Xu Yihao finally agreed to move to Xikuoyuan, and Mrs. Xu immediately mobilized everyone in the Shen family to clean up the house.
All the smashed furniture was moved out, retrieved from the warehouse and put up, the bed tents and curtains were hung up again, and the Duobao Pavilion was filled with new things.
That's all. Unfortunately, the painting that was damaged by Xu Yihao couldn't be replaced.
Mrs. Xu was anxious, but this thing couldn't be bought casually on the street. In the end, she had to go to Shuangtangyuan in person.
Shen Tianshu, dressed in homely clothes, was lying on the kang table writing something.
She has been reading the medical books and notes left by the original owner's mother in her free time recently. She was inspired today and is taking the time to record them.
"Girl, Madam is here." Rui'er quickly walked into the room to preach.
Minghui couldn't help but flinch a little when she heard this. She had gone to Dongkua Courtyard to say a few words at Shen Tianshu's instructions before, and was very worried that Mrs. Xu was here to investigate.
Shen Tianshu couldn't stand her look and scolded: "Stand straight, what are you afraid of? Since I let you go, I won't harm you!"
Minghui immediately stood up straight and tried to pretend that nothing happened.
"Tian Shu!" Mrs. Xu came in with a smile on her face and was extremely friendly.
"Mother." Shen Tianshu stood up to greet her, let her sit down in the room, and asked the maid to prepare tea.
After Mrs. Xu sat down, she looked at Shen Tianshu with a smile on her face and said, "Tian Shu, I came here today because I have a merciless invitation."
"If mother has any instructions, she can just tell others, so why come over in person?"
Mrs. Xu groaned and it was hard to say. In the end, she had no choice but to grit her teeth and said, "Tian Shu, that's what happened. A calligraphy and painting on the wall of the East Crossing Courtyard was accidentally touched by a servant when they were cleaning it up." It’s broken. Your father is about to bring Mr. Zhao’s family back. The bare walls are really ugly. I can’t find anything of this quality for a while, so I have to come to your place.”
"Oh, what mother means is that she wants to take a calligraphy and painting from my mother's dowry and hang it up?"
Xu's face turned red when she asked, but she had to nod her head, and then emphasized: "I'm just borrowing it for a while. When the guest leaves, I will bring it back to you immediately."
Shen Tianshu's biological mother, Liu, was originally from Hangzhou Prefecture. She was a local wealthy family and her family was very well off.
When she first got married to Taiyuan Mansion, she was really a red girl from all over the world.
The front of the dowry procession has already entered the Shen family gate, while the ones behind have not yet entered the city gate.
Loads of dowry were laid out in the courtyard of the Shen Mansion for three days and three nights. Until now, whenever the topic of a prestigious wedding in Taiyuan Mansion is mentioned, it is still the daughter of the Liu family who married into the Shen family more than ten years ago.
Although Mrs. Xu has been coveting the dowry that has been attributed to Shen Tianshu, she is also a face-saving person. She will never do the kind of thing of embezzling her stepdaughter's dowry.
Once word spreads, it will not only be a loss to one's own face, but also affect the marriage and future of their children.
"Mom is really out of touch. Mr. Zhao has made outstanding political achievements. Now that he has been appreciated by the emperor, he will rise to great heights in a blink of an eye. It is a rare opportunity for us to entertain Mr. Zhao and his family, so that father and Mr. Zhao can consolidate their friendship as classmates. Mother also We can build a good relationship with Mrs. Zhao and Mrs. Zhao, and it will be very helpful to our family in the future. Just borrowing a calligraphy and painting to hang up, what does it mean!"
Mrs. Xu didn't expect Shen Tianshu to agree so happily, and he almost guessed her thoughts.
Although Shen Zhonglei has always said that his relationship with Zhao Qu is excellent, after all, it was six or seven years ago.
No matter how close the classmates were back then, they were separated by thousands of miles after taking office. As time went by, it was inevitable that they would become estranged. Naturally, they had to consolidate their relationship if they had the chance.
And according to Shen Zhonglei, if Zhao Qu comes to Beijing this time, if nothing goes wrong, he should be able to stay in Beijing and serve as an official. He has established a good relationship with Mrs. Zhao and Mrs. Zhao, and maybe he can help Shen Yunyao contact someone. A good marriage.
"Mingyu." Shen Tianshu took out a key tied with a red string from his arms and handed it to her. "Go to the alley in the back room of the warehouse and get the red sandalwood box inside."
Not long after, Mingyu entered the room holding a long and narrow box in both hands.
Mrs. Xu's eyes grew hot when she saw it. Even the box containing the paintings was made of rosewood, and the paintings inside must be more valuable.
Shen Tianshu opened the box, took out a scroll, and unfolded it with Mingyu to show Xu.
"Mother, this is a work by Master Wan Quan, a famous painter from the previous dynasty."
When Mrs. Xu heard the words "Master Wanquan", her eyes turned red.
This painting is much more expensive than the one damaged by Xu Yihao, and on the market today, the small works of Master Wan Quan are hard to find, but Shen Tianshu actually made a landscape scroll.
"Does mother think this picture is okay?"
Shen Tianshu's words interrupted Xu's wandering thoughts.
"Okay, of course!" Mrs. Xu didn't care so much, "If Master Wan Quan's paintings are not good, then who else can."
Shen Tianshu put the scroll back into the box and handed it to Mrs. Xu, saying, "Mother, please take good care of the painting and don't let those careless servants damage it again."
Mrs. Xu responded politely, left Shuangtang Courtyard, carried the painting box and went straight to Dongkua Courtyard, and asked someone to hang the painting in the main room. After looking around again, she felt that there was nothing wrong, so she hurriedly sent someone to Hua'an Hall. Send a message to Shen Zhonglei.
Shen Zhonglei was already feeling very angry at this time. He just wanted to clean up a yard, and it wasn't a house that had been unoccupied for many years. He thought it would take him only an hour to cover the sky.
Unexpectedly, when he arrived at Hua'an Hall, he waited and waited but couldn't wait for the person from home who came to deliver the message.
Waiting until it was time for lunch, Gong Lihua came over cautiously and asked if he wanted to prepare lunch for everyone.
Shen Zhonglei felt that his face was burning hot, which was really embarrassing.
Fortunately, at this moment, someone finally arrived from the Shen Mansion, and they even prepared a carriage to come with them to pick them up.
Shen Zhonglei's expression softened slightly and he said, "My family is procrastinating in doing things, which makes Brother Zhao laugh."
"Shi Xian, what you said is really embarrassing for your brother." Zhao Qu said politely, "It was me who suddenly caused trouble to the family."
Most of the Zhao family's luggage has not been unpacked, so they can just send it over at this time. They will lift the old lady onto the carriage, leaving a few people to pack the remaining things, and then go straight to the prefect's Yamen.
Mrs. Xu had been waiting at the second door for a long time. She welcomed people into the east cross courtyard with a smile, and apologized to Mrs. Zhao repeatedly: "The servants are clumsy and took a little time to clean up the house. I'm really sorry. The kitchen has already been Make lunch and we can have dinner at any time."
Shen Zhonglei accompanied Zhao Qu into the main room first. When he raised his head and was about to speak, his attention was attracted by the landscape painting hanging on the wall opposite. He stood blankly on the spot, and what he wanted to say had long been forgotten.
