Farmhouse Green Plum

Chapter 194 Strange Points

Mother Fang curled her lips and said, "She went to Fengheyuan angrily and came out in less than a quarter of an hour."

"Gone?" Song Ying blinked, stunned.

After such a big incident, is there no punishment at all? Shen Zhuangyuan didn't just curse a few words when he went in, right?

This matter not only damages the dignity of Princess Shun'an, but also the reputation of the Shen family and Shen Zhuangyuan himself. To put it more seriously, it also damages the reputation of the royal family!

If this gets to the ears of the imperial envoy, he might impeach Shen Zhuangyuan for not managing his household properly.

As a native of Qinghuali, Song Ying grew up listening to the legendary story of Shen Zhuangyuan. He admired Shen Zhuangyuan from the bottom of his heart. Before coming to Shen Mansion, he naturally trusted the Shen Mansion because of this.

But now, her impression of Mr. Shen has changed. After marrying the county princess as his wife, he still wants to take a concubine, which is already too much. He even favors the concubine over his wife!

Is he really that courageous, or is the Minister of Rites so powerful that he is not afraid of offending the royal family?

At this time, Chunliu took out the ingredients needed for the medicinal diet. Song Ying no longer cared about it and took the ingredients and went to the small kitchen.

After the medicinal food was ready, Chuntao did not come to pick it up as usual. Worried about Doctor Lin, Song Ying simply delivered it to the main courtyard himself.

Soon after the maid went in to pass the message, Chuntao came out and said, "Your medicinal food came just in time. The old lady didn't eat at noon and is very hungry now. Doctor Lin was just about to prepare the medicinal food, and you just happened to come. It's really a master-disciple relationship."

Seeing that she was still in the mood to talk about these, Song Ying knew that Princess Shun'an's situation was not that bad.

She handed over the medicinal food and asked with concern, "Is the old lady okay?"

"I heard the news at noon and was so angry that I almost fainted. Fortunately, I had Doctor Lin." Chuntao looked scared.

"I'm glad you're okay. You should take it to the old lady right away." Seeing that she had no intention of letting him go in with her, Song Ying didn't keep her talking. After all, Princess Shun'an was hungry.

I thought Princess Shun'an was fine and Doctor Lin would be back soon, but I didn't expect her to come back until three o'clock in the morning, looking tired.

"Master, you're back." Hearing the voice, Song Ying hurried out with a lantern to greet him.

"It's so late, why haven't you slept yet?"

"How can I sleep peacefully without my master coming back?"

Doctor Lin felt warm at heart when she heard this, and waved to the two maids who had sent her back: "You can go back first."

Song Ying smiled and said to the two maids, "Please take my master back. It's dark and the road is not easy to see. Please walk slowly when you go back."

The two maids' expressions softened immediately. After exchanging a few polite words, they left with their lanterns.

Song Ying and Doctor Lin entered the room and asked, "Master, is the old lady in bad condition?"

"Alas," Doctor Lin sighed, "With a concubine like this who makes trouble from time to time, how can my health be good?"

Song Ying was really curious about Aunt Lian, and when she mentioned it, she wanted to ask more questions, but Doctor Lin seemed to realize that it was inappropriate to ask her this, and immediately changed the subject.

"Why did you come back today? The journey is long. It will be the same if you come back tomorrow."

"I'm used to walking, so I don't feel tired. What's more, I would rather hurry back and sleep. I have my own room and my own bed, which makes me more comfortable." The main reason is that at home, I can't avoid quarreling with my grandma and others, which makes me tired.

Lin Dada recalled her grandmother and second uncle's attitude towards her that day, and she understood a little. She rubbed her forehead and said, "These days, I have to take care of the old lady's illness and have no time to teach you medical theory. You should memorize the acupuncture song well. When you have memorized it well, go and memorize the Human Meridian Map. I will give it to you tomorrow."

Song Ying agreed obediently, feeling very relieved that her master, even though he was so tired, still did not forget to arrange her homework.

"Oh, by the way, the mansion will hold a chrysanthemum viewing banquet the day after tomorrow. There will be a lot of gossips coming and going. If you have nothing to do, don't go to the front to join in the fun, or you will be affected by others."

"A chrysanthemum-viewing banquet?" Song Ying was puzzled. A chrysanthemum-viewing banquet in autumn would naturally be held on the Double Ninth Festival. At the very least, it should be held before the Double Ninth Festival. How could it be held after the Double Ninth Festival?

Doctor Lin saw her confusion and patiently explained, "You should know what happened today, Aunt Lian. We served crabs but didn't prepare the eight crab dishes. We asked the guests to crack the crabs by hand. If this gets out, I don't know what people will say about the Shen family.

The old lady had no choice but to hold a banquet as soon as possible despite her illness to restore the reputation of the Shen family."

Song Ying was a little confused. Princess Shunan was angry because she sent crabs but didn't prepare the eight crab dishes?

"Master, what are the eight crab pieces?"

"There are eight kinds of tools for eating crabs: hammer, punch, pliers, shovel, spoon, fork, scraper and needle," Doctor Lin explained simply.

Song Ying was stunned. "It takes eight tools to eat a crab. It's too much trouble!"

"This is elegant. If you break it with your bare hands, not only will your hands be greasy, but they will also smell fishy."

"Just wash it after eating." Song Ying still didn't understand. Why would anyone eat crabs if they disliked the fishy smell?

Doctor Lin looked at Song Ying thoughtfully, "It seems that he really doesn't think there is anything wrong."

He? Who?

Song Ying blinked, confused and curious.

Considering that Song Ying would be staying with her in the mansion for a long time, he had to understand some of the rules of a big family. Doctor Lin immediately explained the matter to her in detail: "The most important thing for a big family is the rules. This banquet is not just about eating..."

Although Doctor Lin did not say some things directly, Song Ying still understood them.

Mr. Shen, the top scholar, was born in a poor family. Although the Shen family seemed prosperous, it actually had no foundation and was totally inadequate in front of those real big families.

After Princess Shun'an married into the Shen family, she was often ridiculed openly and secretly by other ladies in Kyoto when she was young because of this matter.

Therefore, she cared about these things very much. Over the years, she had been committed to rectifying the rules of the Shen Mansion and making the Shen Mansion act like a real big family. For this reason, she had many frictions with Shen Zhuangyuan.

Today, Aunt Lian made the guests crack crabs with their bare hands. If word gets out, the aristocratic circle will start to laugh at the Shen family, saying that they are just peasants with no background.

The 'he' that Doctor Lin mentioned just now was naturally referring to Shen Zhuangyuan.

It was precisely because he understood this that Song Ying was even more surprised. What Princess Shunan cared about was too strange!

She didn't care that she was unmarried and couldn't talk about the competition between wives and concubines. She wondered, "The old lady was angry because Aunt Lian bypassed her, the mistress of the house, and took care of the guests. This is suspected of seizing power."

Doctor Lin glanced at her and said, "What you want to say is that Master Shen favors his concubine over his wife."

Song Ying touched the tip of his nose awkwardly, "Isn't it?"

"Mrs. Lian is very arrogant, but Mr. Shen really didn't favor his concubine over his wife. He just indulged Mrs. Lian."