NFBE Chapter 142 Bias
Chapter 142 Bias
Xie Guimo guessed that his inability to eat bayberry was inherited from his father and mother. Although his mother did not like eating fruits as much as Shen Tang, she would eat some occasionally. His father usually stayed in the military camp and rarely ate fruits, so he did not like to eat them either. In order to verify it, he brought bayberries with him.
As expected, my father also can't eat bayberries.
The prince had lived for nearly forty years, but this was the first time he knew that he could not eat bayberries, not even a few strands. If he ate a whole one, it would probably kill him on the spot.
The prince looked at Xie Guimo, and Xie Guimo said, "Someone added bayberry to the rouge used by Miss Shen Er. It's okay for her to use it, but I can't touch it. It's coming for me."
The prince said, "Your father and your mother don't know that you can't eat bayberries, so how could outsiders know?"
Xie Guimo asked, "Father, do you still remember the accident that happened in the palace when I was three years old?"
How could the prince forget this? Ever since that incident, he would feel uneasy even if he personally brought Xie Guimo into the palace.
When Mo'er got into trouble, it was the season for eating bayberries. Mo'er suspected that someone had fed him bayberries in the palace, which was why the accident happened. The person who fed him the bayberries was afraid of taking responsibility, so he made a scene that he got lost and fell into a dry well.
This guess is not impossible. Except for the two days when Mo'er disappeared in the palace, outsiders should have no chance to know that Mo'er cannot eat bayberry.
The prince's eyes fell on the small bayberry on the plate, "You must be extra careful with what you eat in the future."
Shen Tang didn't say much about his previous life, but in the fourth year after he married Shen Tang, he inherited the title and went to the border, which meant that his father was dead. His father had fought on the battlefield for many years. Xie Guimo didn't believe that his father would die so easily on the battlefield. There might be a conspiracy behind it.
The prince said, "Tomorrow your father will ask for marriage from Marquis Pingyuan for you."
Xie Guimo said, "A few days later."
Right now, the Pingyuan Marquis's Mansion is worried about Miss Shen's marriage. He had been engaged to her before. His father is helping him to propose marriage now, but he can't just force the person on him. He has been waiting for so long, and no matter how anxious he is, he can't afford to waste a few more days.
……
A good night's sleep.
When he woke up the next day, Shen Tang sat on the bed and stretched.
Ginkgo and Qiutong came into the room to help her get up. Yesterday's breakfast was just millet porridge with vegetables. Shen Tang didn't eat a single bite and went to Songhe Hall to eat with the old lady. Today's breakfast was not only diverse in variety, but also exquisite.
Shen Tang asked Shen Sui to take back the housekeeping power that the old lady had given to the second wife. Shen Sui listened to Shen Tang. Shen Tang asked the fourth wife to remove the second wife's confidant. The old lady also agreed. The second girl almost had the final say in the Marquis' Mansion, so how could the head kitchen dare not treat her poorly, especially now that the head of the head kitchen was the fourth wife's person. They were all entrusted with important tasks by the fourth wife, so naturally they had good judgment.
After breakfast, Shen Tang went to Songhe Hall to pay his respects to the old lady. He ran into the fourth wife at the courtyard gate. Shen Tang said, "Fourth Aunt, please tell the head kitchen manager not to take my side, so as to avoid giving people a chance to talk about me."
The Fourth Madam knew that Shen Tang was on her side, but she was not the kind of person who would do anything that would give others a chance to talk about her. As the housekeeper, she did not seek to achieve anything but to avoid mistakes. The Fourth Madam said, "The eldest lady's meals are more delicate, and Madam Zhao dare not cut them arbitrarily. I will ask her to prepare them for you according to the eldest lady's portion."
What he meant was that it wasn't that the kitchen favored Shen Tang, but that the former second wife's housekeeper favored Shen Ying.
She just tried to be fair.
Shen Tang knew that the Second Wife was on her daughter's side, so she said, "I misunderstood Fourth Aunt. I'll go back and tell Mother Zhao to prepare meals for me and my eldest sister according to the rules."
