Becoming a literary master starting from the story of Minglan

Chapter 348 Li Jiayancheng

"Because of Jun'er?"

Lord Shen stared coldly at his wife.

"Are you really thinking of Jun'er's best interests?"

"I think that's probably not the case!"

Lord Shen's voice was cold, like a chilly wind that swept into Madam Shen's heart.

"Sir... Sir..."

"You...you...are talking nonsense...what are you saying..."

Madam Shen panicked immediately. She looked as if she had been stomped on, her expression blank, and she stammered helplessly, "I...I..."

"I am Jun'er's mother, so of course... of course I'm thinking of Jun'er's best interests..."

Madam Shen stammered a few words, then took a deep breath, secretly steadied herself, and struggled to say, "I am Jun'er's biological mother!"

"I...of course I'll think of her first!"

Madam Shen repeated herself, as if she were both explaining and encouraging herself!

She "bravely" raised her head, forcing herself to overcome her inner guilt, and replied with difficulty, "Besides!"

"This...this is also Jun'er's attitude!"

Because of her momentary nervousness, Madam Shen forgot about the matter.

However, she suddenly remembered Shen Jun's previous reaction, so she straightened her back and said in a louder voice, "Jun'er herself is not happy about this marriage!"

"I'm just following Jun'er's idea!"

As Madam Shen spoke, she felt more and more justified, and she began to speak with a righteous indignation!

"You, as a father, don't cherish your own daughter, but I, as her mother, can't bear to see her suffer!"

“Jun’er is a piece of my flesh and blood, I can’t compare to your heart of stone!”

"..."

Madam Shen was already absorbed in her own words, her face displaying the demeanor of a loving mother.

Of course, she wasn't faking it. After all, Shen Jun really was her daughter, and she didn't have any bad intentions towards Shen Jun. She was just considering some other things.

Madam Shen's "passionate" speech did not move Lord Shen. Lord Shen just watched Madam Shen speak quietly, his face still calm and composed.

There was no reaction whatsoever; he was like an emotionless stone, completely unmoved.

"What kind of person is Sheng Changquan? How can you judge him based on just this small piece of calligraphy and painting?"

Having not heard from Lord Shen for a long time, Madam Shen felt a little guilty. She didn't dare to look at her husband's face, so she deliberately took the opportunity to belittle Sheng Changquan, looking down at the paintings spread out on the table. At the same time, she kept accusing him: "What if this guy is a treacherous opportunist?"

"I think this guy is no good at all!"

"He is most likely trying to take advantage of Li'er's innocence to plot against our Shen family and gain benefits for himself!"

"By the way, my lord, didn't you say you had given him some pointers?"

Madam Shen's eyes lit up as she immediately spotted Sheng Changquan's "key point": "In my opinion, he actually wants some guidance from you so that he can gain an advantage in the autumn examination and pass it in one fell swoop!"

"He's just not a good person, he..."

"Ah!"

Lord Shen frowned, letting Madam Shen speculate wildly until she had said everything she could think of, before he sneered and said, "So what if he has bad intentions?"

"Even if what you say is true, from then until now, he has only received some guidance from me. What loss has he or the Shen family suffered?"

Lord Shen's eyes were filled with undisguised disappointment as he continued, "On the contrary, Li'er's ability to have such an opportunity, to pass the imperial examination and become a scholar, and then to be qualified to inherit the position of clan leader, is all thanks to the Sheng family's son."

"How can such a favor be replaced by mere pointers?"

"This……"

Madam Shen was speechless upon hearing Lord Shen's words.

However, just because Madam Shen had nothing to say didn't mean Lord Shen had nothing to say. He looked at his wife and said in a deep voice, "Wife, I have a question for you!"

"Is your opposition to Jun'er and Sheng Changquan because someone said something to you?"

Lord Shen's eyes were deep and unfathomable, like a deep, cold pool that one could not fathom.

