Chapter 134

Chapter 134

Shen Qinglan's optimism and open-mindedness were something Jiayou Chang Gongjun had not anticipated.

He had thought his approach would make the other man nervous and uneasy, but unexpectedly, Shen Qinglan turned out to be so carefree—which was just as well.

People with simple minds were easier to control. If he had encountered someone truly shrewd and perceptive, he would have had to expend effort maneuvering around them, adding unnecessary trouble.

Still, Jiayou couldn't help but feel a measure of contempt and disdain.

No wonder this Shen Ge'er had his marriage prospects snatched away one after another by his younger siblings—truly foolish to the extreme. He wondered what Master Han could possibly see in the other man.

Could it be that face of his? If so, then his own chances were quite good.

After all, his looks were among the finest of the young ladies and lads in the capital, not far behind Shen Qinglan's—and he was far more intelligent, to boot.

How could Shen Qinglan, a lad who possessed nothing beyond his appearance—no family background, no cunning—possibly compare to him?

With such calculations, Jiayou grew even more confident in his scheme.

But he was in no hurry.

He continued his interactions with Shen Qinglan as before, never once bringing up Han Zhang or coincidentally running into him. However, when gifting Shen Qinglan jewelry, the styles and colors he chose were mostly the ones he himself favored.

He intended to use this quiet, subtle method to make his presence known to Han Zhang.

At the same time, he did not hesitate to reopen old wounds, revealing to Shen Qinglan and An Yongyan the grievances and entanglements with his former consort, recounting his experiences to gain Shen Qinglan's sympathy.

In this way, when the time came to propose "sharing one husband," given Shen Qinglan's simple and kind nature, along with the intimidation of his Chang Gongjun status, the other party would likely give in to a considerable degree.

After all, in this world, it was common for men to have multiple wives and concubines. He was merely seeking the position of Co-Husband, not trying to tear their marriage apart.

He had already lowered himself this much—if Shen Qinglan had any sense at all, he should have the good grace to agree.

Shen Qinglan, unaware of the Chang Gongjun's shameless scheming, had indeed grown some sympathy after observing that the man showed no signs of coveting his husband over time, and after hearing of his tragic experiences.

He couldn't help but confide privately in An Yongyan: "I don't particularly like Jiayou Chang Gongjun—I feel he says he wants to be close friends with me but actually looks down on me—but he really is quite pitiful."

"I heard that his former consort originally sought the marriage himself, swearing he was willing to give up his career because he loved the Chang Gongjun, but it was all a lie."

"He used the Chang Gongjun's influence to prop up his family and enjoyed every imperial favor, and even if the Chang Gongjun couldn't bear children due to injury, that's no reason for a consort who took everything to look down on him."

"A man who betrays trust like that deserves to die! If it were me, I would have that heartless wretch drawn and quartered to vent my anger... But the Chang Gongjun punished the consort and was impeached by court officials instead, ending up with a ruined reputation—it's so unfair..."

Shen Qinglan, with his clear-cut sense of right and wrong, was indignant on his behalf.

An Yongyan, however, gently shook his head after listening: "The Chang Gongjun was indeed wronged in that matter, but his ruined reputation wasn't due to that alone."

"Being betrayed by a consort is worthy of sympathy, but that doesn't excuse him from harming others. Among the male concubines he's forcibly taken into his residence over the years, many of whom lost their lives were innocent people as well."

"He was unlucky in his choice of partner, that's true, but it's also true that he harmed others. He is still the noble Chang Gongjun who holds the power of life and death—for you, a lad from a Fifth-Rank Minor Official's family, to pity him—how is that different from a mouse pitying a cat?"

With that, An Yongyan reached out and lightly tapped Shen Qinglan's forehead, speaking with helpless concern: "The Chang Gongjun is no easy person to deal with. Though he hasn't done anything yet, you should still keep your wits about you... Don't end up being sold by someone and still counting the money for them!"

"I know, I was just venting. I know he doesn't really think much of me, and isn't genuinely trying to be my friend. I won't be easily fooled by him."

Shen Qinglan wrapped his arms around An Yongyan's in a playful manner: "My only true close friend is An Ge'er—no one can replace you~"

"Me too."

An Ge'er beamed with joy at those words, smiling brightly.

This was also one of the reasons Han Zhang could feel at ease about his husband's interactions with Jiayou Chang Gongjun.

His husband might be a bit scatterbrained, but he wasn't truly foolish—rather, he was wise beneath his simple exterior.

Time passed in the midst of these trivial matters.

Soon, it was the end of the year, and time for the New Year celebrations.

And just before the New Year, the court unexpectedly delivered exciting good news.

That was—

Word of victory came from the frontier. Young Master Shao of the Weiyuan Marquisate, brave beyond compare, led three thousand elite troops in a surprise raid on the grasslands, slaying several key tribal leaders.

Though Young Master Shao died of his severe wounds, he had achieved a great feat, plunging the grasslands into internal strife and forcing them to retreat to the snowy mountains to recover. Barring unforeseen circumstances, the frontier would remain peaceful for the next few winters.

