Rebirth of Weak Daughter of the General’s Family

Chapter 12 Lantern city Part 2

The teenager glanced at Shen Wen with contempt, then rammed into Zhang Yunming, who was walking alongside Shen Zhuo behind Shen Wen, causing Zhang Yunming to take two steps back. That teenager raised his face, "Sorry about that, this gentleman." The tone was arrogant and rude, and without waiting for Zhang Yunming to say anything, unexpectedly he continued to walk on, without looking back.

   The few men behind him bowed one after another, mouthing, "Sorry, sorry." Trotting after the teenager, they went after him.

Although Shen Zhuo was uncomfortable with Zhang Yunming, he could not help but say when he saw him being hit, "How are you? Do you want me to go over and say a few words to him?" It felt good to help someone who normally couldn't look at him.

 Zhang Yunming shook his shoulder and said with a smile, "It's no big deal, I'm not hurt either."

Shen Zhuo looked back at the teenager who has gone far again, but Zhang Yunming said, "We have walked one street, my mother said we should not stay at the lantern market for long, and I should take my sister back to the house."

Shen Zhuo frowned at Zhang Yunming, wishing in his heart that the one who had just knocked Zhang Yunming to the ground had done the right thing.

        Zhang Yunming smiled at Shen Zhuo and said, "It's a pity that I can't play with third brother today, we must have a good sparring session next time." After saying this, he went up and said a few words to Zhang Yunjin, who had already stopped and turned back.  Zhang Yunjin looked at Shen Xiang with a reluctant look on her face, but she behaved in a disciplined manner. Immediately, they said goodbye to the Shen siblings and were about to leave when they heard someone say, "Isn't this Shen's Third Gongzi? Oh, Zhang Da Gongzi is also here, what a coincidence." In the middle of a group of people on the street stood the Third Prince and the Fifth Princess dressed in civilian clothes.

        The last time Shen Wen saw the Third Prince was at the flower fair last spring, less than a year had passed, but the Third Prince had grown more than two or three inches taller, so it seemed that boys really leap up in size at the age of 13 or 14. Although he was dressed in commoner's clothes today, they were well-made and elegant, and he was a young man in the prime of his life.

Shen Zhuo and Zhang Yunming were hastily walking over, leading the girls in a curtsey, and the Third Prince smiled and said, "Don't be so polite, it's a public gathering place."

        The Fifth Princess also returned the greeting. She was close in age to Shen Xiang and Zhang Yunjin, and after speaking to them, she turned her head and said to Shen Wen with a smile, "Does this sister remember me?

It is said that Consort Chen was gentle and sweet in nature, and her daughter, the Fifth Princess, is thought to be imitating her mannerisms. Although one could see that it was deliberate, it was after all more likeable than the Fourth Princess' brutality.  Shen Wen smiled back, "Remember, my sister gave me pearls, do you have them today too?"

Shen Xiang smiled as she gave Shen Wen a tug, "Little Money Lover."

However, the Fifth Princess smiled and unclipped a pendant jade from her belt, with a pearl adorning the chord under the jade, and handed it to Shen Wen, saying "Take it, as long as your little sister likes it." The royal characters wore exquisite objects, and this piece of jade glowed with a lustrous lustre under the lantern at night.

        Shen Wen looked at Shen Zhuo, and the Third Prince smiled and said to Shen Zhuo, "Don't be polite, it's a good omen to give a gift or to get a colourful gift in the first month."

        Shen Zhuo nodded and Shen Wen took it with joy and handed it to Su Wanniang, saying, "Keep it well for me, I will go back and make a scented bag for this sister."

Shen Xiang laughed: "You mustn't do it, I haven't seen you with a needle and thread for most of the year, and it might not be as good as the last one." Everyone laughed: this transaction was also too worthwhile.

Shen Wen seriously put her little fat index finger to her face and said thoughtfully, "But how can I return the gift?"

