Poor Family

Wuchangbo Mansion.

Shi Zhengkun checked the value, declined the banquet of his colleagues, and went directly back to the uncle's mansion.

Recently, the atmosphere at home has been a little weird, which made him a little uneasy.

He went to Yixiang Hall to pay his respects, but his mother never saw him. Although there were reasonable reasons every time, he could feel that it was his mother who didn't want to see him.

But why?

There was also his father. In the past, when his father saw him, he had to give a few words of encouragement, but now that he saw him, he would walk away after a few words. Once he even found that his father was deliberately avoiding him.

The eldest brother is also very strange, looking at him with complicated eyes, and sighing every time.

Shi Zhengkun returned to Yiwen Academy worriedly. When he entered the room, he saw Zeng Yuwei and asked, "Did you find out what happened at home?"

Zeng Yuwei shook her head: "You know how tight-lipped that sister-in-law is. If she doesn't want to say it, I have no ability to make her talk."

As he spoke, he paused.

"Sanggong, are you overthinking it? I see everything at home is normal."

Shi Zhengkun walked around the room irritably: "No, something must have happened, and it has something to do with me." After walking around twice, he said directly, "No, I have to ask my parents."

Seeing Shi Zhengkun walking out quickly, Zeng Yuwei hurriedly followed.

The two went straight to Yixiangtang, but unfortunately, when they reached the gate of the courtyard, they were stopped again.

"Fourth Master, Fourth Madam, the old master and the old madam have something to say, and ordered no one to come in and disturb them."

Zeng Yuwei hurriedly said: "The fourth master has not greeted the old master and the old lady for some days, and today he came back early on purpose. Since father and mother are here, we have to go in."

With that said, he was about to step into the courtyard.

Before her footsteps landed, she saw two women guarding the door standing in front of her.

The words have already come to this point, and the servant dared to stop, Zeng Yuwei became angry at once: "You are so brave, even the fourth master and I dare to stop!"

At this time, Madam An who was beside Mrs. Shi came over.

Nanny An, like Nanny Xu, is Mrs. Shi's dowry and confidant. As soon as Shi Zhengkun saw her, he immediately stepped forward: "Mommy, I want to go in and say hello to my parents. Please pass on a message."

Nanny An smiled and said: "Master Fourth, the old lady is indeed feeling a little uncomfortable these days. When she recovers, she will see you naturally. You and the fourth lady should go back first."

Zeng Yuwei wanted to say something, but was stopped by Shi Zhengkun.

"Okay, since mother is going to rest, then we won't bother you, please ask mother to say hello to father and mother for me."

After speaking, he left with Zeng Yuwei.

As soon as the two reached the fork in the road, they saw Shi Zhengmao and Mrs. Shi walking towards them.

Zeng Yuwei wanted to go up to say hello, but Shi Zhengkun took her to hide under the shade of a tree next to her.

"Sir, what are you?"

Shi Zhengkun didn't answer, but just looked at Shi Zhengmao and Mrs. Shi silently, and when he saw the two entered Yixiang Hall, his expression changed instantly.

"Something must have happened, otherwise my parents won't see me."

Shi Zhengkun looked at Zeng Yuwei: "I was busy some time ago and didn't have time to take care of my family. Think about it, is there anything strange happening at home?"

Zeng Yuwei thought for a while, then shook her head: "No, it's strange, last time my mother suddenly went to meet you in our courtyard, does that count?"

Shi Zhengkun remembered it, and it seemed that his mother hadn't seen him since then: "Forget it, quickly ask someone to find out, and ask what happened at home that day?"

Mother wouldn't ignore him for no reason, something must have happened that he didn't know about.

Zeng Yuwei's father is the fourth-rank Dali Temple Shaoqing. Although his rank is not very high, he is a real official with real power. His natal family is powerful, so there are many servants in the Shifu who are close to Zeng Yuwei.

Zeng Yuwei is still very well informed about the news in the mansion.

Not long after Zeng Yuwei and Shi Zhengkun returned to Yiwen Academy, the dowry maid found out the news.

"What? On the day my mother came to our yard, I received a letter from Uncle Jiang's family?"

"Could it be that something happened to the Jiang family?"

"No, if something happens to the Jiang family, why doesn't my mother see me?"

Shi Zhengkun was really confused, Jiang's family was far away at the northwest border, he really couldn't imagine that Jiang's letter could have anything to do with him.

Zeng Yuwei said again: "By the way, there was another letter from the Jiang family today. After hearing that my mother had read the letter, she immediately sent someone to invite my father. The two of them stayed in the house for a long time and didn't come out."

"We went to pay our respects, but we were stopped outside the courtyard, but the eldest brother and sister-in-law went in. Could it be that something really happened to the Jiang family and asked the eldest brother and sister-in-law to discuss it?"

"It shouldn't be, there's no need to hide this from us, right?"

