Chapter 18: She is really tired

　　Jiang Yan nodded hesitantly and turned through the last two pages: "This story book is completely different from the story books I have read before. I always thought that men in the world are so affectionate. But Li Jia in this story book actually wants a daughter. Selling Du Shiniang is really hateful!"

　　Xiaohong was frightened when she heard it, and said sarcastically: "This book doesn't look good. Miss, I'd better change it to another one."

　　Jiang Yan put aside "Du Shiniang's Furious Treasure Box".

　　Xiao Hong was about to hand over the copy of "Dream Love" in her hand, but Jiang Yan picked up a brand new copy of "The Case of Beauty". Xiaohong was anxious, things were completely different from what she expected.

　　"Xiaohong, you go out first, I'll watch it for a while and then go to sleep." Jiang Yan pinched a piece of pastry and watched "The Beauty Case" with relish.

　　Xiaohong had no choice but to withdraw. The moonlight was sinking outside the house, and clusters of begonias were piled up on the branches. Seeing that there was no one around, Xiao Hong quietly slipped out of Baimei Courtyard and prepared to go to Qingtaifang to report the news. Unexpectedly, he just turned a corner and bumped into the eldest young master Jiang Shi.

　　Jiang Shi seemed to have been waiting for a long time. He slowly walked out of the shadows with a pair of sinister and cold eyes: "Xiao Hong, you are more exposed, where are you going?"

　　Xiaohong was so frightened that her legs weakened and she collapsed on the ground.

　　...

　　Shen Baiyu returned to Baimei Courtyard, had lunch and continued to take a nap.

　　In the following days, Shen Baiyu stayed at home every day and lived a very free and easy life. The Tantai family is still having a bad temper with Shen Zhenshan, and they are in a cold war every day. In fact, housekeeping is not difficult to learn, and it tests the manager's overall planning ability. But Tantai's self-esteem was too strong, and he always felt that he had been greatly wronged. He was making trouble every day, and the house was restless.

　　During this period, the Tantai clan sent people to look for Shen Baiyu several times, trying both soft and hard tactics to send the stewardship back, but Jiang Xun and Dahuang stopped them all. Tantai was so angry that he stopped paying monthly money in Shen Baiyu's yard, wanting to punish Shen Baiyu.

　　But Shen Baiyu had already prepared. Before her death, her grandmother left her a lot of property shops, which made a lot of profits every year. Shen Baiyu had his own small treasury, so he didn't have to worry about food and drink.

　　The days passed like this, and Shen Baiyu ate well and slept well every day. One morning when he got up and looked in the mirror, he was surprised to find that his originally skinny face was somewhat rounded.

　　She finally gained weight!

　　In the afternoon, Jiang Xun held the knife and looked at Shen Baiyu who was lying on the stone table practicing calligraphy. He finally couldn't bear it anymore and said, "Miss, you should go out for a walk."

　　The weather was getting warmer, and the spring sun warmed the Baimei Courtyard. Shen Baiyu finally stepped out of the warm pavilion and changed his daily leisure place to the stone table under the plum tree. I spread out my pen, ink, paper and inkstone, practice calligraphy, write and draw under the warm sunshine every day, it feels so comfortable.

　　Shen Baiyu is at ease, but Jiang Xun is not!

　　He tried his best to sneak into the general's mansion and stay with Shen Baiyu, hoping to obtain the secrets of the general's mansion through Shen Baiyu or assassinate Shen Zhenshan. But Shen Baiyu stayed in the courtyard every day, and Jiang Xun, the nursing home, was forced to stay in Baimei Courtyard every day, which was very frustrating.

　　"I don't want to go out. I just want to eat and sleep every day, and eat after sleeping." Shen Baiyu rolled up her sleeves and wrote the big word "lazy" on the rice paper.

　　Jiang Xun sighed.

　　Jiang Xun has been running around outside these years, working day and night on his plan. Now he is inexplicably trapped in a small courtyard, watching a little girl eat and sleep every day... Jiang Xun wants to leave, and needs to deal with Shen Baiyu quietly before leaving.

