Chapter 16: Sheng Hong's True Love

Lady Sheng spoke, her voice laced with suppressed fury.

Unrelated servants hastily slipped out of the courtyard, hiding far away.

Hearing the commotion, Magistrate Sheng Hong immediately lifted his head, his face flushed with shame as he walked into the courtyard and bowed deeply, saying,

"Mother. I and Miss Lin—"

Before he could finish, Lady Sheng snapped sharply,

"Silence!"

Sheng Hong shuddered.

As she spoke, the capable maid serving behind Lady Sheng had already approached the unconscious woman in red robes, preparing to drag her to the side courtyard.

Heat surged in Sheng Hong's eyes as he dropped to his knees on the ground.

"Mother, I beg you to spare her life; she, she already carries my flesh and blood in her womb."

Lady Sheng was furious beyond measure; she raised her hand to slap Sheng Hong, yet her hand halted abruptly in mid-air.

Perhaps the grinding trials of more than twenty years since her marriage had worn down her temper; she swallowed her rage with effort and said in a flat tone,

"The Wang family is a lineage of pure scholars adorned with noble titles; you passed the Five Jinshi examination, and the Wangs married their legitimate second daughter to you—do you know what a tremendous debt of gratitude that is?"

"Mother... Your son swears here that in this life I shall have only Miss Lin as a concubine and no others; I beg, I beg Mother to grant this wish."

Saying this, he bowed his head and knelt upon the ground.

Lady Sheng looked at her illegitimate son kneeling on the floor; she closed her eyes, while Mama Fang beside her hurriedly stepped behind to support her.

"My Lady, do not be so angered; it harms your health."

Sheng Hong knelt on the ground, staring intently at the cracks between the bricks, unaware of how much time passed,

until his knees began to ache unbearably, when his legitimate mother said indifferently,

"You are now the head of this household, so decide for yourself. Truly, you are your father's good son!!! Hmph!"

With that, Lady Sheng flicked her sleeve and walked into the house within the courtyard.

Seeing Lady Wang weeping silently in the room, she sighed.

"From now on, Sheng Hualan will be raised under my care; since Bo-ge'er is your legitimate son, you need not overthink it; it is common enough for a man to have concubines."

"Mother, my father died in office, and His Majesty graciously bestowed upon him the honor of enshrinement in the Imperial Ancestral Temple; I had thought the Sheng family was also a house of pure scholars, yet that Lin Lin Qinshuang is so base; she claimed to discuss poetry with my husband, but who knew she was seducing—"

"A legitimate wife also bears the responsibility of expanding the family line; once Lin Lin Qinshuang bears a child, it shall be raised under your knee; a concubine is nothing more than a servant."

"Mother, I do not want the child born of that low woman!"

"Sheng Hualan, will you live with Grandmother from now on?" Lady Sheng ignored her daughter-in-law and turned instead to speak to her granddaughter, Sheng Hualan.

The little girl glanced at her mother and nodded.

The young boy in Lady Wang's arms used his hand to wipe her tears dry; Lady Wang looked at her son and buried her face, bursting into sobs.

"Why is my fate so bitter!"

The little boy in her arms was very sensible and said in a childish voice, "Mother, do not cry."

Lady Sheng hugged Sheng Hualan; seeing such a sensible grandson, she suddenly recalled something, her eyes turning red, and she turned her head aside to wipe her tears with a handkerchief.

"If... if you truly cannot bear the pain, then blame me; blame me for acting on foolish kindness and helping such a woman."

Night fell.

Lin Lin Qinshuang knelt on the ground of the main courtyard, offered a cup of tea to Lady Wang, and when she later attempted to pay respects to Lady Sheng, she was blocked at the door by Mama Fang.

At the courtyard gate, Lin Lin Qinshuang wore an expression full of apology, tears still glistening in her eyes as she said, "Has Lady Sheng discarded me?"

"Lady Sheng has said that your fate with her is exhausted; do not come to Lady Sheng's courtyard again."

Having spoken, she paid no further attention to her and directly closed the courtyard gate.

Lin Lin Qinshuang stared blankly at the tightly shut door; after a moment, she turned around, and where was the apology on her face now, or tears in her eyes?

Her brows and eyes flowed with expression, the corners of her mouth curving slightly upward, yet filled entirely with an air of triumph.

Then, humming a little tune softly, she departed from that place.

In Shou'an Hall,

within the courtyard, Sheng Hualan had already returned to Lady Wang's room to sleep.

Lady Sheng, kneeling on the cushion in the Buddhist prayer room, had eyes full of tearful light;

she thought of her own biological son, who had been just as sensible as Changbo, yet who could have known he would be poisoned by that vile concubine.

"My Lady, a letter has arrived from Wei-ge'er," came Mama Fang's voice.

Lady Sheng wiped her tears with a handkerchief, rose, and went to the outer room.

Sheng Wei was the son of Lady Sheng's own sister-in-law, the son of the Eldest Lady Sheng.

