“Go and fetch the marquis. Tell him I have something important to discuss with him.”
Madam Liu sent her daughter away, then lifted her chin toward the old servant beside her.
The servant acknowledged her and hurried out.
Shi Yuanzhi arrived very quickly.
His hair was loosely tied, and it was obvious he had spent the entire day in his study without stepping outside.
“What is it? I’m busy right now.”
Madam Liu gave the maids a meaningful glance, and they filed out one after another.
Only the husband and wife remained in the front hall. It was so quiet that they could hear the sparrows chirping in the trees outside the window.
“My lord, Madam Lin, Madam Shen, and Madam Fang came by today.”
Madam Liu lowered her voice.
Shi Yuanzhi frowned.
“The Lin, Shen, and Fang families? What did they come for? We don’t usually associate with any of them.”
Madam Liu sighed. It was a long, heavy sigh, as though her chest were filled with grievances she could not express.
She pressed a handkerchief to the corner of her mouth.
“What else could they have come for? They came to arrange a marriage for Shi Huai.”
“The Lin family came for Lin Wanqing, the Shen family for Shen Yuetang, and the Fang family for Fang Ruoyun. The three of them came together and cornered me in the front hall, talking for ages.”
When Shi Yuanzhi heard the words “arrange a marriage for Shi Huai,” his brows drew together even more tightly.
Then they relaxed, and the corners of his lips even lifted slightly.
“Huai'er is only twelve. How can anyone already be coming to propose? Isn’t that much too early?”
Seeing Shi Yuanzhi’s barely concealed smugness, Madam Liu felt her anger flare up.
She took a deep breath and forced it down, while her expression shifted from aggrieved to deeply worried.
“My lord, don’t celebrate too soon. From what those three ladies were implying, it doesn’t sound as if they intend to marry their daughters into our family.”
Madam Liu lowered her voice until it was barely audible, as if afraid someone might be listening through the wall.
Shi Yuanzhi’s fingers stopped moving, and the smile on his face froze for a moment. He turned toward Madam Liu, suspicion and puzzlement in his eyes.
“What do you mean? If they don’t intend to marry into our family, what kind of proposal are they making?”
Madam Liu leaned forward slightly and lowered her voice even further, until only the two of them could hear her.
“Madam Lin kept saying things like, ‘A daughter three years older is worth a chest of gold,’ and mentioned that her husband has been close friends with the Director of the Imperial Academy for many years.”
“Madam Shen said that there aren’t many good families left in the capital, so one has to make plans early.”
“Madam Fang was even more direct. She said something about taking a look first and holding the wedding a couple of years later.”
“My lord, think about it. Does any of that sound as though they intend to marry their daughters into our family?”
Shi Yuanzhi’s brows knitted into a deep furrow.
“Then what do they mean? Explain yourself clearly.”
Madam Liu bit her lip, as though she had to summon immense courage before speaking.
Her voice carried the hesitant air of someone who would rather remain silent but had no choice, and her expression was one of extreme distress.
“My lord, think about the current state of our marquisate. Surely you know what things are really like?”
“The Lin, Shen, and Fang families are all flourishing. Why would any of them take an interest in our family? Why would they eagerly offer up their daughters to us?”
Madam Liu paused and watched Shi Yuanzhi’s expression darken bit by bit. Secretly pleased, she continued speaking.
“Unless they never intended to marry their daughters into our family at all. Perhaps they want Shi Huai to marry into theirs.”
“To enter their family as a live-in son-in-law and serve as their heir. Any children he has would bear their surname, and he would have nothing more to do with the Shi family.”
Shi Yuanzhi’s face darkened completely, as ominous as the sky before a storm.
He slammed his hand onto the table. The teacup rattled, and tea splashed across the tabletop.
“A live-in son-in-law? How dare they even think of it? My son, the son of Shi Yuanzhi and the young master of the Marquis of Yongning’s household, becoming a live-in son-in-law for their families?”
Madam Liu was startled by his reaction, but inwardly she was delighted.
On the surface, however, she put on an even more worried expression. She reached out and pressed a hand against Shi Yuanzhi’s arm, her voice soothing.
“My lord, please don’t lose your temper. I’m only guessing. But think about it—what other explanation could there be?”
“Compared with our marquisate, those families are worlds apart. Why would they take an interest in our family?”
Shi Yuanzhi was rendered speechless by her words.
He knew that the marquisate had fallen into decline. He knew he carried little weight at court. He knew that although Shi Huai had the title of a marquisate’s young master, he was, in the end, only a son born to a concubine.
But so what?
He was Shi Yuanzhi’s son. His only son.
A live-in son-in-law?
Absolutely not!
“No. Absolutely not. Send them all away at once. Tell them Huai'er is still young and there is no need to rush into marriage.”
Shi Yuanzhi’s voice brooked no argument, carrying the unquestionable authority of the head of the household.
Madam Liu nodded and agreed outwardly, while inwardly her delight nearly overflowed.
“My lord, there’s something I don’t know whether I ought to say.”
“Speak.”
Madam Liu hesitated. Her expression shifted from troubled to reluctant, then from reluctant to one of profound anguish.
“My lord, do you think Shi Huai might have the same idea? To marry into the Lin, Shen, or Fang family would be a meteoric rise.”
“It would be countless times better than remaining a young master in our marquisate in name only.”
Shi Yuanzhi’s face turned utterly black.
He shot to his feet. The chair was dragged backward several steps and struck the wall with a dull thud.
His eyes bulged, and the veins at his temples throbbed.
“What did you say? How dare Shi Huai?”
Startled by his reaction, Madam Liu hurriedly rose and reached out to support him.
At the same time, she murmured things like, “My lord, please don’t lose your temper. I was only speaking casually.”
But inwardly, she thought with satisfaction, This fire is burning hot enough.
“Someone!”
Shi Yuanzhi shook off Madam Liu’s hand and shouted toward the door.
A maid lifted the curtain and entered timidly. She kept her head lowered, not daring to look up, and even her voice trembled.
“What orders do you have, my lord?”
“Go stand at the gate. The moment Shi Huai returns, send him to see me. Have him come directly to my study. Do not delay.”
Shi Yuanzhi’s voice was loud enough to carry across the entire courtyard.
The maid acknowledged him and hurried out.
Madam Liu stood to one side, watching his furious expression. The corners of her lips lifted slightly before she quickly forced them back down.
She walked over and patted Shi Yuanzhi on the back, her voice filled with just the right amount of concern.
“My lord, speak to him calmly when he comes. Don’t lose your temper. He’s still young and doesn’t understand much. Teach him patiently.”
Shi Yuanzhi snorted, shook off her hand, and strode out of the front hall.
His figure disappeared beyond the moon gate. His footsteps grew fainter and fainter until they could no longer be heard.
Madam Liu remained standing in the front hall, watching the direction in which Shi Yuanzhi had vanished. Slowly, a pleased smile spread across her lips.
