Chapter 507: Chapter 262: Kites and Willow Flute_1
The second watch of the night, a plea for pink.
**......***
Her family and the Shen Family were related, which Lian Manman found somewhat hard to believe.
However, on second thought, relationships could be remote or close, and come in many varieties. With many members in the Shen Family, it wasn’t impossible for one or two to actually have some connection to the Lian Family’s ancestors.
According to Old Master Lian, the ancestors of the Lian Family were scholars, and the Lian Family was originally a family of distinction, which at least explained why Old Master Lian, despite doing well as a Store Manager in the city, insisted on returning to the countryside to buy land to become a landlord, solely to support his eldest son’s education and pursuit of officialdom.
"What about that Master Shen Liu, oh no, Master Shen Liu, did he say anything?" Lian Manman asked again.
"Master Shen Liu didn’t say much," Lady Zhang answered.
"There are plenty who claim kinship with the Shen Family! Even if there had been real ties before, they would have been quite distant. Now, they couldn’t be further apart. Let’s not dwell on such useless thoughts," Lian Shouxin said somberly.
Lian Manman nodded. Lian Shouxin was indeed a pragmatic person. He lived a down-to-earth life and would not entertain any false hopes. This was good for their family.
It was an elder servant of Master Shen Liu who mentioned the potential kinship with Old Master Lian, but Shen Liu himself had not said anything definitive. This meant he neither denied nor acknowledged the relationship, continuing the conversation instead. If that were the case, Lian Manman thought of a certain possibility...
It did not seem impossible.
Lian Manman thought it over and ultimately did not voice her thoughts.
"Mother, my father, um, did they make any requests to Master Shen Liu?" Lian Manman asked Lady Zhang, a question that she was particularly concerned about.
Before Lady Zhang could answer, she glanced at Lian Shouxin first. Lian Shouxin was just silently eating his meal.
"What kind of relationship do we have with Master Shen Liu? Your father is a sensible man, he wouldn’t just meet someone and start making requests. All your father did was make small talk with Master Shen Liu, talked a bit about our family matters, how your uncle is a Scholar, planning to participate in the imperial selection, and about your cousin Jizu, you also want to take that Tongsheng exam..., that’s all he mentioned," Lady Zhang explained. "Nothing else."
"Just that?" Lian Manman pressed.
"Yes, just that," Lady Zhang nodded.
Lian Manman’s eyes swiveled. Just those topics made Old Master Lian, Lian Shouren, and Lian Jizu so happy—there must be reasons.
Was it that ambiguous kinship? It certainly was.
The officialdom is a strange world. With the Shen Family’s influence, this vague, unconfirmed relationship, could serve as a form of protection, a ladder to higher things. As someone of higher status, Shen Liu would be very clear about these nuances. Could his attitude during their conversation be interpreted as a silent consent?
Why would Shen Liu do such a thing?
Lian Manman felt she vaguely grasped something.
After lunch, Wu Lang and Xiao Qi were told their teacher had matters to attend to and that they didn’t need to go to school. Lian Manman remembered that the seedlings she had cultivated were ready to be transplanted, so she harnessed the little ox cart and headed to the old house. The three children dug out more than half of the seedlings and returned on the ox cart.
Lian Manman planned to plant all these seedlings on the fallow land to the right of the new shop. The seedlings were sunflowers, which would beautify the surroundings of the shop once they bloomed.
Wu Lang was in charge of digging holes at the front, Xiao Qi followed with watering, and Lian Manman was responsible for planting the sunflower seedlings. Little Yellow Ox stood by, not wandering around aimlessly.
The three children were chatting and working when they heard the sound of a horse-drawn carriage. A carriage was coming from the direction of Qingyang Town and stopped beside them.
Two servants jumped down from the carriage first, followed by Shen Qian dragging his round body out, pushing away the servants’ hands that tried to help him, and leaped from the carriage to the ground. The two servants were startled and shouted, and the two older followers who had been behind the carriage also dismounted and gathered around Shen Qian.
"Don’t make such a fuss. I’m fine, aren’t I? You all stay away from me," Shen Qian said irritably, waving his hands at his followers, then he ran toward Lian Manman, "Lian Manman, I’ve come to find you to play!"
Lian Manman, squatting on the ground planting sunflowers, looked up when she heard the sound and saw Shen Qian running over excitedly, she couldn’t help but feel like facepalming.
"Eh, what are you playing with there? Let me have a try?" Shen Qian ran up to Lian Manman, his small, slender eyes full of curiosity as he looked at her.
City boy Fatty Shen must have thought she was playing a game. Lian Manman’s face expressed her dilemma as she looked at Shen Qian.
