"That's what Xueya said?"
After hearing Shen Yan's report, Old Master Shen chuckled and put down his teacup, then looked Shen Yan: "What kind of father are you? How come none of your children are any good?"
Shen Yan: "."
"Such a young age, yet she's already quite shrewd," Old Master Shen chuckled. "According to her, if her child has the talent to inherit the magic technique, she'll demand to change her surname to Shen and return to the Shen Family to receive the same treatment as Shen Family members, is that right?"
Shen Yan sighed, "Yes."
"This girl, haha!" Old Master Shen laughed heartily, "She's only twelve years old, yet she's already thinking so far ahead, even betting on both sides!"
Jiangnan Academy is currently very popular, with all the major families vying to send their children in to explore its secrets. But after all, no one has actually been there before, right?
What the situation is over there is still unknown. What if going there wastes time and ruins my life?
After all, if she stays in the Shen Family, even though the husband she's chosen to marry is probably incompetent, as long as her child has the potential, she'll still receive attention and training from the Shen Family and have a chance to turn her life around. Clearly, this girl wants to have it both ways!
"Grandpa," Shen Yan sighed, "What do you think?"
"What else can we look at it?" Shen Qingfeng rolled his eyes at the other person. "Do we even have a choice?"
Shen Yan remained silent, suddenly feeling somewhat weary. When he was tormented under the mistress's rule, he secretly vowed never to let his descendants suffer such an environment. Therefore, when he became the head of the family and held great power, he strictly suppressed Madam Zheng to prevent such a thing from happening.
But now, the children I raise seem to be quite different from what I had imagined.
"Oh, our teacher's daughter-in-law has arrived?"
After agreeing on everything, the Shen Family didn't waste any time. The next day, they had Bai Hua begin the teaching arrangements. After all, there was only a month left before the first assessment. Perhaps cramming at the last minute would be a bit of a stretch, but it was always better to start preparing as early as possible. What if they could send a few more disciples to Jiangnan?
Everyone knows the current situation: whoever sends the most people is more likely to gain the upper hand.
The next day, Shen Xue arrived at the Shen Family school early, but she didn't expect that as soon as she arrived, she would be mocked by Shen Yu and a group of disciples.
Shen Xue frowned. Her marriage should have been kept a secret, so she wondered which loose-lipped elder had leaked it!
Looking at Shen Yu Shen Xue, who still dared to frown, Shen Yu felt an increasing surge of anger within her. When did this incompetent illegitimate daughter dare to show her any displeasure?
"Where did you hear all this, brother?" Shen Xue asked, looking directly at the other person.
Seeing that the other party dared to question her, Shen Yu laughed angrily, "What? You dare to do it yourself but are afraid of what others will say? You'll use any means to advance your career. The family has never mistreated you. Have you ever thought about the reputation of the Shen Family?"
"Does elder brother mean that younger sister has damaged the Shen Family's reputation?"
"Do you really think that what you did was a credit to the Shen Family?" A direct descendant of the Fang Family chimed in, standing next to Shen Yu.
Shen Xue's expression turned cold. She didn't want to clash with Shen Yu and the others, after all, they were the descendants valued by the family. Even if they might not be able to catch up with the current generation in Jiangnan due to their poor foundation in divination, they still represented the future three generations of the Shen Family's divination techniques. If Jiangnan's prospects were not as bright as she imagined, or if the situation in Jiangnan collapsed in the future, she could still rely on the Shen Family. As for Shen Yu, who was very likely to inherit the position of the head of the Shen Family, she would try to please him if possible.
But can this future head of the family, who is narrow-minded and suppresses his younger siblings as soon as they show promise, even uttering such humiliating words, truly be relied upon?
Taking a breath, even at the age of twelve and perhaps not so sensible, he couldn't suppress his anger and said, "The marriage was proposed by the Bai Family and is the result of Father's careful consideration. If you think this has disgraced the Shen Family family, why don't you go to Father and say so? Is this how an elder brother treats his younger sister?"
