Chapter 1171 Aunt and Nephew

Chapter 1171 Aunt and Nephew

Chapter 1171 Aunt and Nephew
Bian Xu waited for several days until May 14th, when Shao Xun brought Pei and their four children to Wu Gong Mansion and Xu paid homage to them.

"Yan Feng's eyes and eyebrows are quite similar to Mei Niang." Pei Lingyan glanced at her nephew and smiled.

After laughing, he sighed again: "The Jin Dynasty was in chaos, and the clan members were exiled. We haven't seen each other for twenty years. How many twenty years can a person have in his life?"

Bian Xu didn't dare to say anything more. He looked at his aunt.

She is old too. According to my mother, she is already fifty-two years old this year, and although she lives a life of luxury, she is still inevitably aging.

There are a few more cloud lines at the corners of the eyes, and there seem to be a few barely visible silver threads on the temples.

When the cuffs slid down, light blue veins appeared on the jade wrist that was as white as the moon when she was young.

The look in his eyes is very complicated, full of nostalgia, recollection and sadness, which is also a sign of aging.

In fact, his mother is the same, but different.

My mother always likes to wear dresses with high collars, and she also likes to wear complicated and exquisite accessories, or put on heavy makeup...

This is not the case with my aunt, who does little to hide her old age.

Occasionally, her eyes would meet the emperor's, and there would be calmness in them, or she would smile, as if everything was self-evident.

Emperor Liang had a very bad reputation in Jiangnan, but his mother said he was good. Bian Xu didn't understand it before, but now he seemed to understand a little.

He still holds one of his aunt's hands.

Even if it's just for show, it's not easy.

"Has Dao Zhong ever been an official? I've heard that he was studying at home." Pei Lingyan asked after putting away some of her feelings.

"Dao Zhong" is Bian Xu's eldest son Bian Jing.

"He has already entered officialdom and is serving as prefect of Xin'an," Bian Xu replied.

Bian Xu had four sons. The eldest son Bian Jing and the second son Bian Xu were both born to his wife Pei. The third son Bian Zhan and the fourth son Bian Dan were both born to concubines. He also had two daughters, the eldest daughter was also born to Pei.

When you really think about it, Pei Lingyan is more concerned about these two sons and one daughter, after all, they are her sister's children.

"The eldest son will always have to share the responsibility." Pei Lingyan glanced at Shao Xun and said, "After Daozhong got married, are the couple still in harmony?"

Bian Xu was a smart man. He understood the meaning of the music and said immediately, "Sister-in-law is well-educated and manages the household well. The Fan family must have a good reputation."

Bian Jing's wife was from the Fan family of Shunyang.

His parents died early, and he relied on his clan members for support. To avoid Wang Ru's rebellion, some of the Fan clan members fled south to Wuchang, and the young Fan was among them.

When she grew up, she married Bian Jing as his second wife.

Later, his elder brother Fan Wang grew up and was gradually respected because of his erudition and talents. He is now a military officer of Zhuge Hui, the governor of Jingzhou.

Fan Wang is only 25 years old this year, and he directly joined the army of the shogunate. Whether he took advantage of the power of the Bian family in the process is a matter of opinion.

Of course, Pei Lingyan did not ask this in vain, and Bian Xu mentioned Fan for a reason.

Shao Xun listened quietly at the side without interrupting, just with a smile on his face.

To be honest, a soldier from the Wuchang Shogunate was not worthy of his attention at all. What level?
What he cared more about was Pei Lingyan's mood.

Hua Nu was happy to see her aunt and nephew, and that was enough.

As for whether Bian Xu had any talents, he didn't really care.

Hua Nu said that he would agree to any position as long as it was not outrageous.

I just don't know whether Bian Xu dares to be an official. After all, his father is still the Shangshu Zuo Pushe in Jianye, a very important position, just like Wang Yan's official position in Luoyang back then.

His daughter's figure appeared outside the door, peeking out. Shao Xun patted Pei Lingyan's hand lightly, walked away, walked through an archway, and saw his four children.