Nowadays, while Sheng Hong serves in the official court, Sheng Wei operates in the merchant world, supporting one another; that Sheng Wei was able to expand his business and earn great profit was largely due to Lady Sheng upholding justice for his branch, preventing the property and shops of the Eldest Branch from being swallowed by others, so Sheng Wei held the utmost respect for this aunt.

The two families frequently exchanged letters.

Mama Fang handed the letter to Lady Sheng, who, by the light of the candle, read it carefully.

As for her nominal natal family, ever since she refused to allow a concubine-born daughter from their home in Daizhou to marry in, relations had already grown distant; there had been little contact for nearly ten years (when the Tanhua Lang died, Lady Sheng's parents were still alive).

To continue thus would mean severing ties completely, becoming strangers, and in conversation, one would not even mention this relation.

When Sheng Wei previously encountered trouble, the Sun family exerted effort to help; Lady Sheng had merely sent congratulatory gifts on the occasion of the Elder Lady Sun's longevity celebration.

As for her natal home, the Hou Fu of Marquis Marquis Yongyi, she had made no gesture at all.

What Sheng Wei wrote about concerned matters in the capital; in the capital, there was Lady Yu, a handkerchief friend of Lady Sheng, from the Grand Preceptor's family;

the Cao family and the Sun family were connected to the Empress and the Kaifeng Yamen;

therefore, the Sheng family business grew ever larger, and this branch of Sheng Hong received a substantial share of the dividends.

Knowing that this aunt of his cherished polo, Sheng Wei had specifically sent six fine horses to Nan'an.

Lady Sheng was satisfied with this nephew of hers; Sheng Wei's childhood had been even more miserable than Sheng Hong's, so upon growing up, he became even more sensible.

At the same time, matters regarding Sheng Hong's promotion were nearly settled, and this letter from Sheng Wei had also given the Old Lady a clear understanding of the situation.

The Old Lady lit the letter concerning Sheng Hong's promotion and placed it into the fire basin.

Beside her, Mama Fang looked at Old Lady Sheng and said softly, "Miss, I think Hong-ge'er truly cares about the Sheng family's reputation and his own official career; you should not be too angry."

"From now on, let the food in the courtyard be plainer; I have been too complacent, allowing myself to be blinded without even noticing! Father said that this would lead to a major disaster."

The Old Lady continued, "Hong-ge'er's wife and I will no longer be as we were before.

Additionally, establish a small kitchen within the Shou'an Tang courtyard tomorrow, so I do not have to see that concubine every day at meals."

Having spoken, she shook her head.

"Yes, Miss."

In the fire basin, that letter burned down to ash.

Time flew like a white colt passing a crevice.

Eight months later, Sheng Hong, the magistrate of Nan'an County, gained an illegitimate son named Chang Feng.

Less than half a month later, Old Lady Wang sent over a seasoned matron surnamed Liu; if Xu Xu Zaijing knew this, he would surely say this was the external brain of the Sheng family's Eldest Mistress Wang, her strongest assistant.

Accompanying her was a woman surnamed Wei with the given name Wei Shuyi; she was the daughter of a scholarly family and possessed outstanding beauty, so Lady Wang arranged for her face to be opened, entering the household as Sheng Hong's second concubine.

Initially, Sheng Hong had refused, but after meeting Wei Wei Shuyi once, he said nothing more and spent the second night in Mistress Wei's room.

One day, when everyone went to pay respects to Old Lady Sheng, seeing the Wei family woman whose appearance was outstanding yet whose eyes were as calm as an ancient well, Old Lady Sheng ordered her to serve at her side and learn the rules.

In the heavens, new days replaced old moons.

Bianjing.

Before dawn, this immensely grand city began to awaken, and various sounds started to arrive in a clamor.

When the sky brightened,

on Qu Yuan Street,

at Marquis Marquis Yongyi's Hou Fu,

on the open ground outside the stables, a groom with a somewhat terrifying appearance was instructing Xu Xu Zaijing in a spear technique, his single eye overflowing with satisfaction.

This disciple of his, though lacking the name of master and student, possessed the reality of it; he was simply too sensible, not only possessing outstanding comprehension and a rare ability to endure hardship, but even better, he was born with divine strength.

Before his fall, he had been clear-sighted in handling people and affairs, acting with meticulous care, but unfortunately, he had failed to pass the beauty trap that breaks bones.

A major deal had been sabotaged; not only did he lose all his family wealth, but he also nearly lost his life.

If not for his outstanding martial arts skills and having prepared an extra measure, he would likely have long since become dry bones by the roadside.

Although he did not die on the spot, he himself suffered severe injuries.

What saved his life was precisely that Marquis Marquis Yongyi, Xu Minghua, whom he had met by chance in the capital.

For Xu Minghua's grace of saving his life and his promise to help him seek revenge, he had resolved to dedicate the remainder of his life to repayment.

His body was crippled, and his martial arts were less than one-tenth of what they once were, but fortunately, he still possessed his skill in judging horses from his heart, preventing him from becoming a useless person.

Possessing abilities that even Xu Minghua admired, he intended to teach them all to Xu Xu Zaijing without any reservation.

Therefore, he treated Xu Xu Zaijing with extreme strictness, correcting a single non-standard movement several times over.

(End of Chapter)