Chapter 43: Lady Shen Guides Her Son Through Difficulties

Shen Residence, Brook Garden, Cloudwatch Tower.

Madam Shen Bailu sat in her chair, her face clouded as she gazed at Shen Yanxi lying on the bed, her brows knitted tightly. Her poor granddaughter had spoken only a few words before fainting; when the old lady touched her, she found Yanxi’s forehead burning hot and her body cold as ice.

The room was crowded with people, yet not one was useful. The girl was so ill, and still, no one noticed. Upon hearing of Shen Yanxi’s collapse, Shen Hao led a group of women to stand quietly behind, heads bowed, afraid to speak.

“How is my granddaughter?” Bailu asked anxiously as the physician finished his examination.

“Madam, Second Miss suffers from excessive worry and suppressed emotions, leading to dysfunction of the liver and spleen and an excess of heart fire. I will prescribe a remedy for her, but this illness…” The physician hesitated.

“Speak plainly!” the old lady demanded sharply.

“Second Miss's ailment lies in her heart. To cure her, one must untie the knot within. I am powerless…” The old physician finished and knelt.

A knot in her heart? For that boy, has my granddaughter come to this?

“Go prepare the prescription,” the old lady sighed.

After the maid led the physician away, Bailu stood and cast a cold glance at her son before heading toward the door.

“Don’t just stand around here. She has maids and nurses to look after her; you’re only making things worse!” her tone was harsh.

Zhou Manyun ignored her, sitting by the bedside, holding Shen Yanxi’s hand and weeping quietly.

Seeing this, Shen Hao led the others downstairs.

Cloudwatch Tower, first floor, central hall.

“How goes the search?” the old lady asked from her seat.

“Mother, the family retainers and the Jiangzhou garrison have scoured the city, but found nothing. Now they are searching along both banks of the Lan River. Several bandit dens have been destroyed, but there is still no sign of Lu Jin,” Shen Hao replied carefully.

“What if the river bandits are not in Jiangzhou?” Bailu asked in a low voice.

“Mother, the bandits kidnapped many, mostly from wealthy families. Their aim must be ransom, so they wouldn’t take the hostages too far; it would make negotiations difficult.”

“And if the bandits never intended to release the hostages?”

“Mother, if the bandits don’t get their money, they won’t give up. With so many hostages, they can’t trade all at once. If they start killing, word will spread, and no one would pay them after that. It’s not to their advantage.”

“So what should be done now?” the old lady pressed.

“In my opinion, since the kidnappers seek ransom, they must contact us. Perhaps we should ease our efforts and wait for them to send word…”

“Wait! Wait! Wait! You can wait, but can my granddaughter? And this is only your guess…” Bailu interrupted before Shen Hao could finish.

“Then what does mother suggest?”

South and north of the Lan River are both close to the water; the bandits could have fled beyond Jiangzhou. These places must not be neglected, especially Yunmeng Marsh—a labyrinth of waterways and wild growth, its true size unknown.

“I’ll make note of it,” Shen Hao said.

“We cannot rely on ourselves alone. Have your son-in-law’s likeness drawn and posted everywhere. If the river bandits return him, the Shen family will reward fifty thousand taels of silver and pardon all past offenses. If anyone rescues him, the reward is the same. For any clue about his whereabouts, ten thousand taels…”

The old lady’s instructions came in a torrent; Shen Hao’s head buzzed. She was setting a bait, but wouldn’t this stir up a storm in Mancheng? Though the entire city was searching, few knew the details.

“Mother, wouldn’t this cause too much commotion? What if, in the future—”

“Hmph! Stow your petty concerns.”

Shen Hao fell silent.

The old lady waved her hand; the others withdrew, leaving only mother and son alone in the vast hall.

Bailu glanced at her son and sighed.

“Er Lang, what kind of family is the Shen family?” she asked, eyes fixed on him.

Shen Hao was puzzled, unsure why his mother asked this, but replied honestly, “A renowned family of the south.”

