Chapter 4: Unethical

"Mother, please calm your anger. That is not how it happened." She tugged at Madam Hua’s sleeve and said, "They were the ones who bullied me first."

"Shut up!"

Madam Hua pointed at the floor, then casually used her feather duster to tap the back of Shen Yan’s knees.

Shen Yan’s legs went weak, and she knelt down. Just before her knees hit the ground, a maid wearing her hair in double buns flashed in from outside the door. With quick eyes and nimble hands, she pulled a soft cattail cushion from under the curtain and behind the flower stand, sliding it beneath Shen Yan’s knees before retreating to the side of the stand with lowered eyes and a submissive expression.

The entire sequence of movements was fluid and seamless, as elegant as the orchids depicted in Shen Mi’s paintings.

Shen Yan glanced at the maid; it was Fu Niang.

Madam Hua held the feather duster upside down, glaring at the two of them with the sternness of Mu Guiying facing the Jin army.

The lingering, deep affection that had welled up in Shen Yan’s chest upon seeing her birth mother was abruptly interrupted by the feather duster, replaced instead by a head full of black lines. It was true that she had hit Gu Song, but that didn't mean Gu Song didn't deserve it. She still bore the Shen surname, after all. A brat who threw his weight around relying on his ancestors' shadow, disparaging the Shen family right in front of her—so what if she hit him?

Of course, such righteous words could never be spoken in the face of the feather duster. Shen Yan knelt on the floor, still feeling a lingering fear as she watched the feathers sway in the breeze. She cleared her throat and, being very sensible of the situation, began to recount the cause and effect.

"It’s like this..." She told the story from beginning to end, though she naturally omitted the part about fainting and being reborn, as no one would believe that. At the end, she added, "The Heir’s wife must only know one side of the story, which is why she came here so aggressively to settle accounts. Mother, please do not listen to only one side, lest you cause those who love us pain and those who hate us joy."

"A fine 'cause those who love us pain and those who hate us joy'!"

Madam Hua sneered repeatedly, tapping the feather duster against the pear-wood tea table until it trembled. "What kind of family is the Gu family? They are founding heroes! Even the men of the Shen family wouldn't dare make a peep in their presence, so what does this have to do with you? Why did you have to go and show off?!" Her anger intensified, but after scolding her, she still pulled her over to look her up and down.

"Madam, please be discerning. Everything the young miss said is true!"

Fu Niang also lifted her skirt and knelt down, saying, "This servant was accompanying the young miss when we went out. Because I remembered I needed to get a bracelet repaired at the street corner, I asked the young miss for leave and left the ward. If there is any fault, it is mine. If I hadn't walked away, how could the young miss have gotten lost and ended up in Youzi Alley? And the people from the Gu family wouldn't have bullied her for being alone there."

Fu Niang’s focus was entirely on the fact that Shen Yan had been bullied; she didn't mention a word about her mistress punching someone and running away. Madam Hua shot her a sideways glance, then looked back at Shen Yan, her expression finally softening.

No matter how mischievous Shen Yan was, she was still her daughter. If she needed to be disciplined, it was for her and Shen Mi to do, not for others to interfere. But seeing that she spoke fluently and looked normal, not appearing to be injured, and remembering that the Gu family’s Heir’s wife was still waiting with Madam Shen, she knew neither side was easy to deal with. She suppressed the fire in her heart, stood up, and said, "Since that is the case, come with me!"

With that, she picked up her handkerchief and walked out the door first.

How could Shen Yan dare to be slow? She scrambled to her feet and hurried after her.

Because she possessed memories of two lifetimes, Shen Yan was intimately familiar with the situation of the prominent families in Qilin Ward, even if she couldn't say she knew them like the back of her hand. Although the Rongguo Duke’s mansion dominated Qilin Ward, it would still be difficult for them to truly cross swords with the Shen family.

The Shen family had spanned two dynasties and had stood in Qilin Ward—known as the ward of wealth and nobility in the capital—for over a hundred years.

Looking back eight generations, the Shen family had produced two prime ministers, five second-rank high officials, three provincial governors, and two grand secretaries of the cabinet. Even the collateral branches of recent generations were very capable, studying and serving as officials across the north and south, never bringing shame to the family name. Although they didn't interact daily, they showed considerable cohesion when it came to the rise and fall of the family.

Even now, the libraries of the Imperial Academy and the National University kept the works of the Shen ancestors alongside those of Confucius and Mencius.

The history of the Shen mansion was once a legend in the Central Plains. Today, there were only three or four families across the country that could be called the leaders of the literati, and the Shen family was exactly one of them. It could be said that a dozen years ago, if a member of the Shen family sneezed on the street, the capital would tremble.

Therefore, the size and grandeur of the Shen mansion were justified; it was the accumulation of hundreds of years. Even the current Emperor could not use the word "regulations" to rigidly constrain them.

Conquering the world indeed relied on brave ministers and generals, but holding the world relied on brains. Without scholars, there is no historical inheritance; without scholars, how could the Emperor grandly disseminate his lies to the common people? Qin Shi Huang burned books and buried scholars, which is why the Qin Dynasty lasted no more than two generations.

The late Emperor, Gaozu of Zhou, seized the previous dynasty's empire and pacified the world, naturally beginning a policy of appeasement toward the civil officials who had been ruthlessly crushed during the wars. As a prestigious family with centuries of foundation, the Shen mansion was invited back to the court to hold key positions after a few years of silence. The Emperor might have hated these remnants of the previous dynasty, but as a ruler, he had to give some face to the old Shen family.

