Dad, open the door. I'll bring your mistress back for you.

Chapter 213 Visitors from Beijing

Shen Chuning saw from afar the Shen family's carriage coming from the capital slowly approaching, and her heart couldn't help but skip a beat.

She stared at the carriage that was getting closer and closer with her eyes wide open, her heart almost in her throat.

The stern face of Old Madam Shen appeared involuntarily in her mind, as if she would jump out of the car and take her back to the capital in the next second.

Shen Chuning subconsciously turned around and hid behind Yun Shuxuan.

However, when the carriage finally stopped and the door was gently pushed open, it was Mrs. Shen Zhou Mujin and Miss Zhou Zhou Lan who walked out.

Shen Chuning was stunned at first, and then she jumped out from behind Yun Shuxuan with a look of surprise on her face like a happy little bird.

She ran towards Zhou Mujin excitedly, shouting loudly, "Aunt!" Her voice was clear and pleasant, like the sound of a yellow oriole singing in a valley.

Zhou Mujin looked at his lively and lovely niece in front of him, and a warm smile appeared on his face.

She walked quickly forward, reached out and took Shen Chuning's hand, looked at her carefully, her eyes full of love, and said softly: "Our little Jiu has grown up. She is becoming more and more beautiful and elegant."

Hearing this, Shen Chuning lowered her head shyly, her cheeks flushed, and she responded softly, "Thank you for the compliment, Auntie."

But soon, she raised her head again, looked at Zhou Lanjin with concern and said, "Aunt, you must have been tired from the journey."

Hearing this, Zhou Mujin dragged Shen Chuning towards the mansion, complaining with a smile, "You know what, I'm exhausted from this journey. Originally, I wanted to ride a horse, but your brothers stopped me, saying it was too far, too tiring and too dangerous, and insisted I take this slow carriage. And what happened? I've been sitting here for days, and my bones are almost falling apart!"

As she spoke, she deliberately twisted her waist exaggeratedly, pretending to be in great pain.

Seeing this, Shen Chuning couldn't help but chuckle. Her big, watery eyes curved into crescents as she playfully said, "Aunt, you were a female general who could gallop across the battlefield and be the bravest of all armies! Letting you ride in this carriage is simply a waste of your talent! But, my brothers are also doing this out of kindness. They must be worried that if the common people on the road see you riding a tall and majestic horse, they will think you are the god of war from heaven who has descended to earth! If this causes panic, it will be more trouble than good! That's why they insisted on letting you sit in this carriage."

After saying that, she winked at Zhou Mujin mischievously.

Zhou Mujin poked Shen Chuning's forehead lightly, "You little girl dares to tease your aunt."

Shen Chuning laughed and dodged, then ran to Zhou Lan, took her arm affectionately and asked, "Isn't your second brother going to take the Autumn Examination this year? Why are you running out now when you're not in Beijing to accompany him in preparation?"

Zhou Lan said slyly, "Originally, my mother wouldn't let me go out, but when I said I wanted to accompany my aunt to celebrate your birthday, my second brother said I was an eyesore staying at home, so mother let me out."

Shen Shen Ning smiled and said, "Then after my birthday, you should go back quickly. You should still be able to catch the results. Brother Zhou Er will definitely want his family to be with him when he sees the results."

"We'll talk about it later." Zhou Lan said nonchalantly.

At noon that day, Yun Shuxuan specially hosted a banquet to entertain Zhou Mujin and Zhou Lan.

The banquet was held in the pavilion in the newly built garden.

The new garden has a pleasant and beautiful scenery, with pavilions and towers scattered around it in an orderly manner, shady trees, colorful flowers, and gurgling water surrounding it, as if you are in a beautiful painting.

As soon as the Zhou family's aunt and niece stepped into the garden, they were attracted by the beautiful scenery before them. They walked and looked, and uttered sincere admiration from time to time.

