blenderwars Chapter 306 Making a fuss over nothing
Chapter 306 Making a fuss over nothing
Bai Ping didn't have one; she was in the palace every day, where would she find a man she liked?
It was the Shen family who sent in a sign, revealing that Shen Shiwan and Xu Wanyi's wedding was approaching, with the date set for the end of the year.
The three-year mourning period for the Xu family has long since ended this year. It would be good to have a wife so they can celebrate the New Year. Besides, both of them are not young anymore, so the date was set a little earlier.
Shen Shixi obtained an imperial decree from the emperor to grant her marriage. The emperor also bestowed many gifts upon her, and she herself received a considerable amount as well. She then sent a message to her third brother, asking him to send five hundred taels of silver home to prepare a dowry for his third sister.
She kept all the betrothal gifts that Li Yuanke had given her.
This is different from later generations. In later generations, people with money can buy whatever they want. In this era, having money doesn't necessarily mean you can buy good things. Otherwise, girls would start saving for their dowry from birth.
The key is the word "accumulate." Everything is handcrafted, so if you come across something made by a skilled craftsman, grab it quickly, because you might not find another opportunity like it.
She herself was about to have a child, whether it was a son or a daughter, and in the future she would inevitably have to pay a betrothal gift or dowry. None of Li Yuanke's betrothal gifts were common items.
The family must have saved up some money for the third sister's dowry. The Shen family is a noble family, unlike aristocratic families. If the third sister's dowry is too expensive, it will damage the Shen family's reputation.
Therefore, she should just provide a small amount of money as a subsidy. As for contributing to the dowry, doing so would be more criticized than not doing it at all.
The Emperor and Empress bestowed gifts upon the Shen family, and the Empress Dowager naturally followed suit. Regardless of any conflicts between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, they had to present a harmonious image to the outside world.
With the gifts from the two palaces and the emperor, Shen Shiwan's dowry was quite impressive.
However, Madam Shen had just received the reward the day before, and the next day she and the First Madam rushed into the palace. Shen Shixi had just gotten up, and the Emperor had just returned from court and finished his meal. There were no urgent matters to be dealt with in court at the moment, so he said he would listen to them.
He's quite concerned about his wife's family matters now.
The old lady managed to maintain her composure, but the first lady, disregarding any potential breach of etiquette before the emperor, burst into tears as soon as she opened her mouth, "Your Majesty, you must help the Shen family! What are we going to do?"
The emperor was startled. "Mother-in-law, please speak calmly. What exactly happened? I haven't heard anything extraordinary about the Shen family!"
The First Madam was sobbing uncontrollably, so the Old Madam took over, saying, "Your Majesty, I really can't bring myself to say this. This matter is truly a disgrace to Your Majesty and the Empress. The child is ignorant and unfilial. I don't know what to do. I will have no face to meet his grandfather in the afterlife!"
This was quite serious. Shen Shixi, who was usually calm, became a little anxious and stomped her foot in anger. "Mother, just say what's wrong. Why are you crying? What's there to cry about? The sky isn't going to fall!"
The First Madam wiped away her tears. "Your eldest brother... your eldest brother... he wrote back saying he didn't want to get married. Later, after being interrogated for a long time, he said he liked a... a... man!"
The last two words were the culmination of the First Madam's entire life's energy.
Li Yuanke was drinking tea when he suddenly spat it out. He quickly covered his mouth with a handkerchief and coughed twice, pretending to be calm.
Shen Shixi breathed a sigh of relief. "I thought it was something serious. It's just that she's taken a liking to a man. What's so strange about that!"
"What...what are you saying?" The First Madam was furious. "Such an insult to our ancestors! You...Your Majesty, you can't listen to your elder brother on this matter! Your elder brother refused to study back then, and if it weren't for you..."
"Fine, fine, let's not talk about the past, okay?" Shen Shixi said impatiently. "Even if my elder brother had taken a liking to a man, so what? It's not like it's anything heinous, is it?"
Leaving aside respecting other people's preferences, whether he likes a man or a woman is not something he can decide; it's not a big deal!
