Chapter 68 Who Takes Charge Enigmatic Immortal +1

  Wu Chanjuan was overjoyed when she heard her mother praise her so unreservedly for the first time, and a smile spread across her face.

  Zheng Suxin had wanted to pour cold water on her, but seeing how rarely her daughter was so happy, she held back and stroked her shiny black hair, speaking softly: "You really did a great job today, even if I were the one doing it, I couldn't have done any better."

  Wu Chanjuan leaned into Zheng Suheng's arms, nodding and chuckling: "Really? Really?" The incredulity in her tone made Zheng Suheng feel a pang of heartache, prompting her to reflect on whether she had been too harsh on the child. After all, Wu Chanjuan was only twelve years old, and although she was intelligent, experience and emotional intelligence couldn't be compensated for by cleverness alone - they required tempering through daily interactions and experiences accumulated over time.

  But after careful consideration, Zheng Suheng still felt that being strict was better. When she was at home, her family spoiled her too much, and in the future when she got married, she would have to suffer.

  It's better for me to give it to her myself, at least I can control the dosage and difficulty, rather than letting others do it and risking a huge blow all at once.

  "This matter you can only hint at, do you understand? The principle of overdoing it is something you should know. Using too much force will only lead to the opposite effect."

  Wu Chanjuan was already used to Zheng Suhan's words. She nodded, "I know. Mother, today the Sheng family is the host and guest, and they should be the first to take their seats. The young master Wang is the most honored guest, he should also sit in the upper seat. They two sitting together is reasonable, what does it have to do with me? If I didn't let them sit together, mother should scold me instead."

  Zheng Suxin said with satisfaction: "That's right. When we do things, we must have a clear and just reason, and cannot harbor evil intentions. As long as our hearts are upright, we can be confident and unashamed. As for the outcome, that is not something we can predict. We don't seek to satisfy everyone, but only to have no regrets in our own hearts."

  The mother and daughter whispered a few more private words to each other before Zheng Suheng let Wu Chanjuan return to her own courtyard to rest.

  Sheng Siyan followed Sheng Qiye and Wang Shi back to the Sheng Guo Gong Fu. She also felt exhausted all over, didn't even go to the bathroom, fell onto the bed and slept.

  The next morning, Wang came to see her early.

  Sheng Siyan sat on the bed, leaning against Wang Shi's side and talking about yesterday's banquet.

  "...At first, nothing happened, later...later..." Sheng Siyan nervously glanced at Wang Shi and lowered her eyes, subconsciously grasping the embroidered mandrake flowers on the quilt, stuttering: "Wang Erge has arrived..."

  "Which Wang Er Ge?" Wang's family was stunned for a moment and couldn't think of who Sheng Siyan was talking about.

  "It's our neighbor Wang Erge from Wangjia Village!" Sheng Siyan hastily reminded the Wang family, "He once helped us catch many snakes? His family has been snake catchers for generations!"

  "What? Is it them? Didn't they leave with...?" Wang immediately remembered that the Wang family next door had left five years ago because they had saved a "noble person" and had gone with that "noble person".

  "My mother said they met a noble person." Sheng Siyan said gloomily, she had even gone to the village entrance to see off Wang Erge back then, but now the other party came with a face-to-face encounter without recognizing each other, making her extremely embarrassed.

  Wang's brow furrowed.

  She knows more than Sheng Siyan does.

  At first when Wang's family asked her to treat the wounds of that "monk", Wang already knew who that "monk" was, but she didn't say.

  At that time when she was at her parents' home, she had also seen the dragon and phoenix children in these palaces, so she was very familiar with the appearance of the two princes.

  She later followed Sheng Qiye to sneak out and live a life of seclusion in the countryside. Her appearance had changed a lot, and at first, she was just an inconspicuous one among many young ladies from noble families. This former aristocrat who became a monk did not recognize her at all.

  "Mother, isn't Wang Erge's name Wang Zhuzhu? Today he said his name is Wang Yixing." Sheng Siyan looked at Wang Shi again and happened to see her dazed expression. She immediately sensed that Wang Shi was probably hiding something from her.

  Wang Shi calmed down. He took a glance at Sheng Siyan, saw her curious gaze, thought for a moment and said: "Probably they came to the capital for something. They left Wangjia Village many years ago, should have relied on wealthy relatives, now there's another matter to attend to." Then he said: "Er Zhu is his childhood name, men grow up, of course need to take an adult name. Yi Xing probably is his adult name. You were young then, didn't understand these things."

  Sheng Siyan knew that Wang Shi hadn't told her the truth, so she rolled her eyes and said: "Mother, Wang Erge seems to be quite familiar with Niu Xiaoye's older brother. Why don't I go ask Niu Xiaoye? Let's see what kind of person this Wang Gongzi is."

  Wang sighed in her heart, knowing that this daughter was not easy to fool, but she also wanted to talk to her, curious about why she shouldn't care about things that weren't her business, and it would be better if she could pretend to be ignorant.

  Intelligent people are not those who know everything, but those who know when to pretend they don't.

  "What did you ask for?" Wang asked slowly.

  "What's there to do? What's not to do? I'm just curious."

  "Just out of curiosity, do you want to probe into other people's secrets? What if Wang Erge comes to Beijing for some other important matter? If you recklessly try to pry into his affairs and are discovered by others, what consequences will it bring him, have you thought about that?"

