“Waaaaah, Mother! A child without a mother is like a blade of grass! Waaaaah, Father is going to beat me to death! Hurry and wake up to stop him—!”
“Calling for your mother won’t help you!” Usually refined and elegant, Assistant Minister of the Court of Judicial Review Lord Shen had completely lost his composure, brandishing a bamboo switch as he chased his daughter around the room.
“Father, let’s talk this out properly…”
Outside the door, Shen Yuan’s sister-in-law, He Ying, was pacing in circles, frantic with worry. She couldn’t see the situation inside, and hearing her young sister-in-law’s wailing, she assumed she was being beaten. However, since the man inside was her father-in-law, she couldn’t just burst through the door.
“Yingchun, go and have Dongqing call the Eldest Young Master back. Tell him… tell him that the young miss is being beaten by the Master.”
“Yes! I’ll go right away!” Yingchun replied and hurriedly ran toward the front courtyard to find the Eldest Young Master’s servant.
After giving the maid her instructions, He Ying returned to the door and listened intently to the sounds within.
Today happened to be the third day of the third lunar month. The young masters and ladies of the capital were all busy heading out of the city for a spring outing, and her sister-in-law, Shen Yuan, had gone along as well. He Ying had stayed home because she was feeling slightly unwell.
When Shen Yuan returned, she seemed perfectly fine. She had even stopped by He Ying’s room to eat two plates of pastries before returning to her own courtyard.
Who would have thought that a short while later, Shen Yuan’s personal maid, Qingdai, would come rushing over in a panic, saying that the Master was going to beat the young miss to death.
Startled, He Ying had hurried to her father-in-law’s study. By the time she arrived, she could only hear Shen Yuan crying. The study door was shut tight, and no one dared to enter.
After some thought, He Ying’s only option was to send someone to fetch her husband, Shen Su, who was currently attending a literary gathering.
The study wasn’t particularly large. If he truly wanted to strike her, Shen Yuan would have nowhere to hide. Despite her loud, dramatic wailing, the bamboo switch in Assistant Minister Shen Yun’s hand had never actually landed.
The father and daughter carried on this way—one making a show of hitting, the other putting on an act of crying—nearly scaring the life out of He Ying outside.
Shen Su reacted much the same way. The moment he heard the news from the servant, he stood up abruptly, apologized to his classmates, and hurried home. The servant behind him couldn’t even keep up with his pace.
“Ying-niang, what happened?”
In less than fifteen minutes, Shen Su had returned.
“I was telling the truth! You just can’t tell good from bad!” Shen Yuan leaned against the corner of the wall, still stubborn.
“Are those the kind of things you can just say recklessly?!” Shen Yun was so infuriated by his daughter that he nearly lost his footing, instinctively swinging the bamboo switch in his hand.
“Father!”
Shen Su suddenly burst through the door, startling Shen Yun. He had originally only intended to scare his daughter, but in his surprise, he failed to pull back the switch, and it actually struck his daughter’s forearm.
“Father, you hit me!” This time, Shen Yuan truly cried, her tears flowing like an endless stream.
“Father, why can’t you just talk things through?” Shen Su was shocked. He pulled his sister toward him, instinctively wanting to roll up her sleeve to check for injuries, but then realized it was inappropriate for him to do so.
Fortunately, He Ying followed him in and carefully held Shen Yuan to one side to examine the injury.
“It’s already red and swollen. Qingdai, hurry and call the doctor.” He Ying had watched Shen Yuan grow up. Seeing the red, swollen welt on the girl’s fair, tender arm, her eyes turned red with heartache.
Shen Yuan had been pampered since childhood. Leave aside being hit, she rarely even heard a harsh word. This time, being struck left her feeling incredibly wronged. Once He Ying finished checking her arm, Shen Yuan yanked her sleeve down, wiped her tears, and ran out without looking back.
He Ying hurriedly chased after her.
Soon, only the father and son were left in the study.
“Father, what did Manman do that you felt the need to hit her, and with this bamboo switch no less?”
The bamboo switch was about two fingers wide and one finger thick. Shen Su knew all too well how much it hurt to be struck by such a thing.
“It’s because you burst in so suddenly and startled me!”
Shen Yun tossed the switch aside, feeling regretful in his heart. He had been acting out of extreme anger today, but he had only meant to frighten her.