"You little bastard, you've got a sharp tongue!" Shen Yu said, his face darkening.
Seeing that the other party had uttered such words, Shen Xue was also extremely angry. "Brother, instead of wasting your time on your little sister, you should spend more time studying. Nowadays, even the seven-year-old children in the Shen Family have better basic arithmetic skills than you. At this rate, I estimate that you won't be able to go to Jiangnan until you're thirty!"
Upon hearing this, Shen Yu's face turned ashen. Bai Hua had distributed the basic test questions last night, saying that he wanted to assess the basic arithmetic skills of three generations of the Shen Family family so that he could teach them according to their aptitude. But that old man actually published the results directly. He had never paid attention to arithmetic, so how could he withstand the test? When the rankings came out, even his youngest brother, who was only six years old, scored five points higher than him, making him the laughing stock of the Shen Family!
Although no one dared to laugh at him to his face, he could already imagine how many young men were gossiping about it behind his back.
Upon thinking of this, Shen Yu felt an overwhelming surge of murderous intent rising to his head. "You little bastard, you're asking for death!"
As soon as he finished speaking, a chilling aura enveloped the surroundings, causing the disciples to stiffen and look at Shen Yu in terror.
Shen Yu actually used magic at home?
Shen Xue was also pale-faced. She never expected that Shen Yu would resort to violence without warning.
"Stop it, you little bastard!!"
A thunderous roar resounded, and the immense pressure instantly shook the entire hall. Shen Yu trembled, his face paled, and he quickly withdrew the spell!
Turning around, I saw that it was Old Master Shen himself, and behind him was the patriarch Shen Yan, whose face was ashen!
"Grandpa, Father, I..." Shen Yu thought to himself that he was in trouble. He was about to make a few excuses when Old Master Shen slapped him from a distance, sending him flying backward.
"You beast!" Old Master Shen's face was extremely ugly. " The Shen Family passed down these techniques to you so you could use them on your own flesh and blood?"
Shen Yan behind him was also extremely angry. The Shen Family technique came from the Shen Family in Jiangnan and was called the Ghost King's Curse. It was an extremely dangerous technique. It is said that after the Shen Family split off, one of the newly promoted direct descendants of the Shen Family family improved their own technique, which later became the famous Ghost King's Arm of the second branch of the Shen Family!
Everyone knows that Yin Ghost magic is extremely dangerous. This little beast actually dared to attack his own sister! If he had arrived a moment later, even if Shen Xue hadn't died, she would have suffered severe mental trauma. How come I never saw such a vicious nature before?
"Grandpa, let me explain!" Shen Yu, whose mouth was full of blood and half of his teeth were knocked out, scrambled to his feet, covering his mouth as he said, "I was just trying to scare her, I didn't mean to hit her."
"Try to scare her?" Old Master Shen sneered, "With your skills, you think you can stop yourself once the Shen Family's techniques are used? Fine, then demonstrate for this old man how you manage to stop. If you can't stop today, I'll chop off your hand, you little beast!!"
Thump!
Hearing this, Shen Yu dared not argue any longer and knelt down with a thud. "Grandpa, please forgive me! Yu'er was just offended by my younger sister and acted impulsively. I really didn't mean it!"
Shen Qingfeng trembled all over as he listened. Even at this point, this little beast was still shifting the blame. Did he think Shen Qingfeng was blind? It was clearly this little beast who had provoked them. His younger siblings had barely shown any talent, and he was already so jealous. If he became the head of the family in the future, who would he tolerate?
"Enough! This is an embarrassment!" Shen Yan said coldly, "Go back to your own courtyard and be confined for three days!!"
"Father." Shen Yu was taken aback. His foundation was already weak, and now he was to be confined for three days? Wouldn't that allow him to be completely overtaken by the other disciples?
Shen Yan glanced at him, hesitated for a moment, and finally said, "You'll be confined for one day. Be sure to attend class on time tomorrow. If you dare to break the rules again, you'll be punished according to family rules!"
