Did the third place winner regret it today?

Chapter 23

Aunt Shen was very kind to her nieces. She knew Yunniang and Wanniang were getting married, so she made them both beautiful. But later, she asked the younger generation to keep her company and not to invite them when she met guests.
"Just stay at home and cultivate your temper. Don't let your temper change because of your aunt." She said with a smile, "I'll just have them to keep me company."
She stretched out her hand and swiped Yin Shi into the group of guests.

Of course, the ladies all wanted their daughters to get closer to this aunt. Among the relatives in the family, Mrs. Shen was the most senior. She was a fourth-rank lady.
Because of Mrs. Shen's identity, and more because of her other identity - the mother of the new top scholar in the imperial examination, several local ladies in Huaixi who were previously out of their social circle sent people to deliver invitations, saying that they wanted to visit Mrs. Shen.
This is a great opportunity for our daughters to show off!
Yin Shi had lived with them for many years and knew very well that at their age, the most important event in life was their children’s marriage.
She saw that the ones that Madam Shen had chosen were the oldest ones except Yunniang and Wanniang, and they were all about to get married. She thought that Madam Shen had made some pre-arranged arrangements with the women in the family.

Although she didn't mention marriage, she didn't think about herself. She thought that even if Madam Shen wanted to help her nieces raise their status or arrange marriage, she probably wouldn't consider her.
Because her marriage is now considered a very difficult matter, and her family has already reached a tacit understanding that her marriage can only be compatible with those of lower status, such as choosing a family that is not as wealthy as the Yin family, or a slightly inferior candidate, such as a widower whose wife has died.

Yin Shi was not panicked at all.
According to the Yin family's custom of marrying off a daughter, when she gets married, the maidservants around her will go with her. That is to say, even if she marries into a family with less financial conditions, she will still have maidservants around to take care of her life. She will also be given a room to accompany her, which are all her human resources.
They will also give land, shops and the like.
Even if her husband's family is not financially well off, she can at least live a comfortable life and stand tall.
As for the widower, there is no need to be afraid. Being older and more mature is more in line with her psychological age.
Yin Shi is as steady as an old dog!

Huaixi is a small place, and it is a great honor to see a Jinshi scholar occasionally. It is a rare event for a new Tanhua scholar to visit. The doorman has received countless visiting cards and rewards these days, and he is so happy that he can't stop smiling.
Everyone wanted to catch a glimpse of the top scholar, so there was a constant stream of people and cars outside the Yin family’s gate every day, and there were constant banquets inside the mansion.

The outer courtyard was like this, and the backyard was not easy either. Yin Shi was the oldest sister, and she brought several younger sisters of marriageable age to accompany Madam Shen, and met many local ladies.
The amount of social interaction she had in just these few days was almost as much as the total amount she had done since she traveled through time.

But these sisters are all grown up, unlike the younger ones who still need older care, so Yin Shi actually saves a lot of worry and effort.
She just needs to sit quietly with him with a gentle smile. This is Mrs. Shen's home court, and she should be the one in the limelight.
Occasionally, there were moments that allowed the little girls to shine, and she never fought for it. She always let her younger sisters come forward, and she served as a qualified background board for the little girls.
Half a month passed in a flash. Mrs. Shen observed secretly, and the more she watched, the more she liked him.

"If it's her, my family's inner house will definitely be peaceful." She said to her mother beside her, "There's only one thing I'm still worried about. What's the matter with the fate that the master of Donglin Temple gave her?"
Mom said, "Since we are here, why don't we go to Donglin Temple and ask. After all, this is Brother Xi's lifelong event."

Such a big thing is certainly worth a trip.
Moreover, for women, going to places like temples and monasteries was a way to relax and unwind while taking a break from the inner chambers.
So Yin Shi was called to her mother, the Third Lady, and was told: "Pack up and follow us to Donglin Temple the day after tomorrow."
Yin Shi was very happy to be able to meet the master and agreed happily.

The third lady said, "Keep your mouth shut and don't tell anyone about it. It will make them jealous."
Yin Shi: “Huh?”
The Third Madam looked pleased: "Only your Fourth Aunt and I will be on this trip, and with you, there will be no one else."

The third lady was the sister-in-law of Mrs. Shen, and Mrs. Shen was close to her. Yin Shi was the registered disciple of the chief monk of Donglin Temple, and with her following him, everything in Donglin Temple was convenient.
——Yes, the Third Madam and Yin Shi both thought so. After all, as long as they thought so, it would be very smooth to explain why only the two of them went with them. Neither of them suspected anything.

