Chapter 34 Why Don't You Accept a Beautiful Woman's Initiative?
Shen Lianzhou had already agreed to his father's request to find a wife to marry into his family.
But for some reason, upon hearing Jiang's words and the matchmaker's words, the sense of resistance in his heart became stronger and could not be ignored.
"Lanxin, you take the matchmaker back first," Shen Lianzhou said directly to the male servant in Jiang's room.
“Yes, young master.” Lan Xin stepped forward upon hearing this.
"Mr. Matchmaker, let's go. My young master has changed his mind and doesn't want to meet again today."
The matchmaker hesitated. If the marriage were arranged, Shen's father would surely give him a large sum of money as a thank-you gift. Thinking of so much money, he was truly reluctant, and a hint of unwillingness appeared on his face.
Lan Xin immediately noticed and promptly slipped a brocade pouch into the matchmaker's hand. "I'm so grateful for your errand, matchmaker. Please accept this small token of my appreciation."
The matchmaker felt the weight of the object in his hand and was overjoyed. Without further hesitation, he immediately agreed.
"Thank you, young master!" The matchmaker beamed. "Since you have no interest, I will take Scholar Wang away now."
When Shen's father saw Shen Lianzhou forcibly send the matchmaker and Wang Xiucai away in front of him, his face immediately turned ugly.
“Zhou’er, your father has gone to great lengths to find such a suitable candidate for you, why are you unwilling to meet him?”
“Even scholars don’t look down on my Shen family’s merchant background, yet you, a man, are acting all high and mighty. What kind of logic is that?” Father Shen scolded angrily.
“I have no intention of being picky. It’s just that I already have someone I like and don’t want to have another son-in-law come into the household,” Shen Lianzhou said, her eyes lowered.
These words struck like a thunderbolt, instantly changing the expression on Shen's father's face.
"Zhou'er, who are you talking about? Could it be that, as the rumors in the manor say, you've taken a fancy to a down-on-his-luck江湖人 (jianghu person, a person from the martial arts world who has fallen into poverty), become close to him, and lost your mind..." Father Shen asked anxiously.
"Father is talking about Lady Lin, isn't he? The rumors in the manor aren't unfounded; I do indeed have feelings for Lady Lin."
“If Lady Lin is willing, I would like to marry her,” Shen Lianzhou said without changing his expression.
"Lady Lin? What Lady Lin? She's just a lowly person from the martial arts world, homeless, jobless, and has nothing."
“A woman like that isn’t even qualified to marry into my Shen family. You actually want to bring the Shen family with you to marry her… No way! Zhou’er, you must give up this idea immediately. I will absolutely not agree to it.”
Father Shen was shocked to learn that the rumors were true; Shen Lianzhou genuinely had a special fondness for the wandering swordsman she had picked up. Upon hearing this, his heart skipped a beat, and he felt as if the sky had fallen.
"Father, don't worry. Madam Lin may not be interested in me right now; it's just wishful thinking on my part."
"Moreover, although Madam Lin comes from a martial arts background, she is upright and capable of supporting herself, unlike some scholars who rely on their families to scrimp and save to support them."
"A responsible woman like Madam Lin, if she becomes the mistress of the house in the future, will certainly not make my life difficult."
Shen Lianzhou, however, had her own ideas and even tried to persuade her father instead.
In his heart, although Madam Lin seemed somewhat down on her luck at the moment, she was highly skilled in martial arts, unconventional in character, and an upright and honest woman. Such a person was destined for greatness and would surely make a name for herself sooner or later.
Besides, even if Madam Lin has no skills, the Shen family can afford to support her. As long as Madam Lin is willing, he can be a virtuous husband behind her.
Whatever Madam Lin wanted to do, she would have the gold and silver of the Shen family of Tanzhou to back her up. With that in mind, how could she not establish a great enterprise?
But Shen's father couldn't listen to any of this; he felt that Shen Lianzhou seemed to have been bewitched.