"It's Father," Shen Yu said, bowing his head with a resentful expression, suppressing the hatred in his eyes.
"Aren't you going to get lost?"
After bowing, Shen Yu lowered his head and walked out of the school with a gloomy expression. As he passed by Shen Xue, Shen Xue clearly saw a flash of resentment in his eyes!
" Xue'er, are you alright?"
After reprimanding Shen Yu, Shen Yan came over and offered words of comfort.
Looking at her father's kind smile, Shen Xue felt no comfort whatsoever, only a chill running through her body!
Shen Yu almost ruined himself!!
So, they were only locked up for one day?
That's it?
At that moment, Shen Xue immediately understood that in her father's heart, Shen Yu was still the pillar of the family's future. Even if she had some investment value, it was far less important than Shen Yu.
That wouldn't be a problem, but Shen Yu is such a vicious and narrow-minded person.
If my lord can catch up today, can he catch up every day?
If Shen Yu were to suddenly become ruthless and kill herself, she doubted her family would do anything to Shen Yu!
After figuring everything out, Shen Yu felt a chill in her heart, but at the same time, she made an even more determined decision.
I must get into the Jiangnan Academy as soon as possible and get away from here. It would be best to bring my aunt with me; otherwise, something bad will happen sooner or later!
--
"Mother, are you seasick?"
Meanwhile, Shen Yuan, who had already brought his mother to Jiangnan, planned to take her directly to Liuzhou from Nanming Prefecture by waterway.
Looking at the bustling boats coming and going in Jiangnan from the deck, Madam Zheng smiled and shook her head, "No, I thought I would get seasick. After all, even I get seasick after sitting in a carriage for a long time. I didn't expect this boat to be so stable. I didn't feel uncomfortable at all. By the way, are all the boats in Jiangnan this big?"
"Ours is considered small," Shen Yuan laughed. "Once Junior Sister Huang from Yunzhou finishes her research on steamships, the ships will probably be more than twice the size they are now."
"Twice as big?" Madam Zheng was taken aback. This ship already looked like a floating fortress, and now it was twice the size? Was they going to build a palace on the water?
"There will be plenty of interesting things to do in Jiangnan from now on," Shen Yuan said proudly. "Mother, take your time reading; you'll never be bored."
"Really?" Madam Zheng immediately smiled and said, "Then I'm really looking forward to it."
Madam Zheng smiled easily, and her anticipation was genuine. She had thought she would find it difficult to adjust after leaving the Shen Family, but after actually leaving, she found it much easier than she had imagined. It was as if the shackles that had been there for many years had been broken, and she felt like she had returned to the time when she was still a young lady in her boudoir.
All worries have vanished, replaced only by curiosity about the future.
Looking at his mother's relaxed and longing expression, Shen Yuan stood behind her with a smile, watching quietly. His mother, who had left the Shen Family, had finally returned to her former self.
As for the Shen Family's affairs, he didn't want to reveal anything to his mother.
He had just seen the situation of the Shen Family through Seventh Master Shen's Thousand-Eye Technique, and he had clearly seen Shen Yu almost attack his younger sister.
To be honest, he wasn't surprised at all. Having grown up together, he knew Shen Yu's character very well.
The key issue is that his cold-hearted father seems to favor his precious son.
Thinking of this, Shen Yuan sneered inwardly. The current atmosphere of the Shen Family across three generations was entirely due to his cold-hearted father. His excessive emphasis on talent had made his descendants extremely ambitious, and even his mother's personality had changed drastically due to the environment of the Shen Family. It would be strange if a few monsters weren't born in such an environment.
And now they still dare to indulge them?
Shen Xue must have completely lost heart towards her father, right?
Shen Yuan sneered. If there's one, there will be a second. He believed he would soon see the moment when his cold-hearted father was abandoned by everyone!
I'm having a severe writer's block today, so I can't write the third chapter. I'll try to finish it tomorrow. I'm really sorry!