Chapter 1137: Shen Zhongli (Part 2) [Requesting Monthly Tickets]
Upon hearing the woman's voice, the guard's outstretched hand recoiled as if touching hot iron, and he hurriedly bowed and clasped his hands, saying, "Madam, please be careful of this lowly commoner of unknown origin. What woman from an ordinary family would speak like that? You should—"
He nervously lifted his eyelids to watch the woman's movements, while remaining wary of Shen Tang, fearing that Shen Tang might suddenly attack and harm the mistress.
The woman said, "She looks pitiful."
The guard, unable to voice his grievances, cast a pleading glance at the carriage in the center, hoping the parents inside would sense his predicament. The woman, without even looking at the guard, lowered her gaze to Shen Tang, dressed in a eclectic style: "Where are you from?"
Shen Tang wasn't sure what was nearby, so she simply assumed the small town they'd just passed was this body's ancestral home. Upon hearing the answer, the woman was initially taken aback, then a slight smile appeared on her face. She teased, "You're quite clever and alert, but your northern accent is so strong, how could you possibly be from Cheng County? Oh well, meeting is fate. Judging from your manners, you come from a wealthy family. Why don't you become a maid for my daughter in our household, and then we can slowly search for our relatives?"
"Madam, her background is unknown."
A gentle, warm voice came from inside the carriage.
He couldn't gauge her emotions, but he clearly disapproved of the woman's decision.
How can you leave a woman of unknown future with your daughter?
She refuted him without turning her head, insisting on her own opinion: "We should investigate if we don't know the details. We can't just stand by and watch someone die because we have doubts."
Upon hearing this, the man in the carriage stopped insisting.
Shen Tang successfully infiltrated the group.
The convoy slowly drove through Cheng County, only reaching the next city near dusk. This city was much larger than Cheng County, and the guards at the city gate were all young and strong, with high morale, clearly well-trained elite soldiers. The city wall flags fluttered in the wind. Only the marks on the city wall indicated that this place had recently been the site of a battle, and it was unknown which side had won.
"Father, Mother—"
Before the caravan even approached the city gate, the young man who had been waiting rode up to greet them, followed closely by a dozen guards, fearing that something might happen to this ancestor. Without waiting for his horse to stop, the young man dismounted, lifted his robes, and trotted to the center of the caravan.
Hearing the call, the woman who had taken in Shen Tang jumped down from the carriage, lifting the curtain. The man who came out later glanced at her and then stepped down from the carriage bench. The boy couldn't wait to rush into the woman's arms, his eyes brimming with tears of grievance: "Mother, you've finally come back to see your son! Father wrote to say you were back, but I couldn't believe it. Have you suffered any hardships these past years?"
The woman stroked the boy's handsome face, her eyes filled with love and relief, as if she were looking at a masterpiece of the Creator: "For your mother, it's nice to be out there braving the wind and dew. If there's any hardship, it's that I can't sleep because I miss you and your siblings."
The boy cried out, "Is what my mother said true?"
The woman said, "It's even more real than pearls."
The boy, who had never heard of such a thing before, asked, "What kind of talk is this?"
The woman said, "That's what the Five Elements say, it's immoral."
The man standing behind the mother and son raised an eyebrow slightly, interrupting the woman and scolding his son, "Your mother has been traveling these past few days. This is not the place to chat and reminisce. Let's go into the city first."
The boy blamed himself: "My son was too happy and forgot his limits."
He was not old, and although he had grown taller, he still had some baby fat on his cheeks, and his features still looked childish.
"Am I that old? We've only traveled a short distance and you can't keep up?" The woman was clearly dissatisfied with the man's arrangement, and turned to the boy, saying, "Don't listen to him, get me a horse!"
The boy happily agreed.
The woman glanced at the man: "Go in your carriage!"
The man's tone carried a hint of impatience that even outsiders could understand, which the boy naturally picked up on. He watched his parents with bated breath, fearing a potential conflict. But the man only instructed the boy to take care of the woman and keep her warm.
Having said that, he turned and went back to the carriage.
Boy: "...Father's temper?"
"Isn't he always like this? Even if the sky were to fall, he wouldn't be in a hurry to run away, but would slowly tidy up his jingling accessories."
There's absolutely no need to worry about them arguing.
How could the boy believe it?
In his memory, his parents had always been a loving and devoted couple. But one day, his mother suddenly left with a divorce agreement and a few belongings. The boy thought she would go to live with his grandmother and uncle, but instead, she simply vanished without a trace.
He didn't know what conflict his parents had.