The fact that Shen Lianzhou, who was usually calm and composed, could say such things now made him extremely anxious.
"What's wrong with Scholar Wang? He's just going through a tough time because of his family's financial difficulties. Once he passes the exam, his future will be much brighter than that of those mere江湖人 (jianghu people)."
"Zhou'er, you swore to listen to your father and take good care of him when your mother was sick. Now you even want to make your own decisions about your marriage, ignoring your father's advice?"
Having no other option, Shen's father could only invoke the name of Shen's deceased mother to pressure Shen Lianzhou.
"It is true that I promised my mother, but I have already given up a lot for my father. I thought I would live a dull and meaningless life, but I never expected to meet Madam Lin."
"I've finally found someone I like, and this time I'm determined to fight for it again. I don't want to miss out again," Chen Lianzhou said.
Jiang was shocked to find that her usually effective trump card was no longer working this time, leaving her both anxious and angry, and completely at a loss.
"Alright, alright, it seems your father can't control you anymore. So be it. I bet you'll end up with a bloody head this time. Don't say your father didn't warn you!"
"I understand, Father. I will not regret my decision. I will bear the consequences of my own choice."
After Shen Lianzhou finished speaking, he turned to Lan Xin and said.
"Lanxin, help your father back to rest."
"Yes." Lanxin stepped forward to support Jiang Shi. "Master, please go back with Xiao Lu."
Jiang left with a heavy heart.
...
That night, however, something happened on Yuan Yan's end as well.
"Your subordinate is late in rescuing your master, please forgive me, Your Highness!"
Yu Liu, leading several personal guards, immediately knelt down upon seeing His Highness the Prince of Yue.
From the moment they received the letter, they followed Yuan Yan's instructions: Xue Lang went to the palace to meet the emperor and report Yuan Yan's whereabouts; meanwhile, they led the royal guards to rush to his aid overnight to protect their master.
"Get up." Yuan Yan sat down and looked at the group of guards kneeling in front of him. "You have arrived in time, not late."
"Thank you for your magnanimity, Your Highness." Yu Liu was moved and kowtowed again.
"To be honest, Your Highness, since the assassination attempt, we have hardly slept a full night, searching day and night... If anything happens to Your Highness, we will have no face to live in this world."
"Therefore, when we received Your Highness's letter, we were all moved to tears. We changed horses one after another and rode through the night, hoping to see Your Highness as soon as possible."
Yu Liu expressed his true feelings, "Now that I see Your Highness is safe and sound, my heart can finally rest easy."
"Your Highness is blessed by the heavens; your escape from this calamity is truly a sign of divine intervention," said the Captain of the Chariots.
Even Aman chimed in, "I haven't even had a chance to repay Your Highness for the meal you gave me. Your Highness will definitely be alright."
Her sudden, silly remark made everyone present chuckle.
“Your Highness is unaware, but Aman is indeed a loyal woman. After Your Highness fell into the water, she jumped into the river after you, trying to save you. She even forgot that she couldn't swim and struggled in the water... If she hadn't been rescued in time, she probably would have been dead long ago,” Yu Liu said.
"Host, look, this is what I meant by high loyalty! If you're in trouble, subordinates with high loyalty will most likely risk their lives to save you," the system interjected.
"Such a thing actually happened."
Yuan Yan looked at A Man and knew that A Man's actions had won the approval of Yu Liu and others, which was why he had brought her along on this trip to Tanzhou to pick up the master.
“Aman’s loyalty deserves a reward, so I will promote you to the rank of First-Class Guard.”
"However, as my bodyguard, you can't do without knowing how to swim. When you get back, you should learn from Captain Yu!" She smiled slightly.
Before Aman could react, the quick-witted Yu Liu had already heard the word "reward" and hurriedly reminded her, "Why don't you quickly thank your master?"
"Yes...! Thank you, Master." Ah Man finally understood that she had been promoted from a second-class guard to a first-class guard, and she was overjoyed. She quickly kowtowed.
