Chapter 040 Chapter 40
The Yan family is now in mourning. Yao Niang came to Xie's place early, and Xie's eyes were red. She did not expect Yan Ningxin to be so ignorant of the consequences and harm so many people.
"Mom, I heard that Dad and brother went to the Shen family. They must be fine." Although Yao Niang was uneasy, she also wanted to say something to comfort herself.
Xie shook his head and said, "I always have a bad feeling."
Yao Niang analyzed, "It's nothing, as long as the emperor doesn't punish dad for not teaching his daughter well. After all, this is a private matter between the two families. Now that my elder sister has caused such a big scandal for the Shen family, she should pay whatever she deserves. I'm afraid this won't make it up to Master Shen. But things will eventually fade away with time. If dad can keep his official position, things will slowly get better."
"Can your father afford the delay? What about you?" Xie was extremely anxious.
Yao Niang was helpless, and she couldn't help asking Xie: "What if the elder sister wants to go ahead with this marriage?"
Xie shook her head: "Impossible, if the Shen family is really like this, I would suspect that the Shen family has some leverage over your father."
After she finished speaking, Xie was afraid that her daughter would be worried about her, so she couldn't help but calm her down and said, "Didn't you say you would sew a dress for the baby? Go quickly, and I'll go see your grandfather too."
Grandpa Xie was a mediocre official, serving for about twenty years and barely making it to the position of prefect. This time he went to the capital to report on his duties, and the Ministry of Personnel was selecting officials. Because he had a good son-in-law, Yan Yingqi, who was said to have run a good government, he wouldn't have to put in much effort. If he could be promoted to the third rank and retire in the future, that would be the end of his career for Grandpa Xie.
In officialdom, the third rank is at the bottom of the upper echelons, while the fourth rank is at the top of the middle echelons.
It was a big hurdle to move from a middle-level official to a senior official, but everything had to wait until Yan Yingqi started working in the Ministry of Personnel and obtained all the official credentials.
Yao Niang understood, so she went back to her room. As soon as she got back, she saw Qian Niang and Ying Niang coming over. She asked them to sit down again and asked, "What are you doing here at this time?"
"Third sister, my mother is in a state of mental confusion due to phlegm. The doctor just gave her an injection and she woke up. She told us to come over and stay with Second Mother." Ying Niang also felt uneasy.
In the past, I always felt that my father and brother were successful in their careers, and my mother, Zhen, was the most powerful mistress. But now, once something happened and my mother fell, Yingniang was like a young bird.
"Is the Madam okay?" Yao Niang asked.
Qianniang shook her head: "I'm much better now. It's all because of my eldest sister's matter that I'm angry about."
The three sisters usually don't get along with each other. Yingniang was even elbowed by Yaoniang a few days ago, but today the three of them were angry about the same thing.
Yao Niang couldn't help but curse: "Big sister is really something, I don't know if she will harm us when she comes back in the future?"
"Third sister, don't say that. Big sister still doesn't know why. Let's not talk about this. She is pitiful. Although the Prince of Qi is good to her, the Prince of Qi's Mansion treats her like that." Qianniang was still feeling compassionate.
If Qianniang acted like this normally, Yaoniang would have ignored her. But she was still acting like this today. Yaoniang couldn't help but retort, "Second sister, don't pretend to be a good person. Commander Liu's wife said this herself. So many people watching the ceremony saw it. It's really boring to talk about it now."
Ying Niang also said, "Yes, second sister, it's obviously the eldest sister who is wrong. Our family took her back and didn't treat her badly at all. It was her mother who insisted on marrying her to father for the title of King of Qi. The whole family is evil."
Yao Niang complained a few words and looked at the sky again: "Father and big brother have been out for half an hour, they should be at the Shen family by now."
Qianniang and Yingniang were silent.
**
Shen Family
Yan Ningxin knelt in the hall, like a young chicken in the water, she kept saying sorry, it was all her fault, it had nothing to do with the Yan family. But the people from the Shen family came and went, and they didn't seem to listen to her.
At that time, the Shen family was also waiting for the Yan family to come. Even if the engagement was to be cancelled, the Yan family had to agree so that both parties could remain respectable.
