yuwei hurriedly followed.

  The two went straight to Yixiangtang, but unfortunately, when they reached the gate of the courtyard, they were stopped again.

   "Fourth Master, Fourth Madam, the old man and the old lady have something to say, and they ordered that no one should be disturbed."

   Zeng Yuwei hurriedly said: "The fourth master has not greeted the old master and the old lady for some days. Today, I came back early on purpose. Since father and mother are here, then we have to go in."

   As he spoke, he was about to step into the yard.

  Before her footsteps landed, she saw two women guarding the door standing in front of her.

  The conversation has already reached this point, and the servant dared to stop, Zeng Yuwei became angry at once: "You are so brave, even me and the fourth master dare to stop!"

  At this time, Madam An who was beside Mrs. Shi came over.

   Nanny An, like Nanny Xu, is Mrs. Shi's dowry and confidant. As soon as Shi Zhengkun saw her, he immediately stepped forward: "Mommy, I want to go in and say hello to my parents. Please pass on a message."

  Nurse An smiled and said, "Fourth Master, the old lady is really uncomfortable these days. When she recovers, she will see you naturally. You and Fourth Lady should go back first."

   Zeng Yuwei wanted to say something, but was stopped by Shi Zhengkun.

   "Okay, since mother is going to rest, then we won't bother, please ask mommy to say hello to father and mother for me."

   After finishing speaking, she left with Zeng Yuwei.

   As soon as the two of them reached the fork in the road, they saw Shi Zhengmao and Mrs. Shi walking towards them.

   Zeng Yuwei wanted to go up to say hello, but Shi Zhengkun took her to hide under the shade of a tree next to her.

   "Master, what are you?"

  Shi Zhengkun didn't answer, but just looked at Shi Zhengmao and Mrs. Shi silently, and when he saw the two entered Yixiang Hall, his expression changed instantly.

   "Something must have happened, otherwise my parents wouldn't miss me."

  Shi Zhengkun looked at Zeng Yuwei: "I was busy some time ago and didn't have time to take care of my family. Think about it, is there anything strange happening at home?"

   Zeng Yuwei thought for a while, then shook her head: "No, it's strange, last time my mother suddenly went to meet you in our courtyard, does that count?"

  Shi Zhengkun remembered it, and it seemed that his mother hadn't seen him since then: "Forget it, let someone go and find out, and ask what happened at home that day?"

  Mother wouldn't ignore him for no reason, there must be something happening that he didn't know about.

  Zeng Yuwei's father is the fourth-rank Dali Temple Shaoqing. Although his rank is not very high, he is a real official with real power. His natal family is powerful, so many servants of the Shifu got close to Zeng Yuwei.

  Zeng Yuwei is still very well informed about the news in the mansion.

   Not long after Zeng Yuwei and Shi Zhengkun returned to Yiwen Academy, the dowry maid found out the news.

   "What? On the day my mother came to our yard, I received a letter from Uncle Jiang's family?"

   "Could it be that something happened to the Jiang family?"

   "No, if something happened to Jiang's family, why didn't my mother see me?"

  Shi Zhengkun was really confused, Jiang's family was far away in the northwest border, he really didn't expect that Jiang's letter could have anything to do with him.

   Zeng Yuwei said again: "By the way, there was another letter from the Jiang family today. After hearing that my mother read the letter, she immediately sent someone to invite my father. The two of them stayed in the house for a long time and didn't come out."

   "We went to pay our respects, but we were stopped outside the courtyard, but the eldest brother and sister-in-law went in. Could it be that something really happened to the Jiang family and asked the elder brother and sister-in-law to discuss it?"

   "It shouldn't be, there's no need to hide this from us, right?"

  Both the husband and wife were very confused, and after a while of silence, Shi Zhengkun suddenly got up and went out: "I'll go to the second sister's place, but my parents won't see me, so I won't even see the second sister."

   Zeng Yuwei nodded hurriedly: "Yes, yes, the second sister has the best relationship with you, and she will definitely be able to find out what happened when she comes forward."

   Yixiang Hall.

  Mrs. Shi and Mrs. Shi sat on the Kang facing the window, while Shi Zhengmao and Mrs. Shi sat on the chairs next to them.

  Shi Zhengmao and Mrs. Shi are reading the letter, this time they received a total of four letters.

   One was written by Mrs. Jiang, one was written by Jiang Anbang, and the other two were written by Shi Nian and Madam Xu.

