Chapter 174
With the Spring Festival approaching, after finishing the last day of work, Wen Shi sat in the carriage on his way home and felt exceptionally relaxed.
He had just arrived at the Ministry of Rites, and his main responsibility this year was to supervise the spring examinations. The palace examination and the marking of papers were not his responsibility yet; those were to be done by senior officials with more experience.
Judging by the timeline, everything for this year's scientific expedition will be finalized before March 5th.
Unfortunately, none of his nephews passed the exam.
Next time, his son will also be on stage.
When Wen Shi thought of this, he wasn't so nervous. Counting the time, Le Qian started studying early, and by this year, he had been studying for more than ten years. He had learned a solid foundation, and the academy he studied at could be said to be very famous in the capital.
When he got home, he saw his older brother, who looked perfectly normal.
Wen Chuanzong's thoughts became even more complicated. He looked at Wen Shi's bright official robes and unconsciously clenched the bundle he was carrying. Wen Shi was sitting in a carriage with servants attending to him.
He's obviously here to celebrate the Chinese New Year.
"Third brother."
"Big brother."
The accommodations have been arranged. The brothers and their wives can stay at Old Man Wen's place without any problem. As for the children, the unmarried ones can stay in the front yard, which is during the Spring Festival. After the Lantern Festival, everyone will return to Ping'an Village.
Watching Wen Shi calmly and gracefully enter the house, Wen Chuanzong sighed inwardly.
He arrived relatively late; the other brothers, including Xiuyu, had arrived a few days earlier.
Amian was among them. Of course, she was dependent on Wen Chuanzong in the Wen family. Now that her son was getting older, Old Man Wen was much kinder to her. During the New Year, Liu was very talkative and boasted to her daughters-in-law about how lucky she was.
With Xiao Wu and his wife away, and Old Man Wen having four empty rooms, after arranging for the eldest, second, and fourth sons' families, there would still be one room left for her to stay in temporarily.
The eldest son and his wife, along with the second son's wife, Jinyu and his wife, were settled in their own courtyard first.
When it was time to eat, the dining room was filled with small tables, with men on the left and women on the right, and there were quite a few members of their family.
Old Man Wen and Mrs. Liu were seated at the head of the table, followed by the eldest son and his wife; this time, they were arranged in order.
During the meal, no one spoke, except for the eldest son of the Wen family, who said a few words because he didn't want to study.
Wen Shi doesn't like to get involved in these things, and he doesn't benefit from them either.
Wen Chuanzong was a little angry with Xiuyu and started scolding him.
The others are fine too.
"Third brother's wife, please unlock the yard in a moment and let us in to take a look."
Liu picked up a piece of meat. A few days ago, the Shen family had sent some dowry, mostly large pieces of furniture, to ensure that the girl could use them as soon as she got married.
Yingxiang immediately arranged for people to set up the house. The house was easy to furnish. The main house in the courtyard was divided into inner and outer rooms. The inner room was for living and serving as a bedroom, while the outer room could be used for entertaining guests. After the arrangement was completed, she immediately had the courtyard locked.
Yingxiang didn't speak, but glanced at Wenshi.
“Mother, this is inappropriate and against the rules.”
Wen Shi took a sip of the soup.
"There's not much time left. You'll know once your granddaughter-in-law marries into the family."
"Third son, could you read the dowry list to your mother later? I'd like to know what's included."
"That won't do either."
Wen Shi refused without even thinking. Later, when Liu Shi wanted to see it, Yingxiang showed it to her, knowing that she was illiterate and that she couldn't let her take it away.
This put Liu in a very bad mood, but she couldn't lash out.
She asked, and Yingxiang gave him a general explanation, mentioning chairs, tables, and benches.
Inside the hall, everyone looked at Liu Shi with curiosity. Wen Shi's attitude was clear, and Ying Xiang didn't seem to say much. It was still Liu Shi who was in charge of this family, at least from the outsider's perspective.
