Because he was paying attention to Shen Jin before, and not Shen Yan, Mr. Qiao San didn't know much about Shen Yan. He only knew that he lost his father in his early years and lived in Songjiang. He took his widowed mother and younger brother to live in Nanjing before the provincial examination this year.
Today, he called Shen Yan over just to ask which room of the Shen family Shen Yan belonged to.
This important matter of marriage is the order of the parents and the words of the matchmaker. However, since the Bai family is a widow, the Qiao family cannot directly raise the matter with the Bai family, so they want to find an elder from the Shen family who can make the decision.
As for the fact that Shen Yan is not a member of the Shen family, Mr. Qiao San has never thought about it. After all, Shen Yan's official records include three generations: great, grandfather, and father. It is difficult to say how old the great-grandfather is, but the grandfather's name is not clear. He is the same generation as Mr. Qiao San's uncle. His father, Shen Qing, is from Shuizi side like Shen Cang and Shen Zhou brothers. Shen Yan and his younger brother Shen are from Xiewang side like Shen Luo. Even if it is a coincidence, it is impossible for three generations to be born. Everyone is coincidental.
"I heard that the Shen family in Songjiang was divided into nine rooms. I wonder which room Songzhen is in?" Mr. Qiao San asked straight to the point.
As for Shen Yan's unmarried status, he had already found out clearly. Even if he valued Shen Yan, it was only when Shen Yan had no engagement.
This is not a personal topic, but for Shen Yan, it is really difficult to answer.
If he wanted to take the imperial examination, his academic records would have to indicate three generations of his ancestors. But his great-grandfather had warned back then that his descendants were not allowed to be included in the family tree.
He hesitated for a moment and replied: "Although the student's surname is Shen, he is indeed the fifth generation grandson of Shen University, but the student's grandfather's lineage is not included in the genealogy..."
When Mr. Qiao San heard this, he couldn't help but frown.
He thought that Shen Yan might be a concubine of the Shen family, but he did not expect this answer.
He previously wanted to choose Shen Yan as his son-in-law. In addition to Shen Yan's good character and qualifications, he also thought that Shen Yan came from the Shen family and was from a scholarly family.
According to Shen Yan's school record, his father was a Juren, his grandfather was a Shengyuan, and his great-grandfather was also a Juren. Even if no one became an official, he was not from a common people's family.
If it is not entered into the family tree, it will be different after the purpose is entered into the family tree and then removed from the family tree.
If you are included in the family tree and then eliminated, you must have violated the family rules and family laws, and you have been abandoned by the family; if you are not included in the family tree, it is probably because you have a flaw in your background.
But what do the Shen family think? Shen Yan's family has been studying for several generations. Why shouldn't such a motivated clan member be allowed to return to the family?
However, before the provincial examination, the Shen family clan sent Shen Qi to Nanjing and brought several students to visit him, but Shen Yan was not among them.
Previously, Mr. Qiao San thought it was because Shen Yan was now living in Nanjing, but now it seems that there is another explanation.
"Did the Shen family mention your return to the clan?" Mr. Qiao San asked.
Shen Yan shook his head, not wanting to say too much.
He didn't know about the relationship between Mr. Qiao San and the second wife of the Shen family, and he felt quite strange that Master Xuezheng cared about his family affairs. He vaguely noticed something, but he couldn't feel happy when he thought about his own privacy.
Mr. Qiao San was very curious. What was the origin of Shen Yan's ancestor? However, there must be something bad about it. Seeing that Shen Yan was unwilling to mention it, Mr. Qiao San would not ask directly, so he asked where Shen Yan was. As soon as he came to Beijing, people were taken to the soup.
After Shen Yan left, Mr. Qiao San ordered the housekeeper to come over and sent him to inquire about Shen Yan's life experience.
Songjiang is a big government, and many students from Songjiang to take the provincial examination are still stranded in Nanjing. The Shen family is a prominent family in Songjiang, so there is no way to find out any clues.
Even though Mr. Qiao San knew that Shen Yan had a different life experience, he still had no intention of giving up.
