Chapter 3

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Author: WingYing

Translator: Delia

Proofreader: Dalgona

In April of the 8th year of Ningwu, just as the spring flowers were about to bloom, Father took a carriage and hastened towards the capital for the funeral.

There was not a lot of people going on this trip. Originally my Father was not going to take me, but Third Concubine carefully begged a few times. After my Father finally agreed, she secretly rejoiced in her heart for a few days. The night before our departure, she came to my room and said, “Listen carefully, your Father is willing to take you with him this time; it is probably because he has the intention to prepare Fourth Brother for marriage in the capital. The main branch in the capital is different from this place, you must remember to be smart.” Third Concubine treated all topics equally regardless of importance, yet she never brought up a single point about the recently passed Fifth Sister.

Third Concubine was wiping her tears by the end of our talk. I originally wanted to comfort her, but saw her face suddenly turn fierce as she gritted her teeth, “Remember my words, if you can remain at the Shen household in the capital, even if it’s a servant, don’t think about coming back!”

I had always known that Third Concubine’s heart was unwilling to live her entire life in this back courtyard, always walking on thin ice. She’d already held these thoughts in her heart for over ten years.

I sat with some servants in the same carriage on the trip. I was the son of a concubine and wasn’t a son of the proper wife so my body was not considered something precious. The entire trip I was dizzy, threw up several times and could not eat much. It was unsure if the cause of this ailment was because this was a long trip that I could not return from. The good thing was that although the capital was considered far, it was not extremely far. On horseback without stopping, the journey took around ten days.

“Ay, get up and look!” These servants were all returning to the capital together, and each enjoyed the rare experience. I endured my discomfort and also got up to look outside. The capital was quite prosperous and could not compare to Bianzhou. The streets were bustling with people, and even had many foreigners wearing top hats and braids.

I remember the tutor saying before, Dazheng’s current national strength is flourishing, all sides- even Xiadan to the west and Wa Country to the east- must pay tribute to Dazheng’s emperor and show their respects. This capital is the central hub of the entire Central Plains, sitting at the foot of the true ruler. The most powerful noble families in Dazheng are gathered here. My Father had tried every possible way to return to the capital, but he was helpless about how to contend against the rest of them. In the end, he could only remain powerless.

The carriage gradually moved away from the noisy market, the sights outside the window changing into vermilion gateways. After almost an hour, the carriage stopped. I exited the carriage and was greeted by the sight of two tall vermilion gates with two lion statues in the front. Although the view was extremely majestic, there was white silk draped over wooden beams and lanterns swaying in a melancholic manner. A middle-aged man who looked to be in charge opened the door. Father stepped up with Eldest Brother to greet the man. After seeing my father cup his hands and not knowing what to say, the man ordered the servants and I inside with an imposing attitude.

I remembered what Third Concubine had told me, to never stare too long nor speak too much. Seeing the main Shen residence, it really opened my eyes to the world. The Kaiyang Shen Clan branch was considered a wealthy family with status, but after coming to the main Shen residence, it was only then I realized we would pale into insignificance compared to them. This Shen mansion not only had rock gardens and rivers, but even the servant girl leading us through this dazzling place was bright eyed with white teeth.

She arranged a guest room for me, then said this to me before leaving, “This servant will be living here these few days to await your command. For fear of disturbing a Master, do not wander around carelessly, otherwise it will be difficult to explain yourself should something happen.”

I looked around the guest room, and reached out to touch the cups on the table and thought to myself, so this is the type of place Fifth Sister has been staying at all these years.

At night, Father called Eldest Brother over, “Fifth Sister’s funeral has been arranged. It will take place after two days.”

Eldest Brother interrupted, “So soon?” Father gave him a look and Eldest Brother fell silent immediately. “These two days, you two don’t make trouble and don’t overstep your bounds. Don’t leave the residence without a purpose. As you two don’t know anyone, if people come to the mansion, you will just be a disgrace.” Although Father told us both this, I knew he was really speaking to Eldest Brother.

After telling us some important things to note during the mourning period, my Father let me go first, leaving behind Eldest Brother. I closed the door gently and slowly walked away.

“Tomorrow morning, you will come with me to pay respects to Elder Madam. I’ve already notified Ziju so he doesn’t need to come over and can just focus at the Academy.” Ziju was my Second Brother studying at Jinyang Chongshan Academy, and with examinations coming up soon, my Father didn’t want him to get distracted.

