The eldest lord and others have returned from the palace, and Wang Shouren's father and son should also come back. Shen Rui greeted the Xu family and took Changshou and Liu Cheng to the Wang family to pay New Year's greetings.

Wang Hua Zhuangyuanlang was born, first in the Hanlin Academy, and then into the Ministry of Rites, and his protégés in the capital are innumerable, and there are many people who come to the door. Shen Rui came to pay his respects to the New Year, so he didn't stay any longer and returned to Shen's house.

Wang Shouren made an appointment with him here, and took him to visit friends after the fifth day of the new year.

Although the New Year is a New Year's greeting and wine, it is also divided into distant and close relatives, relatives and clansmen are naturally in the front, and friends and other banquets must be postponed.

On the Shen Mansion's side, the sons of the Shen family in Beijing, except for Shen Qi's wife who couldn't go out because of her heavy body, Shen Li, Shen Qi, and Shen Ying all came together, and Shen Jue and Shen Quan also followed.

Although Shen Jue muttered a few words to Shen Rui because Shen Li used his bed, he thought that he was sick during the New Year, and he was a little unbearable: "This trip to go out, Brother Zhu Jiu is not easy, he is also a golden and noble grown-up, and someone will serve him when he raises his fingers, but he is like an adult along the way, even if he doesn't take care of us, he has bothered for us in the end......"

Shen Quan also said: "He has always been strong, but this year, he is sick again, and he must be uncomfortable, so everyone will comfort him more." ”

Shen Zhu drank the medicine and still fell asleep, so Shen Rui followed Shen Quan, Shen Jue and others to Xu's upper room.

In the upper room of the Xu family, a room full of people was crowded, the female dependents were talking in one place, the men went to the inner study, and the half-grown children such as Shen Rui and Shen Jue were still placed in the east room with the younger generation.

Shen Li is two men and one woman, with three children; Shen Ji brought two women and a man, and I heard that there was a concubine in the family who was less than a year old; Shen Ying is a son and a daughter; Shen Qi became a parent late, and he kept filial piety for another year in the middle, so he didn't have any children yet.

Eight children, the eldest twelve or thirteen years old, the youngest no more than two or three years old, filled a room.

Shen Rui, Shen Jue and others have all become uncles, and the Xu family here has already prepared their purses for them, and they have also sent New Year's money to their nephews and nieces.

Shen Rui and several children of Shen Li's family are familiar with each other, and now they have been separated for several months, and they have not been estranged in the two; For Shen Ying's children, Shen Rui has also seen them before; But the three children of the eldest brother of Zongfang are still seeing each other for the first time at this time.

Two little girls, one is eight or nine years old, and the other is six or seven years old, well-behaved and clever, and they are already little ladies. After greeting all the clan uncles, after worshipping the other two little girls, they were taken by Sister Yu to play nine consecutive rings in the warm pavilion, and there was only a group of boys left here in the east.

For the eldest son of the eldest brother of the sect, Shen Rui looked at it twice. This is not only the great-grandson of the patriarch's grandfather, but also the future son of the Shen family.

Shen Jiyan's eldest son, Mingdong, is also thirteen years old this year, but the month is half a year older than Shen Rui and Shen Jue, standing there upright, looking much more stable than Shen Jue. Although he did not end at the age of nine like He Taizhi, he heard that he also studied very well, and it is estimated that he should return to his hometown at the end of this year to prepare for next year's children's examination.

Seeing Shen Rui looking at himself, Shen Dong said respectfully: "Second Uncle Rui has something to tell his nephew......

For this title, Shen Rui was calm, and said with a smile: "I heard that there are temple fairs in many places in the first month of the capital, I am curious, and I want to inquire with Brother Dong......"

When Shen Dong heard this, his face was confused: "My nephew rarely goes out...... I've only heard of the Longfu temple fair, but I don't know how it is......"

Shen Li's eldest son, Shen Lin, listened and said with a smile: "Second Uncle Rui, my nephew knows, Second Uncle Rui will go with my house later, and Ming'er's nephew will lead Second Uncle Rui to ...... The temple fair is fun, there are hundreds of plays, and all kinds of food ......"

