“Fine! Do you think I don’t know what you’re up to? Who are you trying to fool with all this talk? If you want to split the property, then just do it quickly. That way, I can move out early and stop bothering you,” Shen Wenhe said, refusing to put on a polite facade.
Mrs. Shen gave Shen Wenhe a long, sharp look. She knew this concubine-born son was not someone to be trifled with. This was part of why she wanted to push him out as soon as possible.
“Very well. The property division will be decided like this. Your father and I have already agreed on the rules. You just follow them,” Mrs. Shen said firmly.
Shen Wenhe didn’t reply. In truth, he had no say in the matter. The terms of the division were entirely up to the family. Luckily, he wasn’t relying on the property to live anyway.
The division went quickly, without bringing in any outsiders.
Old Master Shen simply explained the family assets roughly. According to the rules, the eldest son gets 70% of the property. Shen Wenbo, being the eldest, took his 70%. The remaining 30% was decided by Old Master Shen and divided among the three younger sons. Since Shen Wenbo and Shen Wenbin were concubine-born sons, they received a slightly larger share. Shen Wenhe, however, only received half of a share, which was almost equivalent to leaving empty-handed.
“What? You’re telling me to leave empty-handed? Just a few ounces of silver and that’s it? Your greed is unbearable. If it’s like this, I’ll find someone to settle it,” Shen Wenhe said, sitting upright with a hint of defiance.
“Whoever you bring, it’ll be the same. This is all we have. And the eldest son gets 70% by tradition. The remaining 30% is divided among the three of you. Your second and third brothers are concubine-born sons, so they naturally get more. You should be thankful for half a share. What more could you complain about?” Old Master Shen scolded.
“Hahaha, Father, don’t talk nonsense. Do you really think the family has nothing else? You think I don’t know how much property we actually have? I won’t say anything about Mother favoring her own sons. But Father, I’m your son too. I’m not asking for perfect fairness, but it shouldn’t be this unequal,” Shen Wenhe said, his voice rising with indignation.
Something in Shen Wenhe’s words seemed to strike a nerve in Mrs. Shen. Before Old Master Shen could reply, she shouted angrily:
“What? You want to compare yourself with my sons? You’re nothing but a concubine-born bastard! How dare you expect the same treatment as my sons! If I had known you’d be such an ungrateful child, I would have sent you away with your worthless mother from the start!”
“Heh. I grew up safely because I was lucky, not because of your kindness. Do you want me to count how many times I’ve been in danger since I was a child? At six, I fell into water. At eight, I ran into kidnappers. At thirteen, my first imperial exam made me sick… then I broke my leg twice more… and so on. These aren’t just accidents? Why did your sons grow up fine while I suffered all this?” Shen Wenhe’s voice became more emotional, and his eyes reddened.
Bai Nianqing knew life was hard for a concubine-born son in a large family, but she hadn’t realized it was this hard. Her heart ached just thinking about it.
“Husband,” Bai Nianqing stepped forward, holding Shen Wenhe’s hand to give him support.
“I’m fine,” Shen Wenhe said, grasping her hand in return.
He had been holding back for so long, enduring countless hardships in this family. Now, with the property division, he refused to suppress his feelings.
In fact, he even considered leaving the family entirely and cutting ties.
Wait—cut ties? Why hadn’t he thought of that before? He had no real standing in this family. They wanted nothing more than to sweep him out the door. And if he stayed, he’d still have endless troubles.
Simply put, the good would never go to him, but the bad would. Better to take this chance to sever ties—it would save him trouble later.
Although he had thoughts of this, Shen Wenhe kept his expression calm. Others might not notice, but he knew that those observing him had some understanding of his situation. Old Master Shen, however, was hearing all this for the first time.
“Wenhe, is what you’re saying true? Why didn’t you ever tell me? If I had known earlier…”
“If you had known, what would you have done? Made decisions for me?” Shen Wenhe asked sarcastically.
“I…” Old Master Shen was at a loss.
Shen Wenhe sneered. “I knew it. Even if you had known, you wouldn’t have cared.”
Old Master Shen was speechless. He admitted he had indeed neglected Wenhe. But what could he do? The in-laws were powerful, and he relied on them to help his sons.
He also had personal ambitions—he didn’t want his sons to spend their lives as merchants. So he sent all his sons to study, hoping they could succeed in imperial exams and become officials. His father-in-law and eldest brother-in-law were officials, even if minor. It was still better than commerce.
He had hoped for their support, so in practice, he had to consider his wife’s influence.
Thus, except for Shen Wenhe’s mother, he had no concubines. He truly didn’t know the hardships Shen Wenhe endured under his wife?
Even with limited understanding, he was aware to some extent. Shen Wenhe’s survival was partly due to his covert protection.
Even when Shen Wenhe had accidents before exams, he suspected it slightly but kept silent for family harmony.
Now that Shen Wenhe had put it all on the table, Old Master Shen could no longer remain indifferent.
“Wife, is this true? Did you really interfere with Wenhe’s exams?” Old Master Shen asked angrily.
“Old Master, are you listening to his nonsense? Who do you think I am? If I wanted to harm him, would he have survived till now? Where’s the proof that I caused his problems before exams? Wenhe is just an ungrateful child. I’m his mother; he’s slandering me without evidence. He’s unfilial! I’ll go to the clan elders and get him punished,” Mrs. Shen seized the opportunity to lash out.
“Wife! What nonsense are you talking? How is Wenhe unfilial?” Old Master Shen quickly interjected.
“Fine. Then let’s sever ties. In the end, your goal is just to push me out. Fine! Father, don’t try to stop me. Isn’t this exactly what you all planned from the start? And now you come here pretending otherwise—it’s hypocritical,” Shen Wenhe said firmly.