Allure of a Country Maiden
Chapter 350 - 348

Chapter 350: 348

The morning dawned, and the home of Marquis Shengping was situated in an area where the city’s elites resided. At this time, many of the neighboring household managers and servants had begun going out to shop or run errands.

If Shen Yuzhu were allowed to continue her rant, it would likely draw quite a crowd for the spectacle.

Xiao’er was just about to send someone to call for the patrol guards when a group of them happened to be patrolling the area. Seeing someone daring to cause a disturbance at the Marquis Shengping’s mansion, they quickly moved forward to detain the person.

Seeing the patrol guards approach, Shen Yuzhu recalled her previous prison experience, couldn’t help shivering, and quickly ran off.

Mr. Tan and Mrs. Tan, who had been hiding not far away, quickly followed her.

The gatekeeper, upon seeing the patrol guards, opened the gate and said to the curious onlookers, "Some crazy lady came knocking on the door just as it was starting to get light. At first, I thought there was a ghost haunting the place. Thanks to the patrol guards, they scared the crazy woman away. Everyone should be careful. If someone like this appears, don’t open the door. If you accidentally let them in and disturb the masters, we would be failing in our duties."

Everyone nodded in understanding. So, it was a crazy woman. No wonder! It seemed that when they got back home, they would have to remind their gatekeepers not to let any lunatics in accidentally!

"Dealing with a crazy woman can be most troublesome. You can’t reason with them, and if you call your servants to chase them away, it might escalate into a fight. People who don’t know the details might even think that we’re oppressing the common folk. If we’re not careful, we might get our masters into trouble. Do you all agree?" chimed in a housekeeper.

"Indeed, some people even pretend to be crazy or stupid to gain access to our residences, pretending to be relatives. They just want to fool the gatekeeper, get inside, and then eat and drink their fill. This is something every gatekeeper has faced! If this happens, the gatekeeper is usually fined, and sometimes they even lose their job! My husband had that experience; that’s why we must never let them in, no matter if the person is really stupid or just pretending to be crazy."

"My husband has just become a gatekeeper. I better hurry back home after purchasing these items and warn him!" After saying these words, the woman hurried off.

"Ah, I have wasted half the day here. I must leave too."

...

Upon hearing this, the head of the patrol said, "We will arrange more people to patrol around this area in the future. Please be assured."

This area, where the elite congregate, was important. If they could be of help to these people someday, it would also be beneficial to them.

Everyone expressed their thanks after listening to his words.

"This modest silver is to buy you gentlemen some drinks. Thank you for coming to the rescue. It was very kind of you!" The gatekeeper handed over a tael of silver as a token of his appreciation, thanked the patrol guards, and then closed the mansion gate.

The patrol guards happily accepted the silver and left.

Xiao’er rewarded the gatekeeper with three taels of silver. "Well done!"

The gatekeeper promptly thanked her with a bow.

Two taels of silver were equivalent to a month’s wages for him.

Ever since he began working for Marquis Shengping, he received high wages, good meals, monthly, quarterly, and annual bonuses, as well as presents during holidays. From time to time, there were additional rewards. After working for more than a year, he had saved more than fifty taels of silver. Such a fantastic job could not be found even with a lantern.

Xiao’er felt that Shen Yuzhu would most certainly not give up. If she hid somewhere nearby and waited for Shen Chengyao to appear, it would cause trouble.

She dispatched two servants to go and meet Shen Chengyao, to prevent him from making the mistake of letting Shen Yuzhu back into the mansion in a moment of weakness.

Shen Yuzhu was now a member of the Tan family. A significant reason why Mr. Tan manipulated the Imperial Examination was to find a bride for his brother. Shen Chengyao simply couldn’t offer aid to people who had just been punished by the emperor. That would be a slap in the emperor’s face!

Furthermore, people like Mrs. Shen and Shen Yuzhu were best kept at arm’s length.

Shen Yuzhu ran away to another street nearby and was caught by Mr. Tan, who rushed out from another alley, "Pah! Marquis Shengping is your third brother! He would certainly not just leave you be! They didn’t even let you enter the gate!"

"My third brother is definitely not home. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have left me in the lurch."

Mr. Tan also remembered that it was the time for morning court. As Marquis Shengping was also serving as the vice minister in the Ministry of Works, he would be attending the morning court and, indeed, would not be at home at this time.

"Let’s go and find an inconspicuous place to hide and wait."

Mr. Tan had held an official post for many years, so he was familiar with the roads in the Imperial Capital. He and Mrs. Tan took Shen Yuzhu and hid themselves along the route Shen Chengyao had to take to get home from court.

After waiting for a long while, Shen Yuzhu was so hungry that she felt faint. She was about to give up waiting, but without Shen Chengyao’s appearance, she didn’t have any silver to buy food.

Mrs. Lu and Shen Chengzu were on their way to the Marquis’ residence together.

Having just completed her month of postnatal recovery, Mrs. Lu appeared to have gained a considerably healthy glow. Her face was rosy, reflecting her thriving life.

She was carrying a little Yue’er, just over a month old. Shen Chengzu was carrying Xi’er. The two of them chatted and laughed like a simple and happy young couple.

While walking, Shen Chengzu was teaching Xi’er to recognize the various items being sold on the street.

"Dad, candied hawthorn! Candied hawthorn!" Little Xi’er spotted a vendor selling candied hawthorn, and pointed excitedly at the glowing red skewers.

"Xi’er, do you want to eat some candied hawthorn? Dad will buy some for you! How about we also get some for brother Rui and the others?"

"Good!"

Shen Chengzu held Xi’er and went to buy the candied hawthorn. Mrs. Lu followed him.

Shen Chengzu bought seven strings of candied hawthorn. He tried to hold Xi’er while counting out the copper plates to give to the vendor. As a result, he wasn’t able to receive the candied hawthorn handed over by the vendor.

Mrs. Lu stretched out her hand to take the candied hawthorn.

Seeing her brother buying candied hawthorn, Shen Yuzhu’s eyes lit up, and she quickly ran over to snatch the several skewers of candied hawthorn from Mrs. Lu’s hands.

The abrupt jerk from Shen Yuzhu caused Mrs. Lu to stumble forward a few steps, almost causing her to drop little Yue’er.

Luckily, Mrs. Lu reacted quickly and managed to hold on to her.

"A theft! A madwoman is stealing stuff!" Seeing this, the young hawthorn vendor immediately shouted for help.

Shen Chengzu was startled and hurried over to Mrs. Lu’s side, looking at the baby girl in her arms, "Are you alright?"

Mrs. Lu’s face was still somewhat pale, but she shook her head in response to Shen Chengzu’s question, "It’s a good thing I was able to hold onto her!"

Only then did Shen Chengzu turn his attention to the person who had stolen the candied hawthorn and was currently scoffing them down.

"Are you mad?! Do you realize you nearly caused my daughter to fall to the ground! Yuzhu?!"

Shen Yuzhu looked up at Shen Chengzu upon hearing him scold her.

"Fourth brother, I’m hungry. Can you buy me some meat buns?"

Seeing that it was Shen Yuzhu, and remembering how her baby girl was almost dropped, Mrs. Lu couldn’t help complaining, "If you wanted to eat candied hawthorn, you should have asked, why did you need to snatch it so roughly? Just now, Yue’er almost fell to the ground. When a baby this small falls, it can be fatal. Don’t you know that?!"

"I don’t know! If I grab it, so what? This is stuff from the Shen family; why shouldn’t I? Is this just another mistake I’m to be penalized for? If she loses her life, so be it! Why are you so worried?!"