It was late spring in the third month of the lunar year. The apricot blossoms were in full bloom, and the two old apricot trees in front of the Grand Tutor’s residence had shed a carpet of white petals across the ground. The servants had only just swept them into piles when a burst of hurried hoofbeats scattered them again.
Shen Jinghong had been brought here tied to a horse by his own father.
The ropes were knotted using the military’s method for binding prisoners the more he struggled, the tighter they became. He had cursed all the way from the eastern side of the capital to the gates of the Grand Tutor’s residence, shouting until his voice was nearly hoarse. Neighbors peeked through their doors to watch the spectacle. By now, half the capital knew that General Shen had tied up his son and dragged him here to apologize.
“Get down!”
Shen Dingjiang, the Zhenbei General, a second-rank military official with a broad frame and a thick beard, spoke with a voice like thunder. With one hand, he lifted Shen Jinghong off the horse.
Shen Jinghong’s hands were tied behind his back. The moment his feet touched the ground, he tried to back away.
“Father, you’re really tying me up?” he protested, struggling twice against the ropes. “I’m your own son!”
“I wish you weren’t.”
Shen Dingjiang’s face was dark with anger. He kicked the back of his son’s knee.
Caught off guard, Shen Jinghong dropped heavily onto one knee against the stone steps before the mansion. Pain shot through him, and he nearly slammed headfirst into the threshold.
Twisting around in disbelief, he stared at his father.
“Father! You kicked me?”
“That was going easy on you.”
The general’s huge hand pressed down on the back of his neck.
“Kneel properly. Don’t move.”
Of course, Shen Jinghong refused to behave. He strained to stand again.
“Why should I kneel? Why should I apologize? Which part of what I said wasn’t true?”
The more he spoke, the more indignant he became. His voice rose with the stubborn arrogance unique to youth.
“I simply don’t like sickly girls! I’m a martial man. In the future I’ll be riding horses, drawing bows, wielding swords and spears. If I marry a wife who falls over whenever the wind blows, I’d be embarrassed to even bring her to the training grounds!”
“Shut your mouth!”
Shen Dingjiang barked the words through clenched teeth, veins bulging on his forehead.
Yet Shen Jinghong remained oblivious to how close his father was to exploding.
“And besides, I’ve heard all about it. The Grand Tutor’s daughter is terribly weak. Even the doctors say she won’t live long, that she’ll die young… Mother, tell me if I’m wrong!”
His final words were directed toward a carriage that had just stopped behind them.
The curtain was lifted, and Madam Shen, Liu Yunshuang, stepped down with the help of a maid.
She was in her early forties and still remarkably graceful. Traces of her youthful beauty lingered in her refined features. At the moment, however, her expression was unusually grim.
Without a word, she walked over.
Shen Jinghong’s eyes lit up.
His savior had arrived.
“Mother, you love me most. Tell Father there’s no reason to force me into marriage like this. All I did was say a few things outside—”
“A few things?”
Her voice wasn’t loud, yet it frightened Shen Jinghong far more than his father’s kick.
He knew his mother well. When she was truly angry, she didn’t shout. The calmer her voice became, the more terrifying she was.
“You stood in a teahouse before a room full of people and said that the Grand Tutor’s daughter was ‘short-lived, a jinx to her family, ugly, narrow-minded, and unlikely to survive three years after marriage.'”
Shen Jinghong choked on his words.
“…I was drunk.”
“Drunk at the Drunken Immortal Pavilion in Qianwei Tower. The entire capital knows about it now.”
Liu Yunshuang sneered.
“You certainly picked the perfect place. The shop directly across from that teahouse belongs to the brother of the Grand Tutor’s wife’s family. Where exactly did you expect the Grand Tutor’s family to put their dignity?”
Knowing he was in the wrong, Shen Jinghong still refused to admit it.
“But it’s the truth! Everyone’s been saying it already. The Grand Tutor’s daughter is a medicine jar, a gossip, weak and ugly, never leaving her home. Which part did I get wrong?”
Before he could finish, Liu Yunshuang stepped forward and precisely pinched his ear between two fingers.
“Ow—ow, ow, ow!”
His entire face twisted sideways.
“Mother! Let go! My ear’s going to fall off!”
Dragging him by the ear toward the mansion gates, she strode forward while scolding him.
“And you still have the nerve to complain? Your father spent twenty years fighting on the frontier and never once brought shame upon the Shen family. You’ve been in the capital less than two years and you’ve disgraced the entire household!
You worthless brat! All day long you gamble, idle around, and run with scoundrels. Now you’ve gossiped your way all the way to insulting the Grand Tutor’s family. Do you know your father can barely look the Grand Tutor in the eye anymore?”
“That’s because Father lacks courage.”
Even while being dragged, Shen Jinghong refused to stop talking.
Behind them, Shen Dingjiang heard every word.
Taking a deep breath, he silently clenched his fists and promised himself he’d deal with the boy later.
The three entered the Grand Tutor’s residence.
After passing a screen wall and walking around a grove of bamboo, they arrived at the main hall.
