The other five people were also startled. They were surprised that Shen Heqing disliked the Yong'an Marquis Mansion but had taken great pains to settle Chen Miaochun before leaving. It was rather strange.
Suddenly, one person pushed Su Qian aside. "Could I have a word with you in private? I, Ning Shanyuan, have something to ask of you."
The person who came had a handsome face. The cyan long robe he wore was not as luxurious as those of the others, but it was better than Su Qian's. Chen Miaochun remembered him.
Ning Shanyuan's elders in the family were all historians. If nothing unexpected happened, he would also become a historian.
At Ning Shanyuan's earnest request, Chen Miaochun went with him to a corner. Only then did she learn that Ning Shanyuan and Chen Pan'er were in love with each other. They had already discussed that after next March, Ning Shanyuan would propose marriage to the Yong'an Marquis Mansion.
But a few days ago, Chen Pan'er suddenly threw down a letter with red - rimmed eyes and wanted to break up with Ning Shanyuan.
Because of this, Ning Shanyuan had been unable to eat or sleep well these days. But he didn't dare to ask anyone rashly for fear of ruining Chen Pan'er's reputation.
Coincidentally, he saw Chen Miaochun today and hoped that she could help him find out.
Chen Miaochun didn't know much about Chen Pan'er. She vaguely remembered that she was a girl who was not good at expressing herself. She politely declined. "No, I won't be staying in the Yong'an Marquis Mansion for a while."
After being rejected, Ning Shanyuan's face turned pale. He turned around and walked only a few steps before suddenly fainting.
"Shanyuan!"
On the other side, Su Qian had already taken Shen Baozhu downstairs and bought a bunch of big, red candied haws.
He handed the candied haws to Shen Baozhu. "How about it? I picked this out carefully... It seems something's wrong."
Hearing the noise on the second floor, Su Qian was a bit anxious. But thinking that he was still holding Shen Baozhu's hand, he forced himself to calm down... No, he was still very anxious.
Shen Baozhu had already taken a bite of the big, red candied haws. It was really delicious, as expected of the one Su Qian had carefully selected.
The candied haws were not just sweet. The sourness of the hawthorns was neutralized with the sweetness. It was really delicious!
Just as Su Qian was anxious, someone stepped forward. "You go and take care of things first. I'll help you watch this kid."
"Don't doubt me. I'm just no good at studying, but watching a kid is no problem."
Shen Baozhu looked up at the person who was speaking. He was very good - looking. He was holding the freshly bought pastries in his left hand and a sesame cake in his right. As he spoke excitedly, the fragrance of the pastries and the sesame cake wafted into Shen Baozhu's nose.
Su Qian said helplessly, "Then please help me watch her for a while. I'll be back soon."
If it weren't for the fact that Shen Baozhu was eating candied haws, Su Qian would have carried her up to the second floor.
After Su Qian left, the man simply sat on the steps. He didn't care at all that his brocade robe might get dirty. "My name is Yan Mingli. What's your name?"
Shen Baozhu had just bitten off a whole hawthorn. She couldn't speak for the moment and could only listen to Yan Mingli.
Yan Mingli started to eat the sesame cake and watched the people coming and going on the street. "Judging from Su Qian's reaction, are you Su Qian's younger sister?"
Shen Baozhu tried hard to chew the candied haws in her mouth.
"Can you put in a good word for me? Ask Su Qian to put in a good word for me in front of Shen Heqing?"
Hearing the name of her elder brother, Shen Baozhu was stunned and even forgot to eat the candied haws in her mouth.
"Hey, I just want to join the poetry club and get closer to my role model. Why is it so difficult! It's a poetry club. Why can't I join just because I'm not good at studying!"
Yan Mingli was very angry. He took a bite of the sesame cake.
Lin Yu: [Is Yan Mingli a fan of one of the people in the poetry club?]
Shen Baozhu finished the candied haws in her mouth. She imitated Yan Mingli and took a bite of the candied haws. But she bit too hard and knocked her teeth.
She glared angrily at the candied haws. She was very angry but was reluctant to take it out on the candied haws.
Yan Mingli was amused by Shen Baozhu's appearance. He tore off a piece of the sesame cake. "Su Qian's younger sister is so cute. Eat this of mine."
