“Brother Du had originally intended to press on and strive for the Jinshi degree, but unfortunately, he was always frail in health, and the successive examinations took too great a toll. That year in the first month, he fell ill and passed away on his way to the capital for the exams. Truly, heaven envies talent.”
Zhang Xiuxiu’s vision darkened. Unwilling to give up, she pressed on, “Then, then… does he have any family left?”
“Brother Du’s parents passed away early, and he was raised by his uncle. He had only been married for a few months back then, with no children. I heard his wife has also returned to her maiden home.”
…So nothing was left. Her Du Lang! How could he just leave like that!
At this moment, Zhang Xiuxiu genuinely wanted to weep bitterly for the young master of the Du family.
Her noble son-in-law was like the moon reflected in water—so bright and beautiful one moment, shattered the next!
She had wasted years of her youth, only to end up with a little girl whose father’s identity was unclear. She couldn’t accept it!
Steeling her heart, Zhang Xiuxiu covered her face and spoke up, “Shen… Master Shen, it’s been so many years, I don’t remember clearly anymore! Perhaps… perhaps I went to the room on the right…”
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone fell silent. Even the Ding family forgot to cry, gaping at Zhang Xiuxiu’s audacious move.
Wu Shi swallowed hard with difficulty. This Zhang family wife has such thick skin! Is she determined to pin a father on someone, no matter what?
Sister-in-law Zhang, however, looked at her sister-in-law with newfound respect.
She had thought her merely foolish and reckless, but faced with such a situation, she could still show such resolve! Though her mouth isn’t as foul as her mother-in-law’s, this thick-skinned mother and daughter truly share the same lineage.
But then again, in the face of wealth and status, what does face matter?
Shen Rusong was equally stunned by Zhang Xiuxiu’s brazen (and shameless) words.
For the first time, he took a proper look at this woman, feeling somewhat relieved that he had no ties with her. Otherwise, he might have been stuck with such a tenacious and clingy person.
To make this woman give up, Shen Rusong promptly informed her, “The one living on the right should have been Brother Yin. After his family’s elder master was promoted and assigned to a post elsewhere, he followed him to his official residence.”
Her father-in-law was an official!
And he was “promoted”!
Zhang Xiuxiu almost jumped for joy: “Then, is Yin Lang still around? Is Master Yin still around?”
The last question was the key! Even if this Yin Lang was also short-lived, as long as the elder official was still alive, her daughter would still be an official’s daughter!
Shen Rusong thought for a moment: “I’m not sure. Last year, Elder Master Yin was found guilty while serving as Zhizhou, dismissed from his post, and had his family property confiscated.”
!!!
Her fifth-rank Zhizhou in-laws were gone just like that. Should she still acknowledge this father?
If the Yin family were a wealthy and influential clan, not being an official might not matter much. But with their property confiscated, could they still live a life of luxury…
Before she could finish wrestling with her thoughts, Shen Rusong had already resolved this dilemma for her.
Shen Rusong continued, “The entire Yin family was exiled to Dan’er. I don’t know how they’re faring now.”
Not only was their property confiscated, but they were also exiled!
Amid this series of ups and downs (mostly downs), Zhang Xiuxiu’s dreams were completely shattered, and she slumped to the ground.
Just then, Zhang Dalang, seeing his sister fall silent, felt the matter wasn’t fully resolved. Why had she stopped talking?
Noticing his wife was also distracted, he thought women simply couldn’t handle such matters. It was time for him, the head of the household, to step in!
Zhang Dalang straightened his back and mustered his courage to ask, “Well, Master Shen, what kind of place is this Dan’er? Do you know where my brother-in-law’s family is?”
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone once again stared at Zhang Dalang as if he were some rare and exotic creature.
Sister-in-law Zhang turned her head and glared angrily at her husband, who seemed intent on dragging the whole family down. “What brother-in-law! Who is your brother-in-law!”
