The four hundred and thirtieth chapters are happy and sad (5)
Among the three brothers of the Shen family, Shen Cang and Shen Zhou both have aunts. Only the third master did not have a concubine due to health reasons.
It's just that the Shen family came from a scholarly family, and they didn't have concubines for selfish reasons, but for the sake of heirs.
Nowadays, Shen Cang's concubines have either died of illness or been released by grace. In addition to Shen Zhou's concubine, Yu Jie'er's biological mother has died of illness, and there are two other concubines. One is a good concubine who entered the house for his children in the early years, and the other is Shen Zhou's side. The servants lifted them up, and they lifted them up after leaving the capital.
Now that they are back in Beijing, Mrs. Qiao should have met them and given them some rewards to appease them for their hard work in serving Shen Zhou in the past few years. They are all old people who have been with Shen Zhou for more than ten years, so they still have to give them this dignity. But now Qiao was ill and unable to take charge of the affairs, so Xu took charge of the matter.
It was only then that Shen Zhou came to the bedchamber with some sarcasm and said to Mrs. Xu: "Sister-in-law, I have taken another concubine."
Mrs. Xu was quite surprised and said: "When did it happen? I have never heard it mentioned by my second uncle before?"
Shen Zhou said: "It was brought in after the Dragon Boat Festival."
Mrs. Xu glanced at Shen Zhou, thoughtfully.
After the Dragon Boat Festival, Shen Cang's letter objecting to Shen Rui's "concubine" should have arrived in Nanchang. Did Shen Zhou take in a new concubine because he wanted to have a concubine and have children?
If it were other men, let alone those under fifty, there would be many who were over sixty and still kept concubines. Shen Zhou didn't pay attention to women at all, so even if he had the idea of taking concubines and having children, it was understandable. Men don’t value bloodline inheritance? But there’s nothing to hide, and who would object?
It has been half a year since the Dragon Boat Festival. During this period, Shen Zhou also wrote to the capital, but he never mentioned this matter. It seems that if he had not returned to Beijing, he would have continued to hide this matter.
When Mrs. Xu thought of this, she felt it was boring, so she just told Hongyun: "Since it's the new aunt's first visit to the house, let's go prepare some gifts..."
Shen Zhou was still chattering and stopped talking.
These days, the family is preparing for happy events and has to take care of Shen Cang. Mrs. Xu is already exhausted physically and mentally. She really has no energy, but she guesses what her brother-in-law is thinking, so she waved her hand and asked people to come in to see the ceremony.
When the maid opened the curtain, she saw several women coming in. Two of them looked familiar. The older one was Shen Zhou's concubine in his early years and was already in his early thirties. The other one was in her twenties or thirties. She was a maid serving beside Shen Zhou. She had a low eyebrow and a pleasant look. She was a child of the Shen family and had only been born in the past two years. There was another person who was eighteen or nineteen years old. Her appearance was not very delicate and her clothes were plain.
The three of them came in and bowed respectfully to Mr. Xu.
Mrs. Xu turned around the young woman and knew in her heart that this was the new aunt Shen Zhou mentioned just now. She glanced at Shen Zhou and then asked someone to help her up.
"The second wife is recuperating in Beijing. You have worked hard to serve the second master these past few years. I would like to thank you on behalf of the second wife..." Mrs. Xu said.
The two elder concubines said hurriedly: "It's all done by slaves, and it can't really be called hard work..."
The young one followed the rules and didn't try to show off, but just stood beside the two of them honestly. Although they were both concubines, this woman's demeanor of neither being humble nor arrogant was completely different from the two concubines next to her.
Mrs. Xu has lived for more than fifty years and is used to seeing the world. She can't tell that although this woman is well-mannered, she also has a hint of arrogance and a seemingly innocent temperament. With her status, such a temperament is actually a bit ridiculous. She is not an innocent girl in her teenage years. Doesn’t a woman of eighteen or nineteen still know the difference between dignity and inferiority?
No matter why Shen Zhou took a concubine, the choice of this lovely person was really not good.
