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"Jiangnan... truly is a wonderful place..."

The Family Head of the Shen Family, Shen Yan, was sensing the rich spiritual energy outside the courtyard and felt utterly relaxed.

His father was a second-rank official at the Imperial Court, and he himself was the Jingzhao Governor.

The Shen Family had cultivated their presence in the Capital City for many years and was considered an influential family.

They had struggled for twenty years, and when father decided to let go, he was initially somewhat opposed.

But now, he no longer felt any opposition.

The essence of a Magician is their own strength; positions at the Imperial Court are merely means to secure more resources for one’s family.

Which millennial Sorcerer Family relies entirely on the Imperial Court nowadays?

They serve the court for more resources when the Imperial Court thrives and withdraw to preserve their power when it declines.

All families that have lasted for a thousand years operate this way, don’t they?

Although Great Jin had been established for only twenty years, it already showed signs of decline. At this time, Jiangnan clearly possessed more abundant resources than the Imperial Court.

Not to mention other areas like Formation, Runes, and various emerging engineering and scholarly Techniques, simply the exaggerated nature’s spiritual energy here made it so being a second-rank official, even a position among the nine ministers, wasn’t worth staying in the Capital City for!

However, the better this place was, the more he wanted to establish a foothold here as soon as possible...

"Father, Shen Xue has returned. She’s waiting for you in the hall... Old Master Shen has already gone ahead."

The one who came to report was Shen Yu. Half a year had passed since the incident in Lyuzhou, and nowadays, Shen Yu had become much more low-key and restrained, no longer carrying the prideful flamboyance of the past.

"Good..." Upon hearing that Shen Xue had arrived, Shen Yan’s eyes lit up. He quickly stepped out of the room without even giving Shen Yu a greeting.

Shen Yu noticed this but merely showed a fleeting shadow of darkness in his eyes, without letting it show too much.

He had gotten used to it over this half year!

That useless elder brother of his was now high above, becoming less and less visible to him, the Academic Commissioner of Lyuzhou...

The current Lyuzhou was the center of Jiangnan, and what did being the Academic Commissioner of Lyuzhou entail?

The status of administrative officials was quite inferior to that of Confucian scholars.

The position of Academic Commissioner was even more useful than that of the Lyuzhou Magistrate.

Such an opportunity was seized by Shen Yuan, who had once been good for nothing.

He had not slept well for a whole month upon learning the news!

And now, that illegitimate daughter whom he had never glanced at before was even stepping over his head...

He silently followed behind Shen Yan without a word of discontent because he was very clear about Shen Xue’s current status.

The girl was now valued by Lady Ziyue, able to enter the Dragon Palace to study Runes projects, and among the top of her class at the Jiangnan Academy.

Many sons from wealthy families were eyeing her, and just three days after the Shen Family moved back, more than twenty households had already visited.

Apart from the familiar wealthy families from the Capital City like the Chen Family, Bai Family, Huo Family, etc.

, many local wealthy families from Jiangnan had visited, aside from the largest household, Shen Family.

The most established Sorcerer Families in Lyuzhou City had almost all made their rounds and visited.

Him, from the Shen Family of the Capital City, being an outsider without even enough money to buy a house, was not worth the many prestigious families who were visiting. Were they interested in the Shen Family? They were interested in that girl, who was about to become a phoenix!

If he had known that Shen Xue would be such a calamity, he should have killed her on the way back!

And so, in silence, the father and son hurried to the hall, and by that time, the Shen Family’s hall was already full of Elders. Clearly, the interest in Shen Xue was not just Shen Yan’s alone; everyone saw the value in Shen Xue.

"Father..." Shen Xue turned around, still respectful as before.

"You’re back?" Shen Yan’s demeanor, so different from when facing Shen Yu, immediately showed a fatherly and gentle smile, filled with concern, "The weather is getting colder lately, you must be careful, and don’t rely too much on that Warm Jade.

In winter, wearing some thick cotton coats is more reliable. "

Shen Xue smiled at these words, "Thank you for your concern, Xue’er understands."

"Come, don’t stand, find a spot to sit..." Shen Yan said as he took his rightful seat as the Family Head.

Shen Xue glanced at the only remaining seat beside her, then at the silent Shen Yu who had followed, the corners of her mouth twitched slightly, and she turned to say, "How can a younger generation take a seat in this hall? Father, Grandfather, have you been comfortable these past few days here?"

"Comfortable..." A group of Elders nodded repeatedly, "What’s there not to be comfortable about? We have to thank you, Snow Girl. If it was up to certain people, these old bones of ours might have ended up homeless."

"Haha, exactly..."

Shen Yu, standing behind, now hung his head even lower.

He had asked for quite a bit of money for his studies in Lyuzhou, to swiftly make up for his foundation in Confucian studies.

The silver of Great Jin was not holding its value in Jiangnan, and exchanging it for high-quality Jadeite cost three times the price of before.

Visiting those renowned scholars was even more expensive.

