Encounter with the Four Great Talents

As soon as Tang Shen moved, Qiu immediately saw it.He quickly glanced at his son beside him, then at Xu Xian, with a knowing smile on his face, and turned back to continue talking with Mrs. Xu.

After a while, a message from the front came in saying that the banquet in front was ready, Master Xu invited Second Master Tang to come over.Mrs. Qiu straightened Tang Shen's clothes and let him go. Tang Shen said hello to his mother and Mrs. Xu and left without even calling Xu Xian.Xu Xian had been in a daze just now, when he saw Tang Shen walking in front of him, he hurriedly stood up, greeted the two of them, and followed.

Yonglu waited for Tang Shen to come out, followed Tang Shen and said, "Second master, I have already sent someone to Wen Gongzi's house with a letter of worship, but it seems a bit far away, and the person has not come back yet. Look..." Noticed Following Xu Xian who came out, Yong Lu stopped talking.Tang Shen didn't look back, and continued to walk forward, saying, "If brother Zhengming comes, he will invite you to see me anytime."

"Yes, Second Master." Yong Lu responded, and noticed that Tang Shen seemed to mean that he didn't want to go with Xu Xian, so he kept huddling beside him and talking about some miscellaneous things, such as how many rooms did the Xu family arrange for? Room, what is missing from the brought things? Tell Tang Shen about these trivial things.Tang Shen also patiently accompanied him in the vernacular, and the two left Xu Xian behind and strode forward.

As soon as Master Xu saw Tang Shen from a distance, he immediately came over with a smile and said, "Shen'er is here, come and sit, come and sit." He personally took Tang Shen to the table and invited him to sit down.Tang Shen squinted his eyes and glanced around. There were two adjacent positions next to Master Xu. Of course, he understood the meaning of this position when everyone else was present.But want him to sit with Xu Xian?He would rather not eat.

Therefore, Tang Shen ignored Master Xu's hand gestures while the others stood up to meet him, walked to the other side of Master Xu and sat down.Master Xu was stunned for a moment, but immediately rearranged his positions calmly, so Tang Shen was surrounded by Master Xu and Xu An, the eldest son of Xu's eldest son, and Xu Xian, who was ranked fifth, was placed in the back position in sequence. .

Xu An is relatively accomplished among the Xu family's sons, and it seems that he is also the heir appointed by Master Xu, so Tang Shen is more friendly to him.During the meeting, the two talked a lot, and they got along very well.Seeing that the two had a good friendship, Master Xu immediately said that during Tang Shen's stay in Changzhou, Xu An, a peer of his age, took him to have fun, and he could ask himself or Xu An if he had anything to do.Xu An naturally agreed, and said with a smile that Tang Shen left too hastily two years ago, there must be many good places he didn't go to, and he would definitely take Tang Shen to visit Changzhou as a landlord, Tang Shen agreed with a smile.

While eating, Butler Zhou came in and delivered a message to Master Xu.Sitting close, Tang Shen naturally heard it. He said, "The eldest girl is back."

The eldest girl of the Xu family is naturally Xu Xin.

Master Xu immediately glanced at Tang Shen, seeing that he was still talking to Xu An about the scenic spots in Changzhou, he smiled and said, "That girl is really well informed, and she knew her aunt was coming so soon. But after all, it is I haven't seen you for more than ten years, so it's time to treat him well. Is uncle here?"

"The eldest girl only came back with her maid, and she didn't see her uncle with her."

"Well, you ask someone to deliver a letter to my uncle, saying that her aunt in Wu County is here, and I will stay with the girl for two days."

"Yes, sir."

The butler immediately took the order to retreat, and Master Xu immediately continued to talk with Tang Shen in a good mood, with a hint of care and flattery.Tang Shen didn't show it on his face, but he was a little funny in his heart.Although their Tang family has produced two candidates, they only have fame but no real power. Is it necessary to use them as backers to curry favor?Moreover, if they want to rely on it, it depends on whether they are willing to let them rely on it.

I was thinking in a mess in my heart, but with a movement of my hand, two chopsticks blocked the mouth of the wine glass, and the wine jug that was about to pour wine was blocked.Turning his head to Xu An who was a little surprised, he said with a smile: "Big cousin, my younger brother has always been in poor health, and he can't drink. He has already drank three glasses today, and he can't do any more."

Xu An immediately put down the jug, patted his head and said angrily: "Look at me, I even forgot this when I was happy. Brother Shen is indeed a little thinner, so I really don't want to drink the wine. Come, eat more food, There are a few dishes on this table that are very nourishing."

Tang Shen responded with a smile, took some fungus with chopsticks and ate them, chewing them twice.What I thought in my heart was that the Xu family's food in the past two years is still not very good.

