Chapter 7

Chapter 7

That's right—the earlier farce was all staged by Madam Shen and her three children.

They did this for no other reason than to find out where Master Shen had hidden his private savings, so they could prevent him from secretly subsidizing the shu children—and Shen Qingquan—who had snatched away Shen Qinglan’s marriage.

Out of consideration for the bigger picture and to maintain ties with the three sons-in-law, Master Shen had not punished the three children who had stolen the marriage too harshly. He only made them give half of their dowries to Shen Qinglan as compensation.

Faced with this result, the victim, Shen Qinglan, was furious!

Madam Shen, who doted on her son, and Shen Huaizhi, who loved his younger brother, were equally filled with indignation!

Was this supposed to be a punishment?

As long as Master Shen was willing, he could easily make up for it privately by giving the three children extra support, rendering the punishment utterly meaningless.

So after some discussion, the three of them orchestrated this farce.

They tricked Master Shen into revealing the location of his private stash, then cleaned it out entirely—so he'd have nothing left to be partial with!

That night, in the Lanwei Courtyard.

The three of them gathered.

Madam Shen, her eyes welling with tears, held Shen Qinglan’s hand and spoke her heart out, her voice choked with tears.

“Lan Ge’er, I know you’ve been wronged in this marriage matter. I wish I could beat to death everyone who bullied you!”

“But it involves the future of the Shen family, and I can’t decide on my own, so I had to make you swallow your pride.”

“But don’t you worry—I won’t let them have an easy time. Even if they’ve stolen your marriage, they won’t marry in peace or comfort. Lavish dowry? They can forget about it.”

“As for Quan Ge’er… forget it. He’s just like your eldest brother—stubborn and set in his ways, always siding with your father and grandmother, thinking I’m useless. From now on, I'll wash my hands of him. Let him go his own way.”

Madam Shen had given birth to five children and had educated each one diligently in their youth.

But not all of them grew close to her as a mother.

The eldest son and the fifth child took after their father—selfish, cold-hearted, and indifferent, favoring their father over her, their mother.

The eldest daughter, the second son (Shen Huaizhi), and the third young master (Shen Qinglan), however, were very close to her, sharing deep mother-child affection.

Unfortunately, the eldest daughter had married early and was far away.

The second son was a dissolute good-for-nothing.

And the third young master—naive and unlucky, his marriage prospects repeatedly sabotaged—faced a bleak future…

Madam Shen was truly grieved and heartbroken, doing everything she could to plan for her children's future.

Though Shen Qinglan wasn’t as sharp as his siblings, he wasn’t stupid either.

He hugged his mother back, his eyes reddening as he tried to console her.

“Mother, Fifth Brother is still your own son. I know you’re in a tough spot. You don't have to feel that way. I can’t forgive him, but I don’t exactly hate him either.”

“In the end, it was all because the Heir of Jin Yang is fickle. If he really loved me, even if a legendary fox spirit showed up, he wouldn’t have been swayed.”

“Now that he’s fallen for Fifth Brother and even dares to dream of having his cake and eating it too—it’s utterly shameless.”

“A man like that—I should be glad Fifth Brother took him away. Otherwise, after we married, he might come to me one day and say he’d fallen for my brother-in-law. Then I'd be crying a river…”

Though there was some self-consolation in his words, Shen Qinglan truly thought this way.

He would rather remain unmarried than marry such a man.

Madam Shen said with concern, “But after having three marriages snatched away, who knows what people outside are saying about you.”

Shen Huaizhi chimed in angrily, “And those outsiders too—sticking their noses into other people's family affairs all day, gossiping like they have nothing better to do. A bunch of gossipmongers…”

In the end, poor Lan Ge’er was the one who suffered the most!

But it was already done.

Shen Qinglan could only force a smile and put on a nonchalant tone.

“Let them talk. I don’t care. That Heir of Jin Yang and the others—they think I’m not sweet and tender enough? Well, I despise them too!”

“Mother, didn’t we agree? With my flower-like beauty, in a few months, when the palace holds its consort selection, I’ll enter the palace and become His Majesty’s concubine.”

“Then I’ll give birth to a little prince. As the imperial father of a prince, who would dare laugh at me then?”

Yes, becoming a palace consort.

That was the strategy the three of them had devised.

With Shen Qinglan's current reputation, finding a good marriage match was almost hopeless.

But entering the palace as the emperor’s concubine was different.

Though Shen Qinglan’s reputation was tarnished, he was stunningly beautiful.

Like, really, really beautiful!

The Old Emperor had grown quite fond of beauties in recent years—his harem even included widowed concubines. Though Lan Ge’er was a bit too vivacious, with his looks, he might, perhaps, still have a shot at being selected, right?

And besides, the current emperor was old—and that was actually an advantage!

At this point, the high-ranking consorts in the palace had already secured their positions, and the grown princes had already entered the court and divided up power. A newcomer like Lan Ge’er, even if he gave birth to a son, wouldn’t pose a threat to anyone.

In a few years, when the Old Emperor passed away and a new emperor ascended the throne, acting benevolently toward a young younger brother would be an easy way to show kindness.