In his opinion, the Shen family did not allow Shen Yan's grandfather to become a naturalized citizen. Most likely, Shen Yan's grandfather was the son of a foreign wife. Shen Yan's great-grandmother was a remarried woman or a prostitute. She was not accepted into the scholarly family, and even her children and grandchildren could not be admitted. Genealogy.
Since the Song Dynasty, Confucianism has believed in Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism and has been particularly strict with women's chastity requirements. There are not just one or two families that do not allow prostitutes or remarried women to enter the house.
Even though he was not accepted by the clan, Shen Yan's grandfather still studied as a career and gained fame; Shen Yan's father went one step further; looking at Shen Yan's behavior, there is no need to worry about tutoring.
Mr. Qiao San's eldest daughter was just the daughter of a maid, so she was picked on in every possible way when it came to her marriage. She was neither good nor bad. Therefore, Mr. Qiao San was not very picky about Shen Yan's parentage, he just wanted to find out. That’s all
When the housekeeper made some inquiries, he got information that made Mr. Qiao San undecided.
Before Shen Yan came to Nanjing, he taught at the Shen Family School in Songjiang. His younger brother also studied at the Shen Family School. Shen Yan's family lived in Shenjiafang when they were in Songjiang. This obviously meant being accepted by the Shen family, so why didn't Shen Qi bring him with him when he came to Nanjing? Is Shen Yan socializing around me? But here, when Shen Yan mentioned the Songjiang Shen family, he had no intention of returning to the clan.
Nanjing is not close to Songjiang, but Mr. Qiao San still sent people to Songjiang to inquire. As for Shen Yan, it seems that he has the intention of being a respected person. Shen Yan's younger brother may not know the family's secrets. , the only person who can inquire is Shen Yan’s mother, Bai Shi.
Master Qiao San told his wife and asked her to find a way to meet Mr. Bai.
Mrs. Qiao San had a legitimate daughter who was twelve years old this year. She wished that the concubine in front of her would be married off early so that she could concentrate on preparing a dowry for her daughter, so she readily complied with her husband's instructions.
Mrs. Bai is the wife and mother of a civil servant. She is not an ordinary woman. It is not too disrespectful for Mrs. Qiao San to leave a post for her.
Mrs. Bai was surprised and happy to receive the invitation from Mrs. Xuezheng. However, as a housewife, she did not dare to act independently, so she called her eldest son to discuss the matter.
Shen Yan looked at the post and remembered the conversation at the Xuezheng home two days ago. If he realized something, he said: "Even if I invite my mother to go, I will go... If Mrs. Xuezheng asks about my great-grandmother, there is no need to hide it. …”
Bai Shi said in horror: "Why did she ask about this? Did she find out that her eldest brother's academic status was inappropriate? Or did the Shen family want to harm him?"
The Shen clan does not recognize Shen Yan's branch, but since Shen Yan wants to go to school, the name of his great-grandfather cannot be left blank on the school record, and the name of the old man of the second wife is added. If you really want to worry about it, this is not appropriate. If Shen Yan If the clan members complain to the Academic Affairs Office, they can accuse Shen Yan of having a "false membership".
No matter how dissatisfied the Bai family was with the Shen family, she did not dare to cause trouble. Shen Yan's academic status was the only concern.
Shen Yan hurriedly said: "Mom, don't worry, it's not about your academic status, it's probably about your son's marriage..."
Hearing this, Mr. Bai immediately turned from surprise to joy: "Amitabha, this is really an eye-opener. Could it be that Master Xuezheng wants to recruit his eldest brother as his son-in-law?"
Shen Yan shook his head and said: "Perhaps it is to protect others' matchmaking. Apart from talking about marriage, there is nothing to inquire about the ancestors."
Mr. Bai hesitated and said: "Family scandals should not be made public. How about telling these facts honestly? Why don't we first see how the candidate is? If the candidate is good, should we hide it?"
Shen Yan frowned and said: "You can't marry someone with two surnames. If you hide something, wouldn't it be a fraudulent marriage? Mother, you should tell the truth. No matter who the academic master is as a matchmaker, his family status should be above my family. If you offend him for this, Instead, he gave his son an enemy."