"Wha...what?"

Upon hearing this statement, Madam Shen immediately panicked again!

"My lord, what...what are you saying..."

"...What other people...other people...this...who would talk to me about this..."

Madam Shen forced an awkward smile and said nervously, "My lord, you're overthinking this!"

"Oh?"

"Didn't the Li family say anything to you?"

Lord Shen's expression remained unchanged, but the look in his eyes changed. Like a startled tiger, his eyes suddenly became full of majesty, inspiring fear like the king of beasts!

At least, that's how Madam Shen sees it.

In fact, Madam Shen's real name was Li, and the so-called Li family actually refers to Madam Shen's maternal family.

It is said that Madam Shen's family, the Li family, was not bad either. They were a family of farmers and scholars who had been passed down for generations. Otherwise, Shen Shouzhen would not have married Madam Shen.

After all, the Shen family still had some requirements for the clan leader's wife.

When Lord Shen's father-in-law, Lord Li, who was also Lady Shen's biological father, was alive, the Li family, while not extremely wealthy or powerful, was certainly well-off and had no worries about food or drink. However, more than ten years ago, after Lord Li passed away due to illness, the Li family suddenly collapsed.

Madam Shen's two older brothers were mediocre men, the kind who might not succeed in maintaining Chengdu and whose fate depended on God. However, they were both proud and arrogant, considering themselves superior, and sometimes even trying to compare themselves to their brother-in-law, Lord Shen.

When Old Master Li was alive, he was able to keep these two guys in check and maintain the integrity of the Li family. However, once the old man passed away, these two guys completely let themselves go!

Using the last vestiges of the Li family's wealth and then operating under the Shen family's name, they actually started a business of buying and selling!
If it were just ordinary stuff, that would be one thing, but these two gentlemen have taken it upon themselves to smuggle salt!

This is really going to be a big deal. These two guys are just asking for trouble by touching this thing!

Not only did the salt smugglers send people to search for them, but some people in the government also took notice of them. If it weren't for Lord Shen's influence, the Li brothers would have been dead many times over!

Moreover, it was easier to deal with people from the imperial court, since they had to follow procedures. Therefore, the Li brothers, by using Shen Shouzhen's name, managed to fool quite a few people and gain a lot of benefits.

But Shen Shouzhen's advantage was not so easy to take.

Although no one said it outright, the officials who had been fooled by the Li brothers were not the type to do things anonymously. Therefore, through their manipulation, Shen Shouzhen quickly learned of the matter "accidentally".

At the same time, they also learned about the actions of the Li brothers.

Because their crime involved smuggling salt, which was explicitly prohibited by the imperial court, it was a crime punishable by the confiscation of their property and the extermination of their entire clan. However, out of consideration for the relationship between the two families, Lord Shen finally stepped in to help them, exchanging considerable political benefits with others in the court before the matter was finally resolved.

Madam Shen also knew about this matter.

After all, as the saying goes, the law is no different from human sentiment. Under Lord Shen's manipulation, the crimes committed by the Li brothers became "major or minor," or even reduced from major to minor.

In the end, Lord Shen managed to save the Li family and protect them.

However, since things have come to this point, the relationship between the two families has been severely damaged.

Although the Shen family and the Li family could not completely sever ties because of Madam Shen's existence, Lord Shen had already given instructions at home that he would not interfere in any future incidents involving the Li family.

He even took Madam Shen to the Li family and explained the matter to the elders of the Li family, telling them about the Shen family's principles.

The Shen family, or Lord Shen, has already made a decision: from now on, no matter who in the Li family violates the laws of the court, he will absolutely handle the matter impartially, and will never again suppress the matter as he has done now.

These words immediately caused an uproar throughout the Li family!
Although the Li brothers made a mistake, the Shen family's actions, as in-laws, still displeased the elders of the Li clan.