Then, as long as he didn’t do anything foolish, Lan Ge’er could live comfortably for the rest of his life.

Shen Huaizhi also nodded approvingly.

“Lan Ge’er becoming His Majesty’s consort is indeed a good idea. The emperor’s concubine is far more impressive than the rightful wife of an ordinary official. The only downside is that the emperor is a bit old—pity for my gorgeous little brother.”

Shen Qinglan was also bothered by that; he too preferred a young, handsome husband.

But given his bad luck, he had to make do.

Shen Qinglan said dejectedly, “It’s okay, Second Brother. When it comes time to serve His Majesty, I’ll just close my eyes.”

The two brothers clearly had no respect for the Old Emperor.

Madam Shen: …

Did she pinch their heads too hard when giving birth to them, for them to dare even despise the emperor!

"Enough, who do you two think you are, daring to badmouth His Majesty like that! Lan Geer being able to serve His Majesty is his blessing. Don't ever say such things again."

Madam Shen scolded them, her head throbbing.

"Yes, Mother."

The two brothers obediently nodded.

They weren't that clueless; it was just a slip of the tongue in the heat of emotion.

But after this banter, the mood lightened considerably.

Shen Qinglan, being optimistic and cheerful, eagerly asked about something else.

"By the way, Mother, how much good stuff did we actually haul out from Father's private treasury this time?"

Shen Huaizhi also asked excitedly, "Mother, we had a deal, remember? Lan Geer gets seventy percent, you get twenty percent, and I get ten percent. You can't go back on your word!"

"Alright, alright, look at you being so impatient. I won't stiff you."

Madam Shen said dismissively, "That bastard of a father of yours, how much could he possibly have saved? He's as timid as a mouse. After all these years as an official, his private treasury only has 100,000 taels of silver notes and eight boxes of gold and silver jewelry."

"These past two years, he's even dared to yell at me. I thought he'd amount to something, but that's all he has—utterly useless. He hasn't even made as much as I did from my two dowry shops over the years."

In truth, Master Shen's private savings were already considerable, given that he had to support the entire household.

But Madam Shen came from a merchant family and was exceptionally skilled at business; her dowry was a mountain of gold and silver—seriously loaded, so naturally she looked down on Master Shen's meager savings.

Upon hearing this, Shen Qinglan and Shen Huaizhi quickly buttered her up.

"Mother, you're the most famous money-magnet among the noble ladies in the capital. Father can't compare to you! Every little bit counts—better than letting someone else in the house get it."

"You two are sweet talkers, always so good at coaxing me... Fine, stop buttering me up. Rest assured, in the future, everything I have will go to you two and your eldest sister."

Madam Shen was pleased and made a promise.

As for the eldest son and the fifth son...

Though a mother's love is selfless, you get what you give.

Those two kids always took their father and grandmother's side in everything, big or small, never once standing by her, always thinking she was unfair.

Since that was the case, she would now play favorites, even more than Old Man Shen!

Even if the eldest daughter, Lan Geer, and the second son ended up amounting to nothing in the future, she would still favor these three children.

"Mother, you're so good..."

Shen Qinglan and Shen Huaizhi were deeply moved, resting their heads on their mother's lap like they did as children.

Madam Shen gently stroked their heads, her eyes full of affection.

The three of them shared a warm, cozy moment.

As for when Old Man Shen discovered his private savings were gone and came to raise hell, what then?

Without evidence, they'd just deny it flat out.

What's he gonna do, yell? It's not like he'd kill his wife and kids!

After all, Madam Shen figured she was old enough—she'd lived her life and was ready to go.

Shen Huaizhi knew he had no talent for studies and that effort would be in vain, so he stopped trying—he had his mom's money to live it up as a playboy, without needing his father's help.

Shen Qinglan was already set on becoming a palace consort, no longer relying on his father to arrange a marriage.

So let the old man be mad. Whatever.

The three of them had an incredibly carefree mindset, and just said "screw it."

...

Meanwhile, Han Zhang had no clue that the young man he'd set his sights on had the lofty ambition of becoming the emperor's favorite consort.

Because his power, while it could use plants as spying tools, had limits.

Only plants he raised from seed could become long-term "eyes and ears"; wild plants could only be controlled temporarily.

So he couldn't spy on everyone's every move 24/7.

But that didn't mess with his sugar-daddy plan.

As they say, the best hunter often looks like prey.

Han Zhang totally agreed.

He'd never be as dumb as Xiucai Luo, who was so blatant about mooching off a woman that everyone knew he was deliberately deceiving Miss Sun. Sure, he had his father-in-law's help now, but sooner or later he'd be resented and watched.

He, Han Zhang, was a spotless, proper, and polite "gentleman"!

After careful thought, Han Zhang treated his gold-digging plan like a business project.

He spent days doing deep research on his target Shen Qinglan's personality, habits, tastes, aesthetic preferences—the works.

Then he drew up Plan A, Plan B, Plan C, and several backup strategies for different scenarios.

Only then did he start his "fishing" campaign.