Mama You reported to Bai Shi all of Shen Xuan's behavior, from Yunshui Village to the Marquis's mansion, and the fact that he had already married a merchant named Lin in Yunshui Village.
Bai Shi, holding a teacup, was in high spirits after hearing the report.
She leisurely took a sip of tea, then sneered, "How could a country Ger not be tempted when suddenly faced with the grandeur and wealth of the Marquis's mansion? Since he's already been married once, doesn't that just perfectly 'green-hat' that scoundrel?"
The more crude and lowly Shen Xuan's status was, the more disgraced Xue Fenglin would be. With a country ger like that, he probably wouldn't even be able to marry a noble concubine in the future, nor would he find support from in-laws. What future could he have in officialdom after that?
The thought of Xue Fenglin's expression when he learned of this filled Bai Shi with particular satisfaction.
"Alright then, since that ger is sensible, pick two clever attendants to serve him, and then buy some ordinary cloth clothes and silver ornaments to appease him."
"Just cloth clothes and silver ornaments?" Mama You asked.
Bai Shi replied, "He's just a country ger. With such a status, does he deserve anything good? Just casually send him off."
She intended to make Xue Fenglin lose face, so she naturally couldn't let Shen Xuan dress too well, or wouldn't that defeat her purpose?
Mama You bowed and said, "Alright, I'll go arrange it now." She then left Bai Shi's room.
No sooner had she left than Qiong Zhu quickly stepped forward and said, "Madam, Lady Ye has suddenly arrived. Her carriage is already stopped outside the Xue mansion."
Bai Shi's expression changed when she heard this. She slammed the table and cursed,
"Just look at that Tang family, their news is surprisingly well-informed. She barges in without even sending a calling card. Just an aunt's status, yet she meddles in Xue Fenglin's family affairs all day, reaching so far!"
Lady Ye, Tang Shi, was a bosom friend of the deceased Lady Ye. Their relationship was close even when they were unmarried maidens.
After Tang Shi married into the Ye family, she frequently exchanged visits with Lady Ye. After Lady Ye's death, she often took Xue Fenglin to stay at her home for short periods, caring for him like a half-son.
It was precisely because the Ye family had been supporting Xue Fenglin all these years that Bai Shi found it hard to directly harm him, only being able to secretly sow discord between the Marquis and the Ye family.
Before Bai Shi could even come out to greet her, Lady Ye had already burst into the Xue mansion, accompanied by several maids and old women.
As Xue Fenglin's maternal aunt and the Lady of the Ye family, she had often visited the Xue mansion before and was quite familiar with it.
Today, upon hearing that Bai Shi had shamelessly brought back that ger from the Shen family from Lezhou, she immediately knew what Bai Shi was plotting.
Speaking of which, when Lady Ye went to the Shen family to propose marriage back then, Lady Ye, Tang Shi, had even helped her plan it.
At that time, the Shen family was powerful, and Lady Ye was not favored by the Marquis in the Xue mansion, and the noble concubine Bai Shi had also given birth to a son.
Therefore, she helped Lady Ye strategize, advising her to seek the young ger from Duke Shen's family as a husband, hoping that Duke Shen would speak favorably of Xue Fenglin before the Emperor, thereby ensuring Xue Fenglin's title as heir.
Indeed, shortly after Lady Ye and the Shen family became engaged, Emperor Jinwu issued an imperial decree conferring the title of shizi (Heir Apparent) upon Xue Fenglin.
However, she never expected that a few years later, Duke Shen's mansion would fall, and this early marriage arrangement would unexpectedly become a stumbling block in Xue Fenglin's future.
Lady Ye had just reached the outer ceremonial gate when she saw Bai Shi coming out to greet her. Upon seeing Tang Shi, Bai Shi approached with a smiling face, took her arm, and led her towards the main hall of the central courtyard.
As they walked, she spoke warmly, "What wind brings you here today, elder sister? Come, come, I just happen to have some fresh lychees brought from the south. I was thinking of sending some to your residence for you to taste, but now it saves me the trouble."
Bai Shi was most skilled at these two-faced social dealings, and Lady Ye, when she was alive, had suffered many hidden losses because of her.
Tang Shi knew Bai Shi was cunning and hypocritical but couldn't directly turn hostile. She could only endure the disgust in her heart and politely said,
"I heard that Madam Xue, you brought back the young ger from the former Duke Shen's family to the mansion?"
"Speaking of which, I once had a past acquaintance with Lady Shen, and we even became sworn sisters. Now that her flesh and blood have come to the capital, I am half an aunt, so I must come and see him."
Lady Ye had thought of this reason before leaving home. After all, this was a private matter between her and Lady Shen. Now that Lady Shen had passed away, Bai Shi had no way to verify it, so she couldn't well stop her.
Indeed, Bai Shi was annoyed upon hearing this. She secretly thought, 'I've never heard of you having any dealings with Lady Shen before, and now you're her sister!'
She had originally thought Tang Shi would intervene by leveraging her status as Xue Fenglin's maternal aunt, which would have allowed her to block her by asserting her own status as Madam of the Xue family.
However, Tang Shi's reason was based on the Shen family connection, making it difficult for her to refuse. After much thought, she could only let Tang Shi proceed to Shen Xuan's location.
