Chapter 144
Chapter 144
After the carriage left Yuelai Villa, the group immediately split into three parties and began working separately.
By midmorning, however, Ren Fengjue had brought Xia Ximo to the entrance of a teahouse.
There were not many people inside. Only a few elderly gentlemen were drinking tea and chatting, and even the attendants looked rather idle.
Seeing customers at the door, a waiter immediately ran out to greet them. “Would the young gentleman and young lady like to come in and sit for a while?”
Ren Fengjue swept a glance inside. Seeing that the waiter was both enthusiastic and sharp-eyed, he nodded. “A table for two.”
Once they were seated in the main hall, Ren Fengjue had the waiter brew a pot of Kaiming County’s famous tea and bring two servings of the house specialty pastries.
After paying for the tea and snacks, he handed over two small pieces of silver.
“If you’re not busy, brother, I’d like to ask you a few things.”
Seeing that this male guest had an extraordinary bearing and was so generous on top of it, the waiter’s eyes lit up at once.
“What would you like to ask, sir? I’ll tell you everything I know!”
Ren Fengjue watched him tuck the silver into his robe before saying, “I’ve only just arrived here, but I’ve already heard about Yuelai Villa. I’m quite curious, so I wanted to find someone in the know and ask a few questions.”
The waiter thought for a moment, then said at once, “The family who owns the villa is surnamed Shen. Here in Kaiming County, they’re absolutely one of the wealthiest households around.”
“What you’re curious about, sir, must be Miss Shen’s marriage, right?”
Ren Fengjue nodded. “I heard the Old Master plans to hold a ten-day banquet at the villa, won’t accept any congratulatory gifts, and has even arranged lodging for guests from out of town?”
“That’s right.”
The waiter said, “Old Master Shen only has this one daughter, so naturally he values her greatly. And, well, there’s another reason behind it…”
Since he had taken their money, he had to reveal at least a little something they could not hear elsewhere.
He glanced left and right, then suddenly lowered his voice. “Some days ago, tea guests were spreading word that Miss Shen somehow contracted a strange illness and hasn’t recovered after a long time. That’s why people are saying Old Master Shen loves his daughter dearly and wants to make a grand affair of the wedding to bring her good fortune and drive the misfortune away.”
“A strange illness?”
Xia Ximo, who had been quietly listening from the side, suddenly spoke, immediately catching the key point. “What kind of strange illness needs a wedding to counteract it?”
The waiter hesitated, seeming somewhat afraid to say more.
Seeing this, Ren Fengjue immediately slipped him another two small pieces of silver. “Tell us everything you know, in detail.”
At that, how could the waiter dare hold anything back? He leaned closer, drawing nearer to the two of them before whispering, “I only heard this from others, so I can’t guarantee it’s true. But it’s almost certainly close to the truth.”
“The cause has something to do with Madam Shen, who passed away many years ago.”
“Madam Shen was always in poor health. Before she became pregnant with Miss Shen, she saw many famous physicians and took all sorts of medicine. It took tremendous effort before she finally conceived.”
“But because her constitution was too weak, after giving birth to Miss Shen, she passed away just like that! You should know, Old Master Shen was already nearly forty at the time.”
“As for Miss Shen, she was born prematurely, so she was somewhat frail from birth. Her constitution was even worse, and ever since she was little, she was constantly suffering from one illness or another…”
“After all that, she finally managed to grow up to marriageable age, only to come down with this strange illness. They say she… doesn’t recognize people anymore. Inside the villa, she raves and makes trouble as if possessed, and she even smashed Madam Shen’s memorial tablet!”
At this point, the waiter paused again and carefully looked around, as if afraid someone with ulterior motives might overhear his words.
Seeing that no one was paying attention to him, he breathed a slight sigh of relief and continued, “But when you think about it, the Old Master is truly pitiful. Everyone in Kaiming County knows how deeply he loved his wife. He finally had a daughter after so much difficulty, only for his wife to pass away. He treated his daughter as his very life, but who could have expected she would turn out like this…”
“That’s why people in town are saying this marriage is meant to bring Miss Shen good fortune and ward off misfortune.”
Hearing this, Ren Fengjue exchanged a look with Xia Ximo before continuing, “I’m rather curious about this son-in-law of Yuelai Villa. What extraordinary qualities does he have that made Old Master Shen trust him enough to marry off his only beloved daughter to him?”
The waiter answered almost without thinking. “Because this Young Master Qin Shu is the son of Qin Qian, a teacher at Kaiming Academy.”
He pointed to an arched bridge not far outside the window and added, “Do you two see that bridge? Cross it, and you’ll reach Kaiming Academy.”
“You may not know this, but Mr. Qin is famous throughout the county as a truly good man. He’s run that school for so many years, and he’s never charged tuition to children from poor families. People respect him deeply!”
“They say Old Master Shen admired his character. After learning of it, he immediately donated books to Kaiming Academy and even paid to have the school repaired.”
“Since he respects Mr. Qin, naturally he thinks highly of Young Master Qin as well. Taking him as the son-in-law of Yuelai Villa really isn’t unexpected.”
After listening to the waiter’s analysis, Ren Fengjue fell silent for a moment.
Seen that way, everything did indeed make perfect sense.
So the greatest suspicious point within Yuelai Villa should lie with Miss Shen herself.
Had she truly contracted some strange illness?
Xia Ximo suddenly asked, “Is the gravely ill Miss Shen willing to marry him?”
At that, the waiter looked a little awkward. He smiled and said, “Marriage is decided by one’s parents and arranged by a matchmaker. As for Miss Shen’s own wishes, well, I wouldn’t know.”
“But Young Master Qin Shu is handsome and talented, a fine-looking man in every respect. His family is only a little poor, that’s all. The Shen Family is well-off, so I imagine they wouldn’t care about such things…”
As soon as he said this, an old gentleman drinking tea nearby suddenly let out a soft scoff.
“The Shen Family is well-off, my ass. When that lad Shen Li first came to Kaiming, he was so poor he could barely afford to eat.”
Hearing this, Ren Fengjue could not help glancing at the old gentleman.
The man had a head of white hair and a face full of wrinkles. He looked even older than Old Master Shen, but his eyes were bright, and his words were clear.
As he spoke, he turned to the two other old gentlemen beside him. “You both still remember what things were like back then, don’t you?”
The other two elderly men were clearly not as sharp as he was. Whether their hearing was poor and they had not heard clearly, or they were simply pretending not to understand, after exchanging a glance, they both shook their heads and said nothing.
The old gentleman had quite the temperament. Seeing that his companions were ignoring him, he realized he had only embarrassed himself. He silently took a sip of tea, tossed down a few copper coins, then rose with the help of his cane and headed outside.
Seeing this, Ren Fengjue instinctively took Xia Ximo’s hand and followed him out of the teahouse.
“Please wait a moment, sir.”
At his call, the old man with the cane immediately stopped and turned around, glaring as he swept his eyes over the two of them.
Ren Fengjue quickly said, “Just now in the teahouse, I heard you mention Old Master Shen of Yuelai Villa. Is Shen Li his name?”
The old man frowned. “Why are you asking?”
“It’s like this…”
Ren Fengjue immediately explained, “Ever since we entered Kaiming County, we’ve heard people speak of Old Master Shen everywhere. I deeply admire such a figure, so I wanted to learn more about him.”
The old man’s face filled with disdain. “That brat’s success today didn’t come from his own efforts. What’s there to admire?”
Hearing this, Ren Fengjue knew he had found the right person.