"Grandpa." Mian Niang came over holding up her skirt, took Shao Xun's hand and pulled him to the stone table.

He first looked at his three brothers proudly, then opened a brocade box.

There was a piece of silk cloth in the box, and there was a bulge underneath the cloth.

"Grandpa, guess what it is." Mian Niang said happily.

Shao Xun had seen the gift list and knew it was a box of Hepu pearls, but he pretended not to know and asked, "Could it be tea cakes?"

The third son, Shao Xu, was "surprised" and said, "Yan Feng gave Yangxian tea to my fifth brother. Could it be that he also gave it to Mian Niang? That would be very rare. There is rarely such good tea in Beijing."

The fifth son Shao Yan lowered his head and said softly, "It shouldn't be that good."

Shao Yong suppressed his laughter and said, "Yan Fengying knows the stubborn temper of the Seventh-Sixth Sister, so he would never do that."

Mian Niang looked at everyone with a smile, then gently lifted the silk cloth.

The four of them, father and son, all looked at the box of pearls in "shock".

Shao Xun flicked his sleeves, took two steps closer, picked up the pearl and looked at it carefully.

As he swung his sleeves, a piece of paper accidentally fell down.

Mian Niang picked it up curiously. It turned out to be a gift list, on which Hepu Pearls were clearly mentioned. Her face suddenly turned red.

"Grandpa!" She threw herself into Shao Xun's arms with a bit of grievance.

"Okay, okay." Shao Xun stroked his daughter's head and smiled, "Why are you still like a child? You will be married in a few years."

Mian Niang wiped the few tears that had just flowed out onto the imperial robe, then snatched the pearls from Shao Xun's hand, carefully put them back into the box, and put them away.

After doing all this, Tu smiled again and asked, "When will my elder sister come back? I want to show her this box of pearls."

When mentioning his eldest daughter Fu Bao, Shao Xun looked at his third son and said, "Nian Liu, have you ever seen my grandson?"

"I saw her once before I came back. Her eyes were very bright. She will definitely be as smart as my elder sister in the future," said Shao Xu.

Fu Bao gave birth to a boy at the end of February, the first child of her and Huan Wen.

Shao Xu just came back a few days ago and visited Fu Bao and his mother before leaving.

Although Liu missed her daughter very much, Shao Xun still let Fu Bao stay in Xiangyang for a few more months and come back with Huan Wen when his grandson was a little older. Huan Wen was also assigned a new official position: the fifth-rank official, the position of his father Huan Yi.

Just as Shao Xun had said before, he was not assigned to be a local government official, but was directly sent to the central government to serve as a close minister to the emperor and provide advice at any time.

This is a position that many people would love to get. Once sent out to a remote area, you will start as a prefect and complete the last link in your resume. The next time you return to Beijing, you will be able to take on important responsibilities.

However, Huan Wen will not be sent out to serve as a county governor in the short term, and the position of Jieshizhong will accompany him for many years.

Fu Bao was very happy.

Although Xiangyang is nice, it is not as good as Luoyang. It would be great if I could return to the capital.

"The book you presented is very good." Shao Xun looked at his third son and said, "The Xiangyang market is doing very well. Nian Liu, you have impressed me."

Shao Xu said shyly: "I am good at these things, and I am more worried about being looked down upon, so I put a lot of thought into it."

"Did anyone give you a cold look?" Shao Xun asked.

"That's not the case." Shao Xu said quickly, "I'm just worried that I won't do well and people will look down on the Shao family."

Shao Xun nodded and said, "You are diligent in studying, good at business, and have a solid foundation in financial management. I have already seen these abilities, which are very good. Now, I need to see your abilities in other areas."

Shao Xu sat upright and said, "Please give your instructions, father."

"The post of Ji County Magistrate is now vacant, you can take it." Shao Xun said, "Let your father see your ability to govern the people."

"Yes." Shao Xu replied.

