Chapter 10 The Abandoned One Wang Yan didn't care much, "Between friends..."

Wang Yan didn't care much, saying, "It's just a small favor between friends."

Knowing that his younger sister liked to keep the choice in her own hands, Wang Zhen asked, "Is it because he and the King of Wei are cousins?"

Wang Yan nodded. "In this way, no matter what, the Wang family will be brought under the command of Prince Wei, and only then will he be willing to give in."

Li Changling shook his head, neither confirming nor denying, "If Fu Jizheng knew that you were playing with his precious disciple, he would fight you to the death."

Wang Yan tilted his head and smiled, "Isn't there you, Senior Brother?"

Li Changling tapped her forehead. "You're the most talkative one."

Wang Yan said aggrievedly, "Whether he has any intention of treating me well or not is another matter. How could such a person be willing to be used by me? Besides, he used to have a close daughter of the prefect. This matter is not as easy as you two think."

Wang Zhen also started to act frivolously, saying, "Our A-Ying is no ordinary person. Remember to keep a good balance and don't let him take it to heart."

Wang Yan listened with considerable displeasure, "Why? How can I control other people's feelings? Don't you think your sister deserves his attention?"

Li Changling explained first: "He will be the next Duke of Dingguo in the future. You don't like officialdom and fame, so why would you want to be bound here? It's much more comfortable to roam the martial world freely with your senior brother."

Wang Yan pursed his lips, finding a certain truth in what he said. Then again, "Did my elder brother bring my senior brother here today?"

Li Changling looked disgusted. "Otherwise, why would I be in that desolate wilderness?"

"The scenery in the capital is not pleasing to my senior brother's eye. He has to stay here for a while for my coming-of-age ceremony. It must be hard for him."

When the topic of the coming-of-age ceremony came up, Wang Yan wanted Shang Nianyao to be the officiant, so he wanted to ask her brother's opinion first. Wang Zhen immediately understood her intention; compared to the Wang family, the Shang family might be more needed by the King of Wei.

Wang Yan analyzed the situation carefully, "On that day, only she and I were invited into the palace. If she really becomes the Princess Consort of Wei in the future... it's better to have one more friend than one more enemy."

Wang Zhen knew she never made plans lightly and must have considered them carefully. "You should tell your father and mother tomorrow."

After discussing the matter of going to the capital, Wang Yan finally found an opportunity to ask Li Changling about the purpose of his trip, "However, Senior Brother, I'm afraid you're not just here to observe the ceremony, are you?"

Li Changling had somehow abandoned his lazy demeanor. "My aunt was afraid something might happen, so she called me here. My master and mistress were also worried."

Wang Yan's eyes darkened. What kind of scheme was this that required her coming-of-age ceremony as a pretext? The enemy was in the dark while she was in the light, and there wasn't even a trace of their plans yet. She didn't know where to begin preparing for the worst.

Wang Zhen comforted him, saying, "We will not let him have his way, neither for you nor for the Wang family."

Yes, she wasn't alone. Since she had been practicing martial arts since childhood, she could protect herself. If all else failed, she still had her senior brother and the Wang family.

Wang Yan suddenly found it interesting, "If entering the game is the only way to break it, then let's do it."

Qian Xu took two cakes of Dragon and Phoenix Tea and went to the Duke of Dingguo's mansion to challenge Shen Minghuai to a tea competition. He came every few days, but lost every time.

"Last time you burned down the bandit stronghold, you finally wiped out one of Third Brother's gold mines. Now it depends on the Ministry of Revenue's attitude." Qian Xu poured the soup into the cup.

Shen Minghuai placed the tea canister beside him. "The magistrate of Yunyan County is not one of Prince Yi's men."

Qian Xu added a second point, "That Liu Danian comes from a poor family, so naturally he doesn't have the guts. These people are incapable of accomplishing anything, so there's no need to waste time trying to win them over."