Shen Tang and the fourth wife entered the yard together and went into the house to pay their respects to the old lady.
Soon the Third Madam arrived. Shen Tang sat there, quietly listening to the Fourth Madam and the Old Lady discussing the gift-giving matter. There were many powerful people in Kyoto. Today your family had a new baby, tomorrow his family had an import, and the day after tomorrow his family moved to a new house or received a promotion. All of them had to send a gift. Although there were precedents for gift-giving, the Fourth Madam did not dare to make the decision casually. She would either draw up a list for the Old Lady to review, or discuss it first and then draw up the list. In short, she was extremely cautious, which was as she should be.
Yesterday, the Third Madam went to see Shen Tang, and Shen Tang promised to help talk to the old lady and give the Third Madam some of the housekeeping power. Today, it seemed as if she had forgotten about it. The Third Madam winked at Shen Tang twice, and Ginkgo reminded her from behind, "Miss, have you forgotten what you promised the Third Madam?"
Ginkgo's voice was neither loud nor soft. Not only Shen Tang heard it, but the old lady also heard it and looked over.
Shen Tang suddenly remembered and immediately looked at the old lady and said, "Grandma, suddenly asking Fourth Aunt to take charge of the household chores besides the embroidery room may be a bit tiring. We can ask Third Aunt to help share some of the burden."
The old lady was drinking tea. Upon hearing this, her eyes swept across the Third Madam's face, and then she slammed the teacup heavily on the small table. "Is being a housekeeper a joke? I'll give it to you today and to her tomorrow. I think even if it means taking charge of an additional embroidery room, your Fourth Aunt will be able to handle it with ease."
The old lady glanced over, and even the second wife couldn't stand it, let alone the third wife. After hearing what the old lady said, she was already displeased and was ready to take back the power of the embroidery room manager.
The Third Madam immediately regretted asking Shen Tang for this. Fortunately, Shen Tang confiscated the jade hairpin, otherwise it would have been wasted. The Third Madam hurriedly said, "The old lady is right. I also think that it is not difficult for the Fourth Brother's wife."
Shen Tang looked at the Third Madam, "You didn't say that to me yesterday, Third Aunt..."
With just one sentence, the third wife was sold out.
The Third Madam was on pins and needles. "Third Aunt was just teasing you, but you took it seriously."
In fact, everyone knew what was going on. The old lady knew it, and the fourth wife also knew it.
The Third Wife's heart trembled, and she quickly changed the subject, "The results of the Spring Examination will be announced in a few days..."
No one from the Marquis' Mansion participated in the Spring Examination, but two young masters from the Jiang family participated. Shen Tang was very concerned about the Spring Examination. When the Spring Examination was mentioned, the old lady thought of the Jiang family. Not many years ago, Shen Yan was living outside, and the old lady blamed the Jiang family for not taking good care of Shen Yan. Now Shen Yan was found, and he was well educated, both civil and military. Naturally, the old lady's resentment towards the Jiang family was wiped out.
Before, Shen Sui suddenly prepared a generous gift and went to the Jiang family, and had lunch at the Jiang family. The old lady guessed that it was at that time that Shen Yan was found. In addition, Shen Sui said that it was Shen Tang who found him. The old lady remembered that before Shen Sui went to the Jiang family, Shen Tang hurried to the front yard to find Shen Sui, and then Shen Sui hurried out of the house, and Shen Tang waited in the front yard for Shen Sui to return home.
The old lady felt quite unhappy when she thought that Shen Sui and Shen Tang had told Old Master Jiang the news of finding Shen Yan but not her.
The old lady said, "The two young masters of the Jiang family are extremely talented and will definitely pass the imperial examination this spring."
Shen Tang was not surprised by what the old lady said, but the third and fourth wives looked at each other and felt that the old lady's attitude towards the Jiang family had softened a lot, no, it seemed that her resentment disappeared all of a sudden.
Just as I was feeling strange, a maid came in quickly and said, "The emperor sent people to search the residence of Hanlin Liu Xueshi and the residence of the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites..."