Emperor Taixuan was overjoyed. Not only did he reward the Weiyuan Marquisate and other meritorious officials, but he also issued an imperial decree to hold a special imperial examination after the New Year as a celebration!

This news was merely something for common folk to hear and forget, but for scholars, it was huge news.

The imperial examination was held only once every three years, so a special examination meant an extra opportunity.

Even Han Zhang was delighted, for he couldn't guarantee he would pass on his first try—the more chances, the better.

For this reason, this New Year,

Han Zhang did not follow the original owner's past habits of visiting relatives far and wide or writing Spring Festival couplets for the villagers.

This year, aside from attending the clan's ancestral rites, the family reunion dinner, and accompanying Shen Qinglan back to the Shen residence with New Year gifts, he went nowhere else, mustering all his strength for a final sprint of study.

Everyone understood and was supportive of this.

However, even those two meals alone managed to stir up quite a bit of trouble!

—

First, let's talk about the Han family's side.

Thanks to Han Zhang's rise and support, the Han clan members had earned considerable money this year from the matchstick workshop and the work Shen Qinglan had helped arrange for the clan.

Especially those Han clan daughters and lads who had been divorced or cast out due to the schemes of that village woman Luo—because of the wages from the matchstick workshop, not only had they managed to raise the children they'd taken from their husbands' homes, but they'd raised them well-fed and healthy. This drew the covetous eyes of their former in-laws, as well as the greedy gazes of old bachelors and widowers from the surrounding villages.

One by one, the former in-laws sought reconciliation, and old bachelors and widowers came to propose—everyone knew exactly what they were after!

In the past, these divorced and cast-out women and lads might have given in due to feudal thinking.

But now they refused.

Because every time Han Zhang returned to the village, he gave the clan ideological lessons.

Now, these women and lads felt that marriage was acceptable, but they wouldn't marry out—they would have husbands marry into the family instead!

They declared with firm resolve: "The clan head said our children will take the Han surname, adding descendants to the Han clan. We are great contributors who carry on the Han lineage, and when we die, we'll be buried in the Han ancestral graves and receive incense from Han descendants."

"Our Big Brother is about to become an official—the Han family will be a family of status. Why would we marry out now? Whose ancestral rites in these parts could possibly be more flourishing than our Han clan's?"

"I don't want to die without incense offerings and become a starving ghost. We can discuss marriage, but the man must marry into our family—to carry on the Han name and continue the Han bloodline!"

People's thinking is still pretty feudal, it's just that their loyalties have changed.

After all, in ancient times, young ladies and lads married wanting someone to rely on in life and a proper place to rest after death, so they wouldn't end up as wandering ghosts in unmarked graves!

Now that their natal families offer the same guarantees, who'd want to marry into another family to wait on in-laws and deal with their attitude?

Fighting magic with magic, the suitors who came calling were successfully chased off, fuming.

But that came with a catch...

The Han clan's girls and boys now had a harder time finding matches.

No worries, though—Han Zhang had already tipped off the clan chief.

The clan chief immediately earmarked some silver from the matchstick workshop's profits and hit the labor market, picking up a bunch of sturdy, unattached men, and married them off to the clan's eligible girls and boys.

If things kept going this way, the Han clan's population was bound to explode next year.

Han Zhang was pleased as punch—wasn't this the perfect fix for his future manpower needs?

To that end, he also threw in two thousand taels in silver notes as the clan's "baby-making fund."

Going forward, the clan also set up a "maternity canteen," serving chicken soup every three days to help new moms and dads recover; even the midwife's fee for delivery was fully covered by the clan.

When this news broke, the Han clan's young ladies and lads, along with their spouses who'd married in, were over the moon.

With perks like this... to be blunt, they'd be willing to pop out kids nonstop or even start a rebellion!

It's not like they were spineless and could be bought off with a few scraps of meat.

After all, this was a time when, if you had enough rice porridge and pickles, folks would happily crown you emperor.

The Han guys, who also wanted chicken soup: "..." All of a sudden, they weren't so proud of being the male heirs.

The Han clan's move left folks in all the neighboring villages completely dumbfounded.

And the clan chiefs of nearby clans were even more panicked.

Because with this comparison, their own clan's girls and wives suddenly felt their food didn't taste as good and their hard work wasn't worth it!

They started getting resentful about not being allowed to eat at the table, slaving away all day on the worst food;

Girls and boys in the middle of marriage talks were now eyeing the Han men instead;

At this rate, how were their own young men supposed to find wives or husbands?

During the New Year, the clan chiefs were stomping around at home, cursing up a storm: "That old Han, that sneaky old bastard! Just to boost his clan's numbers, he'd pull such dirty tricks to steal our matches—what a damn scoundrel!"

Clan Chief Han: ...

Clan Chief Han said he was deaf, couldn't hear a word, and was busy anyway.

Big Brother had said that people were the foundation of any big enterprise, and you could never trust outsiders as much as your own kin.

A thriving family line was crucial, so they had to take good care of the clan's girls and boys, plus the husbands and wives who married in.

As for what this "big enterprise" was, this old man didn't get it and didn't want to ask.

Anyway, Big Brother was smart—just do what Big Brother says.