Chapter 10

Shen Juren said sheepishly, "There was a major event in the family. With Old Lady An's place being bustling with people, it's not suitable for recuperation, so we moved Rui'er out."

He said this with some guilt, after all, Shen Rui was only nine years old and was grieving the loss of his mother, needing the care and affection of his elders. However, he couldn't tell the truth; otherwise, everyone would hear that Shen Rui was punished and confined for disrespecting his concubine mother and elder brother. They might misunderstand him as favoring his concubine over his legitimate son, and even Chao Shi and Chao Jin would be misunderstood by outsiders.

The courtyard was too dilapidated. Why did Old Lady An choose this place? It was secluded, but so shabby that relatives who didn't know the inside story would inevitably misunderstand.

Seeing this scene, even the head of the clan, the Great Master, looked displeased. Regardless of how Chao Jin's status was determined, Shen Rui was a legitimate son born to the original wife. Even if he was moved out of his grandmother's side for "rest and recuperation," it shouldn't be in this narrow and shabby annex.

The people in the side room heard the commotion outside and lifted the curtain to come out. Seeing Shen Juren, they quickly knelt and said, "Master."

Everyone stopped and looked. They saw a woman in her fifties, with a thin, long face and deep wrinkles between her eyebrows, looking somewhat sorrowful. She spoke with a hint of fear.

Shen Juren frowned and shouted, "You're here, who's attending to Rui'er?"

The woman, Wang Mama, was so frightened that she fell to her knees, trembling and said, "Second Master has been quiet these past two days and doesn't want anyone to attend to him." This revealed a small, thin servant girl behind her, no more than ten years old, who also fell to her knees, trembling in fear.

This was Wang Mama and Liu Ya. Wang Mama had returned to the courtyard first, and as a result, she and Liu Ya were chased to the side room by Shen Rui. Although they didn't know why Shen Rui made such arrangements, with the arrival of the relatives, Wang Mama glanced at Shen Rui a few times and pulled Liu Ya to go out in the afternoon. She didn't expect that not only their master but also so many clan elders and masters would come.

Seeing the still quiet northern room and the old and young in front of them, everyone's faces turned sour. Although the fourth branch was now just a Juren's residence, due to its wealth, it had many servants. But looking at the current situation, a nine-year-old sick child was only attended to by an old woman and a young girl, which was really unacceptable.

Everyone said that the old lady of the fourth branch doted on this legitimate grandson like a treasure. But seeing Shen Rui's current situation, it didn't seem so, which made them think of another rumor: the old lady of the fourth branch kept the legitimate grandson by her side to control her capable daughter-in-law, and truly loved the eldest grandson, Shen Jin. Before Shen Rui was born, Shen Jin had also been raised by the old lady of the fourth branch. There was an old saying, "The youngest son and the eldest grandson are the lifeblood of the old couple," so it wasn't surprising that the old lady of the fourth branch favored her eldest grandson.

Shen Juren felt uneasy and glared at the woman, then stepped into the northern room. Shen Li's gaze lingered on Wang Mama and Liu Ya for a moment before following everyone into the room.

The two small rooms were not spacious like other large rooms. They were less than nine feet deep, separated by a carved lattice screen into an inner and outer room. In the outer room was a round table and a few square stools, with no other decorations. On the lattice screen was a stone ornament with a missing corner, looking dusty and shabby. Not only did it look poor and desolate, but the room also lacked a charcoal brazier, making it very cold.

Being a legitimate son, Shen Juren had asked about it a few days ago, but with the busy funeral arrangements and Old Lady An's arrangement for someone to take care of him, this was his first time entering the courtyard.

Seeing this, he felt guilty and couldn't help but blame Old Lady An. In recent days, with the fourth branch losing its mistress, Old Lady An and Chao Shi had taken over the household, managing everything well. How could there be a problem with Shen Rui? Could it be that Chao Shi had bad intentions and influenced Old Lady An? But then he thought he was wronging her. Chao Shi was gentle and didn't like to cause trouble, and with Old Lady An's doting on her grandson, even if Chao Shi had bad intentions, she couldn't do anything.

Shen Li looked at the cold and desolate room and shivered. Although after yesterday's incident, he had already thought about Shen Rui's difficult situation, and his previous words to Shen Juren were just to prevent him from blocking their visit, he didn't really suspect that Shen Juren would harm his legitimate son. But now he wasn't sure.

Finally, there was some movement in the inner room. Shen Juren, fearing any further impropriety, didn't dare to bring anyone in and shouted, "Little brat, the elders are here to see you, come out quickly!"

