Shen Muqing was still concerned about Shen Yuerong's fate.

  No matter in what era, a woman's marriage to an unworthy man is always a painful thing, and can even affect one's fate.

  She took over the West Lake Longjing from Orange Fragrance and handed it to Li, smiling: "Madam, what about Yues sister's matter?"

  Li took the tea and smiled bitterly: "Let's talk about it when Lin Jincai comes back. Firstly, I can't just listen to her one-sided words, secondly, I also need time to persuade Old Master. No matter what, those things are our previous generation's grudges, we can't let them affect the children."

  Shen Mu Qing listened and nodded in agreement, flattering Li: "Madam, you really think of everything."

  "Li smiled: 'Are you trying to coax me into being happy again?'"

  "No! I'm telling the truth!" Shen Muqing said with a pout.

  "Since that's the case, starting from tomorrow, you can follow me and learn how to manage a household!"

  Shen Muqing was quite unexpected.

  The woman in charge of the household chores comes every morning to report, and Shen Muqing's lessons are also arranged in the morning, so Li has never let Shen Muqing help with household chores.

  "Come New Year, you'll be thirteen years old. There are some things you need to learn about too. Last night, I discussed it with your father and he agrees. In two days, we'll go talk to Mr. Min about temporarily stopping your classes at Jing Shun Tang."

  Li was clearly prepared, but Shen Xian agreed to let Mr. Min resign from his position as the Western Envoy... This really left Shen Muqing stunned. Especially after she learned about the intimate relationship between the two.

  She spoke with some stuttering: "How can this be... Did the old master really say that... Mr. Min, does he know..."

  Mr. Li thought that his daughter would have difficulty accepting such a decision for the time being, and explained with a smile: "The old master said that Mr. Min is a man of noble character and profound knowledge, and it's a pity to waste him in our family. He plans to persuade Mr. Min to participate in next year's spring examination."

  Is he going to take the imperial examination in spring? Does that mean he wants to become a double juren and jinshi? Is it because of that matter they discussed at the Jiushi Academy? Or has this been decided long ago, just waiting for an opportunity... But judging from Mr. Min's tone, he often expresses the idea that "literature is eternal, while officialdom is only temporary glory". How could he suddenly change his mind... Or maybe, saying he doesn't want to be an official is fake, and in reality, he wants to fish for benefits, taking advantage of Shen Zhen's rise to power, which is why he came to the Shen family as a tutor...

  Shen Mu Qing's thoughts were a bit disorganized, and she perfunctorily said: "Mr. Min taught my daughter for five years, and suddenly he wants to leave; my daughter still has some reluctance in her heart."

  "I know!" Li pulled Shen Muqing's hand, patting it gently as if to comfort her emotions. "You can't even bear to throw away used things, let alone the teacher who taught you. Muqing, don't be sad, if you really like reading books, next year when spring arrives, we'll invite another person to come and live in our house as a tutor, definitely not inferior to that Mr. Min."

  There are many things that can't be judged by appearance.

  Who knows if there's something going on behind the scenes that I'm not aware of.

  Shen Mu Qing's heart was a mess, and she nodded randomly.

  Mr. Li saw that his daughter was not very pleased, and smiled: "Why don't I go talk to your father again? If Mr. Min doesn't pass the exam, we can invite him to come to our home as a tutor?"

  This cautious tone, fearing she might be unhappy, warmed Shen Muqing's heart and gave her a sense of being treasured like a precious gem.

  In fact, in another space-time continuum, she also had a twin brother. The two were generally large, and she was able to walk at 10 months old, while her brother didn't learn how to walk until after he was one year old. Her grandmother once pointed at her and said, "She must be destined to make a living outside, unable to serve her parents filially." At the time, she thought it was just her grandmother being biased, but who knew that she would end up staying in the city for school, while her brother returned to their hometown, got married, had children, and brought joy to their parents. Later on, she encountered another unbelievable event, which made her realize that there must be some arrangement in the universe - she was not destined to have a relationship with her biological parents!

  Thinking of this, he became more and more close to Li's family, and regarded her as his mother in his heart.

  Shen Muqing's heart felt warm and gentle, like being bathed in the winter sun.

  She opened various speculations about Mr. Min, smiled and said: "Of course, Mr. Min's future is important, my daughter here will listen to the arrangement of her parents."

  Li saw Shen Muqing's bright smile, without a hint of awkwardness, and felt slightly reassured.

  She thought of her own concerns and smiled: "You've been clever since you were a child, and with Du's guidance, ordinary people wouldn't have achieved what you have in ten years. But as for household chores, you don't know the first thing about them. In the future, you'll have to learn from your mother-in-law... otherwise I'd worry."

  "What's wrong?" Shen Muqing said with a puzzled expression, "Don't worry, I know how to cook, we won't be eating raw rice and meat!"

  Li and Wang's mother were both smiling on one side, making Shen Muqing even more inexplicably wonderful.

  "Alright, alright, it's getting late, I won't drag you along anymore, hurry up and go to Mr. Min's place!" Li looked at her daughter's dazed expression and burst out laughing.

  Shen Mu Qing walked out of the door in a daze.

  ******

  Arrived at Jing Shun An, it was still early and Mr. Min was already sitting in front of the bookcase in the main hall.

