Wei Chen didn't want to rush to join the Sheng family, so he met Sheng Hong and his wife according to the birth ceremony. They were neither close nor distant, and the etiquette was decent. No one could find anything wrong with them.
Sheng Hong and his wife had different reactions to this.
Wang Ruofu just nodded reservedly and said a few polite words, both salty and mild, which could be said to be showing off the airs of an official.
She has always been proud of her family background, and from time to time she would say, "My father deserves to enjoy the Imperial Ancestral Temple." Naturally, this is the normal way to deal with such official interactions. She must outdo the other person to feel comfortable in her heart. p>
Compared with his wife's arrogance, Sheng Hong is much more easy-going. He smiles and speaks in a friendly tone, which makes people feel like spring breeze.
"My dear nephew, I heard that you call my cousin uncle, and you have a close relationship with my Bai'er, who is the same generation as me. We have a deep relationship with each other, so why do we need to be so different from each other? In this case, how about you call me uncle?
”
"This..." Wei Chen hesitated for a moment, and when he saw the encouraging eyes of Sheng Wei and Sheng Changbai beside him, he finally stopped shying away, bowed generously, and said loudly: "Uncles, please accept my nephew's greetings.
."
"Oh, this is right, my nephew!"
Sheng Hong put his hands on his hands and laughed. He helped Wei Chen up affectionately and patted Wei Chen on the shoulder. His eyes looked like an elder looking at his junior.
Wang Ruofu was a little confused by her husband's enthusiasm for Wei Chen, but she still had some eyes and did not insult Sheng Hong in public. She followed Sheng Hong and accepted Wei Chen's gift with a smile on her face.
I asked a few questions about Wei Chen's family situation.
Wei Chen looked respectful and answered one by one.
Sheng Changbai on the side also helped explain a few words from time to time, adding some points to his mother's impression of his good friend.
In Wang Ruofu's impression, his son had a dull personality and always cherished words like gold. However, at this time, he was so generous in praising Wei Chen, which was unprecedented.
In addition, Wei Chen is good-looking, well-spoken, and has a very good greeting etiquette. After meeting him for the first time, Wang Ruofu really had a good impression of Wei Chen, and he was not impressed by the fact that he had an eldest nephew inexplicably.
So conflicted.
After defeating Wang Ruofu, Sheng Hong was interested in making friends over there. In just a short journey from the dock to the Sheng Mansion, the relationship between Wei Chen and the hostess of the second room of the Sheng family improved by leaps and bounds.
The car drove for more than a quarter of an hour and finally stopped in front of an impressive large house.
Logically speaking, officials such as prefects and general magistrates must live in government offices, but rules are dead and people are alive. Most local officials above the sixth rank will find ways to buy their own private residences as long as they are not short of money.
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Although Sheng Hongguan is not a big official, he is considered to be a high-ranking official in Yangzhou Prefecture. With Sheng Wei's financial support, he has plenty of money, so he can naturally buy a large private residence.
Wei Chen got off the carriage and followed Sheng Changbai into the house from the main entrance. Housekeepers and servants filed in to help carry the suitcase cage.
After bypassing the screen wall and passing through a screen door, there is a long corridor with pink walls and black tiles on both sides. Looking forward, it feels like there is no end.
After a long tea break, we came to the hanging flower gate with drum-holding stones standing on the left and right, and crossed the threshold that was almost knee-high, and then we saw the true appearance of this grand house.
There are corridors on both sides of the gate, and to the north is a five-bay central flower hall, both with wing rooms, east and west wings, and an inverted wing. In the middle of the yard is a cross paved corridor.
There are sweet-scented osmanthus trees planted in the courtyard, Taihu stones standing there, and a small pond. However, it is already winter, the water is bitingly cold, and not a single fish can be seen.
The eldest daughter of the Sheng family, Hualan, and her younger sister, Rulan, had been waiting in the flower hall for a long time. As soon as the servants came in to report the news, they went out together.
Wang Ruofu called his two biological daughters to meet Sheng Wei as gifts. The two Lans each sweetly called uncle, and Sheng Wei smiled and presented each of them with a heavy red gold Ruyi Lock. Wang Ruofu looked on, his face
The smile on the face is even stronger.
It was also the first time that Wei Chen saw the true faces of the daughters of the Sheng family, and he stood aside and looked at them carefully.
