Early the next morning, before Shen Zhonglei got up, he suddenly heard rustling sounds outside.
He endured the hangover headache and asked loudly: "Who is outside?"
Hanqiao's familiar voice came from outside: "Master, my servant Hanqiao, I saw you drinking wine last night, and I was afraid that you would wake up with a hangover today, so I went to the kitchen to make you a bowl of hangover soup, but I didn't expect you to wake up." Master, you really deserve death."
After Shen Zhonglei woke up, he already felt a splitting headache. When he heard this, he couldn't help but feel nervous and said, "Bring it in."
Hanqiao hurriedly brought the hangover soup into the inner room and served Shen Zhonglei to drink it.
The hot soup slides down the throat and into the stomach, which is very comfortable.
Shen Zhonglei took a long breath after drinking and couldn't help but said: "You are quite attentive. You saw me drinking yesterday, and today you are thinking of preparing a hangover soup."
Hanqiao said with a respectful expression: "My wife always talks about the master and arranges and takes care of the master's daily life and food. I just watch a lot from the sidelines and learn from others. But I only learned a little bit. Without Madam’s attentiveness and concern.”
When Shen Zhonglei heard him mention Mrs. Xu, his originally relaxed expression immediately darkened. He glanced at Hanqiao and asked, "Is this why you brought hangover soup just to say these words?"
Hanqiao knew that mentioning Mrs. Xu might make Shen Zhonglei unhappy, but she knew the other person's temperament better.
So she faced Shen Zhonglei's somewhat oppressive look, gritted her teeth and continued: "Master, in fact, Madam has always cared about him very much and hopes to reconcile with him, but she just doesn't know how to calm him down.
"Although we are officially welcoming the young master back to the house today, my wife asked the kitchen to prepare most of the things that the master likes to eat...
"Madam is just talking about being strong, but she really misses the master in her heart..."
"Okay, stop being verbose and step back!" Shen Zhonglei waved Hanqiao away, but he still listened to what she said more or less.
Mrs. Xu had no idea that Hanqiao had sent Shen Zhonglei hangover soup. After she got up, she dressed up and started looking forward to Shen Yuanlin's arrival home early.
She had no appetite for breakfast or lunch, so she took a hasty bite.
It was not until evening that Shen Yuanlin's carriage finally arrived home.
"Dad, Mom, I'm back!"
Mrs. Xu was standing at the door of the house, setting up a net, and caught Shen Yuanlin who was flying towards her. She couldn't stop saying, "Son, I miss you so much!"
"Dad, Mom." Shen Yuanlin greeted him, threw himself into Mrs. Xu's arms and started acting coquettishly, "Mom, I miss you so much!"
He had never been separated from Mrs. Xu since he was born. Now he was sent to an academy to study and could only go home once every two or three months. He really missed home so much.
As soon as Mrs. Xu saw her son, she immediately forgot about everything else and pulled Shen Yuanlin to look left, right, up and down, but couldn't get enough.
Hanqiao said: "Madam, the young master has come all the way back. If you have anything to say, let's go inside and sit down to talk."
"That's right, come in quickly." Mrs. Xu couldn't bear to let go, pulling Shen Yuanlin into the room and sitting on the soft couch with him.
"He has lost weight and grown taller. I haven't seen him for a few months, and he looks like he has grown up." Mrs. Xu squeezed Shen Yuanlin's hand, feeling that her son had lost a lot of weight, and felt heartbroken.
"Why have you lost so much weight, but the food in the academy is not good? Are the servants obedient? Is anyone bullying you in the academy?"
"Don't worry, mother. Although the food in the academy is not as good as at home, the food is always good. The servants also work hard. I am the son of the prefect of Yongzhou, who dares to bully me?" Shen Yuanlin clung to Mrs. Xu, "I just want to I think very much."
When Mrs. Xu heard this, her eyes suddenly turned red.
If it were the past, she would definitely say that it was all your father's fault for sending you to an academy in another place. If you had a husband study at home, wouldn't you not have to suffer this kind of separation of flesh and blood?
But she still remembered that she wanted to have a good relationship with Shen Zhonglei, so today she said softly to her son: "Living outside, no matter what, it is definitely not as good as home, but your father sent you to the academy for your own good. I hope You have become a talented person, so you must not let down your father's wishes."
Shen Yuanlin nodded and said, "Mom, I know."
Shen Zhonglei sat aside without interrupting, waiting until Mr. Xu finished talking about the daily trivial matters, and then asked: "Can you keep up with studying in the academy these past few months? What do you say, sir?"
This is what worries him the most.
Although he didn't want to admit it, after so many years, it turned out that Shen Yuanlin did have mediocre qualifications. He sent him to Sanyi Academy as a last-ditch effort to see if he could be saved by a better gentleman.
"Sir, the lecture was very good. I did have trouble keeping up at first, but then I gradually got used to it, and now I think I can still keep up."
"Really? That's great." Shen Zhonglei was elated when he heard this, "I just said that you have to have an enlightened mind to study. Sometimes when you meet a good gentleman, you will suddenly enlighten yourself, and everything will go smoothly in the future."
The more he talked, the happier he became. He suddenly turned to Mrs. Xu and said, "This year, Mr. Academy has two birthdays, so he must be generous and prepare gifts. Don't be stingy."
"Yes, sir, I have written it down."
The two of them haven't had such direct communication for a long time. Everything they say is conveyed through the servant, so at this time, Xu's voice was trembling and choking after just a few words.
After Shen Zhonglei said this, he was also stunned. Although he thought it was time to ease the relationship with Xu, he was still somewhat resistant in his heart. After thinking about it, he couldn't find a suitable opportunity to speak.
Unexpectedly, I was so happy that I could be the first to speak so easily.
But hearing Xu's trembling and choking voice, Shen Zhonglei had to admit that his heart softened in an instant.
Shen Yuanlin looked at Xu with some confusion and asked, "Mom, what's wrong with you?"
Mrs. Xu quickly put on her smile again and said: "After you went to the academy, my mother has been worried at home, fearing that you would not have enough food and housing, and she was even more worried that you would not be able to keep up with the progress of the teachers in the academy.
"Now that I hear you say that everything is fine in the academy and I can even keep up with my studies, my mother is almost crying with joy."
"Mother--" Shen Yuanlin fell completely on Mrs. Xu's lap, hugged her arm and said coquettishly, "What's going on here? When my son gets the first prize in the exam and earns a royal title for my mother, when my wife comes back, I'll do it again." It’s not too late to cry.”
"Oh, after being out for a few months, my little mouth has become so eloquent!" Mrs. Xu couldn't help laughing when she heard this, stretched out her hand to pinch Shen Yuanlin's cheek and said, "Well, I'll be counting on you from now on!"
Shen Zhonglei also showed a rare pleasant smile.
After Shen Yuanlin had a good time with Mrs. Xu, he suddenly realized something was wrong. He turned around and looked around the room and asked, "Mom, where is the second sister? It's a rare time for me to come back, but she doesn't come to see me!"