In the inner room, Shen Rui, feeling goosebumps on his arms, got out of bed, completely naked. He had forcefully chased Wang Mama and Liu Ya out to undress. If Wang Mama had stayed, she might have stopped him, and there wouldn't have been time to struggle.

This was the era of strict Confucian etiquette. Shen Rui wouldn't want to bear the reputation of being "unmannered." Wearing mourning clothes for his birth mother was one thing, but wearing silk and brocade during the mourning period was another. If he wore that outfit in front of the clan, he wouldn't be able to explain himself. No matter how he explained it later, the image of him in silk and brocade would leave a bad impression on the clan.

In modern times, a nine-year-old child, even if they made a mistake, would be blamed on the adults for not teaching them, and the child would be considered innocent. But in this era, nine was not young. There were precocious children who took the child examination at ten or eleven.

So he decided not to wear that outfit when he appeared before the clan. Yesterday, he had arranged for Liu Ya to spread the word to draw the clan's attention. If the clan didn't come, he was prepared to go to the altar in a veil.

The rustling sound from the inner room caught everyone's attention, and they all looked at the door, eyes wide.

Shen Rui appeared before the clan. He was no longer a real nine-year-old child and had a sense of shame. He covered his "little Shen Rui" with his arms, not revealing anything.

But even so, being completely naked was a disgrace to propriety.

Shen Juren's neck veins bulged, and he shouted, "What are you doing? What kind of behavior is this!"

Shen Rui, trembling, leaned on the lattice screen and walked out with great effort. This wasn't an act; he had been hungry for three days, stayed up all night, and walked a few steps quickly, making his vision blur.

After a few steps, his legs gave out, and he knelt before Shen Juren, lowering his head in shame, hands on the ground, not defending himself. Large tears fell, quickly wetting the ground in front of him.

He was truly heartbroken, but not because of Shen Juren's neglect. He was thinking about the separation from his loved ones in his previous life, knowing he would never see them again. Even though he was a man inside, he couldn't help but cry.

Although there was no sound, seeing the naked child kneeling before them, the clan felt no urge to mock but rather a pang of sympathy. Shen Li's eyes even reddened.

Those who had seen Shen Rui before, remembering his proud and arrogant demeanor, now saw his current gaunt and timid appearance, and their gazes toward Shen Juren were full of hostility. The bruises on Shen Rui's arm were particularly shocking. Anyone with eyes could see that the child was not just "sick."

What was the fourth branch doing? How could they treat the son of the recently deceased Sun Shi like this?

The clan members who were not close to Shen Rui, thinking of the rumors about the fourth branch's legitimate son being unruly and Sun Shi being good at socializing but not at raising children, saw the child's strange but obedient and pitiful behavior and began to doubt the fourth branch's actions.

Shen Li couldn't bear it anymore. Without regard for the elders, he took off his outer robe, squatted down, wrapped it around the child, and held his small shoulders, saying angrily, "Rui'er, if you have any grievances, speak up. The clan elders are here, and we won't let you suffer!"

Shen Rui lifted his head, his face pale, his eyelashes trembling, tears in his eyes, and scanned the faces of the people in front of him. Shen Rui was young and rarely went out. Even during festivals and sacrifices, he had seen many clan members, but to a child, they all looked similar. Besides Shen Li, only the old master of the fifth branch and the head of the clan were memorable.

Shen Li genuinely liked him and was always very close when they met. With his status as a状元 (zhuangyuan, top imperial examination scholar), he was seen as a literary star, and even though Shen Rui didn't like reading, he admired this clan brother greatly.

The old master of the fifth branch's residence was next to the fourth branch, and he saw Shen Rui the most often. Each time, he gave a stern lecture, and his high status made Shen Rui fear him. But now, thinking about it, the old man's sternness was sincere advice for Shen Rui's good.

As for the head of the clan, he had managed clan affairs for many years and was a significant figure to the young Shen Rui.

The clan elders who had initially wanted to be spectators straightened up under this reverent and trusting gaze, ready to intervene if the fourth branch was unfair. Even the head of the clan shook his head, his gaze toward Shen Juren disapproving.

Seeing the child's delicate and mother-like appearance, everyone remembered Sun Shi's character and felt even more fondness for the child.

Shen Juren's heart was burning. The guilt he felt for his son turned to shame and anger under the condemning gazes of the crowd. He said, "Little brat, why didn't you go to mourn your mother? Why are you doing this? Has anyone deprived you of your clothes?"

Shen Rui stood up from Shen Li's arms, turned to Shen Juren, and tried to kneel again, saying, "I... I don't have the face to go to Mother's altar..." But his body swayed, and he didn't kneel but fell to the side, revealing a thigh and half of his buttock, with crisscrossing bruises, clearly visible to everyone.

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**End of Chapter**