  The Fifth Princess said graciously, just like an adult, "What are you talking about, little sister? This is a present from older sister, what kind of gift ceremony is it? All you have to do is remember me next time you see me." Although she is only nine years old, she can already say beautiful things. Perhaps she did so under her mother's instruction, or perhaps she acted in such a way as to make friends with the Marquis of Zhenbei. But Shen Wen is a small-minded person, thinking that for the sake of this one pearl she has been given today, let's not allow her to marry off to the Northern Rong in the future and marry off that Fourth Princess.

The Third Prince asked Shen Zhuo, "Where are Shen Da Gongzi and Shen Er Gongzi? I hunted foxes with them a year ago, and I haven't seen them since New Year."

Shen Zhuo said, "I sent my sisters to see the lantern festival today, the two of them may have come out to see the lanterns on their own, or they may be in the mansion, I really don't know yet."

The Third Prince asked Zhang Yunming again, "Would Zhang Da Gongzi be interested in riding a hunt? The Shen family sons and I are going to the mountains outside the city at the end of the month, would you like to go together?"

        Zhang Yunming smiled civilly and said, "Many thanks ......"

The Third Prince said, "Just call me the Third Gongzi."

Zhang Yunming said in a sincere tone, "Thank noble person’s for the invitation, but my riding skills are poor, so I am afraid that I will cause trouble if I go." Shen Wen pursed her lips at Zhang Yunming: This man lies without blinking an eye. He was four years old when he rode a horse and five years old when he shot an arrow, but the Marquis of Pingyuan never let him show it in front of people, and such a concealment is really comparable to mine.

Zhang Yun Ming's glance caught Shen Wen's smile and for a moment he is in a trance, thinking that the girl had known that he was lying. Luckily, the Third Prince obviously didn't see through it and said with a smile, "People say that Zhang Da Gongzi writes wonderful articles, it seems that Zhang Da Gongzi is going to give up martial arts and turn to literature."

  Zhang Yunming replied with a smile" In the first place, I don't have any martial arts, and my father always said that the position of martial arts general would be over by his generation, so I should study more and take the Xiucai exam this year." Shen Wen knew that Zhang Yunming was delivering a message on behalf of his father.

The Third Prince nodded solemnly and said, "I wish Zhang Da Gongzi all the best in his journey. Perhaps I might be able see Zhang Da Gongzi at the temple exams in the future."

Zhang Yunming said modestly, " Where can I be that talented? My father said that it would be a great blessing for my family to have won the Xiucai." Everyone laughed in response, and Zhang Yunming immediately brought out his original speech again, bidding farewell to the crowd, saluting and then taking Zhang Yunjin and the servants away.

As soon as Zhang Yunjin left, Shen Zhuo also took the opportunity to say farewell, saying that his sisters should not stay for a long time. Although he was young, he knew that it was better not to get too involved with the royal family in such a public place. Both sides bowed again, and the Third Prince smiled and said, "Give my regards to the Old Lady and Madam." Shen Zhuo was busy thanking them.

They had left the Third Prince and his party, and Zhang Yunming's siblings had also gone far away. Shen Zhuo's expression was somewhat depressed: that Zhang Yunming had just run off with Zhang Yunjin, not even waiting for us.

  Only then did Su Wanniang whisper to Shen Zhuo, "There are books about gaming for sale outside that Guanyin Pavilion, and there are quite a few of them."

    Shen Zhuo said to the middle-aged escort behind him, "Lao Guan, did you hear that? When the girls got back to the carriage, you have someone go and buy me one of each, I don't believe ...... hum!"

That old Guan had the face of a farmer, with deep wrinkles on his face, and was busy smiling as he answered.

They returned to the house and naturally went to see Yang Shi to say goodnight. When they arrived in the main hall, they found that the old Furen was also present, obviously waiting for them. Yang Shi's face was grim as she said to Shen Wen, "Tell me what happened again."

Shen Wen immediately showed her pitiful face and stammered, "I ...... was watching the lantern riddle with sister Wanniang, that, it was that ......" and tears welled up in her eyes. The old Furen’s heart softened again: "Wen Er come over, speak slowly if you have something to say, don't be afraid."

Yang Shi sighed and looked at Su Wanniang, who curtsied and said, "Miss and I were watching the lantern riddle, and Miss was about to guess it when that riddle was picked by someone ......"She spoke clearly and gave a well-organised story of what had happened. Shen Xiang added more about developments since her arrival, and Shen Zhuo concluded with what he had seen.