Zhou Lan, in particular, was as excited as a child. He looked around, unable to let go of every scene, and kept muttering, "This garden is so beautiful! If only I didn't have to go back to Beijing!"

Zhou Mujin on the side also nodded repeatedly.

After everyone was seated, Yun Shuxuan smiled and asked, "Sister-in-law is now in charge of all the affairs of the mansion. How could mother-in-law let you leave the capital?"

Hearing this, Zhou Mujin was stunned at first, and then he couldn't help but cover his face and chuckle.

It turns out that ever since Zhou Mujin took over as the housekeeper, that old lady Shen has been trying every possible way to cause trouble for her.

Either he complains of an unbearable headache today, or he complains of a fever and drowsiness tomorrow.

The previous palace physician, Doctor Chen, was Madam Shen's man. He was dismissed after Xiangxue's fake pregnancy incident.

Later, Zhou Mujin thought that the masters of the family were all in their prime, so how could they get sick so easily?

In addition, after Shen Huaizhong became the prime minister, the imperial doctors from the Imperial Medical Bureau would come to the mansion on schedule to check his pulse.

Therefore, the family never hired a doctor again.

This was a tough time for Old Lady Shen. If Wang Chang felt even slightly unwell, the court doctor would rush to his bedside immediately.

Now, if someone has a headache or fever, the maid of Songhe Hall has to report to Zhou Mujin in the main house. Zhou Mujin will give a badge and go to the accounting office to get money before he can go out to ask for a doctor.

As a result, Mrs. Shen would have to pretend to be sick for a while longer.

Zhou Mujin was not at all ambiguous in the face of these little actions of Mrs. Shen.

Whenever Mrs. Shen called a doctor, she would ruthlessly suspend her bird's nest supply for two days.

The reason is simple and clear - the shop in the mansion is still unable to make ends meet despite Zhou Mujin's careful management. There are only expenses but no income at all.

Therefore, the amount of money each person in the family can spend each month is strictly limited.

Since Old Madam Shen had spent most of her money on hiring doctors, she naturally had no money left to buy expensive supplements like bird's nest.

After being restricted in terms of money, Old Madam Shen couldn't help but deeply miss the time when Yun Shuxuan was the housekeeper. At that time, she lived an extremely comfortable and happy life!

So she quickly wrote a letter and sent it to Shandong.

There are two main reasons why I wrote so eagerly.

One reason is that Shen Chuning is about to reach the age of marriage. If the second son and his wife continue to keep Shen Chuning outside, they might arrange a marriage for their daughter without his knowledge.

Secondly, he was eager to have Yun Shuxuan return to the capital as soon as possible, and then hand over the power of stewardship back to Yun Shuxuan.

It is said that old people become more shrewd. For a large family like the Shen family, if it does not have someone like Yun Shuxuan who has known the family business thoroughly since childhood and is experienced in running it, then no matter who is in charge of the family, they will inevitably have to pay out of their own pockets to subsidize the household expenses, and even have to use their own dowry.

Moreover, this matter cannot be told to others to seek credit. If the news gets out that my daughter-in-law's dowry is used, the Shen family will lose face.

In addition, seeing that the grandchildren of the Shen family have gradually reached the age of marriage, the betrothal gifts must be carefully prepared.

However, a considerable portion of the betrothal gift expenses need to be paid from the family's public account.

Because of this, although Mrs. Shen now feels very aggrieved, she has never thought of taking over the power of the housekeeper herself.

Even though Zhou Mujin gave up the job, Madam Shen personally sent the housekeeper's cards to the main house the next day.

As for why the third daughter-in-law was not allowed to manage the household, Mrs. Shen's original words were, "It's good enough that she can live a reasonable life. If she is allowed to manage the household, the Shen family will collapse within three months."

Ever since she stopped making a fuss about being sick, Old Madam Shen started to find fault with the maids in the room again.

She kept saying that they were too young and no longer interested in her, and insisted that Zhou Mujin go to the farm to bring Nanny Gui back.