  He wore a stone-blue silk changshan this year, his black hair was tied up with a green bamboo pin, and the expression on his handsome face was calm and composed, unlike his usual bright and cheerful appearance, making him look elegant and at ease.

  This is a Mr. Min whom Shen Muqing was unfamiliar with... or rather, she had never understood Mr. Min before...

  Shen Mu Qing thought for a moment, then knelt down to pay his respects to Mr. Min. Mr. Min nodded slightly in response. The two sat down on either side of the silk screen, and Mr. Min continued yesterday's lesson with Shen Mu Qing.

  Five years have passed, neither long nor short... Shen Muqing gazed at Mr. Min's handsome profile, her emotions complicated, and she was somewhat distracted in class.

  Nor did I know what this difference was, and it was another kind of scenery.

  Mr. Min was also somewhat distracted, often speaking and then pausing, thinking for a moment before continuing to speak.

  It seems that Shen Zhen should have already discussed the matter of sitting in the pavilion with Mr. Min, and Mr. Min has also made up his mind to leave...

  Shen Mu let out a soft sigh, feeling even more melancholic about this classroom.

  It was soon noon.

  Mr. Min stood up, but instead of leaving as usual, he quietly gazed at Shen Muqing for a long time from behind the silk painting screen, saying: "Miss must have heard it from Madam already. I'm going to participate in next year's imperial examination and will temporarily move to Zitengyuan to study... From tomorrow on, the classes at Jing Shunzhai will be suspended for a while."

  Serene and tranquil.

  Wisteria House is a three-entry siheyuan located in Songshu Hutong, beside Shihua Bridge in Kyoto, which was named after the two hundred-year-old wisterias in the courtyard. The government offices of the Six Ministries, the Three Institutes and the Five Armies are all nearby. This house holds great historical significance for the Shen family. It was built when Shen Zhen's grandfather served as Minister of Works, and later generations of Shens rose and fell with the tides of politics, but no matter what happened, they never gave up this house. And now, it has been lent to Mr. Min to live in... Is there any special meaning behind this?

  Shen Mu Qing stared at Mr. Min, wanting to see a hint of something from his expression, but Mr. Min's face was calm and peaceful, without any unusual signs.

  "It's just a pity that the Analects of Confucius is not finished, and the Voice and Rhyme Primer has not been taught..." Mr. Min's voice did not have the excitement of a great bird about to spread its wings, but instead had a subtle fatigue. "However, perhaps it's better this way..." Then he asked Mengshan to bring over a book of character stickers for Shen Muqing, "Consider it a memento of our master-disciple relationship..."

  Luo Mei handed something over to Shen Muqing, who opened it and found that it was a book of Wei Furen's calligraphy.

  It's as if he has abandoned everything he used to insist on, and discarded them all...

  Deep in thought, with a calm and clear mind, he indulged in fanciful ideas.

  The more I think about it, the more suspicious I feel, the more I think about it, the more uneasy I become.

  Mr. Min had already sighed and asked Ming Shan to take a few things he usually used and left.

  Jin Xiu suddenly darted out from behind Shen Muqing, her face pale as she stared at Mr. Min's back, her soft voice shrill and piercing as she said: "Young lady, I...I need to wash my hands."

  Deep and serene, quiet and subtle, lost in thought.

  Jin Xiu couldn't wait any longer and didn't even give Shen Muqing a chance to react, she picked up her skirt and ran out quickly.

  Plum Blossom's face changed greatly: "Miss, I'm going too." Saying that, she also hastily followed them out.

  Shen Mu Qing stared at the large blue and white porcelain vase with lotus pattern that used to hold Mr. Min's calligraphy and paintings, pursed her lips, and also walked out.

  Luomei was holding Jinxiu tightly around the waist, and the two of them were tugging at each other under the eaves.

  Shen Mu Qing hastily stepped back into the house, tiptoeing to the window of the west wing.

  Glass was still a rare thing in the Da Zhou Dynasty, and the Shen family only used glass in the main halls of Chaohui Hall and An Garden, Rongyin Hall. Other houses were equipped with two-layered windows, with windows outside and rooms inside, pasted with paper.

  Shen Mu Qing lightly pushed open the window with paper pasted on it, and put her ear against the carved hollow window frame. She heard Lu Mei say in a stern tone: "......You're not allowed to go......What can you do even if you go......If he had you in his heart, he would have asked Master for your hand long ago......Letting Madam find out, we'll all be implicated......"

  Jin Xiu simply didn't answer.

  "Please, dear sister, just listen to me! Don't mention that Mr. Min is ten years older than you, he's probably already married with a family of his own. Even if it's time for him to take a concubine, it would be up to his wife to decide, not some private arrangement... You should quickly put your mind at rest... About the incident seven years ago, didn't you hear the mothers talking about it? Because the young lady fell and injured herself, all twenty-six people serving in her quarters, including the wet nurse, were sold off... If not for anything else, think of our sisters who share the same quarters as us..."

  (Sisters, please click, recommend and collect! In November, participate in PK, remember to leave pink votes for me! Thank you everyone here! Around 19:00 tonight, I will add another chapter (*^__^*) Hehe...)