Chapter 56

Chapter 56

Madam Shen was unaware of the conversation in the Han family.

After giving detailed instructions to Shen Qinglan, and then to her second son, Shen Huaizhi, she went to find Master Shen to discuss the plan to form a marriage alliance with the Han family.

"What? You want to betroth Lan'er to that scholar Han?"

Upon hearing his wife's proposal, Master Shen was shocked and bewildered.

Was his wife out of her mind? Although that Han had some talent and learning, he was after all from a poor scholar's family; his future prospects were truly uncertain.

Madam Shen had always doted on Lan'er; how could she bear to let him marry down into a poor family and endure such hardship?

"What's with that look? Since I say so, I have my reasons."

Seeing her husband's disbelief, Madam Shen gave him a reproachful glance and sighed softly.

"I truly have no other choice. Lan'er is the apple of my eye, but with his reputation as it is, aside from marrying beneath his station, there is only marrying far off, becoming a secondary wife, or becoming a concubine for some wealthy family."

"But how could I bear any of those paths? And Lan'er's temperament couldn't handle them either. After much thought, marrying down and staying in the capital is best..."

Master Shen disagreed: "Poor scholars come from impoverished families, and their rural relatives aren't easy to deal with. If Lan'er marries into that family, he may not have a smooth life."

"Rather than that, it would be better to choose a truly powerful family and become a concubine. At least there will be no lack of luxury. With Lan'er's looks, he would more than qualify as a favored concubine..."

She knew that old bastard would talk such crap!

Madam Shen, who had originally planned to speak softly and pretend to be gentle, ultimately couldn't hold back and slapped him.

"You old thing! I knew you were plotting to sell off my Lan'er! You talk so nicely usually, but now your true colors are showing!"

"Want my Lan'er to pave the way for you? Dream on! With Lan'er's temperament, if he went into a noble family as a concubine, he probably wouldn't last a month!"

Master Shen clutched his stinging cheek and glared angrily: "Madam, can't you speak properly? Do you have to use violence? I have to report to court tomorrow!"

"Listen to me finish, alright? Lan'er is a bit naive, but some men happen to like that kind. If the head of the household protects him, and we assign him several seasoned maidservants, his life will surely be quite comfortable."

"As the saying goes: Better a noble's concubine than a commoner's wife. Lan'er is also my own son; how could I really harm him?"

He himself was a man; how could he not understand men?

A pretty fool like Lan'er is precisely the most fatal attraction to certain men.

"Fortune favors fools," that's exactly the kind of person his Lan'er was.

Unfortunately, men and women think differently; Madam Shen only felt he was talking nonsense!

"If men could be trusted, pigs would fly! Is our Shen family starving, or are you failing at court that you have to sell off our son to make a living?"

"Lan'er wouldn't even agree to be a secondary wife, and you want him to be a concubine? Do you really want to force me and the boys to go to war with you?"

Master Shen said impatiently: "Weren't you the one who always looked down on poor scholars, afraid that Lan'er would meet a faithless man like me? How come now you look favorably upon that scholar Han?"

"It's because after choosing and choosing, there are no other options..." Madam Shen sighed again. "Besides, when I chose that scholar Han, wasn't it also for the sake of yours and our eldest son's future?"

"You? For my and our eldest son's future?"

Master Shen asked with a scoff, clearly not believing his wife's words.

Madam Shen continued to put on an act: "Well, look, as you said, you wouldn't harm Lan'er, and our eldest son is also my own flesh and blood. No matter how angry I am with him, how could I not wish him well?"

"I've carefully considered that scholar Han. Apart from his humble family background, his character, talent, and appearance are all top-notch..."

"This time at Jinguang Temple incense ceremony, he saved the lives of all the women in our household. Such a great favor—repaying with gold and silver would be too vulgar, but owing a favor is too heavy... You must know that favors are the hardest debts to repay."

"Under these circumstances, it's better to have Lan'er marry down to him, and also earn our Shen family a good reputation for valuing loyalty and righteousness."

"In the future, when he becomes the Shen family's son-in-law, the effort you spend on advancing his career won't be wasted. If he has good fortune later, he will have to thank our Shen mansion and owe our house a debt of gratitude. Isn't this a sure-win deal?"

This was indeed a better deal than just repaying a favor.

Master Shen mused: "What about Lan'er? Lan'er is the apple of your eye; aren't you worried that he will suffer by marrying down?"

"Of course I am worried..." Madam Shen said softly. "That's why I plan to add more to Lan'er's dowry. You should also help from your end. When that scholar Han passes the imperial exams and makes a name for himself, try to keep him in the capital for an official post, where we can keep an eye on him and take care of him..."

"Besides, now the eligible young ladies and lads in our mansion are all marrying up, and people outside will inevitably say that you are sucking up to the powerful. Letting Lan'er marry down can add to your reputation of not coveting wealth and keeping company with honest scholars, isn't that so?"

Madam Shen's careful persuasion hit every point that Master Shen cared about.

Master Shen valued reputation and official career above all else; the happiness of his children ultimately could not outweigh his own prospects in his heart.

After silently pondering for a moment, Master Shen finally nodded: "What you say does have some merit. Very well, since you think so highly of that scholar Han, if Lan'er comes back crying, don't blame me."

"Also, you have to talk to Lan'er about this. If I bring up this marriage, he will surely think I am biased, and then there will be chaos throughout the mansion again..."

He wrapped it in fine words, but Master Shen just didn't want to be the bad guy himself.

After all, Shen Qinglan had always been on the same page as Madam Shen, and had always avoided the idea of marrying into a poor family.