The two of them spoke to each other in low voices, with my Father constantly sighing during the conversation.

Shen Clan’s Eldest Madam was “kao” and was the one who gave birth to many of my granduncles. The current Clan head was her eldest grandson, and also my Eldest Uncle. Nowadays in noble families, succession order is xie first, then the son of the legal wife, and then the son of concubines last. The Shen Clan in my Father’s generation only had Eldest Uncle and Seventh Uncle as “xie”. Fifth Sister was the only “kao” within the entire Shen Clan.

With my Fifth Sister leaving us, Father seemed to have aged ten years in one night, with half of his hair turning white.

Just then, I heard Eldest Brother bring up a point, “Father, I heard that Fifth Sister acted this way without rhyme or reason as she was perfectly alright. Did she have a sudden serious illness?”

I couldn’t help but eavesdrop, my ear practically glued to the door. However, my Father just sighed and didn’t say anything else.

That night even though I should’ve been extremely tired, I kept tossing and turning in the bed. My thoughts were all over the place- first thinking about what Eldest Brother said, about Fifth Concubine, and also about my brother’s hu ren in the courtyard that day…

At the Shen mansion these two days, I mostly stayed in the room, afraid to carelessly walk around and only occasionally went on the veranda for a breath of fresh air. Sometimes from afar, I would see servant girls walking by, all clever and charming looking. I would look at the carved beams and paintings of the mansion in front of me again, and couldn’t help wonder how much more ornate the Four Great Families’ houses could be compared to the Shen Mansion already.

Two days passed in the blink of an eye. I woke up in the middle of the night, discovered my body covered with sweat and my palms were red. When I tried to walk, my body faintly swayed. These days there was a growing unrest in my heart. I often woke up at night with my clothes soaked through. Thinking it was because my body was hot, I would rinse my body with cold water to no avail. I tidied up my appearance and hurried to the front hall as today was Fifth Sister’s funeral. It would not be good to delay.

Even though there was a funeral, only the front hall and the big gate had white silk draped over it. I didn’t see the Eldest Madam at the funeral. Besides my Father, there were only some of Shen Clan’s uncles. According to clan rules, it was not filial for children to pass before their parents. As such, the funeral could only be a small affair.

I stood behind the Shen Clan’s concubine’s son, practically leaning against the door towards the end. I looked at the far away coffin in the front hall. The coffin was not big, and was actually smaller than I thought it would be. Fifth Sister was supposed to turn fifteen and come of age in less than 3 months. We were born on the same day, same month, and same year yet have never crossed paths in this lifetime.

Because Fifth Sister had already been given up to the Shen main branch for adoption, in terms of familial seniority and customs, both the concubines’ sons and I had to kowtow to show our respects. I resisted the discomfort, copied the people in front of me and lowered my head. Unexpectedly, in a fit of mental confusion, I almost bumped into the person next to me.

That person just happened to be walking from the front gate. My body swayed, but before I fell I was pulled up by the arm.

“Be careful.” The voice came from above my head, sounding like a cool breeze to my ear. I raised my head for a look, and saw a young man. His appearance was handsome and honest, wearing a yellow shirt and looked like a young master from a high status family. Seeing my stunned appearance, a smile appeared on his face, which brought me back to my senses in a hurry. I pulled my arm from his and whispered a quiet thank you.

The yellow shirt wearing young master continued walking, and seemed to occasionally look back at me. I was afraid to act recklessly and offend the young master but I secretly peeked. A few uncles shook hands with that man and I heard one of my cousins whisper, “That’s the person sent by the Xu Family.”

That made me remember that Fifth Sister was supposed to marry into the Xu Family. Even though her cause of death was due to an illness, it still reflected badly on Shen Clan because she was under their care. Xu Family was considered one of the Great Four Families, and Imperial Consort Xu had just recently given birth to a “xie”, who may become the future Crown Prince. No wonder the uncles were so polite to that young master.

Unexpectedly, although the master in yellow was young, he was the Xu Family’s Steward. I wasn’t sure what my uncles were discussing with him, but I gradually felt a fire start from my hand, burning upwards into my body. The hidden area between my thighs was damp, as if liquid was flowing out. All of a sudden, someone bumped into me. My body shivered and everything faded to black.

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T/N: Elder Madam is MC’s great-grandma

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