"Sir, what you just did..."
Back in the Shen Family's guest room, Bai Hua's wife said with some concern, "We should be more polite. Why be so blatant? The Shen Family family is, after all, a family of sorcerers. Isn't this a bit inappropriate?"
"What's wrong with it?" Bai Hua rolled his eyes at his wife. "You just haven't figured things out. Things are different now than before. How much have our family heads contributed to divination, astronomy, and other related disciplines? At least 40% of the Nine Palace Mathematics Manual was written by our family. Even the Ministry of Revenue uses this book as a textbook for divination. But has our family benefited from it? Let alone families of diviners, have those scholarly families that focus on divination ever respected us?"
Madam Bai fell silent upon hearing this. Even in Jiangnan, those traditional scholarly Bai Family who valued classical learning did not take the Bai family seriously. The Bai Family was known as a family of miscellaneous scholars, which actually affected the family members' chances of passing the imperial examinations and pursuing official careers.
She had wanted to say this before: why should her family insist on passing down miscellaneous knowledge, even though it meant being looked down upon and wasting time and effort?
Seeing his wife's confusion, Bai Hua sneered, "Because our ancestors realized long ago that miscellaneous studies are not the heretical paths those families claim them to be. On the contrary, they are important academic disciplines that benefit the country and its people. Most people only see immediate benefits and prioritize examinations. But some things always need someone to study and conquer them. How much has our Bai Family sacrificed to pass on these things? Generation after generation, we have suffered so much contempt. Now that the tables have finally turned, why should I be polite? Have they ever been polite to our Bai Family before?"
Madam Bai: "."
"That's no reason to threaten them like that. What if they get angry and embarrassed? Then your plan will backfire."
Madam Bai had seen through her husband's scheme after so many years together. One of their sons was focused on his career, while the other was not very talented, which led the old man to set his sights on his newborn grandson.
But Jiangnan Academy is incredibly popular right now, and my eldest grandson has been receiving education from a young age. It will be at least ten years before he's old enough to take the entrance exam. Besides, aptitude is unpredictable; who knows what his grandson's aptitude is? What if he doesn't pass? Are we going to wait for my second grandson?
Madam Bai is a well-bred lady with considerable knowledge. She knows that the earlier you enter Jiangnan Academy, the more benefits you can reap. Once more people join later, the fairness may not be as good as it is now.
Judging from the performance of the Shen Family girl just now, she is obviously exceptionally talented. The academy does not discriminate against women. If such a girl marries their youngest son and the master devotes all his efforts to cultivating her, she will most likely be able to raise a female sorcerer for the family. With marriage as a bond, there is at least a certain guarantee. If the grandchildren of the second wife are born in the future, having such a mother will give them a higher starting point than ordinary families.
She actually approved of the master's decision, but her attitude was a bit too arrogant.
"Outraged?" Bai Hua sneered. "Didn't you see the scene at our eldest son's doorstep? Do you believe that within a day at most, countless noble families will be coming to seek your instruction? Ha, it's not that I'm being arrogant, but although the capital is vast, there are only one or two people in the field of divination who I find acceptable, and even they are extremely unsuitable for teaching. Otherwise, we would have seen so many stewards from noble families poaching people along the way."
"If I'm not mistaken, the doors of all the other capable teachers in Jiangnan have probably been knocked down by now. But it's no use knocking them down. You know the situation in Jiangnan right now. Who would want to come to this godforsaken place if they could live there?" He picked up his teacup, then looked disgusted. "There's not even a cup of tea to drink."
Madam Bai: "."
Lord Chen has really spoiled these old pedantic scholars; they actually dare to say the capital is a ghost town?
Don't you remember how eagerly you used to want to move your whole family to Beijing and settle down?
Too lazy to expose her husband's smug and petty nature, Madam Bai could only offer a quiet reminder: "Take it easy, don't go too far. Like you said, talent is rare. That girl seems clever to me; you might not find someone like her in other families."
"Yes, I know." Bai Hua nodded slightly. That was indeed the case. In all his years of life, he had hardly seen any girls in their teens who could understand the Three Origin Mathematics. If he had to name one, it would be Yun Ke'er, the little girl who had recently entered the academy. She had that talent, but her foundation wasn't that solid. Besides, that girl was currently very close to Yuchi Feihu, so he probably wouldn't be interested in her. In Jiangnan, girls all liked the generals of the Fighter Army. Although his daughter was pretty, she lacked the charm of those tall and strong Fighter Army.
Moreover, science is prevalent in Jiangnan now, and its education is not bad. Our own competitiveness in science is far inferior to that of this place. This time, we have finally encountered one, so we naturally cannot let him go.