“We are a noble family, among the top clans of the Great Liang. But we were not born so—our ancestor, Marquis Wu Cheng, rose from a commoner by merit in war, became a general, and through generations of diligence, created today’s Shen family—a noble house.”

“Now, the southern and northern clans are much the same. Over hundreds, thousands of years, how many top families have vanished, and how many have risen?”

“I understand you wish to marry Yanxi to a noble son—a match of equals, binding our families. But such things cannot be forced! We mustn’t let the Shen family become stagnant. Many heroes arise from humble beginnings. Today’s son-in-law—how do you know he won’t someday shield the Shen family from wind and rain?”

“You may be the clan’s head, but you must not be blinded by family pride. To keep the Shen family thriving, you must recognize and employ talent.”

“Mother’s lesson is wise,” Shen Hao said, bowing his head.

“Yanxi has been clever and steady since childhood. If this were only about a man, she would not be so affected. She must have discovered virtues we missed…”

What virtues could he have? Surely not just playing an instrument? Shen Hao was perplexed. Lu Jin had recited a poem that day, but such things were not rare in the Shen family. He hadn’t heard the poem Lu Jin shared with Pei Yunrui.

Of course, he did not mean to disparage Lu Jin—after all, the young man had topped the examination list, and Shen Hao was no fool. His confusion lay in failing to see qualities in Lu Jin that the Shen family valued.

Bailu saw her son’s bewildered look and sighed silently. Her son, for all his stability, lacked ambition.

“Er Lang, why did Yanxi fall ill?”

Shen Hao looked at his mother. Had she grown muddled? Wasn’t it because the boy was kidnapped by river bandits? She knew that well.

“You still haven’t seen the problem. Tell me, the son-in-law was kidnapped days ago—why did Yanxi fall ill only after returning from Crescent Residence?”

Shen Hao paused. At first, he thought Yanxi’s grief had worsened after visiting, but now he dared not answer; if it were so simple, his mother wouldn’t ask.

“Recall—how was that boy kidnapped?” the old lady prompted.

Shen Hao wasn’t surprised at his mother’s knowledge; in the Shen family, whatever she wished to know, she would.

Back then, the boy from Yuanhui’s family went to fetch the carriage… Xiao Bai went to buy something… everyone was sent away, no one remained nearby, and Lu Jin vanished. He had considered it before, but dismissed it out of habit.

“Mother, do you mean the boy ran away?” Shen Hao looked at her in shock.

Bailu watched him finally awaken, but showed no satisfaction.

“Whether he escaped or was also taken by bandits, it’s hard to say. But he meant to run, I believe.”

“But how could that be?” Shen Hao could not fathom it. Many sought to curry favor with the Shen family—regardless of a son-in-law’s status, it depended on whose family he married into.

“What is impossible to you may mean little to others,” Bailu breathed deeply. Even she could not guess all the details; everyone had their limits.

“Consider both matters together—it becomes clear. Yanxi learned something there, which changed her upon returning,” Bailu mused.

Shen Hao now understood completely. A little investigation would clarify everything.

“Mother, please wait. I’ll question the maid who accompanied her—she may know the details.”

Soon, Siqin was summoned and recounted in detail their visit to Crescent Residence.

“Why didn’t you mention this before?” Shen Hao demanded.

“Forgive me, Master. I thought Miss was only worried about the young master…” Siqin wept.

In truth, everyone in the Shen residence made the same mistake. Had they the knowledge of later times, they would recognize this as ‘habitual thinking.’

The coincidence of the river bandit kidnapping had easily caused them to overlook the possibility that Lu Jin had fled.

“And that paper?”

“It should still be in the young master’s study…”

The matter was clear: in a family like the Shen clan, everything moved swiftly, but in the end, the paper was nowhere to be found.

“Don’t bother searching; Yanxi must have hidden it, not wanting us to know.”

“But why would she hide it?”

“If you knew the boy had run, what would you do?”

Shen Hao’s expression froze.

Thinking carefully, his mother had just instructed him to post a high reward with a portrait—a bait not only for the river bandits, but even if Lu Jin had escaped on his own, thousands would hunt him for the reward.

He was still far less shrewd than his mother.