After all, we're family. How could the Shen family act like this?
Has their family forgotten what clan and bloodline are?
Fortunately, Lord Shen had anticipated this situation, so he simply explained his new plan and immediately won over the Li family.

Lord Shen's method was simple: he simply said that he would continue to help any ambitious member of the Li family in order to maintain the relationship between the two families.

These words immediately silenced the Li family members. In fact, they were secretly delighted, feeling that this method might be better for them!

Apart from Madam Shen's brothers, all the other members of the Li family approved of Lord Shen's approach. In fact, the elders of the Li family even made an agreement with Lord Shen to protect the interests of both parties through this exchange.

The Shen family is willing to support the ambitious members of the Li family, and in return, the elders of the Li family must ensure that their younger generation will not act recklessly or do anything that would disgrace the family.

Among them, especially Madam Shen's two older brothers!

Of course, their exchange was not made public, but rather a tacit agreement, to which both parties were satisfied.

Apart from Madam Shen and her two siblings.

Upon hearing Lord Shen's blunt question, Madam Shen's face turned pale instantly!
"My lord, what exactly are you trying to say?"

Madam Shen wasn't stupid. Since Lord Shen had asked her such a question, she naturally wouldn't pretend to be a clown to cover anything up anymore.

"What do I want to say?"

Lord Shen narrowed his eyes, concealing his inner emotions, and said in a deep voice, "My lady, I would like to ask you, since you are so unwilling to betroth Jun'er to Sheng Changquan, then who do you intend to choose?"

"Could it be that they chose your nephew?"

"A man in his mid-twenties who doesn't even have the title of a Juren (a successful candidate in the imperial examinations)?"

Lord Shen's voice was cruel, brutally dissecting the most outstanding junior member of Lady Shen's family.

Of course, "outstanding" here refers to the Li family, or even the Li family, but rather the most outstanding among the descendants of the Shen brothers.

"What's wrong with Yan Cheng? Isn't he good enough?"

Madam Shen was furious when she heard Lord Shen belittle her most outstanding nephew!

In fact, Madam Shen's anger completely shattered any fear she might have of her husband!
Indeed, in Shen Da Niangzi's subconscious, she both admired and feared Shen Shouzheng, fearing him because of love and being afraid that he would leave her.

Originally, there was a gap between the two, and the strength of the Shen family and the Li family was vastly different.

However, due to a series of coincidences, while Lord Shen was hiding his identity and undergoing training, he unexpectedly met and fell in love with Lady Shen, and in the end, they stayed together for life.

Of course, their success was also due to the help of another person.

This person was Shen Shouzhen's father, the previous patriarch of the Shen family, and also Shen Da Niangzi's father-in-law.

It was because of his help that Madam Shen was able to marry into the Shen family so easily and become the head housekeeper. It was also because of this that Madam Shen felt despair about Shen Li's behavior when he was young, and even neglected him. In the end, he was taught by Shen Jun.

Furthermore, because Shen Li's performance was unsatisfactory, Madam Shen advocated for Lord Shen to take a concubine so that Lord Shen's lineage could continue and prosper.

However, Lord Shen was concerned about the complicated circumstances in his own home, so he did not take any concubines, but only accepted a few maids.

This touched Madam Shen deeply!
Therefore, for all the reasons mentioned above, Madam Shen always felt uneasy about Lord Shen.

However, this time things have changed!
"Yes! Yan Cheng is indeed not a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial examinations), but at his age, who else is so close to becoming a Juren?"

Madam Shen retorted angrily, "Moreover, he has also written articles to consult you, and you even said that he has a good chance of passing the imperial examination this autumn!"

"Could it be that all of this is fake?"

"That's absolutely true!"

Lord Shen maintained his indifferent expression and did not deny it: "Yan Cheng does indeed have a good chance of passing the imperial examination this time."

"If that's the case, then why do you still say that?"

Madam Shen's eyes widened, her face filled with disbelief!
(End of this chapter)