--
Inside the Shen Family's inner hall, Shen Xue and her birth mother, the fourth concubine, were brought in. The fourth concubine seemed very uneasy, after all, even the matriarch of the family had never had the opportunity to enter the inner hall of the Shen Family, and this was the first time for her as a member of the family.
After the head of the family explained, it turned out that someone had come to propose marriage!
"That's roughly the situation, Xue'er. What do you think?" Shen Yan asked gently.
Shen Xue lowered her head, her expression becoming complicated.
Her father, Shen Yan, was utterly indifferent to his illegitimate sons who lacked talent, and he had previously paid almost no attention to her, his illegitimate daughter. If it were before, what right would she have had to interfere in her marriage?
Now, not only is he asking for my opinion, but he's also bringing his aunt into the inner room. The speed of his change in attitude is truly astonishing.
However, she was not an ignorant little girl. She knew very well that given the current situation, the Shen Family would definitely agree to Mr. Bai's request. At least they had inquired about her, just to give her face.
If you know what's good for you, then it's a win-win situation for both of you. But if you don't, the Shen Family can ruin your last chance at a future!
Having finally gotten a chance to turn her life around, she certainly wouldn't let it slip by.
"Marriage is a major life event, and it should be decided by the parents. The Bai Family is a scholarly family, and with a legitimate son and wife, what could our daughter possibly be dissatisfied with?"
These words secretly relieved Fourth Aunt. She knew her daughter well; she was very opinionated. Although she was a concubine, she couldn't control her. She didn't dare to think about what would happen if her daughter clashed with the master.
Moreover, she was very satisfied with the marriage.
The Bai Family is said to be a renowned scholarly family, and the men value them so much that their daughter would certainly not suffer if she married into the family, especially since she would become the legitimate wife of the eldest son.
Despite his daughter's lineage as a sorcerer, in such families, girls without aptitude are hard to marry off.
Without a heir to the art of magic, and with most scholarly families unwilling to marry illegitimate daughters, and because they were responsible for managing the family's affairs, the most likely outcome was that the daughter would be brought into the family through a son-in-law. But throughout history, how many sons-in-law have ever amounted to anything?
The storyteller's tale of a genius son-in-law who pretends to be weak to gain power is pure nonsense; she'd never heard of such a thing in reality.
Now that she has the opportunity to marry outside the family, and as the legitimate wife of a son, with a respectable family background, what is there to be picky about?
"Good, good, good!" Shen Yan clapped his hands and laughed when he saw that Shen Xue did not object. It was rare to have such an easy child.
Previously, both Shen Yuan and Shen Yu were people who could make people's livers ache with anger.
"However." Just as the family was rejoicing, Shen Xue's words immediately made Shen Yan and his fourth aunt's hearts jump again.
Shen Yan's heart sank, but he still patiently and gently asked, "Are there any other conditions?"
The old master repeatedly instructed that Shen Xue should not be allowed to drift away from the family. Shen Yuan, who was promising, was now lukewarm towards the family, and Shen Yu was not capable of being of great use. Even if Shen Xue married out of the family, she could still bring considerable benefits to the family. If she could win back the family's heart, then she should naturally win it back.
Shen Xue smiled and said, "Father, although the Bai Family is good, they are still just an ordinary aristocratic family. Moreover, the old man of the Bai Family took a liking to me, probably because he saw my basic skills in divination. He even used that to negotiate with the Shen Family. If I'm not mistaken, Mr. Bai's second son is probably not very talented, otherwise he wouldn't have set his sights on me. I can't rely on my husband in the future, so I'll have to rely on myself over there. I'm afraid I'll have to rely on my family a lot in many ways."
"You don't need to worry about that!" Shen Yan quickly waved his hand. "With your qualifications, even if you marry out, you'll still be a key member of the Shen Family, receiving plenty of resources."
"Thank you, Father," Shen Xue bowed slightly, but then smiled and said, "But I'm getting married now, so I need to make plans for the future as soon as possible."
Shen Yan finally frowned upon hearing this. "What exactly do you want? Just say it directly. The Shen Family will do its best to satisfy you in any way it can."
Seeing this, Fourth Aunt quickly stepped forward and tugged at her daughter's sleeve, intending to smooth things over, but Shen Xue pulled her back, saying, "Since Father has said so, then I won't beat around the bush!"
"My daughter wishes to ask, how much of the Shen Family's magical arts can I take with me? And if I have children in the future, can they be passed down to my descendants?"
Shen Yan: "!!!"