Shen Jue was beside him, listening excitedly.

Although he went to his brother's house, the two brothers were too old apart to go together; has a nephew of the same age, and he is a nerd, who suffocates Shen Jue.

"Brother Xiaolin really wants to take Second Brother Rui to the temple fair, and also inform me, I will go with you" Shen Jue said with great interest: "Second Brother Lin, Second Brother Qin, and Fourth Brother Bao also come together, and when you arrive in the capital, you can't just be bored in the courtyard." The latter sentence was addressed to several clan brothers.

Shen Lin and Shen Qin are all half-grown teenagers, and there is no one who doesn't like to be lively, and they are naturally moved after listening to it.

Shen Rui really wanted to go to the temple fair, but after looking at Shen Lin's size, he was puzzled, pulled him to him, and asked in a low voice, "Brother Lin has really been there?" ”

Shen Lin is only ten years old this year, and he was only seven years old three years ago, so if he is such an older child, will his family take him to a crowded place?

When Shen Lin heard this, his face turned red, and he whispered, "My nephew was still young when he was in Beijing...... But my cousins have been there, and I'm older this year......"

Other people's families are strict fathers and loving mothers, but Shen Li's family is strict mothers and loving fathers.

Because Xie is the wife of the champion and marries the champion, he has always had high hopes for his eldest son. Shen Rui didn't dare to hook his little nephew to play and offend the Xie family.

Shen Rui touched Shen Lin's head, diverted the topic from the temple fair, and asked about Shen Lin's schooling.

Shen Lin is already ten years old, and he will be sent to the academy to study in the future, which is the Hanlin Courtyard School where He Taizhi is located, and he will be the same classmate.

Shen Rui knew about Guo's arrangement, and knew that Shen Quandao would stay in the capital to study, and thought that this Hanlin Academy Academy should be the best school they knew.

"Brother Ying mentioned there, where will the third brother go to study after the New Year?" Shen Ruidao.

Shen Quandao: "The eldest brother said that he wanted to ask the six clan brothers for help to see if he could enter the Chunshan Academy." ”

Chunshan Academy, which is Shen Rui's school for the children of Hanlin, is quite famous among the academies in the capital.

Shen Jue calculated the time and said, "If the third brother enrolls in Beijing, won't he return to his hometown next year?" ”

This year is the year of the township examination, the hospital examination will be suspended, and the hospital examination will be held next year.

Shen Quan shook his head and said, "The eldest brother said that if I can enter the academy, I will study for two years, and I don't need to be in a hurry." After two years, the homework is solid, and the college exam will come naturally, which is better than going back to the exam like this, and every time you are worried and bottomless. ”

Shen Jue nodded: "Brother Jin and Brother Yan are going to end this year, I don't know what the result will be, I can't say that the Shen family has two new people."

But no one mentioned Shen Zhu, and since Shen Zhu came to Beijing with the Xu family, he gave up the annual examination and scientific examination. Students who have not passed the annual examination and scientific examination cannot be graded, and they will not be qualified to take the township examination.

One less time, the table is complete.

Zhou's mother came over and led the children to the table.

Today's banquet is set up in the central hall, and a full five seats are set, which is more lively than last night's Chinese New Year's Eve dinner.

In the study just now, the eldest master had already told the sons of the Shen family that he wanted to succeed Shen Rui and Shen Jue, Shen Li and Shen Jue were not surprised, and the Shen Ying brothers in the fifth room had guessed before, and they also felt that it was expected, but they were still a little uneasy in their hearts.

In the eyes of others, Shen Rui's entry into the second room of the heir is from the door to the Shilang Mansion, and he is going to a high place; In the eyes of the two brothers, Shen Rui has gone from being the son of the fourth room to the heir in an embarrassing situation, and it will not be easy to deal with himself in the future. Even if the elders in the second room have always been kind, how can this pair of nephews and heirs be the same?

This is a two-room housework, except for the four-room, others have no room for talk. Even Shen Li, the big backer behind Shen Rui, did not object, and it was not their brother's turn to speak.

If Shen Rui is still the only concubine in the fourth room, then the matter of succession will not be related to Shen Rui in any case; Shen Rui has become the second son, and he has the relationship between the Sun family and the second room, so this succession is logical.