Yuan Yan asked, "Yu Liu, where are the rest of the people in the Prince's mansion now?"
"Reporting to Your Highness, we wore out several fine horses in the process to arrive ahead of schedule to meet you."
"The rest of the household will arrive a little later, along with Lord Guo, whom His Majesty has sent. They should arrive around tomorrow," Yu Liu reported.
Yuan Yan pondered for a moment and then asked her about the situation after the assassination attempt.
"How are the officials in Chu Prefecture doing now?"
Yu Liu said, "Thanks to His Highness's rigorous investigation, all the officials involved have been arrested and brought to the capital for severe interrogation. The ringleader confessed without hesitation and has been executed by His Majesty, with his family members also implicated."
"Other officials have been exiled or dismissed, and even the governor-general has been implicated for his inadequate supervision and has been punished by having his salary suspended and being forced to continue his duties while under investigation... It is clear that His Majesty is truly enraged this time."
"And what about the mastermind behind this assassination? Has he been identified?" Yuan Yan asked again.
"This... His Majesty has ordered the Court of Judicial Review to investigate. However, the assassins came prepared. None of their belongings were marked, and all those captured immediately committed suicide by poison. Their organization was tight, and it was clear that they were not ordinary officials."
"Upon learning of this, His Majesty ordered the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review to investigate within a specified period and bring the person behind this to justice."
"Oh, in that case, it hasn't been determined yet." Yuan Yan knew this very well and knew that if the mastermind was the Third Princess Yuan Xiao, it would be difficult to investigate and judge. This matter would probably have to be resolved by her personally after returning to the capital.
Yu Liu noticed the mocking look in her mistress's eyes and didn't dare to look at her. "That's right..."
After Yuan Yan gave a cold laugh, he didn't want to bring up the matter again and instead asked about something else.
"I wonder if my servant who came with me is still here?"
The "little servant" she mentioned was naturally referring to Yu'er, the spy from the enemy country.
Yuan Yan originally planned to forcibly bring this person back to the capital, control him, and use him as bait to investigate enemy spies. However, she did not expect that an assassination attempt would occur on the way back to the capital, disrupting her plans.
"Your Highness, please forgive me." Yu Liu was even more troubled upon hearing this.
"The day of the assassination was too chaotic, and that young master disappeared without a trace. My subordinates and I searched for him afterwards, but his whereabouts are still unknown."
Now it seems likely that he died during the assassination attempt, and his chances of survival are slim.
Yu Liu didn't dare to say the last sentence, hesitating to speak.
However, Yuan Yan did not quite believe this answer.
If it were anyone else who got into trouble, it might be possible, but Yu'er was a spy from an enemy country, skilled in medicine and martial arts, and had a lot of abilities. It was impossible for her to just fall down there so easily.
Perhaps he seized the opportunity to slip away unnoticed.
Yuan Yan pondered.
It has to be said that her understanding of Yu'er was quite accurate. A casual thought at this moment revealed that she had guessed most of it correctly.
“There is one more thing,” Yu Liu continued to report. “On the way here, I met General Lin. According to General Lin, he was sent by Governor Lin to help find His Highness.”
General Lin...
Yuan Yan searched his memory for a moment and quickly realized who Yu Liu was referring to.
[That's right, host. Yu Liu is referring to Lin Huan, the eldest daughter of your second aunt, Lin Ping.]
"When the Lin family heard that you had been assassinated and fallen into the river, they were extremely anxious, but they couldn't leave their post, so they sent Lin Huan out secretly with men to search for you," the system told her.
Yuan Yan pondered, "My cousin is here too, so where is she now?"
"They are also on their way to Tanzhou. Your Highness should be able to meet General Lin soon."
This is indeed a rare piece of good news.
After hearing this, Yuan Yan nodded slightly. "Alright, I already know about these things. It's getting late, Yu Liu, you must be tired from your long journey. Go and rest now."
