Chapter 27: Confrontation

Chapter 27: Confrontation

"Shen Qinglan, how dare you!"

Shen Yichen hadn't expected this fool to be so out of control today.

He'd assumed he'd be facing Wang Shuci, but the man had completely ignored the trap he'd set beforehand, falling back on his usual trick—hanging back and letting that fool Shen Qinglan do the dirty work.

If anything went wrong, it would just be written off as kids being kids.

Wang Shuci would even time his outings—banquets, errands—to make sure he had an alibi, keeping up his image as a kind, generous stepfather.

No one outside the family had any idea what vicious, cruel things his supposedly sweet, obedient Shen Qinglan was up to, or how seamlessly father and son worked together.

As for Shen Yunhe, the father, as long as nothing leaked to ruin his precious reputation, he'd always looked the other way.

Besides, Wang Shuci was a master of appearances—no matter how vicious his methods behind closed doors, he could always put on a saintly face in public. That was all Shen Yunhe cared about.

Funny how Shen Yichen had actually thought having Shen Yunhe home today might change things.

But what surprised Shen Yichen most was Shen Qinglan.

He hadn't expected Shen Qinglan to actually be serious about that mama's boy, the Young Marquis of Yong'an.

Shen Yichen's mind was racing, but he felt zero regret.

"Bastard! Today I'll pay you back in kind and let you taste what it's like to have your head shaved! Hahaha... Let's see if Cheng Yi still wants you after this!"

By now, Shen Yichen was pinned down by several servants and couldn't break free no matter how hard he struggled.

Shen Qinglan grabbed a fistful of his hair.

Shen Yichen winced, baring his teeth in pain, but kept glaring at his tormentor.

The fool's eyes were bloodshot, his face a mask of madness, as he pressed the sharp scissors against Shen Yichen's pale neck.

Chuliu screamed in terror, thrashing like a madman, desperate to throw himself at his young master's attackers, but two burly servants had him pinned to the ground. One of them even ground his heel into Chuliu's head, forcing him to watch helplessly as his master was tormented.

"Shen Qinglan, don't forget—I'm set to distribute grain outside the estate tomorrow. If I don't show, or if anything happens to me, they'll report it to the authorities."

"So what?" Shen Qinglan laughed like a maniac. "I don't care. I just want you dead."

His face twisted even more as he spoke.

"If Father hadn't stopped me, I'd have done this a long time ago."

"You wretch! You shaved my head and ruined my engagement! I've got nothing now—nothing!!!"

"It's all your fault!"

An icy chill touched his neck, followed by a sharp sting.

Shen Yichen felt blood trickling down his neck. Even after a thousand times, he'd never get used to it, but he forced himself to stay calm.

"Shen Qinglan, Cheng Yi is a proud man. What you're doing is insulting him. Can you handle the consequences of provoking the Duke Zhenguo's estate?"

"Father cares most about his reputation. What if the capital's citizens accuse him of harming his own son? Aren't you afraid the Emperor will punish him for defying the imperial decree? Can the Minister's residence survive that?"

"And what about the Mid-Autumn palace banquet in a month..."

Shen Yichen forced himself to stay calm, rapidly listing every consequence for Shen Qinglan.

But someone pushed to the brink cares about nothing, and Shen Qinglan was a fool to begin with. He couldn't give a damn about the Minister's residence or his father's reputation.

Right now, he only wanted to exact revenge a thousandfold, to torment Shen Yichen to death like he always had.

So he ignored whatever Shen Yichen was saying, screaming in fury instead.

"Fuliu, you idiot! Shut this wretch's mouth! Shut it up!!!"

Shen Yichen's heart sank. Even if he had a plan, there was nothing he could do.

Just then, he caught Shen Yuzhu's gaze sweeping over.

Cold and gloomy, utterly indifferent eyes. No doubt he'd been feeding Shen Qinglan advice all along—he didn't even need to spell it out, just a few suggestive words and Shen Qinglan would follow him like a puppet.

"Mmph mmph..."

Damn it!

Shen Yichen roared in fury to no avail, left with no choice but to glare murderously at Shen Qinglan.

Chuliu had long since run out of strength, yet he still fought with everything he had.

"You can't escape, you bastard! Cheng Yi is nothing! The Duke Zhenguo's estate means nothing to me! I'll make you lose face, humiliate you in front of everyone! I'll make the whole world laugh at you, hahaha!"