"I understand, my lord. I will speak to him."

Madam Shen knew her husband's nature well. She secretly rolled her eyes at him and couldn't be bothered to argue further.

...

Because they had already discussed it long ago.

When Shen Qinglan learned that he was to be married into a poor family, he naturally put up "all kinds of resistance," and Shen Huaizhi also showed great disapproval.

The two brothers then went together to make a fuss in front of Master Shen.

Shen Qinglan cried loudly: "Boo-hoo, Father, I don't want to marry into a poor family. I'm the Shen family's legitimate young master. How can you treat me like this? That Master Han didn't save only me; why do I have to marry beneath myself to repay a debt? I don't want to put up with as much hardship as Mother did."

Shen Huaizhi also said indignantly: "Father, you're going too far. The Han family, to put it mildly, is a poor scholar family; to put it bluntly, they are destitute. Even if Master Han is talented, my brother will have to go through all sorts of hardship before tasting any happiness. Father, you came from a poor family too; don't you know what it's like?"

The two brothers spoke very rudely, stripping away their father's face layer by layer.

Master Shen felt directly targeted. His face flushed with anger, and he roared: "What's wrong with a poor family? A poor family can still raise an outstanding son! If it weren't for me, this self-made man from humble roots, where would you have the fortune to be young masters of an official family?"

"How dare you be so brazen to look down on Master Han who achieved fame at a young age? You have no idea of your place! A life-saving favor must be repaid with sincere affection. This marriage is not up for discussion. Get back to your courtyards!"

He had originally been a bit hesitant, but these two sons were too infuriating, constantly going on about "poor family" this and that, without sparing their father any face at all.

Shen Qinglan refused to return to his courtyard and continued to wail: "I won't marry! I won't marry no matter what! I want to take part in the imperial selection and enter the palace as a consort! With my beauty, I will surely win favor and become a royal favorite. Father, don't you want a promotion in rank? With a royal favorite as your son, why would you worry about a road to power?"

Shen Huaizhi also chimed in: "Yes, Father, Second Brother is so extraordinarily handsome; wouldn't it be a pity to marry him into a poor family..."

The two brothers worked in tandem, laying out the advantages for their father.

Old Master Shen felt a bit tempted, but the concubines in his courtyard and the illegitimate daughters and sons were panicked!

They had deep grudges with Second Young Master, and if he gained power, even if he didn’t take revenge personally, the master would make their lives miserable to please him.

For their own future, everyone united, speaking out to dissuade him.

“Master, you mustn’t! Although Second Young Master is handsome, his temperament would cause trouble in the palace—who knows what disasters he might bring? The imperial palace is not like the backyards of ordinary nobles…”

“If he makes a mistake in a common household’s inner quarters, at most he alone would be punished; but in the harem, one wrong step could bring execution of the entire clan!”

That logic made sense.

All Lord Shen wanted was a promotion, not to lose his head.

Though wealth and honor come from risks, one must assess how great the risk truly is.

“Lan’er, stop throwing a tantrum! Didn’t you say before that you didn’t want me to meddle in your marriage? This was all your mother’s doing—I can’t go back on my word now. If you’re unhappy, go find her yourself.”

Before Shen Qinglan could whip it out, Lord Shen made a quick escape, shifting the blame to his wife.

Shen Qinglan could only sob as he ran to his mother’s courtyard.

But his outburst was useless—Lady Shen had made up her mind and directly ordered him locked up.

She then ordered an old nanny to prepare the carriage, heading to Upper Slope Village to visit the Han family, ostensibly to thank them for the rescue, but actually to discuss the marriage.

The news spread across the manor.

The concubines and their children laughed heartily, doubled over with laughter.

Shen Qingbai and Shen Qingshuang let out long sighs of relief.

Shen Qingbai sighed with relief and said, “Third Sister, since Second Brother is marrying into poverty, he shouldn’t be able to take revenge on us for stealing his marriage, right? Even if that Han scholar becomes successful, in twenty or thirty years, can his official rank surpass our current husbands’ families? Besides, I heard he’s no extraordinary talent—probably won’t amount to much…”

Shen Qingshuang sneered and said, “Even if he does have talent, so what? As long as we suppress him before he rises, a poor scholar can’t change the world. In this life, Second Brother will stay in the gutter…”

He’ll never climb above us again!

—

Upon hearing the news, Shen Qingquan had mixed feelings. He secretly felt glad his second brother could no longer outshine him, but also a little sympathetic.

After all, they were full-blooded brothers with no deep grievances. Even if their relationship had soured over the marriage, he didn’t wish for his brother to end up destitute.

This time, Shen Qingquan genuinely wanted to comfort him but worried it would look like kicking a man when he’s down.

Besides, ever since the marriage affair, his second brother wanted to fight him on sight, and he had no desire to be beaten.

“Forget it. Tell everyone in our courtyard not to discuss this matter.”

After giving his orders, the resentment from his mother’s favoritism slowly faded.

After all, from now on, he and his second brother would no longer be of the same class.

—

Inside the east wing’s main room.

Eldest Sister-in-law Lv Shurou was grinning from ear to ear, calling out to the maid, “Hurry, prepare a good spread of wine and dishes—I’m going to celebrate today.”

“That little tyrant Shen Qinglan is finally getting married, and to a poor scholar… I can’t wait to see him crawl back to beg his family’s help for his husband’s career.”

Then I’ll mock him thoroughly to ease my own hatred!

In short, no one in the Shen manor thought well of Shen Qinglan’s marriage, all believing he was finished for life.