Chapter 5

Chapter 5

By the time Lu Chenyu dragged Liu Wanrou over to find Lu Chenzhou, the tear tracks on Liu Wanrou’s face had yet to dry.

Lu Chenzhou listened with a frown as his sister rambled on and on. Only at the very end did he finally understand that some young ladies from prominent families had mocked Liu Wanrou to her face.

He sighed. In his view, this was the sort of trivial matter that could be brought up at any time, yet she had chosen to drag it before him while they were guests in someone else’s home.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a group of young noblemen standing at a distance, watching him with amused smiles. It would not do to criticize Lu Chenyu too harshly in front of them, so he merely coaxed her with a few words and said nothing more.

Lu Chenyu had come to find him because she wanted him to stand up for Liu Wanrou and salvage the dignity of the Dingbei Marquis Estate. Seeing him react like this, she stamped her foot and complained, “Brother, why aren’t you angry? You heard how they talked Cousin down as if she were worthless, as if our Dingbei Marquis Estate would suffer some great loss if they refused to marry into it. I also heard that during Marquis Jingnan’s last birthday celebration, that Miss Lin or whatever her name was actually wanted to scheme her way into marrying you, Brother. It was only because you didn’t go that she ended up tricking the Hereditary Prince of Jingnan Hou instead.”

“Enough!”

Lu Chenzhou’s expression darkened, and he immediately snapped in a low voice, cutting Lu Chenyu off.

This sister of his truly had been spoiled rotten. Miss Lin was now already engaged to the Hereditary Prince of Jingnan Hou and would be married before long. After hearing idle gossip, not only had Lu Chenyu failed to refute it, she was going around repeating it everywhere. Was she not afraid of offending Jingnan Marquis Manor?

Besides, where had she heard that Lady Lin had set a trap in order to marry him?

If rumors like this spread and reached the ears of the people at Jingnan Marquis Manor, how were the Dingbei Marquis Estate and Jingnan Marquis Manor supposed to face each other in the future?

“Where did you hear such outrageous nonsense? Who told you Miss Lin wanted to scheme her way into marrying me?”

He rarely spoke to Lu Chenyu so sternly. Faced with it so suddenly, Lu Chenyu was instantly a little frightened. Clutching at Liu Wanrou’s sleeve, she said timidly, “I overheard it from Madam Shen (eldest branch). She… she was discussing an engagement for her daughter with Madam Grand Secretary, and she mentioned it in passing. From what I heard, if you and Cousin hadn’t already been married, Brother, she would have wanted her daughter to imitate Miss Lin and scheme against you too.”

Madam Shen (eldest branch)? The wife of Shen Zhan, the eldest son of the Shen Family-Shen Jin’s aunt?

Lu Chenzhou had, after all, once been connected to the Shen Family by marriage and knew something of their household. Shen Zhan had two daughters and one son. His eldest daughter was already married, while his younger daughter had not yet reached marriageable age.

Shen Zhan’s second younger brother had failed to pass the provincial examination and was only a xiucai. He had just one daughter, and she had also been married off early.

Among the Shen Family members still at home and of an age to discuss marriage, only the daughter of the third Shen brother remained: Shen Jin.

Shen Jin’s parents had both passed away, and she had been living under the protection of Shen Zhan and his wife. It was not surprising that Madam Shen (eldest branch) would make plans for Shen Jin’s marriage.

What struck him as strange was this: how had Madam Shen (eldest branch) learned that Lady Lin had intended to scheme her way into marrying him?

Thinking back to the day he and Shen Jin divorced, Shen Jin had once told him that, like him, she had been powerless to choose for herself, and that marrying into the Dingbei Marquis Estate had never been her wish.

Could it be that there had been other hidden complications behind what happened at the birthday banquet in Jingnan Marquis Manor?

“What else did you hear Madam Shen (eldest branch) say? Aside from Madam Grand Secretary, did she tell anyone else about Lady Lin wanting to scheme her way into our Dingbei Marquis Estate?”

Lu Chenyu shook her head. “At the time, only Madam Grand Secretary and Madam Shen (eldest branch) were there. There was no one else. I was angry because Cousin had been mocked, and I happened to be pulling her past when I overheard a few lines. But Madam Shen (eldest branch) knew you already had a marriage arrangement, Brother, so she has already planned to have her daughter marry into Marquis Pingxi’s Manor as the Old Marquis’s second wife.”

Marquis Pingxi was already past fifty, while Shen Jin had only just reached marriageable age. How could two people like that possibly be matched?