"Once I shave your head and slash your face, Cheng Yi will be disgusted just looking at you. He never thought much of you anyway—he'll only hate you more, want to puke at the sight of you, hahahaha! You think you can escape by leaving the Minister's residence?"

"Dream on, you wretch! I'll make you miserable for the rest of your life, trapped in my nightmare forever, got it?"

Shen Qinglan sneered, and with a snip—

A lock of Shen Yichen's hair fell to the ground. Then a chill swept across his face as the cold blade pressed against his cheek.

With just a little pressure, a bloody gash would open on Shen Yichen's fair skin.

But at that critical moment, a servant came rushing in, walked straight up to Shen Qinglan, and whispered something in his ear.

Shen Qinglan's expression changed instantly. In a rage, he hurled the scissors at the servant's face.

"Why! Why do I have to let him go! Why can't I cut it! Why won't you let me take revenge—ahhhh!"

Shen Qinglan screamed like a madman.

The servant's face went pale with fright—if he hadn't dodged in time, the scissors would've embedded themselves right in his face.

As it was, he collapsed to the ground in terror.

Shen Yichen's mind raced, trying to figure out what had happened and who was stopping Shen Qinglan.

He noticed Shen Yuzhu suddenly rise, help the servant to his feet, and then ask what was going on.

The servant kept his voice low, but Shen Yichen still caught a few words.

"The Master..."

"Lady Marquis Zhongyong"...

Lady Marquis Zhongyong? Wasn't that his future mother-in-law?

Cheng Yi?

Did he do something?

Shen Yichen felt his heart suddenly pound.

Shen Yuzhu, upon hearing the reason, couldn't help but furrow his brows deeply, his cold eyes shooting Shen Yichen a resentful glance.

He seemed baffled that Shen Yichen could be so lucky, that he'd managed to dodge danger time and again.

Then he walked over to Shen Qinglan, who was fuming with rage.

"Enough, Qinglan, you need to calm down."

"The Minister's residence's reputation comes first. If anyone saw him looking like that when he gets married, what would outsiders think of our household, and what would they think of Father?"

"Have you forgotten how I ended up in this state?" Shen Qinglan pointed at his head, wrapped in a turban, in a rage. "He did this to me!"

"With me looking like this, what's the point of saving face?"

"Father wants face, Mother wants face, the Minister's residence wants face, you all want face—so I'm the only one who doesn't, is that it?"

"Shen Yuzhu, it's easy for you to say. If you'd been shaved like this, could you stay so calm and cool about it?"

Shen Yuzhu's expression stiffened slightly; he was annoyed too.

The Marquis Zhongyong's residence had to pick this exact moment to send someone over, saying the wedding procession would use horses instead of a bridal sedan.

He'd never heard of such a custom in his life.

You'd think the Marquis's residence looked down on this match and was deliberately humiliating the bride, but he felt something was off.

Father had already made it clear that no more harm could be done to Shen Yichen's head or face, or else the Minister's residence would become the talk of the capital on the wedding day itself.

More importantly, Wang Shuci's reputation would be ruined, and the loving-father image he'd maintained for over a decade would become a joke.

Although Shen Yuzhu would love to see that happen, it wasn't the right time yet—he still needed the Wang family's backing to achieve his goals.

Shen Yuzhu's mind was racing, but his face gave nothing away.

He grabbed the furious Shen Qinglan warmly.

"Qinglan, listen to me. I know you've been terribly wronged. Luckily, hair grows back. As for the Young Marquis of Yong'an, if he could abandon you at a time like this, he's clearly not the right person for you. Why waste your grief on someone like that?"

Seeing that the brainless Shen Qinglan was about to blow up again, Shen Yuzhu quickly added, "If you ask me, you deserve someone better."

"I've heard the Young Marquis is completely obedient to the Lady Marquis of Yong'an and has no backbone of his own. You saw how tough the Lady Marquis was today—not just hard to deal with but outright vicious. If you really married into the Yong'an Marquis's residence, do you think life would be easy for you?"

Shen Qinglan was brainless and easily led. Growing up, he'd always acted arrogant and looked down on Shen Yuzhu, his half-brother from a concubine, but in reality, he was always being led around by the nose by him.

Now, with just a few words, Shen Yuzhu had managed to calm him down.

He started to feel that he was truly something special and that the Young Marquis of Yong'an really wasn't good enough for him.

But looking at Shen Yichen, he couldn't help feeling bitter about missing such a perfect opportunity.

"So we're just letting him off?"

Shen Yuzhu cursed him inwardly for being an idiot.