   Mrs. Jiang was contradicted many times in the Li family, and she was influenced by Jiang Antai, so the content of the letter mostly expressed her dissatisfaction with Li Changsen's family.

  Jiang Anbang mostly spoke from the standpoint of the Li Changsen family, and revealed that he liked the four children of the Li family very much.

   Shi Nian and Madam Xu didn't dare to express their opinions in the letter, and recorded all the conversations they had with Li Changsen's family on the day they came to recognize their relatives relatively impartially.

  Through the letters of the four people, Mrs. Shi and the four were able to roughly restore the meeting scene that day.

  In the room, the four people had different reactions.

  Lady Shi sat on the kang calmly and calmly, adding incense powder to the incense burner at a leisurely pace, while the old lady Shi who was across from the kang pursed her lips and said nothing.

  After Shi Zhengmao read the letter, his brows became pimples, while Mrs. Shi had high brows, with an obvious look of surprise on her face.

   Li Changsen's family didn't want to go back to Shi's house, which really caught everyone by surprise!

   No, it cannot be said that they are unwilling to return to Shijia, they want to come back in a legitimate way

  If he came back with a legitimate name, he would have to announce to the public the fact that the child was wronged back then. At that time, Shi Zhengkun would definitely be affected, and maybe he would have a rift with the Shi family because of this.

   Regarding this point, Shi Zhengmao is very clear, and because of this, he is a little annoyed: "This Li Changsen"

   "What is Li Changsen? That's your younger brother. His surname is Shi, not Li." Mrs. Shi cast a sidelong glance at Shi Zhengmao.

  Shi Zhengmao choked: "Then I'll call him Shi Changsen?"

   At that time, the old lady did not speak, and continued to tinker with the incense burner.

  Shi Zhengmao was silent: "Changsen. Changsen, isn't he making it difficult for us?"

   Mrs. Shi understood her husband's thoughts, and she also held the same point of view. Seeing that Mrs. Shi and Mrs. Shi were silent, she thought for a while and said:

   "The Changsen family's parents are outside, and no one has taught them many things. It is understandable that the family's difficulties are not understood."

   "The fourth brother is now working in the Imperial Academy. The Imperial Academy is a place that the emperor and all civil and military officials attach great importance to. If it is revealed that the fourth brother is not the son of the Shi family, it may have a great impact on him."

   "Father, mother, don't let the first aunt and second aunt go over and have a good talk with Chang Mori. If it makes sense, the family will understand the difficulties at home."

   At that time, the old lady didn't raise her head: "Why don't they understand?"

  Shi Da Furen was stunned for a moment, not sure what her mother-in-law's attitude was, she looked at her husband, and said nothing.

  Shi Zhengmao asked directly: "Father, mother, what are you thinking? Do you really want everyone to know that the fourth brother is not his own? How much harm will this cause him?"

   "You don't want to see him these days, he has no intention of working. He always comes to ask me if you are not feeling well, and the words are very concerned."

   "The fourth brother has been strong since he was a child. If he knows that he is not the son of the Shi family, how will he deal with himself?"

   "It's understandable to take Changsen back, but it's not worth the candle to let the fourth brother separate from us."

   Mrs. Shi looked at Shi Zhengmao: "Then tell me, what should I do about this?"

  Shi Zhengmao: "That's what I mean too, let the uncles come forward and talk to Chang Mori Haosheng."

  Shi the old lady asked again: "If it doesn't make sense, will you deny it?"

  Shi Zhengmao choked: "Mother, I didn't mean that. If uncle and the others can't make sense, then I will go to Rongcheng myself."

  Shi the old lady smiled and shook her head: "If your eldest uncle can't say anything even if he comes forward, it's useless for you to go. Well, you go down."

  Before hearing his parents' decision, Shi Zhengmao didn't want to just leave, and wanted to say something, but was stopped by Mrs. Shi who stood up and walked to him.

   "Sir, let's go back first."

  Shi Zhengmao reluctantly followed Mrs. Shi out of Yixiang Hall: "What's the matter with you? I want to ask my parents what they think."

   Mrs. Shi: "Haven't you seen it, father and mother probably have already made a decision."

  Shi Zhengmao was stunned: "What decision? I didn't see it."

  Shi Da Furen sighed: "Didn't you find that mother is very calm this time? People can only be upset when they make up their minds. Mother, a decision has already been made."

  Shi Zhengmao hurriedly said: "Then what is their decision?"

   Mrs. Shi shook her head. Although she has been married to Shi's family for more than twenty years, it is still difficult for her to guess what her mother-in-law is thinking.