　　Jiang Xun had an intuition that even if Shen Baiyu really died suddenly in Baimei Courtyard, no one would know about it for ten and a half days.

　　Every time he thought about this place, Jiang Xun rarely felt compassion. He seemed to see his childhood self in Shen Baiyu, living with his younger brother in the dark cold palace of the Yue Kingdom, and no one would notice him even if he turned into bones.

　　"Jiang Xun, you said you have five brothers, are they still alive?" Shen Baiyu called Jiang Xun by his real name when there was no one around. The brush in her hand rotates, and the horizontal and vertical strokes of the ink writing are very delicate.

　　Jiang Xun Rusong stood under the plum blossom tree: "Miss Hui, all five of my brothers are dead."

　　Shen Baiyu took a breath of cold air: "They are all dead. How did they die?"

　　Jiang Xun: "Died due to disaster."

　　Actually no, his five brothers died in different ways...starved to death, hanged themselves to death, hit a pillar and committed suicide, fell to pieces from a building and died of anger. In the struggle for imperial power, life and death, Jiang Xun is the ultimate winner.

　　Shen Baiyu thought that Jiang Xun's brothers died in a natural disaster, and it was rare for him to feel sympathy.

　　After she finished writing the word "lazy", she changed another piece of rice paper: "Life or death is a matter of destiny, so don't be too sad. As long as you do your job with all your heart, I will ensure that you have enough food and clothing, and you don't have to follow the path of your brothers."

　　Jiang Xun said expressionlessly: "Thank you, miss."

　　The weather was getting warmer and the sunshine was warm. Shen Baiyu was warmed by the sunshine. She was in a rare good mood and started painting after practicing her calligraphy. In the meticulous depiction, the fat figure of the big yellow dog begins to take shape. When Shen Baiyu was about to draw the dog's tail, the big yellow dog under the Moon Gate suddenly barked.

　　"Woof woof woof!"

　　Jade said: "Miss! The general is here!"

　　Shen Baiyu was slightly stunned and put down his brush.

　　Dali Temple and Dongwuwei failed to capture the fugitive, and the East Palace seemed to no longer pursue the case, and Shen Zhenshan rarely had any free time. But Shen Baiyu didn't expect that her father would come to Baimei Courtyard to look for her.

　　Shen Baiyu had secret expectations and a bad premonition.

　　Shen Zhenshan did not come empty-handed. He also brought Qi and blood-replenishing medicinal materials, beautiful fabrics, and a small dagger inlaid with gems.

　　"Third girl, your painting is lifelike and your handwriting is good." Shen Zhenshan looked at Shen Baiyu's painting and was full of praise.

　　Shen Baiyu lowered his head: "Thank you father for the compliment."

　　Shen Zhenshan: "You look good, I think your illness should be better."

　　Shen Baiyu: "Yeah."

　　Shen Zhenshan: "I gave you something. The dagger is for self-defense."

　　Shen Baiyu: "Thank you, father."

　　The father and daughter have been estranged for too long. Every word you say to me is dry and without moisture.

　　Shen Zhenshan really didn't know what to say and turned to Jiang Xun next to him. Jiang Xun was wearing a black nursing uniform, with broad shoulders and long legs, and a tall and straight figure, like a sharp blade about to be unsheathed. Shen Zhenshan stroked his beard: "Are you the third girl's new recruit? I met you on the long street before. Yes, his skills are quite good."

　　When Shen Zhenshan saw Jiang Xun, he finally remembered the memory of chasing the fugitive on the long street in the early morning. Shen Zhenshan turned around and said, "Third girl, you encountered the fugitive on the long street that early morning. Are you injured?"

　　Shen Baiyu lowered his eyes: "No."

　　For the past five or six days, the palms of her hands were as white as snow, and no scratches could be seen at all, as if she had never been injured. But the sting caused by rubbing the rough stone with my palm has stayed in my heart for a long time.

