Chapter 564 Begging Father to Stand Up for His Daughter!
The Shen family.
Because Shen Wantang saved the Duchess, Shen Guannian's status among his classmates and friends has risen significantly.
People come to the Shen family home from morning till night to drink with him and, incidentally, to find out the Duke's Mansion's attitude towards the Shen family.
Upon learning that the Duchess had even sent an extremely generous gift as a token of gratitude, everyone was filled with both jealousy and envy.
It's not even noon yet, and three groups of people have already come.
"Brother Shen has truly raised a wonderful daughter! I've heard that she is not only beautiful, but also skilled in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, and even proficient in medicine. No wonder Princess Ning and the Duchess both adore her!"
"Oh dear, thinking about it, it makes sense. Brother Shen himself is handsome and learned, so his daughter is bound to be exceptional!"
"Brother Shen was a renowned handsome man in our county back in the day. We can't even envy his looks. However, Brother Shen is very good at raising his daughter. You must tell us brothers how you raised her so well. You can't keep it a secret!"
"That's right, that's right. Brother Shen's daughter has completely outshone our daughters. I came here today specifically to learn from Brother Shen. Brother Shen has great foresight, and the daughter he raised is famous throughout the capital. We still have a lot to learn from you!"
Shen Guannian was quite flattered by the praise from several friends.
He was radiant and full of energy, yet he still tried to appear humble and modest.
"Not at all, not at all. I, Shen Guannian, am just an ordinary person. My daughter is nothing special. I don't really manage her much. She just casually learned music, chess, calligraphy, painting, and medicine. I just didn't expect her to have some talent. She's learned them fairly well. A daughter doesn't need to know too much. After all, she's going to get married. It's enough for her to be a dutiful wife and mother."
Several of his friends were not satisfied with his answer. They said that daughters don't need to know too much, but his own daughter knows more than anyone else!
While others were still focused on music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, Shen Guannian's daughter took a different path and learned medicine!
If they hadn't gone to great lengths to find a tutor for their daughter, no one would believe it!
The idea that a woman's virtue lies in her lack of talent is outdated. Nowadays, even slightly wealthy families hire tutors to teach their daughters properly. Otherwise, if a woman is illiterate, she will not only be ridiculed when she goes out, but she will also be unable to marry into a wealthy family!
"Brother Chen, it seems there's hardly anyone at your house today, and I haven't seen your precious daughter either. Could it be that she was invited to the Duke's mansion? The Duchess likes her so much, perhaps she's going to arrange a marriage between her and that genius second young master?"
Speaking of this, Shen Guannian couldn't suppress the smugness in his mouth. He tried his best to hide his pride: "The Duchess wanted to invite her to the Duke's mansion, but unfortunately, the Princess of Ning sent the invitation first, so my wife took two maids to visit the Princess of Ning's mansion early this morning."
As for whether the Duchess would actually marry Shen Wantang to her son, he deliberately did not answer.
Upon hearing Shen Guannian's words, the jealousy in the eyes of the group became impossible to conceal.
"Brother Shen's daughter is truly blessed with wealth and honor! Normally, the Ning Prince's Mansion and the Duke's Mansion are high branches that we can only dream of climbing, but Brother Shen's daughter has effortlessly won the favor of both families. It's truly enviable!"
"Sigh, Brother Shen, you'll soon be different from us poor folks, won't you? In the future, you'll either be the father-in-law of Prince Xiao or the father-in-law of Young Master Gu. You'll probably be able to walk sideways all over the capital!"
"Brother Shen, when you become successful in the future, don't forget us brothers! You eat meat, and we'll drink some soup with you. That's not too much to ask, is it?"
"Brother Shen, when will you be reinstated to your original post? We brothers will treat you to a meal at Qingyun Restaurant to celebrate!"
Shen Guannian raised his chin high. Reinstated to his original position? Pshaw, he doesn't even look down on fifth-rank officials anymore!
In the future, whether he becomes related to the Prince of Ning's family or the Duke's family by marriage, they will at least give him a third-rank official position.
Tsk, a third-rank official doesn't seem that high!
Once their daughter gives birth to a big, healthy son, he might just rise to the top and enter the cabinet, becoming an equal to Grand Secretary Liu!
As he was lost in thought, a servant suddenly came in to report: "Master, Madam has returned with the two young ladies."
Shen Guannian was taken aback: "So fast?"
After asking the question, he realized he might have let something slip and quickly replied, "It's time to come back, Princess Ning is very busy!"
His friends were all eager to see what Shen Wantang looked like that could win the favor of Princess Ning and the Duchess of the State, so they immediately took their leave and headed outside.
The Shen family mansion was not large to begin with, and the young ladies would inevitably pass through the front yard when returning to the mansion.
Shen Guannian knew they wanted to see Shen Wantang, and since he was in a good mood, he didn't stop them and got up to see them out.
As soon as they went outside, they saw Madam Qi walking towards them with two girls.
Seeing that there were people in the house, Madam Qi barely suppressed her irritation, greeted them with a smile, and then asked Shen Mingxuan and Shen Wantang to come forward and pay their respects.
"Greetings to all my uncles and elders."
Shen Mingxuan and Shen Wantang bowed in unison, standing side by side like sisters.
But everyone's eyes fell on Shen Wantang's face.
There's nothing else to it, except that she was born with a face that could make everything around her pale in comparison.
Shen Mingxuan is considered quite pretty among ordinary people, but standing next to Shen Wantang, she was immediately overshadowed.
Moreover, it wasn't just her appearance; she was also shorter and less elegant than Shen Wantang. Even though they were saying the exact same things and performing the same junior etiquette, Shen Wantang exuded an air of composure and grandeur from head to toe.
The group exchanged glances and secretly shook their heads and sighed. It turned out that Shen Guannian had not lied to them. His daughter was indeed born extraordinary. Her temperament and composure could not be cultivated by a teacher.
They quickly said goodbye and left.
Once his friends left, Shen Guannian frowned: "Why are you back so quickly today? Didn't you go for a full half day last time?"
Just as Madam Qi was about to speak, Shen Wantang stepped forward and cried out before her, "Father, please do justice for your daughter!"
Shen Guannian was taken aback. He remembered that his daughter had never cried since she was little, so why was she suddenly crying now? He quickly asked, "What's wrong? What happened?"
Shen Wantang recounted everything that Qi Shi had said to Princess Ning, word for word, and then cried, "Father, I have no face left to show! The Princess must think I'm a fickle woman, which is why she drove us away! We've angered Princess Ning, and we can never go to the Ning Prince's residence again!"
Shen Guannian's face was as gloomy as if it was about to rain. Just a moment ago, he was enjoying the adulation, envy, and jealousy of his friends, but he never expected that his daughter would be kicked out of the Ning Prince's Mansion in the next moment!
The Duke's mansion never mentioned marriage, but Princess Ning had hinted at it. How could Lady Qi have ruined the marriage so quickly?!
His voice was icy cold: "You, surnamed Qi, how dare you say in front of Princess Ning that Tang'er is two-timing?! When did she start keeping Prince Xiao on her leash while trying to win over the second young master of the Gu family? What are your intentions in saying this? Are you trying to ruin Tang'er, and then ruin me?!"
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