Sheng Minmin had a “chance encounter” with the Eldest Princess at the tea house today. Everyone else assumed she’d merely exchanged some idle chatter with the Princess in the private room — only the two of them knew just how dangerous their conversation truly was.
After returning to her residence, the Eldest Princess read through the materials in her hands once more, her expression growing solemn.
She planned to have her most capable people conduct a preliminary investigation first, and once solid evidence was gathered, she would then report it to the Emperor.
After giving those orders, the Princess’s thoughts turned to her daughter, Duanmu Rui.
Ever since her daughter had brought home a rabbit-shaped lantern during the Lantern Festival two years ago, she’d treasured it dearly. She’d often stare at the lantern with a silly grin on her face, blushing shyly.
The Princess would have to be blind not to see what was going on in her daughter’s heart.
At the time, she’d been somewhat angry, feeling that Sheng Mingshu — the one who’d “given” that lantern — was trying to steal her daughter away.
So she’d sent people to investigate the Sheng family, with strict orders to look into Sheng Mingshu in particular.
If the Sheng family or Sheng Mingshu had deliberately led her daughter astray, she would make them regret it — and make sure Sheng Mingshu never saw the light of another day.
When it came to her daughter, the Princess preferred to be cautious and assume the worst first, then act honorably later.
Only after the investigation confirmed that no one in the Sheng family had played any tricks did she finally calm down.
And gradually, she discovered that Sheng Mingshu was exceptional in appearance, learning, character, and courage alike.
However, the young man had no romantic feelings for her daughter — it was still one-sided affection on her daughter’s part…
Whenever she thought of her daughter suffering the pangs of unrequited love, the Princess’s heart ached.
Yet she didn’t really want them to be together either — not because Sheng Mingshu came from a humble background, but because although the Sheng family’s social standing wasn’t high, the household itself was a den of intrigue.
The head of the Sheng family was cold and heartless, favoring his concubine over his wife while wrongfully seizing his niece’s property. Poor Xian-jie’er had truly suffered…
Her people had also uncovered that Sheng Yong kept a mistress outside, and that this very mistress had once served the Sheng family’s eldest legitimate son…
Utterly scandalous!
And in the Sheng family’s inner courtyard, the real and fake daughters were at each other’s throats, with the fake daughter maintaining a suspiciously close relationship with Dale.
The legitimate son was mediocre while the illegitimate son shone brightly, creating intense tension between the two factions.
Yet the legitimate wife kept to herself behind closed doors, living comfortably and minding her own business…
Well, now it seemed she hadn’t truly been minding her own business — she’d just handed the Princess a monumental secret, hadn’t she…
In short, the Sheng family was a complicated mess. No matter how outstanding Sheng Mingshu might be, the Princess didn’t want her daughter wading into those murky waters.
So over the past two years, she’d openly and subtly shown her daughter portraits of many fine young men, hoping her daughter would shift her affections elsewhere…
But her daughter either found the man’s face disagreeable, called him hypocritical, dismissed him as empty-headed, or said he lacked backbone…
Every single one had a whole basketful of flaws to pick at.
The Princess often found herself caught between laughter and tears — though afterward, she’d think that perhaps it was only right. Her daughter deserved the finest young man in the world.
She couldn’t help but think: if Rui’er absolutely insisted on marrying Sheng Mingshu, and if he placed in the top three in this year’s imperial examinations, truly cherished Rui’er, and vowed to have only her for the rest of his life —
Then perhaps it wouldn’t be entirely out of the question…
If the Sheng household was chaotic, she could help clean it up — she certainly wouldn’t let anyone get in the way of Rui’er living her best life.
Of course, it was far too early to be thinking about all that now.
Sheng Mingshu had absolutely no idea about her precious daughter’s feelings…
And then there was her son.
Boys grow up and stop listening to their mothers; over the years, her son had become increasingly reserved. He kept everything from her — she didn’t even know if he had someone in his heart.
When she brought up some young lady to him, he wouldn’t find fault with her. He’d listen patiently with a smile, even offer a few compliments, and then end with, “I’m in no rush to marry, Mother,” leaving her gently rebuffed.
The Princess rubbed her temples — it was truly a never-ending worry…
——–
At dinnertime.