That was a crime that could lead to the entire family being exiled. Was this bastard so eager to claim kinship, afraid he wouldn’t be counted among the criminal’s nine familial clans?
Shen Rusong discovered that there was actually an honest person in this family and deliberately asked, “Dan’er is on Qiongzhou Island. Do you still intend to go there to claim kinship? Would you like me to help inquire about his family’s whereabouts?”
Zhang Xiuxiu finally came to her senses as well. Her noble son-in-law had turned into a prisoner—she certainly didn’t want to follow him into exile in some godforsaken place.
She shook her head frantically. “No need, no need! I—I—I remembered wrong! I entered the room on the left! It was the left side! My poor Brother Du, oh~”
“Eh? Didn’t you say you, mmm—” Sister-in-law Zhang tightly covered Zhang Dalang’s mouth. This time, it truly was a case of the chicken flying away and the eggs smashed—a wasted trip with nothing to show for it.
On one hand, getting involved would bring nothing but bad luck and might even implicate the whole family.
On the other hand, with no proof and the other party dead, what could they use to claim kinship with the Du family now? If they weren’t beaten up as frauds, it would already be fortunate—what daydreams were they still harboring?
Her sister-in-law probably realized this as well and truly began to cry.
At that moment, the servant named Guyu approached the Zhang family with a large tray. At the front were eight small silver ingots, and behind them were piled two full strings of copper coins.
Nanny Tong nodded inwardly. Ten taels of silver was merely a larger silver ingot—how could it compare to the dazzling sight of this tray overflowing with silver and coins?
Her family’s young master was indeed much more astute in matters of human relations than he was in his studies.
The effect was truly excellent.
Zhang Dalang had never seen so much money in his life—his eyes were glued to it.
Then they heard Shen Rusong speak. “This matter is considered settled today. Brother Du and I were once classmates. Regardless of whether this child bears the Du surname, since I have encountered this situation, I must lend a hand. However, from now on—”
Sister-in-law Zhang was the first to react. She quickly bowed and said, “Master Shen, rest assured, we will definitely take good care of Sister Nian!”
In truth, she still had a question: since the child wasn’t Master Shen’s, why had the Shen family never directly denied it?
When Zhang Xiuxiu was pregnant and gave birth, they had sent messages to the Shen family.
But now, seeing there was an unexpected windfall, and since Zhang Xiuxiu herself wasn’t pursuing the matter, she was more than happy to take the money and leave.
Seeing Shen Rusong pick up his teacup without responding, Sister-in-law Zhang suddenly had a flash of insight. “Our family has misunderstood Master Shen for so long, yet you remain so magnanimous. After sending my sister-in-law off to be married, Dalang and I will surely adopt Sister Nian.”
“We will make her understand her origins from a young age. When she grows up, she too will remember your great kindness and virtue!”
Only then did Shen Rusong nod in satisfaction. It was rare for someone in the Zhang family to grasp things so quickly.
In truth, it wasn’t that he had deliberately strung the Zhang family along all these years.
When the Zhang family came to report the pregnancy, it was just before the County Examination sixteen years ago. He was confined in the County School, with teachers pressing him daily to practice essays and write policy proposals until his head spun.
It was easy to imagine that when his old father at home received the letter, he wouldn’t disturb him at such a time.
By the time he finished the examination—well, he failed once again. In his anger, Shen County Deputy was busy disciplining his son and simply forgot all about the matter.
The Zhang family was already feeling guilty, and this wait dragged on for several months until Zhang Xiuxiu gave birth to the child. Only then did they muster the courage to send a second letter.
This time was also rather unfortunate, as Shen Rusong had once again performed poorly in his exams. In the County School’s Sui Examination, he only achieved the fourth rank, and his placement was quite low.
Since his Juren father couldn’t teach him properly, the furious Shen County Deputy directly threw his troublesome son to his father-in-law’s home in Fu Cheng, leaving him to be disciplined by his Jinshi father-in-law.
