After Shen Yuan entered the room, he found that Jiang Feng had ordered people to rearrange the place.
A large lacquered mahogany desk was placed on the left-east side of this private room.
The four treasures of the study were laid out on the spacious desk, and the faint and distant scent of sandalwood was burning in a small stove on the incense table next to it.
On the left and right of the desk stood two page boys, about ten years old.
Jiang Feng actually turned the private room of the restaurant into a spacious and elegant study.
He is obviously very clever. The chair he prepared for Shen Yuan is a rose chair that is common in Jiangnan.
The carvings on the armrests and back of this chair were extremely exquisite. After Shen Yuan sat down, he couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed and embarrassed.
Lu Zhiyun was wearing a simple dark robe today. He sat in the armchair next to the hanging window without saying a word.
He was facing the direction of Shen Yuan and Brother Liao.
Just by sitting like this, one can feel his long legs and tall stature.
The man's right hand with distinct finger bones was casually placed on the armrest, giving people a sense of majesty and oppression.
Shen Yuan couldn't avoid his sight.
I felt that when he wore the scholar's long robe, he did not look weak at all. Instead, his eyes were too cold and sharp, which inexplicably gave him a more ascetic temperament.
The book boy was grinding ink for the two of them.
Jiang Feng saw Shen Yuan's fear and uneasiness, so he explained to her: "Girl, Brother Liao's temperament is somewhat naughty. Today is the first time for girl to teach him lessons. Our father-in-law was afraid that he would not obey the discipline, so he followed Come and have a look."
After hearing this, Liao Ge'er's dark eyes widened in disbelief.
He hurriedly looked at Shen Yuan and explained to her softly, "Sister Shen, I'm not naughty. I will definitely listen to you."
Shen Yuan smiled gently at Liao Ge'er, temporarily calming the child's emotions.
At its peak, Plum Blossom Academy had more than 200 students. The teacher Yuan You was always ill before his death, and Shen Yuan helped him share many of the academy affairs.
The original intention of establishing academies in various places was to send talents for the imperial examinations to the imperial court.
Therefore, the teachers would teach the students what the imperial examination tested.
The contents of teaching are nothing more than the Four Books and Five Classics, as well as policy essays, legal essays and fu.
Liao Ge'er just turned five this year, so Shen Yuan asked Jiang Feng how many words he knew and what level of education he had achieved.
Jiang Feng replied respectfully.
Shen Yuan suddenly realized that something was not right.
Thinking of this, Shen Yuan asked Jiang Feng softly, "Master Jiang, the Lu family has so many members, why don't they set up a private school in the capital?"
After he finished speaking, the corner of Jiang Feng's mouth twitched.
After all, Miss Shen is not an ordinary woman. She is too smart and cannot be fooled easily.
But the woman that their master likes cannot be stupid or dull.
In fact, there are more than 20 academies in the capital alone that are owned by Lu Zhiyun.
Since the Qi Dynasty wanted to select officials through the imperial examination, Lu Zhiyun would definitely pay attention to outstanding talents in the academy in advance.
Jiang Feng didn't know how to reply to Shen Yuan. He looked at Lu Zhiyun for the first time and asked him for help.
Lu Zhiyun's expression remained calm and he whispered back, "I did think about opening a private school before, but I was too busy with official duties, so I put it on hold."
After hearing this, Shen Yuan nodded.
Jiang Feng also breathed a sigh of relief.
When Liao Ge'er was three years old, Lu Zhiyun took time out of his busy schedule to personally teach him.
Therefore, Brother Liao could recognize a few hundred words and recite a few articles of "Xingli Zixun".
When Shen Yuan was in Yangzhou, the children he taught were all under the age of eight. After they could recognize a few words, he started teaching them with "Xingli Zixun".
Shen Yuan is extremely serious and responsible when it comes to teaching.
Although Lu Zhiyun, who was sitting opposite him, had an overly fierce aura, Shen Yuan still managed to be timid and took the initiative to talk to the man: "Although I come here to teach Liao Ge'er every three days. But when Liao Ge'er grows up, you should still follow your original idea and send him to a college or private school. It will be better for him to let Liao Ge'er get in touch with more children of the same age."
Jiang Feng listened, the beauty's voice was soft and sweet.
But the tone was very opinionated, and also contained a hint of advice.
He seemed to have never heard anyone speak to Lu Zhiyun in such a cautionary tone.
Jiang Feng saw that Lu Zhiyun slightly raised his eyebrows, tapped the armrest of the armchair with his index finger, and replied in a low voice: "Well, what Miss Shen said makes sense."