  Recognize her own son, this is for sure, and what a mother should do, she has no doubts about this.

   But the difficulty lies in the fact that the fourth brother is involved.

  The fourth brother was cultivated by the Shi family with a lot of effort. It's fine to recognize Li Changsen, but if it affects his future, it will be a loss to him and the Shi family.

   Leaving aside the Shi family, Li Changsen's coming back in a legitimate manner will definitely affect his fourth brother, and he probably has a hard time feeling uncomfortable.

  One is an adopted son with a promising future who is carefully raised. Although the other is his own son, he grew up in a military family.

  If you value the interests of the family, you must know how to choose, but the mother-in-law is not an ordinary person, she really can't guess how she will choose.

   "Have you really thought about it?"

  After the eldest son and eldest daughter-in-law left, the old man spoke up when he had been silent.

  The old lady nodded: "Everyone has to be responsible for their own mistakes. We failed to protect the children and let the children be dropped. It is a parental mistake. It is a big mistake. We have to face today's difficulties."

  "Since you made a mistake, you can't make the same mistake again and again!"

   "I didn't think carefully before. I shouldn't have sent Shi Nian and Madam Xu to Rongcheng before deciding how to arrange Zheng Kun."

   "The child really can't be taken back in an unclear manner, because we, the child has been in trouble for more than 30 years, and now we can't let him continue to be wronged."

  The old man hesitated a bit: "But Zhengkun's side."

Mrs. Shi sighed, but her expression was firm: "It stands to reason that he is innocent, but he took away Chang Sen's life, right and wrong, he has to pay the price for his parents' greed, he bears All the criticisms are caused by his parents, not us."

  Shi the old man sighed again: "The child's miscarriage has been quarreled, and Zheng Kun is afraid that he will separate from us."

  Shi's old lady was very open about this: "That's something that can't be helped, no matter how close a son is, he can't guarantee that he will always be close to his parents."

"For Zhengkun, we have a clear conscience. When he was our son, we raised him with all our heart. He is no longer our son, but he is also an adopted son. If he has the heart and keeps getting close to us, we welcome him. If he alienates us, it's okay. Weird."

  The old man sighed a long time: "The Shi family is really going to fall in my hands."

  As a family of military generals, either they have always had real power in the army, or someone in the family can read and pass down the family through poetry and books.

  Because of being suppressed by the superiors in the past few years, the family took a lot of effort to get the eldest son to find a position as a fifth-rank member in the Ministry of War.

  Now he is still alive, and there is an earl in the mansion to support him. Once he goes, without the name of the earl's mansion, he can hardly imagine how the family will decline.

   After finally supporting a Hanlin scholar, he is not his own son.

  Shi's old lady lowered her eyes: "Some things are very difficult to say. Even if a Hanlin scholar falls into the eyes of the emperor, he must start as a low-level official. Many people spend their entire lives as editors."

"You and I can't say for sure about the future. What we can control is the present. The child must be brought back. This is our responsibility as parents. If you let him stay at the border and go to see the ancestors in the future, you will not legal account."

  The old man was not talking at the time.

  Shi the old lady suddenly laughed: "Don't say it, the Changsen family really surprised me. I thought that growing up at the border and lacking education, the Changsen family would have little knowledge. I didn't expect them to surprise me."

  Shi the old man raised his eyes and looked at the old wife: "Why is it a surprise?"

  Shi the old lady asked: "Why isn't it a surprise? If our family came to recognize their relatives, they would obediently follow back. Although they are obedient, don't you think something is missing?"

   Said, smiled.

   "I know that sister-in-law, she has a set of principles, Changsen's children were not involved by her, and they dared to fight her, just this temper, it should be my blood."

   "The second brother said that Chang Sen's youngest daughter is very similar to me, and I can't wait to meet them."

  Master Shi is not as lenient as Madam Shi, when he thinks about the future of the Shi family, he has a severe headache: "Would you like to talk about Zhengkun, or should I talk about it?"

  The old lady was silent: "Today Zeng wants to force his way in. I think they will find them in the next two days. Let me tell you."

  Early the next morning, Mrs. Shi and Mrs. Shi had just had breakfast when the maid reported that her daughter Shi Yuhua had returned.

Mrs. Shi raised her eyebrows, and looked at Mrs. Shi: "I thought Zhengkun would come to ask by himself, but I didn't expect to bring Yuhua back. It's okay, this is a major event of the Shi family, everyone in the family should know of."

  (end of this chapter)