In the past, Shen Yun’s presence was so overbearing that Shen Su didn't even dare to ask why. With a thud, he knelt straight down before his mother’s memorial tablet.
“Kang’er, your father is getting old.”
Shen Su felt a sense of trepidation. "Kang’er" was his childhood name, but from the time he was small until now, only his mother had called him that while she was alive. And for his father to say he was getting old…
“Father, you are in the prime of your life.” Shen Yun was only forty-five this year; he could hardly be called old.
Shen Yun shook his head, his hand caressing his wife’s memorial tablet. “In this life, I don't know if I can climb any higher. Our family’s future will depend on you.”
A Rank 4 official was neither high nor low, but in the capital, it truly amounted to very little.
“Father, don't scare me…” Shen Su felt that his father’s words tonight sounded like he was giving his final instructions.
Seeing what his son was thinking, Shen Yun snapped irritably, “Rest assured, I won’t be dying anytime soon.”
“Then why are you suddenly saying these things?”
“You are the elder brother; you must protect your sister. If you don't distinguish yourself, how will you protect Manman?”
Manman possessed a strange ability. If someone with ill intentions noticed…
The daughter of a Rank 4 Assistant Minister of the Court of Judicial Review was far too insignificant and fragile in this capital.
In this world, women could not hold office; the status of their fathers and brothers was a daughter's only source of dignity.
Though he didn't know why his father had suddenly brought this up, since it concerned his sister, Shen Su replied solemnly, “Father, rest assured. I will protect my sister well.”
When their mother passed away, Shen Su was already ten years old. At that time, she had held his hand and told him to study hard, take care of his health, and protect his sister. He had kept those words in his heart ever since.
“Do not blame your father for being partial. Manman is a girl, and survival in this world is harder for women than for men. Since she cannot become an official or a minister, it's only natural that I dote on her more.”
“Father, Manman is my sister, born of the same mother. It is only right that you treat her well. Why would I ever blame you?”
Shen Yun nodded and helped his son up. “Go back. Calling you here so late at night has delayed your time with Yingniang.”
Shen Su’s face flushed instantly. He bowed to his father and withdrew.
After his son left, Shen Yun stayed. He sat down casually on the floor and spoke to the memorial tablet as if his wife were still there.
“Yan'er, is it because you are worried down there, afraid that Manman will be tricked by bad people, that you found a way for her to hear their inner thoughts?
“I am an inadequate father. I struck Manman before asking for the truth; you must have been frantic down there, weren't you? When I eventually come to find you, you can hit me back on her behalf.
“Manman is looking more and more like you, just as beautiful as you were when you were young. Yan'er, you left too soon.”
At this point, Shen Yun couldn’t help but let his eyes grow damp. He and his wife were childhood sweethearts. After he passed the provincial examinations at twenty, they married. Later, he passed the imperial examinations, first serving as an official in the provinces before coming to the capital.
When his wife passed, Manman was only four years old. After she left, Manman cried every day and every night. No one could coax her; she could only sleep peacefully when she was by his side.
Back then, he spent every night sleeping beside his daughter. The first thing he did after returning from duty during the day was soothe the child, and he rejected every invitation from his colleagues. Word of this even reached the Emperor’s ears.
Over the years, many had advised him to remarry. Even his parents back in his hometown had written letters urging him to take another wife. He had acted as if he neither saw nor heard them.
In this life, having Yan'er was enough.
Heeding Shen Yun’s words, Shen Yuan stayed home obediently the next day and went nowhere. When she left her courtyard, it was only to find her sister-in-law to cadge some food and drink.
While Shen Yun waited for Vice Minister Li to seek him out, he also intended to investigate the matter regarding Second Young Master Wang. However, he truly didn't know where to start looking into the matter of being a cut-sleeve.
While Shen Yun failed to see Vice Minister Li, Shen Yuan was met at home by Vice Minister Li’s wife.
When Madam Li arrived, she was received by He Ying. Upon entering, she immediately asked for Shen Yuan. Although He Ying didn't know the reason, she saw the woman was smiling and sensed no ill intent, so she sent someone to call her.
Hearing that Madam Li had arrived, Shen Yuan thought she had come to demand an explanation.
Walking into the front hall with trepidation, she hadn't even finished her bow before she was pulled into a hug.
“Good child, I truly have you to thank.” Madam Li wanted to say more, but she glanced at the surrounding maidservants.
He Ying took the hint and led the maids out, leaving the two of them alone.
“Good child, it’s a good thing you told my Xuan'er! That man named Wang truly is a cut-sleeve!”
Even now, Madam Li spoke with gritted teeth, wishing she could devour the entire Wang family alive.
The day her daughter had come home crying, it took a long time to get the truth out of her. Her first thought had been disbelief.
But after discussing it carefully with her in-laws, they felt that for no reason at all, someone wouldn't make up such nonsense—especially after hearing from her daughter that Shen Yuan was just a young girl who hadn't even reached her hair-pinning ceremony. There was even less reason for her to fabricate such a story.
She immediately had the servants fetch her husband. Her husband knew more about the goings-on in officialdom, and he said the Shen and Wang families had never had much of a relationship, nor were they enemies; there was no motive to lie.
Since this concerned their daughter’s entire life, even if there was only a sliver of a chance it was true, they couldn't let it slide.
When the engagement was first set, their family had sent people to investigate. Everyone said Second Young Master Wang was so pure and upright; not only did he have no bedchamber maids or concubines, but he didn't even have any pretty maidservants around him—he was served exclusively by male servants.
Thinking back on it now, not having a single maidservant was exactly what was wrong!
Vice Minister Li had a fiery temper. That very night, he took men to the Wang residence, demanding to see the male servant who had gone out with Second Young Master Wang, Wang Yuanxiu, that day.
Minister Wang and his wife had no idea what had happened. But since their future in-law had come asking for a servant, they had no reason to block him and immediately called for the man.
However, Wang Yuanxiu couldn't keep his composure. Before Vice Minister Li could even start questioning, he came rushing in, trying to take the servant away.
At that, the thirty percent suspicion turned into fifty percent. Vice Minister Li immediately demanded the man be taken away for a physical examination. He had heard that those with the cut-sleeve habit, if they performed such acts with men, would look different in certain places compared to ordinary men. Thus, he had brought a physician from his manor with him.
Naturally, Wang Yuanxiu couldn't bear to see his beloved servant dragged away. He didn't even care that Vice Minister Li was his future father-in-law.
Vice Minister Li had a military background and couldn't stand their hovering and hesitation. He personally grabbed the man, walked behind a screen, and stripped him of his clothes.
Once the clothes were off, there was no need to check that specific place. The servant’s body was covered in blue and purple marks. As adults, who wouldn't recognize what those were?
Even Minister Wang, who had followed them, couldn't help but flush a deep red.
Looking at the servant covered in marks and then at Wang Yuanxiu, who was acting like he was protecting a lover, what was there left to misunderstand?
Vice Minister Li immediately declared the engagement canceled. Minister Wang and his wife tried to argue, saying their son had already changed or that the servant had seduced him, and so on. But Vice Minister Li, in his fury, wouldn't listen to a word. He kicked Wang Yuanxiu to the ground and placed his foot directly over the man’s crotch.
He stated, “If you do not agree to cancel the engagement, I will ruin Wang Yuanxiu.” Minister Wang and his wife were already in the wrong, and now they didn't dare say another word, forced to agree to the cancellation.