——
Children don't sit still very long, so the entire teaching process takes more than half an hour.
Shen Yuan is patient and methodical, and the process of teaching Liao Ge'er can be described as both educational and entertaining.
Brother Liao didn't find it boring and never lost his focus.
After Shen Yuan completed his job with a proper attitude, he began to have other thoughts.
Lu Zhiyun had already stood up from the armchair and walked towards the desk.
The man had a stern appearance, and his plain dark robe made him look tall and slender, with a cool and elegant demeanor.
Shen Yuan's heartbeat suddenly quickened.
She saw that Lu Zhiyun was here to check on Liao Ge'er's homework.
When the man was about to pick up the rice paper, Shen Yuan casually reached out his slender hand.
Jiang Feng saw Shen Yuan's slender, fair hand touching the man's bony big hand.
Her fingertips were soft and cool, and her control was gentle and soft.
As soon as Shen Yuan touched a small inch of skin on the back of his hand, he immediately moved his hand away.
"I'm sorry sir, I didn't mean it."
Shen Yuan opened her watery eyes shyly, but when she looked at Lu Zhiyun, she saw that the man's expression did not change at all.
Lu Zhiyun just replied calmly: "It's okay."
Shen Yuan lowered his eyelashes meekly.
I couldn't help feeling lost again.
This attempt was her most daring yet.
But Lu Zhiyun was like an unshakable iceberg, his expression was always calm.
He still picked up the rice paper that Liao Ge'er used to practice calligraphy. After glancing at the words on it, his deep phoenix eyes also fell on Liao Ge'er.
Lu Zhiyun solemnly warned Liao Ge'er: "This handwriting is crooked. You must practice more when you return home."
Liao Ge'er nodded obediently.
However, Shen Yuan felt that Lu Zhiyun did not seem to have any other thoughts.
He just wanted to hire a reliable teacher to teach his nephew.
——
In the carriage leading to the Duke Zhenguo's Mansion.
Brother Liao was lying peacefully on his fifth uncle's lap, sleeping soundly.
Jiang Feng then asked Lu Zhiyun, "Master, how should we give Miss Shen her dowry?"
The road was a little bumpy, and Lu Zhiyun's big hands were protecting the boy in his arms. He whispered back, "Didn't you tell her?"
Jiang Feng blushed slightly, and then said, "Miss Shen never mentioned this to me, and I really can't guess what you are thinking about this matter."
"…But Miss Shen's situation in Yong'an Marquis's Mansion is indeed not good. My spies in Yong'an Marquis' Mansion once reported to me that her stepmother actually withheld the dowry that Tang Wenbin prepared for her. A while ago, Miss Shen was given a cake shop on the surface, but in reality she was made the accountant."
"Even a few days ago, when the Shen sisters were selecting satin together, Miss Shen chose after her younger sisters."
Having said this, Lu Zhiyun's brows were already furrowed.
The more Jiang Feng talked, the more strange it felt.
How could the treatment Shen Yuan enjoyed be like that of the eldest daughter of a marquis's family?
——"Since she is short of money, I will allocate a few shops close to the Yong'an Marquis's Mansion to her."
As soon as Lu Zhiyun finished speaking in a low voice, Jiang Feng immediately responded with a "yes".
Their master owns countless properties and he finally falls in love with a beautiful woman, so he is naturally generous to her.
However, Jiang Feng felt that he had to help the master figure out what kind of shop his daughter would like.
It's closer to Yong'an Marquis's Mansion…
Jiang Feng gradually came up with an idea in his mind.
These shops are pretty good.
There are too many, and even the eldest daughter of the Shen family can't take care of them.
——
Shen Yuan was calculating the accounts of the bakery in the study. Living in the Marquis's Mansion, she had to take care of everything. Even with the extra five taels of silver, her life was still tight.
But if the dowry her uncle prepared for her was in her own hands, she would never worry about money.
Biwu is still young, at a very beautiful age.
When Shen Yuan was in Yangzhou, he hardly ever looked at the price when buying things. Every time the season changed, he would buy two new sets of headwear for Biwu.
Biwu just celebrated her fifteenth birthday a while ago. Perhaps because she knew that Shen Yuan was living in financial difficulty, she did not ask for any gifts and only asked the kitchen to cook a bowl of vegetarian noodles for her.
Shen Yuan felt very guilty when she thought about how it was Biwu who stayed by her side and took care of her before she died in her previous life.