Thus, the Zhang family’s second letter once again fell directly into the hands of Shen County Deputy.
Not studying diligently and instead spending his days chasing after women!
When his father’s furious, roaring letter reached Fu Cheng, Shen Rusong was dumbfounded.
He had standards when it came to women, alright! Someone like Hu Erniang, a top-tier beauty, went without saying. Even Ding He was at least a delicate and charming girl from a respectable servant family.
Who was this village girl surnamed Zhang?
Not only did Shen Rusong inexplicably attract a troublesome admirer, but he also received a double blessing in one go—directly becoming a father without any effort.
Frustrated, he carefully recalled the events and even sent Song Jian to Zhangjia Village to investigate discreetly. Finally, he figured out that she was just a farm girl dreaming of climbing the social ladder.
Among the three brothers living in the east courtyard, Guo Pangzi had been injured so badly that he likely wouldn’t have regained his strength immediately that night.
As for the other two classmates, one of them probably mistook her for a “wild game” offered by the host and accepted her without question.
It wasn’t uncommon for wealthy families to send maids to warm the beds of their guests.
The problem was that neither Shen Rusong nor the estate manager knew about this, so no one prepared contraceptive medicine to handle the aftermath. As a result, Zhang Xiuxiu managed to scheme her way into having a child.
But by then, the Du classmate had already passed away. Sending an unidentifiable baby girl back to the Du family would seem like an attempt to tarnish their reputation and force the Du clan to provide a dowry.
The situation with the Yin family was even more complicated.
Shen Rusong had heard from his father-in-law that Father Yin had been promoted repeatedly over the years, becoming a Zhizhou, with hints of support from a certain prince’s faction.
Subsequent events confirmed his father-in-law’s speculation.
The Yin family clashed with several local gentry families, battling from Fu Cheng all the way to the prefecture level. The Yin family even faced several impeachment memorials in the Yushi Tai, teetering on the edge of collapse.
Yet, they stubbornly refused to fall and instead dealt heavy blows to several prominent families.
In such circumstances, Shen Rusong was trying to stay as far away as possible. How could he dare to jump into the muddy waters?
He had already distanced himself from the Yin classmate. Sending an illegitimate daughter of questionable status back to the Yin family’s eldest son at this point would likely make the Yin family suspect he was helping their political enemies set a trap.
After quietly discussing the matter with his father and seeing that the Zhang family had remained quiet and kept to themselves, they decided to leave the situation as it was for the time being.
At worst, he could compensate with a dowry, which was far better than dragging the Shen and Wu families into the Yin family’s troubles.
Last year, the Emperor took drastic measures, punishing several princes, dismissing two prime ministers in one go, and implicating nearly a hundred officials, both high and low. For a time, the entire court was in turmoil.
It was during that period that the Yin family met their downfall.
This time, when he returned, Zhang Xiuxiu’s family likely heard about the Ding family coming to claim kinship and followed suit. This actually made it convenient for him to resolve everything cleanly in one go.
Shen Rusong nodded and said, “These ten taels of silver can be considered my contribution to the dowry of an old acquaintance’s descendant.”
The Du family currently appears to have no successors, while the Yin family hasn’t been completely wiped out yet. Who knows what the future holds? This is just a casual move, something to accumulate virtue and do good deeds.
After Sister-in-law Zhang led the whole family in repeatedly kowtowing their thanks, she reached out to take the money. Her hands trembled slightly—she had never touched silver in all her life!
First, she grabbed four silver coins and stuffed them into Zhang Xiuxiu’s hands. Then she picked up the other four, rubbed them briefly before tucking them close to her body, and gestured for Zhang Dalang to carry the copper coins.
Zhang Dalang used the hem of his clothes to gather them, feeling the weight so heavy that his legs went a little weak.
Seeing that they could finally leave, Sister Nian bounced over and clung tightly to her uncle.
Except for Zhang Xiuxiu, who still seemed a bit listless, the entire group was filled with joy.