Shen Jing felt uneasy. He could sense that Ji Cheng was trying to avoid suspicion. Did she have those feelings for him? Shen Jing wasn’t sure, and he knew his mother would certainly not agree to him marrying Ji Cheng, as Ji Lan had already hinted several times about finding him a true noble lady to marry.
But Shen Jing didn’t want some noble lady. Every time he saw Ji Cheng, his heart beat faster. He thought that if Ji Cheng had the same feelings, he would fight for her in front of his mother.
As Shen Jing was considering how to broach the subject with Ji Lan, he encountered a maid looking for him, saying Third Madam wanted to see him. As Shen Jing expected, Ji Lan brought up the old topic of his marriage.
Shen Jing said, “Mother, didn’t we agree to discuss this after the metropolitan examination?”
Ji Lan nodded. Originally, fearing it would distract Shen Jing, she had indeed agreed to wait. However, after Shen Cui’s incident, Ji Lan could no longer sit still. She felt that the Wang family dared to bully Shen Cui because they thought the Shen family’s third branch wasn’t prominent enough.
How many years would it take for Shen Jing to pass the examination, then enter officialdom and achieve success? Ji Lan couldn’t wait. She feared such incidents might happen again, so she was eager to arrange a prestigious marriage for Shen Jing. This way, others would think twice before targeting their branch.
In truth, Ji Lan was being narrow-minded. Wasn’t Duke Qi’s mansion prestigious enough? Although Duke Qi no longer held military power, his wife was Princess An’he, Emperor Jianping’s younger sister. Moreover, both the Loyal and Righteous Earl from the second branch and Shen Yu held real power, and even the Third Master’s official position was quite decent.
But human nature is such that one is never satisfied, always wanting to be more prestigious. Living under the same roof inevitably led to friction. As the saying goes, “Distant scents are fragrant, but nearby ones stink.” Ji Lan was biased against the first and second branches, always feeling they wouldn’t help the third branch, so she was eager to seek external support.
Ji Lan said, “We’ll formally discuss marriage after your metropolitan examination, but we can start looking before then. Finding a father-in-law who can help you will make it easier for you to enter officialdom in the future.”
Shen Jing frowned, “Mother, a real man should achieve success through his efforts. I’ve never thought of relying on my in-laws’ influence.”
Ji Lan wasn’t bothered by this. Shen Jing was still young, at an age when young men are full of passion, believing there’s nothing they can’t accomplish. They don’t yet understand the hardships of the world. “All right, all right. But you still need to marry and have children, don’t you?”
Shen Jing blushed and refused to speak further.
Ji Lan smiled slightly, “I’ve been thinking recently, among the families we know well, there are a few young ladies who would be suitable for you. Do you remember the second daughter of the An’ping Marquis Chen family? She’s plump and looks very fortunate. I’ve inquired, and her beauty and talents are quite outstanding…”
“Mother, I don’t want to think about these things now. I’m going back to my room to study,” Shen Jing fled like the wind.
Ji Lan closed her eyes and rubbed her brow. Recalling Shen Jing’s “shy and timid” appearance just now made her angry. Wasn’t he just fond of Ji Cheng? If Ji Cheng weren’t her niece, it wouldn’t matter to make her Shen Jing’s concubine. At this thought, Ji Lan even had a moment where she wished Ji Cheng had truly lost her innocence last night.
Of course, Ji Lan only thought this out of anger and didn’t truly wish for Ji Cheng’s reputation to be ruined.
While Ji Lan was discussing marriage with Shen Jing, coincidentally, the Old Madam had also summoned Shen Che.
“Your Third Aunt doesn’t care about her daughter and niece, but this old woman still has to care about my granddaughters. She’s willing to let this matter slide, but I can’t. Old First, what do you think we should do?” The Old Madam looked at Duke Qi Shen Zhuo sitting in the hall, along with her grandsons Shen Yu and Shen Che. The Loyal and Righteous Earl Shen Xiu from the second branch wasn’t in the capital due to military duties, so he wasn’t present. As for Third Master Shen Ying, he wasn’t invited because the Old Madam didn’t favor him.
It must be said that the Old Madam had raised all three of her sons well, but just as women fear marrying the wrong man, men also fear marrying the wrong wife. The Old Madam felt that Shen Ying had stumbled in this regard.
The Old Madam naturally looked down on Ji Lan, but what use was that? She couldn’t stop Shen Ying from falling for Ji Lan’s tricks. If not completely obedient to Ji Lan, he rarely went against her wishes. So when Ji Lan prevented them from confronting the Wang family, Shen Ying had no other words, which utterly disappointed the Old Madam.
Duke Qi Shen Zhuo naturally wasn’t afraid of the Wang family. “We’ll do as Mother says, but Cui is still Old Third’s daughter, and their concerns aren’t without reason.” It indeed wasn’t good for a well-bred young lady to have visited a brothel.
The Old Madam then looked at Shen Yu and Shen Che. Shen Yu remained silent, only looking at Shen Che. When it came to dealing with people, Shen Che was undoubtedly the most skilled in the entire family.
Shen Che smiled, “Why is everyone looking at me?”
The Old Madam glared at Shen Che, “You ask why we’re looking at you?”
Shen Che feigned helplessness and smiled, “All right, all right, leave it to me. We’ll make sure the Wang family suffers silently without ruining Fifth Sister’s reputation.”