The Third Lady said, "Don't tell them before we set off. If they try to squeeze in, it will be a mess and your aunt will be upset. We will show them off when we get back..."
I almost said the word "show off".
Yin Shi suppressed his laughter and said, "Yes."
The mother and daughter went to prepare happily.

In fact, it was impossible to hide it. The first lady knew about it. Because she was in charge of the household, all the female members of the family had to report to her when using vehicles and horses. Mrs. Shen was going to stay at Donglin Temple for two days and had to bring many things, so naturally the first lady had to arrange for them.
But Madam Shen specifically asked for the Third Madam to accompany her, which clearly showed that she only wanted to be close to her aunt and sister-in-law so that they could talk. The First Madam would naturally not be so tactless as to force her way in and cause trouble.

As for others knowing about it, they would find out that the eldest lady came, so how could she let others do the cooking when even the eldest lady herself could not get a chance to do so? The eldest lady directly stopped the others who were eager to try and said, "Fourth sister only wants the third sister's family to go. Would you be annoying if you go? Think about it yourself."
Even if you are not a likable person, you cannot be disliked. Others can only stop making trouble.

On that day, Yin Shili took Kui'er with him and prepared to get in the car with the third lady.
The third lady said, "You take this one, I will talk with your aunt."
The third wife happily went over to get in the car with Madam Shen, but Madam Shen smiled and waved at Yin Shi: "Come here, Madam Shi, and chat with your aunt on the way to relieve her boredom."
"..." Third Madam, "Aunt is calling you, go over quickly."

In fact, Yin Shi would of course prefer to occupy a car by himself, but since his elders had spoken, he had no choice but to obey.
She walked over obediently, holding up her skirt: "Aunt."
The main character is obedient and sensible.

At this moment, a man's voice suddenly called "Mother". Yin Shi turned around and shouted, "Dad."
Two men were walking side by side in the sunshine, one was middle-aged and slightly plump, and the other was a young man with long eyebrows, bright eyes and a straight nose.
It’s great to be young, that handsome face is radiant in the spring sunshine.

It was at that time that she was young, wearing thin spring clothes, riding a horse and leaning on a sloping bridge, the whole building... the whole building... yes, even if the whole building was full of red sleeves waving, Yin Shi believed that her cousin from the Shen family would definitely not look at her sideways, and would not even glance at her.
When he was a child, he was like an old scholar, but he was little at that time, and the contrast was super cute.
Now that he's older, he looks more serious, and... well, not as cute anymore. It makes people want to stay away from him.

It was Master Yin San and Shen Ti who came over.
Master Yin San came over, looked at Madam Shen and called out, "Fourth Lady."
Yin Shi almost agreed, but then he heard Madam Shen say, "Third brother."
By the way, Madam Shen is the fourth child like her. Yin Shi closed his mouth again.

Shen Ti leaned towards Yin Shi and said, "Cousin."
Yin Shi half bowed: "Cousin."
After saying hello, he tactfully stepped back to give the three of them space to talk.

Master Yin San glanced at her and said, "Aren't you riding in the same car with your mother?"
Mrs. Shen said, "Let Di Niang talk to me on the way."
The third master said, "Then we should let Xiaowu come. She loves to talk. Xiaosi is a quiet person."
Mrs. Shen smiled and covered her mouth: "I can't stand the noise of the car. It's just right for me." Then she was about to get on the car.
Yin Shi had originally extended his hand to help Mrs. Shen get into the car, but unexpectedly Shen Ti extended her hand at the same time. Yin Shi quickly withdrew his hand.
Shen Ti glanced at her and carefully helped Mrs. Shen into the car.

Yin Shi talked to the third master: "Dad, are you going too?"
The third master said, "Jiyun and I will accompany you."
The Third Lady didn't tell her. It turns out that when the Third Lady said "just your aunt, me and you", she only meant the female relatives.
Ok.

Yin Shi got on Madam Shen's carriage. Madam Shen lifted the curtain slightly and looked out. Yin Shi also saw through the window that Shen Ti and Master Yin San got on the same carriage.
Of course, riding in a carriage is more comfortable than riding a horse. If the road is too long, the buttocks can't bear it, especially for someone like Master Yin San who has begun to gain weight and has a lot of fat on his buttocks.
But Yin Shi was surprised that Shen Ti also took the car.