Shen Minghuai caught a glimpse of a poem tucked inside a book, somehow left exposed. It was a gift from an official when he left the capital.

It's going to rain.

Qian Xu turned around and looked outside. "It's been cloudy for days, but the rain still hasn't come."

Shen Minghuai closed the poem into the book, saying, "If it rains for several days in a row, the water level will probably rise."

Qian Xu poured in the last dose of soup, saying, "There was already a snow disaster at the beginning of the year. If there is another flood... Heaven will take this as a warning."

Shen Minghuai stared straight at the person opposite him. Qian Xu had no intention of saying the word "incurable" and smiled as he served the tea.

"Don't be nervous, come and see how my order is this time."

Shen Minghuai stepped forward to take a look, then leisurely returned to his seat to prepare tea.

"Young master, a maid from the royal family requests an audience," Ying Ming announced from outside the door.

Shen Minghuai was serving tea, his eyes flickering slightly. "Please."

Ying Ming turned around and brought the person over. Sang Xing lowered her head slightly and said, "Greetings, Your Highness Prince Wei and Young Master Shen. My wife asked me to return this cloak to you."

Shen Minghuai raised his eyes to signal, and Ying Mingxuan took the neatly folded cloak.

"The cloak was accidentally stained with tea, but it has been washed clean. If you do not wish to accept it, when you have time, I would like to ask you to go with me to Rongjinfang to choose a piece of cloth that you like. After it is made, I will return it to you."

Shen Minghuai's gaze then shifted to the maid. Sang Xing bowed respectfully once more before leaving.

The painting in Qian Xu's tea soup had dissipated, and he casually asked, "Wang family maid? When did you two meet?"

Shen Minghuai casually replied, "The day His Highness pulled me into the palace."

"This Wang family lady, she hooked up with you after I left?" Qian Xu said with a knowing look. "You have no idea how aloof she acted in front of me that day."

Shen Minghuai's ears seemed to be filled with tea; it was unclear whether he had heard him at all. Qian Xu then casually asked, "Didn't you say you weren't interested in these aristocratic women?"

Shen Minghuai calmly warmed the cup, "My master and she have some misunderstandings, I will mediate."

“That’s how Master Fu always does things.” Qian Xu stirred the tea haphazardly, then turned back to Wang Yan, “It seems that her coming-of-age ceremony is in three days. I want to see if she is truly aloof or just playing hard to get.”

The wooden spoon containing tea powder paused. "Your Highness has an invitation?"

"No."

Shen Minghuai poured the tea powder into the cup, saying, "That would be against the rules."

Qian Xu banged on the table and shouted, "My mother is her honored guest, but the Wang family didn't invite me to the ceremony. Is this reasonable?"

While stirring the boiling water with a teaspoon, Shen Minghuai spoke at length.

“If His Highness is invited, Prince Yi will inevitably be invited as well. Prince Yi has very little interaction with the Wang family, and Consort Shu will be the host. If only His Highness goes, it will be as if the Wang family has chosen His Highness. Moreover, His Highness has only met the Wang family lady once and they are not relatives or friends. For both public and private reasons, it is not appropriate for His Highness and Prince Yi to attend.”

Qian Xu didn't care at all, "Anyway, she'll be my queen in the future—"

“Your Highness,” Shen Minghuai interrupted him, adding two words softly, “be careful what you say.”

His expression was flawless; Qian Xu couldn't find a single fault in it. It was he who had lost his composure. Perhaps he had guessed wrong.

"However, this lady from the Wang family is indeed quite unique among noble ladies. In addition, given the Wang family's social standing, matchmakers are probably already waiting."

Shen Minghuai put down the wooden spoon; the tea was ready. Qian Xu leaned over to take a look; the tea soup was pure white like milk, and it was made with a magnolia blossom.

"Minghuai, can't you teach this king your tea-making skills?"

Shen Minghuai repeated his previous statement, "Shen Family Top Secret—"

"This can't be told to outsiders. I'm leaving now; I still have a lot of things to do at the Dali Temple."

