Perhaps due to her long illness, Mrs. Li liked things that were fresh and vibrant, and every season she would arrange seasonal flowers on the tea tables, beds, and small stools in her room. Since Wang Wenxian had sent her a few pots of precious camellias, Shen Muqing didn't hold back either, even intentionally choosing two pots with the largest leaves, most buds, and rarest varieties. The face of the old woman guarding the flower house turned green with envy.

  It's easy to pick flowers, it's already noon.

  A maid with a clean face came to invite Shen Muqing and Liang Youhui to eat, the two washed their hands and followed the maid to the house of the old lady.

  Lady Feng, Wang Rulan and Liu Mama were all there. After everyone had exchanged greetings, Lady Jia detained Liu Mama by her side and said to Lady Feng: "As Shuanggui is pregnant, you go and attend to her; I won't be needing your services here."

  Liáng Yòu Huì's second sister-in-law was Jiǎng Shuāng Ruì, her father Jiǎng Jīn Xiáng was only a sixth-grade martial arts officer in the Ministry of War, but he had once saved Liáng Yuān's life on the battlefield, and the two became sworn brothers, later becoming relatives through marriage.

  Feng respectfully replied with a "yes".

  The old lady smiled and said to Wang Wenxuan: "You still have two small ones there, let them off too!"

  Wang Wenxian also smiled and responded with a "yes", then the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law left together in a friendly manner.

  The meal was set up in a small hall behind the main house, with a small square table and a taishi chair against the wall. The old lady sat down, with Shen Muqing and Liang Youhui sitting on either side of her.

  The Wang mother who was serving Shen Muqing on the side brought up dishes. A dry-fried silver fish, a minced meat stir-fry with tofu, a yam ball, a stewed wild pigeon, a silver sprout bean sprout dish, and a mushroom soup. The dishes looked simple but were made very delicately. The oil used for frying the silver fish was tea oil, which gave it a unique fragrance; the tofu was cooked until extremely tender and couldn't be picked up with chopsticks, requiring a spoon instead; the yam ball contained apricot kernel, making it a medicinal dish; the wild pigeon was stewed in high broth; the bean sprouts were stuffed with Jinhua ham; the soup contained eight different varieties of mushrooms... Because there were elders present, the dishes were arranged in such a way that Shen Muqing ate very cautiously, thinking to himself: I wonder if this is just the guest dish because I came, or if they usually eat like this...

  However, her eyes did not idle, taking the opportunity to size up Liu Niang who was serving dishes behind Madame Wang.

  She served the rice with gentle and smooth movements, her caring expression was sincere and natural, she also understood the mistress's preferences very well, and the dishes she picked were all eaten up by the mistress.

  It can be seen that Liu Niang usually serves Tai Furen every day and does things with great care.

  After dinner, everyone moved to the front hall for tea.

  Madam Tai started chatting with Shen Muqing. She asked her what books she had read, which contents left a deep impression on her and why they were impressive. Then she asked about her daily life at home, whether managing the household was tiring, how often Liu Daren visited her for check-ups, and what medicines she usually took... and so on and so forth, making Shen Muqing feel like she was being bombarded with questions, similar to when she went for a job interview. Fortunately, she wasn't afraid of exams, and while trying to gauge Madam Tai's preferences from her expressions and tone, she organized her thoughts to answer the questions clearly and concisely. Meanwhile, Madam Tai's expression on her face gradually changed from being enthusiastic to being relieved.

  I'm not Liang Youhui, answering according to your mind, what's there to be so happy about?

  Serene and calm on the surface with a smile, yet secretly harboring discontent in his heart.

  After talking for about three cups of tea, a faint fatigue appeared on Mrs. Tai's face.

  Shen Mu let out a sigh of relief, finally feeling like the exam had arrived on time.

  Unexpectedly, Mrs. Tai didn't show any intention of letting them leave at all.

  This time, it's not just Shen Muqing who can't sit still, even Liang Youhui is getting a bit restless.

  She kept shifting her center of gravity while sitting upright, but Shen Muqing could only sit up straight and stiff.

  Just as Shen Muqing also felt that she couldn't hold on any longer, a little maid came in to report: "Madam, Third Young Master is back!"

  Liang Youhui immediately jumped up from her chair: "Third Brother is back! Third Brother is back!"

  His expression was like a drowning person seeing a life ring.

  Shen Muqing also felt a surge of gratitude towards the third young master of the Liang family who had interrupted the old lady's questioning.

  The old lady apparently loved this grandson very much, her face full of smiles: "Quickly let him in, quickly let him in!"

  The maid lifted the curtain and a tall and slender young man walked in.

  He was about seventeen or eighteen years old, wearing a sky blue robe with a clean face. His white and delicate complexion, not big single eyelid, high nose bridge, his appearance can only be described as regular, but his whole body exudes an air of nobility that makes people unable to underestimate him.

  Shen Mu Qing couldn't help but smile slightly.

  So this is the brother who ridiculed Liang Youhui... indeed with an extraordinary temperament!

  That young man saw Shen Muqing slightly stunned, but quickly returned to normal, took a few steps forward and lifted his clothes to pay respects to the old lady. The old lady surprisingly stood up and personally helped the young man up: "My dear grandson, you can come back to see me, I'm already overjoyed, no need to be so formal!"

  The young man still insisted on kneeling. Madame Tai couldn't dissuade him and ordered someone to bring a brocade cushion for him, only then did he accept the young man's courtesy.