The Grand Tutor’s estate was far more elegant than the Shen residence. Every corner reflected scholarly refinement. A birdcage hung beneath the corridor, housing a myna bird that cried out upon seeing guests.
“Visitors! Visitors!”
Shen Jinghong was shoved inside, still tied up and looking thoroughly miserable.
Yet despite his sorry appearance, he was undeniably handsome. Sword-like brows, bright eyes, a straight nose, red lips, and white teeth he had inherited his mother’s good looks. Even covered in dust, his youthful vitality could not be concealed.
The curtain of the main hall was lifted.
Fu Mingyuan, the Grand Tutor, emerged.
He was in his fifties, lean and scholarly, with three strands of long beard. Dressed in a simple blue-gray robe, he walked forward unhurriedly.
His expression was gentle, but his gaze lingered briefly on Shen Jinghong, taking in the entire scene.
A slight frown crossed his face before it smoothed into polite courtesy.
“Oh my…”
He hurried forward and waved his hands.
“General Shen, Madam Shen, what is the meaning of this? Why are you treating the young master this way?”
He immediately reached for the ropes binding Shen Jinghong.
His sincerity nearly moved Shen Jinghong to tears.
But Shen Dingjiang blocked him.
“Brother Fu, please don’t defend him. This unfilial brat spread reckless rumors and damaged your daughter’s reputation. I brought him here today specifically to admit his wrongdoing. If you wish to beat or punish him, I will not object.”
“No, no. There’s no need for punishment.”
Fu Mingyuan smiled and shook his head.
“He’s only a child. Young people often speak carelessly. Who hasn’t said foolish things when they were young? General Shen is taking this too seriously.”
Shen Jinghong’s eyes immediately brightened.
“Exactly! Exactly! Grand Tutor Fu understands. I just spoke without thinking. I never meant any harm.”
He tugged at the ropes and shot his father a meaningful look.
See? Even the Grand Tutor doesn’t care anymore.
Fu Mingyuan’s smile never changed as he calmly added:
“Besides, my daughter Yangyang has already said that if the young master is unwilling, then this marriage arrangement should be canceled. Forced melons are never sweet. Though our Fu family may not have the highest status, we will not force our daughter upon a family that dislikes her.”
The words were perfectly polite.
Yet they struck like a hidden blade.
General Shen’s face turned crimson, then purple. His lips trembled, but no words came out.
Madam Shen’s expression also changed.
Moments ago she had fiercely twisted her son’s ear. Now genuine panic filled her face.
Fu Mingyuan had handled the situation with such grace that it left them ashamed.
He wasn’t arguing.
He wasn’t demanding accountability.
He wasn’t making a scene.
Instead, he was giving them a way out.
If the engagement were truly canceled, the Shen family’s reputation would be ruined.
Who would dare marry their daughter into the Shen family afterward?
Meanwhile, Shen Jinghong completely missed the deeper meaning.
All he heard was “the marriage is canceled.”
It felt like a royal pardon.
Immediately revitalized, he jumped to his feet.
“Grand Tutor Fu is wise!”
Grinning, he turned to his father.
“Father, you heard him! The Grand Tutor said it doesn’t count anymore. Untie me already. I agree too. Let’s put this behind us and go home.”
He started walking toward the door.
But neither of his parents moved.
After several steps, he turned around and found his mother staring at him with a dark expression.
“Mother?”
Liu Yunshuang approached.
Instinctively, Shen Jinghong backed up a step.
He feared nothing in the world except his mother’s ear-twisting and smacks to the back of the head.
Sure enough, she walked behind him and delivered a solid slap to the back of his head.
Smack!
The crisp sound echoed through the quiet hall.
Stumbling forward, Shen Jinghong clutched his head.
“Mother! You hit the back of my head again! What if I become stupid?”
“If you become stupid, I’ll support you for life. It would still be better than the fool you’ve become now.”
Ignoring him, Liu Yunshuang stepped before Fu Mingyuan and bowed deeply.
Though she was a military wife and lacked the delicate elegance of noble ladies in the capital, her movements were direct and dignified.
“Grand Tutor Fu,” she said, her voice trembling slightly but every word clear. “The Shen family failed in raising our son. His reckless words hurt Miss Fu’s reputation and wounded both you and your wife. I did not bring him here to seek forgiveness. With his behavior, he does not deserve forgiveness.”
Shen Jinghong opened his mouth to protest but was silenced by a glare from his father.
“I came to ask the Fu family for one chance.”
Straightening up, she looked earnestly at Fu Mingyuan.
“Allow us to meet Miss Fu. Let this brat apologize to her face.
Even if the marriage is truly canceled, he should at least personally apologize. After saying such things publicly, if he cannot even apologize in person, the Shen family will have no face left in the capital.”
Fu Mingyuan tilted his head slightly and looked past her toward Shen Jinghong.
Under that gaze, Shen Jinghong felt oddly uncomfortable and turned his face away, nudging a pebble with the tip of his shoe.
After a moment’s thought, Fu Mingyuan replied gently, though his tone now carried a trace of distance.
“Madam Shen, you are too serious. It’s simply that my daughter’s health truly isn’t very good. Yesterday she caught a chill, and today I’m afraid she is unable to receive guests.”