Page 289

"Master Fang is quick with his actions..."

Just as Shen Yu was dizzy with excitement, another familiar voice sounded.

Looking back, it was a familiar figure, appearing to be in his forties or fifties with some grey in his beard, also dressed in the unique white robe of the Yin Yang Academy adorned with ink patterns.

"Master Li?" Shen Yu quickly paid his respects.

The Second Master of the Li Family, while the head of the Li Family is the current Academician of the Wen Hua Hall at the Imperial Court: Li Yunfeng.

"I was waiting to snatch a son-in-law under the list, but after half a day of not finding anyone, it turns out you, a slippery fellow, beat me to it..." Second Master Li approached with a smile, looking at Shen Yu, "Don’t easily draw conclusions about something as important as marriage, but even if you’re the one to decide, you can’t speak carelessly; at the very least, you need the Family Head’s approval, don’t you? "

Shen Yu swallowed, at a loss for words.

"Haha, look how frightened the child is. I’m going to your Shen Family to ask for a drink, no objections, right?"

"Master, what you’re saying..." Shen Yu hurriedly paid his respects: "The Shen Family would be honored, truly honored!"

"Well... you heard what you said," Second Master Li said cheerfully, "then I’ll be visiting the Shen Family after I’m done with my teaching duties.

Oh, and by the way, my little daughter is just fourteen years old, a few months away from her coming-of-age ceremony.

If Young Master Yu is interested, you could also wait a while. "

"This..." Shen Yu suddenly felt his breathing heat up.

What’s going on today?

It’s hard enough to exchange a few words with these masters on a normal day, so why are they... crowding around me today?

Could this be the treatment for making it onto the list?

This question wasn’t just in Shen Yu’s mind; some students who witnessed the scene from afar were also baffled.

"No way, someone from the Li Family too... what’s up with that kid?"

"I don’t know either, does Brother Hu know?"

The one referred to as Brother Hu shook his head, "I don’t know either.

Being listed is indeed rare, after all, he is a candidate for becoming an Academic Commissioner in the future, but there are quite a number of people on the list this time, and Shen Yu’s ranking isn’t high either, nearly at the bottom.

There are dozens of others with better backgrounds and talents than Shen Yu, and yet neither the Li Family nor the Fang Family has shown such enthusiasm. .."

The others nodded in agreement, but a pale, tall, and thin man coldly said, "You’d all be better off not being curious about this."

"Oh? Brother Jiang, do you know the inside story?"

"I know some... but can’t say..." the tall, thin man said with a smirk that was not quite a smile, "All I can tell you is, this kid isn’t that lucky with women. This time... if the Shen Family isn’t careful, they might face a catastrophic disaster!"

"Ah??"

---------------------------------------

"My lord, what exactly... is going on?" Inside Shen Yuan’s room, as she watched her husband flipping through the family letters sent by Shen Yuan, Madam Zheng asked cautiously.

As he flipped through the letters, Shen Yuan paused, and after a few moments of silence, he replied, "You should pay more attention to Shen Yuan."

In the letters, most were addressed to Madam Zheng, but that was no surprise, as he was so busy with affairs that even Shen Yu, the one with the most promise, could barely see him once a year, not to mention a child without any magician qualifications who could only catch a glimpse of him from afar during the New Year meals.

How could there be any feeling of closeness?

So, except for the last letter, the rest were... mostly written to Madam Zheng.

But Madam Zheng didn’t read a single one...

If she had, and had been willing to mention it when he was home resting, perhaps... he would have paid attention to Shen Yuan’s situation sooner.

There were almost a hundred letters, nearly four or five each month from the time the other party took office in Jiangnan, keeping him informed about his political career and his complaints about Chen Qing, among other things.

There was a gap for some time because Jiangnan was sealed off, but as soon as the blockade was lifted, the letters were the first to arrive.

When Jiangnan was under lockdown, Shen Yuan’s life and death were uncertain; the following letters were essentially assuring safety, yet Madam Zheng still did not read any of them.

If she had read even one, the Shen Family would not be so unprepared now!

"I care about him?" Faced with Shen Yan’s question, Madam Zheng burst out laughing: "Are you suggesting that I’ve ill-treated him?"

"Shen Yuan is my first son. Would I want to distance myself from him? But what about you and the others? After confirming his low aptitude for techniques, you kept bringing mistresses into our house, one after another, giving birth to sons, one after the other. What could I possibly do?"

Thinking back to those days made Madam Zheng feel bone-chillingly cold.

If she had married into a scholarly family and had a legitimate son, she would have secured her status early on.

But it’s different in a sorcerer family.

Not only must you bear legitimate sons, but the children must also be capable, or even with a proper marriage, the children of concubines can climb over your own offspring, or even force your child to become their assistant and manage menial tasks!

How could she not become utilitarian in such an environment?

When Madam Wang had three children in a row, all with magician qualifications, and since she herself did not come from a prestigious sorcerer family and lacked a strong maternal home, she was constantly at risk of being divorced, and that sense of crisis could keep her awake all night!

How could she grow close to an unsuccessful child?

If it weren’t for Yu’er striving hard, I’m afraid she might have been driven mad in a few years!