  After the ceremony, Mrs. Tai introduced the young man and Shen Muqing to each other: "This is Yu Hui's third brother Ji Min, he's older than you, so just call him 'Third Brother' like Yu Hui does... This is Miss Shen, the daughter of Mr. Shen from Wenyuan Pavilion, a friend your sister made when she went out to play last time, and just two days ago she sent me several pots of rare orchids..."

  Shen Mu Qing stood up and bowed towards the youth called Liang Ji Min, smiling and calling out "Third Brother".

  Liáng Jìmǐn's face turned slightly red, and she bowed her hands towards Shěn Mùqīng, softly calling out "Shěn jiě mèi" (Younger sister of the Shěn family).

  Madam Tai had Wang's mother take Shen Muqing and Liang Youhui to the west wing.

  Liáng Yǒu Huì whispered to Shěn Mù Qīng, "My third brother is going to take the imperial examination at the beginning of spring. He finds it noisy at home and has borrowed a place to study at the Double Blessings Temple."

  "Ah!" Shen Muqing was very surprised, "Is your third brother a scholar?"

  Liáng Yòu Huì's eyes widened: "Don't you know? My third brother is this year's Kyoto champion!"

  "No, I don't know!" Shen Muqing was somewhat tongue-tied, "I thought he looked very young!"

  Liang Youhui covered her mouth and smiled: "What does this have to do with age?"

  No wonder Liang Youhui is always excited, proud and honored when mentioning her third brother.

  Wang's mother ushered them to sit down on the large kang with a window frame made of chicken wing wood, then stepped back a few steps and stood beside the green gauze cabinet.

  The house was quiet, and from the western wing, one could faintly hear the voices of Tai Furen and Liang Qiming.

  Although he couldn't hear clearly what they were saying, Shen Muqing could feel very clearly the patient, gentle and serious tone of Liang Jimin's response to Mrs. Ta.

  Liang Jimin must be a very filial and good-tempered boy!

  Shen Mu Qing was deep in thought when she heard Liang You Hui whispering beside her ear, "My grandmother is old and talks a lot. We sometimes get annoyed and just pretend to listen, but only my third brother listens so carefully and seriously every time, never complaining."

  Shen Mu quietly smiled slightly.

  The Liang family is really different from what I imagined!

  ******

  Madam and Liang Jiemin spoke for a longer time than Shen Muqing, but Liang Jiemin's gentle and soft words made Shen Muqing involuntarily admire his patience. After Madam finished asking her questions, Liang Jiemin bid farewell, and noon had already passed.

  Liáng Yòu Huì then gave Shěn Mù Qīng a meaningful glance: "Didn't you say that Mrs. Shěn wanted you to return early?"

  Shen Mu Qing nodded repeatedly.

  Madam Ta scolded Liang Yu-Hui: "Is this how you treat a guest?"

  Liang Youhui shook her head and said, "I'm not afraid that Mrs. Shen will think that Shen Meimei is like a wild horse running free after this trip, and next time I post an invitation for her, she'll put me on the list of people to avoid?"

  Old Lady Tai was both laughing and crying: "These are your mother's words, aren't they? - Can you compare with Shen Niang?"

  Shen Muqing naturally followed Liang Youhui's words, smiling at the old lady and saying: "It's winter now, it gets dark early, my mother is afraid that the road is not safe, so she asked me to come back earlier."

  The old lady showed a knowing look: "It's also, it's also. But don't worry, if it's too late, I'll send the guards from our house to escort you home. They're not those rough men from the Weiyuan Escort Agency, but former soldiers who followed Young Master's father onto the battlefield, real guns and knives, blooded."

  Shen Mu's eyebrows furrowed slightly.

  It seems like nobody in Kyoto doesn't know about Yakushi-ji Temple!

  It's really impossible for her to send a guard to escort her back to the mansion, how can she go pick up Du sister-in-law?

  An idea flashed through Shen Muqing's mind and her heart skipped a beat.

  What's going on, I still don't get it myself. Why do I have to go pick her up in person? And I'm not even competing for the credit. Didn't Du GuGu say that she wanted to buy a house for my sister to live in? I could just give Du GuGu the address and let her go pick her up herself!

  Thinking of this, she no longer cared about Tai Furen's proposal.

  Liáng Yòu Huì suddenly became anxious.

  "How can that be! How can that be!"

  The old lady frowned and a rare stern expression appeared on her face: "Why not!"

  Liáng Yòu Huì was still afraid of her grandmother in her heart, and she was immediately stunned. She stared blankly for half a day before suddenly blurting out a sentence: "Others thought the Shen family had no one left!"

  Madam Tai's expression changed slightly as she hurriedly smiled at Shen Muqing: "Old and young, old and young, this person has grown old and is like a child again, but he can't even do things as well as our family's Yu Hui. Miss Shen, don't take it to heart. Since the time for returning home has already been set, then let's not delay any further. Yu Hui, accompany Miss Shen to bid farewell to your mother."

  At this point, Shen Muqing naturally couldn't say anything more. She stood up and paid her respects to the old lady, said a few words of courtesy, and then left with Liang Youhui for Madame Feng's place.

  Shen Muqing whispered to Liang Youhui on the way, "Then you don't have to go back so early! Third Brother is back, let's go find him and play - he has a lot of fun things there."

  (Woke up early to check the PK chart, and it increased by 40 points o(∩_∩)o... Haha...... Thanks to all the sisters who voted...... Voting ends at 12 pm today, please support me until the last minute. Thank you everyone!)