The little dark guard who travels between two lives

Chapter 27 Celebrating the New Year with Brother Shen

Yu Shen asked Xin He: "We don't know anything now, what can we do?" Xin He was stumped by Yu Shen's question again. Yes, she had harmed innocent people if she acted rashly, and she couldn't act rashly again.

Xin He scratched her bun and said to Yu Shen, "Brother Shen, don't worry, let me think about it." Xin He remembered that it was almost the end of the year, and she had an accident in her previous life during the Lantern Festival. The first thing was to monitor Su Peiyun and protect herself from being harmed again.

She made up her mind, grabbed Yu Shen's hand and said, "We have to let Mingmo continue to monitor and track Su Peiyun, especially the girl named Yinshuang. I feel that the snack shop must be the place where Su Peiyun contacts other people. Let Mingmo keep a close eye on that place. Once there is contact, we will know that something bad is going to happen."

At this moment, Ming Mo, who was in the garden, suddenly sneezed several times. Ming Mo immediately looked around, feeling that something bad was going to happen!

Sure enough, Ming Mo, who thought he had completed the task, was called by the two young masters again. Ming Mo, who secretly complained, had to accept the task again. I don't know why the two young masters kept staring at the cousin. Now there is also the Fuxin snack shop and the Yinshuang girl, and I have to keep an eye on them all the time.

The two young masters didn't care how bitter Ming Mo felt. As the days passed by in Yu Shen's study, Xinhe's handwriting gradually became more decent.

But this little girl was really not good at studying. She would often fall asleep on the small desk while reading in Yu Shen's study, which always made her master Yu Shen very angry.

Time flies and it is almost the end of the year. Yu Huaian sent a letter from the south, saying that he had trouble with his work and could not come back for the New Year. The old lady of the Yu Mansion in Beijing still did not care about Yu Shen, nor did she send anyone to take Yu Shen back to the mansion for the New Year.

Ji Wanran was secretly angry. The old lady of the Yu Mansion was too harsh on her grandson. She believed the nonsense of the wandering monk and treated her own grandson coldly and with disgust, which broke Xiao Yushen's heart.

Ji Wanran was gentle and good-tempered, but she still felt resentful when she thought of this stubborn old lady. She simply asked Qin Mingxuan to write a letter to Yu Huaian, and let Yu Shen spend the New Year at Qin's house this year, so that he wouldn't have to go back to see the old woman's face.

Yu Huaian readily agreed, and even sent a silver note to cover Yu Shen's stay at Qin's mansion. Qin Mingxuan didn't know whether to laugh or cry, as this man never spared money for his son, but was unwilling to give him some real care.

Yu Shen also received a letter from his father. His father's letter was as heartless as an official document. It just told him that his father could not come back for the New Year, and his grandmother was too old to take care of him, so he should spend the New Year at his master and his mistress's house. After the New Year, his father would come back to Beijing to pick him up.

Yu Shen was only sad for a short while after reading the letter, because he knew that his grandmother would not come to pick him up. She made no secret of her disdain for him. How could she possibly take him back home during the New Year to be an eyesore?

In fact, I didn't want to go back to Yu Mansion. If I went back, I could only stay alone in my own yard. Although I had no worries about food and clothing, the feeling of loneliness and coldness was too uncomfortable.

Before Yu Shen had time to feel sad, he was dragged by the little girl to run around the garden to arrange various decorations for the New Year.

In the entire Qin Mansion, Xin He was the happiest person during the Chinese New Year. In her previous life, Xin He never had the feeling of a family gathering together to celebrate the Chinese New Year, and her memories of her nanny were limited. In the Dark Guard Camp, there was no such thing as celebrating the Chinese New Year. At most, the adults would improve the food for the Dark Guards or give them more bonuses.

The New Year that is coming soon is Xinhe’s first New Year since her rebirth, and she will be spending the Spring Festival with her father, mother, and brother Shen. She is so happy.

Xin He knew that the Yu family had not sent anyone to pick up Yu Shen to celebrate the New Year, and she was secretly angry and sad for Yu Shen. She could not show her anger and sadness in front of Yu Shen, and she was afraid that Yu Shen would feel upset, so she simply dragged Yu Shen to run around the yard with her to decorate the New Year decorations, hang up big red lanterns in each yard, and urge her father to write many blessing characters and couplets, and then dragged Yu Shen to paste blessing characters and couplets in each yard.

The little girl was very interested in doing these things, and Yu Shen was pestered by her and had no choice but to follow her. In fact, Yu Shen had never done these things before in the Yu Mansion. During the New Year in his own mansion, these things were done by the servants. His impression of the New Year was to stay up all night on New Year's Eve and pay respects to his grandmother and father on the first day of the New Year. Of course, all of this was just a formality, a routine, without any New Year's joy or warmth in it.

But these things seemed to be the most interesting things in the world to Xinhe. The little girl was full of energy, running around in the yard every day with her short legs, and she kept saying, "Brother Shen, it would be nice to hang a big lantern here!" "Brother Shen, a blessing character should be posted here. Let's go and find Daddy."

Yu Shen was a little impatient at first, but the little girl didn't care whether Yu Shen liked it or not, and just stubbornly pulled Yu Shen around.

Yu Shen was a child after all, and after running with Xin He for a few days, he seemed to be infected by Xin He's enthusiasm and gradually found some fun in these things. He had a lot of fun following Xin He to hang lanterns, place peach charms, and paste couplets every day.

Ji Wanran and Qin Mingxuan watched the two children running happily in the garden, and felt that this year's Spring Festival was particularly exciting.

Ji Wanran thought of the New Year in a few days, and she felt both hopeful and a little worried. She pulled Qin Mingxuan's sleeve and said, "My dear, can I excuse myself from attending the New Year's meeting?"

After hearing what his wife said, Qin Mingxuan waved his hand to let the servants around him go down, then he put his arm around his wife's slender waist and turned to walk towards the main room, advising his wife as he walked: "On the first day of the new year, the ladies of state must enter the palace to pay tribute to the Queen Mother and the Empress. If people find out that you are faking your illness, it will bring disaster to the whole family."

The two walked into the main room. Ji Wanran sat at the table in a sullen manner. Qin Mingxuan poured a glass of water for his wife and handed it to her. The two did not notice that Xinhe and Yu Shen, who were playing in the yard, followed them to the main room door. Xinhe quietly lay by the door and looked into the room. Yu Shen looked at her sneaky appearance and stood behind her helplessly.

Ji Wanran took a sip of water and looked at her husband: "I don't want to enter the palace. I don't want to see Shen Yining. Every time I enter the palace, she always speaks coldly to me and bullies me by relying on her status as a noble concubine."

Xinhe's ears immediately pricked up. The imperial concubine in the palace, Shen Yining, wasn't that the imperial concubine Shen that Su Peiyun mentioned?

Xin He clenched her fists in anger when she heard what her mother said. Concubine Shen took advantage of her power to bully her mother. She was really a bad woman. Yu Shen also heard what Ji Wanran said. He also took a few steps forward and leaned forward to listen like Xin He.

Qin Mingxuan sighed: "Back then, you two were close friends, but who knew you would be dragged into the court dispute and now you have become enemies."

Ji Wanran gave him a reproachful look: "It's all because my husband is so likable!" Qin Mingxuan saw that his wife looked unhappy and quickly expressed his sincerity: "Madam, you and I have been engaged since we were young, and I have never had any second thoughts about you. I only think about you, Madam!"

Ji Wanran's face flushed again. Xin He at the door covered her mouth and laughed secretly. Daddy and Mommy are so loving! Yu Shen stepped back a little embarrassedly, only to see this little girl covering her mouth and laughing happily without knowing it. Yu Shen secretly disliked her in his heart: "Shameless little girl!"

Ji Wanran said bitterly, "It's all Empress Dowager Shen's fault. Empress Dowager Shen wanted to win over our Qin family. She knew that our two families had an arranged marriage, but she still personally came forward to propose marriage for Shen Yining. Fortunately, my father-in-law insisted on not breaking off the marriage and saved our marriage, but he also offended Empress Dowager Shen."

Qin Mingxuan thought of Empress Dowager Shen in the palace, who was not in a good mood either: "Originally, the only person my father was loyal to was His Majesty. How could the Shen family alone win him over?"

Ji Wanran was still full of doubts when she thought about what happened back then: "My husband, who did you tell me who drugged Shen Yining back then? I guess that drug was meant to harm you, but His Majesty accidentally bumped into that room. I don't know who passed the message to me, saying that Yining was waiting for me in the Imperial Garden, but I ended up leading my sisters to see Shen Yining rushing out of the room in dishevel in the Imperial Garden."

Ji Wanran was also very angry when she thought of this: "It's as if I went there specifically to catch an adulterer. Shen Yining lost so much face in front of everyone that she could only enter the palace as a concubine. Then Shen Yining believed that I harmed her, and she hated me without listening to my explanation."

Qin Mingxuan also felt suspicious when he thought of this palace secret. He shook his head and sighed: "My father and I analyzed it carefully after we came back. On the surface, it seems that only you and I benefited from this matter. Finally, we got rid of the marriage proposed by the Queen Mother herself."

"But from the perspective of the court, it seems that the only one who benefited was General Shen. He successfully sent his daughter to the palace, and used the emperor's guilt to get a high position. General Shen is not only the younger brother of Empress Dowager Shen in the palace, but also the father-in-law of the emperor and the grandfather of the fourth prince. For a time, he was in the limelight. Especially after my father passed away, there was no one in the court to restrain General Shen. General Shen was already powerful enough."

Ji Wanran couldn't believe it: "It can't be that Captain Shen drugged his daughter and sent her into the palace for the sake of power. It's too unbelievable that a father personally framed his own daughter to enter the palace to gain power for himself. I remember that Shen Yining's heart was on you back then, and she was determined not to enter the palace." Speaking of her husband's bad love life, Ji Wanran rolled her eyes at her husband.