Both the husband and wife were very confused, they were silent for a while, Shi Zhengkun suddenly got up and went out: "I'll go to the second sister's place, but my parents won't see me, so I won't even see the second sister."

Zeng Yuwei nodded hastily: "Yes, yes, yes, the second sister has the best relationship with you, and she will definitely be able to find out what happened if she comes forward."

Yixiang Hall.

Mrs. Shi and Mrs. Shi sat on the Kang facing the window, while Shi Zhengmao and Mrs. Shi sat on the chairs next to them.

Shi Zhengmao and Mrs. Shi were reading the letter, this time they received a total of four letters.

One was written by Mrs. Jiang, one was written by Jiang Anbang, and the other two were written by Shi Nian and Madam Xu.

Mrs. Jiang was repeatedly contradicted by Li's family, and she was influenced by Jiang Antai, so the contents of the letter mostly expressed dissatisfaction with Li Changsen's family.

Jiang Anbang mostly spoke from the standpoint of the Li Changsen family, and revealed that he liked the four children of the Li family very much.

Shi Nian and Madam Xu didn't dare to express their opinions in the letter, and recorded all the conversations they had with Li Changsen's family on the day they came to recognize their relatives relatively impartially.

Through the letters of the four people, Mrs. Shi and the four were able to roughly restore the meeting scene that day.

In the room, the four people had different reactions.

Mrs. Shi sat on the kang calmly and calmly, adding incense powder to the incense burner, while the old lady Shi, who was facing the kang, pursed her lips and said nothing.

After Shi Zhengmao read the letter, his brows became pimples, while Mrs. Shi had high brows, with an obvious look of surprise on her face.

Li Changsen's family didn't want to go back to Shi's house, which really caught everyone by surprise!

No, it cannot be said that they are unwilling to go back to Shijia, they want to come back in a legitimate way

If he came back justifiably, he would have to announce to the public the fact that the child was wrongly held back then. At that time, Shi Zhengkun would definitely be affected, and maybe there would be a rift with the Shi family because of this.

Regarding this point, Shi Zhengmao is very clear, and because he is clear, he is a little annoyed: "This Li Changsen"

"What is Li Changsen? That's your younger brother. His surname is Shi, not Li." Mrs. Shi cast a sidelong glance at Shi Zhengmao.

Shi Zhengmao choked: "Then I'll call him Shi Changsen?"

Madam Shi did not speak, and continued to tinker with the incense burner.

Shi Zhengmao was silent: "Changsen. Changsen, isn't he making it difficult for us?"

Mrs. Shi understood her husband's thoughts, and she also held the same point of view. Seeing that Mrs. Shi and Mrs. Shi were silent, she thought for a while and said:

"The Changsen family's parents are outside, and no one has taught them many things. It is understandable that the family's difficulties are not understood."

"The fourth younger brother is now working in the Imperial Academy. The Imperial Academy is a place that the emperor and all civil and military officials attach great importance to. If it is revealed that the fourth younger brother is not the son of the Shi family, it may have a great impact on him."

"Father, mother, don't let the first aunt and the second aunt go over and talk to Chang Sen. If it makes sense, the family will understand the difficulties at home."

Madam Shi didn't raise her head: "Why don't they understand?"

Mrs. Shi was stunned, a little unsure of what her mother-in-law's attitude was, looked at her husband, and said nothing.

Shi Zhengmao asked directly: "Father, mother, what are you thinking? Do you really want everyone to know that the fourth brother is not his own? How much harm will this cause him?"

"You guys don't want to see him these days. He has no intention of working. He keeps coming to me and asking me if you are not feeling well. His words are very concerned."

"The fourth brother has been strong since he was a child. If he knows that he is not the son of the Shi family, how will he deal with it?"

"It's understandable to take Changsen back, but it's not worth the candle to let the fourth brother separate from us."

Mrs. Shi looked at Shi Zhengmao: "Then tell me, what should I do about this?"

Shi Zhengmao: "That's what I mean too, let the uncles come forward and talk to Chang Sen Haosheng."

Mrs. Shi asked again: "If it doesn't make sense, will you deny it?"

Shi Zhengmao choked: "Mother, I didn't mean that. If uncle and the others can't make sense, then I will go to Rongcheng myself."

Mrs. Shi smiled and shook her head: "If your eldest uncle can't say anything even if he comes forward, it's useless for you to go. Alright, let's go down."

Before hearing his parents' decision, Shi Zhengmao didn't want to just leave, and wanted to say something, but was stopped by Mrs. Shi who got up and walked to him.

"Sir, let's go back first."

Shi Zhengmao reluctantly followed Mrs. Shi out of Yixiang Hall: "What's the matter with you? I want to ask my parents what they think."

Mrs. Shi: "Haven't you seen it, father and mother probably have already made a decision."