The suicide note that Sun left three years ago for the eldest son to be named, was it unintentionally arranged, or was it for today?

The two brothers thought about it secretly, but they were a little uncertain.

Shen Ji had already received the letter from his father and grandfather, and knew that his grandfather was noncommittal about choosing an heir in the second room, but his father was moved.

Now that Shen Jue is indeed among the people selected in the second room, Shen Ji doesn't know whether to rejoice that his father's "wishes come true", or whether to be sad that his younger brother wants to become a clan brother. faintly felt that it was insufficient, and felt that Shen Jue would be more complete if he entered the small long house. However, the heirs of the small long house will have to set up a household in the future, which involves a lot, and the eldest lord and the second master do not choose Shen Jue, most of them are also to prevent the sect from meddling in the affairs of the second room.

Here, the second wife knew that her husband's heir was Shen Jue, so she began to pay attention to the actions of the grandmother, and she was secretly picky in her heart. However, Shen Ji's wife is the future patriarch of the Shen family, and the eldest daughter of everyone who was selected by thousands of people back then is dignified and virtuous, and she will not show her mistake in a relative's house.

The second wife paid attention to the Xie family and Grandma Ying, Grandma Ying was also born in a family of eunuchs, and they were all from the same grandmother as if they came out of the same mold, not like a clan concubine, but like a relative concubine, and receiving people and treating things were all within the rules. It's Xie, because she is the youngest daughter in the family, her father and brother are pampered, and they speak and act more neatly.

The second wife's eyes are so lively, and several grandmothers have long been stared at uncomfortably, but because she is an elder, it is not easy to deal with her.

Xu Shi looked at her and didn't like to speak, and secretly kept making eyes to let her live in peace.

The third wife did not interfere in the eyebrows and eyes of the two sisters-in-law, but only talked to the Xie family, and praised several nephews in and out of words. Although Xie returned to Songjiang with her husband to keep filial piety for three years, she was still not familiar with the Shen family, and among these people, she was also familiar with Shen Jue and Shen Quan, so she couldn't help but praise these two people.

Shen Quan was the heir candidate that the second wife had chosen before, but now she didn't get it, but she felt more and more that Shen Quan was good, so she also praised Shen Quan with the words of Xie and the third wife.

The sister-in-law of Grandma Ying, who was boasting directly, couldn't sit still, so everyone changed their conversations.

Grandma also knows some rumors of succession, but as an eldest sister-in-law, it is not good to mention this matter to her husband, otherwise it seems that she can't tolerate her uncle.

After using the banquet, Shen Rui did not go back with Shen Li, but followed Shen Jue first.

Tomorrow is the second day of the first lunar month, and it is customary in Beijing that the married daughter and son-in-law will go back to their parents' house to pay New Year's greetings, how can Shen Jue go to Shen Li's house to cause chaos; On the contrary, my grandmother's mother's house is in Songjiang, and she doesn't need to go back to her parents' house.

When she came home from the Shilang Mansion, she heard her husband mention that the heir of the second room had been decided, and the grandmother couldn't help but be surprised: "It's Brother Rui and the fifth brother?" On the table in front, I heard that the second and third aunts were praising the whole brother of the fifth room? ”

When Shen Ji heard this, he couldn't help but ponder.

From the perspective of the bloodline, it is reasonable for the second room to choose Shen Rui and Shen Jue as heirs, but the bloodline of the fifth room is not far from the fourth room. Compared with choosing an heir from the sect's brother, choosing the fifth house brother can avoid right and wrong.

Shen was old and old, and he was old enough to marry a wife and have children.

Listening to his wife's words, the second and third wives over there also thought that Shen Quan was good, so why did they choose Shen Jue instead of Shen Quan?

The only reason is that Shen Jue is younger than Shen Rui, and he will not press on the head of Xiao Changfang's heir with a cousin.

Shen Ji thought of this, and was a little curious: "What kind of kindness did the Sun family have with the second room back then, so that Uncle Cang not only had to accept Brother Rui as his heir, but also planned so many ...... with good intentions."