Only when things got really bad would the father tell him about his mother's recent situation, as if it were a favor, and each time it was just a few words. Before long, rumors spread that the father was dissatisfied with his mother's background and had secretly caused her death so that a position would be made for a future mistress of equal social standing.
This rumor circulated for several years until he began to believe it.
He was once caught in the age-old dilemma that "his mother's killer was his biological father." However, he was still young and had siblings who needed his support. Any behavior that contradicted his father's words and actions would attract speculation from the outside world, which would then affect his and his siblings' lives.
He kept his worries to himself.
We plan to wait until the siblings are discussing marriage before making any decisions.
Fortunately, the misunderstanding was eventually cleared up.
A few years ago, on the anniversary of his mother's death, he was in a bad mood and drank alcohol. He couldn't keep his mouth shut and blurted out many things he shouldn't have said. He still remembers when he sobered up, the first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was his father's widower face, his eyes terrifyingly cold. Just as he felt a chill run down his spine, his father said quietly, "Did you go around telling your siblings that your mother was dead, or that she died of illness?"
Boy: 【...Huh?】
Seeing that his secret had been exposed, the young man could no longer hold back and blurted out a bunch of things he really wanted to say, his hatred having nowhere to go.
Until the man said, "Your mother just went out for a walk to clear her head, and you've been going around saying she's dead. You really are a good son to her."
[...Which mistress took a divorce agreement with her when she went out for a stroll?]
He's just young, not stupid.
This statement seems to have hit a nerve with men.
Complex emotions flickered across his usually calm face. It was on this day that his father, a man who always loved tea, drank alcohol in front of him for the first time. Father and son seemed to share a similarly poor tolerance for alcohol; his father got drunk after only a few cups, and in doing so, he overheard his innermost thoughts…
He said that his mother was actually very reluctant to part with the three siblings.
He said that his mother had never been happy.
He said his mother was very good at loving people, but she just didn't love him.
He said that even a short-lived senior brother who couldn't even complete a proper wedding ceremony could live in her heart for so many years and be remembered by her for so long. The human heart is only so big; if someone is always occupying space, no matter how hard a newcomer tries, they can never take over all of it.
He said that as spring fades and beauty withers, his looks have faded, which has displeased his mother and made him unable to attract her attention anymore...
He said that his identity as the mistress of the house made her very unhappy. She loved freedom more than anything else. A person with his mother's personality would never look back once she made up her mind. She had initiated the divorce, and if he didn't agree this time, he would do it again. After being husband and wife, he really didn't want things to come to the point where even the last bit of affection between them would be gone.
If people's hearts are still in their hearts, what does a divorce agreement matter?
If people's hearts are not in love, then a marriage certificate is just a piece of paper!
Besides the emotional aspect, the situation within Qi State was also somewhat complicated, and the mother's departure at this time would ensure her safety. She believed that as long as the child was still alive, she would eventually return to see him. However, the next day, after sobering up, the father completely forgot these drunken words.
The boy stopped giving him the cold shoulder, and their father-son relationship returned to normal.
He recounted these events, feigning sympathy, in an attempt to win his father back to his mother. Even if the couple didn't remarry, it would be better if his mother stayed in the country, at least they would be closer. The boy spoke tactfully and pitifully, occasionally glancing at his mother as they rode side by side.
result--
The woman simply chuckled and retorted, "Your father gets drunk?"
Boy: "Huh?"
The woman gritted her teeth: "He can drink at least ten jars of liquor."
This fool really thinks he can drink like a cat, and that his father can too? Back when she was attracted to his face, she racked her brains trying to hint at her feelings, but he wouldn't take the bait. Realizing he was interested in her too, she tried to get him drunk, hoping for a drunken encounter. She ended up vomiting uncontrollably, while he remained completely unmoved, as elegant as ever.
He finally succeeded on his wedding night.
juvenile:"……"
He suddenly turned his head to look at the carriage behind him, seemingly wanting to say something but then stopping himself.
"Then my father isn't..."
The woman said, "I was just kidding."
The boy: "...So everything he said was a lie?"
This fact hurt him. He had cared for his father for so many years, and every time there was a conflict, he would think of his father's disheveled and dejected state that night, which would make him feel inferior. The result—
Are they all fake?
Shen Tang listened to the gossip with great interest, offering appropriate comments.
A man who's seven-tenths drunk will make you cry.
The woman, as if on the same wavelength, made the same judgment: "A man who's seven parts drunk will act until you cry! You're a real man, you really understand men, and you're the only one who got played."
The boy muttered, "What is all this nonsense?"
While complaining, he was actually paying attention to his mother's emotions.
Seeing that she wasn't angry or disgusted, he felt relieved.
