Chapter 369: Mrs. Shen’s Change in Attitude
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
“After the two of you get married, I will do my best to nurture you.
“It’s not difficult for you to rise to the top and even enter the Imperial Court,” Minister Shen said as he handed Song Rui some sweet dates to eat.
After all, things were different now.
Song Rui was no longer the lowly commoner he used to be.
Song Rui raised his head and looked at Prime Minister Shen, and a hint of excitement flashed across his eyes.
“Thank you, my lord!” he said gratefully.
Minister Shen smiled.
He stepped forward and patted Song Rui’s shoulder.
“We’re all family. There’s no need to be so polite.
“Mistress and Rong’er are very happy that you’ve come out tops in this talent recruitment exam. I will get the residence to prepare a good meal.
“Tonight, you can stay back in the front hall and eat with us.”
Song Rui looked at Minister Shen again and cupped his hands in deference.
A satisfied expression swept over Minister Shen’s face.
“Mistress and Rong’er are waiting for you in the backyard. You can go over first and talk to them,” he continued.
His wife was not very satisfied with Song Rui previously. She felt that this young man was not worthy of their daughter.
However, after learning that this young man had caught the Empress’s attention, she became even more anxious than he was.
Now, it was also good to let him go over and talk to his wife. It could be considered as winning over their future son-in-law.
A trace of surprise flashed across Song Rui’s eyes.
Following that, he answered, “Yes, my lord.”
Then, under Minister Shen’s satisfied gaze, he left the study.
Thereafter, he headed to the backyard.
When he arrived at the backyard, Mrs. Shen and Shen Rong were already waiting.
This time, Mrs. Shen’s attitude had changed greatly compared to her earlier attitude.
She was no longer arrogant toward Song Rui. Instead, she was more affectionate.
“Young Master Song, your achievement this time is worthy of celebration.
“If Rong’er hadn’t come to inform me, 1 wouldn’t have known that Young Master Song had actually become the top scholar.” Mrs. Shen’s face was full of smiles. When she said this, she turned her gaze from Song Rui to her own daughter.
Shen Rong was a little shy and embarrassed. She quickly avoided her mother’s gaze.
“Even if I don’t tell you, you will find out sooner or later, Mother.
“Young Master Song’s reputation has risen rapidly. His name has spread among the people of the capital,” Shen Rong replied.
At the same time, she had a renewed admiration for Song Rui.
Young Master Song was indeed very talented.
Not only did he get first place in the talent recruitment examination, but his poetry talent was also even more peerless.
She had read all of his poems. They could only be described as stunning.
It was a pity that her Meng Xuan did not have that kind of talent, and his poetry was not stunning enough.
Due to her father’s interference, he didn’t even get to enter the talent recruitment examination.
When Mrs. Shen heard this, her eyes lit up with interest.
“Oh?” Her gaze shifted from her daughter back to Song Rui.
Song Rui bowed.
“Surely Young Miss’s words are an overstatement,” he said humbly.
When Mrs. Shen heard this, the smile on her face became even wider.
“It’s not an overstatement,” she replied with a smile before Shen Rong could speak.
“Rong’er has already shown the poems you wrote to me and the Master.”
“All of them are excellent works. Especially that ‘Wine Toasting.’ It was written with so much grace and elegance. When Master read it, he was full of praise for you.”
It was indeed good. After reading it, she could not help but feel passionate and wanted to look for someone to have a drink with.
Previously, when the Master and her daughter had taken a liking to Song Rui, she felt that she did not quite approve of him.
Now, just based on that poem entitled “Wine Toasting,” Song Rui was now worthy of Rong’er.
Song Rui glanced at Shen Rong and bowed to Mrs. Shen again.
“I’ve embarrassed myself in front of the Prime Minister and Mistress,” he said humbly.
When she saw Song Rui’s attitude, Mrs. Shen was even more pleased with him.
“I say! How can such a masterpiece be an embarrassment?
“Don’t just stand there. Come here and sit down.
“Let’s sit down and chat. Tell me. How did you come up with this ‘Wine Toasting’ poem?”
“Yes, Mistress,” Song Rui replied respectfully and sat down opposite Shen Rong.
As soon as he sat down, he met Shen Rong’s gaze.
When he saw the worry in Shen Rong’s eyes, Song Rui gave her a reassuring look.
Only then did Shen Rong feel much more at ease.
Thereafter, Mrs. Shen showed great enthusiasm and kept talking to Song Rui.
She asked him how he composed the poem and even gave Song Rui a question, asking him to compose a poem as an answer on the spot.
Fortunately, Song Rui had many poems stored in his mind, so he was able to handle it with ease.
After some interaction, Mrs. Shen and Shen Rong had a better understanding of Song Rui’s poetic talent.
Not surprisingly, Mrs. Shen found her future son-in-law more and more pleasing to the eye.
Shen Rong was even more amazed by Song Rui’s talent.
In the evening, the Shen family and Song Rui had dinner together.
During this meal, Minister Shen and Mrs. Shen were very enthusiastic toward Song Rui.
Song Rui also handled it well. He didn’t get carried away just because Minister Shen and his wife showed so much enthusiasm for him. Instead, he remained neither servile nor overbearing.
However, it was precisely this attitude that caught the attention of Minister Shen and his wife. Thus, the more they looked at Song Rui, the more satisfied they were.
After dinner, everyone dispersed.
Shen Rong, who had a lot on her mind, left first, followed by Minister Shen, and Song Rui was the third to leave.
However, before he could return to his courtyard, he was stopped by Shen Rong’s maidservant.
“Young Master Song, our Young Miss is over there. She wants to talk to you,” the maidservant stated her intention outright.
She was the Young Miss’s personal maid and had grown up with the Young Miss. She knew everything about the Young Miss.
Naturally, she also knew about the Young Miss’s relationship with Young Master Song and Young Master Meng.
Young Miss and Young Master Song had always been platonic friends.
It wasn’t like what the Master and Mistress thought whereby she had feelings for Young Master Song.
The only person that Young Miss had fallen in love with all the while was Young Master Meng.
Moreover, now, Young Miss and Young Master Meng had even…
Sigh! In short, only Young Master Meng could become their family’s son-in-law.
As for Young Master Song, he was also aware of the relationship between Young Miss and Young Master Meng. He had even covered up for the two of them.
However, now, Young Master Song had already won first place in the talent recruitment examination and could be considered to have passed the test that the Master and Mistress had set for him.
Now that the Master and Mistress were about to decide on the marriage between Song Rui and Young Miss, how could Young Miss not be anxious?
Song Rui looked around and nodded after making sure there was no one around.
“Lead the way,” he said in a low voice.
“Mm-hmm!” the maidservant quickly answered.
Then, she led Song Rui forward and he saw Shen Rong waiting under the tree.
Shen Rong, who had been a little anxious, calmed down after seeing Song Rui.
“Li’er, go and stand guard over there,” Shen Rong spoke quickly.
The maidservant nodded and did not continue forward. Instead, she turned around and went to the intersection not far away.
Song Rui did not pay her any attention and walked up to Shen Rong.
Then, he cupped his hands at Shen Rong. “Young Miss.”
“Young Master Song, no need to stand on ceremony.
“I was anxious to see you because of the marriage proposal that Father and Mother had mentioned to you,” Shen Rong said straightaway.
“Young Master Song, you told me to calm down previously. You said that the talent recruitment examination is also an opportunity for Young Master Meng.
“But now, because of my father’s interference, Young Master Meng couldn’t even enter the examination hall. You, however, came out tops in the talent recruitment examination…”
Shen Rong did not continue. However, her expression indicated she was clearly displeased..