The Old Madam finally looked satisfied. “This isn’t about me wanting to pick a fight. It’s just that if the Wang family dares to target Cui this time and we let it slide, what if someone targets Yuan or Rong next time?”
This reasoning didn’t need the Old Madam to point out; everyone present understood. Shen Che smiled, “Great-grandmother, I’ve already agreed to handle it. Don’t you trust me?”
The Old Madam snorted, “You’re always so unreliable. You promise well with your mouth, but who knows when you’ll do it.”
“To do this well, we can’t rush. I promise to make you feel better, how’s that?” Shen Che said.
“Just looking at you makes me angry. How can I feel better?” the Old Madam retorted.
Shen Che immediately made a gesture of holding his forehead, saying, “Here we go again, here we go again.”
The Old Madam was both angered and amused by Shen Che’s gesture. “You know what I’m going to say, don’t you? You think this old woman is nagging, but why can’t you behave yourself outside? Tell me, what kind of place is Tianxiang Tower? You never come home, always hanging around those filthy places. At your age, you still haven’t taken a wife. You’re going to anger your grandfather back to life.”
Seeing the Old Madam’s sudden change of topic, Shen Zhuo and Shen Yu exchanged glances, both feeling a sense of empathy. Although Shen Zhuo was now Duke Qi, he was still a son who caused worry in front of the Old Madam. He wasn’t innocent himself, so he never dared to criticize Shen Che. As for Shen Yu, his first wife had passed away many years ago, and he should have remarried long ago, often being nagged by the Old Madam about this. Fortunately, they had Shen Che, who was more unruly and more of a concern to the Old Madam, so their ears were relatively peaceful, thanks to Shen Che.
Now that Shen Che was being scolded, although Shen Zhuo and Shen Yu sympathized with him, they also simultaneously thought of retreating. The Old Madam knew their thoughts, but Shen Che’s matter was more pressing, so she didn’t stop Shen Zhuo and Shen Yu from leaving.
“If Grandfather comes back to life because of me, wouldn’t you be even happier?” Shen Che said cheekily, sitting close to the Old Madam.
Although the Old Madam usually had her way in the Shen mansion, she was most helpless when it came to Shen Che. “Che’er, have you always been blaming your great-grandmother?”
Shen Che gradually dropped his playful expression. “No, it’s all in the past now. Great-grandmother, don’t dwell on it.”
The Old Madam sighed, thinking to herself, “What a sin.” Shen Che used to be even more innocent than Shen Jing. Because of his attractive face since childhood, which maid in the mansion didn’t have romantic thoughts about him? But Shen Che never even batted an eye. Yet fate had that one peach blossom calamity for him, meeting that particular woman.
“Che’er, I’ve never been an obstinate person. Matters of the heart are predestined from the previous life, and I’ve never forcibly interfered. Even when your Third Uncle wanted to marry your Third Aunt, if I hadn’t agreed, how could she have entered our family? It’s just that that person had such a status that even if I agreed, our Shen family ancestors wouldn’t have. Even if she were just a girl selling tofu on the street, as long as her family background was clean, I could have decided to bring her back as a proper daughter-in-law. It’s been so many years now. Are you going to spend your whole life being frivolous because of such a person?” The Old Madam watched Shen Che’s expression closely as she spoke, not wanting to miss even the slightest clue.
Shen Che smiled and patted the Old Madam’s hand. “As you said, it’s been many years. Even the hottest feelings have cooled. Didn’t I say long ago, Great-grandmother, I’ll marry whoever you approve of.”
The Old Madam carefully looked into Shen Che’s eyes, but unfortunately, this grandson of hers had been good at hiding his thoughts since childhood. You could never guess his true feelings. The Old Madam could only sigh, “All right then, it’s settled. You’re not allowed to go out and get involved with any young widows or married women anymore, and you’re not allowed to visit those brothels either. Otherwise, who would be willing to marry their daughter to you?”
Shen Che laughed, “Then you might as well chain me up with iron chains.”
This remark made the Old Madam fall back in exasperation. “You…” Unable to control Shen Che, she could only say, “Hurry up and get out of here. Looking at you just makes me upset. Why can’t a fairy come and take you away?”
Hearing this, Shen Che naturally took the opportunity to leave.
The next day, when Ji Cheng went to Ji Lan’s room to pay her respects, Ji Lan was talking to Shen Cui and didn’t seem to mind Ji Cheng’s presence.
“Mother, how could you consider Chen Qian as my sister-in-law? She’s Wang Yueniang’s cousin!” Shen Cui said angrily.
Hearing this, Ji Cheng also looked at Ji Lan in surprise. After what happened to her and Shen Cui, even if the Shen family hadn’t yet uncovered the mastermind behind it, the Wang family was suspicious. How could Ji Lan still be considering a daughter from the Chen family as a daughter-in-law at this time?
What Ji Cheng found difficult to understand seemed perfectly reasonable to Ji Lan. Currently, Ji Lan couldn’t do anything about the Wang family and was unwilling to openly confront them. So she decided to take a drastic step by marrying Chen Bin’s sister, Chen Qian, as her daughter-in-law. This way, the Wang sisters wouldn’t dare to target Shen Cui in the future, as the family relationships would be closer.