It was not until the maid who came over to pour tea accidentally splashed the tea on Jing Chuchu that Old Madam Shen stopped praising. She scolded the maid, “What are you doing? What if you scald her?”
“It’s fine.” Jing Chuchu smiled and said, “The tea is not hot. I’m not hurt.”
“Your clothes are all wet.” Old Madam Shen looked at the water stain on Jing Chuchu’s clothes and said with concern, “You can’t wear wet clothes in this cold weather. Xi’er, bring Miss to change into a clean dress.” She then instructed Jing Chuchu, “Be careful. Don’t catch a cold.”
Jing Chuchu lowered her head and looked at her clothes. The tea had drenched the cotton, and it was quite uncomfortable wearing it. She did not decline. With a red face, she excused herself before leaving with the maid.
Madam Jiang said, “Miss Jing is really lucky to be valued by Old Madam.”
Old Madam Shen smiled until the wrinkles on her face glued together. “It’s me who is lucky to have such an obedient and sensible grandniece.”
Hearing this, everyone started praising Jing Chuchu again. Chen Ruoqiu glanced at Old Madam Shen and subconsciously looked at Shen Miao. Perhaps sensing her gaze, Shen Miao also looked at Chen Ruoqiu, her face filled with confusion.
Chen Ruoqiu smiled faintly and lowered her head, a trace of joy flashing across her heart. However, Chen Ruoqiu did not see that the moment Shen Miao lowered her head, the confusion on her face was replaced by an extremely faint smile. If one looked at it seriously, there seemed to be an inexplicable excitement in that smile.
On the other hand, Shen Dongling stole a glance at Shen Miao and quickly lowered her head to eat the food in her bowl.
The men’s section was not as intense as the women’s section. It was filled with mutual compliments and flattering, which was the style of the bureaucracy. Although Shen Xin and Shen Qiu were ignored, a few colleagues still came over to toast. After a few glasses, Shen Qiu felt a little dizzy.
“Are you telling me you are drunk after just a few glasses? Are you a five year old?” Shen Xin said angrily.
Shen Qiu rubbed the space between his eyebrows and shook his head. “I don’t know.” As a man who had grown up in the military camp, this bit of wine was naturally a piece of cake. It had to be known that they usually drank from big jars in the military camp. The wine in the capital had always been nothing to Shen Qiu. Unexpectedly, he got drunk today after just a few glasses.
“You really learned nothing all these years.” Shen Xin expected better from him.
“Uncle, don’t be angry.” Jing Guansheng smiled and explained, “It’s not that Cousin can’t hold his liquor, but he mixed the strong wine with the light wine.” He pointed at the wine glass in front of Shen Qiu. As expected, the wine in the wine glass was not red like the strong wine, nor was it clear like the light wine. Instead, it looked like it was mixed together. Jing Guansheng continued to explain, “Cousin probably didn’t notice it and poured it together. If it were someone else, they’d already be dead drunk. It’s already impressive that Cousin can still stay sober.”
“Hahaha.” An official smiled and said, “Your son is already impressive. General Shen, don’t blame him.”
Shen Yuan glanced at Shen Qiu and said, “Brother, you can’t continue drinking like this. It’s better for you to rest for a while.”
Shen Qiu waved his hand, muttering something that no one could catch. It seemed like he was very drunk.
“How about I send Cousin back to his room?” Jing Guansheng suggested with a smile.
Although Shen Xin didn’t have a good impression of Jing Guansheng because he had been pestering Shen Miao, ever since the guards were placed at the entrance of the courtyard, Jing Guansheng had been sensible enough to not come uninvited. Shen Xin glanced at him. “In that case, I’ll have to trouble you and Ah Zhi to help him back.”