Qin Mingxuan knew that he couldn't continue talking about this topic. Even if his wife was gentle and considerate, she would still be jealous, which was too much for Qin. Just as he was about to go forward to coax his wife, he saw his fat girl stumble into the room and kneel down in front of the two of them.

It turned out that Yu Shen was outside overhearing his master and his mistress talking about the emotional disputes between adults. He suddenly felt that it was inappropriate for him as a disciple to eavesdrop outside, so he wanted to pull the little girl away.

Unexpectedly, the little girl listened with great interest, and finally understood why Concubine Shen hated her mother so much. It turned out that Concubine Shen thought that it was her mother who caused her to not marry her father and could only enter the palace as a concubine. She wanted to continue listening and was determined not to leave. Yu Shen pulled the fat girl several times but failed. Suddenly, her hand slipped, and the little girl fell in from the door by inertia, and knelt in front of her master and his wife.

Ji Wanran and Qin Mingxuan were startled by the little girl who broke in. What was the purpose of such a big gift just to come in like this? The two looked at Yu Shen next to them in confusion. Yu Shen wanted to cover his face with his hands. Following this stinky girl, doing shameful things all day long.

Xin He stared with wide eyes, seeing that the three people in the room were staring at her without wanting to look at her, and quickly said, "Greetings to my father and mother!"

Qin Mingxuan said with a smile: "Nannan, it's not even the New Year yet. Even though you gave such a big gift, you still can't get the red envelope from your mother and me!"

Ji Wanran walked up to Xinhe and pulled her up, tapping her forehead: "You are eavesdropping on the adults' conversations outside again. When will you change your bad habits? If you do it again next time, I will punish you by not allowing you to eat meat."

When Xin He heard her mother say this, she looked at Yu Shen with resentment. It was all Brother Shen's fault. Ever since her mother knew that Yu Shen always punished her by not allowing her to eat meat, and it worked very well, her mother and father would threaten her by not allowing her to eat meat. Yu Shen was so mean!

Yu Shen saw Xin He's look and knew that she was blaming him, so he turned his head away and didn't look at her. He respectfully went forward to greet his master and his wife.

Qin Mingxuan saw Yu Shen and beckoned him to come forward. He held Yu Shen in his arms and said to him, "Shen'er, your teacher is looking for you. There is an imperial decree from the palace. The emperor sympathizes with your father who is still away for state affairs during the New Year, and has specially granted your teacher's wife permission to bring you with her when she attends the grand court meeting in the palace during the New Year. The queen wants to summon you to show the royal family's commendation for your father."

Yu Shen was stunned. He could enter the palace to attend the palace banquet. It can be seen that his father went out of the capital to work for the emperor and was trusted by the emperor. He nodded to Qin Mingxuan: "Master, Shen'er knows. Shen'er must be a good follower of Master's wife and abide by the rules."

Xinhe was anxious, and she threw herself into Qin Mingxuan's arms: "Daddy, what about me? Can I go to the palace with Brother Shen to attend the imperial banquet?" Yu Shen gave her a disdainful look, "Fat girl, you only know how to eat."

Qin Mingxuan also hugged Xin He in his arms and said with a smile: "You, you can also enter the palace. The Queen Mother heard that you are a great eater, so she wants to invite you into the palace and give you some delicious dishes."

"Really? The Queen knows about Nannan now. Nannan can enter the palace too. That's great." The little girl immediately turned around and ran towards Ji Wanran: "Mother, Nannan is going to enter the palace. You must prepare beautiful clothes for her! Nannan should also let the Queen see how beautiful she is!"

Ji Wanran looked at Qin Mingxuan, a little worried: "My husband, Shen'er is fine. I am worried that Nannan is still young. If she offends the nobles in the palace, we can't afford it."

Qin Mingxuan smiled proudly: "What is there to be ashamed of? Our Qin family has been loyal to His Majesty for generations. Although our rank is not as high as those of the princes, our Qin family is not someone that anyone can bully casually."

Qin Mingxuan thought of his deceased father. "Dad was the emperor's enlightenment teacher. After dad passed away, the emperor appreciated dad's teachings and specially conferred the title of Taifu posthumously. That is also a first-class duke, no less than any prince's family. Madam, don't be afraid. Besides, this time it is said that the queen summoned you, but in fact there is also the emperor's will. The emperor will not let anyone bully you."

When Xinhe heard what her father said, she immediately puffed out her belly proudly, imitating her father's arrogant look. Unfortunately, she did not have her father's free and easy and elegant look, which made Ji Wanran burst out laughing.

Ji Wanran tapped Xinhe's belly and said, "Nannan, if you keep eating like this, you won't be able to wear any pretty clothes."

Qin Mingxuan and Yu Shen beside him couldn't help laughing. Xin He laughed so hard that she fell into her mother's arms in embarrassment.