Chapter 52: The 52nd Dowry That Can

Wenxi Hall.

Shen Fourth Lord was listening to Li Shi's nagging with utmost respect.

Having been away from home for several years, this kind of nagging was inevitable.

"Give me a straight answer: when will you get married?"

Li Shi, seeing that her son gave no response after her tirade, slammed the table in anger, stopped nagging, and resorted to a trump card.

"Mother, this—no need to rush!"

"My son, upon returning this time, has already decided to take part in next year's Spring Examination!"

"Really?!"

Hearing her younger son say that, Li Shi didn't care whether the son was already married.

"Mother, can my son still deceive you on such matters?"

"Good, good, good, as a mother I know my son has great ambitions!"

"Then, you just focus on studying; leave the rest to your elder brother and the others!"

"Mother, I never really handled any affairs."

Shen Fourth Lord felt a bit awkward; having been away for years, he wondered when it would be his turn to involve himself in family matters.

However, Li Shi didn't mind that.

That evening, the Shen Family held a rather grand welcome banquet, far more lavish than the one previously given to Li Yifu, the uncle from the Li family.

At the same time, County Prefect Qu Feng also organized a modest fatigue‑relief banquet at the county office for eunuch Wang Deshun, who had received an imperial edict.

The protocol was laid out here; Qu Feng dared not overstep, nor did Wang Deshun.

After all, accompanying them was a squad of imperial palace guards.

The palace guards were selected from the sons of meritorious nobles, who, being bound to the imperial clan and Dayong, have unquestionable loyalty to the emperor.

Whenever an imperial edict left the capital, these palace guards also bore the duty of gathering information from across the realm.

After returning to the capital, each of them had to write a memorial, reporting every detail of the journey to the emperor.

No detail left unreported!

Including the food on the road, the price of each dish!

Perhaps precisely because of such meticulous rules, the successive emperors of Dayong have been able to gain a relatively clear and profound understanding of conditions outside the palace.

The emperor, only by knowing exactly what is happening beyond the palace, can avoid becoming deaf or blind, and can govern precisely, not being misled by ministers into becoming the kind of foolish ruler who asks, "Why not eat meat porridge?"

"Lord Qu, have you ever seen the seventh miss of the Shen Family?"

At the wine table, Wang Deshun voiced the puzzling question that had been nagging him all along.

He couldn't figure out why that little scion of the Xie Family had set his sights on a Shen Family lady.

"Honestly, I haven't seen the seventh miss of the Shen Family, not even afraid of the heavens' jokes!"

"The Shen Family in Liu Cheng is a top‑tier great household, a benevolent family; although the lady of the house and the miss often go out to the streets to give porridge and do charity, the rules are truly strict."

"Then this matter is indeed quite strange!"

Wang Deshun couldn't understand.

In fact, Wang Deshun is not the only one who can't make sense of it.

The top scholar Zheng Si Que, who had arrived in Jingcheng, and his mother Zheng Wangshi were also baffled.

He felt that Xie Zian was targeting him!

Shen Yunyao had once been betrothed to him; she was his childhood sweetheart. Although the engagement had been broken, as the Xie Family son‑in‑law, Xie Zian now intended to marry Shen Yunyao, which he saw as a deliberate hardship.

"Son, those who achieve great deeds do not fuss over trivialities!"

"Endure what others cannot!"

"Accomplish what adults cannot!"

"Mother knows you're uneasy, but you must not lose your composure or your mind!"

Zheng Wangshi, seeing her son's sour expression, could only counsel him from the side.

"Son, looking at this from another angle is not necessarily a bad thing!"

"If that young master of the Xie Family marries such a daughter‑in‑law, he will certainly not be favored in the Xie Family."

"Your father‑in‑law is now the head of the Xie Family and the current Imperial Tutor; with his protection, your future is destined to soar."

"Do not argue over fleeting short‑term gains; think of the long term!"

Zheng Wangshi earnestly tried to comfort Zheng Si Que.

Unfortunately, Zheng Si Que couldn't take it in at all.

If it were before, he might have thought his mother was right, but now he only finds her unbearably annoying.

Had his mother not constantly nagged in his ear about the Shen Family's faults, he wouldn't have been so readily accepting of the Xie Family miss when he met her.

Now, he isn't even sure whether this marriage can still happen.

But his mother kept nagging!

"Enough!"

Zheng Si Que suddenly shouted.

The shout was so loud it startled Zheng Wangshi.

"Mother, say a little less!"

"Son has been rude; please, don't take it to heart!"

Zheng Si Que, with an awkward expression, said a couple of words and then left on his own.

Zheng Wangshi stared dumbfounded.

"Heartless!"

"I do this all for whom?"

"Pity my earnest heart…"

Zheng Wangshi also felt very aggrieved.

In her view, her son becoming the top scholar was a great achievement of hers; if she hadn't constantly instructed him, how could he possibly become the top scholar?

Moreover, the request to dissolve the marriage engagement with the Shen Family was his own decision.

Now he blames her for everything!

However, Zheng Wangshi, though aggrieved and resentful, has no recourse.

Now, she can only survive by relying on her son.

If her son continues to disregard her, then when that pampered Miss from the Xie Family marries in, this mother‑in‑law will likely be cast aside, ignored by everyone!

"What should I do?"

Zheng Wangshi grew a little anxious.

……

Liu Cheng, Shen Family.

After the welcoming banquet.

Shen Shen called his three younger brothers into the front courtyard's study.

"Fourth brother, speak up—when do you plan to start a family?"

The eldest brother is like a father.

After Shen Elder passed away, Shen Shen, as the eldest, must take on the responsibilities that need handling.

"Eldest brother, I intend to sit for this round of the imperial exam!"

Shen Fourth Lord chuckled and outlined his own plan.

When Shen Third Lord heard his younger brother say that, he was immediately surprised and asked, "Fourth brother, you also intend to sit?"

"What? Third brother also going to sit?"

Shen Fourth Lord was also quite surprised.

These past years, though he hasn't been in Liu Cheng, he knows his third brother has neglected his studies, spending days in brothels and earning a reputation for debauchery.

"Your third sister‑in‑law said that if I don't pass this round of the imperial exam, she'll divorce me!"

"Why is that?"

"Third brother, what's really going on with you and your younger sister‑in‑law?"

Hearing Shen Third Lord's words, Shen Shen and Shen Second Lord both changed expression.

"I don't know either!"

Shen Third Lord wore a gloomy face, "It was fine before, but ever since Zheng Dun and Zheng Yi were born, everything changed, and I have no idea why!"

"Third brother, there's an old saying among the people: 'Three feet of ice does not form in a single day!'"

Shen Fourth Lord said calmly, "Perhaps your third sister‑in‑law has been changing all along, but you haven't noticed."

"Impossible!"

Shen Third Lord said it was impossible.

Shen Fourth Lord chuckled, "Third brother, Yun Yao is your daughter; do you remember her birthday?"

"I…"

Shen Third Lord was instantly speechless.

Shen Fourth Lord sighed, "Third brother, there's something I should have told you earlier. Actually, before I left, I said I would give Seventh Maid a unique dowry!"

"Unfortunately, plans can't keep up with changes!"

"Now Seventh Maid has received His Majesty's imperial edict for marriage, and I can no longer provide that dowry!"

(End of chapter)