At the other end, Mrs. Qiu also felt that the Xu family's food was not to their taste.Although the table is full of dishes, they are either bland and tasteless like water, or the big fish and meat are so greasy that people can't eat chopsticks, and even the soup is not hot enough. Although most of the dishes taste passable, they are really boring. appetite.

But it's not good to lose face to my sister, so Mrs. Qiu held the chopsticks repeatedly, but didn't eat much, and spent most of the time talking to Mrs. Xu instead.

During the dinner, all the parents were talking about their gossip, Mrs. Xu was talking about her daughter Xu Xin.Xu Xin has been married for two years, but she has never been pregnant. Her husband's family has already given her two concubines.Because both of them gave birth to sons, Xu Xin's position in her husband's family was very unstable, and it was said that the son-in-law went to her room less often.The daughter's life is not going well, Mrs. Xu, as a mother-in-law, has no other way, she is so anxious that she can't sleep well all night.

After listening to the Qiu family, she sighed, her sister really had a hard life, her son couldn't count on it, and her daughter couldn't stand in her husband's house.Thinking that I have both children and a happy life, and my son is promising and my daughter is married well, I feel a little bit unbearable in comparison.He sincerely comforted her with a few words: "Sister, Xin Er is still young, so there is nothing to worry about in just two years. Now she is at this age, she should take good care of her body first, and she will naturally be able to give birth to a big fat boy in one fell swoop."

Mrs. Xu forced a smile: "I accept your good words."

Just as I was talking, Xu Xin arrived.

Xu Xin was wearing a peach red skirt, and she looked quite pretty after some careful dressing.It's just that Qiu can tell at a glance that the jewelry on her head is old, at least two years old.Although the clothes on his body were pretty good-looking, the workmanship of the fabrics was also average, not very good.

Xu Xin's husband's family is one of the richest businessmen in Changzhou, but they let their eldest and youngest grandmother dress like this. It seems that Xu Xin's situation in her husband's family is worse than Mrs. Xu said.

In fact, as Qiu Shi thought, Xu Xin had the same relationship with her husband.His husband has a childhood sweetheart, a nurse sister, who has a very good relationship, and Xu Xin directly raised her to be his aunt within half a year after starting.Xu Xin's personality is not tolerant, and the house is restless and the husband and wife are at odds.Her mother-in-law was also towards Xu Xin at the beginning, but after a long time, she naturally became a little annoyed, and she also scolded her a few times, which made Xu Xin's position in her husband's family awkward.

Of course Mrs. Xu knew about it, and persuaded her several times, but Xu Xin didn't improve much, so it became what it is today.

Qiu Shi didn't know the twists and turns, but only knew that Xu Xin in front of her looked quite likable, but such an ending was really pitiful.Feeling pity for her in his heart, he let her sit beside him and talked a lot.Anyway, she is already married, so are you afraid that she will pester her son?

Xu Xin actually had no other intentions in coming today, she just wanted to let her husband's family know that she still had a backer, and she didn't want her husband's family to underestimate her.But if she is smart, she should know to bring her husband along.Isn't she showing off to her husband's family like this now, such a high-profile appearance will only make her husband's family even more unhappy.

After dinner, the women were talking in the room, the maids were serving tea, and listening to mother and Mrs. Qiu talking about Miss He's family, she suddenly remembered that her sister-in-law was also about to get married, so she said, " I also met Ms. He San, although her character and appearance are outstanding, but she lost her father after all, so it is not suitable for her to match her eldest cousin."

Qiu Shi listened and smiled: "Oh? So is there any better candidate for Xiner?"

"I can't say there is a good candidate." Xu Xin smiled slightly flatteringly and said, "It's my sister-in-law, who is less than fifteen years old this year, and she is just the right age. She is also very good-looking..."

"Xin'er!" Madam Xu stopped immediately, Xu Xin was startled and looked at her innocently.Mrs. Xu ignored her, and said to Qiu Shi who looked a little cold: "Don't listen to this child, how can she know anything. I know her sister-in-law. She is fourteen or fifteen years old. But not stable enough. You are picking a daughter-in-law for Yin'er, and this is picking the eldest daughter-in-law, and the future mistress will naturally choose a generous, dignified, smart and virtuous one."

Mrs. Qiu nodded and said: "My Yin'er is good in everything else, but he is a bit uncommon. But he has been studying with all his heart since he was a child. How can he learn kung fu? I can only count on my wife. Although our family Not an official family, but not a merchant or a poor peasant. Yin'er is a good boy who is one in a million. I only hope that this child has the fate to marry a good relative who is well-matched, otherwise why would he travel all the way to Changzhou? Well." Qiu's tone was light, obviously not happy with Xu Xin's words just now.