Soft Concubine Ruan used the serving chopsticks to place a piece of smoked fish into Sheng Mingshu’s bowl, smiling warmly.
“Try this — Dousha’s husband sent it over.”
She set down her chopsticks and began peeling a red-dyed egg for him.
Her smile hadn’t faded all evening, the orange candlelight catching the fine lines at the corners of her eyes.
They didn’t make her look old at all — only gentle and warm.
“Dousha and her family also asked for one favor — they hoped I’d name their newborn baby…
“I knew right away that was Dousha’s idea — that girl’s always been so full of whimsy…”
Sheng Mingshu couldn’t help but smile too.
“Elder Aunt has always treated Sister Dousha like family. It’s only fitting that you name her child…”
When Sister Dousha had first gotten married, Elder Aunt had worried endlessly — afraid the Li family would be difficult, afraid they’d make things hard for Dousha, afraid she wouldn’t adjust to the food or way of life.
He’d sent Huaishan to secretly check on her once, and then openly delivered gifts another time.
When Huaishan returned, he reported that Sister Dousha was remarkably clever — she was living like a honey pot in the Li household. Old Master Li was thoroughly charmed and cheerful every single day.
Li Zhigao was more than satisfied with his beautiful, sweet-tongued, sincere wife who also had backing.
Only Mother Li had initially tried to test how much her daughter-in-law was willing to give for the family…
But Sister Dousha had said that everything she owned belonged to her husband. In the future, she’d leave her headpieces and bracelets to her daughters, and all other valuables to her sons — shrewdly keeping quiet about the silver she had stashed away…
Mother Li thought it over: her daughter-in-law’s dowry would eventually go to her grandchildren. She couldn’t have been more pleased, and the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law grew closer than ever.
Only after that did Elder Aunt finally relax — but when Dousha showed no signs of pregnancy for over a year, the worries crept back.
Fortunately, good news finally came. The day before yesterday, Dousha gave birth to a healthy, plump baby boy.
Both mother and child were safe.
Elder Aunt had already sewn two little outfits for the baby, and Sheng Mingshu could tell she was overjoyed.
For the first time, he truly understood that a child’s birth brought boundless hope and happiness.
“Judging by the baby’s birth time, his five elements favor both wood and fire, but they shouldn’t be too strong,”
Soft Concubine Ruan continued.
“I’ve thought of a few names — Maoming, Heguang, Xiangrong, Linwen… Help me choose.”
She placed the peeled egg into Sheng Mingshu’s bowl as she spoke.
“They’re all wonderful names,”
Sheng Mingshu nodded. Seeing Elder Aunt looking at him with such earnest expectation, he held back a smile and paused before saying,
“The Li family has had single sons for generations — why not choose Xiangrong? It means ‘flourishing and prosperous’ — may their family thrive and their descendants multiply.”
“Good, good — we’ll go with that. I’ll write the letter right after dinner…”
Mother and son enjoyed their meal in pleasant company.
Wen Yan, waiting nearby, felt a bitter ache in her heart.
She’d thought the twenty lashes from the Fourth Young Master — which had nearly cost her life — were punishment enough.
Only recently had she slowly come to realize that the Fourth Young Master’s punishment had never truly ended.
Look at how well Elder Aunt treated Dousha —
If she had… if she’d confessed back then, Elder Aunt would be treating her the same way now, and her husband and son would benefit too.
Now she was consumed by regret. If she’d voluntarily come clean to Elder Aunt and the Fourth Young Master, her life would be completely different.
Wen Yan often suffered tormented nights, drowning in remorse.
What she didn’t know was that if she hadn’t deliberately gone against Qingxiang’s instructions by not dosing Soft Concubine Ruan with medicine every single day — reducing the frequency instead — Sheng Mingshu wouldn’t have stopped at twenty lashes. He would have beaten her to death.
It was because she’d retained a shred of conscience that he’d spared her life.
Plus, he feared she might leak the earlier poisoning incident, or that someone probing for information might uncover irregularities, so he kept her where he could watch her.
If Wen Yan understood Sheng Mingshu’s true reasoning, she probably wouldn’t wallow in regret anymore — she’d simply be grateful to still be alive.
Of course, making Wen Yan regret her past actions was exactly the punishment Sheng Mingshu had in mind for her.