  Yang Shi frowned as she listened and asked the old Furen, "What does mother think?"

The old Furen swept around and sighed, "It's just a joke between children, don't take it seriously." That was the opposite of what was said.

Yang Shi nodded her head, knowing that she could not discuss this matter here in front of everyone, and said to Shen Wen, "You need to learn the rules properly in the future, how can you cry like this in front of others?"

Shen Wen tears down, crying and said, "I did not do anything ah, why say I have not enough discipline? I have obviously had  discipline tutoring Mama....."

 Yang Shi gritted her teeth, to say that her daughter hadn't disciplined her enough! If word of this gets out, isn't it a slap in the face of the Hou family? How will her own daughter behave in the future? The old Furen also showed her anger, but patted Shen Wen on the back and said nothing.

Yang Shi forced a smile on her face and said to Shen Wen, "Don't cry, you've seen the lantern too, don't think about those things, go to bed properly."

  Shen Wen immediately stopped crying, hugged the old Furen and said good night, then ran to take Yang Shi's arm and said good night again. Shen Zhuo and Shen Xiang didn't care to be so pampered, so they bowed properly and the three children went out.

However, Yang Shi and the old Furen remained in the hall, and Yang Shi said to the person next to her, "Go and prepare some late-night snacks, it's late, and the Eldest Gongzi and the Second Gongzi will surely be hungry when they return later."

  Only when she saw that the people around her had gone away did Yang Shi ask the old Furen in a low voice: "Mother, how can this be? It's that girl Wanniang who speaks in favour of Wen Er, but we all know Wen Er's nature, she's slow-witted, she only knows how to cry when there's nothing else to do, and she certainly won't take the initiative to cause trouble. Why does the Fourth Princess want to find fault with Wen Er?" She usually fought with the old Furen, but if she really had a problem, who could she turn to for advice if not the old Furen ?

The old Furen sighed and whispered, "Write a letter to let the Marquis know about this, and don't say anything, just put in what the Fourth Princess and the First Prince said about Wen Er." Then she got up and shook her head, "I'm getting old! I'll go and rest."

 Yang Shi bowed and sent the old Furen away, sitting herself in her seat in a daze. This was not a big matter, but not a small one. Thinking about the position of the First Prince, it seemed that he would be the one to become the Crown Prince. If he was so impolite to Wen Er, did he imply that he was not being polite to the Marquisate of Zhenbei? Was that his attitude, then, the Emperor's attitude?....The more she thought about it, the more vulnerable she became. She came from a family of lower-middle-class military officials, but she only kept the household for her husband in the capital, so she couldn't contact the imperial officials or go to the palace, so what could she do?

When someone reported that the Eldest Gongzi and Second Gongzi had returned, Yang Shi sat up straight and waited for Shen Yi and Shen Jian who entered with relaxed faces. Looking at their still young faces, Yang Shi hesitated, ordered the midnight snack to be set out, watched the two children eat it, asked about the lantern festival and didn't tell them about the incident. Anyway, Shen Zhuo would tell them about it, so let them have a happy Lantern Festival first.

Once the fifteenth day of the month has passed The year will be completely over. Yang Shi herself held the pen and wrote a long letter to the Zhenbei Marquis, containing information about events at the Marquis of Changle's residence, the meeting with the Third Prince at the lantern market, etc., and had it sent to the Northern Border.

The day after the letter was delivered, a copy of the letter was laid out on the First Prince's study desk. The First Prince read it and simply smiled. He was in a good mood as his happy event approached.

        Shen Wen was also in a very good mood. She went to Guangyi Pavilion a few days later at night and saw the game board she had painted hanging high on the north wall of the largest tea room, with chess boards on the surrounding tables. Although it was already nightfall, many people were still there playing or discussing the game. The official, Pao, smiles as he walks between the tea tables, sometimes pointing at the board and saying a few words of his own. Although he was always sniggered at, he was not in the least bit bothered.

Shen Wen came back and told Su Wanniang that now she only had to wait for Ji Wenzhao to enter the capital.