Mrs. Shen looked at Yan Ningxin and suddenly felt very regretful. It was her daughter Shen Mo who said that Shen Linfeng loved the eldest daughter of the Yan family, so she came to propose marriage. Because Linfeng has always been very indifferent to matters between men and women, she didn't expect the result to be like this.
I really regret it.
"Mrs. Shen, please, this is all my fault." Yan Ningxin continued.
Yan Yingqi, who had just entered the room, was almost fainted by hearing this. He took two steps at a time and slapped Yan Ningxin in the face. This slap not only stunned Yan Ningxin, but also Mr. Shen and Mrs. Shen.
Why do I say this? Because Shen Zongxian once saw the usually arrogant Minister Yan buying paint for his daughter in a calligraphy and painting shop. He picked the paint very carefully, and it was obvious that he doted on his daughter. In addition, the Yan family asked the Wucheng Military Department to search for him, and even went to Shuntian Prefecture to sue Wei Wuji. Minister Yan did not even attend the court in the past few days, which was enough to show that the Yan family suffered a great blow.
Yan Ningxin covered her face and felt it was burning.
Then she heard her father Yan Yingqi say, "You evil girl, you still have the nerve to come back. If I were you, I would have hanged myself with a rope long ago."
Yan Ningxin looked at Yan Yingqi in disbelief: "Dad, I just..."
"You just what? Don't talk about your own grievances. If you don't follow others, can others pull you away? I am surprised, a son of the governor of Ziqing, enters the Shen family as if he were in a deserted place? This guy and I are sworn enemies. And you, although we haven't married yet, you have done such a pig-dog thing, I can't control you anymore." Yan Yingqi cursed angrily.
After he finished speaking, he said to the Shen family couple, "I will no longer recognize this evil girl. Her life and death will be decided by your family."
Yan Ningxin never thought that Yan Yingqi would be so cruel, but Yan Jingzhao immediately understood what Yan Yingqi meant. He was clearly trying to save Yan Ningxin. If Yan Yingqi showed that he cared about Yan Ningxin and kept speaking for her, the Shen family might take advantage of him.
The Shen family is certainly not an ordinary family. Mr. Shen said nothing, while Mrs. Shen turned away and said, "Minister Yan, there is really no need to be like this. We are all sensible people. We in the Shen family have always been the most sincere. How could we know that the bride ran away with another man at the wedding? We in Linfeng have now become the laughing stock of the entire capital and the entire family. My son has no future."
"Yes, yes, when the Shen family came to propose marriage, I saw that Lin Feng was a person of elegant character, and I liked him very much. But my eldest daughter was difficult to raise since she was a child, so her grandmother, the old concubine of Prince Qi, took her to the Prince Qi's Mansion to be raised since she was a cradle. Her temperament was not well-cultivated. But your family wanted to marry my eldest daughter, so my wife and I hired four or five nurses and gave five hundred people as a dowry, just because we were afraid that she would not be able to succeed. But this..." Yan Yingqi bent down.
Yan Jingzhao immediately got to the point: "Mr. Shen, Mrs. Shen, father, it has been three days since the incident. Since dad and I are here in person, why don't we see how to resolve it so that the damage is minimized. To be honest, my eldest sister has caused this incident, not to mention the Shen family, even our family has suffered greatly."
"Break off the engagement." Mrs. Shen said it very clearly.
Yan Yingqi had been a minister of rites and was very familiar with the etiquette. He said, "The six ceremonies have not been completed, not to mention the ceremony of meeting in the temple in March. They are not husband and wife. Why not ask a matchmaker to come and write a letter of annulment? Our Yan family will return the betrothal gift, and I will keep half of the dowry as compensation."
"The laws of this dynasty stipulate that 'if a man has promised to marry his daughter and has reported the marriage certificate, or if he has a private agreement and then regrets it, he will be flogged fifty times.'" Shen Zongxian said.
If Yan Ningxin hadn't come to admit her mistake, Yan Yingqi could have said that his daughter was abducted by Wei Wuji, and even wondered why the Shen family didn't stop it. But this daughter had tricked him so badly that she admitted everything.
