Chapter 23

Chapter 23

"What? Lan'er has acquired a pot of top-grade orchids and wants everyone to come admire them together? That really is a miracle—the sun rises in the west."

"When did this child develop such refined taste? How curious. Quick, help me get dressed, let's go take a look..."

Upon hearing about the flower-viewing invitation, Madam Shen was quite delighted.

Her Lan'er had always been lively and active since childhood, unlike the sons of civil officials who loved composing poems and writing verses. Instead, he was more like a descendant of a military family, favoring swords and spears, and cracking his horsewhip with fierce energy.

Although his cheerful and straightforward nature was endearing, it ultimately didn't meet the current ideal of gentle and virtuous young gentlemen, worrying her no end, fearing that her child would suffer in the future.

Now that he had developed an interest in appreciating flowers, it seemed his temperament was finally improving. Madam Shen was over the moon!

A crowd arrived at Lanwei Court upon hearing the news.

But the people who came were not only Madam Shen, Master Shen, and his two full-blooded elder brothers, Shen Huairen and Shen Huaizhi.

There was also his full-blooded younger brother, Shen Qingquan, who had stolen away his marriage prospect.

"Madam Shen had five children: the eldest son Shen Huairen, the second son Shen Huaizhi, the eldest daughter Shen Qingyue, the second young master Lan, and the fifth young master Shen Qingquan."

Shen Qinglan was never one to swallow his anger. Between him and Shen Qingquan lay a grudge over the marriage, so seeing him now naturally displeased him, and his face immediately fell.

"What are you doing here? I didn't invite you to my flower-viewing party!"

Shen Qinglan snorted coldly, showing no respect for face.

To be honest, he didn't have much affection for the third person to hurt him—the heir of the Jinyang Earl's mansion.

Even though that person had stepped forward to support him during his lowest point, despite his reputation of having been jilted twice, and stubbornly proposed to him with the honor of an Earl's heir, he only felt gratitude, not love.

So, when his own brother took that person away, what hurt him was not the man, but the betrayal by his own full brother.

Shen Qingquan also knew he had done his brother wrong. Faced with the cold shoulder, he could only endure it, his eyes reddening as he apologized again.

"Second elder brother, that marriage matter was my fault... but after all, we're full brothers. Are you really going to stay this distant from me?"

"I've taken the beatings and scoldings you gave me before, as well as the punishments from Father and Mother. In the future, whatever you ask, I'll never say no. I've apologized and made it up like this... Can't you really forgive me this once?"

His words were sincere, and he looked very pitiful.

But Shen Qinglan didn't soften one bit. From the day of the marriage incident, the bond with this brother was already broken.

"If apologies were useful, what would we need the authorities for?"

"You got punished because you brought it on yourself; your compensation is just what you owe. When you did those things back then, did you ever consider that we were brothers? And now, on what grounds do you demand my forgiveness?"

"I'm not retaliating against you anymore only for Mother's sake. If you truly feel guilty, then stop appearing before me. I don't want to see you again."

Shen Qinglan stated his stance coldly.

Don't think he was really foolish and couldn't see through his little brother's sneaky tricks.

The pitiful act he put on today to seek reconciliation was merely because his wedding date was approaching and his dowry was meager. He hoped that by getting forgiven, he could calm Mother down indirectly, so she'd soften up and supplement his dowry.

Now he could see clearly: this fifth brother, who seemed sincere and gentle, was actually selfish and cold-hearted.

"Second elder brother..."

Hearing this, Shen Qingquan's tears fell again as if he'd been deeply wronged.

He had said it wasn't intentional—he hadn't meant to snatch away the Earl's Heir, and he would compensate him... Why does Second Brother have to be so heartless, not even giving him a chance to make amends?

Just as Shen Huaizhi favored Shen Qinglan as his second brother, Shen Huairen also favored Shen Qingquan as his fifth brother.

He felt that Lan'er was fierce and domineering, not as gentle, polite, and learned as Quan Geer, who was more to his liking.

Shen Huairen put on the airs of the eldest brother and took sides: "Alright, Lan'er, in any case, we are all brothers born of the same mother, bound by blood, sharing weal and woe. We should support one another."

"Quan Geer has admitted his mistake, has been punished, and has been tormented by guilt these past days. Why do you have to be so relentless and petty?"

As soon as he finished speaking.

Shen Huaizhi couldn't hold back anymore and stepped forward to defend the brother he cherished: "Big brother, spare me your highfalutin talk! I've said it before—forget this 'sharing weal and woe' nonsense. Every time there's 'honor,' you guys get it; every time there's 'disgrace,' me and Lan'er take the hit. You talk a better game than you play!"

"This marriage matter was clearly Quan Geer's fault to begin with. Now that he's being scolded, he deserves it. Lan'er, as the aggrieved party, just doesn't want to forgive him when he sees him—he's not asking for his life. How does that make Lan'er relentless?"

"Big brother, you make it sound noble if you call it seeing the big picture, but honestly, it's hypocritical. Don't you know it in your own heart?"

Then.

He turned to Shen Qingquan and said impatiently: "And as for you, Quan Geer, today Lan'er set up this flower-viewing gathering. You knew he didn't want to see you, so why did you come uninvited?"

