Chapter 35: Seal
The magistrate's sister certainly cannot be sold casually, not to mention that the second master won't allow it.
The old lady pressed down the second lady who was on the verge of anger, "We need to think about this matter carefully."
The second lady's fingernails dug into her flesh under her sleeves, but she still didn't say a word.
Yun asked, "What does the old lady mean...?"
The old lady disliked Yun's questioning and said unhappily, "The Second Master is about to be transferred, and this time he has the hope of promotion. At this critical juncture, if the news of his concubine spreads, it will definitely affect his promotion. What is more important? Do I need to say more?"
Yun said nothing more and just looked at Shen Ji.
Shen Ji knew that the old lady valued the second master's future, but if he tolerated the second master's doing such a thing that brought disgrace to the family, where would his dignity as the head of the family be?
"Someone come!"
"Drag the Second Master away and give him thirty lashes of the cane, and throw him into the ancestral hall to reflect on his actions for three days!"
The old lady wanted to plead for the second master, but Shen Ji said, "Taking three days off will not affect his transfer, but if he is tolerated, how will the younger generation in the mansion be controlled in the future? If the roots are crooked, the family business of the Duke of Dingguo will be in jeopardy. I don't need to say more about which is more important."
Throwing down this sentence, Shen Ji left.
He came back to have lunch and had to go to the military camp in the afternoon.
Shen Ji was strict in upholding the family tradition, and the old lady did not dare to take sides. After Shen Ji left, the old lady issued a gag order, forbidding anyone in the house from discussing the Second Master's affair with a mistress. If anyone dared to spread the news, she would not let him off easily.
The second master was beaten with a stick and sent to the ancestral hall. After watching the excitement, Chen Wan accompanied Yun to leave.
After leaving Shou'an Hall, there was no one around, and Yun warned Shen Wan, "You must not let your father know about this, otherwise he will be furious to death."
Shen Wan nodded, “So mother, you must keep your mouth shut.”
Yun, “…”
As a mother, she was actually led by her daughter.
Originally, Yun was skeptical about what Shen Wan said, that Ye Caiwei was the second master's illegitimate daughter. But after knowing that the second master had a mistress, Yun was already about 70% convinced.
Chen Wan hugged Yun's arm and whispered, "Mom's acting skills are first-rate. Not to mention deceiving them, my daughter almost believed it. And Dad, seeing Mom misunderstood, he was so panicked..."
Yun glared at Chen Wan angrily, "What else can I say? Your father is furious."
When Yun thought of Chen Ji's expression when he left, as if he wanted to carry her away, she got a headache.
Chen Wan also felt a little sorry for his father, but in order to prevent the second master from getting promoted, he had no choice but to let his father suffer a little.
Well, the old lady issued a gag order, and no one in the mansion dared to discuss it. But the next day, when Shen Ji went to court, several ministers impeached him for keeping a concubine, which stunned Shen Ji.
Shen Ji beat the second master with a stick and punished him to reflect on his mistakes, but he also hoped that this matter would not affect the second master's career. The old lady issued a gag order and no one in the mansion talked about it. How did these imperial censors know about it?
Shen Ji would not know that this was Shen Wan's work. The letter was not delivered to a random place, because Li Yushi's wife was also in that shop. Li Yushi impeached Shen Ji half a year ago, and Shen Ji got angry and punched him. Poor Li Yushi had to lie in bed for half a month before he recovered.
If Madam Li knew that Shen Ji had a mistress, would she not tell Censor Li and join forces with other colleagues to make a big deal out of it?
Shen Ji held military power and enjoyed considerable prestige in the army, but the wife he married was of a low social status and he was pressured by his wife to take a concubine. He could only secretly keep a mistress, which was very damaging to his image and prestige.
Several censors who had always been at odds with Shen Ji wrote impeachment memorials that were filled with passion and intonation.
There were also ministers who had grudges against Shen Ji, and they all stood up to add insult to injury, labeling Shen Ji as "henpecked".
Shen Ji had a terrible headache.
If he were to protect the Second Master's reputation, his own prestige would be gone. Moreover, this was not something he could admit. Doing it in front of the Emperor was tantamount to deceiving the Emperor.
However, many ministers did not believe that Shen Ji would be henpecked and would keep a mistress. The emperor also did not believe it, "Are the censors' impeachments true?"