Shi Zhengmao was stunned: "What decision? I didn't see it."

Mrs. Shi sighed: "Didn't you find that mother is very calm this time? Only when you make up your mind can you not be disturbed. Mother, you have already made a decision."

Shi Zhengmao hurriedly said, "Then what is their decision?"

Mrs. Shi shook her head. Although she has been married to Shi's family for more than twenty years, it is still difficult for her to guess her mother-in-law's thoughts.

Recognizing her own son, this is for sure, and what a mother should do, she has no doubts about this.

But the difficulty lies in the fact that the fourth brother is involved.

The fourth brother was cultivated by the Shi family with great effort, so it's fine to recognize Li Changsen, but if it affects his future, it will be a loss to him and the Shi family.

Putting the Shi family aside, Li Changsen's coming back in a legitimate way will definitely affect his fourth brother, and he probably has a hard time feeling uncomfortable.

One is an adopted son with a good future who is carefully raised. Although the other is his own son, he grew up in a military family.

If someone values ​​family interests, he must know how to choose, but the mother-in-law is not an ordinary person, she really can't guess how she will choose.

"Have you really thought about it?"

After the eldest son and eldest daughter-in-law left, the old man spoke in silence.

Mrs. Shi nodded: "Everyone has to be responsible for their own mistakes. We failed to protect our children and let them be dropped by others. It is a parental mistake. It is a big mistake. We have to face today's difficulties."

"Since you made a mistake, you can't make the same mistake again and again!"

"I didn't think carefully before. I shouldn't have sent Shi Nian and Madam Xu to Rongcheng before deciding how to arrange Zheng Kun."

"The child really can't be taken back in an unclear manner, because we, the child has been in trouble for more than 30 years, and now we can't let him continue to be wronged."

The old man was a little hesitant: "But Zhengkun's side."

Mrs. Shi sighed, but her expression was firm: "It stands to reason that he is innocent, but he took away Chang Sen's life, right and wrong, he has to pay the price for his parents' greed, he bears All the criticisms are caused by his parents, not us."

The old man sighed again: "The matter of the child being wronged has been made public, Zhengkun is afraid that he is going to separate from us."

Mrs. Shi was quite open about this: "That's something that can't be helped, no matter how close a son is, he can't guarantee that he will always be close to his parents."

"For Zhengkun, we have a clear conscience. When he was our son, we raised him with all our heart. He is no longer our son, but he is also an adopted son. If he has the heart and keeps getting close to us, we welcome him. If he alienates us, it's okay. Weird."

The old lady Shi sighed a long time: "The Shi family is really going to fall in my hands."

As a family of military generals, either they have always had real power in the army, or someone in the family can read and pass down the family through poetry and books.

In the past few years, because of being suppressed by the superiors, the family took a lot of effort to get the eldest son to find a position as a fifth-rank member in the Ministry of War.

Now that he is still alive, there is still an earl in the mansion to support him. Once he goes, without the name of the earl's mansion, he can hardly imagine how the Shi family will decline.

After finally supporting a Hanlin scholar, he is not his own son.

Mrs. Shi lowered her eyes: "Some things are hard to say. Even if a Hanlin scholar falls into the emperor's eyes, he must start as a low-level official. Many people spend their whole lives as editors."

"You and I can't say for sure about the future. What we can control is the present. The child must be brought back. This is our responsibility as parents. If you let him stay at the border and go to see the ancestors in the future, you will not legal account."

At that time, the old man was not talking.

Mrs. Shi suddenly laughed: "Don't say it, the Changsen family really surprised me. I thought that growing up at the border and lacking education, the Changsen family would have little knowledge. I didn't expect them to surprise me."

The old man looked up at his old wife: "Why is it a surprise?"

Mrs. Shi asked back: "Why isn't it a surprise? If our family came to recognize their relatives, they would come back obediently. Although they are obedient, don't you think something is missing?"

Said, smiled.

"I know that sister-in-law, she has a set of principles, Chang Sen's children were not involved by her, and they dared to fight her, just this temper, it should be my blood."

"Second brother said that Changsen's youngest daughter is very similar to me, and I can't wait to meet them."

Mrs. Shi is not as lenient as Mrs. Shi, when he thinks about the future of Shi's family, he has a severe headache: "Are you going to talk about Zhengkun, or should I talk about it?"

Mrs. Shi was silent: "Today, Mrs. Zeng wants to force her way in. I think they will find them in the next two days. Let me tell you."

Early the next morning, Mrs. Shi and Mrs. Shi had just had breakfast when the servant girl reported that her daughter Shi Yuhua had returned.

Mrs. Shi raised her eyebrows, and looked at Mrs. Shi: "I thought Zhengkun would come to ask by himself, but I didn't expect to bring Yuhua back. It's okay, this is a major event of the Shi family, everyone in the family should know of."