Mrs. Shen turned around and saw Yin Shi's expression. She laughed, "What's wrong?"
Yin Shi also laughed: "I want to see the third place winner riding his horse with great pride. We didn't see my aunt coming home that day, but I wanted to see it. Why did my cousin go there by car? Alas."

She had no distracting thoughts in her mind. She simply treated the handsome and elegant Tanhualang as a relative and a younger brother. When she said "I want to see him", she did it openly and frankly.

In fact, Madam Shen had been observing her the whole time. Just before getting on the car, when Shen Ti arrived, she simply and politely greeted her and stepped back, without any wandering gaze or disorderly behavior.
Shen Ti even noticed that she retracted her hand, so how could Madam Shen not notice it?
She smiled and said, "Let him ride a horse for you to see later."

This was her kind and loving aunt, who had shown her kindness many years ago. Moreover, she might not be able to return to Huaixi many times in her life, and after this trip, she might not have the chance to return in this life. In Yin Shi's heart, this was a person who had almost no interest or influence on her.
Therefore, when there was no one else around, Yin Shi did not need to restrain himself in front of her as he did in front of the Yin family, and he could speak freely and freely.

She said: "You should let your cousin get more sun and ride more horses. As a scholar, he must spend a lot of time sitting at his desk every day. He needs to move more to stay healthy, strong and live a long life. I think my cousin is a little too thin. He should eat more and move more so that he can grow stronger."

If others heard this, they would laugh.
Because Shen Ti's thinness is the thinness of a young man, which is actually very good-looking. He has a face with long eyebrows and a straight nose, and his spring clothes are made of thin material, and his sleeves flutter when he walks, which is very consistent with people's beautiful imagination of "scholars".

Only elders would complain that their children are "too thin".
Although Yin Shi is just an older sister, she thinks of Shen Ti as an adult looking at a high school student, so she naturally thinks "this child should eat more."

But the person who heard her say this at this time was the person in the world who disliked Shen Ti being too thin the most - his own mother.
Mrs. Shen felt that these words touched her heart: "That's right! I kept telling him to eat more, but he thought I was nagging and told me about their health preservation methods, which are the same as his father's."

The aunt and niece started talking about "eating" as soon as they set out on the journey.
Yin Shi's diet was based on the big kitchen at home, so he didn't have much freedom. He would only go to the big kitchen to order something when he was craving for it, or give money to the people at the door to ask them to buy it from outside.
Mrs. Shen was much freer. Her parents-in-law had passed away a few years ago. She no longer had a mother-in-law to worry about. She was the one who made the decisions in the backyard, so naturally she could eat whatever she wanted.

The Beijing cuisine is very different from Huaixi cuisine. She originally told Yin Shi about it as something new. Unexpectedly, Yin Shi could follow it and could tell a thing or two about the taste and cooking methods. His comments were also very pertinent. He seemed like a food expert.

Mrs. Shen asked, "How do you know so much?"
Yin Shi replied, "I read some random books about food from all over the world."
Mrs. Shen actually loves food. The more she talks to her, the brighter her eyes become. Along the way, she has already regarded her as a confidant.

But I still have to say something for my son: "Jiyun, you must be tired of seeing people these days, so you hide in the car."
It's not that I'm in poor health, don't get me wrong.
Yin Shi suddenly realized: "So that's how it is."
She laughed, "We all heard about it."
Mrs. Shen asked, "What did you hear?"

"I heard from the family," Yin Shi thought it was very funny, "many of the so-called 'talented men' in Huaixi, who thought they were extremely talented, came to our house with a heart of not admitting defeat to 'meet' the top scholar. But who would have thought that they would come in full of confidence and leave with pale faces."
The scene was so funny that both of them couldn't help laughing.

But Yin Shi recalled the youthful face of Shen Ti she saw before getting on the bus, with the look of an old scholar, which was very different from the high-spirited and flamboyant new scholar she had imagined.
Is this boy proud? Of course he is.
But he never shows his pride in front of his relatives. He crushes those ignorant "talents" outside, but in front of his relatives he just considers himself a relative.
Come to think of it, Shen Ti's tutoring is really good.

When we got off the car at Donglin Temple, the abbot and the chief monk came out to greet us in person.
After everyone finished their greetings, Yin Shi called out respectfully, "Master."
The abbot had done all those things for her as she had begged for, but she has still not married and there is no talk of marriage, which has become a difficult matter on the abbot's mind.
When the monk saw her, he just wanted to sigh.

(End of this chapter)