Now you tell me that I should have paid more attention to Shen Yuan...

Even the Old Ancestor Shen, who is in seclusion, knows about Shen Yuan becoming the Second Place Scholar. Are you saying you don’t know? If you really cared, why didn’t you pay attention yourself?

After taking a deep breath, Madam Zheng suppressed the anger in her heart and asked in a low voice, "Will Shen Yuan’s matter delay Yu’er’s marriage?"

"Marriage, marriage!" Shen Yan became immediately irritated, "That’s all you think about day in and day out, a narrow-minded woman with no vision, not even considering the current situation.

.." He paused, then sighed, "But it’s also true that a woman not from a Sorcerer Family would indeed find the duties of a Family Head’s wife too challenging! "

At those words, Madam Zheng recoiled as if struck by lightning, her face turning white as she stumbled backward, opening her mouth to question but then daring not, fearing the answer might be one she absolutely could not accept!

That sense of crisis from those years... it appeared again.

And yet again... it was because of Shen Yuan!!

-------------------------------

Achoo!!!

Outside the city gate, Shen Yuan sneezed several times in succession, looking perplexedly toward the direction of the city, with a complex look in his eyes.

"What’s wrong?" A tall man beside him chuckled as he looked at him, "Could it be that a beauty is thinking about you?"

"Isn’t this sign supposed to mean that someone is speaking ill of me?" Shen Yuan rolled his eyes at him.

The tall man was Wei Gongzhan. Hearing he’d be going to the Capital City this time, he was also thrilled to follow along.

He really didn’t understand what the other was so excited about.

As a farmer returning to the Wei Family, could he really expect to turn the tables after thirty years of decline?

"I haven’t eaten the noodles made by my mother in a long time." Wei Gongzhan smiled, "This time I should take the opportunity to bring her back to Jiangnan to enjoy a good life."

"Oh... so that’s your plan. I was wondering why you were so enthusiastic..."

"Shen Yuan, are you considering taking your mother to Jiangnan this time?" Wei Gongzhan asked curiously.

"I’m the legitimate son in my family..." Shen Yuan gave him a look, "How could I take away the Family Head’s wife?"

"Ah, you’re the legitimate son? Of the Shen Family?"

"Is there a problem?" Shen Yuan frowned at the other’s surprised expression.

"Well, you seem to have it pretty tough... not even one to welcome you at the gate."

Shen Yuan: "....."

"The Shen Family, huh..." Just as Shen Yuan was considering slapping the Rune Stone in his hand onto Wei Gongzhan’s face, a languid voice sounded from behind.

"Speaking of which, we do share some connections."

"Seventh Master..." Both of them hurried to pay their respects.

Shen Qi smiled, "Ah, the Capital City... I haven’t been here for so many years. Now that I think about it, maybe it’s not such a bad thing I didn’t beat Third Elder Shen to become the Nanyang Hell Ruler. At least I can go out and walk around without being stuck in Nanyang all the time."

Initially, he had been certain of claiming the position of Nanyang Hell Ruler, until an unexpected Shen Lao San also expressed a willingness to become a true god of the Hell Ruler, complicating the allocation.

The latter promptly called dibs on Nanming Prefecture, and leveraging his seniority over Shen Qi, snatched away Nanyang City. ..

Because of this, Seventh Master Shen was so furious he spent a whole half month stewing at home. But now, he figured it might not be such a bad turn of events after all. With all of the Shen Family dedicated to managing the Hell Ruler forces, someone had to do something different, didn’t they?

Like this visit, using Shen Yuan as leverage to scheme against the major noble families was something he found quite amusing...

"I also heard from the elders that the Jiangnan Shen Family and our Capital City Shen Family are connected, but the specifics are something those old folks seem reluctant to fully disclose. Seventh Master, do you know the details?"

"Of course, I do..." Seventh Master Shen smiled, "Every few hundred years, Old Ancestor Shen undergoes a transformation into a dragon, and after the transformation, most of the selected legitimate descendants are sacrificed.

But there are some clever ones who manage to escape by chance, like.

.. your great-grandfather Shen Danian of the Shen Family! "

Shen Yuan: "....."

"Hmm... if I remember correctly... your Family Head is Shen Qingfeng, right?

Oh dear, that lad used to be so arrogant as a legitimate descendant.

Later, Third Elder Shen and I took the opportunity to devise a plan to beat him up.

.. even knocked out his front teeth. Tsk tsk, I wonder what he looks like now. "

Shen Yuan stood stunned for a long time before he finally managed a bitter smile, "The current Family Head is my father, Shen Yan!"

"Shen Yan, huh?" Seventh Master Shen suddenly spread his hands, "Ah, this is the consequence of not socializing regularly. I’m so out of date with the news."

Both Wei Gongzhan and Shen Yuan’s faces twitched, feeling that this Seventh Master was quite frivolous. The master sending him to oversee this matter... was that really reliable?

"Do you think I’m not very reliable?"

"Eh?" Both were taken aback. Could this guy... read minds?

"It doesn’t matter if I’m not reliable..." Seventh Master Shen patted Shen Yuan on the shoulder, "As long as you are reliable, it’s fine. Don’t mistake it, this time... you’re the one in charge of this affair, young fellow!!"