Yan Yingqi swore that he had never felt so aggrieved before, so he said: "Everything should be done according to the law. I have no objection."
Yan Jingzhao did raise some doubts: "Master Zongxian, I would like to ask how Wei Wuji came into your house? And how did your house allow this person to enter your house in the first place? This..."
Of course, Mr. Shen knew why. Wei Wuji was a friend of the second wife Shen Bangyan, so he was invited to the wedding, but no one thought he would snatch the bride. Even so, Mr. Shen said, "He is a friend of my nephew, and it just so happens that he is getting married. To be honest, let alone such a son of an official, even ordinary people can come to the Shen family to host a buffet."
"Okay, Jing Zhao, we were wrong about this. The eldest sister should also get the punishment she deserves. This is what we should do." Yan Yingqi thought to himself, who let him raise such a person? He doesn't know the importance of anything he does.
When Yan Ningxin heard that she was going to be whipped fifty times, she felt dizzy ashamed, hungry, and slapped by her father.
At this moment, Shen Linfeng came out. It was obvious that he was feeling very uncomfortable as he had suffered great humiliation in the past few days, but he still maintained his composure.
Yan Jingzhao also felt ashamed of his colleagues and was the first to salute. The Shen family couple were quite shrewd, but seeing their son like this, they were concerned: "Feng Ge'er, just leave the things here to us."
At one point, Shen Linfeng was unwilling to face Yan Ningxin, nor did he want to go out and let others laugh at him. Everyone loves to watch people rise to great heights and fall from great heights.
But he knew very well that he had an agenda when he married Yan Ningxin. Now the fault lies with Yan Ningxin alone, and the Yan family is still the victim. Indeed, when he was angry at first, Shen Linfeng also had some bad thoughts, but he thought that setbacks were not necessarily bad things for him.
“顏侍郎，伯英兄，俗話說冤家宜解不宜結，我們兩家原本也沒什麽仇怨，既然如此，一切回歸原處便是了。顏家的嫁妝你們還是帶回去，正常退親就可以了，就說彼此八字現在測算不和，如此合情合理，別人也不會說什麽。”是的，現在告顏寧馨悔婚和人跑了，罵出來的确很痛快，但是從此這件事情就會和他捆綁一生，乃至于一生他都要背負這個名義，即便和他完全無關。
