Chapter 51: Withdrawing from the Thorns (Foam and Shi Bi+)

  Sheng Siyan thought about Tu Shi's appearance with a tilted head, that chubby round face, high chest, and big buttocks, indeed a well-nourished...

  She couldn't help but laugh: "It's good to give birth, ten years have given birth to two children and three babies." With such a figure, it should be obvious that in three years, you can hold two, and in ten years, you should at least have seven or eight.

  Sheng Qiye deliberately scowled, curled his fingers and lightly flicked Sheng Siyan's forehead, "I knew you were mischievous. How old are you? What do you understand? Don't talk like that in front of outsiders. It's better for a little girl to be a bit silly. —— Your father was rarely at your aunt's house for ten years, and was trying out medicine elsewhere!"

  Sheng Siyan covered her mouth and smiled, her eyes rolling around, saying: "Dad, you must be very fond of Da Ya?"

  Sheng Qiye was taken aback for a moment, shaking his head: "No. Father of course loves you more. You are your mother's daughter..."

  It hurts more to say that she is the daughter of Wang's family, not for other reasons. Sheng Siyan feels very happy. This is the rhythm of loving the house and the crow, she is happy and hasn't had time to get angry yet? However, according to her previous words, doesn't Sheng Qiye saying that he hurts more mean that she is dumber than Da Yu?!

  Sheng Si's face scrunched up in a frown, and he said, "Dad, didn't you say that being a bit stupid is good? Is it because I'm even more stupid than Da Ya, so you're more fond of me?"

  Sheng Qiye finally understood the implicit meaning of Sheng Siyan's words, and smiled as he shook his head: "You child, really, you're so good at nitpicking! You should learn from your mother, she's magnanimous and broad-minded, never paying attention to these trivial matters. But you, you don't know who you take after. Your father is a careless one, your mother is also a generous one, but you're so meticulous, it's as if you have eight orifices instead of seven!"

  The people of Daxia Dynasty all say "the heart has seven orifices". Sheng Qiye said that Sheng Siyan has more than seven orifices, which means she thinks too much.

  Sheng Siyan smiled and said, "The blue comes from the indigo plant but is bluer than it, with you two being so open-minded. You must have me, who thinks carefully, to help keep things in order for you. Otherwise, this family would be without rules."

  "What do you know about etiquette? It's all learned from your mother." Sheng Qiye sighed and said, "When we get home, I'll let your mother take care of Da Ya too. Your mother is from a noble family, she understands things that ordinary people can't. Let Da Ya learn more about the etiquette and propriety of aristocratic families from her. It will be easier for her to find a good husband in the future."

  This was the first time Sheng Qiye mentioned Wang's background in front of Sheng Sihai.

  Sheng Siyan's interest was greatly increased at this moment, although she wanted to continue asking questions, but for now there was something more important to do. - She absolutely did not want Wang Shi to bring up Da Ya. It wasn't that her heart was small, but rather that the person Tou Shi was someone who didn't seem like a simpleton at first glance. And Da Ya wasn't a newborn baby, easy to teach and raise. Da Ya was already seven or eight years old. In this Great Xia Dynasty where girls could get married at fourteen, a girl of Da Ya's age had long since understood the ways of the world.

  "Dad, you mustn't mention this in front of Erniang," Sheng Siyan advised Sheng Qiye tactfully. "Can't you see? These children are her lifeblood, how would she be willing to send them to my mother's side for upbringing? Besides, these three younger siblings don't even listen to your words, how would they listen to my mother's words? My mother is in poor health and has the huge Guo Gong Fu to manage, I don't even have time to take care of myself, let alone have time to raise other people's children."

  Sheng Qiye listened intently and felt there was some truth to it.

  "But, if Father you take the initiative to mention it, my mother will definitely agree. She would even exhaust herself to death to help father take care of the child... Do you really want my mother to die from exhaustion?" As she spoke, her eyes already had a hint of tears.

  After saying this, Sheng Qiye had an even better impression of Wang Shi and Sheng Siyan.

  "It's indeed a wife, and that makes all the difference." Sheng Qiye sighed and patted Sheng Siyan's hand. "Don't worry about it. We won't send her off then. Let her aunt raise her... alas, what a pity her aunt is not presentable..."

  Sheng Siyan would certainly not let Tu continue to take care of the child.

  This person now has the potential to cause trouble, and if she continues to lead those three children astray, will the Sheng family be able to live a peaceful life in the future?!

  "Father, actually Mother has also told me about this. She said that in a few days, she will invite a female teacher and etiquette instructors to come to our home to teach us manners. At that time, Da Ya can learn together with me. Mother has also invited tutors and archery instructors for my two younger brothers, they are waiting at the outer courtyard."

  Sheng Qiye was overjoyed when he heard this, and hastily said: "This is great! I knew it, your mother is a reliable person!" He didn't have to worry about trivial matters at home, and could focus all his thoughts on taking care of Xia Mingdi, which was the thing that made him happiest.

  "Yes. Father, how old are Da Ya, Da Lang and Er Lang now? Are these their nicknames? Have they been given formal names?" asked Sheng Siyan slowly.

  "Ah, yes, Xiaoming. Daming hasn't gotten up yet. Unlike you, your father and mother had already chosen a name for you before you were born. At that time, I and your mother chose two names, one for a boy and one for a girl." Sheng Qiye said with a smile, "Daliao and Dalang are both eight years old now. Erlang is only five years old."

  Sheng Siyan had a slightly better impression of Er Lang, probably because he was still young and hadn't been influenced by the Tu family yet.

  Sheng Siyan said enviously: "Second Aunt can give birth to twins, it's really impressive. Dad, has anyone in the Sheng family ever given birth to twins before?"

