Shen Yuan, who had been acting righteous just a moment ago, froze. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to tell her father; she simply didn’t know how to begin.
A little over a month ago, she had gone to Yunjue Temple outside the city with her sister-in-law to offer incense. Her sister-in-law had run into an acquaintance there, and as the two ladies chatted, Shen Yuan went out on her own to wander the temple grounds with her maids, Qingdai and Fu Ling.
Without realizing it, the three of them had wandered to the back of the temple. Just as they were about to head back, they heard a cat’s meow, and she immediately began searching the area with her two maids.
Eventually, they discovered a small creature that looked like a cat but wasn’t quite one. Its leg had been injured somehow.
Fu Ling knew a bit of medicine and carried some with her, so Shen Yuan had her apply a simple dressing to the wound. She had intended to bring the little fellow home, but it gave her a lick, broke free, and bolted, vanishing in an instant.
After returning from the temple that day, Shen Yuan came down with a high fever. Several doctors were summoned, but none could determine the cause, leaving the whole family frantic with worry.
Surprisingly, the fever subsided on its own after two days. Shen Yuan didn't feel any lingering discomfort, so the family assumed the matter had passed.
However, two days after that, she discovered she could hear people's inner thoughts!
On that day, she had gone to a bookstore to see if there were any new storybooks. While passing a food stall, she heard the owner think: [There’s so much left over from this person’s meal. It would be a waste to throw it away. I might as well pour it back and keep selling it.]
Startled, she instinctively looked toward the owner. He was holding a bowl a customer had just used; seeing her staring, he sheepishly set the bowl down.
Yet, the other customers sitting at the stall acted as if they hadn't heard a thing, showing no reaction at all. She then asked Fu Ling and Bai Zhi, who were with her, and both insisted the stall owner hadn't said a word.
But she was certain she had heard it.
Afterward, Shen Yuan specifically went to crowded places. Following multiple experiments, she finally understood.
She could hear people’s inner thoughts, but not everyone’s. She could only hear their "bad" thoughts.
For example, there was the meat soup stall owner who wanted to recycle leftovers, the fishmonger who claimed a fish dead for two days was fresh, and the beggar who made up stories to deceive people…
As for the fact that the son of the Minister of Rites was a cut-sleeve, she had, of course, "heard" that as well.
But regarding this matter, Shen Yuan didn't know how to explain it to her father.
"Fine. I don't care where you heard such nonsense from. After I return tomorrow, you are coming with me to Li Shilang’s house to apologize," Shen Yun said. He didn’t think his daughter would fabricate such things out of thin air; he simply assumed she had heard the rumor somewhere and casually mentioned it to Li Shilang's daughter.
The marriage between the Li and Wang families had been settled last year. This year, after the Dragon Boat Festival, Miss Li and Second Young Master Wang were set to be wed.
Earlier today, while Shen Yun was working at the Dali Temple, a servant reported that Li Shilang was looking for him.
Li Dai was the Vice Minister of War. Logically, he should have had no business with an Assistant Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, but since the man had come to his door, Shen Yun couldn't refuse to see him. He quickly had him invited in.
To his surprise, once Li Dai entered, he didn't sit down or drink his tea. After dismissing the servants, his first words were: "Your daughter told my daughter that the second Wang son is a cut-sleeve! What is the meaning of this?"
Li Dai came from a military background and spoke bluntly, but he hadn't come to demand an explanation out of malice.
Today, a servant from his household had rushed to his office, saying that his eldest daughter had returned home in tears. His wife had questioned her for a long time before finding out what had happened.
Upon hearing the news, Li Dai immediately rushed to the Dali Temple to find Shen Yun. Normally, Li Dai and Shen Yun had no personal friendship, nor did they have any enmity. Thus, Li Dai speculated that perhaps Shen Yun had accidentally discovered some secret, told his own daughter, and then she had told his daughter.
After all, it wasn't impossible for someone from the Dali Temple to know secrets that were hidden from the public.
No matter how clever Shen Yun was, he never imagined that Lord Li was there to talk about this.
Being a cut-sleeve was no small matter. Shen Yun never expected his daughter would dare to speak of such things so recklessly!
However, at that moment, he could only suppress his anger. He promised to go home and question his daughter before seeing Lord Li off. He then requested a leave of absence from his superior and rushed home immediately.
In this short span of time, countless thoughts flashed through Shen Yuan’s mind. Finally, she decided to tell her father the truth.
This was such a significant matter that she truly had no idea what to do. Shen Yuan knew her father was definitely someone she could trust. Things she couldn't tell anyone else could certainly be told to him.
"Father, I have something to tell you, and you must believe me." Shen Yuan then leaned closer to Shen Yun and recounted the entire affair from beginning to end.
"Father, everything I said is true. That Master Wang is a cut-sleeve; he and that pageboy by his side are a pair!"
The matter was truly incredible, and Shen Yun was stunned for a long time. Once he recovered, the first thing he did was caution his daughter, "You must not tell anyone about this, including your brother and sister-in-law."
It wasn't that Shen Yun didn't trust his son or daughter-in-law; it was just that with a matter like this, the fewer people who knew, the better.
"Father, do you actually believe what I said?" Shen Yuan had originally prepared herself for her father to think she was talking nonsense.
"You wouldn't be able to make up such a thing." After saying this, he recalled his daughter mentioning she could only hear "bad" thoughts. "What am I thinking? You can't actually hear it, can you?"
Shen Yun thought to himself that if his daughter could hear his thoughts, then he, as her father, would have no dignity left at all.
"If you aren't thinking of anything bad, Father, how could I hear it? However, if you ever think about getting me a stepmother, I might be able to hear that."
"What nonsense are you talking about? What stepmother!" Shen Yun said with a stern face.
Shen Yuan stuck out her tongue and asked, "Then what should we do about this? We can't just watch Miss Li marry a cut-sleeve."
Shen Yuan had no personal friendship with Miss Li; they had only met a few times. She hadn't yet had her hair-pinning ceremony, while Miss Li was already betrothed. At the banquets they usually attended, the two of them wouldn't group together.
However, it was one thing if Shen Yuan didn't know; now that she did, she couldn't just stand by and watch.
"I will find a way to handle this. You don't need to worry about it anymore. Stay home these next few days and don't go running off." Shen Yun had decided that if the Wang boy truly was a cut-sleeve, there would surely be clues.
Leaving his daughter's courtyard, Shen Yun didn't return to his own. Instead, he went straight to his study and had someone summon his son.
Shen Su usually studied at the Imperial College. He had already passed the provincial examinations, and with the spring imperial examination coming up next February, he intended to participate.
Since he had only been married for a few months, he was still in the honeymoon phase. Today happened to be his regular monthly leave, and he was being affectionate with his wife when he heard his father was looking for him.
Shen Su arrived at the study full of questions, wondering what his father could possibly want with him so late at night.
"How much confidence do you have for next year's imperial examination?"
Shen Su stood before the desk and answered honestly, "I am confident I can become a Jinshi."
This wasn't arrogance on Shen Su's part, but genuine self-confidence.
To his surprise, Shen Yun wasn't satisfied with this answer. "And what about the First Class? How much confidence do you have for that?"
"This…"
Shen Su didn't dare answer. Currently, no one would likely dare claim they could definitely place in the top three.
"Come inside with me."
Shen Yun walked around the screen and entered a small room adjacent to the study. Inside, there was only an altar, upon which sat Madam Shen’s memorial tablet.
"Kang'er, kneel."