Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

"Madam Shen, the maids are serving you. You don't need to bother, please sit down and rest." Seeing that she was worried about everything, Madam Zhou got up and pressed her into a seat.

"Sigh, seeing these beautiful young women makes me happy, and I'm happy to be busy no matter what. Unfortunately, I'm not blessed with that; I only have two troublesome daughters." Madam Shen took a sip of tea and smiled as she spoke to the ladies around her.

"Madam Shen, you are being far too modest. Not to mention your eldest son, who is second only to the emperor and above all others—everyone knows that. And your second son is now a fifth-rank Imperial Guard. With such fine sons in the family, who among us wouldn't envy him?" Madam Zhou's words drew agreement from the other ladies present.

"What Madam Zhou says is true, but why haven't I seen the Second Young Master today? Is he not at home?" Madam Gu, the county magistrate, asked with a smile.

"He went to inspect the shops with his father this morning and probably won't be back until the afternoon," Madam Shen said with a smile.

"That's a real pity. I was hoping to take this opportunity to meet our newly appointed Imperial Guard Commander, but it seems that's not going to happen," Madam Zhou said with a smile.

"What Dragon Guard Commander nonsense? It's the same as before. You talk as if you've never seen my second son before," Madam Shen said, giving Madam Zhou a reproachful look.

"Ah, you're absolutely right. I've met the second son of the Shen family, but I've never met Lord Shen, the Imperial Guard Commander!" Madam Zhou and Madam Shen were close friends in their private quarters, and she was used to speaking to her casually. She also knew the purpose of Madam Shen's spring banquet, and naturally, she wanted to bring out the second son to praise him lavishly.

Madam Shen glanced at Liu Shi discreetly and saw that she was just drinking tea with her head down and did not have any other reaction. She wondered if she had been too subtle in her words and the other party had not understood.

At this moment, she regretted sending Erlang out to inspect the shops. She should have let him show himself in front of these ladies and make a name for himself. Thinking of this, she subtly gave a few instructions to the maid beside her. Upon hearing her mistress's instructions, the maid quietly withdrew.

"Madam, I see that the young master is quite tall, and he must be approaching the age of marriage, right?" Madam Gu suddenly asked Madam Liu.

Madam Liu wasn't familiar with this Madam Gu and didn't know why she had shifted the conversation to her daughter, so she smiled, wiped the tea stains from the corner of her mouth with a handkerchief, and then spoke.

"She's just a bit tall; she still won't be of marriageable age for another year!"

"She's a year younger than my daughter. I only thought they were the same age because she's about the same size as my Rou Rou!" Madam Gu said with a smile.

"That duchess knows how to raise children, whether boys or girls, they're all wonderful. I've met their eldest son myself; he's truly a man of exceptional talent and bearing. His scholarship is also first-rate. Now that he's studying under Grand Tutor Li, his future is sure to be limitless!" Madam Zhou praised from the side.

"I wonder if the eldest young master is married?" the magistrate's wife suddenly asked Liu.

"Not yet! The Grand Tutor said that the worst thing about studying is being distracted, and he's not allowed to talk about marriage until he passes the imperial examination," Liu said with some helplessness.

"Since it was the Grand Tutor who said it, there must be a reason behind it. It seems that the eldest son's knowledge is indeed quite good," the magistrate's wife praised.

Liu was somewhat puzzled and asked with a look of doubt.

"What do you mean by that?"

Seeing that her expression didn't seem fake, the magistrate's wife smiled and explained.

"Your Excellency, think about it. If someone had no hope in their studies, why would the Grand Tutor say such a thing? Wouldn't that mean they could never even think about marriage? Only someone like the eldest son, who has a bright future, would the Grand Tutor dare to say such a thing!"

Hearing her explanation, Liu's face lit up with joy.

“Then I’ll take your kind words, Madam. After hearing your explanation, I feel much more at ease. You have no idea how anxious I was when I learned that the Grand Tutor had told him not to get married before passing the imperial examination! I couldn’t sleep for several nights.”