There were plenty of ways in the inner chambers to make life worse than death without anyone catching on. Wang Shuci was a master at this—so why had he produced a fool like Shen Qinglan?

After all these years, hadn't he picked up a single thing?

For instance, slipping him a cold poison to cause unbearable pain while also making sure he could never bear children;

Or laxatives, love potions, or itching powders—as long as he made a fool of himself in public on the wedding day, he'd be disgraced and spend the rest of his life as a laughingstock.

...

And what would any of that have to do with the Minister's residence?

But Shen Yuzhu had always kept up an aloof, composed front, so such vicious words couldn't come out of his mouth.

However, just as he was mulling over how to steer Shen Qinglan, he suddenly heard Shen Yichen's mocking laugh from behind him.

"Shen Qinglan, you idiot, do you really think he's being nice to you? He wishes you'd stay bald forever, never able to show your face in public."

Only then did everyone notice that Shen Yichen had used his tongue to push the cloth out of his mouth while they weren't looking.

He was now sneering at the two of them.

Shen Yuzhu's heart clenched. "What does Eldest Brother mean by that?"

"Don't call me Eldest Brother. My father only had two kids—me and my older brother. Besides, before my father died, he never knew Minister Shen had a concubine. Who knows where you crawled out from, you little bastard."

Shen Yichen wasn't falling for that act. No matter what cold, noble front Shen Yuzhu put on, he and his father, who only knew how to flatter Wang Shuci, were both rotten to the core.

And as for "Second Young Master," he'd never acknowledged that title.

Shen Yuzhu's biggest sore spot was his status as a concubine's son. Because his birth date was sensitive, Shen Yunhe had deliberately kept him in the shadows for years. Whether it was him or his father, they were rarely seen at the Minister's residence's events. Many people didn't even know the residence had a second young master.

He hated his lowly concubine-born status with every fiber of his being.

That's why he irrationally envied Shen Yichen, that bastard. He was utterly useless yet somehow had all the advantages—even after his mother's family was executed for treason and his father died young, he still held onto the position of the legitimate eldest son of the Minister's residence.

He truly hated that.

And this bastard could always hit his sore spot dead-on—how could he not hate him?

"I call you Eldest Brother out of respect. Don't push your luck."

But Shen Qinglan was more eager to know what Shen Yichen had meant earlier.

"What did you mean by that just now?"

Shen Yichen looked at Shen Yuzhu, whose expression had changed slightly, and sneered coldly:

"You idiot, didn't I just tell you? In a month, the Empress is hosting the Mid-Autumn Palace Banquet, and all officials of the third rank and above can bring their families."

"In previous years, Father always brought you and your dad. But now, with you looking like this," Shen Yichen said, deliberately glancing at Shen Qinglan's head, "tsk tsk, guess whether Father will still take you to the palace?"

Hearing this, Shen Qinglan's murderous rage flared up again.

The string of misfortunes had clouded his judgment, and he'd momentarily forgotten about this.

Thinking he'd miss out on such an honor, the hatred in his eyes deepened.

There were only three young masters in the residence. Even if Shen Yichen didn't marry, it wouldn't be his turn. So who else could it be?

"Shen Yuzhu!" Shen Qinglan shot Shen Yuzhu a vicious glare. "I knew you were up to no good! You said you found me a hair-growth remedy—were you lying to me?"

A smirk tugged at the corner of Shen Yichen's mouth.

Shen Yuzhu, on the other hand, was clearly annoyed.

Dealing with such an idiot, it was hard for him to keep up his cold, aloof act.

"Qinglan, can't you tell? He's just trying to drive a wedge between us."

"I am indeed sowing discord," Shen Yichen admitted without a hint of shame, "but what I said is the truth. Don't tell me you don't want to go with Father to the palace banquet?"

A flicker passed through Shen Yuzhu's eyes.

How could he not want that?

He'd been scheming for this for ages, and the only reason he was standing here today, playing along with this idiot's little act, was for exactly this goal.

He never imagined that bastard Shen Yichen would call him out in front of everyone like that.

Now he was caught in a bind.

If he denied it, and the chance actually landed on him, wouldn't he be throwing it away?

But if he admitted it, that fool Shen Qinglan would nag endlessly. Once he made a fuss to Wang Shuci, Wang Shuci would never grant him the chance to enter the palace again.

With a single offhand remark, Shen Yichen had cornered him into a no-win situation.

Shen Yuzhu gritted his teeth in fury.

==========Author's Note:==========

Sorry for the late update today. I'll try to find time for an extra chapter as compensation.