  Sheng Qiye shook his head, "Never heard of it. Probably because your second aunt's family had twins."

  "Oh." Sheng Siyan blinked, "When we get back home, Father will take the two younger brothers to live in the outer courtyard. Mother said that boys should leave the inner courtyard and move to the outer one after they turn five years old. This way, they won't be spoiled by women's hands and become effeminate, unlike a real man."

  Sheng Qiye agreed with this point, but he frowned and said: "However, I'm usually in the palace most of the time and don't have time to take care of them."

  "Who needs you to take care of? The outer courtyard has servants, wives, and maids, and there are masters and teachers watching. My mother won't completely let go either. You can rest assured!" Sheng Siyan chatted and laughed as she took away the chips in Tu Shi's hand one by one, removing her excuse for making trouble in the future.

  The concubines who can compete with the mistress in the inner courtyard are all concubines with sons. In the case where the mistress has no son, the concubine is especially able to "become noble through her son".

  Sheng Siyan is well aware of this point.

  She is different from Wang's family, she likes to nip troubles in the bud and won't wait until they grow big before dealing with them in a flurry.

  Sheng Qiye nodded, but then felt sorry for Wang Shi's many troubles. After thinking for a moment, he said: "Da Ya can follow you to learn the rules. Da Lang and Er Lang will go to the outer courtyard to study with their teachers and masters. Your mother is busy with both the inner and outer courtyards, and also has to take care of your four children. I'm worried that she won't be able to handle it all. How about this? Let your mother hand over some of the household chores to your second aunt?"

  Sheng Siyan was startled and secretly thought: Dad, don't rush in the direction of being a confused father!!!

  Are you really unaware of what "favoring concubines and harming wives" means?!

  "Dad, isn't this not right? Second Aunt is just an aunt, if she's in charge of the household, others will laugh at our family." Sheng Siyan had no choice but to bring up "others". Most of the time, using "others" as an excuse was quite effective.

  Sheng Qiye indeed thought of the face of Sheng Guogong Fu and hastily said: "It's me who didn't think it through. I originally just wanted your mother to take it easy, so I asked Er Niang to help her with some chores. Of course, the one sitting in the sedan chair is still your mother. You think about your mother having so many things to do, while Er Niang can just sit and eat, it really makes me feel sorry for your mother..."

  It's no use saying it hurts.

  Sheng Siyan secretly opposed in her heart, smiling and saying: "Father, actually my mother is capable of working hard. The second wife is like that. Even if you give her the full management power of this national duke's mansion, she won't know how to handle it! Think about it, does she know what are the seasonal rituals? Does she know how to offer sacrifices to our ancestors? Does she know how many dishes, layers and types should be offered? Does she know how to send gifts and return gifts when interacting with different mansions? And, when there are officials being promoted or demoted in the imperial court, family members getting married or having funerals, does she know how to respond?"

  Sheng Qiye shook his head. "She absolutely doesn't understand. Her family was so poor they had to sell their daughter, and it was I who bought her as a concubine, allowing them to survive."

  "This is it!" Sheng Siyan clapped her hands and laughed, "Even if she's in charge, in the end, my mother will still have to make all the decisions. Since that's the case, why bother with this extra effort? You don't need to worry about it either. Second Aunt has the good fortune of becoming your concubine, just let her enjoy her good fortune. In the inner courtyard, she doesn't need to do anything, as long as she dresses up nicely and waits for you to have free time, she can serve you tea and add some romance. Isn't that a good thing?"

  Sheng Qiye smiled and said, "She's illiterate."

  Sheng Siyan was choked for a moment, then quickly regained his composure and said: "Then let's wait until you have time, to accompany you in drinking wine, okay?"

  "I don't drink. The only time I drank in my life was when I married your mother..." Sheng Qiye smiled, looking out the car window as if lost in distant memories.

  Sheng Siyan clenched her fists and wanted to wipe the sweat from her forehead. —— She was really defeated by Sheng Qiye, this father who didn't know the taste of salt.

  He is indeed deeply in love with Wang's daughter and has a special affection for her. However, he also has some feelings for Tu's daughter and treats the three children she bore him as if they were his own legitimate offspring.

  After some thought, she decided that he was still a salvageable person, so she would reluctantly help Wang put in a bit more effort.

  The father and daughter chatted all the way back to the entrance of the Duke's mansion.

  They got off the car, and Mr. Tuo and three children also came down from the donkey cart.

  Looking at the majestic gate of the National Duke's Mansion, even though Ruan's family had long been prepared, they were still startled.

  But later on, she thought again and realized that this Sheng family was actually one of the four major families, so she let it go.

  "Daughter, is this really our home?!" Da Yu exclaimed in surprise.

  Sheng Siyan just happened to get off the carriage with Sheng Qiye, and upon hearing this, she laughed and said: "Da Ya, you should call her 'Aunt'. You only have one mother, which is my mother."

  Tu raised an eyebrow and looked at Sheng Siyan: "They have always been called that in the countryside."

  "Then you can go back to the countryside. In the capital, we call it this way, our Sheng family cannot afford to lose face because of this person." Sheng Qiye found that Tou Shi was indeed very ignorant of etiquette and had even forgotten the rules of birth order, which was quite unexpected.

  For the foam, yesterday's reward and He Shi Bi added more. Today is another three updates ~ Rolling for pink votes ah. Everyone take a look at your ticket warehouse, see if there are any guaranteed pink tickets. It's the one that the system gave away at the beginning of the month.

  ……

  ps：

  For the foam, yesterday's reward and He Shi Bi added more. Today is another three updates ~ Rolling for pink votes ah. Everyone, take a look at your ticket warehouse, see if you have any guaranteed pink tickets. It's the one that the system gave away at the beginning of the month.