"You used to be the lord of Sangzi Garden, but being the lord of a garden and being the lord of a county are not the same thing. There is a huge difference." Shao Xun reminded him, "Do you understand?"

"I know." Shao Xu replied, "Ji is a strategic point for both land and water transport, and there are Di people there, so we need to deal with them."

"There's more to it than that. That's it, you can experience it yourself." Shao Xun said, "After you go to Ji County, don't forget one thing. Expand the county's troops to 2,000, and you will select and train them yourself."

"Yes." Shao Xu replied.

"People can't always live in a comfortable place." Shao Xun smiled and said, "Go to the military camp more often, listen to what the soldiers are saying, guess what they are thinking, and ask them what they need."

"Do it well, and let—" At this point, Shao Xun hesitated and said, "Let Master know that you have the ability to control warriors."

Shao Xu responded again.

Shao Xun looked at his son carefully.

Just now Pei Lingyan said that Bian Xu's eyes and eyebrows resemble his sister, so doesn't Nian Liu look like his mother?
This child has shortcomings, but he has more shining points, and there is one thing that Shao Xun can never give up. As he gets older, this shining point becomes more and more difficult for him to give up.

He didn't want to say the last sentence just now, but he said it in the end.

After giving instructions to Nian Liu, Shao Xun looked at Wu Zi and said, "Chun Lang, you have given your father a little surprise."

Chunlang raised his head and looked at his father, seemingly delighted by his affirmation, and then lowered his head out of habit.

"Raise your head." Shao Xun said dissatisfiedly.

Chunlang raised his head and met his father's eyes, and then he felt a little dazed.

"You are like this, just like Nian Liu said, it's easy for people to look down on you." Shao Xun said with a stronger tone.

Hearing the word "contempt", Chunlang subconsciously raised his head, with some fear in his eyes, but he dared to look his father in the eye.

"You inspected the Henan Mansion and reported more than ten people's names. Do you know what this means?" Shao Xun asked.

"You will be punished." Chunlang replied.

"They are all dead." Shao Xun took two steps closer, looked down at his son, and said, "The moment you arrested them, they were already dead."

"I know." Chunlang said.

"Why are you arresting people?" Shao Xun continued to ask.

"They stole and sold the stored grain, ruining father's business. They also tried to fool people and looked down on...looked down on me." Chunlang replied.

When I said the last few words, I actually felt a little aggrieved.

Shao Xun looked at him quietly, wondering what had happened to this kid?
He walked over, gently touched his son's head, and said, "Grandpa didn't care enough about you before."

Chunlang's eyes turned red and he said nothing.

Shao Xu and Shao Yong were also a little surprised. Even brothers may not understand each other's thoughts.

Mian Niang was somewhat at a loss. After a while, she carefully pushed the box in front of Shao Yan and said, "Fifth brother, I'm giving it to you. Don't cry."

Chun Lang forced a smile, looked at his sister gently, and said, "When did I cry?"

Shao Xun chuckled and said, "Chun Lang, get a new assignment in a few days. Check the land of the Left and Right Cavalry Guards and the Left and Right Yulin Guards to see if you can match the accounts with the other guards."

"Okay." Chunlang agreed directly.

……

In the evening, Shao Xun took Pei Lingyan's hand and left Wu Gong Mansion.

At that time, the sun was setting and the western sky was filled with rosy clouds.

Pei Lingyan looked at the sunset and sighed, "After my second sister went to Jiangnan, she often fell ill. Now that she is old, her health is not very good."

After saying that, he looked at Shao Xun and said, "I'm old too."

Shao Xun tidied up her hair that was blown by the wind and said, "Without you, even if I own a vast country, it would not be worth anything."

Pei Lingyan was silent for a while, then said, "Some things are very difficult, right?"

Shao Xun looked at her.

Pei Lingyan smiled, facing the sunset, and said, "Tonight I want to go to Jinyong City, where you have been with me for a long time."

(End of this chapter)