Yu Liu was slightly surprised: "Is Your Highness not going to the post station with us?"
"I was rescued from the river by the master of the Shen family, and I still owe him a debt of gratitude. I will leave after I have finished dealing with matters here tomorrow."
Yuan Yan planned to help Shen Lianzhou deal with the troublemakers before saying goodbye to him.
Upon hearing that it was someone from the Shen family who had saved his prince, Yu Liu felt a surge of gratitude and obeyed their orders to take his leave.
The system, however, seemed somewhat puzzled upon hearing this.
[Host, it seems that the young master of the Shen family has feelings for you? I can tell, don't tell me you didn't.]
“He did it so obviously, how could I not know?” Yuan Yan admitted.
[Then why did you leave him? With such a handsome and capable rich young man falling for you, aren't you even a little bit tempted, host?] The system couldn't figure it out.
"I've already said I'm not a saint. If a handsome man takes the initiative to show interest in me, and I also have some feelings for him, why wouldn't I accept it?" Yuan Yan's heart has always been very big, big enough to accommodate many people.
“But Shen Lianzhou is different. He saved my life, which is an immense favor. He was living a good life in Tanzhou and could have lived a life of plenty and comfort. But if he follows me, he will have to go to the capital with me and live a life of constant vigilance.”
"I have not yet repaid the debt of gratitude that Young Master Shen saved my life, so how can I repay kindness with enmity and drag him into this vortex of power struggles?"
Yuan Yan had considered the matter rationally. She had no shortage of men around her, and there was no need to drag Lian Zhou down with her when she was in a bad situation. She shook her head.
"Let's forget about it."
"Ah, I never expected that you, host, would still be such a principled person. I always thought you were the kind of person who would rather betray the world than let the world betray me, but I didn't expect you to still have some conscience!" the system exclaimed.
For a moment, Yuan Yan was unsure whether the system was praising her or insulting her.
"I do have a conscience, but not much. This is all the kindness I have left." She gave a soft hum, acknowledging the system's words.
...
Meanwhile, things haven't been going well for Aunt Shen these past few days.
Due to Shen Lianzhou's recent attacks on the collateral branches of the family business, the shops under Shen's aunt's name are in grave danger.
Not only did their earnings shrink by more than half, but their reputation was also ruined, and even many of their previously stable regular customers left their business.
Seeing that her business was about to go bankrupt, and knowing that this was Shen Lianzhou's revenge for what happened last time, Aunt Shen was furious.
"Isn't it just that he sent someone to cause trouble at the shop last time? And that Jianghu guy even stopped him halfway through. Shen Lianzhou didn't suffer any losses, yet he still holds such a grudge."
"This young man is incredibly ruthless, leaving us no way out. Does he even care about me, his aunt and elder?"
Now that things have escalated to this point, Aunt Shen doesn't think she's done anything wrong. She only believes that she's less skilled and has been overshadowed by a junior like Shen Lianzhou, which fuels her growing resentment.
"Shen Lianzhou, since you've started this, don't blame me for starting it the next time."
Aunt Shen originally wanted to wait for the martial arts man to leave before taking action, but now that she was forced into a corner, she could no longer hold back and decided to do everything in her power to get rid of Shen Lianzhou.
"Go and find me some skilled outlaws. I'll pay whatever it takes, but there's one condition: make sure they get rid of my good nephew cleanly," Aunt Shen whispered to her confidante.
Upon hearing this, her trusted aide offered a suggestion: "My lady, if you're going to do it, you might as well go all the way."
“That’s one way…” the confidant whispered in Aunt Shen’s ear. “In this way, even if the young man of the Shen family manages to escape by chance, he probably won’t have the face to live in this world.”
After hearing her confidante's words, Aunt Shen immediately made a decision.
"Okay, then let's do as you say."
"This is our last chance for our collateral branch to turn things around. Whether we succeed or not depends on this one move." Aunt Shen's eyes were ruthless, and a fierce glint flashed in them.
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