She thought of saving some more money, and when the Qiqiao Festival came, she would take her to the street to pick out some toys that her daughter would like.
Just as he was thinking this, Shen Yuan saw Bi Wu coming back from the gate of the mansion. She was standing under a carved canopy, holding a large mother-of-pearl wooden box in her hands.
Shen Yuan asked, "What's the matter with the people from the mansion?"
Bi Wu walked up to Shen Yuan, handed her the wooden box, and said truthfully, "Miss, the people in the mansion said that this is the tuition for you to teach Liao Ge'er."
Shen Yuan lowered his eyes and opened the mother-of-pearl wooden box in front of him.
Before she opened it, she thought it should be some silver, or jewelry or hairpins or something like that.
But when she opened it and saw what was inside, her beautiful eyes widened slightly.
The wooden box actually contained the deeds and titles of three shops, as well as three account books for this season.
These three shops are well-known to the girls in Beijing, and they are popular for the goods inside.
There is a shop called Ruifuxuan that specializes in selling expensive satin.
There is also Yonglaifang which sells rouge and powder.
And Hengshun Building which sells earrings and hairpins.
Putting aside the profits, the price of these three shops alone is several thousand taels, or even close to ten thousand taels.
Shen Yuan was in shock, but Shen Hongliang sent a servant over and stood outside the house and said respectfully: "Miss, the Marquis invites you to come over and have dinner with the Madam and other girls."
"knew."
After Bi Wu finished speaking, Shen Yuan put away the mother-of-pearl wooden box.
She vaguely realized that these three shops were just a drop in the bucket for Lu Zhiyun and were nothing.
But she was also a self-aware person. She was not some great scholar, so the Duke's Mansion only needed to pay her tuition according to the going rate in Beijing.
She didn't want to accept such a huge tuition fee, so she thought that when she saw Jiang Feng again, she must explain the matter to him.
——
Baohua Hall.
There were exquisite dishes and wine on the Eight Immortals Table. After Shen Yuan stepped over the threshold, he saw Liu putting a piece of braised duck into Shen Hongliang's bowl.
Shen Yu and Shen Han were comparing their new clothes and accessories with each other.
Shen Han raised his eyebrows and said to Shen Yu, "The hairpin in my hair is sold at Hengshunlou. The jewelry there is the hardest to buy."
When Biwu heard the three words "Hengshun Building", she thought of the land deeds in the box, and the corners of her mouth twitched slightly.
Liu noticed Shen Yuan entering the room and called out, "Sister Yuan, come here quickly. We've been waiting for you."
Shen Yuan sat down and prepared to have a simple meal with them before returning to his own yard.
Although it has been a while since I arrived in the capital.
But Shen Yuan still felt that she was always like an outsider in front of the Shen family.
Thinking of this, Shen Yuan saw that Shen Hongliang actually put a piece of steamed shad into her plate with his chopsticks.
It was a rare occasion that her father showed concern for her, so Shen Yuan was still very happy.
Although she had felt resentful towards her father in the capital when she was raised in Yangzhou, Shen Yuan was still grateful in her heart as long as Shen Hongliang treated her a little better.
——"Sister Yuan, your father will choose another marriage for you. But a harmonious family is the key to success. As the saying goes, a forced melon is not sweet. Your father hopes that this time you can sincerely bless Sister Yu."
As soon as Shen Hongliang finished speaking.
Shen Yuan's heart suddenly felt cold.
She suddenly remembered her past life.
In his previous life, Shen Hongliang always used the same rhetoric with her.
Shen Yuan nodded and replied softly, "I'll remember that."
She put the shad that Shen Hongliang picked up for her into her mouth, but it tasted like chewing wax.
Some people think the steamed shad dish is delicious, but Shen Yuan thinks it tastes fishy and has many bones.
Mrs. Luo and her uncle always remembered that she didn't like eating shad.
It's not that Shen Hongliang doesn't remember, he just doesn't know it at all.
Shen Yuan secretly felt that Shen Hongliang had finished telling her what he wanted to say, so she didn't need to stay here for long.
She was about to put down her chopsticks and stand up, pretending to be unwell and saying goodbye, but she felt her hand was suddenly held by someone -
Shen Yuan glanced at the back of her hand, and when she opened her eyes, she saw that it was Shen Yu who held her hand.
In front of Shen Hongliang, Shen Yu burst into tears and said to Shen Yuan aggrievedly: "Eldest sister, I know you are not feeling well, but Kang Pingbo and I...we are truly in love with each other."