"Since you're here, getting scolded a few times, you put on that pathetic crying face, just making people annoyed. You're just asking for trouble!"

"Second brother, you... you're biased..."

Shen Qingquan was both hurt and furious. Second brother only favored Second Elder Brother.

Shen Huairen was so angry he was at a loss for words: "Second brother, your rude and crude words are way out of line..."

"Then what counts as proper? Big brother, you dote on Quan Geer, so naturally he's close to you; I favor Lan'er, and he gets along better with me. We each favor our own—that evens out. What's the problem?"

Shen Huaizhi said nonchalantly, plainly admitting he played favorites.

Such blatant roguery left the other two red-faced with anger, too stunned to talk back.

"..."

Shen Qinglan, seeing his elder brother defending him so vigorously, pursed his lips and smiled, his eyes crinkling.

—So what if Father and Big Brother favored Fifth Brother more? Mother and Second Brother also favored him, and he was loved too. He wasn't losing out one bit!

"Alright, enough arguing. Aren't we here to appreciate flowers? Lan'er, bring out the flowers quickly..."

Finally, Master Shen and Madam Shen changed the subject.

Though both of them had their own favorites, taking sides in such a situation and arguing about right and wrong would only add fuel to the fire and lead to endless fighting.

With the couple having spoken, the four brothers had no choice but to drop the fight.

Shen Qinglan didn't want to say more either. He had made his stance clear. The most important thing now was to help Brother Han sell those orchids for a good price!

With a wave of his hand.

Qiao Dong and Qiao Xi carefully carried the orchid out.

"The flowers look like chrysanthemums, in golden yellow and pinkish white, with a rich, crisp fragrance... Truly the legendary 'Thousand-hand Guanyin,' a rare treasure among lotus-petal orchids—Jinsha Tree Chrysanthemum! And the quality is this outstanding."

"As soon as the orchid was brought out, Master Shen and Shen Huairen were immediately captivated, exclaiming in surprise and delight."

"Appreciating flowers is a refined pastime; scholars of the time, even if they don't actually enjoy gardening, had to pretend to appreciate such elegance, or risk looking unsophisticated."

"Bringing out an orchid this fine would definitely earn them a ton of face and praise."

"Master Shen beamed with delight and said, "Lan Ge'er, where did you find this flower? Your father just so happens to need a premium plant as a favor. Could you give me this 'Thousand-hand Guanyin'?""

"Then, thinking of his son's temperament, he quickly added, "Don't worry, I won't stiff you on the silver.""

"Recalling that his private treasury had recently been emptied by his wife's scheme, Master Shen felt a pang of heartache, muttering curses about that cunning old bag."

"Luckily, his fixed assets like shops and estates couldn't be carted off; with a bit of tightening, he could scrape together a thousand taels."

"Not wanting to be left behind, Shen Huairen quickly butted in, "Father, you can't monopolize this flower! I have great use for it too!""

""Away with you! Whatever big use you've got, is it more important than my career advancement?""

"The moment promotion was on the line, Master Shen stopped seeing his 'good son' as anything special."

"He was a man with a strong desire for power; while a son's success was gratifying, ultimately nothing felt as solid and satisfying as holding power in his own hands and steadily climbing the ranks."

"Shen Qinglan knew the two would fight over it."

"He gave a sly grin and said, "Father, eldest brother, weren't you just saying we're all one family? Since we're family, it wouldn't be right for me to favor anyone. So let's bid on it—highest bid wins. How about that?""

"Master Shen: "...""

"Shen Huairen: "...""

"Wasn't this obviously trying to scam them?"

"They were reluctant, a stifled frustration lodged in their chests, but given Lan Ge'er's personality, and having offended him, they had no leverage to haggle."

"They looked from Shen Qinglan to the beautiful orchid on the table."

"Finally, father and son had no choice but to begrudgingly nod: "Fine, let's bid. What's the base price?""

"It was incredibly rare to find such a top-notch specimen of this popular orchid variety."

"Silver could be earned back, but if they missed the chance to oil the wheels and advance their careers, it'd be gone for good."

"Shen Qinglan was thrilled and said lightly:"

""For a 'Thousand-hand Guanyin' of this quality, outside it'd cost at least a thousand taels a pot. But since father and eldest brother are family, I'll give you a discount—eight hundred taels to start.""

"Madam Shen, standing nearby, backed him up with a smile, "Every bid has to go up by at least ten taels.""

"Master Shen: ..."

"That biased old bat!"

"Shen Huaizhi openly fanned the flames: "Lan Ge'er, I also like this orchid a lot. I want to buy it too. I'll just throw in a thousand taels.""

"Shen Huairen: ..."

"That little bastard brother!"

"Shen Qingquan watched from the side, feeling sour inside."

"Although his father and eldest brother doted on him too, it wasn't the same wholehearted devotion his mother and second brother showed to second brother."

"But if he were to turn to his mother and second brother... he couldn't do it."

"No matter how kind his mother was, she was just the lady of the inner court—just a wife;"

"No matter how close his second brother was, he was just a worthless playboy;"

"His father was the true master of the Shen family, and his eldest brother was a successful imperial examination graduate with a bright future."

"He'd made the right choice."