Cui Yunchu propped her chin in her hand, her brows tightly furrowed. She had a vague sense that something was wrong, but she could not quite put her finger on it.
“Miss, don’t dwell on it. The old madam didn’t take her anger out on you over this—that alone is the best possible outcome.”
“But I still feel that I’m not the right person to handle this matter.” Cui Yunchu sighed, then suddenly lifted her head. “By the way, has Shen Zilan returned these past two days?”
Xing’er shook her head.
An hour later, Shen Zilan was personally escorted out by the Minister of Personnel after having just gotten into an argument with an official.
“Young Master Shen, please don’t be angry. Lord Wang has been with the Ministry of Personnel for many years, and he has a rather unpleasant way of speaking. Don’t take it personally. I’ll reprimand him when we get back.”
Shen Zilan looked at the Minister’s smiling face. In his ears still echoed Lord Wang’s blunt accusations—that he was incompetent, that he had relied on his uncle to secure a position at the Ministry of Personnel, and that he was merely loafing around and collecting his salary.
“Minister, there’s no need to say that. What Lord Wang said wasn’t wrong.”
He had indeed accomplished very little at the Ministry of Personnel. The few things he had managed to do were only because the minister or his uncle had pulled strings to help him advance. Lord Wang was a senior official who had served there for many years, yet he now found himself under the authority of a newcomer. It was only natural that he would be dissatisfied.
The minister’s expression stiffened, but he quickly smiled again. “He was talking nonsense. Have you seen Lord Shen’s bearing at court? As a member of the Shen family, how could you possibly lack ability? You’re simply young. With more experience and refinement, you’ll improve.”
Shen Zilan curled his lips into a faint, mocking smile.
Yes, he was a member of the Shen family. But he was also genuinely useless. The obsequiousness of everyone around him was not because of anything he had done—it was because of his uncle, and because the current circumstances forced them to protect themselves.
“I’m not suited for the position of Vice Minister. Minister, you should choose someone else.”
“Suited? Of course you’re suited. How could you not be?” the minister hurriedly replied. “As long as you give the word, Young Master Shen, you could even take my position as minister.”
Watching the minister bowing and scraping before him only made Shen Zilan feel more stifled.
“Rest assured, Minister. I’ll tell my uncle about what happened today.”
“No need, no need. It’s all thanks to your own ability, Young Master Shen.” Though he said this, the minister’s face lit up with delight.
Perhaps his promotion and favoritism toward Shen Zilan had been in the hope of hearing those very words. How could he not be pleased?
The Crown Prince and Prince An were currently locked in fierce contention. No one dared to take sides lightly. But if he could become one of Lord Shen’s people, he would have a powerful patron behind him and an untroubled official career ahead.
Shen Zilan forced a smile, then descended the steps of the Ministry of Personnel at an unhurried pace, his face heavy with gloom.
Beside the stone lions on either side of the steps, Cui Yunchu was crouching. She raised her head and watched Shen Zilan walk past her, looking as though his soul had nearly left his body.
“Hey!”
“Ah—”
Cui Yunchu suddenly sprang up, startling Shen Zilan so badly that he immediately jumped backward. His heart raced as he stared wide-eyed at her sudden appearance.
“Have all that flattery gone to your head?” Cui Yunchu crossed her arms and looked at him. “You had such a good opportunity just now. Why didn’t you squeeze him for all he was worth? You’re hopeless.”
“...Little Auntie,” Shen Zilan said, somewhat surprised. “What are you doing here?”
“Waiting for you.”
Shen Zilan looked left and right, but he did not see his uncle anywhere. “You came alone, Little Auntie?”
Cui Yunchu pointed at Xing’er beside her. “She’s a person too, not a ghost.”
“...”
Shen Zilan rubbed his head awkwardly.
“Do you need something, Little Auntie?”
“I’m hungry.”
Then go back to the estate and eat! Shen Zilan stared at her blankly.
She was hungry, so she had come all the way from the estate to the Ministry of Personnel to find him?
“Little Auntie, have the servants in the estate been bullying you?” Shen Zilan asked sternly.
Cui Yunchu shook her head.
Who could bully her? She had never been the one to let others have the upper hand.
“Can you treat me to a meal?”
“Where?”
Shen Zilan asked cautiously.
“Moonview Tower.”
“...”
The deadliest memories always had a way of coming back to haunt him. Shen Zilan would never forget the meal that had cost him two months’ salary, nor the agonizing night he had spent washing dishes in the restaurant afterward.
Fortunately, he had thought to ask one more question.
His face reddened as he said awkwardly, “I... I don’t have that much money.”
“...Aren’t you the Young Master of the Shen family? How could you not have enough money for a meal?”
The Shen family’s treasury, despite having been somewhat padded through Shen Xiabai’s deceptions, could hardly be called poor. How could the Young Master of the Shen family possibly be unable to afford a meal?
“I only receive my monthly allowance. My uncle won’t let the household give me anything else.”
Was he really that strict?
Cui Yunchu rubbed her chin. Could it be that after coming all this way, she would have to pay out of her own pocket?
Wouldn’t that mean losing both her advantage and her money?
“Little Auntie—”
“Forget it. I’ll treat you.” After all, he was one of her own family’s children. As an elder, she could not be so stingy that people would laugh at her.
Thinking of how extravagantly she had been spending these past few days, Cui Yunchu felt that Shen Xiabai was being a little too harsh with him.
Despite being so poor, he could still keep himself upright and unsullied. He truly was a good chil—no, he was just an idiot.
If it were her, she would have used Shen Xiabai’s name to amass a fortune through bribes and graft.
At that thought, Cui Yunchu decided that she probably was not suited to serving as an official. She would be too likely to end up losing her head.
Shen Zilan followed Cui Yunchu into the carriage in a daze.
As the carriage rolled slowly along, Cui Yunchu glanced at him. “You’re unhappy?”
Shen Zilan turned his head away. “Little Auntie, choosing my uncle was the right decision.”
He was nothing but a parasite on his family, a useless man. No one could possibly like someone like him.
Cui Yunchu was stunned for several seconds. This child really had the nerve to bring that up again.
“Tell me why you’re unhappy.” Cui Yunchu crossed one leg over the other, looking every inch like a spoiled young heir. “Isn’t it a good thing that people flatter you and are too afraid to offend you? Doesn’t that show that the Shen family is flourishing? As a son of the Shen family, shouldn’t you be proud of it?”
Shen Zilan looked back at Cui Yunchu, then slowly lowered his gaze.
“I’m happy for my uncle, and I’m proud of the Shen name. But at the same time, I feel that I’m completely useless.”
He hated the way people pointed at his face and called him a good-for-nothing who lived off his family’s protection, holding an easy position while receiving promotions faster than anyone else.
He wanted to rely on his own abilities. He did not want people to flatter and fawn over him to his face, only to spit in disgust at his back once they had turned away.
But no matter what he did, everything came too easily. It came so easily that even he found it shameful.
He and everyone else knew perfectly well that it was not because of his own ability. It was because his uncle was too powerful, his influence too great. Just the name Shen was enough to inspire awe.
“Why not eat meat?” Cui Yunchu sighed and shook her head.
“Little Auntie,” Shen Zilan said, his face filled with grievance. “Even you say that?”
“Is it not true?” Cui Yunchu spread both hands. “Are you blaming yourself for being born into such a prosperous family? Blaming yourself for having such a formidable uncle to protect you?”
“Do you often think that if you had been born into an ordinary family, it would be wonderful to rely on your own efforts?”
Shen Zilan’s throat tightened, and he was unable to answer.
