Chapter 64

Chapter 64

Han Zhang was meticulous and full of schemes.

But Madam Shen was no pushover either. Having learned from her husband Shen Fu's example, she now believed that no matter how careful you were, you couldn't be too prepared for the worst.

Since Han Zhang dared to put his promise in writing, she naturally wanted to publicize this matter, leaving him no chance to back out.

That's why at the wedding procession, this scene played out.

The steward of the Shen residence stepped forward with a smile, cupped his hands to the gathered villagers, and pointed to the bronze scroll on the tray, saying:

"Folks, please take a look. This is a 'Covenant of Hearts,' a vow personally made and engraved by our young master's husband for our young master Qinglan. Today, I ask you all to bear witness. I'll read it aloud on behalf of our young master's husband, to show his sincere devotion and deep affection!"

With that, the steward cleared his throat and began to read word by word in a resonant voice:

"I, Han Qinzhang, hereby take Shen Qinglan as my lawful husband. I swear that in this life I will never take a concubine, never keep a mistress outside, and never betray him..."

"May we grow old together through frost and snow, and grow old as branches intertwined. Even if mountains crumble, my love won't change; even if seas dry up, this oath remains as gold. Under the moon, we'll always hold hands; by lamplight, our hearts mirror each other. This life is bound by one vow; we won't part until our hair turns white."

"This heart shines bright before the sun and moon; this oath rings true, engraved forever in this book. If I break it, heaven and earth will abandon me, and gods and men will scorn me. This writing stands as proof, never to be rescinded!"

At the end, besides Han Zhang's name and birthplace, there were his fingerprint and the date.

That thin piece of bronze, engraved with these vows, seemed to weigh a thousand pounds.

After the reading, there was a moment of silence, then a buzz erupted.

"What? Only one husband for life, never taking a concubine?"

"And Master Han put it in writing? Then there's no going back."

"Such deep love! Master Shen is really lucky!"

"No wonder the Shen family agreed to marry their young master to him. This sincere heart is worth more than mountains of gold and silver!"

"I heard this marriage also has a life-saving favor behind it. Master Han bravely rescued the Shen family's ladies at Jinguang Temple, and the Shen family, valuing loyalty, married their young master to him. It's a match made in heaven..."

The crowd buzzed with exclamations and envy.

Those who had gossiped about Shen Qinglan marrying down and the cheap wedding were all shut up.

After all, in this era of multiple wives and concubines, it was rare for a man to swear such a vow solemnly—such sincerity brought real honor to his spouse.

Han Zhang understood Madam Shen's move.

He could only sigh to himself: Senior Shen, you really made life hard for everyone!

But despite his inner complaints about Shen Fu, Han Zhang solemnly cupped his hands and bowed deeply to the Shen family, saying:

"Father-in-law, mother-in-law, elder brother, sisters, please rest assured. Since Qinglan has married me as my husband, I, Zhang, will do my utmost to protect, care for, and love him in this life. This heart and this oath are witnessed by heaven and earth, and testified by the villagers."

His words were sincere and firm, no trace of reluctance—only genuine emotion.

Madam Shen finally smiled genuinely. With tears in her eyes, she nodded warmly and said, "Good child, the auspicious hour is near. Take Qinglan home now..."

Shen Huaizhi smiled in satisfaction, giving Han Zhang a look of approval. He carried the gleeful Shen Qinglan on his back to the bridal sedan chair and joined the procession.

The matchmaker hurriedly shouted joyfully, "The auspicious hour is here! The husband enters the sedan chair!"

With that, the suona and drums rose in response.

Han Zhang finally succeeded in welcoming his young husband. He mounted his horse and led the wedding procession back to Shangpo Village.

Shen Qinglan's dowry followed, one trunk after another, tied with red silk, trailing behind the wedding procession. The trunks were so heavy they pressed down on the servants' shoulders.

Seeing this, the villagers gasped again.

"Oh my god, a full sixty-four dowry trunks! I've seen some officials' daughters or sons marry with only thirty-two trunks..."

"Is Lord Shen's household that wealthy? Wasn't Lord Shen from a humble family?"

"Lord Shen is naturally frugal! This fortune is from Madam Shen. I heard she's the daughter of a wealthy Jiangnan merchant. This young master Shen is her own son, so of course, the dowry is generous..."

"I see... Look at those servants, their backs are almost bent! How heavy is that dowry!"

Shen Fu is only a Fifth Rank official with a limited salary; he could never have provided such a generous dowry. To avoid giving others a reason to criticize Shen Fu, Madam Shen had arranged for servants disguised as ordinary folks to steer the crowd's explanations.

But the explanations weren't exactly what Shen Fu would have wanted.

Hearing the murmurs, Shen Fu's face turned green: Now all of Beijing knows I live off my wife's dowry!

...

Shen Qinglan's apparent sixty-four dowry trunks could astonish even the worldly city folks.