Because giving face to the vast Shen family was equivalent to extending a hand of friendship to the scholars of the world.

Although the face he gave was very limited—only a position as a Vice Minister of Rites—in Shen Yan’s previous life, even after losing a very powerful in-law, the Shen family still occupied half of the court within a few years.

Shen Yan followed Madam Hua toward Yaori Hall, where the main house was located. Because the pace was fast and she was somewhat unfamiliar with the path, she stumbled a few times.

When they arrived at Yaori Hall, she saw several servants from other branches standing under the veranda. The maids in front of Madam Shen were also standing in two straight rows. When they saw Madam Hua and Shen Yan approaching from afar, no one came forward to greet them. It wasn't until they reached the top of the stairs that two second-rank maids in green silk vests stepped forward to perform a curtsy.

Madam Hua was not favored by Madam Shen, and the servants' attitudes reflected this. If Shen Mi hadn't taken them to Jinling to take up his post all those years ago, allowing them to stay at the Hua residence for so many years out of sight and out of mind, who knows what their situation would have been. Since officially moving back to the capital from Jinling a month ago, the number of times Madam Hua had seen Madam Shen probably didn't exceed three.

As soon as the maids reported them, the doorway suddenly darkened. It was the fourth daughter-in-law, Madam Chen, dressed in an eggplant-purple jacket with bamboo patterns, who walked out.

During the six years in Jinling, the second branch only returned home once a year, staying for three to five days each time, so there were few opportunities for contact. Coupled with Madam Shen’s very obvious attitude, the sisters-in-law had never had any dealings beyond what was necessary.

In the month since returning to the capital, because Madam Shen had exempted the mother and daughter of the second branch from their morning and evening greetings, the opportunities to meet were even fewer. Such things as "friendship" were thinner than the clothes they were wearing right now.

Shen Yan performed a curtsy and called out, "Fourth Aunt."

Madam Chen sighed and patted the back of her hand, saying, "Yan-er, don't be afraid. The Madam is in a fit of anger; don't take anything she says to heart. But in front of outsiders, remember, don't say anything else. Just admit your mistake and be done with it." As she spoke, she nodded gently at Madam Hua, appearing relieved that they had done their part.

A fine "just admit your mistake and don't say anything else." Shen Yan lowered her eyes to the floor, straightened her posture, and folded her hands.

Shen Ming was Madam Chen’s only son. The reason Shen Yan had stepped forward was that when faced with the mockery directed at the Shen mansion, Shen Ming and Shen Xin, as third-generation descendants, hadn't uttered a word, showing no backbone at all.

It was the duty of men to stand tall and support the family. Even she knew to step forward, so as the head of a family with a hundred-year foundation, how could her grandfather, Shen Guanyu, tolerate the behavior of Shen Ming and Shen Xin? Such cowardice and incompetence—how did they look like the descendants of a prestigious, noble family? She could almost imagine how furious Shen Guanyu would be when he learned of their performance.

Everyone in this mansion knew that Madam Hua was not liked by her parents-in-law, and Madam Chen certainly knew it too.

There were many children watching, and among them were some who were fond of Shen Yan. Even if the Gu family knew the truth, they would certainly not admit to indulging their servants in insulting a court official, so Madam Shen surely didn't know about that layer yet. Therefore, as long as she explained the ins and outs of the matter in Yaori Hall later and asked the onlookers to confront them, then even if the other party was from the Rongguo Duke’s mansion, Shen Ming and Shen Xin would inevitably receive a beating.

Madam Chen only had Shen Ming. Shen Yan remembered that in her previous life, her mother had introduced a prescription to treat her uterine cold. Furthermore, if she remembered correctly, her fourth uncle, Shen Ji, had taken a concubine, and that Concubine Wu was a relative of the Shen family’s aunt. There were already two children from concubines, and they were both younger than Shen Ming. Judging by this, the hope of Madam Chen having a second child was already very slim.

In this situation, if she were Madam Chen, she wouldn't dare let Shen Ming take any blame.

But if she really obediently covered for Shen Ming, then who would face the Gu family’s harassment for their second branch later? Would the Shen family? If they would, Shen Ming and Shen Xin wouldn't have stood in the crowd without saying a word.

A mother’s desire to protect her own child is good, but if it is done too unscrupulously, it becomes intolerable.

Back then, because she had never experienced setbacks, she didn't understand these twists and turns. After experiencing those joys and sorrows, in order to survive, she seemed to have suddenly grown an extra heart, maturing. Now, walking the same path again, the schemes hidden beneath the hypocritical surface were like rotting corpses pulled from the water; all the maggots and ants could not escape her eyes.

She glanced at the figure sitting inside the door, pulled back the foot she had just placed over the threshold, raised the corners of her lips slightly, and said to Madam Chen in a voice that was neither high nor low: "Replying to Fourth Aunt, I understand."

"The Rongguo Duke’s mansion is a high-ranking official in the court and one of the top noble families in the capital. Although I am the second young miss of the Shen family, because the Shen family has declined, I cannot afford to offend them. So, I will listen to Fourth Aunt and hide the fact that the Gu family people pushed me and knocked me unconscious. Although so many little friends outside saw it just now, next time they ask me, I will say they were dazzled and saw it wrong, and that I actually bumped into it myself."

Madam Chen’s face turned as black as the bottom of a pot.