The magistrate's wife felt a slight disdain for Liu's ignorance. What an ignorant country bumpkin, yet she could become a noblewoman! If anyone else had heard Grand Tutor Li make such a demand of their son, they would probably have been overjoyed. She, however, didn't understand the deeper meaning behind it all.

Thinking of the instructions her magistrate had given her before she came, she couldn't help but feel annoyed. Was she really going to become in-laws with this ignorant woman?

As the ladies were talking, a little maid rushed in from outside, her face full of panic.

When Madam Shen saw her appearance, her heart skipped a beat, but she still calmly scolded the maid.

Why are you in such a panic?

"Madam, a young lady has fallen off the artificial hill in the garden!" the maidservant said anxiously.

Her words immediately made the ladies sitting there tense. Madam Shen was also startled and hurriedly asked...

"Which family's young lady is she? How badly did she fall? Is she injured? Has a doctor been called?"

"I didn't see which family's young lady it was, and I don't know how badly she fell. The ladies in the garden have already sent someone to fetch a doctor. I think I heard them calling for the second young master. It seems like the second young master is injured!" The little maid was so frightened by Madam Shen's four questions that she hurriedly told her everything she knew.

"Where is she now? Take us there quickly!" Madam Zhou helped Madam Shen, who had stumbled backward, and instructed the young maid.

"We're still in the garden. Ladies, please follow me," the maid said.

Upon hearing that the person had fallen from the artificial hill, Madam Liu wasn't worried about Xia Yu, but Qiu Yu and Dong Yu had come with her. If something happened to them, she and her second sister-in-law wouldn't be able to explain it. For a moment, she was very anxious.

A large group of ladies arrived in the garden. The injured young lady had already been moved to the pavilion. The second young master of the Shen family was sitting on a rock, his left hand supporting his right arm, his face contorted in pain.

"What happened?" Madam Shen was heartbroken to see her son's condition.

"Mother, I'm fine. Why don't you check on that girl first? I think she twisted her ankle," Shen Erlang said to Madam Shen, enduring the pain in his arm.

"Oh dear, Rou Rou, what's wrong with you?" Suddenly, Madam Gu's voice came from the pavilion.

Upon hearing her voice, Madam Shen knew that the injured person was probably the county magistrate's daughter. She glanced at her son, instructed the servant beside her to keep a close eye on the young master, and then went to the pavilion to check on Miss Gu's condition.

"Mom, my foot hurts so much, it feels like it's broken." Gu Rourou looked at her swollen foot and sobbed softly in pain.

"Don't be afraid, Rou Rou, just bear with it a little longer, the doctor will be here soon." Madam Gu saw her daughter's swollen ankle and tears welled up in her eyes.

“Madam Gu, it’s windy here. I’ll have a servant bring a small sedan chair over so Miss Gu can go to the guest room first,” Madam Shen suggested after glancing at Miss Gu’s condition.

“Yes, Madam Shen is right. Let’s carry the young lady inside first. It’s windy in the garden; she might catch a cold,” the magistrate’s wife advised.

"Alright, alright, I'm so anxious right now that I'm flustered. I'll do whatever Madam Shen says." Madam Gu wiped away her tears and pulled her daughter's cloak tighter around herself.

Soon, two old women carried a small sedan chair over. A strong old woman carried Miss Gu into the sedan chair, and then Madam Gu and the maids brought by the Gu family followed behind the sedan chair to the guest courtyard arranged by Madam Shen.

Seeing what had happened at the spring banquet, the other ladies knew that Madam Shen had things to attend to, so they all took their leave. Madam Shen didn't stand on ceremony with them, apologized, and instructed the maids and servants to properly escort everyone out. She wanted to take this opportunity to quickly ask her son what had happened. Wasn't it said that Miss Gu had fallen from the artificial hill? Why was her second son also injured?