顏應祁為人素來都是能争則争，除非已無力挽回，因此這件事情發生之後，他料定是不可挽回，早已做好打算。
沒想到沈臨風如此寬仁，能忍一時之氣，目光放的這般長遠，這樣的人絕對在官場走的長遠，反而是自己的兒子，有決斷擅長機變，但性格過于剛直，這種性格不為名将就為名臣，但多半下場未必好。
“公定（沈臨風表字）此言另我無地自容，老夫如今已到不惑之年，錯失佳婿，實在是失悔，若你不嫌棄，老夫愛女三娘自小在我身邊長大，生有傾國傾城之貌，才比謝道韞，是景昭的親妹妹，更何況我叔父剛剛升任河道總督，如此締結良緣，兩家照常做親家。”顏應祁還是忍不住考慮。
“我這個大丫頭到時候等處置之後，我會送她到我們金陵家廟，終身青燈故佛，不會再見面。”
顏應祁之所以這樣說也還是有個計較，顏寧馨因為逃婚，別看現在平穩解決，可那些觊觎他位置的人，若是大作文章，他的官位不知道還能不能保？更何況，三老太太對解氏母女并不大方。
若是讓窈娘及笄後嫁過來，那又過了兩三年，京中見證此事的人又換了一批，畢竟三年官位一挪，甚至不必蘭憂準備嫁妝，自然最重要的是沈臨風此人他非常欣賞，化幹戈為玉帛，胸襟寬廣，為人處事不被情緒所控制，日後絕對前途無量。
簡直是兩全其美，沈氏夫妻也對視一眼，沈夫人去過顏家，她是見過三姑娘的，那姑娘生的好生标致，女紅彈琴樣樣來得，再者顏景昭是她的親哥哥，這可比齊王世子要強，那位雖然是藩王世子，可天高皇帝遠，沒有實權，顏景昭卻科名還在自己兒子之上。
見沈氏夫妻神色松動了，顏應祁也放有了幾分勝算，沈臨風見事情了了，直接回避了。
在一旁的顏景昭則在上了馬車之後，問起顏應祁：“爹，您真的想把窈娘嫁給沈臨風嗎？”
“如今這等官宦子弟，上進的不多，纨绔頗多。要不多是虎父犬子，不堪大用，難得沈臨風是個人才，性情寬厚，你今日也見到了，此人不在你之下。”顏應祁解釋一番。
顏景昭想說：“大妹妹那兒？”
“既然沈家願意和平解決，她也免去了鞭笞之苦，等退婚書拿到，我就讓人送她回金陵家廟，先讓她青燈古佛冷靜幾年，等她妹妹們都嫁了，再替她找戶人家。”顏應祁也只有如此了。
顏景昭點頭：“合該如此，只不過魏無忌咱們就不能放過了。”
顏應祁閉眼假寐。
等顏氏父子帶着顏寧馨回來之後，顏寧馨就被顏應祁找人看了起來，他為了防止家中再出現此事，因此特地把兒女們都喊到一起。
解氏帶着窈娘也過來了，甄氏更是拖着病體出來，幾日不見她臉色蠟黃，看起來病恹恹的。
顏應祁為了防止兒女中再有人做出此等毫無體統一事，把衆人敲打了一番，窈娘在聽到顏寧馨差點被打五十鞭子吓了一跳，原本女方私自悔婚還會受到如此責罰？不過，大姐姐既然跑了，怎麽又去沈家還想嫁給沈臨風？
末了，顏應祁還道：“這些日子沸沸揚揚，恐怕京中人對我們家的人都會有所非議，我想近日能不出門去就不出門去。你們在家中，多看看書，也明白些許道理。”
“是。”衆人皆不敢置喙。
窈娘見父親難得露出疲态，也忍不住嘆息萬分，偏偏這個時候又有噩耗傳來，原來今日顏景昭派人接關氏回來，沒想到關氏失足落井而亡，衆人都十分驚訝。
真是屋漏偏逢連夜雨，解氏和窈娘又趕緊回到三房準備幫她治喪，關氏青年而亡，又無子嗣，但她的身份又是顏家長媳，死的這麽倉促，壽衣壽材都得準備起來，還有關氏的陪嫁，解氏還準備退回去。
“娘，嫂子怎麽會跌足而亡呢？她還那麽年輕。”窈娘有些不可置信。
解氏感嘆道：“你哥哥就是知曉你嫂子這個人面子看的比什麽都重要，所以才送她到山上休養，也避免別人問她假孕的事情，待你大姐姐出嫁之後，家中恢複平靜，正好把她接回來。她卻還是這般，窈娘，就像你大姐姐現在遇到這件事情一樣，你們姐妹日後出去，肯定會遇到別人異樣的看法，要盡量學會不去在意。”
窈娘點頭：“娘，您放心，女兒要學會唾面自幹。”
“這就好，要堅強起來，你知道嗎？你和你大哥哥之間娘還生過一兒一女，可惜都夭折了，那時候不知道誰說我克子，我都不知道我是如何熬過來的，可是我知曉我要堅持活下來。”解氏心想自己總算熬過來了。
母女二人互相打氣，顏景昭親自上山派人把關氏屍體打撈起來，接着又去關家報信，還得去翰林院請假，翰林院的同僚們也是十分同情他。
關夫人也沒想到她正值青年的女兒死的這般快，在靈堂前一直哭的都快暈過去了，窈娘卻想當初讓關夫人去陪陪關氏都不肯，現在倒是哭的這般起勁。
解氏當然清楚關氏青年而亡，關家肯定會扯出不少閑話，所以她率先都說了，“大哥兒媳婦嫁過來的這兩年，也是跟着我們東奔西走，又病了許久，常常身體不好，說起來也是我們沒有照顧好她，現下她也沒有子嗣，她的嫁妝我想還給關家，也讓你們做個念想。”
“這……”關夫人故作猶豫。
解氏則道：“她的箱籠都帶在身邊，唯獨還有一些家俬在金陵老家，我們到時候一并送到你們老宅去。”
“倒也不必如此。”關夫人真是沒想到女兒死的那麽快，都快到無法道別了。
解氏拉着關夫人的手道：“我們家現在也發生了不少事情，說實在的，我們也沒有想到她去的那般快。說是她那日吃了晚飯，就在庵堂裏散步，不讓下人跟着，等發現的時候，人都沒了。您放心，正好我們家中有一樽棺椁，原本是我們老爺打算孝敬我們老太爺的，如今挪過來給她用，只盼着親家你能夠寬心。”