Shen Baozhu handed the candied haws to Yan Mingli and started to eat the sesame cake, and then the pastries from Yan Mingli.
The two of them sat on the steps, sharing the food and the gossips that Yan Mingli provided.
"See that old man in the teahouse across the street? His son gambled away all the family's money. He lied to his parents and said that his wife had taken the money to subsidize her natal family. Unexpectedly, his parents believed it and went straight to the government to file a complaint."
Shen Baozhu was listening intently while eating the newly bought chicken leg from Yan Mingli.
The Dragon King was also equally fascinated. [Then it was found out that it was the son who had stolen the money? He brought trouble upon himself. It's quite interesting.]
"After the government found out that the old man's son had gambled, the old man's daughter - in - law divorced. The son blamed his parents for ruining his marriage. Now he's forcing the two old people to go out and earn money to marry a new daughter - in - law."
"That old woman on our left was naive when she was young. She was deceived by the storybooks and believed in the infatuated people in them..."
Yan Mingli's gossips were never repeated, and neither were the food!
Shen Baozhu had already eaten pastries, sesame cakes, chicken legs, roast chickens, meat buns... It was countless. Anyway, there was a lot of food.
Almost every time Shen Baozhu took a few bites, Yan Mingli would finish the rest.
But even though she only took a few bites of each, Shen Baozhu was already full. She stroked her belly and pushed away the bowl of dumpling soup in front of her.
Seeing that Shen Baozhu was full, Yan Mingli had a sly idea. He quickly finished the dumpling soup and then whispered repeatedly, "Put in a good word for me. Yan Mingli is the best. Let him join the poetry club."
[What is he doing? I don't understand.]
[By repeating these words constantly, he's trying to brainwash Baozhu into putting in a good word for him.]
[It's a bit stupid.]
Shen Baozhu asked curiously, "Is there any delicious food in the poetry club?"
"No, but Shen Heqing is in the poetry club!" Yan Mingli started to introduce Shen Heqing's deeds to Shen Baozhu, such as being a young talent, studying hard. He was Yan Mingli's role model...
All kinds of free praises were heaped on Shen Heqing, which made Shen Baozhu dazed. She thought in a daze that it turned out that her elder brother was so amazing!
[It's quite interesting. Why can't he join the poetry club?]
Shen Baozhu was also very curious. Mainly, she wanted to help Yan Mingli but was afraid of causing trouble for her elder brother.
Yan Mingli heaved a heavy sigh. "Because I'm bad at studying. To join the poetry club, one has to be at least a scholar and pass Shen Heqing's assessment. I can't pass the imperial examinations."
"Studying is not as interesting as listening to gossips and eating! Studying day and night is really tiring."
Shen Baozhu, who had been tortured by Shen Heqing, very much agreed with Yan Mingli. Yes, eating was more interesting than studying!
The Dragon King also agreed. [Gossips are more interesting than studying.]
Yan Mingli quickly adjusted his mood. He took out a booklet and handed it to Shen Baozhu. "To be honest, I feel that we hit it off right away. You can pick any one. I'll treat Su Qian and you to a meal."
"And please plead with Su Qian for me."
The last sentence was very soft, but Shen Baozhu heard it. She nodded. "Okay! I'll plead with him with you."
"Really? Great! What else do you want to eat? I'll buy it for you. I can get anything on this whole street. You can eat whatever you want!" When it came to food, Yan Mingli was full of confidence.
Shen Baozhu was already full, but she remembered that Chen Miaochun hadn't eaten. "I'm already full. Can you buy a very spicy dish for my sister?"
Chen Miaochun liked spicy food. The spicier, the better.
This request was very simple and easy for Yan Mingli.
He ordered the food in the Zuiyin Tower and then went up to the second floor on the pretext of sending Shen Baozhu up. He wanted to take the opportunity to see Shen Heqing.
There were a total of seven people on the second floor, one more girl than usual. They were all gathered around Ning Shanyuan. He seemed to be unconscious... Wait, there were seven people in total. Where did this extra person come from?
Yan Mingli took a closer look and said despairingly, "Where's my role model!"
Everyone in the poetry club knew Yan Mingli. Someone kindly explained, "Brother Heqing has left the capital for a trip. He left a few days ago."