Mrs. Xu's heart sank, and she couldn't bear to chat with her aunts, so she asked Hongyun to give her a gift, and then said: "You have been traveling for days, and you have worked hard, so go down and settle down..."
The two older concubines hurriedly leaned over to respond, but the young woman frowned slightly and looked at Shen Zhou.
Shen Zhou waved his hand and said: "Since you have met the eldest lady, you can go down first..."
The young woman lowered her head and followed the two older concubines out.
"What's going on?" Mrs. Xu's face drooped, with a bit of anger on her face: "What is the identity of Mrs. Liang? A small family of ordinary people cannot raise such a young lady."
Seeing that Mrs. Xu was angry, Shen Zhou couldn't sit still, so he quickly stood up and said: "Sister-in-law, Mr. Liang is indeed not from a common family... Her deceased father was a top three Jinshi in the 11th year of Chenghua, so he is exactly the son of my younger brother. same year…
Xu was shocked, she sat up suddenly, pointed at Shen Zhou and scolded: "It is taboo for a foolish Nashi to take a daughter as a concubine, but you actually take a daughter of the same age as a concubine, you don't want the reputation anymore? "
She was already getting older, and she felt faint in front of her eyes in shock and anger. Fortunately, Hongyun was clever and immediately stepped forward to help her, so she did not fall.
Shen Zhou blushed and said, "It's really a mistake and it's not what I wanted..."
Xu laughed angrily and said: "How can anyone force a cow to press its head if it doesn't drink water? You're not just an official, so you don't know what you can and can't do? Even if you want to take a concubine, what kind of concubine will you take?" You can't find anyone, so you want to find a daughter from an official family?"
Shen Zhou's face was full of shame and he said: "Liang is also a poor person. He also has a younger brother who is studying. His parents are deceased and his brother and sister-in-law cannot tolerate him. The situation is really difficult..."
Mrs. Xu snorted coldly: "But the girl who filled the house was not tolerated by her original brother. In desperation, she learned about the relationship between the second uncle and the Liang family, and asked someone to find the second uncle's name..."
When Shen Zhou heard this, he was stunned, looked at Mrs. Xu and hesitated: "Sister-in-law already knows?"
Mrs. Xu sneered and said: "What's so hard to guess? It's been thirty years since the eleventh year of Chenghua. Mr. Liang was still in his sixties when he was alive. Mrs. Liang is not that old, and she has brothers. It doesn't look like the original one." Age of legitimate children
Shen Zhou smiled bitterly and said: "I let my sister-in-law guess... This Liang family is indeed the daughter of Liang Yucheng's second wife. Liang Yucheng was a top three Jinshi at that time, and was a county magistrate in Shanxi. Because of his stubborn temper, he could not be promoted or transferred after nine years. He said that he offended Shangguan and was dismissed from office, so he returned to his hometown in Nanchang... His wife died young and left behind three sons. Later, he remarried and filled in the house and gave birth to a son and a daughter... He died of illness five years ago... I was there before I heard the news about him, and since he was dead, I went to pay homage and then left him aside... In April this year, Liang Yucheng's former friend, who was also a well-known scholar, came to ask for help. That's when I found out When the Liang sisters were in trouble, the three elder brothers not only shared all the family property regardless of their immature half-brothers, they also took the dowry that Liang Yucheng had prepared for the Liang family before his death, which Liang Yucheng had decided for the Liang family earlier. The marriage was also messed up... Liang's biological mother passed away and she had no relatives to rely on. She heard the housekeeper mention me and then thought of me..."
Mrs. Xu frowned and said, "This is a family matter of the Liang family. Even if my second uncle is the same age as Mr. Liang, there is no room for discussion, right? Why don't the Liang brothers and sisters go to the Xun clan to make the decision?"
A family that can produce a Jinshi can become prosperous within a few decades, even if it was a humble family before.
Shen Zhou lowered his head and said: "Liang Dalang's son chose Yibin and backed the feudal prince's palace, so he is so rampant... The people of the clan know that they are unfair, and they dare not say a word..."