關夫人見顏家做的無可挑剔，也并不再說什麽。
畢竟她也還有事情要求到解氏的。
七日之後，關氏的棺椁寄存在大古寺中，等來年回京城時再扶靈回去，顏景昭也銷假了，開始在翰林院做庶吉士，因為沒有丈夫為妻子丁憂的慣例。
這些日子辦葬禮，窈娘不知怎麽做夢還夢到關氏了，那還是她剛進門的時候，躊躇滿志拿着管家的對牌的樣子。
只可惜一切都煙消雲散。
這日午膳剛用完，窈娘在解氏床上歇息，又聽說關夫人過來了，她還暗自嘀咕嫂子已經下葬了，嫁妝也還回去了，甚至連下人都送回去了，怎麽現在還有何事？
沒想到關夫人是來說續娶的事情的：“我有一位侄女，性情最是和順不過了，總不能讓顏姑娘身邊一直無人照看吧？我看她就很好，不知你如何看？”
自己女兒才死了七天，就惦記給女婿找續弦。
窈娘自己都不覺得哥哥應該這麽快就再找一位嫂子，關夫人比她們還着急。
自然，解氏也沒發昏，她現在經過關氏和顏寧馨的事情之後，對兒媳婦的選擇可不會這麽容易就下決定，因此她只是委婉道：“唉，不瞞您說，因為我們家大姑娘的事情，我現在也不能出去相看，我知道您是好意，不如過些日子再和您說。”
關夫人笑道：“這有什麽？我帶她上門給你請安就是了。”
說完，連她自己也覺得太過急迫，又一甩帕子：“咳，我這心裏啊，也不知怎麽又想起我那苦命的女兒了，我那侄女兒和她長的太像了，看到她我就想起我那女兒。”
解氏安慰道：“您說的我們也能理解，您放心，我會考慮的。”
關夫人這才離開。
解氏也被這些人搞的無語了，沒想到晚上聽到顏應祁說的事情，更加瞠目結舌：“什麽？你瘋了吧。”
顏應祁道：“我怎麽會瘋？沈臨風人品俱佳，遭受這般事情，沒有意志消沉，也沒有憤世嫉俗，反而軒然霞舉龍章鳳姿。”
“這怎麽行呢？他和大姑娘有婚約，我們三丫頭算什麽？再好也不成。”解氏下意識拒絕。
Yan Yingqi snorted coldly, "Last time you asked me about Han Jiayi? He is a playboy, you can't see it, you think he is shy. Even so, Shen Linfeng didn't get drunk in brothels, but prepared for the imperial examination. What's more, the dowry of the eldest girl was given directly to Yao Niang, which can be regarded as compensation to Yao Niang. What's wrong with that?"
Xie still felt bad: "I've been married to you and have been living a life of luxury for the rest of my life. Do you think my daughter will be like me?"
"Then how can they be the same? I say that you women often ask why you can't be the same as men. You lose to men in this respect, caring too much about self-esteem and moral flaws. I just know that I have caught the good ones, and that's enough. If I were so hypocritical like you, I wouldn't have to stay in the officialdom. Originally, the Minister of Personnel was someone else, but I snatched it away. That person still sends me curse letters and often writes black letters to the Historian to accuse me. So what? I am the Minister of Personnel now. Even if my daughter breaks off the engagement, I can still protect her. So Yao Niang will be the original wife when she gets married, and the eldest girl will go back to Jinling and may never come back in her life. What impact will it have?" Yan Yingqi felt that he had made it very clear.