This at least proves that the mother didn't dislike the father that much.
Just as he was feeling relieved, his mother said coldly, "Your father is not only good at acting and lying, but he can also turn the tables on you. What do you mean I have someone in my heart? Why don't you ask him who that person is? At least the person in my heart is dead, but the one in his heart is still alive and kicking. So many members of the Cui clan are thinking of her becoming the mistress again! Heh, it's just that times have changed, and she doesn't even look at him anymore."
The boy was terrified.
Startled, he turned to check the situation in the carriage.
The mother said, "What are you afraid of? Didn't I just say that your father has such a mild-mannered personality? Who would he get angry with?"
It's so boring that we can't even have a proper argument.
The boy shrank back: "How long will Mother stay this time?"
The woman chuckled, "I thought you'd ask me why I came back this time, but your father held back the whole way."
No one visits a temple without a reason. A woman who has been divorced for many years suddenly returning will inevitably raise questions in everyone's mind, making them wonder if she has some kind of conspiracy. However, the man doesn't ask, and the woman is too lazy to talk about it; she's just holding back her anger, unable to vent it.
The boy said softly, "It's good that Mother is willing to come back."
Seeing her son like this, the woman suppressed her anger with guilt: "Actually, it's nothing. I just made a friend outside and we hit it off immediately. She told me that the Cui family wants to find you a suitable wife. Although I can't interfere in your marriage, as your mother, I'm curious about what your future wife looks like and what her personality is like."
This reason is perfectly reasonable.
"Besides that, I also saw your maternal grandfather outside, and I was worried about your maternal grandmother's health, so I wanted to come back to see her and fulfill my filial duty. I can do without a man, but I can't abandon my mother." The woman smoothed her messy hair at her temples. "Hehehe, but your father is very wary. I had barely entered the country when he sent someone to invite me away."
The words were laced with hostility.
Clearly, this "please" is not very friendly.
The boy tactfully stopped the conversation—some things are better left unsaid; once you start thinking about them, you get angrier and angrier, and the more you think about them, the angrier you get—and he dared not plead with his father for fear of adding fuel to the fire.
My father has indeed been close to that king over the years.
Ugh, what a mess this is!
There was still a long way to go before they reached their lodgings. Finding himself at a loss for topics, the young man racked his brains for something new to liven things up. After searching around, he spotted Shen Tang—for no other reason than her striking attire. The oversized men's clothing clung to her in a subtly comical way, covered in irregular patches from the collar and cuffs to the hem and trousers.
It was most likely taken from that corpse.
This person continued to follow their own convoy without being driven away.
"Mother, who is she?"
The woman said, "A poor child I took in on the road."
The boy asked again, "What's your last name?"
Shen Tang said, "Shen."
This surname made the woman's heart skip a beat.
"Shen? What's your name then?"
Shen Tang said, "Shen Zhongli."
woman:"……"
Shen Tang had only used this pseudonym on a whim, but unexpectedly, the man who had been quiet in the carriage suddenly spoke up, asking a rather amusing question: "Oh, which Shen? Which Li?"
Shen Tang's words carried a hint of resentment: "My family's original surname was Zhongli, but I had to change it to avoid persecution."
The man said, "Zhongli? Oh, no wonder."
No wonder the child's voice carried a hint of hatred. The Northern Lands are teeming with countless surnames, but no matter who they are, anyone associated with a powerful family has been punished by Shen Tang. Since Shen Tang ascended to power, the Northern Lands' powerful families have either endured it or fled with their families to seek refuge.
The Southwest is one of their best choices.
The woman rolled her eyes impatiently and leaned close to her face to mock, "Tsk, you're so suspicious. You don't actually think the dignified King of Kang would come here in person, do you? What's wrong with a name? There are plenty of people in the world named Shen Youli."
Shen Zhongli made this mute man speak.
Shen Youli came in person, wouldn't his ancestral graves be blown up?
The man sighed, "You know that's not what I meant."
Shen Tang's appearance was too abrupt. It was only because the madam found her appearance novel that she kept her. What if she had bad intentions? The man also knew that the madam was angry and wouldn't listen to him.
Woman: Ha!
The boy was caught in the middle, torn between two options.
And then, someone else came along and added fuel to the fire.
As soon as the group arrived, there were already people waiting and watching at the entrance.
"Lord Cui, you've finally returned." The man who spoke was pale and beardless, with a high-pitched voice. He was a palace eunuch. The woman's face darkened as soon as she saw him. The eunuch continued, "The King requests your presence."
|ω`)
A man's appearance is a wife's glory.
(End of this chapter)
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