　　The sun was warm and the atmosphere in Baimei Courtyard was awkward.

　　Shen Zhenshan clenched his palms quietly, coughed slightly, and changed the topic: "Three girls...it's like this, I think you have recovered from the cold. Your mother has not managed the inner house for many years and is inexperienced. You can help when you are free. Your mother."

　　Shen Baiyu only felt that the sun was suddenly cold during the day, making her tremble all over.

　　Shen Zhenshan hurriedly explained: "Don't worry, I'm not asking you to take full charge of the house like before, but just to help your mother. Shu'er is young, you are the elder sister, there are no other female relatives in the back house, and the family needs you."

　　In the past few days, the Tantai clan and Shen Zhenshan were having a cold war.

　　After all, Shen Zhenshan has been in love with Tantai for decades. How can Shen Zhenshan not feel distressed when he sees Tantai crying every day, going on hunger strikes and sulking, and losing a lot of weight?

　　Just as the third girl's health gradually improved, Shen Zhenshan, under the pressure of his wife and young daughter, came up with the idea of ​​letting the third girl continue to manage the back house.

　　Shen Baiyu did not answer directly, but took out a pile of rice paper on the stone table. The handwriting on the rice paper was neat and elegant. Shen Baiyu said: "Father, you still remember that one afternoon in the summer when I was five years old, I was practicing calligraphy in the yard. You happened to pass by the garden, and you praised me for my good calligraphy."

　　Shen Zhenshan frowned, obviously unable to remember such a thing.

　　Shen Baiyu said: "That was the first time I got your praise. Since then, I have gone to the yard to practice calligraphy every afternoon. I wait for you to come home, wait for you to pass by the yard, wait for you to praise me... But I After waiting for more than half a year, I didn't get anything. In fact, there were several times when you passed by the yard and didn't come over to see me. I could only see your back hurriedly walking towards the main house. "

　　Shen Baiyu's biggest impression of Shen Zhenshan was his tall and stalwart figure.

　　Like a mountain, it is too high to reach.

　　I tried to climb over and fell all over.

　　Shen Zhenshan frowned and was speechless for a moment.

　　Shen Baiyu's nose was slightly sore and her heart ached dull. Her tone was almost pleading: "Father, please let me rest. I'm really tired these years."

　　Who can understand, she lived two lives.

　　She is really tired.

　　It's a pity that Shen Zhenshan doesn't understand her fatigue. In the eyes of the brave and skilled old general, a man's true fatigue is when he fights on the battlefield, while the female family members only enjoy happiness in the back house. He frowned deeply: "Third girl, you are so young—"

　　As soon as the words came out, Dahuang, who was guarding under the Moon Gate of Baimei Courtyard, barked. Mother Wang, who was taking care of the Tantai family in the main house, said hurriedly: "General, it's not good! Madam, she accidentally fell down just now and cut her hand!"

　　Shen Zhenshan was shocked, leaving Shen Baiyu behind and hurriedly left Baimei Courtyard.

　　The sun was almost dazzling, and Shen Baiyu saw the familiar back of his father again. The tall and majestic back coincided with the back of the garden corridor when he was a child. In the faded years, there were countless fathers' backs reflected in Shen Baiyu's pupils. The expectation, humility, disappointment, and despair in Shen Baiyu's eyes turned into a puddle of calm stagnant water as time flew by.

　　"Miss, you...you cried?" Jiang Xun was surprised.

　　Shen Baiyu closed his eyes: "Burn the rice paper."

　　Shen Baiyu walked back to the house.

　　Jiang Xun collected a pile of rice paper on the stone table and looked back at Shen Baiyu's leaving figure. In the season of spring when all things revive, Shen Baiyu's figure is thin and thin. Jiang Xun almost has an illusion that Shen Baiyu is so fragile that she can be crushed by anyone.

　　Obviously living in the General's Mansion, with parents and brothers and sisters, Shen Baiyu seemed to be alone.

　　From then on, Jiang Xun never saw Shen Baiyu practicing calligraphy in the yard again.