The Shen Family was truly willing to throw away all shame just to climb higher.

If Shen Jin agreed to it, then she was still the same woman who clung to power and wealth. And to think he had just been wondering whether she had some hidden difficulty.

Lu Chenzhou’s expression darkened. He had no desire to listen to such vexing matters any longer, nor did he want to concern himself with how the Shen Family married off its daughters. He simply told Liu Wanrou to take Lu Chenyu back to the women’s side and instructed her to keep a close eye on Lu Chenyu, lest she get into another war of words with someone.

A moment later, he returned to the side of the Hereditary Prince of Jingnan Hou and the others, resuming their discussion of men’s affairs-official careers, governance, and the economy-as though nothing had happened.

The flower-viewing banquet could be called a delight for both host and guests. Only Shen Jin remained weighed down with worries.

It was not convenient for her to ask where her eldest aunt had arranged her marriage, so she only became ever more cautious in her words and actions, no longer daring to agree lightly to go anywhere with Madam Shen (eldest branch).

As it happened, Fourth Miss Shen’s hairpin ceremony was only a few days away. Shen Si was Madam Shen (eldest branch)’s own daughter, and the hairpin ceremony was the most important rite in a young woman’s life, so Madam Shen (eldest branch)’s attention shifted from Shen Jin to Shen Si.

That day, Madam Shen (eldest branch) had prepared the hairpin, hair ornaments, ceremonial crown, and other items. She had also invited several ladies from friendly noble families to serve as the principal guest, assistants, master of ceremony, usher, and attendants. Shen Jin and the other three Shen sisters had changed into their ceremonial clothes early as well, waiting only for the auspicious hour to arrive so they could perform Shen Si’s hairpin ceremony.

Unexpectedly, at that moment, someone came making a scene at the door, saying he wished to propose marriage to the Shen Family and ask to wed a woman née Shen.

It gave Madam Shen (eldest branch) a terrible fright. She hurriedly sent someone out to ask, only to learn that the person who had come to propose was Xue Huaicong, the only son of the late Vice Minister Xue of the Ministry of Revenue.

Only when Madam Shen (eldest branch) heard the visitor’s name did she remember.

The former Vice Minister of Revenue, Xue Yi, had once been the superior of her husband, Shen Zhan, as well as his fellow disciple. The two had been very close in private and had once agreed that if one of them had a son and the other a daughter, they would become in-laws.

Not long afterward, Shen Zhan first had a daughter. Several years later, Xue Yi finally had a son, Xue Huaicong. Everyone had assumed this marriage arrangement would end there, but unexpectedly, Madam Shen (eldest branch) later gave birth to another daughter, and so the betrothal between Xue Huaicong and Shen Si was settled from infancy.

Originally, Xue Yi’s official rank had been one level higher than Shen Zhan’s, so in Madam Shen (eldest branch)’s eyes, this marriage had truly been an excellent match.

But disaster struck without warning. When Xue Huaicong had only just reached fifteen, Vice Minister Xue suddenly caught a chill and never recovered. He passed away, leaving only Xue Huaicong and his widowed mother to struggle on.

At that time, Madam Shen (eldest branch) had wanted to withdraw from the marriage arrangement with the Xue Family. It was Shen Zhan who said Lord Xue’s bones were not yet cold, and that acting so would invite universal contempt. Only then did she let the matter drop.

Afterward, the household was beset with one matter after another, and then the Shen Family’s third master and his wife died unexpectedly. Madam Shen (eldest branch) was so busy she scarcely had time to touch the ground, and she actually forgot the betrothal entirely.

Now that Xue Huaicong had come to the door, she realized with a start that she was one step too late. Looking at the hall full of guests, she truly did not want anyone to know that her daughter had been promised to a family fallen on hard times.

But if she had the man driven out, once the matter was brought up afterward, people would inevitably gossip.

Madam Shen (eldest branch) was caught between a rock and a hard place. She discussed it for a long time in the room with the old madam and Shen Zhan, and in the end, steeled her heart to slander Xue Huaicong as a scoundrel and use that as an excuse to drive him out. Even if people cursed her behind her back afterward, it was still better than pushing her daughter into a fire pit.

She opened the door and was just about to go out and summon the household guards to throw him out.

But then she saw Shen Jin hurrying over. Shen Jin took her hand, led her back into the room, then dropped to both knees before her.

“Eldest Aunt, please do not worry. I am willing to marry into the Xue Family in Fourth Sister’s place.”