She then smiled at Tang Shi and said, "The news of our Xue family bringing this ger from the Shen family to the capital has probably spread throughout the capital by now. Those who previously impeached the Marquis for poor child-rearing and Lin'er for disrespecting his deceased mother's wishes have probably been put to shame."
"Our Xue family has strict family discipline and is not the kind of power-hungry family that despises the poor and favors the rich. Once Lin'er marries ger Shen, the Xue family's reputation for integrity will surely reach the Emperor's ears. It can also be considered an example set by our Xue family in the capital."
Bai Shi's words made Tang Shi's expression change, her entire face darkening. These words subtly hinted to Tang Shi that the matter of Shen Xuan had already reached Emperor Jinwu's ears.
If Tang Shi were to forcibly take Shen Xuan from the Xue mansion today, the matter would become a conspiracy between Xue Fenglin and the Ye family, and it would reach the Emperor.
At that time, if anyone in court impeached the Xue family again, Emperor Jinwu would surely investigate, and both Xue Fenglin and the Ye family would likely not escape implication.
Lady Ye did not want Xue Fenglin's marriage to be ruined by Bai Shi, but she couldn't act rashly. She was now in a dilemma.
She calmed herself for a while, thought for a long time, and then said, "Lin'er's maternal grandmother only passed away half a year ago. He previously vowed to observe three years of mourning for his maternal grandmother, so he will likely only be able to marry after three years. This matter cannot be rushed. I will first go see that child from the Shen family and comfort him."
Xue Fenglin's maternal grandmother had passed away at over ninety years old, which was considered a long life.
In the Great Jin, mourning was not required for such a high age, let alone for a maternal grandmother.
However, Lady Ye used filial piety to pressure Bai Shi, who couldn't refute and could only humor her about the three years, smiling, "It's only three years. He will marry eventually, and that child won't mind waiting."
After saying that, she found Qiong Zhu to lead the way for Lady Ye, directing her to the wing room in the West Courtyard to see Shen Xuan.
'What if it's dragged out for three years? After three years, won't he still have to marry that country ger? By then, my Li'er will have already married, had children, and entered officialdom.'
Meanwhile, in Shen Xuan's room, two attendants, about eleven or twelve years old and dressed in the clothes of third-rank servants, stood by.
They were house-born servants specifically chosen by Mama You for Shen Xuan. One was named Jingui, and the other was Jinzhi.
Their families were all servants working in the Xue mansion. Mama You arranged for them to serve Shen Xuan here, and when Shen Xuan married into the Xue family, they would be promoted to second-rank attendants.
There were no other ger masters in the Xue mansion, so there had been no need for personal attendants.
Among the household servants, ger were the most difficult to promote, so these two were quite pleased with their assignment.
Although Shen Xuan came from the countryside, seeing Madam's intentions, he was definitely going to marry in.
Even if the heir disliked him, by serving him in the future, they would still receive the standard provisions for second-rank attendants in the mansion, which was certainly better than constantly doing manual labor.
The Xue family managed its servants strictly, so the two attendants were honest. As soon as they entered Shen Xuan's room, they busied themselves with cleaning and pouring tea.
Seeing this, Shen Xuan told them, "This room is quite clean; there's nothing that needs cleaning. You two can go out and rest."
Jingui and Jinzhi exchanged glances and walked into the courtyard, standing under the corridor. According to the rules of the Xue mansion, servants assigned to rooms who had no immediate tasks were to wait in the courtyard.
Shen Xuan sighed when he saw this and said, "You don't need to stand around waiting here. Go play, and just come back when I need something."
Jingui and Jinzhi quickly replied to Shen Xuan, "Shen Ger, we can't just leave our post when we're on duty. Mama You will punish us if she finds out."
"That's right! We're not tired, we'll just stand in the courtyard."
Shen Xuan could only give up. He thought that while the Xue mansion's control over him was looser than during the journey, escaping would still not be easy.
Not to mention the layers of young servants guarding the outer courtyard, even these two children in his own courtyard were hard to dismiss. He would have to wait for a moment when everyone was relaxed.
As he was thinking, he suddenly heard Jingui report from the courtyard, "Shen Ger, Lady Ye has arrived."
Then, he saw Jinzhi leading in a middle-aged woman of exceptional temperament. Behind the woman followed an old lady and two maids, all appearing shrewd and capable.
After sizing him up, the woman waved her hand, and the two maids led Jinzhi out, closing the door. Only she and the old lady remained in the room.
"Are you Shen Xuan?" Lady Ye sat down at the Eight Immortals table, her gaze scrutinizing the country ger before her.
When Xue Fenglin had returned to the Ye family earlier, he had already mentioned this ger to them, saying that he had been ambushed and injured in the countryside, almost dying, but fortunately met this ger and thus saved his life.
Now, looking at Shen Xuan, although he was dressed in plain cloth and was as tall as a man, his features somewhat resembled Lady Shen's; he looked handsome and refined.
Furthermore, this Shen Xuan was somewhat different from the country ger she had imagined. His demeanor was not timid or petty; instead, he dared to meet her gaze and appeared quite steady and composed.
'He is, after all, the child of Duke Shen and his wife.'
Even though he was sent to the countryside to be raised for so many years, he still had some backbone, Lady Ye thought to herself.
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