“Mother, this Leqian’s wife is the daughter of an official, a daughter of an earl’s family, not an ordinary family’s daughter. When she enters the family, you and Father must keep a respectful distance and not act the same as before, otherwise it will be a disgrace to our family. We must not let her look down on us.”
These words were spoken by Wen Chuanzong.
"Her grandmother was a princess. Do you know what a princess is? She is the emperor's niece. Her father was a prince back then, so they are now considered distant relatives of the royal family."
Upon hearing Chuanzong's words, Wen Shi looked directly at him, Yingxiang was also taken aback, and Leqian himself was about the same.
He didn't have any particular thoughts about his future wife; it was his father who arranged the marriage for him. Even though the Shen family had a noble title, he wasn't the eldest son of the legitimate wife, so he shouldn't even think about it.
Moreover, Madam Shen was not the biological mother of this young lady.
"Her grandmother passed away several years ago, brother, how do you know this?"
Wen Chuanzong's words were like a bomb, instantly silencing the hall. Wen Shi immediately asked.
There were reasons why the Shen family married their daughter down in social status. Most families of similar social standing knew about what happened back then, and it was not easy for Shen Chu to marry into such a family. Moreover, her father was also very concerned about this, fearing that if something happened in the future, the family would not be able to handle it. It would be better to find someone from a lower social class.
When the old patriarch of the Shen family was alive, he was a man of great prestige, but the current Lord Shen is far inferior to his ancestors.
Wen Shi himself didn't care about these things. Hu Yong'an told him about it later. Among the upper echelons, this matter was not a secret, and many people knew about it. But even if her mother was not a law-abiding person, the girl might not be bad.
He had met Shen Chu before; the girl was dignified and polite, without any airs or arrogance.
Back then, the two families parted ways amicably on the surface, saving face. Even if there were grudges in private, they would at most stop contacting each other, and it was impossible for them to fight to the death.
“I heard from someone that I have a classmate in the capital whose family has a powerful elder who used to have dealings with the Shen family and did business with them. He knows about those things. Third brother, I know what you’re thinking, and it’s for the good of the family. But you have to keep a close eye on the woman you marry into.”
“That doesn’t matter. She is herself, and her mother is her mother.”
When Wen Shi finished speaking, his expression remained unchanged, revealing neither joy nor anger.
The others were all confused. When they heard this, Wen Chuanzong remained silent. If it were him, he would definitely still mind. His mother was restless, let alone her own daughter.
Upon closer reflection, Wen Shi and the Shen family are not that different now. In official circles, although he has to pay respects to Lord Shen, he is indeed more successful than Lord Shen.
Lord Shen's position was considered a sinecure, but Wen Shi's was different.
After the meal, Wen Shi immediately called his son to the study and told him what had happened.
“In my father’s opinion, this is not a big deal. Besides, she was raised by her grandmother and seems to have a good character and conduct.”
“My son knows.”
"Father only found out about this later, but you should know that the flaws don't overshadow the merits, and besides, it wasn't her fault."
The incident occurred not long after the marriage was arranged. At that time, Hu Yong'an privately called Wen Shi over and told him about what happened back then. Of course, Wen Shi himself did not mind much after he learned about it, firstly because many years had passed.
Secondly, he had met the girl before, and some things can't be faked; she was indeed a good girl, without any arrogance.
If she were truly like her spoiled and unruly mother, she wouldn't have looked like that when they met that day, and they wouldn't have gotten together then.
When Wen returned to the house, he saw his wife, walked up to her, and spoke to her as well.
"I didn't mean to hide it from you. I know you're perceptive."
"After Brother Hu told me, I didn't think of talking about it at home. I didn't expect my elder brother to find out and even bring it up in public today. But I will inform them in the future so that they won't talk nonsense."
Yingxiang is not someone who values rules or is bound by morality. Once the Shen family's past events are clarified, no one can be blamed on a three-year-old child, who was too young to remember anything at that time.