“How is this my fault now? Didn’t Manman go on a spring outing today? What happened?”
Shen Su knew that his father would never lose his temper with his sister without a good reason. Normally, his father was the one who doted on her the most, even more so than he did.
Shen Yun didn’t want to talk about it. He waved his hand to dismiss his son. “Go and see how Manman is. See if the doctor has arrived and if it’s serious.”
He knew his daughter’s temperament best. She was in a fit of rage right now and certainly wouldn’t want to see her father.
After sending his son away, Shen Yun sat down with a sigh. He had to figure out how to clean up the mess his daughter had caused.
By the time Shen Su arrived, the family doctor had already applied medicine to Shen Yuan’s arm. She was currently leaning into her sister-in-law’s arms, sobbing softly. She was a young lady nearly old enough for her hair-pinning ceremony, yet she cried like a child, with a pouting mouth and a crinkled nose. And yet, the family always fell for it.
“Manman, does your arm still hurt? What happened today?” Shen Yuan’s nickname was Manman. It had been given to her by her mother, Madam Shen, when she was born. Later, when Shen Yun gave her her formal name, he chose the character “Yuan” to match the nickname, as they together formed the meaning of “perfect and complete.”
Unfortunately, Madam Shen had passed away from illness when her daughter was only four. This family, in the end, failed to remain “complete.” After Madam Shen’s death, Shen Yun never remarried, and the household had no concubines or bedchamber maids. He had raised the two children alone.
“My arm doesn’t hurt anymore,” Shen Yuan lowered her head, fidgeting with her fingers. “I just got into a spat with someone today.”
The blow from her father hadn’t been that heavy. At first, it had only felt like it was stinging, but the doctor’s medicine was excellent; it felt cool against the wound. It no longer pained her.
As for what happened today, Shen Yuan didn’t want to say more.
Shen Su knew she wasn’t telling the whole truth, but seeing her looking so pitiful, he didn’t have the heart to press her further.
Shen Yuan’s mind was a mess. She desperately needed time to organize her thoughts. She straightened up from her sister-in-law’s soft, fragrant embrace and said to them, “Brother, Sister-in-law, please go back for now. I want to be alone for a bit.”
“It’s almost time for dinner. Don’t be ‘alone’ anymore. Come on, go with your brother to see what good food we have today.”
As soon as Shen Su finished speaking, He Ying immediately swatted him. “Alright then, Manman, you rest first. Your brother and I will head out.”
With that, He Ying pulled Shen Su out. “Manman said she wants to be alone, why are you talking so much?”
“Isn’t it almost time for the evening meal? In the past, whenever she threw a little tantrum, wouldn’t she be fine as long as she had a full stomach?”
“Can’t you tell that this time is different from before?”
…
“Master, the young miss says she isn’t hungry and doesn’t want to eat yet.” Shen Yuan’s head maid, Qingdai, stood in the dining hall, replying nervously.
Sure enough, as soon as she finished speaking, Shen Yun slammed his chopsticks down heavily. “If she won’t eat, then let her starve! No one is allowed to give her food tonight!”
“Father, Manman’s arm is still injured. How can she skip a meal?”
“Hmph! With that cabinet full of pastries and snacks of hers, could she possibly starve?”
Shen Su shut his mouth. So, his father knew about that too. He figured as much; how could his father ever bear to let his precious daughter go hungry?
At the hour of the Dog, just as dusk was falling, Lord Shen Yun—the man who had just slammed his chopsticks and forbidden anyone from feeding his daughter—appeared outside her courtyard.
Since his daughter had grown up, Shen Yun didn’t usually visit her courtyard. Today, after entering, he simply sat down in the main room and sent a maid to call his daughter out.
Seeing Shen Yun, Shen Yuan’s face lacked any hint of a smile. She gave a dry “Father” and then fell silent.
“Does your arm still hurt?”
Shen Yuan didn’t speak. Shen Yun sighed again. “You are not a child anymore. Are those the kind of things you can just say recklessly?”
“I wasn’t speaking recklessly! Everything I said was the truth!” Once the subject was raised, Shen Yuan couldn’t hold back anymore.
“Then tell your father—the matter of the second son of Minister of Rites Lord Wang being a cut-sleeve—how exactly did you find out about that?”