Rebirth of a Concubine's Daughter

On a late autumn afternoon, Shen Zongyuan stood at the gate of the courtyard and looked at Aunt Su for a long time until Aunt Su's maid Yulan discovered him.

"When did the master come? Why didn't he come in? Yulan, go and make some tea."

"I saw you were embroidering, so I didn't disturb you."

Aunt Su did not come up to support Shen Zongyuan, but stopped timidly three feet away from him, with a hint of evasion in her eyes, which made Shen Zongyuan see some shyness.

The shyness of this young girl made him feel as if he were in another world. It had been many years since he had seen such cuteness, and he actually felt the same heart-pounding feeling as when he was young.

"I'm just embroidering a few pairs of insoles for the Second Young Master. He gets up early every day to practice martial arts, so he needs to change them frequently as the weather gets colder to prevent his feet from getting cold."

Shen Zongyuan picked up the insole that Aunt Su had put down and examined it carefully. Aunt Su's embroidery skills were very good. Most of Shen Yunzhi and Shen Nanyue's clothes in recent years were made by her.

"I have never seen such fine embroidery before."

There was a hint of loss in Shen Zongyuan's voice.

"My hands and feet are clumsy, and I can only do some needlework. Master, your body is precious, so naturally, your things are carefully prepared by Madam and Sister Lan."

"Yingqiu, are you willing to show off for me...even just a pair of shoes and socks?"

Aunt Su paused.

Just now, Shen Zongyuan called her Yingqiu instead of Aunt Su. The corners of her eyes instantly turned red and she nodded heavily.

Shen Zongyuan took Aunt Su's hand and pulled her into the room. The maids and servants did not follow her in, but tactfully closed the door for them.

This was the first time that Shen Zongyuan treated Aunt Su as his own woman, and he was gentle and considerate to her, no longer perfunctory as before. The two people in their fifties felt a different feeling.

After finishing, Aunt Su leaned on Shen Zongyuan's chest, breathing slightly. Shen Zongyuan hugged Aunt Su's back and kept stroking it, with an unprecedented satisfaction on his face.

"Come walk around my yard more often when you have nothing to do. Don't keep yourself so contained."

"Master is very busy, and besides, I am not the only one in this mansion. Master should treat everyone equally."

"Don't you miss me?"

Aunt Su blushed, lowered her eyes and got closer to Shen Zongyuan.

"I think, but if the master only favors one person, the backyard will not be peaceful. There will be a lot of jealousy, which will inevitably make the master upset."

"If they were all like you, there wouldn't be so many problems."

"The women in this mansion all want you to love them more, Master. I can't do anything for you, so not fighting or competing will make things easier for you."

"I never realized you had such a good temper before."

"It's not too late to find out now."

"By the way, when I came here just now, I thought of something."

"What's the matter?"

"I looked at the account book. I'm afraid the money spent on the old lady's birthday banquet doesn't add up. There's not even the cost of the opera troupe. So this money..."

Aunt Su stood up, revealing most of her fair shoulders. She hurriedly pulled the quilt to cover them, which made Shen Zongyuan feel itchy.

"Even though Master doesn't ask about this matter, I'm going to find an opportunity to talk to you and the old lady about it. The money I spent on the birthday banquet from the mansion was indeed not much. It's because the shop Master gave me has made some money recently, so I thought of using this money to supplement it and reduce some of the burden on the mansion. Of course, this is just a small token of my appreciation."

"Shops? I remember I gave you two...three shops. They weren't big, and business wasn't good. How could you make so much money?"

"It's all Yan'er. She's idle at home all day. I asked her to learn needlework, but she refused. She just wanted to figure out some strange things. Not long ago, she discovered a kind of noodle soup, so she opened a noodle soup shop. Unexpectedly, the business is so good. I didn't believe it at first, but I secretly went to see it once. It was really crowded, with long queues. It's hard not to believe it."

These were all instructed by Shen Nanyan to Aunt Su early in the morning. It was just a noodle shop, not very big, so she didn't feel bad about leaving it to the Shen family. What's more, the shop was in Aunt Su's hands. Shen Zongyuan would not take it back after seeing the shop making money.

"You... the shop you're talking about is called Xiangmiantang?"

The shop owned by Aunt Su was given to her by Shen Zongyuan twenty years ago. Besides, it was such a small shop that he didn't even remember it.

"Master, have you heard of it too?"

"Is it really that shop?"

"Yes."

"It's actually from our Shen family? Oh my God, I've always heard that noodle soup there has a unique flavor. My colleagues have been there many times but never had the chance to try it. I... also went there, but after seeing the long line, I gave up. I... I didn't expect it to be from our family. It's like a flood that has washed away the Dragon King Temple."

"Pfft! I didn't expect the master hasn't tasted it yet. How about I have someone bring one back tomorrow and wait for the master to leave court."

"I'm afraid it's inappropriate, as it makes me seem unreliable."

"I will just say that I want to eat it, and I will not tell you, Master. Tomorrow, Master, come to my room and taste it quietly."

Looking at the behavior of Aunt Su, Shen Zongyuan felt as if he was meeting her for the first time. The two of them lingered for a long time before the water was passed in.

On the second day, Shen Zongyuan tasted the instant noodles as he wished and praised them highly. When he told his colleagues about it later, they were all envious. So Aunt Su took charge and reserved a table for Shen Zongyuan and his friends, inviting them to taste the noodles for free. Shen Zongyuan, who was usually unknown, soon became a celebrity that everyone wanted to know, and his status was greatly improved.

Even the eunuch beside the emperor asked Shen Zongyuan to bring a bowl of instant noodles into the palace. The emperor was very impressed after eating it, and Shen Zongyuan's official position was promoted one level.

Because of this, Shen Zongyuan's attitude towards Aunt Su and Shen Nanyue has changed a lot, especially towards Aunt Su. Things that Aunt Lan used to have only for herself, now always have a share for Aunt Su, and the number of times he goes to Aunt Su's courtyard is also increasing.

When the first heavy snow fell, the imperial court received a battle report sent by express horses from the border, stating that enemy troops appeared at the border of Xuansu State.

The news was like a huge rock falling from calm waters.

Back then, King Huai Lu Jiusi led an army of 200,000 and fought for two months before he forced back the insidious Xuan Su army. He never expected that they would attack again.

Regardless of the freezing cold weather and the approaching New Year, the emperor first sent General Fan with 100,000 troops to provide support. The fighting has not started yet, and as long as the support is fast enough, Xuan Su will not dare to start a war easily.

A month after the army left Beijing, the weather was getting colder and colder, and the news was getting worse and worse. The Xuansu people were insidious and vicious, and all of them behaved like villains. In addition, the border was extremely cold, and the weather alone made it difficult for the soldiers to move, let alone fight against foreign enemies.

Soon, Lu Jiusi proposed to lead the troops to fight, but was rejected by the old emperor. However, the successive battle reports made people anxious, and finally the old emperor had no choice but to agree to let Lu Jiusi go to the battlefield after the New Year.

The news spread throughout the streets and alleys that day. Lu Jiusi was the god of war in their hearts. With him going to the battle, they would surely be victorious.