"That's right. Yin'er is such a good child, how can a girl from a small family be worthy of him." Mrs. Xu glared at Xu Xin secretly, and brought the topic back.

Xu Xin lowered her head and twisted the handkerchief in her hand.How could she have forgotten that the Tang family didn't even look down on herself back then, so how could they look down on their sister-in-law.Feeling wronged and sad, his smile became stiff.The daughters-in-law of Xu's family on the opposite side were happy to see sister-in-law's joke, and ignored her, they gathered beside Mrs. Qiu to praise Tang Yin's goodness, and they talked about the candidates for girls from a good family they knew, which made Mrs. Qiu happy and laughed. Again and again.

Mrs. Qiu stayed by Mrs. Xu's side all day. After dinner, she was finally sent back to her room. She saw Tang Shen wearing a loose robe and hair hanging loosely on the couch reading a book. It’s so little, Dongyue, go and get a cloak to cover him, alas, this hair is not dry yet, take a dry cloth and wipe it again.”

Tang Shenren tossed himself at his mother, and said with a smile: "Mother, it's not cold now, and I'm not made of paper, how can I really get sick because of such a trivial matter."

Qiu Shi glared at him: "Who was the one who got sick last month?"

Tang Shen touched his nose and lowered his head, wrapped the thick cloak around his body resignedly, and let Dongyue stand behind him to wipe his hair.Qiu Shi brought him another cup of hot tea, then sat down and said, "I see you are blushing, have you been drinking?"

"No, just soaked in the bath for a while." Tang Shen got comfortable under the service, slipped into the cloak, and asked lazily: "Mother agreed to Miss He's business?"

"No, I just asked a few more questions." Mrs. Qiu remembered Tang Shen's question about Mr. He, and knew that this matter could not be easily agreed to, so although she asked a few more questions, she also paid more attention to other candidates for marriage.

"Then I asked about Mr. He. My eldest cousin said that Mr. He just resigned from office a few years ago, and there was a disturbance in the capital at the end of the year. I don't know if he knew that something was going to happen and took the opportunity to run away. If If it really has something to do with him, this kiss is absolutely inappropriate."

"Well, now that I think about it, I also find it strange. Mr. He resigned suddenly and even brought back a girl of marriageable age instead of finding a good family in the capital to marry. Didn't he delay the girl?" Qiu said again I'm not stupid, if I really resigned from office and returned to my hometown due to other reasons, I would definitely think of marrying the girl to someone in the capital first.All of a sudden, he ran back to Changzhou with his family behind him. Could it be possible to find a better candidate here?Besides, even if you come back to look for it, if you can't find it for a while, the girl who has been dragging on for a year or so will already be old.

Tang Shen saw that his mother was so smart, so he knew that there was no need to say more, but he just told her: "Mother, in fact, you don't have to be so nervous about the candidate for this daughter-in-law. As long as you are a good girl, you can take care of things or not." Home, don’t you still have you? A little teaching is fine.”

Qiu's realization suddenly dawned on him, as if waking up the person in the dream with one word: "Oh, your words really woke me up!"

"Mom, you're just digging into a dead end. It's okay, since we're here, let's take a look here, maybe there is something you like."

"So it seems that there are a few good girls in Wu county, which is quite suitable. Well, let's take a look at each other slowly." Qiu Shi was not in a hurry, and looked much more relaxed, and imitated his son and asked, "What are you with today?" Uncle eats wine and talks together, did anything happen?"

"That's not true, but the Xu family's food is really unpalatable, mother, it's better to ask Dongyue to help me cook some dishes for supper tomorrow."

After wiping her hair, Dongyue said with a smile, "What's so difficult about Erye wanting to eat, I'll do it now."

Qiu Shi smiled and sent her off to work, and continued to ask: "From my sister's point of view, Master Xu is interested in Xu An?"

"What? Could it be that she wants Master Xu to hand over the big family to Xu Xian, that prodigal son? Master Xu is not full." Tang Shen waved his hands and snorted. He looked down on Xu Xian very much.Qiu said with some hesitation: "But Xian'er is a legitimate son after all."

"Even if he is a son-in-law, if he is incompetent, he is incompetent. Is it possible that the whole family should accompany him to drink the northwest wind?"

Mrs. Qiu sighed, she could see that it was impossible for Xu Xian to inherit the Xu family, and her sister would be even more sad.Secondly, his son didn't usually hate Xu Xian.

Just as he was thinking, Yong Lu's voice came from outside: "Hey, isn't this Xu Wuye? What's the matter with you coming here so late?"