Chapter 30: Reluctance

While Shen Tang was enjoying her meal, the old lady found that her food had suddenly lost its flavor.

Although the marriage proposal from the Minister of Rites’ household wasn’t something the old lady particularly valued, the fact that the wife of the Minister of Rites had come to propose marriage for the first time, only to have the eldest son of the Minister of Rites fall into the river after an accident, felt rather inauspicious.

Additionally, Shen Tang had expressed concerns about the old lady agreeing to a betrothal, using Jiang Shi’s words as an excuse to say she couldn’t marry until she was sixteen. This left the old lady with much to ponder.

If a marriage proposal had already gone so poorly, the old lady couldn’t help but wonder what would happen if they agreed. Would they be inviting bad luck upon themselves?

Moreover, since Shen Juan and Shen Tang were twins, sharing the same birth date and fortune, if Shen Tang had to wait until she was sixteen to marry, wouldn’t Shen Juan have to do the same?

Shen Juan was deeply reluctant to marry Prince Jingyang’s son, largely because of the ominous fortune she received at Dazhao Temple, which foretold that marrying within three days would lead to widowhood. But now, Prince Jingyang’s son would not need a bride to fulfill the ritual, while Shen Juan had received a fortune that certainly weighed on her mind. This left the old lady feeling a bit shaken.

Having lost her appetite, the old lady rose to return to her room to recite scriptures and pray for blessings.

—

After lunch, Shen Tang read for a while and then felt drowsy, so she leaned back on a small couch and took a short nap.

When she woke up, Yin Xing came over and said, “The servants in the manor are discussing how you need to be sixteen before you can marry. Second Madam has issued a gag order, punishing two chatty maids…”

“Second Madam is really concerned about you, Miss.”

Shen Tang raised her hand and tapped Yin Xing on the forehead. “She’s not concerned about me.”

Yin Xing looked confused.

Shen Tang explained. “She’s worried that I might cause trouble for Shen Juan.”

In situations like this, the more one tries to suppress rumors, the more they spread.

She had no intention of marrying anyone. The infamy of being a widow would actually work in her favor, but Shen Juan not only wanted to marry; she wanted Prince Jingyang’s son to change his mind. To persuade the wife of Changping Marquis to speak on her behalf, Shen Juan was willing to use Shen Tang as a bargaining chip. But as twins, they were bound together by fate; Shen Juan couldn’t escape this reality and would have to drag her along in her struggles.

The feeling of pulling Shen Juan down with her was actually quite satisfying, alleviating some of the frustration from almost being sold out by Shen Juan.

The next day, as usual, Shen Tang had breakfast and then went to Pine Crane Hall to pay her respects to the old lady.

Just as she reached the screen, she heard Third Madam exclaim from inside, “The heir of Changping Marquis was beaten at Dazhao Temple? Who is so bold as to hit the nephew of Concubine Ye?”

Shen Tang walked in, pretending not to have heard. “Who was beaten at Dazhao Temple?”

Shen Luo said, “It was the heir of Changping Marquis. Yesterday, he was kicked down the hillside by someone and was only found later, unconscious at the bottom of the hill. They say he suffered severe injuries and hasn’t woken up yet…”

It sounded worse than she had imagined. In her previous life, she didn’t know who had crippled the heir of Changping Marquis, but it was truly an act of divine justice.

Seeing Shen Juan looking at her, Shen Tang said, “The heir of Changping Marquis is the only son of the marquis. If he’s injured like this, his family will leave no stone unturned to find out who did it.”

As she spoke, Shen Juan’s gaze remained fixed on Shen Tang. An instinct told her that the heir’s misfortune was somehow related to Shen Tang, but Shen Tang’s demeanor suggested she was completely unaware of it.

Shen Juan had sent Shen Tang to confront the heir, yet he still couldn’t get a hold of her. It seemed Shen Tang had escaped this calamity, which was quite a stroke of luck.

After Shen Juan left, Shen Tang sat down to listen to the women talk.

After sitting for about a quarter of an hour, Shen Tang prepared to leave. Just as she was about to rise, a maid entered and announced, “Old lady, the marquis has come.”

After the morning court session, her Father hadn’t gone directly to the military camp but returned to the marquis’s manor, which indicated he had something to discuss.

Shen Tang remained seated, and soon the familiar sound of her father’s footsteps approached.

When Shen Sui entered and saw Shen Tang, he said, “Tang’er is here…”

Hearing this made Shen Tang’s heart skip a beat. She sensed that her father had come to Pine Crane Hall for something related to her.

The old lady set down her teacup and asked, “What brings you here at this hour?”

Shen Sui offered his respects to the old lady and then sat down. “Just now, after the morning court session, Prince Wen pulled me aside to discuss marrying his legitimate second son to Tang’er. I met the young master of the Wen family previously, and he has a good appearance and character. I thought I would come back and discuss this with Mother and see about arranging Tang’er’s marriage.”

Shen Tang was left speechless.

So it really was about her.

She had intended to spread rumors about marrying before she turned sixteen, but now, before she could put her plan into action, the proposal from Prince Wen had already made its way to her father.

The third young master of the Wen family seemed quite decent at first glance, but in her previous life, after a conflict with the heir of Changping Marquis, he had been dragged into gambling debts and lost half of Prince Wen’s estate, which left Prince Wen furious enough to nearly kill him.

Since her father had returned specifically to discuss her marriage with the Prince Wen, it was clear he was preparing to marry her off to the third young master.

Shen Tang felt restless. “Father, you mustn’t ruin the third young master of the Wen family.”

Shen Sui frowned. “What do you mean by that?”

Shen Tang replied, “Mother warned me that I must be sixteen before I can marry. Yesterday, the wife of the Minister of Rites came to propose, and then the eldest son of the Minister of Rites had an accident…”

Although Second Madam had imposed a gag order, the happenings in the manor, especially something so significant, would have reached Shen Sui’s ears.

However, Shen Sui did not believe her. He said, “There are countless accidents happening every day in the capital. Why would you bring such misfortune upon yourself? The Pingyuan Marquis is not yet engaged. The eldest son of the Minister of Rites simply fell into the water and is not seriously injured.”

Shen Tang wanted to say that it didn’t matter how serious or not serious it was, but the old lady shot her a warning glance.

Feeling wronged, Shen Tang held back her words.

Her father cared for her, unwilling to believe in omens, and she didn’t need to convince him; she merely had to ensure that the people outside would believe it.

She thought that if no one came to propose, her father wouldn’t be able to force her into marriage.

Determined, Shen Tang resolved in her heart to make sure that she wouldn’t be married off so easily.

The old lady looked at Shen Sui and said, “Prince Wen is an upright man, and you have spoken highly of the third young master of the Wen family. If you wish to betroth Tang’er to him, I have no objections…”

Before the old lady could finish, a young servant rushed in, panting. “Marquis, something terrible has happened to Prince Wen!”

Shen Tang was stunned. “What???”

Shen Sui exclaimed, “What happened to Prince Wen?”

The young servant replied, “On his way back from court, the bearers of his sedan chair stumbled and accidentally dropped Prince Wen from the soft chair, injuring his arm…”