The first wife felt wronged. "Liking men, isn't that a huge problem? What about having children to carry on the family line?"
"He's not the only male in the Shen family," Shen Shixi said, not wanting to dwell on the issue of values. "Did he say he likes a 'man' named Liang Jinyue?"
The First Madam shook her head. "He didn't say who it was. Does Her Majesty know about this?"
Shen Shixi sighed, "My elder brother is really stupid enough! The last time I accompanied the emperor on the border inspection, I saw him getting quite close to a military officer. That military officer was a woman disguised as a man named Liang Jinyue, whose father was Liang Jingfang, the Right Martial General of Jiannan Circuit."
His father was a scoundrel, favoring his concubine over his wife. To prevent her mother from being divorced, she grew up disguised as a boy. Later, she almost got caught. At fourteen, she joined the army, serving in the same camp as her elder brother. It's likely that they developed feelings for each other over time.
Shen Shixi added, "If the man he's said he's fallen for is Liang Jinyue, then it's probably what I'm saying. If it's another man, then he probably really does like men, and even if you kill him, there's nothing you can do!"
The old lady was initially overjoyed, but then became worried and almost passed out.
The First Madam's blood pressure also fluctuated wildly, and she barely managed to hold on.
Li Yuanke couldn't bear to watch any longer and hurriedly said, "Grandmother, Mother-in-law, you don't need to worry too much. I'll send someone to inquire. It should be that young General Liang. The Empress has also met him. If that's true, it wouldn't be a bad match!"
The old lady breathed a sigh of relief. She couldn't count on her troublesome granddaughter, but thankfully she still had the Emperor.
The First Lady was also overcome with joy and wept, "Thanks to His Majesty's blessing, I hope so. Otherwise, I truly don't know how I would face our ancestors!"
Shen Shixi said, "What's wrong with not seeing them? Besides, it's too early to talk about seeing them!"
The First Madam doesn't want to talk to her daughter anymore!
After the old lady and her daughter-in-law took their leave, Li Yuanke said, "Is that how you comfort people? Look how frightened your grandmother and mother-in-law! Can't you say something nice?"
Shen Shixi rolled her eyes at him, unfolded the clothes Bai Ping and the others had made for the children, and said as she looked at them, "Whether a man falls in love with a man or a woman, or a woman falls in love with a woman or a man, it's all perfectly normal to me."
Or perhaps a man loves both men and women, or a woman loves both men and women—this is all commonplace. The world is full of such things; let everything take its natural course. Why make things difficult for yourself?
[Don't be surprised!]
Upon hearing this, Li Yuanke was completely taken aback. The memory of that scoundrel taking another of his concubines shopping back in Bingzhou automatically flashed through his mind.
He hurriedly left the palace.
After Shen Shixi moved in, he moved his meetings with court officials to the adjacent Shende Hall.
As soon as he came out, he asked Li Fude, "Have many concubines been coming to see the Empress lately?"
Li Fude thought for a moment, then shook his head. "Not many, only Consort Shu comes quite often!"
"Consort Shu?" Li Yuanke was a little confused, so Li Fude reminded him, "Consort Shu's father is General Lin!"
Li Yuanke became wary. "It's her," he thought. "Does she always come to see the Empress?"
Wasn't there a period of time before when she went to Zhaoyang Palace and they wouldn't let her in?
"She comes more often than the other concubines, and she can talk to the Empress and Consort Shu. They have pleasant conversations, and the Empress always seems quite happy about it."
"What kind of talk is that? She's so stupid, how could she possibly speak to the Empress? It's probably because the Empress indulges her! Go and tell Lin to behave herself, not to come out all the time, and not to bother the Empress."
Li Fude was bewildered. "Your Majesty, there must be a reason for this! What did Consort Shu do wrong?"
Li Yuanke squinted at him, "Did Consort Shu give you any benefits? And you're speaking up for Consort Shu again?"
Li Fude hurriedly knelt down, "This servant dares not, this servant will go and deliver the imperial decree immediately!"
Heavens above! He has never taken any favors from Consort Shu!