" Jiangnan... it really is a wonderful place."
Shen Yan, the head of the Shen Family, felt comfortable as he sensed the rich spiritual energy outside the mansion.
My father is a Second Rank official in the imperial court, and I am also the Prefect of the Capital. The Shen Family has been working hard in the capital for many years and can be considered a prominent family. My father gave up all these twenty years of hard work just like that. At the time, I was somewhat opposed to it.
But now there's none left at all.
The essence of a sorcerer lies in their own strength. So-called positions in the imperial court are merely a means to acquire more resources for their family. Which ancient sorcerer family today relies entirely on the imperial court? They serve the court when it prospers to gain more resources, and withdraw unscathed to preserve their strength when it declines. Which family that has existed for a thousand years hasn't done this?
Although the Great Jin Dynasty has only been established for twenty years, it is already showing signs of decline, while the Jiangnan clearly has more resources than the imperial court.
Leaving aside other formations, runes, and various emerging engineering-style inheritances, just the sheer amount of Earth Spirit is so immense that even a Second Rank official like the Nine Ministers wouldn't be worth staying in the capital!
But the better it was here, the more he wanted to establish himself here as soon as possible.
"Father, Shen Xue is back and waiting for you in the hall. Grandfather has already gone ahead."
The person who came to give the report was Shen Yu. Half a year has passed since the Liuzhou incident. Now, Shen Yu is much more low-key and reserved than before, and he no longer has the arrogance and flamboyance he used to have.
"Good!" Upon hearing that Shen Xue had arrived, Shen Yan's eyes lit up, and he hurriedly walked out of the room without even greeting Shen Yu.
Shen Yu saw this, but only a hint of gloom flashed in his eyes; he didn't show it much.
He's gotten used to it over the past six months!
That useless elder brother is now high above, his figure increasingly disappearing from sight; Liuzhou Education Commissioner
Liuzhou is now the center of Jiangnan. What does it mean to be the educational commissioner of Liuzhou? Nowadays, the status of an administrative official is far lower than that of a sorcerer. The position of educational commissioner is more useful than that of the prefect of Liuzhou. This opportunity was actually obtained by Shen Yuan, who was once useless. When he heard the news, he couldn't sleep well for a whole month!
And now, that illegitimate daughter whom he had never even glanced at before is now able to trample on his head.
He followed silently behind Shen Yan without uttering a word of complaint, because he was well aware of Shen Xue's current status.
This girl is now highly valued by Lord Ziyue and has been able to enter the Dragon Palace to study the rune project. She is among the most outstanding in the entire Jiangnan Academy. Many wealthy and noble families are eyeing her. Our Shen Family has only been back for three days, and more than twenty families have already come to visit us.
Besides the well-known powerful families in the capital, such as the Chen Household, Bai Family, and Huo Family, there were also many local powerful families in Jiangnan. Except for the largest Shen Family, which had not yet been visited, almost all the most prestigious sorcerer families in Liuzhou City had been visited.
As outsiders, the Shen Family of the capital couldn't even afford to buy a house. Why would so many wealthy and powerful families come knocking on their door? Were they after the Shen Family? They were after that girl who was about to become a golden phoenix!
If I had known Shen Xue was such a menace, I should have killed him halfway there!
And so, the silent father and son walked quickly to the hall, one after the other. At this time, the Shen Family's hall was already full of the Shen Family Shen Xue. Clearly, Shen Yan was not the only one who valued Shen Xue's worth.
"Father." Shen Xue turned around and bowed respectfully as before.
"You're back?" Completely different from his coldness towards Shen Yu, Shen Yan's face immediately showed a gentle, fatherly smile, full of concern. "The weather has turned cold recently, so you have to be careful. Don't rely too much on that warm jade; it's safer to wear some thick cotton-padded coats in winter."
Shen Xue smiled upon hearing this, "Thank you for your concern, Father. Xue'er understands."
"Come on, don't stand, find a seat," Shen Yan said, and sat down in the seat that the family head should have.
Shen Xue glanced at the only seat left next to her, then at Shen Yu, who had followed her in silence. Her lips twitched slightly, and she turned around, saying, "How can a junior sit in this main hall? Father and Grandfather, have you gotten used to things here these past few days?"
"We're used to it." A group of elders nodded repeatedly. "What's there to be unaccustomed to? It's all thanks to you, Xue'er. If we relied on certain people, we old bones would probably be homeless."
Haha, that's right!
Behind him, Shen Yu lowered his head even further. In Liuzhou, in order to quickly make up for his lack of knowledge in Neo-Confucianism by becoming a disciple, he wrote to his family and asked for a lot of money. The silver in the Great Jin was no longer valuable in Jiangnan. It would cost three times as much to exchange for high-quality jade. And if he used it to visit those famous teachers, it would be even more expensive.
