Shen Rong saw the gatekeeper and calmly replied, "It's Fuchun. Where's my father?"
Within the Shen family mansion, all servants and maids who had signed long-term contracts were required to change their names, with the Shen family bestowing upon them new names.
Because of the Shen family's wealth, the steward in charge of naming all the male servants' names started with the character "富" (fu, meaning wealth).
"Master has gone out to discuss some matters and will not be back until tonight. Let me welcome Miss back to the manor first. The mistress will be overjoyed when she knows you are back."
When Fu Chun saw that there were still quite a few people standing around Shen Rong, he glanced at Hu Chunxue out of the corner of his eye and greeted him politely, "Young Master Hu is here too. Please come in and have a seat."
At that moment, Hu Chunxue suddenly found the servant named Fuchun quite pleasing to the eye. She stepped forward slightly, a smug look on her face, and politely replied:
"Alright, I don't have anything to do today. Rong'er is back, so I'll go in and chat with her for a while."
"Who needs you to come with me?"
Shen Rong was displeased upon hearing this. Mu Tou was still standing beside her, and she didn't know how he would react to what she said. She secretly glanced at Li Boyang.
Upon seeing this, Shen Rong was nearly driven mad with frustration. Li Boyang's face was as still as a pool of water, devoid of any expression, as if it were none of his business.
Shen Rong's glances out of the corner of her eye couldn't escape Li Boyang's notice. Seeing the expectant look in Shen Rong's eyes, Li Boyang slowly said:
“Shen Rong, now that you’re home, Bowen and I will be leaving now. It’s getting late, and we need to find an inn to stay at first.”
A person's mental strength is limited. Having already given his heart to martial arts, he can no longer let go of anything else. He can only apologize for his feelings for Shen Rong.
It's better to end it sooner rather than later, so that Shen Rong won't be hurt too much, that's what Li Boyang thought.
"Take care, sir. Have a safe journey. I won't see you off. Come visit me sometime. My house is right next to Rong'er's, it's easy to find."
Hearing Li Boyang say this, Hu Chunxue's smile widened, and she was very satisfied, thinking to herself that Li Boyang was really sensible.
Shen Rong immediately became anxious and replied, "Sir, you'll need to find a place to stay when you arrive in Jinling. What will my friends think of me?"
Then, as if by some strange twist of fate, Liu Bowen interjected, "Teacher, what Shen said seems to make sense..."
Shen Rong addressed Li Boyang as "Sir," while Liu Bowen called him "Teacher." This is a fundamental difference, just as Liu Bowen was Li Boyang's direct disciple, while Shen Rong was merely a nominal disciple.
Upon hearing Liu Bowen's remark, Li Boyang felt an urge to slap him to death. He didn't believe the kid couldn't see that he was clearly just trying to cause trouble.
Shen Rong immediately chimed in, "That's right, sir. You've come all the way to Jinling. I'm, after all, your student. You can't refuse a student's hospitality to their teacher."
Shen Rong has that stubborn streak; once she sets her mind on something, nothing can sway her. Anyway, she's been politely rejected by her husband many times over the past two years, so one more time won't make a difference.
She firmly believes in the eight words: "Where there is a will, there is a way."
"this……"
Li Boyang hesitated for a moment, but seeing that Shen Rong looked like she was about to burst into tears if he didn't agree, he softened and replied:
“Alright, we’ll stay for one day. Bowen and I will leave tomorrow.”
"Then it's settled."
Shen Rong's pretty face immediately turned from gloomy to cloudy. Without giving Li Boyang any time to think, she yelled at Fu Chun, "These two are my teacher and my classmate. Next time, watch your eyes!"
After saying that, he quickly rushed into the Shen residence, as if afraid that Li Boyang would regret it.
Seeing this, Li Boyang shook his head helplessly.
Hu Chunxue's expression turned somewhat unpleasant, and her gaze towards Li Boyang once again ignited hostility.
Fu Chun looked completely bewildered, having no idea what he had done wrong. He walked up to Li Boyang and said sheepishly:
"So you are your young lady's teacher. I was blind to your greatness just now. Please come with me into the mansion."
Li Boyang nodded and, led by Fu Chun, entered the Shen residence.
The Shen Mansion is very large and is a typical example of Jiangnan garden architecture.
Upon entering the mansion, one sees a large artificial mountain, covered with ancient and modern trees. The main body of the mountain is made of yellow stone, and water flows slowly down the mountain, leading to all four parts of the Shen mansion. Clearly, the artificial mountain is connected to the groundwater.
Along the direction of the water flow, there are rows of buildings with multiple stories and pavilions, and lush trees planted, the entire mansion is shrouded in greenery.
Servants could be seen coming and going in the garden everywhere; some were sweeping up fallen leaves, some were carrying food, and some were holding silk handkerchiefs.
As soon as the servants and maids saw Shen Rong, they immediately swarmed around her.
"Miss Shen."
"Miss is back."
"Go and inform the madam immediately."
"Miss seems to have lost a little weight."
"It seems so, they must have suffered a lot outside."
"That's right. If you ask me, why bother going to such a far place as Dengfeng to study? Our academies in Jinling are just as good."
"If Madam knew, she would be heartbroken."
The servants happily surrounded Shen Rong, each one chiming in with their own comments.
Just then.
An elderly woman with a full head of silver hair, leaning on a deer-head cane made of sandalwood, walked out, supported by a woman whose appearance bore a striking resemblance to Shen Rong.
The old woman said as she walked: