"What's going on here?"
A warm voice came, followed by the sound of footsteps.
Shen Qiao Ran, who was on the side, was looking at his grandmother and sister in front of him with a confused expression. He immediately ran over after hearing the sound.
"Second brother, you are back. Please persuade grandma and Xiao Qiao..."
The person who came was none other than Shen Qiaoqi, the second young master of the Shen family. Seeing his third brother looking like a savior, Shen Qiaoqi raised his eyebrows, walked to the first seat on the right and sat down, looked at the two people above him who were grieving, turned around and whispered to Zheng Zheng. Tea Tassel asked.
After understanding what happened, Shen Qiaoqi lowered his head and coughed twice.
Shen Qiao regained consciousness and raised his eyes to see his two brothers looking at him with two pairs of similar eyes. He suddenly felt that even though he had already said that he was not a child, still crying like he did just now really affected his image.
So he stood up from his grandmother's arms, straightened his clothes, lowered his head in embarrassment, and called out in a low voice, "Second brother."
Shen Qiaoqi nodded with a smile.
…
After a while, after gathering her emotions, she saw that Shen Qiaoqi was back, so Mrs. Shen ordered the food to be passed around.
The lunch was very delicious. They were all the favorite dishes of the Shen family. Shen Qiao and Shen's three brothers and sisters were very satisfied with the meal. However, Mrs. Shen herself seemed to have no appetite. She only ate some vegetables and a bowl of soup. Move the chopsticks.
Shen Qiaochen noticed this and didn't say anything. He just glanced at Jubai, who nodded, turned around and went down with the small package he brought from Yilan Court.
When she came back, everyone in the Shen family had finished their meal and sat down to have tea again. Ju Bai returned to stand behind Shen Qiao Chen, and the things in his hands were gone.
Shen Qiaoqi mentioned that many colleagues in the Hanlin Academy today were vaguely asking him about the Shen family's attitude towards the prince.
Shen Qiaoran also hesitated and said, "Actually, I also met a few annoying guys today."
Shen Qiaoran is currently studying in the Imperial College. Naturally, most of the students in the Imperial College are the children of high-ranking officials. Some were in the palace yesterday, and some received news from the imperial edict. In short, regardless of whether they had any friendship with Shen Qiaoran before, they are trying their best today. They moved closer to him, obviously because of the advice of the elders in the family, trying to get some information from Shen Qiaoran to see if they could get any information.
Hearing this, Mrs. Shen also frowned and said cautiously: "Although what happened yesterday is not directly related, it is more or less related to Xiao Qiao. Now His Majesty took the opportunity to establish a prince. Now, the entire capital is watching. What about the attitude of our Shen family?"
"But the second aunt and the eldest cousin are both gone..." Shen Qiaoran said doubtfully.
Mrs. Shen felt a pain in her heart, and just when she was about to speak, she heard Shen Qiaochen whisper softly: "It's because the late empress and the prince are gone that they want to know what the Shen family thinks."
Shen Qiaoqi paused while holding the tea cup, looked at Shen Qiaochen, and said, "Yes, they want to test whether the Shen family has any idea of taking sides."
What Shen Qiaochen just said was 'the late queen and the prince', instead of 'aunt and cousin' like Shen Qiaoran. The different titles proved that she was stepping out of the scope of 'Shen's Mansion', and was treating herself as an outsider. Look at this matter objectively.
Bystanders are clear, but the authorities are confused. Shen Qiaoqi quickly figured out the key.
Smiling at Shen Qiaoqi, Shen Qiaoqi continued: "If the Shen family had no intention, then last night's imperial edict was just a nice name at best. After all, a deceased prince's grandson cannot bring any substantial benefits to the Shen family. But if the Shen family is interested in that position..."
Having said this, Shen Qiaoqi paused deliberately, and then looked at Shen Qiaoqi with a smile.
Shen Qiaochen was stunned for a moment, then rolled his eyes at his second brother, and said expressionlessly: "If the Shen family is interested in that position, then the ones who support it will naturally be the two princes born from the imperial concubine's aunt. After all, Like my eldest cousin, they are also the grandsons of the Shen family."
"But they are not princes either..." Shen Qiaoran looked confused.
"But the prince's cousin is no longer here."
"But they're still alive."
Two voices sounded at the same time, and both parties were stunned after speaking. Then the brother and sister looked at each other, Shen Qiaoqi looked at his sister with a smile, Shen Qiaoqi glanced at the fox-like second brother, snorted and turned away.
After entering the room, Mrs. Shen ordered someone to bring a bowl of almond cheese and asked Shen Qiaochen to try it quickly.
Shen Qiao had just used a cup of bird's nest before she came here. She was not hungry at this time, so she held the bowl and drank.
Seeing that the first chair on the right was empty, he asked, "Where is the second brother? Isn't he back yet?"
Shen Qiaoqi entered the Hanlin Academy after high school. There is a saying that says, 'If you are not a Jinshi, you will not enter the Hanlin Academy, and if you are not an Hanlin Academy, you will not enter the cabinet.' Although it is not a real shortage now, in the eyes of others, it is also a very noble place. .
But Shen Qiaoqi felt that, according to Shen Qiaoqi's temperament, it would be better to be released as a county magistrate, at least somewhere where he could do practical things.
Shen Qiaoran replied: "Not yet. I entered the palace early in the morning. I don't know what to do."
"Do you think your second brother is the same as you?" Mrs. Shen rolled her eyes at Shen Qiaoran angrily, and said with concern to Shen Qiaoran: "Xiao Qiao was scared yesterday, did you sleep well last night?"
Shen Qiao was thinking about Shen Qiaoqi. He raised his head when he heard this, and smiled at Mrs. Shen softly: "Grandma, don't worry, Xiao Qiao slept well last night." After thinking about it, he continued: " What were grandma and third brother talking about just now? Xiao Qiao seemed to have heard Xiao...Prince Xiao's name."
Seeing Shen Qiaochen mention it, Mrs. Shen thought of what had just happened, and she lowered her face and said displeasedly: "This third prince is really too much. Could it be that we, the Shen family, are afraid of him, so he corrupted you like this in public?" reputation."
"Is this what Xiao Jue said?" Shen Qiaochen was stunned. Seeing that Mrs. Shen did not deny it, she felt a little strange in her heart. According to her understanding of Xiao Jue, he was not such a talkative person anyway...
After all, she was still afraid that Shen Qiaochen would be sad because of the third prince's words. Mrs. Shen comforted her granddaughter and said, "That's all, it doesn't matter. Doctor Lin said, now that your health has improved a lot, you should go out for more walks from now on. Daughter At home, the most comfortable days are when you are in your boudoir. When you go to other people’s homes in the future, you can’t help yourself..."
As if she had thought of something, Mrs. Shen gently stroked her little granddaughter's long hair and said sadly.
Shen Qiaochen was affected by Mrs. Shen's emotions. She suddenly remembered all the events in her previous life. Her eyes turned red. She hugged Mrs. Shen's arm tightly and choked up: "No, grandma, Xiao Qiao is not going anywhere. Xiao Qiao will stay with her grandmother and parents all her life..."
Mrs. Shen also thought of her deceased eldest daughter and grandson because of the crown prince's appointment yesterday, and she felt emotional for a moment. She didn't expect that her little granddaughter would be so sad.
He quickly held Shen Qiao in his arms, thinking of his own Xiao Qiao. From such a small, cat-like baby, to now, although she is a bit pale, she can still tell that she is a beautiful young girl.
Seeing Shen Qiao's eyes blurry with tears as she cried, Mrs. Shen's heart felt so weak that she let out a long sigh and said dotingly,
"You child..."