Moreover, the foundation of Neo-Confucianism in Liuzhou is generally very high. If he wanted to start from scratch, he could only enter the elementary school. Naturally, he couldn't bring himself to attend the same school as some five- or six-year-old children. He could only spend a lot of money to hire a private tutor. Nowadays, good Neo-Confucian teachers are rare. It is not something that can be solved with a little money. In the past six months, he has spent no less than 100,000 taels of silver to make up for his foundation.
The elders in the family naturally spoke sarcastically to him.
Shen Yu lowered her head, deeply engraving all of this in her heart.
Shen Xue frowned deeply. She had always known how petty Shen Yu was, and now she was afraid that many things would be settled against her.
"Alright, you're just too polite, girl. You don't need to be so reserved," Shen Yan said with a smile.
The old man put down his teacup, seemingly unable to bear the sight of those around him. He glanced at Shen Yu, who had her head down, his brows furrowing, then looked at Shen Xue and said directly, "Xue girl, the Chen Household sent people again just now."
Shen Xue frowned even more deeply upon hearing this. "Grandpa."
"Hey, Xue girl, you're not getting any younger." The Second Elder chimed in, "It's time to start thinking about that."
The Second Elder's own children are still young. Although one of them is crippled, his descendants are numerous, with five or six sons alone. Before, he didn't have the qualifications of a sorcerer and could only do general work. Now that he has such a good opportunity, he naturally has to seize it. If Ruoxue can marry into a large family, many things will be much more convenient in the future.
The old man also said, "Xue'er, what your second grandfather said is not wrong. You are indeed not young anymore. In the past, our Shen Family would not have been able to reach a family like the Chen Household. Now, they have offered generous conditions, and it is a legitimate son of the firstborn who is seeking a legitimate wife. In my opinion, these conditions are already very sincere. Xue'er, what are you worried about?"
"Has Grandpa forgotten that I have a marriage agreement with the Bai Family?"
The hall fell silent immediately after these words were spoken.
Originally, it would have been more harmonious to discuss this matter if everyone had simply forgotten about it, right? But this girl, instead, deliberately chose to bring up things they had selectively forgotten.
"Girl, I'll talk to the Bai Family!" Shen Yan said directly. "This matter is something our Shen Family owes the Bai Family. Whatever compensation you want, our Shen Family will do its best to provide it. Moreover, the marriage agreement between the Bai Family and our family hasn't been leaked. As long as the negotiations go well, both families will keep quiet about it, and it won't affect your reputation. What do you think?"
"It's already spread," Shen Xue said calmly.
The Shen Family immediately stood up. " The Bai Family has been spreading rumors everywhere?"
"Old Master Bai is a man of high moral character, and the Bai Family is a scholarly family that upholds propriety. How could they do such a thing?" Shen Xue said quietly, "It must have been spread by the younger generation. Those two cousins who are already imprisoned were bewitched by heretical demons back then, so they probably didn't understand what they were saying at the time."
"Those two beasts!!" The Third Elder and Fourth Elder in the main hall immediately expressed their opinions, their faces full of anger.
Shen Yuan lowered his head, his eyes showing some nervousness. Back then, Shen Xue's value wasn't as obvious as it is now. His two cousins had been imprisoned long ago, so they wouldn't have had the opportunity to spread these gossips. Of course, it was him who spread them.
Shen Yan stood on the stage, looking at Shen Yuan with a deep gaze. His intuition told him that this matter was probably related to his precious son!
This good-for-nothing can't accomplish anything himself, but he's a master at dragging others down with him.
"And Grandpa, it's like this, my studies are at a crucial stage right now. As you know, in Jiangnan, sorcerers prioritize their studies. Once I get married, many things will become inconvenient, and if I get pregnant, it will further delay this excellent opportunity for the project. This West Sea Dragon Palace rune project, only four people from our Earth Academy were selected this time. If I miss it, it won't be so easy for me to be selected again next time. The Bai Family Bai Family has its advantages; they won't rush the wedding date. Old Master Bai is also a reasonable person. Even if I marry into the family now, he won't pressure me to have children during this crucial time for the project. In fact, it's more suitable for my personal development."
Upon hearing this, the elders exchanged glances, momentarily hesitant.
Old Master Shen nodded in agreement; this explanation did indeed make sense.
Although the Chen Household has a good family background, the girl's future is of utmost importance. If marriage hinders her future, it would be a loss.
"Heh," Shen Yu snorted coldly amidst the hesitation of the elders.
Everyone frowned and looked over, while Shen Yu sneered, "Cousin, you'd better not lie through your teeth. If you're so devoted to the Bai Family, what are you doing spending all day with that little Underworld from the Murong Family?"
"What Underworld ghost?" Shen Yan and several elders quickly looked over. Could it be that this girl actually has someone she likes?
"A young man from a family in the Northern Wasteland died tragically in Liuzhou City. Now he's taken a minor position in the Underworld, and our cousin has taken a liking to him."
"What??"