When Patriarch Shen heard this, his expression changed slightly: "Have you ever asked your nephew about this matter?"
He always felt something was wrong when it came to seeking an official position.
It went so smoothly!
However, there is no experience in this matter. When the old man of the main courtyard was still alive, the children of this family never worried about entering the officialdom. As long as they passed the examination, they would naturally be promoted to become officials in the court, but the official position would be of different sizes.
But the Shen family was exiled for six years.
The court officials were more numerous, and six years had passed, so many people's relationships had grown cold. Even his wife's family had cut off almost all ties with him in order to avoid offending the emperor. His wife's nephew was raised by her, and he only showed up to see him if he promised to give him a big gift.
And till now, no one from the Shen family has ever visited.
It is easy to guess how destitute the Shen family is today.
Chen shook her head slightly. "No, there's no way I could tell anyone about this. Besides, you know my nephew has worked in the Ministry of Revenue for decades. He was promoted to the position of doctor thanks to the support of our Shen family. He's been wanting to move up a level for a long time. If he gets to know about this, what good news will it have on our family?"
Chen's nephew is quite mediocre, but in such a lucrative industry as the Ministry of Revenue, even a mediocre person can still make a fortune. If he knew about seeking an official position, he would probably plan for himself directly.
Patriarch Shen fell silent.
Chen was afraid her husband would overthink things and lose the opportunity due to his indecision. "Master, Yang Zhao is no fool. If she dares to say that her husband will return to the government, then it must be a done deal. Besides, I've heard that people from other courtyards are also eyeing official positions!"
"If our family doesn't have an official, I'm afraid no one will obey us anymore. Then your position as clan leader will be in name only."
Patriarch Shen’s face darkened.
But he obviously understood. He glanced at his wife and said, "Alright, then you can handle this matter. If the money is not enough, you can ask someone to sell the old house in the western suburbs..."
The next day.
The second day of the Chinese New Year.
This is the day when married women should return to their parents' home to pay New Year's greetings.
But early this morning, Yang Huaijin appeared at the gate of the Shen family, dressed in white, handsome, holding a sword, and with a lift of his clothes, he sat directly on the stone steps at the gate.
The guards he brought with him, all of them looking ferocious, stood in two rows.
"The Third Young Master of the Yang Family is really here!"
"Yesterday I thought he was just making some threats, but I didn't expect him to actually come back. The plaque on the Shen family's gate hasn't even been put back up yet..."
"This Zhenbei Marquis Mansion is way too arrogant. Not only did they come to the door on New Year's Day, but I heard they even cut off the old lady's hair, frightening her so much that she fainted on the spot."
"I've never seen anyone go to my sister's in-laws' house and yell for war and murder, and even ask for a divorce on her behalf. This is simply against moral principles and extremely arrogant."
"That's right. After a woman gets married, she belongs to her husband's family. It's so disgraceful for her family to come and make trouble. They are so uneducated..." The onlookers pointed and talked.
'call out'
A sword broke through the air.
It landed directly at the feet of the middle-aged man who had just said the word "uneducated", scaring the people around him so much that they screamed and scattered. The middle-aged man was so scared that his face turned pale and his calves trembled.
"I heard that a few days ago, the Shen family hired people to instigate the people in the crowd, trying to restore the Shen family's reputation behind the scenes. Could you also be sent by the Shen family?" Yang Huaijin sat on the stone steps, his hand on the scabbard, and said to the uncle with a sneer on his lips.
The uncle was so scared that he stammered: "I, I'm not..."
"I don't care whether you have accepted money from the Shen family or not. Today, I, Yang Huaijin, dare to come to the door of the Shen family. I am not afraid of being pointed at by you. The Zhenbei Marquis Mansion is even more fearless of any rumors!"
"but……"
Yang Huaijin glanced coldly at everyone and said, "If I ever hear anyone say anything bad about my sister, I won't mind cutting off the three thousand strands of hair on your head right then and there."
So arrogant.
There was anger in the eyes of the people.
"You, you still have no law!"
"Even if your Zhenbei Marquisate is powerful, this is the Emperor's territory. How can you..."
'Boom'
The scabbard in Yang Huaijin's hand fell heavily to the ground. "The law? Which of you saw me, Yang Huaijin, breaking the law?"
"you……"
"You're causing trouble in someone's house and cutting their hair..."
"Oh!"
Yang Huaijin sneered, "The Shen family treated my sister this way. Even if I destroy the Shen family, it is justifiable and legal. Even if I report it to His Majesty, I have no fear."
“So arrogant!”
Someone in the crowd objected and said, "Aren't you relying on the power of your Zhenbei Marquisate to bully the downtrodden Shen family? You sound nice and say you're doing it for your sister, but who has ever seen a brother ask for a divorce letter for his sister? There's no such thing in this world."
"That's right, isn't this just bullying?"
"And he even arrogantly smashed someone else's plaque."
"I heard that the old lady was so angry that she fell ill..."
There were chirping sounds all around.
Everyone brought up the topic of the Marquis of Zhenbei abusing his power to bully others, and the crowd of onlookers grew larger and larger.
Even many passing carriages came to a halt.
Many of them have some status.
They all lifted the curtain slightly and looked at Yang Huaijin, who was sitting with his knees bent, holding his scabbard and sword in front of the gate of the Shen family.
Yang Huaijin listened quietly.
It wasn't until the entire street was practically blocked and countless eyes were cast upon him that he finally uttered a cold laugh from his throat: "Bullying others by taking advantage of your power?"
"What a bully!"
Yang Huaijin's eyes were filled with anger. He pointed at the Shen family's gate behind him and said in a cold voice, "Back then, when the Shen family was exiled by His Majesty, the old lady of the Shen family shamelessly brought all the women of the clan and came to ask for my sister's hand in marriage with a marriage certificate. I believe everyone has not forgotten this incident, right?"
The people calmed down a little.
"With the status of our Zhenbei Marquis Mansion, let alone a marriage certificate, even if the emperor came, with a family as guilty as the Shen family at that time, our Zhenbei Marquis Mansion could have refused the marriage."
"But we don't have it in the Zhenbei Marquis Mansion."
"It's not that the legitimate daughter of our Zhenbei Marquis Mansion has to be lazy and marry into the Shen family and live as a widow."
"It's because when the late emperor personally led the army to Yongcheng, it was the old man of the Shen family who braved the danger to transport military supplies to support my father, saving the lives of tens of millions of soldiers and civilians. The late emperor once said that our Yang and Shen families were his right-hand men, and that the civil and military should live in harmony like one family. That's how the marriage agreement between our two families came about."
"We at the Zhenbei Marquisate have never forgotten the words of the late emperor, nor have we forgotten the kindness shown by Elder Shen in his time of need. That's why, when the Shen family fell on hard times and the women of the Shen family came to us with a marriage certificate, we at the Zhenbei Marquisate still kept our promise and married our only legitimate daughter to the Shen family!"
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