In Shangpo Village, it was even more shocking.

At that moment, they finally understood what it meant for the Han family to marry an official's son.

"The Hans have really climbed high..."

"Of course. I heard this Master Shen's father is a full Fifth Rank official—much better than that Sun family relative. And this is a proper son-in-law!"

"Not only a higher rank, but look at this dowry—he's also loaded..."

"Now those Luo family people won't dare to say anything..."

"Truly, the eldest son of the Han family is the most promising. I always said Han's eldest son was a better scholar and better-looking than Luo's eldest son. His marriage prospects will surely be better!"

The Shangpo Village villagers discussed heatedly, their former mockery turning into flattery and hindsight.

The world bustles with profit and interest.

Such is human nature.

The Han family showed no pride or relief; their minds were calm. Especially Clan Chief Han and the Elders, who could still chat and laugh with villagers who had previously spoken harshly.

In life, appearances matter.

That is why the Hans had always had a better reputation in the surrounding areas than the Luos.

In ancient times, there was a distinction between internal and external matters.

Shen Huaizhi, as part of the bride's side, was supposed to return by tradition after escorting Shen Qinglan to the Han home as a bride, and wasn't allowed to stay for the wedding ceremony itself.

But who was Shen Huaizhi? A total playboy.

A playboy was someone who disregarded rules.

Some country in-laws, to make their daughter-in-law obedient, would pull a power move on the newlyweds the moment they walked in on the wedding day.

Shen Huaizhi couldn't bear to see his younger brother bullied, so after the escort, he took out a wedding gift and said all cheeky and shameless:

"Brother Han, by tradition, as your brother-in-law, I shouldn't stay after the escort. But since we call each other brothers, I've come to congratulate you on your wedding. So, brother, will you give me that drink or not?"

As soon as Shen Huaizhi finished speaking,

three more guys popped out from behind him—Zhao Yongchang, Pan Taining, and Wu Xuelin.

The three also handed over gifts and said with grins, "Big congrats, Brother Han!"

Although Brother Han was a good person, Old Shen was their buddy. Since Old Shen was coming to back up his brother, naturally they couldn't miss out.

Looking at these goofballs in front of him, Han Zhang helplessly smiled and cupped his hands: "Then I thank you, brothers, for your kindness. Brother Shen, Brother Pan, Brother Zhao, Brother Wu... please take the honored seats."

Well, he picked his husband, so he had to live with it.

"Wait, there's one more gift..."

Zhao Yongchang hurried over and handed over another gift box.

Han Zhang asked in confusion: "Brother Zhao, what is this..."

"This is a wedding gift from my cousin, the heir apparent. He heard about your marriage and wanted to come personally to congratulate you, but he was tied up with affairs and couldn't make it, so he asked me to pass it to you."

Zhao Yongchang gave Han Zhang a meaningful wink and said: "Brother Han, my imperial uncle and my cousin the crown prince have been thinking about you ever since they left. Next year's imperial examination, you absolutely must not mess up, understand?"

Zhao Yongchang's imperial uncle and cousin the crown prince?

That would be the emperor and the crown prince they had encountered last time?

"..."

Han Zhang kept his smile on, but inside he felt like a squeezed lemon!

The reason was simple: he really didn't want to be on the crown prince's radar.

Because being on the crown prince's radar would drag him into the fight for the crown prince position.

Throughout all of history, how many crown princes have smoothly ascended the throne? The risk of backing the crown prince was insane.

Even if the crown prince made it to the throne and Han Zhang got credit for helping him, it would still do him more harm than good!

From ancient times, officials who wanted to die well had to quit while they were ahead, hand back their power, and retire quietly.

Just look at positive historical examples like: Xu Da, Guo Ziyi, Zeng Guofan...

—

But Han Zhang was too young; no way was he giving up power at the peak of his career.

Because the Han family didn't have deep roots, he had to remain in a high position to support the family until the other pillars of the Han family could stand on their own; otherwise, the Han family simply could not handle the pressure from his political rivals.

Moreover, his future children would likely be taken into the crown prince's harem as political trophies for political reasons after he ascended the throne. How could he bear to see his and Qinglan's children suffer such a fate?

At that time, if Qinglan broke down crying to him, he might lose it and go head-to-head with the emperor.

And his fate?

He just had to look at historical cautionary tales like: Han Xin, Lan Yu, Nian Gengyao...

Han Zhang felt a bit choked up inside.

He never planned to get mixed up in the heir business. Originally, he planned to pass the imperial examination and then be assigned to a county as a minor official for a few years, waiting for the crown prince drama to blow over before returning to the capital to make his mark.

But unexpectedly, he had already caught the eye of Emperor Taixuan, and was even secretly placed under the crown prince's command.

Since ancient times, the heir struggle was as fierce as a tiger. As a nobody from a humble family with nothing but talent, getting involved was clearly just being used as a weapon. What could he do!