C225 The Mu Family's Trouble
C225 The Mu Family's Trouble
Zhao Wenrui had lunch at home, he was not hungry, but he was also not interested in sweets. He only drank some water and talked to Shen Jingli.
"How are you doing in the Mu Family Village?" Zhao Wenrui pulled Shen Jingli, looked at him carefully, and said with furrowed brows, "You got skinnier, is it because Mu Family Village's food is too terrible?"
Shen Jingli lowered his head and looked at himself. After having a child, the servants did not let him do any strenuous exercise, he had not exercised for a long time, his muscles were slack and it was obvious that he had become fatter. How could these people lie without batting an eye, and say that he had lost weight?
"Where have I lost weight? Didn't you get fatter? " He pinched his belly. He was so fat, yet he still dared to say he was thin.
Hearing his words, Zhao Wenrui shot a disdainful glance at him, rubbed his stomach and said to himself, "No, I'll go to the warehouse tomorrow to pick up some good stuff for you to give me. You have to properly make up for it, you definitely can't starve my Daughter-in-law anymore."
When he thought it was not enough, he continued to mutter, "Hmm, according to your calculations, my Daughter-in-law should be born in the last month of the year. Then we must let my embroidery mother make more small clothes and quilts so that my Daughter-in-law won't be frozen …"
Seeing his bewitching look, Shen Jingli didn't know whether to laugh or cry. This child had not been born yet, how could he know that it was definitely a girl or a pair?
Zhao Wenrui made the servant who was accompanying him remember what he had just said, and asked about Shen Jingli's daily life in the Mu Family Village. Hearing that he planned to set up a Shuanger Academy there, he could not help but exclaim in admiration: "Your idea is not bad, many of the officials in the capital all disguised themselves to go to school. If one were to accidentally be seen through, you would even be humiliated by others.
"I think so too." Shen Jingli nodded his head. Having received a modern education, he was actually quite against the education system of Great Yan Dynasty, especially the rule that girls were not allowed to enter the academy, but even in the modern era, there were still many parents in the countryside who thought that girls did not need to study too much. After nine years of compulsory education, they would be sent out to work, not to mention the strict levels of the ancient era.
He picked up a piece of Red Bean Cake and ate it. Then, he saw Zhao Wenrui staring at him like a wolf and a tiger.
"What are you doing?" The look in his eyes was terrifying.
Zhao Wenrui revealed a strange smile and rushed towards Shen Jingli. Shen Jingli retreated back because of his smile. Hey, hey, what are you obviously plotting?
"Tell me, how about we build a Shuanger Academy in Beijing?" The thought that the Twins in the family could all go to school in the future made his heart burn with passion.
"That's it?" Shen Jingli pushed him away, "This matter is not as simple as you think. The people in the Mu Family Village are all from the Mu Clan, and they have run a school in their village. As long as there's no trouble, it's not easy for others to interfere, but to build a school in the capital would involve the interests of many people …"
Shen Jingli did not say too much, but Zhao Wenrui knew what he meant. There were many aristocratic families in the capital, and building a Shuang'er Academy went against many people's views, they definitely did not agree, they did not agree, and if they did, it would become a huge issue. If it came to the emperor, if he was interested, the school might be able to be built, but if they violated the emperor's taboo, they who advocated building a Shuang'er Academy might just have to stay in jail.
"I was wrong." Zhao Wenrui said, he could not hide the disappointment in his eyes.
Shen Jingli patted his shoulder, feeling that he was also a person with advanced ideas. One must know that the matter of managing the Shuang'er School had completely upended many people's knowledge, especially those male intellectuals. When they heard that Shuang'er and the girls could go to the Academy like them and read four books and five classics, it would definitely cause a huge ruckus.
Skipping this topic, the two chatted about other matters for a while.
Zhao Wenrui told Shen Jingli about a lot of things that happened in the capital, including the incident where Mu Yu and Ceng Wan'er got separated from each other. But what surprised him the most was that the Mu Clan elders pressured the Old Lady Mu to not allow her to cause trouble in front of Mu Chen, otherwise, they would divorce her using the name of their clan.
"Do you really not know about the matter of the Mu Clan's Patriarch pressuring the Old Lady Mu?" Zhao Wenrui asked.
Shen Jingli shook his head. He had never heard of this matter before, but he was inwardly shocked.
"I heard that Old Lady Mu was so angry that her face turned green. Even Marquis Zhen Yuan felt ashamed and didn't go out for a few days." Zhao Wenrui felt good just thinking about it. That old lady had really taken him seriously, thinking that his own son was a marquis and that he was the emperor's first wife.
Shen Jingli laughed and did not say anything. Ever since Mu Shisi said that he would not return to the Marquis Zhen Yuan Mansion, he had tossed the old lady out of the window. He was not a descendant of the Mu Family, so he did not have any expectations for the Old Lady Mu.
"That old lady is really an unfathomable person …" Zhao Wenrui shook his head and did not finish his words.