Sheng Hualan is slightly older than Changbai. She has a good appearance and a gentle temperament, which makes people fall in love with her at first sight.
Sheng Rulan is about the same age as Wei Chen. She is petite and cute, but her temper is that of her mother, a little arrogant and willful.
As for Sheng Hong's other concubine children, they didn't come for some reason, so Wei Chen had no chance to meet them.
After the group exchanged greetings, Sheng Wei proposed to go to the old lady of Shouan Hall to say hello.
Being filial to one's elders is a top priority, and Sheng Hong agreed, so he personally led Sheng Wei to Shou'an Hall.
As for Wei Chen, Wang Ruofu arranged to live in the west wing, and was led there by a woman in charge to settle in.
The mother-in-law took Wei Chen to the place, opened the door, and said respectfully: "This is your room, sir. If you call me for anything, there will be people on both sides who will answer."
"Thank you."
After Wei Chen thanked him, the woman returned the greeting and then left on her own.
Wei Chen looked at the exquisite and elegant guest room in front of him, nodded with satisfaction, and asked the bookboy behind him to help put down his luggage. Then he sat down and took a casual book to pass the time.
On the other side, outside the Shou'an Hall, before the group entered the main room, they heard Wang Ruofu's loud voice: "Mother, the officials have brought your eldest cousin to greet you, and Bai'er is back too!" p>
In the room, the old lady who had already received the letter was sitting cross-legged on the Arhat bed. When she heard Wang Ruofu yelling outside, she couldn't help but look at Fang's mother beside her and smiled helplessly.
When the group entered the main room, Sheng Wei couldn't wait to step forward and kneel down: "Second Aunt!"
"You're here."
The old lady also showed a rare smile on her face, indicating to Sheng Wei that there was no need to be formal, and asked Fang's mother beside her to arrange for him to sit down.
"How is your mother's health lately?"
Sheng Wei smiled and replied: "I miss you, Auntie. My mother is in good health, eats well and sleeps well, but she often misses her."
The old lady nodded: "She also had a hard life. She suffered a lot in the first half of her life. Fortunately, she gave birth to a few of you filial children. It can be said that the clouds have cleared and the moon is bright."
Somehow, the old lady was obviously watching Sheng Wei talking, but Sheng Hong's face felt a little warm when she heard it.
Fortunately, the old lady did not continue the conversation on this topic. After talking to Sheng Wei for a long time, she turned her attention to Sheng Changbai behind Sheng Hong.
Sheng Changbai walked to the hall and bowed deeply: "My grandson pays homage to my grandmother."
The old lady looked at Sheng Changbai carefully, with a happy smile on her face: "I heard from your mother that you have been selected as a scholar?"
Sheng Changbai said modestly: "My grandson luckily passed the hospital examination two months ago."
The old lady spoke earnestly and said: "The Sheng family has passed down poetry and calligraphy to the family. Your father was a Jinshi, and your grandfather was even selected as a top scholar. Now you are just a scholar, and you are still far behind your father and grandfather. You must not be arrogant because of this."
, just continue to study diligently."
Sheng Changbai bowed again and said respectfully: "My grandson, please remember your grandmother's teachings."
The old lady nodded with satisfaction, her expression softened a lot, and she asked with a smile: "You are going to Yuyang's hometown to take the exam. You have been there for half a year. Do you have anything interesting to tell your grandmother?"
Hearing the old lady's question, Sheng Changbai immediately started chatting, talking about what he had experienced during the boy examination in Youyang, and naturally he couldn't avoid his most proud friend, Wei Chen.
"Oh, I didn't expect that Youyang would have such a talented person?"
When the old lady heard from Sheng Changbai about Wei Chen's deeds in the junior high school of Sanyuan, she was also quite surprised, and she was even more pleased that her grandson could make such a good friend.
"Yes, Brother Xingyun is an astonishing talent. Even the scholarly Mr. Qingteng made an exception and personally accepted him as his disciple. My grandson has benefited a lot from his friendship with Brother Xingyun."
"Mr. Qingteng?"
The old lady was slightly startled when she heard the name, and then her tone suddenly became urgent. She stared at Sheng Changbai in front of her and asked, "But that Mr. Qingteng with the heavy surname Zhuang Mingjun?"