Mrs. Xu was speechless: "The Liang family didn't dare to offend the vassal king, but the second uncle dared to offend him? They are so righteous."
Although the Ming vassal king was imprisoned in the fiefdom, he might have his tail between his legs when he left the fiefdom, but within the fiefdom, he was the only one who respected himself. As long as it was not involved in major rebellion, the court always turned a blind eye to the vassal king.
There was the Battle of Jingnan before them, and every generation of emperors after that seemed to be very tolerant and generous towards the vassal king.
Even if the vassal king has no real power, it is still a piece of cake to deal with the officials in the country.
Mrs. Xu was angry before, angry that Shen Zhou acted without thinking, but now that she heard the cause and effect, she didn't even bother to get angry anymore.
In April, before Shen Zhou's transfer was decided, he dared to confront the feudal prince's palace for the so-called surviving family members of the same year. Fortunately, nothing happened, otherwise, if the palace really wanted to frame Shen Zhou, let alone his official status , I am afraid that my life will be in danger.
Shen Zhou obviously lacked confidence and whispered: "I didn't expect it to be like this... I saw that the Liang sisters and brothers were in a pitiful situation, so I would help if I could. Who would have thought that her brothers were so mad that they knew she was asking for help?" I was going to sell her to a merchant to become my stepmother... Liang got the news and escaped overnight, defected to me, and begged me for protection. In the fields of melons and plums, what should I avoid..."
She came to surrender in the middle of the night, and it was unreasonable not to take her into custody. She was afraid that the Liang brothers would bite her back, and she might be suspected of abduction. At Liang's request, Shen Zhou accepted Liang's commitment documents half-heartedly and half-heartedly.
Mrs. Xu felt depressed and pondered for a moment, then said, "Since Mrs. Liang took the initiative to commit herself to being a concubine, my little brother who has not yet grown up is also following you now?"
Shen Zhou nodded helplessly.
"What did you promise to her?" Ms. Xu asked, thinking about Ms. Liang's expression before.
"Not ever," Shen Zhou shook his head.
Seeing that Shen Zhou only had troubles on his face and nothing else, it was obvious that he had figured it out in hindsight and had not been blinded by lust.
Mrs. Xu was really too lazy to argue with her brother-in-law any more, so she just said: "How do you plan to arrange the arrangements for Mr. Liang's sister and brother? It seems that Ms. Liang's temperament does not seem to be docile. I am afraid that she has some calculations in her heart."
Shen Zhou said seriously: "Since I promised to take care of their sisters and brothers, I will do my best to make sure that I am not ashamed. If Mrs. Liang wants to ask for anything else, she can't..."
Mrs. Xu sighed and said: "As long as you know what's going on...it's not easy to help others when it comes to helping others. I hope there will be a good result..."
As she said this, Mrs. Xu knew that the result might not be like this. If Mrs. Liang was a good person, how could she have survived until now when her parents were deceased? She might have been forcibly married long ago.
Shen Zhou was quite gentle and elegant in his early years, but he has aged a lot in recent years and no longer looks young. The Liang family did not care about their status and entered the house in the name of a concubine, so their plans must be quite big.
If Shen Cang is fine now, Mrs. Xu will definitely tell her husband, and the couple will scold the second master and deal with Mr. Liang. Now Shen Cang is seriously ill. In the past two years, Shen Cang has been worried and planning for the safety of the family, but Shen Zhou still remains the same. Being able to act heartlessly and only based on emotion.
With the incident of taking a daughter of the same age as a concubine, Shen Zhou's personal ethics have been compromised, and Shen Zhou's future has come to a halt. If someone finds out, he may not be able to secure his new position as a wine minister in the Imperial Academy. .After all, the Imperial Academy’s wine-offering officer is an indoctrination officer, his reputation is in tatters, his personal ethics are deficient, and he cannot serve as a role model for others.
Shen Cang ignored the in-law relationship between Shen and He's family and planned for Shen Zhou for so long, but it turned out to be a joke, which made Mrs. Xu feel cold.