Shen Ji had no choice but to report the misunderstanding that had occurred in the palace yesterday to the emperor. He then said to the censors who thought they had caught him doing something wrong, "Before impeaching me, could you censors investigate this matter?"
The censor hadn't expected the Second Master to be the one keeping a mistress, so he quickly stepped out and said, "The censor has the right to report on the situation based on observations. Furthermore, the wife of Duke Dingguo believed it. Besides, we, the ministers, although it wasn't Duke Dingguo who kept a mistress, should still be severely punished for doing so, to serve as a warning to others."
The second master kept a mistress and also implicated his elder brother. Shen Ji said that he had already caned the second master, but the emperor still fined the second master one year's salary. As for promotion, he could forget about it for the whole year.
When the news of the second master being punished reached the Duke's Mansion, the old lady's face turned pale and the sandalwood Buddhist beads in her hand were almost crushed.
"How did this get to the ears of the Imperial Censor?!"
The Fourth Madam also found it strange. "The old lady has issued a gag order on this matter. No one in the mansion dares to spread it. It shouldn't get out."
Furthermore, if there is to be a report, it will be to impeach the Second Master, not Shen Ji.
Shen Wan sat there, shifting his butt, "Could it be because of that letter..."
The old lady looked at her.
Chen Wan said, "Yesterday, my third sister snatched my letter and showed it to mother. I was so angry that I took it back and threw it away. It just happened to fall at the feet of Madam Li Yushi. I thought that the letter didn't mention that my father had a concubine, so I didn't let the maid pick it up..."
The old lady was so angry that her eyes went dark, but she could not bring herself to blame Chen Wan. Chen Wan wanted to hide it from Yun Shi, and she suspected that Xin had bad intentions. It was Chen Wu who wanted to watch the fun and told Yun Shi about it, which led to what happened later.
In order to get promoted, the second master has been trying to win over people for the past six months and has given away countless things. But at this critical juncture, he was punished by the emperor and all his previous efforts were wasted.
The Second Madam did not come to pay her respects to the Old Madam today, and neither did Shen Wu. The Old Madam sent everyone away, and Shen Wan, Ye Caiwei and the others withdrew.
After leaving Shou'an Hall, Shen Yao whispered, "When Second Auntie returned to the South Courtyard yesterday, she almost fainted from anger when she saw that concubine..."
The word "concubine" was harsh, and Ye Caiwei's face darkened slightly. She scolded Shen Yao, "Grandmother doesn't allow this matter to be discussed in the mansion, and you still dare to mention it."
Shen Yao curled her lips.
My grandmother stopped people from talking about it for the sake of my second uncle's future. Now that everyone knows about it, there is no point in covering it up. You can cover it up inside the house, but you can't cover it up outside.
Shen Wan also ignored Ye Caiwei's obstruction and took over the conversation, "Aunt Mei looks very beautiful?"
Shen Yao shook her head, "Second aunt is not angry about her appearance. I heard that Aunt Mei is only a few years younger than Second aunt..."
Shen Wan exclaimed, "Is she so old? I haven't heard that Aunt Mei has given us cousins. I thought she was very young."
If Chen Wan hadn't said anything, Chen Yao wouldn't have thought about it. "I haven't heard of it. I don't know if it's infertile or if it's raised in Qingzhou..."
The more Ye Caiwei listened, the more frightened she became. She interrupted Shen Yao and said, “That’s enough. How can a junior discuss the affairs of an elder’s bedroom like this?”
Shen Yao was already enduring Ye Caiwei after being scolded just now. She was just a cousin, and she usually gave her some face. She really thought she was a proper lady from the Duke's Mansion, and even she dared to scold her.
Fearing that Shen Wan would protect Ye Caiwei, Shen Yao did not dare to scold back. She glared at Ye Caiwei and left angrily.
After Shen Yao left, Shen Wan looked at Ye Caiwei with a half-smile, "It's just a few casual chats between sisters, there's no need for my cousin to be so angry."
Ye Caiwei also realized that she had overreacted and said calmly, "I'm just angry that Fifth Sister is gloating over my misfortune. Second Uncle has no hope of promotion, which is a huge loss for the Dingguo Mansion. A single tree cannot make a forest, and the Dingguo Mansion cannot rely on my eldest uncle alone to support it."
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