In modern times, it wouldn't matter; divorce and remarriage are normal, and there's nothing wrong with pursuing love. But in ancient times, Shen Chu's mother's reputation was ruined because of this.
To some extent, this also affected his daughter, making Master Shen even more afraid.
Unfortunately, Shen Chu was the eldest daughter, and she also had younger siblings born to her stepmother. Even if she were to marry down, the family she was to marry into couldn't be too poor. Both he and his wife had a lot of pride, and they couldn't just marry their daughter off to some country bumpkin.
After much deliberation and introductions from various people, the Wen family finally came to mind through the recommendation of Minister Zhu.
Of course, his family had also investigated the Wen family beforehand, which led to what happened later.
Although the Wen family was poor, most of its members were scholars, which was a plus. They were no longer destitute. With a house, they had no worries about food and drink. Wen Shi held a fairly high official position, and Wen Leqian was also very outstanding.
Later, Minister Zhu went to Wen Shi to arrange the marriage.
Fortunately, it was successful in the end, and the Shen family breathed a sigh of relief. As for Wen Shi himself, he didn't expect his future in-laws to help his son. In the end, he had to walk his own path.
If you're capable, you'll always have a future; if you're incompetent, even if you have an emperor as a father, you'll still squander your family fortune.
As for Old Man Wen, the two elders privately asked Wen Chuanzong to explain things clearly. After he finished speaking, Liu's face turned pale.
"Old man, what if she marries into this family and ends up just like her mother in a few years?"
"Not necessarily. The third son is good at judging people. He personally chose this wife of his."
"If you ask me, we need to prepare a backup plan, like my brother's family."
Before Liu could finish speaking, Old Man Wen immediately interrupted her.
"We'll talk about it when that time comes."
"It's probably too late."
"Any family you find in the capital is better than your mother's family."
Liu's expression changed, and she became somewhat angry.
"Actually, it's not necessarily a bad thing. This girl was later taught by her grandmother, who passed away a few years ago when she was already grown up."
"The third son is probably eyeing the wealth and power of the Earl's mansion."
Wen Chuanzong had the wrong idea. The two elders glanced at him and told him to go back first.
"I don't think the third son is necessarily after the family's wealth; he's more interested in the person. He just spouts nonsense about carrying on the family line."
"The granddaughter of the emperor's niece, if she marries into the family, who knows how many good things she will have."
Thinking of this, Liu became somewhat excited again.
Old Man Wen was speechless and ignored her.
The next day, Wen Shi came over early in the morning and spoke directly to Wen's father, resulting in Wen Chuanzong being scolded for an hour.
The other brothers didn't dare to inquire about these things either.
The marriage arrangements have been made, and now all that's left is for the bride to arrive.
In the afternoon, someone came to take measurements. Everyone in the family attending the banquet that day needed new clothes, from the largest to the smallest. Jinyu's wife was pregnant and had a very large belly.
They didn't even forget Wen Chuanzong's little granddaughter.
The little girl is fair-skinned and adorable. Yingxiang sees her often these days, and she is happy to let Yingxiang hold her.
After Yingxiang paid the deposit, the shopkeeper hurried back. This time, the clothes being made were also for spring, when the weather was warm and they would be just right to wear.
She chose bright and vibrant colors, and if she gave them a set of clothes for free, no one would refuse.
“After the New Year, when the weather gets warmer, we’ll move to the capital. I’ll find a job then.”
Xu Yi had no objection to this. She thought her husband was smart enough that since he knew the imperial examination path might not be successful, he might as well do something else first.
If she ends up like her father-in-law, achieving nothing, then it would be a real waste of time. She has some dowry, which she could use to help him first, or she could devote herself to raising the child.
On New Year's Eve, in the latter half of the night, it started snowing heavily outside. Everyone stayed up together, and the warm hall was relatively quiet.
In the charcoal brazier, the flames danced back and forth. Xinxin stood beside Yingxiang, holding a book in her hand.
Recently, he has started to recognize characters.
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