  Sheng Siyan let out a soft "hmm" and shook her head. "I haven't thought about it." She asked again, "It won't be that serious, will it? I just...just..."

  "You're just unwilling to accept that Wang Er, who was so good to you in the past, is now treating you like a stranger, aren't you?" Wang Shi pierced through Sheng Siyan's small mind with one remark.

  Sheng Siyan's face suddenly turned completely red. She flung herself into Wang's arms, murmuring: "Mother, it's not actually like that..." Okay, fine, maybe just a little bit.

  Sheng Siyan felt very embarrassed.

  Wang saw Sheng Siyan like this, and felt a deep sense of emotion.

  The little baby she held in her arms and grasped tightly by the hand has also grown up and will have his own thoughts.

  "Siyan, tell your mother, have you set your eyes on Wang Erge?" Wangshi finally broke through this layer of window paper. Sheng Siyan was already eleven years old. In the Great Xia Dynasty, girls could get married at the age of fifteen, and now they can also start discussing marriage.

  Of course, the women of the aristocratic families married relatively late, and many were not married until after they were eighteen years old. Wang Shi sympathized with Sheng Siyan's weak body and worried that she would not be able to give birth, so he planned to keep her unmarried until she was twenty.

  But looking at her like this, isn't she already too old for this?

  Sheng Siyan's face turned even redder, like a red cloth covering her face. Even the corners of her eyes and eyebrows were red, she waved her hands repeatedly: "No, no! Mother is thinking too much, I don't have that kind of thought towards Wang Erge... ——I really don't!" She shook her head heavily to express her refusal.

  She really didn't have that kind of thought. Her attitude towards Wang Erge was purely the pure friendship of a neighbor's little sister to her older brother next door. She had never thought of marrying him.

  Getting married is still a long way off, and Sheng Siyan doesn't want to think about it at all right now.

  She hasn't had enough of reliving her girlhood yet!

  "Really?" Wang asked tentatively, "Don't be shy, if you have anything on your mind, you can tell Mother. Mother will definitely consider it for you."

  "Mother, wait a few years and ask me again, okay? I'll definitely tell you then. But now, I'm only eleven, still a little girl. How can you ask me such a question? The Four Books for Women say: 'Do not look at what is not proper to look at, do not speak of what is not proper to speak of!'"

  "Aren't you fed up with 'Nu Er Jing' (The Four Books for Women)? How come you're using it to shut your daughter's mouth now?" Wang Shi teased her.

  Sheng Siyan: "=_=" ---- Mom, you're so black-bellied! Did you create this?!

  Wang saw Sheng Siyan's awkward expression and didn't tease her anymore. He smiled and changed the subject, saying: "Alright, let Wang Erge be. If he wants to acknowledge you, he'll find a way to look for you himself. There's no need for you to go asking around. If he doesn't want to acknowledge you, going around asking questions will only cause him trouble and might even erase the little neighborly affection they had in the past. —— Everything should be done in moderation, understand?"

  Sheng Siyan hastily nodded. She apologized to Wang, "Mother, I know. I won't go asking about Second Brother's affairs. Actually, I had already thought it through, Mother doesn't need to worry that I'll act rashly."

  Wang knew that Sheng Siyan was the most obedient, as long as she instructed her, she would keep her promise. Of course, this child was also particularly good at finding loopholes in people's words. Every time Wang talked to her, she had to gather all her energy and say everything clearly, otherwise, this little girl would suddenly become stubborn at some point...

  Now Sheng Siyan agreed not to pursue the matter of Wang Erge, and Madame Wang finally felt at ease. She asked her again, "Is that all? What else did you do in Xiaotao Bay?"

  "There's nothing much." Sheng Siyan counted on her fingers what delicious and rare dishes she had eaten, expressing a little envy towards the Wu family's wealth. Then she said: "Young Master Wang Xiaozhi is quite interesting, he even recited 'Shēng jiǎo duì yùn' with me during dinner. Later, Second Miss Wu suggested that everyone compose a poem together. Young Master Wang came up with a couplet for me to respond to, and I responded successfully!" Sheng Siyan was beaming with pride.

  Wang heard this and couldn't help but laugh, asking: "How did you end up reciting books with Young Master Wang?" She knew that Sheng Siyan wasn't the type of person who liked to show off, so she found her behavior today to be quite strange.

  Sheng Siyan spread out her hands and said, "I didn't want to either. But first, Wu Erniang asked me to sit next to Young Master Wang, and Young Master Wang made this request, I couldn't refuse. Second, Niu Xiaoye that big mouth kept telling Young Master Wang that I could memorize things at a glance, so he got excited and insisted on reciting books with me together, then linking sentences, couplets."

  "Did Wu Erniang let you take the lead?" Wang Shi smiled and said, "This time it's not a small matter." She asked her again: "What kind of couplet is this?"

  "Little King Wang came up with the first half of a couplet: 'If King Wu doesn't take charge, who will?' I responded with the second half: 'Although Wu has a mouth, he only talks about Heaven!'" Sheng Siyan giggled with glee, very pleased with her own response.

  "If the king doesn't take charge, who will?" The Wang family's face sank, and he secretly muttered "It's all over."

  The first additional chapter of Xian Yu Yuan's "Enigmatic Alliance Master" has been delivered. Additional chapters are seeking pink tickets and recommendation votes!

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