There were some words that didn't need to be said so clearly. Everyone was well aware of them.
Shen Jingli drank a bit of water, he felt that something was wrong, as if he had been wronged for Mu Chen.
"Let's not talk about this anymore. Shall we stay here for dinner tonight?" Shen Jingli stood up and said.
"Alright." Zhao Wenrui graciously promised as he turned around and said to the servant, "Go back and tell Old Master that I'll be staying here for dinner tonight."
The servant looked at Zhao Wenrui hesitantly, stomped his feet and ran back to pass on the news.
"..."
Because Mu Chen and the others had just returned, the kitchen had prepared a large table of good dishes, four meat dishes, four vegetarian dishes, and two soups.
The two children had not eaten their household's food for a long time and were extremely happy. They pestered Mu Chen and Shen Jingli, picked at this dish, and even picked at that dish.
Zhao Wenrui was about to become a Mama, and had a good impression of kids. Especially Xun Er and Huaixin, who were both raised white and tender, with especially sweet mouths.
"Xun Er, what do you want to eat? "I'll pick it up for you." Zhao Wenrui first gave Xun Er a meat ball, and then gave Huaixin a piece of fish.
"I want chicken." Xun Er bit on the meat ball and mumbled.
Shen Jingli looked at his son, picked up a bitter melon and put it into his bowl, then immediately pulled down his face and looked at Shen Jingli unhappily. He hurriedly chewed the pill in his mouth and swallowed it, then complained: "I won't eat this suffering, I won't eat this …"
"Eating bitter melon is good for your health." Shen Jingli did not care about his son's accusation, and continued to eat.
"Then why don't you eat Mama?" Xun Er looked at Shen Jingli's bowl and continued to complain.
Shen Jingli blushed after being lectured. He knew that eating bitter gourd was good for his body, but he really didn't like eating bitter gourd.
"Mama is well."
"Liar." Xun Er shook his head, revealing an expression of "Don't lie to me".
Shen Jingli felt extremely embarrassed. Why was this stinky brat so disobedient, he picked up a few pieces of balsam pear and ate it with a frown, then gave Xun Er a few more pieces, "Children are not allowed to choose between eating, hurry up and eat it."
"It's bitter …" Xun Er still did not want to eat it.
"As a man, what's there to be afraid of? Hurry up and eat." Shen Jingli was not moved.
Seeing that Xun Er was about to cry, Huaixin hurriedly gave the bowl of fish to him, then said to him, "Xun Er, don't cry, I'll help you eat it."
After saying that, he scooped up the bitter gourd in Xun Er's bowl and started eating it piece by piece. Although he didn't like bitter gourd, but if Xun Er was happy about it, he felt that eating a few bitter gourds wasn't a big deal.
Xun Er saw that Huaixin had helped him eat the bitter gourd, and as expected, tears turned into smiles. Xun Er then scooped up two meat balls and gave them to Huaixin, "Huaixin, eat some meat balls, after you finish eating, I'll give you some candy …"
After he said that, he suddenly looked up and glanced at Shen Jingli, then moved over to Huaixin's side and quietly whispered: "I've hidden so many good polysaccharides that even Mama doesn't know about, I'll give them to you later, don't tell anyone else."
Huaixin nodded and continued to eat the meat balls in the bowl.
When Zhao Wenrui saw that the two children had such a good relationship with each other, and that his own child was going to be born in two months, he looked at Shen Jingli's stomach eagerly.
Shen Jingli was already used to his feverish gaze at that time, but he still ate calmly. Instead, it was Mu Chen who frowned unhappily.
When they were almost done eating, Xu Yanlin walked over enthusiastically. Shen Jingli was busy cooking for Xun Er, and seeing him with a straight face, with smoke coming out from his head, he said: "Hey, you're awake, are you going to eat?"
Xu Yanlin glared fiercely at him, making the servant add a stool for him. He sat down, grabbed the chopsticks the servant brought up, and started eating.
"Why don't you ask someone to call me at dinner?" After drinking a bowl of soup and eating a bowl of vegetables, Xu Yanlin started to speak.
"It's not like you said you wanted to come to my house for dinner." Shen Jingli said innocently.
Xu Yanlin was choked to the point that he had nothing to say. He glared at Shen Jingli, turning his anger into appetite as he continued to eat his food.
Seeing that he was eating so hurriedly, Zhao Wenrui thought that he was hungry and quickly ordered more dishes for him, "You eat slower, there are still a lot of dishes."
Xu Yanlin had slowed down his pace, and even picked up some dishes on the table, "You should eat more too, don't be hungry."
"I'm full." Even though she said that, she still picked up the dishes that Xu Yanlin gave him and ate them one by one.
After eating dinner, Mu Chen and Xu Yanlin went to the study room to discuss some matters, while Shen Jingli and Zhao Wenrui continued to chat with each other during the day. Of course, the two of them talked about children the most.