Bai said bitterly: "It's all my fault, the second wife, such a cruel woman... Otherwise, if I returned to the clan last year, my son would not be in such an embarrassing situation..."
Shen Yan said hurriedly: "If you complain like this, you can just talk about it at home, and don't mention it in front of outsiders... The second eldest brother has been promoted to minister. If I complain like this outside, people will mistake me for my brother." The two of them have a lot of resentment towards the second roommate. Without the second roommate’s direct descendants speaking up, some people will attack us just to curry favor with the second roommate’s eldest boss, and our future will be ruined..."
It's not that he judged a gentleman with a villain's heart, that's how the world is. It's just that it's not necessarily that serious. Shen Yan knew his mother's nature and didn't want her to talk nonsense outside, so she deliberately made it a bit serious.
Bai's face turned pale, and she hurriedly covered her mouth and said, "This is too overbearing. Isn't it okay to even complain?"
Shen Yan said: "It is only natural that a father's debt should be repaid by his son. The direct descendants have not found their grandfather and father these years, partly because they are far away from each other. Now my son is going to Beijing. If he dwells on the past and angers the other side, his son will not I can’t bear it…”
After being frightened and coaxed by Shen Yan, Bai became cautious about his words and actions when he went to attend Mrs. Qiao San's appointment.
Mrs. Qiao San was extremely surprised when she saw her appearance like this. If she hadn't met Shen Yan before, and there were indeed similarities in the appearance of the mother and son, she would have doubted whether Bai was the stepmother.
But when it comes to age, knowing that Bai is one year older than herself, Mrs. Qiao San can only envy Bai for her good health.
After all, Mrs. Bai was the wife and mother of a scholar. Even if she was a bit petty in her speech, there was nothing rude about her.
Mrs. Qiao San saw that her soft temper was not difficult to get along with, and she was even more enthusiastic about the marriage.
She has always been open-minded and is not afraid that the concubine will marry well, but that she will not marry well. Mr. Qiao San is soft-hearted. If he knew that the concubine would not marry well, he would probably have a lot to worry about in the future.
Mrs. Qiao San was satisfied with Mr. Bai, so she asked about the life experience of brother Shen Yan.
Because Bai received the order from her eldest son, she didn't hide anything, but she said it openly. And because of her eldest son's warning, Bai didn't even complain about the Shen family.
Mrs. Qiao San was a little dumbfounded when she heard that Shen Yan's grandfather was from the second room of the Shen family. Shen Yan's life experience was completely different from what the couple had thought before, and they couldn't tell whether it was better or worse.
However, because Mr. Bai was so frank, her favorable impression of Mr. Bai increased a bit, and her conversation remained cordial and unchanged.
Mrs. Bai was very moved when she saw that Mrs. Qiao San did not despise her because she was the son of a married woman.
By the time Mrs. Qiao San called for soup, Mrs. Bai already thought that Mrs. Qiao San was a considerate person.
Mrs. Qiao San saw off her guests here, but she stopped smiling.
When Mr. Qiao San came back, Mrs. Qiao San told the news that Bai had learned from.
When Mr. Qiao San heard this, he was also surprised: "It turns out that he is not a concubine, but a direct descendant..."
Mrs. Qiao San frowned and said, "Master, please don't say that. My brother-in-law's family is the direct descendant of the second wife of the Shen family..."
Mr. Qiao San sighed and said: "If you ask me, my uncle's temperament is really too strong... In other people's family, even if the stepmother is unworthy, there is no reason to deny the brother, and let the blood relatives be left outside the family..."
Mrs. Qiao San hesitated and said: "Master, this is just a marriage... Shen Yan is good, but the Shen family didn't recognize them when they were choosing heirs, and they have no intention of letting them return to the clan..."
Mr. Qiao San thought for a long time and said: "I read the Di newspaper a few days ago. My brother-in-law is away in Jiangxi. It seems that he will not pass through Nanjing. Let's see what my brother-in-law says..."