Moreover, the foundation of Confucian studies in Lyuzhou is generally very high, so if I were to start from scratch, I could only enter primary school, and naturally, I couldn’t lower my face to study with some five or six-year-old children.

I could only spend a high price on private tutoring.

Nowadays, good Confucian scholars are hard to find, and to ask someone to exclusively teach you is not something a small amount of money can resolve.

In this half-year, to make up for the foundational knowledge, I have spent no less than a hundred thousand taels of silver.

The elders of the family, of course, have treated me oddly...

Shen Yu lowered his head, committing all these matters deeply to heart.

Shen Xue frowned deeply. She had always known how petty Shen Yu could be, and now it seemed likely that many grievances would be blamed on her.

"Fine then, you girl are just too polite," Shen Yan said with a beaming smile.

On the side, Old Master Shen put down his teacup, seemingly unable to stand the way people around him were acting. He glanced at Shen Yu, who was bowing his head with a deep frown, and then at Shen Xue before speaking directly, "Xue girl, the Chen Family came to visit us again just now."

Upon hearing this, Shen Xue’s frown deepened, "Grandfather..."

"Eh, Xue girl, you’re not too young anymore." The Second Elder quickly said upon hearing this, "You should also start thinking about this matter."

The Second Elder’s own children were still young, and although one had been deprived of his abilities, his descendants were numerous, with five or six sons alone.

Previously without the qualification of a Magician, they could only engage in menial affairs, but now with such a good opportunity, it had to be seized.

If Xue girl could marry into a great family, many things in the future would be much easier.

The Old Master also said, "Xue girl, what your Second Uncle is saying isn’t wrong.

You are indeed not young anymore. A family like the Chen Family, in the past, our Shen Family couldn’t hope to be matched with them, but now they have offered generous conditions, and it is even the legitimate heir who is asking for a principal wife.

This offer, in my view, already shows great sincerity.

Are you worried about something, Xue girl? "

"Grandfather, have you forgotten that I have a marriage agreement with the Bai Family?"

At these words, the hall suddenly fell silent.

Originally, everyone could forget about this issue and discuss things more harmoniously, right? But this girl had to bring up what they had selectively forgotten.

"Girl, I will handle the Bai Family matter!

" Shen Yan declared directly, "This is a debt our Shen Family owes the Bai Family. Whatever compensation they want, our Shen Family will do our best to fulfill it. Besides, the marriage agreement between our family and the Bai has not been made public. As long as we handle it well, with both families keeping silent, it won’t affect your reputation. What do you think?"

"It has already been made public..." Shen Xue stated indifferently.

The Shen Family members immediately stood up, "Has the Bai Family been talking about it everywhere?"

"Elder Bai is a man of integrity, and the Bai Family is a scholarly family that upholds propriety.

How could they do such a thing?" Shen Xue said somberly, "It must have been the younger generation who spread it. Those two detained cousins of mine had once been bewitched by demoniacs from crooked paths; surely they wouldn’t have been clear about what they were saying then. .."

"Those two beasts!!" The Third and Fourth Elders immediately expressed their stance in the hall, showing angry faces.

Shen Yuan kept his head down, looking somewhat anxious. Back then, the value of Shen Xue wasn’t as evident as it is now, and his cousins had been imprisoned early on. How could they have the opportunity to gossip? This information...of course, was spread by him.

Standing on the stage, Shen Yan watched Shen Yuan with a contemplative gaze, intuition telling him that this matter probably couldn’t be separated from his precious son!

This worthless thing, unable to achieve anything himself, is first-rate at dragging others down with him...

"Moreover, grandfather, it’s like this. My studies are at a critical juncture right now.

As you know, here in Jiangnan, Magicians regard scholarship as the utmost priority.

Once I marry, a lot of things will become inconvenient and if, by any chance, I become pregnant, it would delay this excellent project opportunity even more.

Only four people from our Earth Institute have been selected for this Runes project of the West Sea Dragon Palace.

If I miss it, it won’t be easy for your granddaughter to be selected again next time.

The Bai Family has its own advantages; they won’t rush the wedding.

Elder Bai, being a man of understanding, won’t insist on me having children during the critical period of the project, which actually suits my personal development better. .."

"This..." Several Elders glanced at each other upon hearing this and began to hesitate.

Old Master Shen nodded too, thinking that this rationale... was indeed reasonable.

Although the Chen Family has a very good background, the personal future of the girl is also of utmost importance. If the marriage were to hinder her prospects, it would be a loss not worth the gain.

"Hmph..." Just as the many Elders were hesitating, Shen Yu let out a cold snort.

All eyes turned to him in a frown, and Shen Yu sneered, "My cousin shouldn’t speak such nonsense with eyes wide open. If you truly had your heart set on the Bai Family, what then were you doing day after day with that Murong Family’s ghostly official being all sweet on each other?"

"What ghostly official?" Shen Yan and several Elders all looked over quickly, wondering if this girl had someone she really fancied?

"A lad from a Northern Wasteland Family, who perished in an unfortunate accident in Lyuzhou City, and now holds a minor position in the underworld. Our cousin has taken a fancy to that youngster."

"What??"