As soon as Qian Xu left, Shen Dingchen summoned Shen Minghuai into his study.

Shen Dingchen, holding a sharp awl with ink condensed at the tip, bluntly asked, "Were you with Madam Wang yesterday?"

Nothing escapes his father's eyes. Shen Minghuai repeated the explanation he had given Qian Xu earlier.

Shen Dingchen finished writing, completing a powerful and vigorous inscription: "Injustice must be spoken out."

"Although Wang Fuzhi is an old fox, the Wang family is a good choice."

Shen Minghuai was stunned for a moment before he understood Shen Dingchen's meaning. The Wang family would be beneficial to his future career.

Thinking of this, Shen Minghuai felt a sense of disgust, but still said respectfully, "Father, I don't always have to weigh the interests first in everything."

Shen Dingchen sneered, "Not talking about profit, but about feelings? She's someone your aunt has chosen, she can't be bad. Be prepared for the imperial examinations next year."

Seeing that he remained silent, Shen Dingchen continued, "If you want to compete with Xu'er, I won't say anything. They're both our people anyway. Think it over carefully and don't do anything pointless."

Don't do things that are meaningless.

This phrase permeated his childhood.

From childhood, Shen Minghuai was always held to extremely high standards by his father. While other children received generous rewards for achieving seven or eight points, he faced Shen Dingchen's reprimands even for achieving ten. It seemed that from that moment on, there was only one path in his life: to become the next Duke of Dingguo.

When Shen Minghuai was five years old, he returned home from an outing with his mother, Han, and was captivated by the paper windmill in his hand. Upon seeing it, Shen Dingchen snatched it away without a word, threw it on the ground, and demanded, "Have you memorized all the Five Classics?"

Shen Minghuai stared blankly at his father, then shook his head helplessly.

Shen Dingchen then sternly reprimanded, "Don't do meaningless things."

Countless sunny afternoons that followed saw him studying in his room, books in hand, reciting the words. That very night, Han had a huge argument with him and, in a fit of anger, returned to her parents' home in Xiangzhou, where she stayed for six months. When Shen Minghuai was ten, Han gave birth to a daughter and simultaneously presented Shen Dingchen with a divorce agreement. His mother left with his younger sister, leaving him abandoned in the capital.

Three years later, Madam Han returned to the Duke of Dingguo's mansion with a porcelain doll in her hand.

Madam Han pulled the porcelain doll to his side. "Huai'er, I owe you an apology. No matter how angry your father and I are, I shouldn't take it out on you. I've neglected you these past few years, and I hope you can understand my feelings."

Han did not expect him to forgive her immediately, but only hoped to make amends in the future.

“Xiwan, this is my elder brother.”

A little boy named Han Xiwan, though never having seen him before, felt inexplicably close to him. With her large, watery eyes, she took his hand, and this connection lasted for six years. From then on, every three months, Han would take Han Xiwan to the capital for a period of time, and he developed a habit of visiting the night markets. The relationship between Shen Dingchen and Han finally improved.

"Young Master?" Ying Ming noticed that his face looked extremely pale.

Shen Minghuai snapped out of his thoughts and rubbed his temples. "Where is that cloak?"

"In the young master's bedroom."

Shen Minghuai returned to his bedroom and opened the cloak. Sure enough, there was something hidden inside: an invitation. Along with it was a letter from the southwest. After reading the letter, Shen Minghuai leisurely opened the invitation.

The calligraphy is beautiful, but the content and form are rather arbitrary.

"Yan is about to have his hair styled, and wishes Young Master Shen to come and witness the ceremony. This is as an apology."

"Apologize." Shen Minghuai smiled, Shen Dingchen's words echoing in his ears again.

"The Wang family is a good choice."

The cloak came at just the right time; how could he not know her intention? He had always been the most obedient child, the one who knew best how to please others and how to win their hearts.